among Spaniards as natives, the Jesuits continued to amass wealth, though under the guise of poverty; and well aware of the sympathy bestowed on them by rich and poor, they were not afraid of adversaries. This appeared when, in 1639, troubles began between the Jesuits and the chapter of the cathedral of Puebla about a donation made to the society by the prebendary, Hernando de la Serna.[1] The dispute arose concerning a farm valued at sixty thousand pesos, and intended for the establishment of a Jesuit college at Vera Cruz. Notwithstanding an order of the ecclesiastical cabildo, forbidding Serna to make the conveyance, except to a party subject to the payment of tithes, the transfer was made to the society. The vicar-general of the diocese in consequence attached the remainder of Serna's property,[2] to guarantee the payment of the tithes, and demanded that the donation be annulled under threat of severe ecclesiastical censure. Serna protested against the legality of such proceeding and of course received support from the Jesuits, who also disputed the authority of the vicar general.[3]
Such was the state of affairs when Palafox arrived in New Spain. As he had always been a friend of the society, and had given repeated proofs of such friendship, an immediate and favorable decision was expected. At first his rule was promising for the Jesuits; the embargo on the prebendary's property and income was modified so as to comprise only the amount of the tithes involved, and a free disposal allowed of the remainder. The bishop refused a more
- ↑ Bustamante, in Cavo, Tres Siglos, ii. 20, followed by Rivera, Gobernantes, i. 144, calls him Hermenegildo de la Serna. Alegre says Fernando and Hernando; Palafox, in his different works, gives Hernando.
- ↑ As an additional reason it was said that two sisters of the donor owned a certain part of the farm, and being nuns of the convent de la Concepcion, under the jurisdiction of the see of Puebla, their shares could not be alienated without episcopal consent. Palafox, Carta del Ven., 119-21. Alegre, Hist. Comp. Jesus, ii. 223-4, asserts that the donation was made by Serna and his mother, and the deed signed Feb. 22, 1639.
- ↑ Alegre, 226, carefully avoids mentioning why the cathedral demanded the revocation of the gift.
