VIII, D. s Salt: Carriedo y Peredo 185 



Outside the city, loans were not made; the exception being to 

 Manuel Provira, governor of Capiz, in 1851, on the security of 

 pottery works at San Pedro Macati."* 



On the whole, the management of the "obra pia" was free 

 from fraud or misappropriation. The exceptions occurred in 

 1823-24 and in 1850. In the latter year, the amount missing 

 was comparatively small, consisting of 131 pesos and 15 centavos 

 from the fund and 48 pesos and 90 centavos from the petty cash, 

 fondillo/^ The shortage in 1823-24 was far more serious. 

 When the chest was opened on January 2, 1824, a deficiency 

 of 1,576 pesos and 25 centavos was discovered. The city treas- 

 urer was at once ordered to make a thorough investigation, and 

 reported, a week later, that the locks of the chest showed very 

 slight signs of having been wrenched open. The senior alcalde 

 immediately ordered new iron safes and transferred the keys 

 to the treasurer in the presence of the secretary. When the 

 matter came up for discussion, the city fathers decided that 

 there had been no illegal attempt to open the chest, and placed 

 the blame on the janitor of the casas consistoriales and his son, 

 who were dismissed without warning on a charge of gross im- 

 morality and misconduct. To excuse themselves, the munici- 

 pal board framed a letter to the governor-general, praising 

 their own unblemished reputation, apologizing for the short- 

 age, and offering to make it good out of the city funds with 

 interest at 5 per cent. To this they received an answer that 

 interest was unnecessary and that the deficit must be made up 

 out of their own pockets. The governor's suspicions had prob- 

 ably been aroused by the fact that, on September 10, 1823, 

 Jose Azcarraga claimed he had repaid half the annual interest 

 on a loan, although no entry of the payment could be found in 

 the Carriedo books. '^ 



On the other hand, while fraud was rare, until the opening 

 of the ledgers, the accounts were kept, in spite of repeated com- 

 plaints J3y the government auditor, in a careless and unbusiness- 

 like fashion, and debts were allowed to accumulate over a long 

 period of time which might have been secured had more im- 

 partiality been shown in prosecution." When the city was 

 called to account for this laxity, as in 1852, prosecutions were 



"Ibid. (1851), 39. 

 ''Ibid. (1851), 32, 34-35, 52-53, 62. 



''Ibid. (Jan. 2, 9, 14, Mar. 10, 1824); (Sept. 10, 1825). There is no 

 pagination in the minute-books of 1824-1825.) 



"Ibid. (1851), 114; (1852), 18-20, 22, 24-25, 27, 29. 



