The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-12-03
REMARKABLE FATE
OF PEDRO ROXAS
Spain Deports the Leading Man OF
Manila to Ceuta.
MILLIONAIRE BETRAYED BY HIS WIFE
He Was to Have Been the First
President Of the Philippine Repub.
lie, Had Spain Been Whipped.
Told His Wife, Who Confessed to u
Faithless Clergyman.

New York, Dec. 1.-The Sun prints
the following remarkable story of the
fate of Pedro RoXas, the leading man
of Manila and the man who had been
picked out as the first president of the
new Philippine republic in case the re-
bellion against the Spanish rule on the
islands was successful. The story has
to do with RoXas' wife and her con-
fessor who is alleged to have violated
the sacred vows of secrecy.
RoXas was sugar planter. He was
q meshzo, or half caste, his father be-
ing a Spaniard and his mother a ma
tive of the islands. AS sugar planter
and exporter Of sugar and hemp, Pedro
Roxas accumulated fortune. He was
finely educated, speaking English,
Spanish, Tagaloy Uhe native languageC
and Chinese He was broad-minded
and liberal, and gradually came to be
looked on as the most progressive OF
all the native citizens of the Islands.
He was at the fore in all improve
ments. He was the organizer of the
electric light company, the street rail-
road company. the bank, and most OF
the other institutions or modern civil
liZation that have been introduced in
the city of Manila or elsewhere on the
islands. He was at the head OF the
educational system and of most OF the
charities, and 1t was the custom on
Mondays and Fridays of each week for
all the beggars in the city, number
ing $50 to 400. to gather in the front
yard, where he would give each pack
age of rice and would then distribute
copper coins.
He came to be beloved by everybody
except the Spanish government. The
Spanish dislike of him was natural,
because his desire for progress was
not in keeping with the bigotry and In
tolerance of their government. 1t was
natural when the revolution against
Spanish misrule broke out months ago
that the mesZos who uprose should
turn to Pedro RoXas as leader, or for
encouragement at least. But the in
terests of RoXas We're so great that he
would not risk them. He was counted
as worth at least 100000, and his pos
sessions We're in all parts of the island.
At the first overt act on his part all
would be confiscated, so he could not
openly espouse the cause of the In
surrectionists. But an implied prom
Use to accept the presidency of the new
republica Filippina when that republic
came was different. He could do that.
THE RELIGIOUS WIFE.
Pedro Roxa's wife, the story goes,
was woman bound up In her religion.
She was a woman educated almost as
we'll as her husband. She was hand
some. She had most Of the generous
traits of her husband, but she lacked
the important one of discretion. Pedro
kept from her at first the news that
he would be the first president of the
republic; not that he didn't trust her,
but he feared the lack of discretion. He
was careful to have nothing to do with
the insurrectiopiSts and not on any one
act of his could the Spaniards base a
charge that he was even sympathiZer
with the men who Were struggling for
their independence. But one day in an
unguarded moment he confided to his
wife the plan that was on foot to make
him president. This she told to her
confessor. If her confessOr had been
faithful Catholic it would have made
no difference. But this confessor. the
story says, thought more of currying
favor with the government than he did
OF his vows. and she had no sooner
confessed to him than he told Of the
confession to the Spanish officers.
1t came back to Pedro's ears quick
~. even before the officials had time
TO act; and in rage he accused his
wife of having conspired to ruin him.
She denied it. and he rushed at her and
attempted to choke her. But he was
overpOwered by the help that came in
response to her screams.
Here was the excuse of the govern
ment to get rid of Pedro without any
scandal. The officials pretended to be-
lieve in his loyalty to the government
They had pity" for him. They said
he must surely be suffering from tenn
porary alteration of mind or he never
would have assaied his wife so saw
agely. They said nothing at all about
the charge of dislOyalty They said
that the doctors on the island were in
competent to treat a case SO serious as
his, and that he needed the best of
European treatment and a change of
scene. He must have it instantly, and
In less time than 1t takes to tell 1t he
was placed aboard a ship under the
care of a physician. The ship sailed
away to the penal colony of Ceuta, in
Africa. There Pedro Roxas was land
ed. There he is TO-DAY, it is said, and
there he will stay until death-or a
republic-release him.
With him once safely out of the coun-
try, the next step was to confiscate his
property. This was done. Every foot
or ground he owned. every share of
stock he owned. every house and every
thing in every house. even down to the
last spoon, was seized The woman
who had caused his downfall through
her want of discretion was turned out
on the street a beggar. Not satisfied
with that, the Spaniards trumped up
q charge against f. l.. Roxas, the
cousin of Pedro. If Pedro was q trait
or, they said, 1t must be in the blood
of the family. SO they confscated the
millions owned by +. L. Roxas and
turned him and his family out to
starve. So the story ends,