“MONSTROUS AND ILLEGAL PROCEEDINGS”: LAW ...
“MONSTROUS AND ILLEGAL PROCEEDINGS”: LAW ... “MONSTROUS AND ILLEGAL PROCEEDINGS”: LAW ...
Digging deeper, however, we can see how Fermin’s success in reaffirming the national legal divisions separating him from his former masters in Brazil exacerbated faction tensions. The case also demonstrates yet again how in this renewed conflict, citizenship quickly reemerged as a central element in disputes over property rights. At the time of his arrest in 1856, Fermin was carrying papers concerning a pending commercial litigation between Sañudo and José Ferreira over José’s debts to Sañudo’s partner, Joaquim. 42 Sañudo sought to garnish José’s assets located in Salto to compel payment on a substantial debt to the partnership. In response, José appears to have first wanted to seize Fermin. Perhaps he hoped to “sell” him back to Joaquim to satisfy the debt. When this failed and the court declared Fermin to be free, José then offered to make payment by assigning Sañudo a negotiable instrument from Canabarro. Sañudo flatly refused to accept the note. He argued that “the documents [José] Ferreira has presented do not have any value in the present matter, nor do I have anything to do with them.” 43 The reasons for Sañudo’s concern flowed directly from the nature of his own alliances across the border in Brazil. Like his related commercial enterprise, Sañudo’s legal practice in Salto relied heavily on ties to the Ribeiros and their allies on both sides of the border. By the 1850s, the colorado attorney had developed a burgeoning practice protecting the Ribeiro faction’s legal rights and commercial assets. By way of example, Sañudo served as Manuel Ferreira Bica’s lawyer in numerous legal proceedings in Salto. He served as the executor of Bica’s will and trustee of his estate upon his death in 1876. 44 Recall that Bica was Bento Manuel Ribeiro’s brother-in-law and a close ally of the faction across the border. He 42 D. Agustín Sañudo c. D. José da Asunción Ferreira, cobrando especialmente 751 patacones. 43 Ibid., 30bis. The note in question originated from a commercial transaction between Luis Gonzaga Ferreira and Antonio José de Vargas in 1852 in connection with Canabarro’s 1851 Uruguayan campaign against Oribe. 44 Testimonio del Testamento de D. Manuel Fereira Bica, 8bis. 278
was also a personal enemy of Canabarro, with the two men harboring deep personal animosities against one another dating back to the Farrapos War. Given Sañudo’s association with the Ribeiros, obtaining payment from their political enemy appeared next to impossible. Sañudo therefore challenged the payment in court. He argued that there was no way to ensure that the documents in question “were real,” nor “whether the signature appearing on them actually was that of a Notary Public.” 45 The Salto court agreed, finding José’s proposed method of payment unacceptable. The court ordered José’s embargoed goods to be auctioned off to satisfy his debts to Sañudo. The colorado attorney appeared to have won. Rather than settle matters, however, the judgment instead produced a new round of factional violence as José sought to escape the verdict and his creditors by tapping into his own network of political allies. On 15 May 1858, police sergeant Francisco Peralta entered José Abadie’s pulpería outside of Salto where Joaquim and several other men had gathered. 46 There is only vague testimony as to what specifically transpired in Abadie’s business, but at some point Peralta shot and killed Joaquim. What is clear, however, is that immediately following the killing, José, along with the police commissioner Leon Piris and several other men with close political ties to the acting head of the department, Lucas Piris, seized Joaquim’s assets and records. Paulino Aguirre, a juez de paz with jurisdiction over Joaquim’s properties, then upheld the men’s actions as a valid embargo. José had violently regained control of the assets he had lost in his litigation with Sañudo. 47 45 Don Agustín Sañudo c. Don José da Asunción Ferreyra, cobrando especialmente 751 patacones, 30bis-31. 46 Felizberta Benita de Mota por la Casa de Joaquin Gonzaga Ferreira, AGN-SJ. Salto. Letrados Civiles, No. 25 (1858). 47 Leon Piris and Lucas Piris may be related. However, I have been unable to locate any archival evidence affirmatively establishing this fact. 279
- Page 237 and 238: assistance, Garces won her case aga
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was also a personal enemy of Canabarro, with the two men harboring deep personal<br />
animosities against one another dating back to the Farrapos War. Given Sañudo’s<br />
association with the Ribeiros, obtaining payment from their political enemy appeared next to<br />
impossible.<br />
Sañudo therefore challenged the payment in court. He argued that there was no way<br />
to ensure that the documents in question “were real,” nor “whether the signature appearing<br />
on them actually was that of a Notary Public.” 45 The Salto court agreed, finding José’s<br />
proposed method of payment unacceptable. The court ordered José’s embargoed goods to<br />
be auctioned off to satisfy his debts to Sañudo. The colorado attorney appeared to have won.<br />
Rather than settle matters, however, the judgment instead produced a new round of factional<br />
violence as José sought to escape the verdict and his creditors by tapping into his own<br />
network of political allies. On 15 May 1858, police sergeant Francisco Peralta entered José<br />
Abadie’s pulpería outside of Salto where Joaquim and several other men had gathered. 46<br />
There is only vague testimony as to what specifically transpired in Abadie’s business, but at<br />
some point Peralta shot and killed Joaquim. What is clear, however, is that immediately<br />
following the killing, José, along with the police commissioner Leon Piris and several other<br />
men with close political ties to the acting head of the department, Lucas Piris, seized<br />
Joaquim’s assets and records. Paulino Aguirre, a juez de paz with jurisdiction over Joaquim’s<br />
properties, then upheld the men’s actions as a valid embargo. José had violently regained<br />
control of the assets he had lost in his litigation with Sañudo. 47<br />
<br />
45<br />
Don Agustín Sañudo c. Don José da Asunción Ferreyra, cobrando especialmente 751 patacones,<br />
30bis-31.<br />
46<br />
Felizberta Benita de Mota por la Casa de Joaquin Gonzaga Ferreira, AGN-SJ. Salto.<br />
Letrados Civiles, No. 25 (1858).<br />
47<br />
Leon Piris and Lucas Piris may be related. However, I have been unable to locate<br />
any archival evidence affirmatively establishing this fact.<br />
279 <br />
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