“MONSTROUS AND ILLEGAL PROCEEDINGS”: LAW ...

political allegiances. Within the framework of the borderlands legal order, the testimony of
“honorable vecinos,” whether informal or not, also offered one of the best forms of judicial
proof possible. Arteagada, however, refused to recognize it. He wrote that the court had to
“judge the matter on the facts, not allegations.” 50 He then dismissed the case. In contrast to
his decision in favor of Guimaraens and his allies on the JEA, Arteagada this time directly
challenged a powerful local figure. He also publicly repudiated the network of local allies
Saldaña had called forth in support of his property rights. As we have seen on a number of
occasions, Arteagada’s decision directly confronted Saldaña’s place in the community.
Saldaña had to respond forcefully or risk losing his status within his local legal world.
To protect his personal reputation, Saldaña returned to the courts. He also used
Salto’s tribunals to articulate the limits on the power of national judicial figures like
Arteagada to reject local legal norms. The specific incident involved a fight between Julio
Delgado, Arteagada’s bailiff, and Alberto Maldonado, the departmental fiscal. 51 According to
witnesses, Maldonado and Delgado had an altercation as they were leaving the residence of
Juan Cruz y Costa, the jefe político. Delgado had accused Maldonado of corruption for
receiving “considerations” from Mauricio Castro, Salto’s notary public. The allegations
connected to Castro’s involvement with Emilio Thevenet and others in their ongoing
disputes over the activities of the JEA. Reports then differed as to whether Delgado or
Maldonado fired a pistol at the other. Not taking any chances, Arteagada ordered both men
imprisoned until the facts regarding the disturbance could be resolved.
Saldaña and his allies seized the incident to discredit Arteagada. The men drafted
several letters highlighting Arteagada’s connections to Castro. Recall that Castro had been
50 Sumaria información seguida á Teodoro Lafitte, 71bis.
51 Sumario de Julio Delgado y Alberto Maldonado por pelea, AGN-SJ. Salto. Penales, n. 1
(1879). The incident purportedly occurred in 1878.
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