384  RizoTs  liberation  negotiated  in  Madrid

full  operation,  it  opened  the  way  for  a  new  and  interesting  period
in  Rizal'^s  life. Reading  between  the  lines  of  the  letters  he  was
allowed  to  send  to  his  friends,  there  was  evidence  of  his  being  weighed
down  with  ennm  from  inactivity,  and  his  friends  in  Europe  took  the
opportunity  of  bringing  pressure  on  the  Madrid  Government  to  liberate
him. In  a  house  which  I  visit  in  London  there  were  frequent  consulta-
tions as  to  how  this  could  be  effected. In  the  end  it  was  agreed  to
organize  a  bogus  "  Society  for  the  Liberation  of  Prisoners  in  the  Far
Easf     A  few  ladies  met  at  the  house  mentioned,  and  one  of  them,

Miss  A ,  having  been  appointed  secretary,  she  was  sent  to  Madrid  to

present  a  petition  from  the  "Society''  to  the  Prime  Minister,  Cdnovas
del  Castillo,  praying  for  the  liberation  of  Rizal  in  exchange  for  his
professional  services  in  the  Spanish  army  operating  in  Cuba,  where
army  doctors  were  much  needed. Hints  were  deftly  thrown  out  about
the  "  Society's''  relations  with  other  European  capitals,  and  the  foreign
lady-secretary  played  her  part  so  adroitly  that  the  Prime  Minister
pictured  to  himself  ambassadorial  intervention  and  foreign  complications
if  he  did  not  grant  the  prayer  of  what  he  imagined  to  be  an  influential
society  with  potential  ramifications. The  Colonial  Minister  opposed
the  petition ;  the  War  Minister,  being  Philippine  bom,  declined  to  act
on  his  own  responsibility  for  obvious  reasons. Repeated  discussions
took  place  between  the  Crown  advisers,  to  whom,  at  length,  the  Prime
Minister  disclosed  his  fears,  and  finally  the  Gov.-Greneral  of  the
Philippines,  Don  Ramon  Blanco,  was  authorized  to  liberate  Rizal,  on
the  terms  mentioned,  if  he  saw  no  objection. As  my  Philippine  friend,
who  went  from  London  to  Madrid  about  the  matter,  remarked  to  the
War  Minister,  "  Rizal  is  loyal ;  he  will  do  his  duty ;  but  if  he  did  not,
one  more  or  less  in  the  rebel  camp — what  matters .? "  The  Gov.-General
willingly  acted  on  the  powers  received  from  the  Home  Government,  and
Rizal's  conditional  freedom  dated  from  July  28,  1896. 