Gorosabel goes on to recount that another, no less serious, dispute the city and the province, though of a different nature, occurred later.
"In 1693, the tax collection guards reported at the Mendelo bridge a certain amount of money being carried in the portfolio of Fuenterrabia from San Sebastián. Consequently, the mayors of Fuenterrabia, accompanied by sixteen townsmen, went early the next morning to the customs house in Irun, where they arrested the tax collector, who had not yet risen. Brought under this of force as a prisoner to the town hall of Fuenterrabia, he was formally charged, as in a court trial, for having detained the letters he carried. Satisfied with his explanations—or perhaps fearing the consequences of their arbitrary action—they released him.
The province, to whom the tax collector reported the incident, commissioned Licentiate Juan de Larreta to investigate. He presented himself on site, prepared the corresponding judicial file, and, based on witness testimony, the Deputation decided to personally reprimand the three individuals from Fuenterrabia who appeared most culpable. To enforce this, a commissioner was dispatched to summon them before the Deputation. However, they not only ignored this call; they imprisoned the commissioner in the public jail, violently taking the commission document from him. Not content with this, they sent the Deputation a letter in the most improper and even threatening terms.
Offended by such behavior, the province reported the entire occurrence to the king and his council. By royal provision of 15 April of the same year, the council ordered the immediate release of the commissioner arrested by the people of Fuenterrabia. They also ordered the personal appearance of the city’s mayors at court within fifteen days. Once this was done, and after the mayors made some conciliatory gestures, the matter was concluded without further proceedings."