Narrative of Services in the Liberation of Chili, Peru and Brazil Volume II Part 19

JOSe BONIFACIO DE ANDRADE E SILVA.

These doc.u.ments--coupled with the decree of Dec. 1822, awarding the above confiscations to the captors--shew so clearly the right of the squadron's claim, and the injustice of the course pursued by the prize tribunal at Rio de Janeiro, in refusing to adjudge Portuguese property to the captors, that further comment is unnecessary. In order, however, to give every possible information relative to a matter which has been, to me, a cause of so much obloquy, I subjoin my letter to the interim President, accompanying the preceding doc.u.ments:--

SIR,

I have the honour to enclose to your Excellency, two hundred and sixty obligations seized under the orders of His Imperial Majesty--dated the 11th December, 1822--which I request you will be pleased to cause to be laid before the Junta of Fazenda, together with the papers enclosed, in order that the Junta may take the necessary steps to the liquidation of the just and moderate claims of the officers and seamen. I further beg your Excellency will be pleased to intimate to the Junta, that I cannot abstain from taking whatever measures may be necessary to prevent the violation of the laws and regulations of the military service--the infraction of the express engagement of His Imperial Majesty--and the consequent disorganization of the squadron, so essential for the maintenance of tranquillity, and the preservation of the independence of the Empire.

(Signed) COCHRANE AND MARANHA.

20th Jan. 1825.

CHAPTER XI.

IMPERIAL APPROVAL--CONTINUED ENMITY OF THE ADMINISTRATION--JUNTA REFUSES TO PAY THE SQUADRON'S CLAIM--I PERSEVERE IN THE DEMAND--JUNTA AGREES TO PAY THE AMOUNT IN BILLS--THIS REFUSED--ARRIVAL OF A NEW PRESIDENT--BUT WITHOUT AUTHORITY FOR THE a.s.sUMPTION--INTRIGUES TO ESTABLISH HIM IN OFFICE--I ORDER HIM TO QUIT THE PROVINCE--AND SEND HIM TO PARA--LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT OF CEARA--INTERNATIONAL ANIMOSITIES--THE SQUADRON LEFT TO PROVIDE FOR ITSELF--ABUSE OF AUTHORITY--EXPLANATIONS TO MINISTER OF MARINE--OF TRANSACTIONS AT MARANHAM--LETTER TO CARVALHO E MELLO--ANTIc.i.p.aTING MINISTERIAL DISPLEASURE--THE JUNTA REIMBURSES PART OF ITS DEBT.

On the 16th of January I had at length the satisfaction to receive, through the Minister of Marine, the Emperor's approval of the course pursued in the pacification of the Northern provinces, and his confirmation of the changes that had been made in their administration.

Still not a word of instruction was vouchsafed for my future guidance.

The subjoined is the letter conveying His Imperial Majesty's approval of my acts and judgment:--

His Imperial Majesty commands the Secretary of State of the Marine to apprise the First Admiral, Commander-in-Chief of the naval forces of this Empire, that His Majesty received his despatches by the schooner _Maria de Gloria_, by which His Majesty was informed of his proceedings, and approves of his determination to proceed to the Northern provinces, where the fire of rebellion has been lighted, with a view to establish therein the order and obedience due to the said august sovereign, a duty which he has so wisely and judiciously undertaken, and in which course he must continue, notwithstanding the previous instructions sent to him, bearing date the 4th of October last, which instructions are hereby annulled until he shall attain the highly important objects proposed in the before-mentioned provinces, viz., till they submit themselves to the authorities lately appointed, and enjoy the benefits of the paternal Government of His Imperial Majesty.

Palace of Rio Janeiro, Dec. 2, 1824.

(Signed) FRANCISCA VILLELA BARBOSA.

To this letter--annulling my recall after the fall of Pernambuco--I returned the following reply:--

No. 289.

MOST EXCELLENT SIR,

Since I had the honour of addressing your Excellency in my letter, No. 288, I have not had any further intelligence from Para; I therefore conclude that the officers and seamen whom I detached there, will be sufficient to aid the President in maintaining good order.

Here, nothing particular has happened, beyond the collecting of a few runaway soldiers and vagabonds in the woods. A party detached in pursuit of them, dispersed them all, and brought in several prisoners yesterday.

I have received your Excellency's communication by the schooner _Maria de Gloria_, and _feel highly gratified that His Imperial Majesty has been pleased to approve of the course which I have pursued for the termination of dissensions in the Northern provinces. Since the gracious communication of His Imperial Majesty, I feel less weight of responsibility in the course which circ.u.mstances have compelled me to follow, with a view to restore order in the province of Maranham._

I hope soon to inform your Excellency that the task which His Imperial Majesty has been further pleased to confide to me, of causing the newly-appointed authorities to be acknowledged, is accomplished; but I beg respectfully again to add my opinion that these Northern provinces will not long continue in a state of tranquillity, unless the provincial forces are shifted to other quarters of the empire. In fact, if attention be not paid to this, I consider that these provinces will shortly be entirely lost, both to the empire of Brazil and to Portugal.

(Signed) COCHRANE AND MARANHA.

Jan. 21, 1834.

The continued absence of even the slightest instructions for my guidance--coupled with the Imperial approval of all I had done upon my own responsibility, naturally implied that it was considered better to leave me entirely unfettered by orders, which, if given at all, must be issued in ignorance of the actual state of things which required renovation. In this light I should have regarded the omission to direct my conduct, but for the warnings privately received, to be careful what I was about, for that, despite any apparent public approval of my proceedings, my enemies in the administration were on the watch for some act which might be construed to my disadvantage, and thus become the pretext for blame which should outweigh the praise accorded. The opportunity I felt had already been afforded by the suspension of Bruce from the presidency, notwithstanding that this--as has been seen--was fully justified by circ.u.mstances, and was not resorted to without deliberate consideration, and the deepest conviction of its necessity.

Still, any opposition to the suspension of Bruce could only be factious, for, on the 2nd of December, the Minister of Marine had in antic.i.p.ation forwarded to me a list of new presidents and generals-at-arms, every person in authority throughout the whole extent of the Northern coast being changed--with the exception of the president of Para; so that there was every reason to antic.i.p.ate that even the strong measures which I had been compelled to adopt with regard to Bruce would meet the views of His Imperial Majesty.

On the 31st of January, the interim President apprised me that the Junta refused to liquidate any part of the claim made in behalf of the squadron. Upon this refusal, I wrote to the Junta that, such being their decision, I would hold them personally responsible that no bills, debts, nor claims of any kind beyond the current expenses of government should be paid, till this prior claim--in honour and justice due to the officers and seamen, who had generously advanced their prize money to meet state exigencies--should be liquidated; adding, that the seamen _relied on me for justice_, and if my warning were not attended to, I should be compelled to take such steps as the necessity of upholding the interests of the crown and the efficiency of the naval service appeared to demand.

In taking this step, I frankly admit that it was the only way to obtain from the Government of Maranham even a compromise for the amount owing by the province to the captors. I had every confidence in His Imperial Majesty that as far as lay in _his_ power justice would be done, as evinced by the acknowledgments given in his own handwriting in opposition to the measures of his ministers, on whom, or the prize tribunal, no reliance could be placed; the former having done all in _their_ power to thwart my efforts in His Majesty's service, whilst the tribunal, acting by the sanction or in conformity to the known wishes of the ministry, had delayed adjudication, with the evident intention of _evading it altogether_, except in cases which gave a colour for condemning me in damages, in which respect--apparently their only object--they were prompt enough.

I therefore determined that as a specific portion of the prize property taken at Maranham in 1823, had, at its own request, been given up to the provisional Government, upon the express understanding of repayment --without which it could not have been thus surrendered--the Junta should be made to preserve their own good faith, as well as mine, to the squadron, which, relying on my promises, had been influenced temporarily to devote to the exigencies of the State that which by imperial decree, as well as according to the laws of all nations, was their undoubted right.

My orders to the Junta of Fazenda not to pay any claims--with the exception of the ordinary expenses of Government--till those of the squadron had been satisfied, were, however, almost superogatory; for, on a visit of inspection to the a.r.s.enal on the 2nd of February, it appeared that they had established a system of not paying any debts, even those incurred for the provisions of the squadron, the contract prices being set down at _treble the market price!_ This overcharge was accounted for by the merchants on the ground of dilatory payments, which could only be obtained at all from the Junta by fees to those whose duty it was to pa.s.s the accounts! To counteract this, I requested the interim President to forbid any further purchases on the part of the provincial Government, as, in future, I would make them myself, and, what was more to the purpose, pay for them.

By limiting the demand of repayment to one-fourth only of the amount captured from the Portuguese Government, I was not pressing at all severely upon the resources of the province, which is one of the richest in Brazil; nor should I have put them to any inconvenience had I demanded repayment of the whole, _as I justly might have done_.

On the 8th of February, the Junta of Fazenda sent me a verbal communication to the effect that they would give the sum agreed upon in commutation of prize money due to the captors--_in five bills, payable in five months_. As I knew that, in case of my departure, these would not be worth the paper upon which they were written, I refused the offer, adding that, after the course pursued by the prize tribunal at Rio de Janeiro the seamen had no faith in promises.

Finding that the Junta shewed every disposition to evade the demand, I requested a personal interview with that body, intimating that I expected all the members to be present. At this interview, I told the Junta that all the doc.u.ments necessary in support of the claim had been laid before them, these being too precise to admit of dispute--that they had no right in law, justice, or precedent, to withhold the portion of the prize property left at Maranham, by the request of the provisional government, no funds of their own being then available to meet the exigencies which had arisen--and therefore they were in honour bound to restore it.

I was induced to adopt this step, not only on account of the evasive conduct experienced at the hands of the administration at Rio de Janeiro, but because I knew that negotiations were actually pending for the rest.i.tution of all the Portuguese property captured, as a basis of the projected peace between Portugal and Brazil; in other words, that the squadron--whose exertions had added to the Empire a territory larger than the whole empire as it existed previous to the complete expulsion of the Portuguese--was to be altogether sacrificed to a settlement which its own termination of the war had brought about. So barefaced a proceeding towards those whose services had been engaged on the express stipulation of a right to all captures is, perhaps, unparalleled in the history of nations; and, as both officers and men looked to me for protection, I determined to persevere in demanding from the Government of Maranham--at least a compromise of the sums which the captors had, in 1823, lent to its pressing exigencies.

No small amount of obloquy has been attached to me with regard to this act of justice, the only one the squadron was ever likely to obtain; but the transaction involved my own good faith with both officers and men, who had lent the money solely on my a.s.surance that the Government at Rio de Janeiro could not do otherwise than refund the amount--so important was it at the time, that the pressing difficulties of the province should be promptly met. A man must have a singularly const.i.tuted mind, who, in my position, would have acted otherwise. To this subject it will be necessary to recur.

On the 7th of February, I was surprised by an intimation from Pedro Jose da Costa Barros, of his intention to a.s.sume the presidency of Maranham, founding his pretensions upon a letter addressed to Bruce, whom I had suspended. At first--believing that he possessed the requisite authority--I invited him to take possession of the office, but finding that he had no patent to shew for the appointment, I considered it my duty to His Majesty not to admit such pretensions till their validity was established, and therefore told Barros that he must await the official communications from Rio de Janeiro, before I could acknowledge him as president--for that tranquillity being now restored, I would not have the minds of the people again unsettled on the mere presumption of his appointment.

In this arrangement Barros appeared to acquiesce, but being a well-known partisan of the Portuguese faction, he was soon surrounded by the adherents of that party in Maranham. On the 10th of March, a series of allegations was forwarded to me by the party of Barros against the interim President, but as they were of the most insignificant nature, and unsupported by proof, I refused to pay attention to them. They were shortly afterwards followed by a letter from Barros to the same purport, but without any specific accusation against Lobo, whom he nevertheless represented as about to fly from Maranham in order to evade the punishment due to his crimes! Upon this I addressed to him the following letter demanding specific charges against the interim President:--

Maranham, 10th March, 1825.

SIR,

I have received your Excellency's letter, in which the interim President, Manuel Pellas da Silva Lobo, is charged with an intention of departing from Maranham in a sudden and clandestine manner, and in which your Excellency calls on me to adopt measures for the prevention of his flight. I must, however, represent to your Excellency that, since I have been in this province, so many reports have been made to me with the greatest confidence, impeaching the character and motives of individuals--all of which have proved unfounded--that I feel it impossible to act with any propriety on your Excellency's intimation--without being furnished with proof of the truth of the allegation.

Your Excellency, I am persuaded, is too honourable to propagate so serious a charge without believing it to be well founded, and I cannot doubt that you will have the candour to admit that I am ent.i.tled to be made acquainted with the grounds on which your Excellency's belief rests, before proceeding to any measure of severity against the party accused.

I have further to request that your Excellency will be pleased to say _for what crime, or crimes_, the President interino is supposed to be about to abandon--not only this province--but to flee from his native country?

(Signed) COCHRANE AND MARANHA.

To PEDRO JOSe DE COSTA BARROS.

The charges against Lobo, I well knew to have been fabricated for the purpose of getting me to place him in arrest, and instal Barros in the presidency. This plot failing, I learned, on the following day, that arrangements had been made for the forcible seizure of the interim President's person without any specific cause for dissatisfaction with his government, which was in all respects just and excellent. Finding the spirit of intrigue thus again manifested for the neutralisation of all my efforts to restore order and prosperity to the province--to the discomfiture of the intriguants--I again, on the 11th of March, declared martial law. Such was the terror inspired by this act in the minds of those who had fomented renewed disorder, that, antic.i.p.ating summary retribution from me, they prepared for the flight of which they had accused an innocent man. On learning this, I despatched a vessel with a competent officer to cruise at the mouth of the port, under orders neither to let ships nor pa.s.sengers leave without pa.s.sports counter-signed by myself.

Having received a letter from Jose Feliz de Azevedo e Sa, the President of Ceara, warning me of the intentions of Barros, who had come from that province, I was confirmed in my determination that the good which had been effected at Maranham should not be neutralised by one who had no authority to shew for his interference. Accordingly, I wrote to Barros the following order to quit the province forthwith, until His Majesty's intentions with regard to him should be made known:--

March 11th,1825.

SIR,

Your Excellency having acquainted me that the President interino intended to fly from justice, at the same time calling upon me to take precautionary measures to prevent his escape, without setting forth any crime of which he had been guilty; and further, with regard to my letter requesting that you would make known the nature of the delinquency which impelled the said President interino to fly from the province, you have not considered it necessary to give the slightest explanation.

Now, as I have ample reason to believe the whole allegation to be a fabrication--as I know that your Excellency--instead of waiting, as is your duty, for communications from His Imperial Majesty --has, by your countenance, suffered to be stirred up a spirit of dissension and party, and as I understand the laws which I have been compelled to call into operation to prevent greater evils.

I have to acquaint your Excellency that I have provided a convenient conveyance for your Excellency and suite, in order that you may reside in the neighbouring province of Para, until the arrival of orders from His Imperial Majesty; and that my barge will be at the service of your Excellency and suite at any hour to-morrow, between sunrise and sunset, in order to proceed to the anchorage of the _Pedro 1'ro_, where you will find the _Cacique_ ready for your reception.