I QUIT MARANHAM FOR A CRUISE--BAD STATE OF THE FRIGATE--CONNIVANCE AT
ILLICIT TRADE--WE ARE COMPELLED TO PROCEED TO ENGLAND--THE FRIGATE
REPORTED TO THE BRAZILIAN ENVOY--WHO CHEATS ME OF £.2,000--HIS
ASSUMPTION THAT I HAD ABANDONED THE SERVICE--MY CONTRADICTION
THEREOF--ORDER TO RETURN TO RIO--REASONS FOR NOT DOING SO--BRAZILIAN
ENVOY TAMPERS WITH MY OFFICER--WHO ACQUAINTS ME THEREWITH--ENVOY STOPS
PAY AND PROVISIONS--DECLARES THAT THE BRAZILIAN GOVERNMENT WILL GIVE ME
NOTHING!--CAPTAIN SHEPHERD'S REPLY--I PREPARE TO RETURN TO RIO--THE
ENVOY DISMISSES ME FROM THE SERVICE--WITHOUT REASON ASSIGNED--HE
DECLARES THAT I VOLUNTARILY ABANDONED THE SERVICE--RECEIPTS FOE ACCOUNTS
TRANSMITTED TO BRAZIL--THESE DENIED TO HAVE BEEN SENT.
The anxiety occasioned by the constant harassing which I had
undergone--unalleviated by any acknowledgment on the part of the
Imperial government of the services which had a second time saved the
Empire from intestine war, anarchy and revolution--began to make serious
inroads on my health; whilst that of the officers and men, in
consequence of the great heat and pestilential exhalations of the
climate, and of the double duty which they had to perform, afloat and
ashore, was even less satisfactory. As I saw no advantage in longer
contending with factious intrigues at Maranham--unsupported and
neglected as I was by the administration at Rio de Janeiro, and as I
knew that my immediate return to the Capital would instantly be followed
by resident contention, I resolved upon a short run into a more bracing
Northerly atmosphere, which would answer the double purpose of
restoring our health, and of giving us a clear offing for our
subsequent voyage to Rio de Janeiro.
Accordingly--after paying both to officers and crews their share of the
prize money refunded by the Junta of Maranham (see concluding Chapter),
I shifted my flag into the _Piranga_, despatched the _Pedro Primiero_ to
Rio, and leaving Captain Manson, of the _Cacique_, in charge of the
naval department at Maranham, put to sea on the 18th of May.
On the 21st we crossed the Equator, and meeting with a succession of
Easterly winds, were carried to the Northward of the Azores, passing St.
Michael's on the 11th of June. It had been my intention to sail into the
latitude of the Azores, and then to return to Rio de Janeiro; but strong
gales coming on we made the unpleasant discovery that the frigate's
maintopmast was sprung, and when putting her about, the main and
maintopsail yards were discovered to be unserviceable. A still worse
disaster was, that the salt provisions shipped at Maranham were reported
bad; mercantile ingenuity having resorted to the device of placing good
meat at the top and bottom of the barrels; whilst the middle, being
composed of unsound provisions, had tainted the whole, thereby rendering
it not only uneatable, but positively dangerous to health.
For the condition of the ship's spars I had depended on others, not
deeming it necessary to take upon myself such investigation; it is
however possible that we might have patched these up, so as to reach Rio
de Janeiro, had not the running rigging been as rotten as the masts,
and we had no spare cordage on board. The state of the provisions,
however, rendered a direct return to Rio de Janeiro out of the question,
the good provisions on board being little more than sufficient for a
week's subsistence of the crew.
On ascertaining these facts, I convened the officers for the purpose of
holding a survey on the state of the ship and provisions, they all
agreeing with me as to the impracticability of attempting a six weeks'
voyage with defective masts and rigging, and only a week's provisions on
board, at the same time signing a survey to that effect, which document
is now in my possession. It was therefore determined to put into some
port for the purpose of refitting; but here another difficulty presented
itself. Portugal was still an enemy's country. Had we made a Spanish
port, the prominent part I had taken in depriving Spain of her colonies
in the Pacific would have ensured me a questionable reception. A French
port too was unsuitable, as France had not acknowledged the independence
of Brazil.
To enter an English harbour was attended with some risk of annoyance to
myself, in consequence of the enactments of the "Foreign Enlistment
Bill," the provisions of which had been specially aimed at my having
taken service in South America though before that Bill was passed, so
that I did not consider myself to come within the meaning of the Act.
Still the point was debateable, and were it raised, might subject me to
considerable personal inconvenience, the more so as being in command of
a foreign ship of war belonging to an unacknowledged state. The
necessity was, however, urgent, and taking all circumstances into
consideration, I resolved, notwithstanding the Foreign Enlistment Bill,
to stretch on to Portsmouth, and there procure provisions, anchors,
cables, and stores, indispensable for the use of a ship of war; the
frigate being so destitute of all these, that, had I been fully aware of
her condition before quitting Maranham, I should have hesitated to put
to sea.
In passing the Azores, we overtook the brig _Aurora_, which left
Maranham ten days before the _Piranga_, cleared out for Gibraltar under
Brazilian colours. She was now steering direct for Lisbon under a
Portuguese ensign, in company with a Portuguese schooner; this
circumstance clearly shewing the kind of intercourse carried on between
Brazil and the mother country by connivance of the authorities. Though
both vessels were within my grasp I did not molest them, in consequence
of having received private information of a decree passed by the supreme
military council at Rio de Janeiro on the 26th of October, from the
tenor of which decree, had I made further captures from the enemy, I
should have incurred additional penalties, as acting contrary to the
obvious intentions of a majority of the council, though their views had
not been officially communicated to me.
I had, however, stronger reasons for not molesting these vessels.
Knowing that both were bound for Lisbon, I felt certain that they would
carry the news of our approaching the shores of Portugal with a view to
mischief--and that a knowledge of the proximity of a Brazilian ship of
war, with the further consideration of the injury she might do to the
trade of that nation in case of rupture of the pending negociations,
could not fail to inspire a desire for peace on the minds of the
mercantile portion of the population, who had hitherto been chiefly
instrumental in delaying the paternal intentions of His Portuguese
Majesty with regard to the independence of Brazil as now firmly
established under the government of his descendant and heir apparent.
The effect anticipated was, in reality, produced by their report, so
that we contributed in no small degree to hasten the peace which was
shortly afterwards established.
Another motive for not molesting these vessels was, that being
compelled, for the reasons before stated, to resort to an English
port, at a time when I knew the British Government to be carrying
on negociations for peace between Portugal and Brazil, I felt it
better to abstain from hostilities against Portuguese vessels or
property--considering that a contrary course might impede the
reconciliation which was desirable both for the interests of His
Imperial Majesty and his royal father; a result scarcely less
advantageous to England on account of her rapidly extending commerce in
Brazil.
We sighted the English coast on the 25th of June, and on the following
day came to anchor at Spithead, our available provisions being entirely
expended. My first step was to inquire of the authorities at
Portsmouth, whether, in case of the _Piranha's_ saluting, the
compliment would be returned with the same number of guns? The inquiry
being answered in the affirmative, the salute was fired, and replied to;
thus, for the first time, was the flag of His Imperial Majesty saluted
by an European state, and the independence of Brazil virtually
acknowledged.
My next step was to report the arrival of the _Piranga_ at Portsmouth,
to the Chevalier Manoel Rodriguez Gameiro Pessoa, the Brazilian Envoy in
London; at the same time informing his Excellency of the circumstances
which had unavoidably led to our appearance in British waters, and
requesting him to forward the means of paying the men's wages. This
requisition was complied with, to the extent of two months' pay to the
men.
As it was contrary to the law or usage of England to assist in the
equipment of ships of war belonging to foreign belligerent states, the
articles required for the re-equipment of the frigate could not be
furnished from the Royal arsenal--the duty of providing these,
therefore, devolved upon the Brazilian Envoy, who soon afterwards
represented that he was without means for the purpose, thus impeding the
equipment of the frigate. The men being also without fresh provisions or
the means to procure them, were beginning to desert, I advanced £.2000,
in order to keep them together, giving the Chevalier Gameiro an order
for this amount on my bankers, Messrs. Coutts, and taking his receipt
for the amount, for which I drew a bill upon the Imperial Government at
Rio de Janeiro, which was _protested, and has not been paid to this
day!_
On the 4th of August, I was surprised at receiving from the Envoy a
letter charging _me personally_ with the amount he had advanced to the
_Piranga_, and also with £.295, an alleged error of account in payments
made at Maranham; his Excellency concluding with the extraordinary
declaration, that--"having received from my bankers, Messrs. Coutts and
Co. the sum of £.2000 he had placed against it the amount advanced, the
transaction leaving me indebted to the Legation in the sum of £.25!"
Though the Legation could not have anything to do with the assumed error
arising from transactions at Maranham.
On the 21st of August, I received a letter from the Brazilian Envoy to
the effect that he had perceived in the newspapers a report that I had
accepted from the Government of Greece the command of its navy--and
wished to know if there was any truth in the assertion. To this inquiry
I replied that so long as I continued in the Brazilian service I could
not accept any other command; that the Greek command had been offered to
me whilst in Brazil, in the same manner as the Brazilian command had
been offered to me whilst in the service of Chili; and that, soon after
my return to Portsmouth, the Greek committee, zealous in the cause which
they had adopted, had renewed their offers, under the impression that my
work in Brazil was now completed. At the same time, I assured the Envoy
that as, in the case of Chili, I did not accept the Brazilian command
till my work was done, neither should I accept a Greek commission till
my relations with Brazil were honourably concluded, but that
nevertheless the offer made to me on behalf of Greece was not rejected.
This reply was construed by the Chevalier Gameiro into an admission that
_I had_ accepted the Greek command, and he addressed to me another
letter, expressive of his regret that I should have "come to the
resolution to retire from the service of His Imperial Majesty the
Emperor of Brazil, in the great work of whose independence I had taken
so glorious a part, (a grande obra da independencia, V. E'a teve tao
gloriosa parte) regretting the more especially that his august Sovereign
should be deprived of my important services (prestantes servicios) just
at a moment when new difficulties required their prompt application,"
&c. &c.
These expressions were probably sincere, for, since my departure from
Maranham, serious difficulties had arisen in the river Plate, which
afterwards ended with little credit to the Brazilian cause. But _I had
not accepted the Greek command_, and had no intention of so doing
otherwise than consistently with my engagements with Brazil. On the 6th
of September, I therefore addressed to the Envoy the following letter:--
Edinburgh, 6th Sept. 1825.
MOST EXCELLENT SIR,
I regret that your translator should have so far
mistaken the words and meaning of my last letter as to lead your
Excellency to a conclusion that I had taken the resolution to leave
the service of H.I.M. the Emperor of Brazil, or, in other words,
that it was I who had violated the engagements entered into with
the late ministers of His Imperial Majesty in 1823. Whereas, on
the contrary, the _portaria_ published in the Rio Gazette on the 28th
of February, 1824, was promulgated without my knowledge or
sanction, and the limitation of my authority to _the existing war_ was
persevered in by the present ministers, notwithstanding my remonstrance
in writing, both to the Minister of Marine and the Minister
of the Interior.
Your Excellency ought not therefore to be surprised, if--threatened
as I am with this _portaria_--I should provide beforehand
against a contingency which might _hereafter_ arise from an occasion
happily so nigh, as seems to be the restoration of peace and amity
between His Imperial Majesty and his royal father.
With regard to any communications of a pressing nature relative
to the equipment of the _Piranga_, your Excellency may consider
Captain Shepherd authorised to act, in my absence, in all ordinary
cases. And that officer, having instructions to acquaint me whenever
the _Piranga_ shall have two-thirds of her complement of men on
board--I can at any time be in London within two days of the
receipt of such communication, and most assuredly before the
complement can be procured.
I have the honour, &c.
COCHRANE AND MARANHAÕ.
To Chevalier MANOEL RODRIGUEZ GAMBIRO PESSOA.
Notwithstanding that my engagements with Brazil rested on the original
patents conferred upon me by His Majesty, of which the validity had been
further established by the additional documents given before my
departure for Pernambuco--the latter completely setting aside the
spurious _portaria_ of Barbosa, limiting my services to the duration of
the war--I nevertheless felt confident that, when my services were no
longer required, no scruples as to honourable engagements would prevent
the ministry from acting on the spurious documents, though promulgated
without my knowledge or consent, against every principle of the
conditions upon which I entered the Brazilian service. No blame could
therefore attach to me, for not rejecting the offer of the Greek
command, in case a trick of this kind should be played, as I had every
reason to believe it would be--and as it afterwards in reality was.
On the 27th of September, the Brazilian Envoy forwarded to me an order
from the Imperial Government at Rio, dated June 27th, and addressed to
me at Maranham; the order directing me to proceed from that port to Rio
immediately on its receipt, to give an account of my proceedings
there--though despatches relating even to minute particulars of every
transaction had, as the reader is well aware, been sent by every
opportunity. His Majesty, when issuing the order, was ignorant that I
had quitted Maranham, still more that on the day the order was issued at
Rio de Janeiro, I had anchored at Spithead, so that obedience to His
Majesty's commands was impossible.
Acting on this order, the Chevalier Gameiro took upon himself to
"require, in the name of the Emperor, the immediate return of the
_Piranga_, so soon as her repairs were completed, and her complement of
men filled up." As I knew that the order in question would not have been
promulgated by the Emperor, had he known the effect produced by the
presence of the _Piranga_ in the vicinity of Portugal; and as, in
everything I had accomplished in Brazil, His Majesty had placed the
fullest confidence in my discretion, I felt certain that he would be
equally well satisfied with whatever course I might deem it necessary to
pursue, I did not therefore think it expedient to comply with the
requisition of the Envoy, assigning the following reasons for using my
own judgment in the matter:--
Edinburgh, Oct. 1, 1825.
MOST EXCELLENT SIR,
I have this day been favoured with your letter containing
a copy of a _portaria_ dated June 27th, wherein His Imperial
Majesty, through his Minister of Marine, directs my immediate
return from Maranham to Rio de Janeiro, leaving only the small
vessels there; which order you will observe I had anticipated on the
20th of May, when I left the Imperial brig-of-war _Cacique_ and the
schooner _Maria_ in that port. Since then, His Excellency the
Minister of Marine is in possession of duplicates of my correspondence
mentioning the arrangements I had so made in anticipation
of the Imperial order; and of my official communications--also in
duplicate--transmitted on my arrival at Portsmouth, by your
Excellency's favour, with your despatches.
These will have acquainted His Imperial Majesty with the cause
and necessity of our arrival at Spithead--as well as with my intention
there to wait a reasonable time before the departure of the _Piranga,_
in order to learn the result of the negociations with Portugal.
I have only to add that, by some inadvertence, your Excellency's
secretary has sent me the copy instead of the original order addressed
to me by order of His Imperial Majesty, which mistake may be
remedied on my return to town.
I am gratified to learn that there is less difficulty in procuring men
than I had anticipated under the regulations respecting foreign seamen.
I have the honour, &c.
COCHRANE AND MARANHAÕ.
The Chevalier GAMEIRO.
Shortly previous to this, the Chevalier Gameiro addressed a letter to
Lieutenant Shepherd, under the title of "Commander of the _Piranga_!"
unjustifiably informing him officially that _"I had retired from the
service of His Majesty the Emperor of Brazil!"_ notwithstanding my
letters to him in contradiction. Indeed, the letter just quoted is
sufficient to shew that not only had I not relinquished the service, but
that I refused to obey Gameiro's order to proceed to Rio, because I knew
that if the frigate returned to Brazil, the impression her presence had
produced on Portugal would be altogether neutralized, and the
negociations for peace might be indefinitely prolonged; so that his
order to run away from the good which had been effected, was so truly
absurd, that I did not choose to comply with it. Had the negociations
for peace been broken off, I had formed plans of attacking Portugal in
her own waters, though with but a single frigate; and I had no
reasonable doubt of producing an impression there of no less forcible a
character than, with a single ship, I had, two years before, produced on
the Portuguese fleet in Brazil. The order was, therefore, one commanding
me to run away from my own plans, of which the Envoy however knew
nothing, as I did not feel justified in entrusting him with my
intentions.
On receiving the above-mentioned intimation to proceed to Rio de
Janeiro--without my intervention, Lieutenant Shepherd very properly
forwarded the Envoy's letter to me--when, of course, I apprised him that
he was under my command, and not under that of the Chevalier Gameiro.
At the same time I wrote to the latter, that "it would be the subject of
regret if anything should cause the spurious decree of the 28th of
February, 1824, to be brought into operation, but that, _at present,
being in full possession of my office and authority_, my opinion was in
no way changed, that the _Piranga_ should be first fully equipped, and
then wait for a reasonable time for the decision of those important
matters in discussion."
Finding that Lieutenant Shepherd would not fly in the face of my
authority, the Envoy finally resorted to the extraordinary measure of
stopping the seamen's wages and provisions. On the 6th of October,
Lieutenant Shepherd wrote to me, that "in consequence of their wages not
being paid they had all left off work, and though Clarence did all he
could to pacify them, and get them to return to their duty, they had
determined not to go to work until they were paid." On the 8th,
Lieutenant Shepherd again wrote, "that Gameiro having ceased to supply
the frigate with fresh provisions, he had, on his own responsibility,
ordered the butcher to continue supplying them as usual." On Lieutenant
Shepherd waiting upon the Envoy to remonstrate against this system of
starvation, he replied--and his words are extracted from Lieutenant
Shepherd's letter to me, that as "His Lordship did not think proper to
sail at the time he wished, he would not be responsible for supplying
the frigate with anything more--nor would he advance another shilling."
In all this, Gameiro--acting, no doubt, on instructions from the
Portuguese faction at Rio--resorted to every kind of falsehood to get
the officers to renounce my authority and to accept his! Of the
character of the man and his petty expedients, the following extract
from Lieutenant Shepherd's letter of the 8th of October, will form the
best exponent:--
I have had another visit from General Brown, when he began a
conversation by mentioning the evils which would arise from the
feeling between your Lordship and Gameiro, who was at a loss how to
act, as he had no authority over you--Gen. Brown suggesting how much
better it would be for me to place myself under Gameiro's orders.
Finding that I refused--on the following morning he called again, and
told me that he had seen Gameiro, and had heard that the
misunderstanding between your Lordship and him was at an end, but
that Gameiro wanted to see me. On this I waited on Gameiro, who after
some conversation told me that if I had any regard for His Imperial
Majesty's service, I should never have acted as I had done. I told
him that all I had done had been for the good of the service, and
that I was ready to put to sea as soon as I received your Lordship's
orders. He then asked me if I was the effective Captain of the ship?
and whether I was not under the orders of Captain Crosbie? I told him
that I was not acting under the orders of Captain Crosbie, but that I
was Captain of the ship by virtue of a commission from the Emperor,
and by an order from Lord Cochrane. He then said--Are you authorised
to obey the orders of Captain Crosbie? and I said, I was not. Suppose
you were to receive an order from Captain Crosbie, would you obey it?
I said I would not. Then you consider yourself the lawful Captain of
that ship? I do.
Upon this Gameiro remarked, "You are not an officer of Lord
Cochrane's, but of the Imperial Government. It is impossible for Lord
Cochrane to return to the Brazils as the Admiralty Court there _has
sentenced him to pay £.60,000 sterling, and his command will cease as
soon as peace is made between Brazil and Portugal! Besides, Lord
Cochrane's motive for detaining the_ Piranga _is the expectation on
his part of receiving £.6000 per annum at the termination of the war,
which the Government will never give him_!"
Finding that this made no impression on me, he began to threaten,
saying that "he would state to his Government that all delay was
occasioned by me, and that I should have to answer for it." I told
him that, in the event of my sailing without your orders, I subjected
myself to be tried by a court-martial for so doing, and leaving your
Lordship behind. He answered that "I must be aware that he was the
legal representative of His Imperial Majesty, and that he would give
me despatches of such a nature as would not only exonerate me from
all blame, but would shew the great zeal I had for His Imperial
Majesty's service."
I asked Gameiro--if I were to act in such a manner, what would people
think of me? The answer was, "_Never mind what Lord Cochrane says,
you will be in the Brazils and he in England, and I will take upon
myself all the blame and the responsibility._" He gave me till the
evening to think of his proposals, and if I would not consent to
them, he had other means of sending the _Piranga_ to sea. He further
requested me to keep this secret from your Lordship, as if you heard
of it you would come post and stop it; adding that if I would
consent, he would send a sufficient number of men in a steamboat,
with every kind of store and provisions required to complete us, and
we were to sail immediately.
This deep laid plot of Gameiro's was not to be carried on as
Portuguese plots are in general, but was to be done--using his own
words--_at a blow_, before anybody could know anything about it.
With this I send a copy of my answer to Gameiro's proposals, and a
letter representing the state of the ship.
I have the honour to remain
Your Lordship's obedient Servant,
JA'S. SHEPHERD.
Such were the underhand expedients of a man who was silly enough to tell
the secrets of his Government, as regarded the intended injustice of the
Brazilian Ministry towards me--in spite of stipulations thrice ratified
by the Emperor's own hand. But in confiding them to Lieutenant Shepherd,
the Envoy's want of common honesty, no less than of common sense, did
not perceive that he was imparting iniquitous projects to a brave and
faithful officer, who would not lose a moment till he had apprised me of
the whole. I should be unjust to the memory of Captain Shepherd did I
not give his written reply to the infamous proposals of Gameiro, a copy
of which was enclosed to me in the preceding letter.
Copy of my answer to Gameiro's proposals, sent in Portuguese, and
translated by Mr. March:--
MOST EXCELLENT SIR,
In answer to the wishes of your Excellency to place
myself under your immediate orders, I have to acquaint you that I
have this morning had a letter from Lord Cochrane, stating that he
had received letters from your Excellency of such a nature as to
require his immediate presence in town, where he intends to be on
Monday next. This alone--you must be aware--will entirely preclude
the possibility of putting into execution the arrangements
which you wished; the celerity of the Admiral's movements being
such as to preclude all hope of effecting them.
I am sorry to add, that all our men have this morning left
the ship in a complete state of mutiny, occasioned by their not
having received their last two months' pay, and I much fear that it
will be now more difficult than ever to get her manned--as, from
their having been so long kept in arrears, and leaving their ship
without being paid, has irritated their feelings to such a degree, that
I have no hesitation whatever in saying that they will do all in their
power to prevent others from joining her.
I have the honour to remain
Your obedient humble Servant,
JAMES SHEPHERD.
To His Excellency
MANOEL RODRIGUEZ GAMEIRO PESSOA.
On the 29th of October, I received from the Brazilian Legation in
London, further orders from the Imperial Government, dated August 25th,
1825, to return with the _Piranga_ to Rio de Janeiro--and with these I
made preparations to comply, notifying to Gameiro my readiness to
sail--by the following letter:--
London, Nov. 3, 1825.
MOST EXCELLENT SIR,
Having informed your Excellency on the 1st of
October, that previous to quitting Maranham I had anticipated the
Imperial resolutions, and having in my letter of the 24th further
made known to your Excellency that the _Piranga_ should sail for
Brazil on or as soon after the 10th of this month as the wind would
permit, your Excellency will perceive that there is nothing remaining
of the Imperial decree to be executed, unless the _Piranga_ (which I
much doubt) should be enabled to put to sea before the early day
which I have fixed for departure.
(Signed) COCHRANE AND MARANHAÕ.
His Excellency
MANOEL RODRIGUEZ GAMEIRO PESSOA.
This declaration of my readiness to comply with His Imperial Majesty's
orders did not, however, suit the Envoy, nor did it fall in with his
instructions from the Brazilian Ministry, which, no doubt were, as soon
as peace was proclaimed, _to get rid of me without satisfying my
claims_--this course being, indeed, apparent from what the Envoy, as
just shewn, had communicated to Lieutenant Shepherd. (See page 260.) On
the 3rd of November, peace between Portugal and Brazil was announced,
and the independence of the Empire acknowledged; Gameiro being, on the
occasion, created Baron Itabayana, whilst I--to whose instrumentality
the peace--as a consequence of the consolidation of the Empire had been
mainly owing, _was to be ignominiously dismissed the service_!
On the 7th of November--four days only after the announcement of
peace--Gameiro took upon himself the execution of the spurious
ministerial decree issued by Barbosa on the 27th of February, 1824,
which _had been abrogated by the Emperor, through the same minister, in
the July following, as a prelude to my employment in the
tranquillisation of the Northern provinces_. Gameiro did not venture
previously to apprise me of the act lest I should resist it--but
insultingly sent an order to the officers of the Piranga to "disengage
themselves from all obedience to my command." (Se desligaõ de toda
subordinacaõ a o Ex'mo S'r Marquez do Maranhaõ), thus unjustifiably
terminating my services--as I was on the point of returning, in
obedience to the order of the Emperor. The subjoined is the order
alluded to:--
_To_ Captain SHEPHERD, _commanding the Piranga, still refusing
supplies whilst I held the command._
Having received the two letters which you addressed to me on the
4th of this month, enclosing three demands for various articles for
the use of the frigate, I have to reply that I persist in my resolution
not to furnish anything to the frigate unless she is placed under the
immediate orders of this Legation, which I shall only consider
accomplished when I shall receive a reply signed by yourself, and
by all the other officers, declaring that--in compliance with the
orders of His Imperial Majesty, contained in the two portarias of
37th of June and 20th of August last--_you all place yourselves under
the orders of this Legation, and cast off all subordination to the
Marquis of Maranhaõ!_
Dated London, 7th November, 1825.
(Signed) GAMEIRO.
As this was done without the slightest motive existing or assigned,
there was no doubt in my mind but that Barbosa and his colleagues in the
ministry had instructed Gameiro to dismiss me from the service whenever
peace was effected; indeed, he had so informed Lieutenant Shepherd by
the letter before quoted. To resist a measure--though thus insultingly
resorted to--in the face of the Imperial order to return, was out of the
question, as the instant consequence would have been a disgraceful
outbreak between the Brazilian and Portuguese seamen of the _Piranga,_
in the principal war port of England, to my own scandal, no less than to
that of the Imperial government. I had, therefore, no alternative to
avert this outrage but by submitting to the forcible deposition from my
authority as Commander-in-Chief.
This act of the Envoy--_based upon the deliberate falsehood that His
Imperial Majesty had ordered the officers not to obey me, no such order
existing_ in either of the Portarias mentioned--precluded my obedience
to the Imperial command to return to Rio de Janeiro, for being no longer
acknowledged as "First Admiral of Brazil, and Commander-in-Chief of the
National Armada," I could only have accompanied the _Piranga_ as a
passenger, or rather _quasi_ prisoner; and to this, in either capacity,
it was impossible, without degradation, to submit. I had no inclination
to place myself at the mercy of men who had taken advantage of a
spurious decree to dismiss me--now that--in spite of their
opposition--the destiny of the Empire had been irrevocably decided by
my having counteracted their _anti-national_ views whilst carrying out
the intentions of His Imperial Majesty.
As will presently be seen, it was falsely represented by Gameiro, to the
Imperial Government, that I had _voluntarily abandoned the service!_
though, from the letter just quoted--ordering the officers to "disengage
themselves from all subordination to me," this subterfuge of my having
_dismissed myself_ is obviously false. I will not, therefore, trespass
on the patience of the reader by dilating upon the subject; suffice it
to say that, not choosing to return to Rio de Janeiro as a passenger, I
had no dignified alternative but to give up the frigate to the command
of the senior officer, Captain Shepherd; confiding to him all accounts
of monies distributed for the Imperial service, with the vouchers for
the same--taking the precaution to send however the duplicate receipts
given by the officers on account of the monies paid by the Junta of
Maranham--and retaining the originals in my possession, where they now
remain, and will be adduced in the statement of account forming the
concluding chapter of this volume.
For these accounts--which the Brazilian ministers _deny ever to have
received_--Captain Shepherd gave me, under his own signature, the
following acknowledgment--now in my possession; a photograph of which,
together with photographs of other important documents has long since
been sent to the Brazilian Government:--
Received from Lord Cochrane, Marquess of Maranhaõ, the key of the
iron chest, in which the prize lists and receipts for the
disbursement of public monies have been kept during His Excellency's
command; which key and chest I engage faithfully to deliver to the
accountant-general of His Imperial Majesty's navy, or to the proper
authority at Rio de Janeiro, taking his receipt for the same.
On board H.I.M.'s ship _Piranga_, November 12th, 1825,
JA's SHEPHERD.
The denial by the Brazilian Administration--of the accounts and receipts
thus acknowledged by Captain Shepherd, and the absence of any
ministerial communication on the subject, forms an unworthy imputation
on the memory of a gallant officer, who a short time afterwards nobly
died in action in the cause of Brazil. It was utterly impossible that
Captain Shepherd should have done otherwise than have delivered them,
for he was a man upon whose honour no reproach could be cast. There are
only two ways to account for their not having been delivered, if such be
the case. 1st, that Gameiro on the delivery of the frigate to the
legation obtained possession of the chest in which they were deposited,
and withheld them to justify my dismissal by casting the reproach upon
me of having appropriated the amount--an act of which the Brazilian
Government may judge whether he was capable; or, 2ndly, that from the
same reason they were purposely withheld or destroyed by the ministers
who had been so inimical to me. The present Brazilian Administration is
happily composed of men of a different stamp, and it becomes them, for
the sake of the national reputation, to institute the strictest search
for the documentary evidence adduced, as no man will believe that I
withheld documents which could alone justify my acts.
And here I must be permitted to remark, that the documentary evidence
adduced in this volume proves the history, and not the history the
documents. If any question be made as to their validity or fidelity, _I
hereby call upon the Brazilian Government to appoint a Commission, or
authorise their Embassy to compare the extracts with the originals in my
possession, so that no manner of doubt or question shall attach to
them._ My object in now producing them is, that I will not voluntarily
go to my grave with obloquy, cast on me by men, who, at the outset of
Brazilian independence, were a misfortune to the Empire no less than to
myself; men who not only pursued this shameful line of conduct towards
me who was unable to resist it,--but towards His Imperial Majesty,--who,
by similar practices, was eventually disgusted into AN ABDICATION OF HIS
THRONE AND AN ABANDONMENT OF THE COUNTRY--to which he had given one of
the freest Constitutions in existence--achieved under the Imperial
watchword, "Independencia ou morte."