Narrative of Services in the Liberation of Chili, Peru and Brazil Volume II Part 15

My next endeavour was to organise an effective force at Ceara, and this was accomplished by the embodiment of more than a thousand men, though we had not a soldier in the squadron. Various _corps_ were also raised in the towns and villages of the province, and were active in pursuit of the scattered remains of the republican army.

Having thus a.s.sured myself of the complete restoration of order in the capital and province of Ceara, and addressed a proclamation to the inhabitants, pointing out to them the folly of being misled by designing persons, who could have no accurate knowledge of matters which formed the ground of complaint against the Imperial Government, we sailed on the 4th of November for Maranham, which province was found in a state of even greater anarchy than had prevailed at Ceara.

CHAPTER IX.

ARRIVAL AT MARANHAM--CHARACTER OF DISTURBANCES THERE--I a.s.sUME THE MILITARY COMMAND--PROCLAMATION COMMANDING SURRENDER OF ARMS--CONDITION OF THE PEOPLE--CORRUPTION OF THE AUTHORITIES--MURDEROUS PROPENSITIES--DIFFICULTY IN DETECTING a.s.sa.s.sINS--LETTER TO MINISTER OF MARINE--PACIFICATION OF PARAHYBA--DOUBTS OF THE PRESIDENT'S SINCERITY--HE ESTABLISHES SECRET AGENCIES--EXTRAORDINARY MEMORIALS--PUBLIC COMPLAINTS OF THE PRESIDENT--BRUCE ENDEAVOURS TO INTERCEPT THEM--MY REPLY TO THE MEMORIALISTS--LETTER TO THE MINISTER OF MARINE--ENCLOSING COMPLAINTS OF THE CONSULS--BRUCE PREPARES TO RESIST MY AUTHORITY--COMPLAINTS OF THE BRITISH CONSUL--HE CONSIDERS MY PRESENCE NECESSARY--LETTER OF THE FRENCH CONSUL--DETAILING SHAMEFUL ATROCITIES--DANGER OF COLLISION WITH FOREIGN STATES--SUSPENSION OF THE PRESIDENT--PROVISION FOR FUTURE GOVERNMENT--CONDUCT OF THE FACTION AT RIO DE JANEIRO--NO INSTRUCTIONS SENT FOB MY GUIDANCE--LETTER TO THE MINISTER OF MARINE--THE MINISTRY HAD PREVIOUSLY DEPOSED BRUCE--BUT TURNED ON ME FOR ANTIc.i.p.aTING THEIR OWN ACT.

We arrived at Maranham on the 9th of November, and ascertained that the city and province--as had been reported--were in a complete state of anarchy, arising from causes almost incomprehensible. The leaders of the army had risen against the authority of the president, Miguel Bruce, and fighting was going on when we entered the river. The strangest part of the affair was, that both parties declared themselves supporters of the Imperial authority, whilst each accused the other of plotting to form a republic. Bruce kept possession of the city by means of negro troops, from amongst whom he had also picked his officers, conferring upon them regular commissions; the result being, that their excesses kept the respectable inhabitants in a state of constant terror, so that my arrival was hailed with the greatest satisfaction, and addresses of congratulation were sent in from all quarters, even the ladies adopting the unusual course of sending a deputation to welcome me.

I immediately demanded from the president a report of the condition of the province; but before this was presented, memorials from every part put me in possession of the causes of disorder universally prevailing.

The general complaint was, that the president had established an autocracy, refusing the co-operation of a council, as required by the const.i.tution, and that under his individual authority, military disorders of all kind prevailed, even to murder, whilst outrages of the most revolting nature were committed amidst cheers of "Long live His Imperial Majesty;" thus using the Imperial name as a sanction to the perpetration of acts the most unlawful and injurious.

The President Bruce was the same individual whom, on the expulsion of the Portuguese in the previous year, I had temporarily appointed President to the first provisional Junta under the Empire, which body was quickly superseded by a Government elected by the people. Possessing influence amongst the Portuguese, of which faction--as afterwards appeared--he was a prominent supporter, he had contrived to get himself reinstated as head of the provincial Government, and was apparently following the policy of the Portuguese faction in power at Rio de Janeiro, viz. that of keeping his province in a state of confusion with a view to disgust the populace with the Imperial rule, and so dispose them, should opportunity offer, to favour the views of the mother country. This policy, as has been said, was marked out by the agents of Portugal; but Bruce, with every disposition to favour the views of the parent state, was not the man to be entrusted with political strategy of this nature. The fact being that, though possessed of a certain amount of cunning, Bruce was unfit to be entrusted with authority at all--much less to exercise that which recognises no control--so that the disorder which prevailed was rather a natural consequence of his own want of capacity, and arbitrary system of government. Finding every one against him, he was gradually throwing himself on the black population for support, promoting emanc.i.p.ated slaves to the rank of officers; and it was generally acknowledged that had it not been for our opportune arrival, both himself and the whites who remained in the city might speedily have fallen a sacrifice to the force which had been organised for his especial protection.

On the other hand, the opponents of the president were not only in arms against him, but there were two or three family parties fighting each other under the Imperial flag! and carrying their revengeful animosities to an outrageous extent, which threatened the extermination of one, at least, of the contending parties, if not the total ruin of the province.

To deal with these parties was, from their mutual recriminations, more difficult than had they declared themselves inimical to the Imperial Government. In one thing, however, they were all agreed, viz. in opposition to the president; but as his was the const.i.tuted authority, this was precisely what I did not intend to sanction.

It was clear to me that the first remedy was the appointment of a proper military authority, and as none could be trusted, I apprised the president of my intention to a.s.sume the chief military command during my stay, or at least until order was restored, issuing a proclamation to that effect.

As hostilities were still going on, I sent an order to both parties to lay down their arms, with which mandate the anti-president party immediately complied, and dispersed; but as the savage blacks under the authority of the president attacked their now unarmed adversaries, and committed great excesses, I seized and put them on board some vessels, anchoring these under the guns of the flags.h.i.+p, and retained the whole as prisoners, thus keeping them out of the way of further mischief.

The surrender of the arms was effected by the following proclamation, which also explains my motives for this measure:--

Whereas, it is essential to the interests of the empire in general and to the province of Maranham in particular, to put an end to all public disturbances, whether arising from the contentions of individuals, or from other causes; and whereas, the Const.i.tution has provided not only for the administration of justice in civil cases, but also for the summary trial of military offences.

Be it henceforth known that--all persons armed, or commanding or acting with men in arms, or aiding and a.s.sisting any body of armed men in the support or defence of any persons a.s.suming or pretending to authority as chieftains, or attempting to alter the Const.i.tution by force--are hereby subject to military jurisdiction and shall be tried by military law accordingly. But this regulation is not intended to prohibit individuals from meeting together unarmed, for the purpose of uniting in an application for the redress of grievances, or pet.i.tioning His Imperial Majesty on points connected with public or private interests.

And whereas, military arms and ammunition have been obtained, by numerous individuals on the pretext of using them for private defence--it being essential to public tranquillity and general good that people should have recourse to the protection of the laws, and not to violence for their security--notice is hereby given, that all persons in possession of such military arms are to deliver them up to the chief military officers in their respective districts, to be deposited in the public armoury. Whoever shall be found in possession of arms after the termination of this present month of November, shall be judged according to military law.

Given on board the _Pedro Primiero_ this 12th day of November, 1824.

(Signed) COCHRANE AND MARANHA.

This proclamation is adduced in order to shew the condition of the province on my arrival, which it does more fully than would pages of description. To these difficulties were now added the chagrin of Bruce, at having his military authority superseded, though his civil authority was not only uninterfered with, but supported. Still, having the orders of His Imperial Majesty to use my discretion in tranquillizing the disturbed provinces, it was not my intention to permit His Majesty's views to be frustrated by undue deference to a Governor, whose folly and despotism combined, had been the chief cause of the disturbances, though I well knew that the course I was pursuing, even though approved by His Majesty, would bring down upon me the indignation of the Portuguese faction in power at Rio de Janeiro.

The proclamation had the effect of procuring the surrender of arms to a great extent, followed by the disbandment of all irregular forces collected by the contending chieftains, so that apparent tranquillity was everywhere enforced.

The great point was to establish permanent order, which, had we gone away, would soon have been broken. As, since the reduction of Pernambuco, there was no other field for my active services, and as I had no instructions how to dispose of the squadron, I determined to remain at Maranham, and employ myself in consolidating the good already produced, till further commands from His Imperial Majesty; for having in the preceding year expelled the Portuguese from the province, its welfare was a matter of interest to me, and I felt a.s.sured that were His Majesty acquainted with the want of unity existing, authority would be given to carry out my views.

In Maranham, as in the other Northern provinces of the empire, there had been no amelioration whatever in the condition of the people, and without such amelioration, it was absurd to place reliance on the hyperbolical professions of devotion to the Emperor which were now abundantly avowed by those who before my arrival had been foremost in promoting and cheris.h.i.+ng disturbance.

The condition of the province--and indeed of all the provinces--was in no way better than they had been under the dominion of Portugal, though they presented one of the finest fields imaginable for improvement. All the old colonial imposts and duties remained without alteration--the manifold hindrances to commerce and agriculture still existed--and arbitrary power was everywhere exercised uncontrolled; so that in place of being benefited by emanc.i.p.ation from the Portuguese yoke, the condition of the great ma.s.s of the population was literally worse than before.

To amend this state of things it was necessary to begin with the officers of Government, of whose corruption and arbitrary conduct, complaints--signed by whole communities--were daily arriving from every part of the province; to such an extent, indeed, was this misrule carried, that neither the lives nor property of the inhabitants were safe, where revenge, or baser motives, existed for the exercise of acts of oppression[1].

[Footnote 1: Numerous original, but lengthy, doc.u.ments are in my possession proving all these facts.]

I therefore addressed a letter to the president, warning him that such things ought not to be tolerated; that reports of excesses committed by those under his authority were reaching me from all quarters, the perpetrators deserving the most severe and exemplary chastis.e.m.e.nt; that I had determined to investigate these matters; and under the reservation made--of personally acting under extraordinary circ.u.mstances--would visit these cases with severe punishment, should the reality come up to the representations made.

The recklessness of human life was amongst the more remarkable features of these excesses. Only a short time before this, I had granted a pa.s.sport to Captain Pedro Martins, as the bearer of an offer from an insurgent party to lay down their arms, but he was murdered on his return. This atrocious act, perpetrated, as I had reason to believe, by some factious adherents to the president's party, from motives of revenge, was unfortunate, as affording a pretext for others who were ready to submit, to continue in arms for their mutual protection. I therefore directed that all troops under the authority of the president should remain where they were until further orders from me; and demanded of His Excellency to use every endeavour to apprehend the parties guilty of an act so disgraceful to the Imperial cause, that they might meet with due punishment.

Finding no effort made to apprehend the murderers, I addressed to Bruce the following letter:--

It is with great regret that I have learned the atrocious act committed by your soldiers against an officer having my pa.s.sport for the purpose of endeavouring to tranquillize the province, by inducing the dissentient party to lay down their arms. This is a matter so disgraceful to the cause of those by whom it has been perpetrated, that I must enforce on your attention the necessity of exertion to apprehend all persons who may be suspected of having committed this crime, and send them immediately, prisoners, to this city.

I have further to direct, in the name of His Imperial Majesty, that the troops under your command shall remain where they are until further orders from me, as Commander-in-chief of the military and naval forces of this province, notwithstanding any authority or order which you may heretofore have received, or which you may hereafter receive--except from me--to the contrary.

(Signed) COCHRANE AND MARANHA

It is almost needless to say that the guilty parties--though doubtless well known--were permitted to escape with impunity; the president alleging as his excuse, "the insufficiency of the regular troops to preserve the tranquillity of the city;" this remark being intended to throw upon me the responsibility of having secured on board the black savages whom he had organized. My reply was, that--"for what I had done, I was responsible to the supreme Government and the public, and if he could not find means to preserve the public tranquillity, I must do so; as he must be sensible that I had acted with propriety in relieving him from a portion of the labour and responsibility which he had hitherto sustained."

On the 28th of November, I forwarded to the Minister of Marine, at Rio de Janeiro, a full report of these transactions, from which the subjoined are extracts:--

The completion of the task of tranquillizing Ceara in a manner I trust satisfactory to His Imperial Majesty, was, in a great measure, effected by the pardon promulgated in the name of His Majesty--consigning to oblivion those occurrences which would otherwise have agitated the public mind. The only exception made was the intrusive President Araripe, and this, because, instead of availing himself of the first proclamation of amnesty, in which he was included, he retired into the interior with a band of robbers, in order to excite further disturbance. The consequence of this obstinate perseverance in disobedience on the part of Araripe, has been his death, and the capture of all his followers.

The restoration of Ceara to its allegiance and tranquillity having been thus accomplished, we proceeded to Parahyba, where all was tranquil, the inhabitants having unanimously declared His Imperial Majesty Const.i.tutional Emperor, the moment that they became free from the terror of their more powerful and military neighbours at Ceara. Some dissensions, however, remained in the province. With respect to Maranham, things are different: no republican flag has been displayed--nor, as far as I can learn, did any intention exist on the part of the inhabitants of raising the standard of rebellion; the state of civil war in which we found the presidency arising from personal animosities amongst some of the princ.i.p.al families, especially between those families and that of His Excellency the President. Certain it is, that all were united against the President, who, to protect himself, had recourse to the a.s.sistance of the lowest cla.s.ses of the community, even to emanc.i.p.ated slaves. The result has been, military disorders of all kinds--and there is no outrage which has not been perpetrated.

The general complaint against the President is, that the const.i.tution has in no way been put in practice; that he has not established any lawful council; and that he has been guilty of arbitrary acts. The original doc.u.ments relating to these matters are enclosed for the judgment of His Imperial Majesty.

I humbly hope that His Imperial Majesty will perceive that, although I had no express authority to interfere in internal disputes, yet it became my duty--on finding the province in a state of civil war--without any General-at-Arms, or other military officer of sufficient authority or capacity, to restore public peace--to take upon myself powers which I trust have been used for the benefit of His Imperial service. In order that the Imperial Government may judge of my proceedings, I have the honour to enclose copies of proclamations, and other doc.u.ments relative to my transactions.

(Signed) COCHRANE AND MARANHA.

On the 4th of December I was not a little surprised at receiving from President Bruce a letter requiring me to banish certain persons obnoxious to himself, amongst others Francisco de Moraes, who had been the first to set the example of submission to the proclamation issued on my arrival. This most unreasonable request I refused--writing to Bruce that dissensions were not likely to be healed by punis.h.i.+ng those who had laid down their arms on the faith of a proclamation issued in the name of His Imperial Majesty; further a.s.suring him that, if he did his duty, he would not find me remiss in endeavours to relieve the province and himself from the miseries and difficulties with which he had been surrounded.

On the 5th of December I had the satisfaction of receiving a deputy from Parahyba, a.s.suring me of the perfect pacification of the town and province. On receipt of this gratifying intelligence I transmitted to Parahyba a general amnesty, coupled with advice as to the folly "of rebelling under erroneous impressions of circ.u.mstances with regard to His Imperial Majesty, which could not come within the sphere of their personal knowledge, and hoping that, for the future, they would duly appreciate the beneficence of a sovereign who desired that his authority --limited by the Const.i.tution--should be felt by his people only through the exercise of justice and benevolence."

It was a vexatious task to be thus constantly exhorting the disaffected in the Northern provinces to confidence in the Imperial Government, because I knew that they had but too good reason to be dissatisfied--not with the Emperor--but with his administration, whose hopes were founded on anarchy and intrigue. It was therefore my practice to exhort them to rely on His Imperial Majesty--it not being within the scope of my duty to draw the distinction between the Imperial wishes and the sinister practices of those by whom His Majesty was surrounded.

During the period of my absence I had been pressing upon the Department of Marine at Rio de Janeiro the necessity of a speedy adjudication of the prizes belonging to the squadron, according to the written order of His Imperial Majesty. On the 5th of December I received an evasive reply from the Auditor of Marine, stating that "he did not consider himself in possession of all the laws and regulations whereon his judgment should be founded in regard to seizures made or vessels captured by the naval forces of Brazil." A miserable subterfuge!--as though it were any part of my duty to supply an official with "laws and regulations" on such a subject. It was quite evident to me that, despite His Majesty's orders, no adjudication was intended, nor was any afterwards made; but in order to prevent complaint of neglect on my part. I transmitted, on the same date, to the auditor the whole of my doc.u.ments, with a request that they might be returned.

From the state of the province on my first arrival, I had entertained suspicions as to the President's sincerity; and as outbreaks were again of frequent occurrence, notwithstanding the general desire for pacification, an investigation into the causes of these elicited the fact that he was secretly sending agents to promote disturbance, for the purpose of revenging himself upon those now disarmed, who, before my arrival, had opposed his arbitrary authority.

To such an extent was this carried, that memorials reached me begging my interference, as the memorialists could not now defend themselves. Two of these memorials, signed by upwards of three hundred of the respectable inhabitants of the province, were of such a nature as to render hopeless the perfect restoration of order so long as the President was permitted to exercise the autocracy, which, contrary to all the principles of the const.i.tution, he had irresponsibly a.s.sumed.

In order to account for a step which I subsequently considered it my duty to adopt, it is necessary to give some extracts from one of these memorials, signed by a hundred and fifty-two of the most respectable inhabitants in a distant part of the province:--

"That the most demoralizing excesses are permitted amongst the soldiery, and, in order to preserve his influence with the troops, the President permits them to murder with impunity--even Europeans; the perpetrators of these acts being not only unpunished, but rewarded, whilst military commandants and others attempting to repress these disorders are dismissed; so that absolute authority is established--the public money being squandered on the soldiery, in order to support a criminal despotism.

"Your Excellency must have witnessed the state to which the province was reduced on your arrival, the people being compelled to have recourse to arms in order to ward off a mult.i.tude of vexations.

Your Excellency must also have observed how quickly they laid down their arms at your summons, of which circ.u.mstance the party of the President availed themselves to sack and plunder the towns and villages everywhere in the country; the tears, desolation, and misery of so many villages and estates, accompanied by the blood of the murdered and wounded, remaining eternal monuments of these crimes.

"The President and his followers, convinced of the abhorrence with which such atrocities were viewed, availed themselves of the false pretext that such acts were necessary for the Imperial service, the people being in rebellion against him.

"At the present moment he has given out that he has three thousand men ready to support him in the Presidency against the measures of your Excellency, and it is a fact that, in various parts of the province, he has troops, militia, and arms; whilst the commandants, appointed by himself, are all ready to execute his measures.