Journal Of A Voyage To Brazil Part 19

"The fleet consisted only of the frigate Piranga, then called the Union, not fitted; the corvette Liberal, only a hull; and of a few other small and insignificant vessels. Now we have the s.h.i.+p of the line, Pedro Primeiro; the frigates Piranga, Carolina, and Netherohy; the corvettes Maria da Gloria and Liberal, ready; a corvette, in Alagoas, which will soon be ready, named the Ma.s.saio: of the brigs of war, Guarani ready, and the Cacique and Caboclo under repair; besides several s.h.i.+ps in ordinary, and various schooners.

"I expect six frigates of fifty guns, manned and armed, and completely formed for action, for the purchase of which I have already given orders; and according to the information I have received, they will not cost above thirteen contos of rees.

"In the dock-yard, the works are the following:--all the s.h.i.+ps now actually employed have been repaired; gun-boats, and others of small size, which I need not name, have been built; and many others, which, altogether, are numerous and important.

"I intend this year, in the same place, where for thirteen years back nothing has been done but caulking, rigging, and careening vessels,--swallowing immense sums, which might have been more usefully employed for the nation,--to lay down the keel of a forty-gun frigate; which, if the calculation I have made, the orders I have given, and the measures I have taken do not fail, I hope will be finished this year, or in the middle of the next, and will be called the _Campista_.

"As to public works, much has been done. The police office in the Praca da Acclamacao has been rebuilt: that large square has been drained of the marsh water, and has become an agreeable walk, with paved paths on all sides, and others across, and we are still continuing to embellish it. The greater part of the aqueduct of Carioca and Maracanao, have been repaired; besides the numerous bridges of wood and stone which have been renewed, several new ones have been made, and a great extent of roads has been mended.

"Besides what I have mentioned, and much more which I have not touched on, the funds for these works, which in April, 1821, owed 60 contos of rees, now is not only out of debt, but possesses upwards of 600,000 crusadoes.

"In different departments we have made the following progress. We have greatly increased the national typography; the public gardens have been put in order; the museum repaired, and enriched with minerals and a gallery of good pictures,--some of which were purchased, some were already in the public treasury, and others were my private property, which I have ordered to be placed there.

"Every exertion has been made on the Caes da Praca de Commercio, so that it is nearly finished; the streets of the city have been new-paved; and in a very short time this house for the a.s.sembly, with all the rest adjoining, were properly fitted for their purpose.

"Many works which are of less importance have been undertaken, begun, and finished; but I omit them, that I may not render my speech too long.

"I have encouraged the public schools, as far as I could; but this will demand some peculiar provision of the legislature. What has been done is this:--In order to augment the public library I have bought a large collection of choice books; I have augmented the number of schools, and increased the salary of some of the masters, besides licensing innumerable private schools; and, aware of the benefits of the method of mutual instruction, I have opened a Lancasterian school.

"I found the college of San Joaquim, which had been designed by its founders for the education of youth, employed as the hospital of the European troops. I caused it to be opened anew, for the purposes originally intended; and having granted to the _Casa de Misericordia_, and the foundling hospital, of which I will speak farther, a lottery for the better maintenance of those useful inst.i.tutions, I a.s.signed a certain portion of the said lottery to the college of San Joaquim, that it might the better answer the useful end which its worthy founders had in view. It is now full of students.

"The first time I visited the foundling hospital, I found (and it seems incredible) seven infants with only two wet-nurses; no beds, no clothing: I called for the register, and found that in the last thirteen years nearly 12,000 children had been received, but scarcely 1000 were forthcoming, the Misericordia not knowing in fact what had become of them. Then by granting the lottery, a house proper for the establishment was built, where there are upwards of thirty beds, almost as many nurses as children, and on the whole, much better management. All these things of which I have now spoken merit your particular attention.--After this province was settled, and important provisions made for the rest, I felt it necessary to call together a council of state; and, therefore, by the degree of the 16th of February of last year, I convoked one, composed of procurators-general, chosen by the people, being desirous that they should have some persons near me to represent them, and who might at the same time advise me, and demand such things as should be conducive to the good of each of the respective provinces. Nor was this the only end and motive for which I called such a council together: I wished particularly that the Brazilians might know my const.i.tutional feelings.

How I delighted to govern to the satisfaction of the people, and how much my paternal heart desired (though at that time secretly, because circ.u.mstances did not then permit me to manifest such wishes,) that this loyal, grateful, brave, and heroic nation, should be represented in a general const.i.tuent and legislative a.s.sembly; which, thank G.o.d, has been brought about in consequence of the degree of the 3d of June of the last year, at the request of the people conveyed through their camaras, their procurators, and my counsellors of state!

"It has been very painful to me that, till now, Brazil should not have enjoyed a national representation, and to be forced by circ.u.mstances to take upon myself to legislate on some points: but my measures cannot appear to have arisen from ambition to legislate, arrogating to myself the whole power, of which I only could claim a part--for they were taken to save Brazil,--because when some of them were adopted the a.s.sembly had not been convoked, and when others were necessary it had not yet met; therefore, as Brazil was totally independent of Portugal, the three powers then existed in fact and by right in the person of the supreme chief of the nation, and much the more as he was its perpetual defender.

"It is true that some measures appeared extremely strong; but as the peril was imminent, and the enemies who surrounded us were innumerable (and would to G.o.d they were not even now so many), it was necessary they should be proportionate.

"I have not spared myself; nor will I ever spare toil, however great, if from it the smallest portion of happiness can be derived to the nation.

"When the people of the rich and majestic province of _Minas_ were suffering under the iron yoke of their mistaken governors, who disposed of it as they pleased, and obliged the pacific and gentle inhabitants to disobey me, I marched thither, only attended by my servants: I convicted the government and its creatures of the crime they had committed, and of the error in which they seemed desirous of persisting; I pardoned them, because the crime was more an offence against me, than against the nation, as we were then united to Portugal.

"When a party of Portuguese and degenerate Brazilians attached to the Cortes of miserable, worn-out Portugal, arose among the brave people of the beautiful and delightful province of St. Paul's, I instantly repaired thither, and entered the province _fearlessly, because I knew the people loved me_. I took the measures that appeared to me to be necessary; and there, before any other place, our independence was declared, in the ever-memorable plain of Piranga.

"It was at the country seat of the most faithful, and never-enough praised Amador Bueno de Rebeira, that I was first proclaimed Emperor.

"My soul itself was grieved that I could not go to Bahia, as I had intended, but which I did not do on the remonstrance of my privy council, to mingle my blood with that of those warriors who have so bravely fought for their country.

"At all hazards, at that of life itself, if necessary, I will maintain the t.i.tle that the people of this rich and vast empire honoured me with on the 13th of May, of the past year--PERPETUAL DEFENDER OF BRAZIL. That t.i.tle engaged my heart more, than all the splendour I acquired by their spontaneous and unanimous acclamation of me as Emperor of this desirable empire.

"Thanks be to Providence, that we now see the nation represented by such worthy deputies! Would to G.o.d it could have been so earlier! But the circ.u.mstances preceding the decree of the 3d of June did not permit it; and since that time, the great distance, the want of public spirit in some, and the inconveniences of long journeys, especially in a country so new and extensive as Brazil, have r.e.t.a.r.ded this much-wished and necessary meeting, notwithstanding all my repeated recommendations of speed.

"At length the great day for this vast empire has arisen, which will be the grand epocha of its history. _The a.s.sembly is met to const.i.tute the nation: what joy--what happiness for us all!_

"As CONSt.i.tUTIONAL EMPEROR, and most especially as PERPETUAL DEFENDER of this vast empire, I told the people on the 1st of December, the day when I was crowned and anointed, '_That with my sword I would defend the country, the nation, and the const.i.tution, if it were worthy of Brazil and of me_." I this day, in your presence, most solemnly ratify this promise, and I trust you will a.s.sist me in fulfilling it, by framing a wise, just, and practicable const.i.tution, dictated by reason, not caprice; and having solely in view the general happiness, which can never be great if the const.i.tution be not founded on solid grounds, grounds which the wisdom of ages has shown to be just, in order to give true liberty to the people, and sufficient strength to the executive power. A const.i.tution in which the limits of the three powers shall be well defined, that they may never arrogate rights not their own; but shall be so organised and harmonised, that it shall be impossible for them, even in the lapse of time, to become inimical to each other, but shall every day jointly contribute to the general happiness of the state. In short, a const.i.tution which shall oppose insuperable barriers to despotism, whether royal, aristocratic, or democratic; defeat anarchy; and plant that tree of liberty under whose shadow the honour, tranquillity, and independence of this empire, which will become the admiration of the Old and New World, must grow.

"All the const.i.tutions which have modelled themselves upon those of 1791 and 1792, have been shown by experience to be entirely theoretical and metaphysical, and therefore impracticable. Witness those of France, Spain, and Portugal: they have not, as they ought, produced public happiness; but after a licentious freedom, we see that in some countries there has already taken place, and in others there is on the point of doing so, a despotism of one, after that of many; and, by a necessary consequence, the people are reduced to the wretched state of registering and suffering all the horrors of anarchy.

"But far from us be such melancholy reflections: they darken the joy and exultation of this happy day. You are not ignorant of them; and I am sure, that firmness in those true const.i.tutional views, which have been sanctioned by experience, will characterise every one of the deputies who compose this ill.u.s.trious a.s.sembly. I trust, that the const.i.tution which you will frame will merit my Imperial a.s.sent; that it will be as wise and just as suited to the local situation and to the civilisation of the Brazilian people: also that it may be praised among the nations, so that even our enemies may imitate the sanct.i.ty and wisdom of its principles, and at length practise them.

"So ill.u.s.trious and patriotic an a.s.sembly will have in view no object but to cause the empire to prosper, and to fill it with happiness: it will wish its Emperor to be respected, not only at home but among foreign nations; and that its _Perpetual Defender_ should exactly fulfil his promise of the first of last December, solemnly ratified to-day, in the presence of the nation legally represented."

When the Emperor had done speaking, the bishop of the diocese, acting as president of the a.s.sembly, made a short answer of thanks, praise, and promise; after which, the whole of the members, the spectators in the galleries, and the people without doors, cheered His Imperial Majesty enthusiastically, and the procession returned to San Cristovao in the order in which it came.

The theatre of course concluded the ceremonies of the day; and my friend, Madame do Rio Seco, having kindly offered me a seat in her box, I went thither, for the first time since my return to Brazil. She was in high spirits, because that day the Emperor had conferred on her husband the order of the Cruzeiro; and therefore she went really in grand gala to the opera. Her diamonds worn that night may be valued at 150,000_l_ sterling, and many splendid jewels remained behind in the strong box.

For my part, I had gone to town in my morning dress; therefore I sent to a milliner's, and bought such a plain c.r.a.pe head-dress as the customs of the place warrant, in deep mourning; and wrapping myself in my shawl, accompanied my magnificent friend. The house appeared very splendid, being illuminated and dressed, and the ladies one and all in diamonds and feathers. Some decorations have been added since last year, and an allegorical drop-scene has been painted. The Empress did not come, on account of her recent illness; but the Emperor was there, looking pale, and a little fatigued. He was received with rapturous applause. The members of the a.s.sembly were seated one-half on his right, and one-half on his left, in boxes handsomely fitted up for them; and as soon as they had all taken their places, a poem on the occasion was recited by the Prima Donna, in which there were some good points, which called forth great applause. I think it is Gresset who, in one of his odes _Au Roi_, says,

"Le cri d'un peuple heureux est la seule eloquence Qui sait parler des rois."

And indeed this night that eloquence was powerful. I cannot conceive a situation more full of interest to both prince and people.

There was nothing in the princ.i.p.al piece played to-night, for it was a clumsy translation of Lodoiska, without the songs. But the after-piece excited much emotion: it was called "The Discovery of Brazil." Cabral and his officers were represented as just landed: they had discovered the natives of the country; and, according to the custom of the Portuguese discoverers, they had set up their white flag, with the red holy cross upon it, whence they had first named the land. At the foot of this emblem they kneeled in wors.h.i.+p, and endeavoured to induce the wild Brazilians to join them in their sacred rites. These, on their part, tried to persuade Cabral to reverence the heavenly bodies, and dissension seemed about to trouble the union of the new friends, when by a clumsy enough machine, a little genius came down from above, and leaping from its car, displayed the new Imperial standard, inscribed _Independencia o Morte_. This was totally unexpected in the house, which, for an instant, seemed electrified into silence. I believe I clapped my hands first, but the burst of feeling that came from every part of the house was long ere it subsided. Now I know nothing so overpowering, as that sort of unanimous expression of deep interest, from any large body of men. It overset me; and when I ought to have been waving my handkerchief decorously from the great chamberlain's box, I was hiding my face with it, and weeping heartily. When the house was quiet again, I looked at Don Pedro: he had become very pale, and had drawn a chair close to his own; on the back of which he leaned, and was very grave to the end of the piece, having his hand before his eyes for some time; and, indeed, his quick feelings could not have escaped what affected even strangers.

At the close of the piece there were loud cries of "Viva la Patria!"

"Viva o Emperador!" "Viva a Emperatriz!" "Vivao os Deputados!" all originating in the body of the house; when Martim Francisco de Andrada stepped to the front of one of the boxes of the Deputies, and cried "Viva o povo leal e fiel do Rio de Janeiro!" a cry that was extremely well seconded, especially by the Emperor, and kindly taken by the people; and so this important day ended.

_May 6th._--To-day I rode to San Cristovao, through a very beautiful country. The palace, which once belonged to a convent, is placed upon a rising ground, and is built rather in the Moresco style, and coloured yellow with white mouldings. It has a beautiful screen, a gateway of Portland stone, and the court is planted with weeping willows; so that a group of great beauty is formed in the bosom of a valley, surrounded by high and picturesque mountains, the chief of which is the Beco do Perroquito.[107] The view from the palace opens to part of the bay, over an agreeable plain flanked by fertile hills, one of which is crowned by the very handsome barracks that were once a Jesuit establishment. I rode round by the back of the palace to the farm, which appears to be in good order; and the village of the slaves, with its little church, looks more comfortable than I could have believed it possible for a village of slaves to do. The Imperial family now live entirely here, and only go to town on formal business or occasions of state.

[Note 107: Nearly 2000 feet high.]

_May 12th._--I have been too unwell to do any thing; and only write to-day to notice the arrival of the Jupiter frigate, with Lord Amherst on his way to India, and the rumour that he has some official character at this court.

_16th._--Lord Amherst and suite went to court in such ceremony as induces people to believe he really has a diplomatic character here. The Alacrity has arrived from Valparaiso, and has brought me some old letters from England that have helped my sickness to depress my spirits.

'Tis after all a sad thing to be alone and sick in a foreign land! The Doris also is arrived from Bahia. She has had no direct communication with Lord Cochrane's little squadron; but it seems, that with his six s.h.i.+ps, he keeps the enemy's fleet of fifteen sail in check. The town of Bahia is said to be in a dreadful state for want of provisions. The slaves are daily dying in the streets. Some houses, after appearing shut up for some days, have been opened by the police officers, who have found the masters escaped, and the slaves dead.--Twice a day the gates have been opened to allow the women and children to leave the town. Some of the officers of the Doris had the curiosity to attend on one of these occasions, and saw 500 persons, laden with as much furniture and clothes, as in their weak hungry state they could carry, leave the city.

The little fresh provision that finds its way into the town is exorbitantly dear. General Madeira has proclaimed martial-law in the place; he has seized some corn and flour out of a neutral s.h.i.+p, and has raised forced loans from all cla.s.ses, both native and foreign.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

The s.h.i.+p has brought two or three newspapers from Bahia. As might be expected, they breathe the most violent, and inveterate spirit against the Imperial government, and every body employed by it; calling the Emperor a Turkish despot, a sultan, &c., and Jose Bonifacio a tyrannic vizier. Lord Cochrane, of course, does not escape; and to all old calumnies against him, they now add that he is a coward, for which agreeable compliments they are likely to pay dearly I should think. The Supplement to the Idade d'Ouro of the 25th of April gives lists of the two squadrons, drawn up for the purpose of inspiring confidence in the Portuguese, under-rating the force of Lord Cochrane's s.h.i.+ps, and representing them as so ill manned,--although, according to them, the most oppressive measures were adopted to man them,--as not to be able to face the Portuguese. However, they have thought fit to call in all their vessels from the Funil and other stations where they had their small s.h.i.+ps placed, in order to reinforce their fleet.[108] They have published a circular letter, calling on all officers and crews to exert themselves, promising them the destruction of the Brazilian fleet. And, on the same day, the 24th of April, the Admiral Joao Felix Pereira de Campos, under pretence of indisposition, turns over the command to another officer.

[Note 108: _Brazilian s.h.i.+ps_.

Line-of-battle s.h.i.+p D. Pedro I. 64 guns, really, 78 guns

Frigate Uniao 44 do. 50

Frigate Carolina 36 do. 44

Frigate Successo[*] 36 do. 38

Corvette Maria da Gloria 32 do. 32

Corvette Liberal 22 do. 22

Schooner Real 16 do. 16

---- Nightingale 20 Total 250 guns. ---- ---- 300 ----