The injustice was shown not only to Lord Cochrane, but also to all the officers and crews who, serving under him, had enabled Brazil to maintain its resistance to the tyranny of Portugal, though not to shake off the tyranny of the faction which still had the interests of Portugal at heart. It is not necessary to describe in detail the long course of ill-usage to which he and his subordinates were exposed. Part of that ill-usage will be best and most briefly indicated by citing a portion of an eloquent memorial which Lord Cochrane addressed to the Imperial Government on the 30th of January, 1825.
The memorial began by enumerating the achievements of the fleet at Bahia, Maranham, Parà, and elsewhere. "The imperial squadron," it proceeds, "made sail for Rio de Janeiro, in the full expectation of reaping a reward for their labours; not only because they had been mainly instrumental in rescuing from the hands of the Portuguese, and adding to the imperial dominion, one half of the empire; but also because their hopes seemed to be firmly grounded, independently of such services, on the capture of upwards of one hundred transports and merchant vessels, exclusive of ships of war, all of which, they had a just right to expect, would, under the existing laws, be adjudged to the captors. The whole of them were seized under Portuguese colours, with Portuguese registers, manned by Portuguese seamen, having on board Portuguese troops and ammunition or Portuguese produce and manufacture. On arriving at Rio de Janeiro, there was no feeling but one of satisfaction among the officers and seamen, and the Brazilian marine might from that moment, without the expense of one milrei to the nation, have been rapidly raised to a state of efficiency and discipline which had not yet been attained in any marine in South America, and which the navies of Portugal and Spain do not possess. It could not, however, be long concealed from the knowledge of the squadron that political or other reasons had prevented any proceedings being had in the adjudication of their prizes; and the extraordinary declaration that was made by the Tribunal of Prizes,—'that they were not aware that hostilities existed between Brazil and Portugal'—led to an inquiry of whom that tribunal was composed. All surprise at so extraordinary a declaration then ceased; but other sentiments injurious to the imperial service, arose,—those of indignation and disgust that the power of withholding their rights should be placed in the hands of persons who were natives of that very nation against which they were employed in war. His Imperial Majesty, however, having signified to this tribunal his pleasure that they should delay no longer in proceeding to the adjudication of the captured vessels, the result was that, in almost every instance, at the commencement of their proceedings, the vessels were condemned, not as lawful prizes to the captors, but as droits to the Crown. His Majesty was then pleased to desire that the said droits should be granted to the squadron, and about one-fifth part of the value of the prizes taken was eventually paid under the denomination of a 'grant of the droits of the Crown.' But when this decree of his Imperial Majesty was promulgated, the tribunal altered their course of proceeding, and, instead of condemning to the Crown, did, in almost every remaining instance, pronounce the acquittal of the vessels captured, and adjudged them to be given up to pretended Brazilian owners, notwithstanding that Brazilian property embarked in enemy's vessels was, by the law, declared to be forfeited; and that, too, with such indecent precipitancy that, in cases where the hull only had been claimed, the cargo also was decreed to be given up to the claimants of the hull, without any part of it having, at any time, been even pretended to be their property. Other ships and cargoes were given up without any form of trial, and without any intimation whatever to the captors and their agents; and, in most cases, costs and quadruple damages were unjustly decreed against the captors, to the amount of 300,000 milreis. That the prizes of which the captors were thus fraudulently deprived, chiefly under the unlawful and false pretence of their belonging to Brazilians, were really the property of Portuguese and well known so to be by the said tribunal, has since been fully demonstrated, by the arrival in Lisbon of the whole of the vessels liberated by their decisions. Thus the charge of a system of wilful injustice, brought by the squadron against the Portuguese Tribunal of Prizes at Rio de Janeiro, is established beyond the possibility of contradiction."
It was only an aggravation of that injustice that, when Lord Cochrane claimed the prompt and equitable adjudication of the prizes, an attempt was made to silence him on the 24th of November by a message from the Minister of Marine, to the effect that the Emperor would do everything in his power for him personally. "His Majesty," answered Lord Cochrane, "has already conferred honours upon me quite equal to my merits, and the greatest personal favour he can bestow is to urge on the speedy adjudication of the prizes, so that the officers and seamen may reap the reward decreed by the Emperor's own authority."
A hardship to the fleet even greater than the withholding of its prize-money was the withholding of the arrears of pay, which had been accumulating ever since the departure from Rio de Janeiro in April. On the 27th of November, three months' wages were offered to men to whom more than twice the amount was due. This they indignantly refused, and all Lord Cochrane's tact was needed to restrain them from open mutiny.
In spite of the Emperor's friendship towards Lord Cochrane, or rather in consequence of it, he was in all sorts of ways insulted by the ministry, the head of which was now Severiano da Costa. A new ship, the Atulanta, was on the 27th of December, without reference to him, ordered for service at Monte Video. He was on the same day publicly described as "Commander of the Naval Forces in the Port of Rio de Janeiro," being thus placed on a level with other officers in the service of which, by the Emperor's patent, he was First Admiral, and no notice was taken of his protest against that insult. On the 24th of February he was gazetted as "Commander-in-Chief of all the Naval Forces of the Empire during the present war," by which his functions, though not now limited in extent, were limited in time. At length, reasonably indignant at these and other violations of the contract made with him, he offered to resign his command altogether. "If I thought that the course pursued towards me was dictated by his Imperial Majesty," he wrote to the Minister of Marine on the 20th of March, "it would be impossible for me to remain an hour longer in his service, and I should feel it my duty, at the earliest possible moment, to lay my commission at his feet. If I have not done so before, from the treatment which, in common with the navy. I have experienced, it has been solely from an anxious desire to promote his Majesty's real interests. Indeed, to struggle against prejudices, and at the same time against those in power whose prepossessions are at variance with the interests of his Majesty and the tranquillity and independence of Brazil, is a task to which I am by no means equal. I am, therefore, perfectly willing to resign the situation I hold, rather than contend against difficulties which appear to me insurmountable."[A]
[Footnote A: See Appendix (III).]
That letter was answered with complimentary phrases, and Lord Cochrane was induced to continue in the employment from which he could not be spared; but there was no diminution of the ill-treatment to which he was subjected. One special indignity was attended by some amusing incidents. On the 3rd of June, while he was residing on shore, it was proposed to search his flag-ship, on the pretext that he had there concealed large sums of money which were the property of the nation. "Late in the evening," he said, "I received a visit from Madame Bonpland, the talented wife of the distinguished French naturalist. This lady, who had singular opportunities for becoming acquainted with state secrets, came expressly to inform me that my house was at that moment surrounded by a guard of soldiers. She further informed me that, under the pretence of a review to be held at the opposite side of the harbour early in the following morning, preparations had been made by the ministers to board the flag-ship, which was to be thoroughly overhauled whilst I was detained on shore, and all the money found taken possession of. Thanking my friend for her timely warning, I clambered over my garden fence, as the only practicable way to the stables, selected a horse, and, notwithstanding the lateness of the hour, proceeded to San Christoval, the country palace of the Emperor, where, on my arrival, I demanded to see his Majesty. The request being refused by the gentleman in waiting, in such a way as to confirm the statement of Madame Bonpland, I dared him at his peril to refuse me admission, adding that the matter on which I had come was fraught with grave consequences to his Majesty and the empire. 'But,' said he, 'his Majesty has retired to bed long ago.' 'No matter,' I replied; 'in bed or not in bed, I demand to see him, in virtue of my privilege of access to him at all times, and, if you refuse to concede permission, look to the consequences.' His Majesty was not, however, asleep, and, the royal chamber being close at hand, he recognized my voice in the altercation with the attendant. Hastily coming out of his apartments, he asked what could have brought me there at that time of night. My reply was that, understanding that the troops ordered for review were destined to proceed to the flag-ship in search of supposed treasure, I had come to request his Majesty immediately to appoint confidential persons to accompany me on board, when the keys of every chest in the ship should be placed in their hands and every place thrown open to inspection, but that, if any of his anti-Brazilian administration ventured to board the ship in perpetration of the contemplated insult, they would certainly be regarded as pirates and treated as such; adding at the same time, 'Depend upon it, they are not more my enemies than the enemies of your Majesty and the empire, and an intrusion so unwarrantable the officers and crew are bound to resist.' 'Well,' replied his Majesty, 'you seem to be apprised of everything; but the plot is not mine, being, as far as I am concerned, convinced that no money would be found more than we already know of from yourself.' I then entreated his Majesty to take such steps for my justification as would be satisfactory to the public. 'There is no necessity for any,' he replied. 'But how to dispense with the review is the puzzle. I will be ill in the morning; so go home and think no more of the matter. I give you my word, your flag shall not be outraged.' The Emperor kept his word, and in the night was taken suddenly ill. As his Majesty was really beloved by his Brazilian subjects, all the native respectability of Rio was early next day on its way to the palace to inquire after the royal health, and ordering my carriage, I also proceeded to the palace, lest my absence might seem singular. On my entering the room,—where the Emperor was in the act of explaining the nature of his disease to the anxious inquirers,—his Majesty burst into a fit of uncontrollable laughter, in which I as heartily joined, the bystanders evidently, from the gravity of their countenances, considering that we had both taken leave of our senses. The ministers looked astounded, but said nothing. His Majesty kept his secret, and I was silent."
That anecdote fairly illustrates the treatment adopted towards Lord Cochrane, and the straits to which the Emperor was reduced in his efforts to protect him from his enemies in power. The ill-treatment both of himself and of the whole fleet continuing, he addressed an indignant protest to his Majesty in July. "The time has at length arrived," he there said, "when it is impossible to doubt that the influence which the Portuguese faction has so long exerted, with the view of depriving the officers and seamen of their stipulated rights, has succeeded in its object, and has even prevailed against the expressed wishes and intentions of your Majesty. The determined perseverance in a course so opposed to justice must come to an end. The general discontent which prevails in the squadron has rendered the situation in which I am placed one of the most embarrassing description; for, though a few may be aware that my own cause of complaint is equal to theirs, many cannot perceive the consistency of my patient continuance in the service with disapprobation of the measures pursued. Even the honours which your Majesty has been pleased to bestow upon me are deemed by most of the officers, and by the whole of the men, who know not the assiduity with which I have persevered in earnest but unavailing remonstrance, as a bribe by which I have been induced to abandon their interests. Much, therefore, as I prize those honours, as the gracious gift of your Imperial Majesty, yet, holding in still dearer estimation my character as an officer and a man, I cannot hesitate in choosing which to sacrifice when the retention of both is evidently incompatible. I can, therefore, no longer delay to demonstrate to the squadron and the world that I am no partner in the deceptions and oppressions which are practised on the naval service; and, as the first and most painful step in the performance of this imperious duty, I crave permission, with all humility and respect, to return those honours, and lay them at the feet of your Imperial Majesty. I should, however, fall short of my duty to those who were induced to enter the service by my example or invitation, were I to do nothing more than convince them that I had been deceived. It is incumbent on me to make every effort to obtain for them the fulfilment of engagements for which I made myself responsible. As far as I am personally concerned, I could be content to quit the service of your Imperial Majesty, either with or without the expectation of obtaining compensation at a future period. After effectually fighting the battles of freedom and independence on both sides of South America, and clearing the two seas of every vessel of war, I could submit to return to my native country unrewarded; but I cannot submit to adopt any course which shall not redeem my pledge to my brother officers and seamen."
That and other arguments contained in the same letter, aided by inducements of a different sort, to be presently referred to, had partial effect. A small portion of the prize-money and wages due to the squadron was issued, and Lord Cochrane remained for another year in the service of Brazil. His weary waiting-time at Rio de Janeiro, however, extending over nearly nine months, was almost at an end. On the 2nd of August he left it, never to return.
While the ingratitude shown to him in Brazil was at its worst it is interesting to notice that a few, at any rate, of his own countrymen were remembering his past troubles and his present worth. On the 21st of June, Sir James Mackintosh, in one of the many speeches in the British House of Commons in which he nobly advocated the recognition of the independence of the South American states, both as a political duty and as a necessary measure in the interests of commerce, made a graceful allusion to Lord Cochrane. "I know," he said, "that I am here touching on a topic of great delicacy; but I must say that commerce has been gallantly protected by that extraordinary man who was once a British officer, who once filled a distinguished post in the British navy at the brightest period of its annals. I mention this circumstance with struggling and mingled emotions—emotions of pride that the individual I speak of is a Briton, emotions of regret that he is no longer a British officer. Can any one imagine a more gallant action than the cutting out of the Esmeralda from Callao? Never was there a greater display of judgment, calmness, and enterprising British valour than was shown on that memorable occasion. No man ever felt a more ardent, a more inextinguishable love of country, a more anxious desire to promote its interests and extend its prosperity, than the gallant individual to whom I allude. I speak for myself. No person is responsible for the opinions which I now utter. But ask, what native of this country can help wishing that such a man were again amongst us? I hope I shall be excused for saying thus much; but I cannot avoid fervently wishing that such advice may be given to the Crown by his Majesty's constitutional advisers as will induce his Majesty graciously to restore Lord Cochrane to the country which he so warmly loves, and to that noble service to the glory of which, I am convinced, he willingly would sacrifice every earthly consideration."