Narrative of Services in the Liberation of Chili, Peru and Brazil, / from Spanish and Portuguese Domination, Volume 2

by Earl of Thomas Cochrane Dundonald

Intelligence now arrived from Pernambuco that a strong party was there endeavouring to establish a Republic, and that preparatory steps were being taken to throw off allegiance to the Empire.

The expedition sent by the ministry to put down this rising at Pernambuco was a premeditated insult to me, as not having been at all consulted in the matter; and the reason why an inexperienced officer had been sent, doubtless was, that the ministry did not wish the insurrection to be put down. In this respect the expedition fulfilled the wishes of those who despatched it, by having failed. On its return I personally received His Majesty's orders that the Pedro Primiero, Piranga, Nitherohy, and Atalanta, should be immediately equipped for important service. It was easy thus to give orders to equip a squadron, but after the treatment received, not so easy to effect it. All the foreign seamen had abandoned the ships in disgust, and to have shipped Portuguese would have been worse than useless. I wrote to the Minister of Marine that the squadron could not be manned unless confidence was restored amongst the men, the shameful proceedings of the prize court having disinclined them to re-enter the service,—even if they did, I could not be responsible for order and discipline, or for the safety of the ships, unless some definite adjustment as to pay and prize money took place before putting to sea.

In the face of these remonstrances the prize tribunal adopted an openly hostile course, by altogether denying the right of the squadron to the prizes taken at Maranham, or the property there seized in the custom house, and shipped by me on board the Pombinho and another vessel. The Pombinho, as has been said, was declared an illegal prize, and given up to her Portuguese owner, together with all public property contained in her, though to this he had not the shadow of a claim, as the whole cargo belonged originally to others, and had been put on board this particular ship by my orders for transmission to Rio de Janeiro. Numbers of similar decisions were made, on the false plea that Maranham previously formed part of the Brazilian empire, and consequently that all the seizures effected were invalid!

I remonstrated that, on our arrival at Maranham, the city and province were, and ever had been, in possession of Portugal—that the Portuguese had by the ordinary capitulations of war delivered up both to an armed Brazilian force without question—and that, by a previous decree of the Emperor, no less than by the customary usages of war, all enemy's property fell to the captors. The prize court not only overruled the objection, but condemned me to make restitution of all sums received in ransom for property taken at Maranham. In one instance the tribunal declared me deserving of corporal punishment (pena corporal!) and would, had they dared, doubtless have enforced this, and the restitution to which I was condemned.

As the plunder of prize property was becoming notorious, the tribunal directed it to be unloaded, in order to prevent the cargoes from being damaged! but, on the execution of the order it was found that all the valuable portion had already disappeared! How, of course could not be ascertained; but no one doubted. The ships themselves were neglected till they became useless to the original owners, the Government, or the captors.

Thus, of this vast amount of property taken in the campaign, not a milrea was suffered to find its way into the pockets of the officers and men, and the squadron would have been wholly defrauded of its reward, had I not refused to give up to the prize tribunal the comparatively trifling sums received in redemption of the seizures at Maranham; these being retained on board the flagship in consequence of the unjustifiable course which the tribunal was pursuing. A plot was, however, formed to seize it by force, but this was met by such measures as were calculated to prevent a renewal of the attempt.

The prize tribunal being thus determined to deprive the squadron of the whole of its emoluments, proceeded to condemn the ships of war taken as being droits to the crown, without compensation of any kind, notwithstanding that the before-mentioned Imperial decree of the 11th of December, 1822, awarded all prizes wholly to the captors. The tribunal then issued a decree, that vessels taken within a certain distance from the shore—where alone a blockade could be effective—were not lawful seizures; the effect being that, as the squadron was about to blockade Pernambuco it could have no opportunity of falling in with enemy's vessels at sea, and therefore could not make captures at all! Thus enemy's ships would be permitted to carry on their revolutionary occupations unmolested; which was, no doubt, the intention of those who framed the resolution, as wishing to defeat the blockade for their own purposes.

CHAPTER VI.

REMONSTRANCE AGAINST DECREE OF PRIZE TRIBUNAL—SETTLEMENT OF PRIZE QUESTION BY THE EMPEROR—HIS MINISTERS REFUSE TO CONFORM TO IT—OBSTACLES THROWN IN THE WAY OF EQUIPMENT—MY SERVICES LIMITED TO THE DURATION OF WAR—MY REMONSTRANCE ON THIS BREACH OF FAITH—MINISTERS REFUSE TO PAY THE SQUADRON ANYTHING—A FRESH INSULT OFFERED TO ME—OFFER TO RESIGN THE COMMAND—MY RESIGNATION EVADED—LETTER TO THE PRIME MINISTER—LETTER TO THE MINISTER OF MARINE.

On the 1st of January, 1824, I communicated to the Minister of Marine the contents of a despatch received from Captain Haydon at Pernambuco, in which he apprised me of a plot on the part of the revolutionary Government to seize his person and take possession of the Imperial brig of war which he commanded; the latter intention having been openly advocated in the Assembly.