(Here follows a recapitulation of injuries and annoyances with which the reader is familiar):—
The determined perseverance in a course so opposed to justice, by those members and adherents of the Portuguese faction, whose influence prevails in the ministry and council, and more especially the proceedings of those individuals of that faction, who compose the naval tribunals, 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 few may be aware that my own cause of complaint is equal to theirs, many cannot perceive the consistency of my patient continuation 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 a moment 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, and could submit to the same sacrifices here as I did on the other side of the continent, even to abandoning the ships which I captured from the enemy—without payment or reward—as I did in Chili and Peru. 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. Neither can I relinquish the object which I have equally at heart, of depriving the Portuguese faction of the means of undermining the nationality and independence of the empire, to which—notwithstanding their admission to places of honour and trust—they are notoriously and naturally opposed.
It is impossible to view the prize tribunal—consisting of natives of the hostile nation—in any other light than as a party of the enemy, who, in the disguise of judges, have surprised and recaptured our prizes, after we had lodged them—as we thought—safely in port. And we have not the slightest reason to doubt that, if suffered to proceed unmolested, they will eventually get them clean out of the harbour, and convey them back to their own country. We do not ask for reprisals upon these people, but simply restitution of the fruits of our labours in the service of Your Majesty, of which they have insidiously despoiled us, and that no impediment to this act of justice may arise, or be pretended by the individuals in question, we are willing to wait for a still further period—retaining, however, what remains of the prizes in our own custody—until our claims are settled; when we shall punctually surrender them into Your Imperial hands at whatever moment Your Majesty shall be pleased to cause the said claims to be duly discharged.
We most earnestly beseech Your Imperial Majesty—upon whom alone we depend for justice—to take into your consideration the necessity of withdrawing all control over the naval service and its interests from the hands of individuals with whose country Your Majesty is at war, and against which, under Your Imperial authority, we have been employed in active hostilities. It is only by the removal of Portuguese functionaries—more especially from the naval department, and the appointment of native Brazilians in their stead, that Your Imperial Majesty can reasonably hope to possess the full confidence of your people. Such a proceeding would be far more effective for the suppression of the rebellion in the North, than the ill-equipped naval detachment employed on that service.
I trust that Your Imperial Majesty will perceive that nothing short of the most thorough conviction in my own mind, with regard to the step now taken, could have led me to adopt it on my own account, or on that of the squadron. To myself, in particular, it must be a source of great anxiety, and in all probability, for a time —before the circumstances are generally understood—it may bring on me a large share of obloquy. My resignation is attended with the surrender of the high honours with which Your Majesty has graciously invested me, in addition to the honourable situation which I hold under Your Imperial authority. Your Majesty may be assured that such sacrifices as these are not made without extreme reluctance, and if there had remained the slightest probability of obtaining by any ordinary means the justice for the squadron, which it is my bounden duty to persevere in demanding, I should have avoided a step so pregnant with disadvantages to myself.
(Signed) COCHRANE AND MARANHAÕ.