This suspension of the President was afterwards fully approved of by His Majesty, and the more patriotic of his advisers, as only anticipating their intentions, it being a remarkable fact that, at the very time I was suspending him, an order from His Majesty was on its way to supersede him; information of his proceedings having previously reached Rio de Janeiro, so that in what had been done, I had only carried out the intentions of His Majesty.
Nevertheless, the occasion—as affording a good opportunity to traduce me—was afterwards eagerly seized by the Portuguese faction in the administration. All attempts to injure me in the estimation of the population at Rio de Janeiro—which was firmly attached to the Emperor, and grateful to me for my services—had signally failed; but on his arrival at Rio de Janeiro the representations of the ex-president whose mal-administration I had summarily checked, were published in every possible shape, whilst the Minister of Marine unwarrantably withheld my despatches from the public, as well as from His Majesty, the consequence of which was that the prejudicial representations of what were termed my arbitrary acts had full effect. It was represented that I, a foreigner, had dared, unauthorised, and on false pretences, to seize on the person of a gentleman occupying the highest position in one of the most important provinces, and had sent him to Rio de Janeiro as a prisoner, whilst it was I who deserved to be brought to condign punishment for the outrage; and had I at the moment been within reach of the Portuguese faction at the capital, which was embittered against me for establishing order, when to further their own anti-Imperial designs disorder was alone wished—a summary end might have been put to my efforts for preserving and consolidating the integrity of the Brazilian empire.
That this vituperation and hostility would be the result I well knew; but as the Portuguese party in the administration could scarcely treat me worse than they had done, I had made up my mind to encounter their displeasure. Of His Majesty's approval I felt certain; and, in return for the uninterrupted favour and reliance, which, notwithstanding the self-interested hostility of his anti-Brazilian Ministers, I had uniformly experienced at his hands, I had all along resolved to secure that which I knew to be His Majesty's earnest wish—the unity of the empire by the pacification of the Northern provinces. All attempts to thwart this on the part of the Portuguese faction were futile, and even unconsciously favourable to the course I was perseveringly pursuing, though all my despatches to the minister remained unanswered, and no instructions were sent for my guidance.
Notwithstanding the neglect of the administration to supply the squadron with necessaries, and myself with instructions, in a position foreign to my duties as naval Commander-in-Chief, and which I had only accepted at the earnest wish of His Imperial Majesty—I carefully kept the Government advised of all that took place. The same ship which conveyed the ex-president to Rio de Janeiro, carried also the following despatch to the Minister of Marine:—
Maranham, December 31st, 1824.
MOST EXCELLENT SIR,
I have to acquaint your Excellency that a belief that the squadron was about to withdraw and leave the abandoned and disorderly military of this place under the feeble control of his Excellency the President, excited a degree of dread in the public mind amounting almost to a state of frenzy—and convinced me that I had no alternative, but either to abandon the principal inhabitants, and, indeed, the whole white population, to the fury of mercenary troops and blacks—or to remain with the squadron until another President should be nominated by His Imperial Majesty.
This last measure, however, upon mature consideration, appeared to be wholly incompatible with the interests of His Imperial Majesty, not only on account of the violent animosities subsisting between President and people, which, notwithstanding the utmost vigilance on my part, daily disturbed the public tranquillity—but because the presence on shore of nearly the whole of the seamen in the ships of war is requisite to counterbalance the influence and power which the President has obtained over the soldiery and irregular bands, by the impunity with which he has suffered them to act, and by rewards bestowed on persons in the ranks, or of the lowest orders of society. The continued absence of seamen from the ships would, it is evident, endanger the safety of the latter; besides which, the season is now approaching when diseases incident to the climate become prevalent, and would not fail considerably to thin the small force at my disposal.
The necessity of adopting some decided measure became every day more urgent. Representations continued to pour in from all quarters against the conduct of the President. The Consul of His Britannic Majesty, moreover, having heard that the squadron is about to depart, has written me a letter, of which I enclose to your Excellency a copy.
I am aware that it is difficult to follow a course, under the circumstances in which I am placed, that when judged of at a distance, and merely on such evidence as can be conveyed by writing, will leave no room for persons to contend that a different line might have been followed with greater advantage; and I am perfectly aware that whether I had left this province, and anarchy had followed, or whether by remaining I had succeeded in preventing that anarchy, I should equally be exposed to the cavils of those who are always disposed to reprobate the measures actually adopted, whatever they may be.