"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 title 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 title 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 God it could have been so earlier! But the circumstances 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 retarded 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 assembly is met to constitute the nation: what joy—what happiness for us all!
"As Constitutional 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 constitution, 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 assist me in fulfilling it, by framing a wise, just, and practicable constitution, dictated by reason, not caprice; and having solely in view the general happiness, which can never be great if the constitution 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 constitution 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 constitution 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 constitutions 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 constitutional views, which have been sanctioned by experience, will characterise every one of the deputies who compose this illustrious assembly. I trust, that the constitution which you will frame will merit my Imperial assent; 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 sanctity and wisdom of its principles, and at length practise them.