MOST EXCELLENT SIR,

Since I had the honour of addressing your Excellency in my letter, No. 288, I have not had any further intelligence from Para; I therefore conclude that the officers and seamen whom I detached there, will be sufficient to aid the President in maintaining good order.

Here, nothing particular has happened, beyond the collecting of a few runaway soldiers and vagabonds in the woods.  A party detached in pursuit of them, dispersed them all, and brought in several prisoners yesterday.

I have received your Excellency’s communication by the schooner Maria de Gloria, and feel highly gratified that His Imperial Majesty has been pleased to approve of the course which I have pursued for the termination of dissensions in the Northern provinces.  Since the gracious communication of His Imperial Majesty, I feel less weight of responsibility in the course which circumstances have compelled me to follow, with a view to restore order in the province of Maranham.

I hope soon to inform your Excellency that the task which His Imperial Majesty has been further pleased to confide to me, of causing the newly-appointed authorities to be acknowledged, is accomplished; but I beg respectfully again to add my opinion that these Northern provinces will not long continue in a state of tranquillity, unless the provincial forces are shifted to other quarters of the empire.  In fact, if attention be not paid to this, I consider that these provinces will shortly be entirely lost, both to the empire of Brazil and to Portugal.

   (Signed) COCHRANE AND MARANHAO. 
   Jan. 21, 1834.

The continued absence of even the slightest instructions for my guidance—­coupled with the Imperial approval of all I had done upon my own responsibility, naturally implied that it was considered better to leave me entirely unfettered by orders, which, if given at all, must be issued in ignorance of the actual state of things which required renovation.  In this light I should have regarded the omission to direct my conduct, but for the warnings privately received, to be careful what I was about, for that, despite any apparent public approval of my proceedings, my enemies in the administration were on the watch for some act which might be construed to my disadvantage, and thus become the pretext for blame which should outweigh the praise accorded.  The opportunity I felt had already been afforded by the suspension of Bruce from the presidency, notwithstanding that this—­as has been seen—­was fully justified by circumstances, and was not resorted to without deliberate consideration, and the deepest conviction of its necessity.  Still, any opposition to the suspension of Bruce could only be factious, for, on the 2nd of December, the Minister of Marine had in anticipation forwarded to me a list of new presidents and generals-at-arms, every person in authority throughout the whole extent of the Northern coast being changed—­with the exception of the president of Para; so that there was every reason to anticipate that even the strong measures which I had been compelled to adopt with regard to Bruce would meet the views of His Imperial Majesty.