On the other hand, the opponents of the president were not only in arms against him, but there were two or three family parties fighting each other under the Imperial flag! and carrying their revengeful animosities to an outrageous extent, which threatened the extermination of one, at least, of the contending parties, if not the total ruin of the province.  To deal with these parties was, from their mutual recriminations, more difficult than had they declared themselves inimical to the Imperial Government.  In one thing, however, they were all agreed, viz. in opposition to the president; but as his was the constituted authority, this was precisely what I did not intend to sanction.

It was clear to me that the first remedy was the appointment of a proper military authority, and as none could be trusted, I apprised the president of my intention to assume the chief military command during my stay, or at least until order was restored, issuing a proclamation to that effect.

As hostilities were still going on, I sent an order to both parties to lay down their arms, with which mandate the anti-president party immediately complied, and dispersed; but as the savage blacks under the authority of the president attacked their now unarmed adversaries, and committed great excesses, I seized and put them on board some vessels, anchoring these under the guns of the flagship, and retained the whole as prisoners, thus keeping them out of the way of further mischief.

The surrender of the arms was effected by the following proclamation, which also explains my motives for this measure:—­

Whereas, it is essential to the interests of the empire in general and to the province of Maranham in particular, to put an end to all public disturbances, whether arising from the contentions of individuals, or from other causes; and whereas, the Constitution has provided not only for the administration of justice in civil cases, but also for the summary trial of military offences.

Be it henceforth known that—­all persons armed, or commanding or acting with men in arms, or aiding and assisting any body of armed men in the support or defence of any persons assuming or pretending to authority as chieftains, or attempting to alter the Constitution by force—­are hereby subject to military jurisdiction and shall be tried by military law accordingly.  But this regulation is not intended to prohibit individuals from meeting together unarmed, for the purpose of uniting in an application for the redress of grievances, or petitioning His Imperial Majesty on points connected with public or private interests.

And whereas, military arms and ammunition have been obtained, by numerous individuals on the pretext of using them for private defence—­it being essential to public tranquillity and general good that people should have recourse to the protection of the laws, and not to violence for their security—­notice