is hereby given, that all persons in possession of such military arms are to deliver them up to the chief military officers in their respective districts, to be deposited in the public armoury.  Whoever shall be found in possession of arms after the termination of this present month of November, shall be judged according to military law.

   Given on board the Pedro Primiero this 12th day of November,
   1824.

   (Signed) COCHRANE AND MARANHAO.

This proclamation is adduced in order to shew the condition of the province on my arrival, which it does more fully than would pages of description.  To these difficulties were now added the chagrin of Bruce, at having his military authority superseded, though his civil authority was not only uninterfered with, but supported.  Still, having the orders of His Imperial Majesty to use my discretion in tranquillizing the disturbed provinces, it was not my intention to permit His Majesty’s views to be frustrated by undue deference to a Governor, whose folly and despotism combined, had been the chief cause of the disturbances, though I well knew that the course I was pursuing, even though approved by His Majesty, would bring down upon me the indignation of the Portuguese faction in power at Rio de Janeiro.

The proclamation had the effect of procuring the surrender of arms to a great extent, followed by the disbandment of all irregular forces collected by the contending chieftains, so that apparent tranquillity was everywhere enforced.

The great point was to establish permanent order, which, had we gone away, would soon have been broken.  As, since the reduction of Pernambuco, there was no other field for my active services, and as I had no instructions how to dispose of the squadron, I determined to remain at Maranham, and employ myself in consolidating the good already produced, till further commands from His Imperial Majesty; for having in the preceding year expelled the Portuguese from the province, its welfare was a matter of interest to me, and I felt assured that were His Majesty acquainted with the want of unity existing, authority would be given to carry out my views.

In Maranham, as in the other Northern provinces of the empire, there had been no amelioration whatever in the condition of the people, and without such amelioration, it was absurd to place reliance on the hyperbolical professions of devotion to the Emperor which were now abundantly avowed by those who before my arrival had been foremost in promoting and cherishing disturbance.

The condition of the province—­and indeed of all the provinces—­was in no way better than they had been under the dominion of Portugal, though they presented one of the finest fields imaginable for improvement.  All the old colonial imposts and duties remained without alteration—­the manifold hindrances to commerce and agriculture still existed—­and arbitrary power was everywhere exercised uncontrolled; so that in place of being benefited by emancipation from the Portuguese yoke, the condition of the great mass of the population was literally worse than before.