On the 29th of June, information was again forwarded to me, by persons favourable to the Imperial cause, that a council of war had been held, at which it had been resolved to withdraw the fleet to St. Catherine’s or Maranham, and not the fleet alone but the troops also—­thus abandoning the city and province of Bahia to the Imperial squadron; the council judging that I should be well content to permit them to pass to another part of the coast, as their departure would result in the Imperial occupation of Bahia.

The subjoined proclamation issued by General Madeira will shew the straits to which the blockading squadron had reduced the city and garrison:—­

   INHABITANTS OF BAHIA,

The crisis in which we find ourselves is perilous, because the means of subsistence fail us, and we cannot secure the entrance of any provisions.  My duty as a soldier, and as Governor, is to make any sacrifice in order to save the city; but it is equally my duty to prevent, in an extreme case, the sacrifice of the troops I command—­of the squadron—­and of yourselves.  I shall employ every means to fulfil both duties.  Do not suffer yourselves to be persuaded that measures of foresight are always followed by disasters.  You have already seen me take such once before.  They alarmed you, but you were afterwards convinced that they portended nothing extraordinary.  Even in the midst of formidable armies measures of precaution are daily used, because victory is not constant, and reverses should be provided against.  You may assure yourselves, that the measures I am now taking, are purely precautionary, but it is necessary to communicate them to you, because if it happens that we must abandon the, city, many of you will leave it also; and I should be responsible to the nation and to the King if I had not forewarned you.

   (Signed) IGNACIO LUIZ MADEIRA DE MELLA.

Were it dignified to allude to the cowardice imputed to me by the same authority, it would be easy to refer to the above enumeration of distresses caused by our two ships having captured all their provisions in the face of thirteen, in every way better manned and equipped.

The consternation caused by my nocturnal visit, which decided the evacuation of the city, was described as almost ludicrous.  As I had been correctly informed, the Portuguese admiral and his officers were at a ball, and information of our appearance amongst the fleet was conveyed to him in the midst of the festivities.  “What”—­exclaimed he—­“Lord Cochrane’s line-of-battleship in the very midst of our fleet!  Impossible —­no large ship can have come up in the dark.”  We, however, did find our way in the dark—­and did not retire till our reconnaissance was as complete as darkness would permit.