Your Excellency will perceive that in leaving at Maranham these monies, and other property captured from the enemy, instead of bringing them to Rio for adjudication, we could be influenced by no other motive than zeal for the interests of His Imperial Majesty and the good of his people; as by so doing, we enabled the Provisional Government to meet the present exigencies of the moment, and to quiet the Ceara and Piahuy troops; whilst the revenue of the province thus remains clear and unanticipated—­ being applicable to such purposes as His Imperial Majesty shall command.  All which I trust His Imperial Majesty will take into his gracious consideration, and be pleased to award such compensation to the officers and seamen as he, in his princely justice, shall deem fit.

   (Signed) COCHRANE.

For some days no notice was taken of this letter, but on the 24th I received a visit from the Minister of Marine, bringing what professed to be a verbal message from His Majesty, that he “would do every thing in his power for me personally.”  The way in which this intimation was conveyed led me to infer that these personal favours implied a sacrifice on my part of the rights of the squadron, by shutting my eyes to the restoration of the captured Portuguese ships and property to the friends and adherents of the ministry, for the purpose of conciliating the Portuguese party.  Taking the message, however, literally—­I told the Minister that His Majesty had “already conferred honours upon me quite equal to my merits—­and that the greatest personal favour he could bestow, was, to urge on the speedy adjudication of the prizes, so that the officers and seamen might reap the reward decreed by the Emperor’s own authority.”

The policy of the Portuguese faction in power, was—­now that the squadron had expelled the fleet and army of the mother country—­to conciliate their countrymen who remained, and thus to create and maintain an influence which should reduce the Imperial authority to the smallest possible dimensions.  The first object—­if I could be brought to acquiesce—­was to restore Portuguese property, captured by Imperial order, and now the right of the captors—­my connivance being supposed to be procurable by offers of personal enrichment!  I scarcely need say that the offer failed in its purpose.

As the squadron had received no pay during the performance of all its services, it became my duty to urge attention to the subject, and this was apparently complied with, the 27th of November being appointed for the payment of the men.  On that day three months’ pay only was offered to them, notwithstanding all they had achieved.  This paltry pittance was refused.