Embark on a thrilling journey through the life of Lord Cochrane, a legendary Napoleonic-era sea captain. This volume brings to life his daring exploits as he aids the Chilean navy in defeating Spain and takes command of Brazils fleet. Cochranes extraordinary journey doesnt end there - he sails to Greece, joining the fight for their liberation from the Ottoman Empire. This is not just a biography, its an unfinished autobiography completed by his son and a renowned naval historian.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Chapter eleven of the Life of Thomas Lord Cochrane, tant
ele of Dundonald, Volume one by Henry Richard fox Bourne.
This LibriVox recording is in the public domain recording by
Timothy Ferguson eighteen twenty three to eighteen twenty four. All
of the rewards bestowed upon Lord Cochrane for his wonderful
successes in the northern part of Brazil, except the confirmation
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of his patent as first Admiral, be it noted, were unsubstantial.
He had forever crushed the power of Portugal in South America.
He had added vast provinces to the Imperial Dominion, and
had thus augmented the Imperial revenues by considerably more than
a million dollars a year, besides the great and immediate
profits of his price taking. And all this had been
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done with a small fleet, poorly equipped and unpaid. The
ships entrusted to him had been rendered efficient by his
own ingenuity, unaided by the government, and with scant addition
to his resources from the numerous captures made by him
in excess of his instructions, and with nothing but cheap
compliments and cheaper promises to encourage him he had acquired
Maranjum and Para and all the provinces dependent upon them,
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as well as Baja. Relying on the honor of his employers,
he had pledged his own honor that on their returning
to Rio di Janeiro, his crews, who were clamoring for
some part, at any rate of the wages due to them,
should be fully recompensed. And he had the reasonable expectation
that out of the abundant wealth that had been gained
for Brazil, he himself should receive his lawful share of
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the prize money gained by his exertions. Instead of that,
he and his subordinates, both officers and men, were subjected
to an unparalleled course of meanness, trickery, and fraud. This
partly resulted from an unfortunate change in the government that
occurred during his absence. When he left Rio di Janeiro
paid for the first chief Secretary of State had been
Don Jose Bonifasio Diandrade is Silva, a wise and patriotic Brazilian.
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The Emperor and his minister had all along been seriously
crippled in fulfillment of their good purposes by subordinates of
the Portuguese faction who persistently twisted their instructions when they
did not act in direct opposition to those instructions, so
as to promote their own and their countrymen's selfish and
unpatriotic objects. But they had been hoped that the zeal
(02:14):
of Pedro and Jose de Andradra would overcome these evil
devices and secure the healthy consolidation of the Empire. When
Lord Cochran returned, however, he found that the honest minister
had been deposed, that his party had been ousted, and
that the Emperor was surrounded by bad counselors who, unable
to pervert his judgment, was strong enough to restrain its action,
and who were robbing him, one by one of all
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his constitutional functions and doing their best to bring Brazil
into a state of anarchy, with a view to the
re establishment of Portuguese authority in its old or in
some new but no less obnoxious form. The Emperor, desiring
to do well, had hardly himproved his position a few
days before the Pedro Premierro's arrival by violently dissolving the
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Legislative Assembly, banishing so of its members, and threatening to
place Rio de Genaro itself under military law. That was
the state of affairs when Lord Cochrane entered the port.
Only five days afterwards, on the fourteenth of November eighteen
twenty three, he wrote a bold letter to the Emperor.
My sense of the impropriety of intruding myself on the
attention of your Imperial Majesty on any subject unconnected with
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the official position with which your Majesty has been pleased
to honor me, he said, could only have been overcome
by an irresistible desire, under existing circumstances, to contribute to
the service of your Majesty in the Empire. The conduct
of the late Legislative Assembly, which sought to derogate from
the dignity and prerogatives of your Majesty, even presuming to
require you to divest yourself of your crown in their presence,
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which deprived you of your Council of State, and denied
you a voice in the enactment of laws and the
formation of the Constitution, and which dared to object to
your exercising the only remaining function of royalty, that of
rewarding services and conferring honors, could no longer be tolerated,
and justice and wisdom of your Imperial Majesty in dissolving
such an assembly will be duly appreciated by discerning men
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and by those whose love of good order and their
country supersedes their ambitional personal interests. There are, however, individuals,
who will wickedly take advantage of the late proceedings to
kindle the flames of discord and throw your empire into
anarchy and confusion, unless timely prevented by the wisdom and
energy of your Imperial Majesty. The declaration that you will
give to your people a practical constitution more free than
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that which the late Assembly professed an intention to establish, cannot,
considering the spirit which now pervades South America, have the
effect of averting impending evils, unless your Imperial Majesty shall
be pleased to dissipate all doubts by at once declaring,
before the news of recent events can be dispersed throughout
the provinces, and before the discontented members of late Congress
can return to their constituents, what is the precise nature
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of that constitution which your Imperial Majesty intends to bestow.
As no monarch is more happy or more truly powerful
than the limited monarch of England, surrounded by a free
people enriched by that industry which the security of property
by means of just laws never fails to create. Permit
me too humbly and respectfully suggests that if your Majesty
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were to degree that the English Constitution, in the most
perfect and practical form, which with slight alteration and chiefly
in name, is also the Constitution of the United States
of North America, shall be the model for the government
of Brazil under your Imperial Majesty, with power to the
Constituent Assembly to alter particular parts as local circumstances may
render advisable. It would excite the sympathy of powerful states
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abroad and the firm allegiance of the Brazilian people to
your Majesty's throne. Were your Majesty, by a few brief
lines in the gazette to announce your intentions so to do,
and were you to banish all distrust from the public
mind by removing from your person for a time and
finding employment on honorable missions abroad for those Portuguese individuals
of whom the Brazilians are jealous, the purity of your
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Majesty's motives would be secured from the possibility of misrepresentation.
Actions which disturb the country would be silenced or converted,
and the feelings of the world, especially those of England
and North America, would be interested in promoting the glory,
happiness and prosperity of your Imperial Majesty. That advice, in
the main adopted by the Emperor led to a reconstruction
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of the Brazilian Constitution in its present shape, and so
added another to the great many benefits which brazil Os
to Lord Cochrane. But the whole and especially the last
part of it, being directed at variance with the plans
and interests of the Portuguese faction, it won for him
much hatred and many personal troubles. Quote that I, a foreigner,
having nothing to do with national politics, he said, should
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have counseled his Majesty to banish those who opposed him.
Was not to be borne, and the resentment caused by
my recent services was increased to bitter enmity for meddling
in affairs which it was considered did not concern me,
though I could have had no other object than the
good of the Empire. By the establishment of a constitution
which should give its stability in the estimation of European states. Consequently,
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in return for the great services he had conferred to Brazil,
he received, as had been the case in Chile, little
but insult and injury, the course of insult and injury
being hardly stayed even during the period in which he
was needed to engage in further services. The Emperor honestly
tried to be generous, but he could not rid himself
with the Portuguese faction generally dominant in Brazil, and his
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worthy intentions were thwarted in every possible way. With difficulty
could he secure for Lord Cochrane the confirmation of his
patent as first Admiral, which has been already referred to.
No great resistance was made to the conferment of the
empty title of Marquis of Maranjam, but he was not
allowed to make the grant of land, which was intended
to go with the title and enabled it to be
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borne with dignity. Prevented from being generous, he was even
hindered from exercising the barest justice. The injustice was shown
not only to Lord Cochrane, but also to all the
officers and crews who serving under him had enabled Brazil
to maintain its resistance to the tyranny of Portugal, though
not to shake off the tyranny of the faction, which
still had the interests of port at heart. It is
not necessary to describe in detail the long course of
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ill usage to which he and his subordinates were exposed.
Part of that ill usage will be best and most
briefly indicated by citing a portion of an eloquent memorial
which Lord Cochrane addressed to the Imperial Government on the
thirteenth of January eighteen twenty five. The memorial began by
enumerating the achievements of the fleet at Bayer, loranjum Para
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and elsewhere quote to the Imperial Squadron. It proceeds, may
sail for Rio de Janeiro in the full expectation of
reaping a reward for their labors, not only because they
had been mainly instrumental in rescuing from the hands of
the Portuguese and adding to the Imperial dominion one half
of the Empire, but also because their hopes seemed to
be firmly grounded independently of such services, on the capture
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of upwards of one hundred transports and merchant vessels, exclusive
of ships of war, all of which they had a
just right to expect would, under the existing laws, be
adjudged to the captors. The whole of them were seen
used under Portuguese colours, with Portuguese registers, manned by Portuguese seamen,
having on board Portuguese troops and ammunition or Portuguese produce
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and manufacture. On arriving at Rio de Janeiro, there was
no feeling but one of satisfaction among the officers and seamen,
and the Brazilian marine might, from that moment, without the
expense of one mil ray to the nation, have been
rapidly raised to a state of efficiency in discipline which
had not yet been attained in any marine in South America,
and which the navies of Portugal and Spain do not possess.
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It could not, however, be long concealed from the knowledge
of the squadron that political or other reasons had prevented
any proceedings being had in the adjudication of their prizes,
and the extraordinary declaration that was made by the Tribunal
of Prizes that they were not aware that hostilities existed
between Brazil and Portugal led to an inquiry of whom
the tribunal was composed all surprise at so extraordinary declaration
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then ceased. But other sentiments injurious to the Imperial service arose,
those of indignation and disgusted that the power of withholding
their rights should be placed in the hands of persons
who were natives of that very nation against which they
were employed in war. His Imperial Majesty, however, having signified
to this tribunal his pleasure that they should delay no
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longer in proceeding to the adjudication of the captured vessels.
The result was that, in almost every instance, at the
commencement of their proceedings, the vessels were condemned, not as
lawful prizes to the captors, but as drouts to the Crown.
His Majesty was then pleased to desire that said droits
should be granted to the squadron at about one fifth
of the value of the prizes taken. Was eventually paid
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under the denomination of the grant of droits of the Crown.
But when this decree of His Imperial Majesty was promulgated,
the tribunal altered their course of proceeding, and, instead of
condemning to the Crown, did in almost every remaining instance
pronounced the acquittal of the vessels captured and adjudged them
to be given up to pretended Brazilian owners, notwithstanding that
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Brazilian property embarked in enemies vessels was by the law
declared to be forfeited, and that too with such indecent
precipitancy that, in cases where the hull only had been claimed,
the cargo also was decreed to be given up to
the claimants of the whole, without any part of it
having at any time been even pretended to be their property.
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Other ships and cargoes were given up without any form
of trial and without any intimation whatever to their captors
or their agents, and in most cases costs and quadruple
damages were unjustly decreed against the caftors the amount of
three hundred thousand mil rays. That the prizes of which
the captors were thus fraudulently deprived, chiefly under the unlawful
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and false pretense of their belonging to Brazilians, were really
the property of Portuguese and well known so to be
by the said tribunal has since been fully demonstrated by
the arrival in the Lisbon of the whole of the
vessels liberated by their decisions. Thus, the charge of a
system of wilful injustice brought by the Squadron against the
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Portuguese Tribunal of Prizes at Rio diigene Row is established
beyond the possibility of contradiction. It was only an aggravation
of that injustice that, when Lord Cochrane claimed the prompt
and equitable judication of the prizes, an attempt was made
to silence him on the twenty fourth of November by
a message from the Minister of Marine to the effect
that the Emperor would do everything in his power for
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him personally. His Majesty answered, Lord Cochrane has already conferred
honors upon me equal to my merits, and the greatest
personal favor he can bestow is to urge on the
spinning adjudication of the prizes, so that the officers and
seamen may reap the reward decreed by the Emperor's own authority.
A hardship to the fleet even greater than the withholding
of its prize money was the withholding of the arreas
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of pay, which had been accumulating ever since the departure
from Rio di Janeiro in April. On the twenty seventh
of November, three months wages were offered to men to
whom more than twice that amount was due. This they
indignantly refused, and all Lord Cochrane's tact was needed to
restrain them from open mutiny. In spite of the empress
friendship toward Law Cochrane, or rather in consequence of it,
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he was in all sorts of ways insulted by the Ministry,
the head of which was now Severiano da Costa. A
new ship, the Atlanta, was on the twenty seventh of December,
without reference to him, ordered for service at Montevideo. He
was on the same day publicly described as commander of
the naval forces in the port of Riodioneiro, thus being
placed on a level with other offices in the service
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of which by the Emperor's patent he was first admiral,
and no notice was taken of his protest against the insult.
On the twenty fourth of February, he was gazetted as
Commander in chief of all naval forces of the Empire
during the present war, by which his functions, though now
limited in extent, were limited in time at length, reasonably
indignant at these and other violations of the contract made
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with him. He offered to resign his command al together
if I thought the course pursued towards me was dictated
by His Imperial Majesty. He wrote to the Minister of
Marine on the twentieth March, it would be impossible for
me to remain an hour longer in his service, and
I should feel that my duty, at the earliest possible
moment to lay my commission at his feet, if I
have not done so before. From the treatment which, in
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common with the Navy I have experienced, it has been
solely from an anxious desire to promote His Majesty's real interests. Indeed,
to struggle against prejudices and at the same time against
those in power whose prepossessions are at variance with the
interests of His Majesty and the tranquility and independence of
Brazil is a task to which I am by no
means equal. I am therefore perfectly willing to resign the
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situation I hold, rather than contend against difficulties which appear
to me insurmountable. That letter was answered with complimentary phrases,
and Lord Coctram was induced to continue in the employment
from which he could not be spared, but there was
no diminution of the old treatment to which he was subjected.
One special indignity, he was attended by some amusing incidents.
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On the third of June, while he was residing on shore,
it was proposed to search his flagship, on the pretext
that he had there concealed life sense of money, which
were the property of the nation. Late in the evening,
he said, I received a visit from Madame bon Planned,
the talented wife of the distinguished French naturalist. This lady,
who had singular opportunities for becoming acquainted with state secrets,
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came expressly to inform me that my house was at
that moment surrounded by a guard of soldiers. She further
informed me that, under the pretense of a review to
be held at the opposite side of the harbor early
in the following morning, preparations had been made by the
ministers to board the flagship, which was to be thoroughly
overhauled whilst I was detained on shore, and all the
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money found taken possession of. Thanking my friend for her
timely warning, I clambered over my garden fence as the
only practicable way in the stables, selected a horse, and,
notwithstanding the lateness of the hour, proceeded to Saint Christophal,
the country palace of the Emperor, where, on my arrival
I demanded to see his Majesty, the request being refused
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by the gentleman in waiting. In such way as to
confirm the statement Madame bon Planned, I dared him at
his peril to refuse me admission, adding that the matter
on which I had come was fraught with grave consequences
to his Majesty in the empire. But said he, his
Majesty has retired to bed long ago. No matter, I replied,
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in bed or not in bed, I demand to see
him in virtue of my privilege of access to him
at all times, and if you refuse to conceive permission,
looked to the consequences. His Majesty was not, however, asleep,
and the Royal chamber being close at hand, he recognized
my voice. In the altercation with the attendant hastily coming
out of his apartments, he asked what could have brought
me there at that time of night. My reply was that,
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understanding that troops ordered for review were destined to proceed
to the flagship in search of supposed treasure. I had
come to request His Majesty immediately to appoint confidential persons
to accompany me on board, where the keys of every
chest in the ship should be placed in their hands,
in every place thrown open to inspection. But if any
of his anti Brazilian administration ventured to board the ship
in preparation of the contemplated insult, they would certainly be
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regarded as pirates, entreated as such, adding at the same time,
quote depend upon it. They are not more my enemies
than enemies of your Majesty in the empire, And an
intrusion so warrantable the officers and crew are bound to resist. Well,
replied his Majesty, you seem to be apprized of everything,
but the plot is not mine. Being as far as
I am concerned, convinced that no money would be found
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more than we already know of from yourself, I then
entreated His Majesty to take such steps for my justification
as would be satisfactory to the public. There is no
necessity for any he replied. But how to dispense with
this review is the puzzle. I will be ill in
the morning, So go home and think no more of
the matter, I give you my word, your flag shall
not be outraged. The Emperor kept his word, and in
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the night was suddenly taken ill. As his Majesty was
really beloved by his Brazilian subjects. All the native respectability
of Rio was early the next day on its way
to the palace to inquire after the royal health, and
ordering my carriage, I also proceeded to the palace, lest
my absence might seem singular. On entering the room where
the Emperor was in the act of explaining the nature
of his disease to the anxious inquirers, his Majesty burst
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into a fit of uncontrollable laughter, in which I has
hartily joined the bystanders, evidently by the gravity of their countenances,
considering that we had both taken leave of our senses.
The ministers looked astounded, but said nothing. His Majesty kept
his secret, and I was silent. Readerslote of anecdote. That
anecdote fairly illustrates the treatment adopted towards Lord Cochrane and
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the straits to which the Emperor was reduced in his
efforts to protect him from his enemies in power. The
ill treatment both of himself and the whole fleet. Continuing,
he addressed an indignant protest to his Majesty in July.
The time has at length arrived, he there said, when
it is impossible to doubt that the influence which the
Portuguese faction has so long exerted, with the view of
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depriving the officers and seamen of their stipulated rites, has
succeeded in its object, and has even prevailed against the
expressed wishes and intentions of Your Majesty. The determined perseverance
in a course so op post to justice must come
to an end. The general discontent which prevails in the
squadron has rendered the situation in which I am placed
one of the most embarrassing description. For though a few
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may be aware that my own cause of complaint is
equal to theirs, many cannot perceive the consistency of my
patient continuance in the service with disapprobation of the measures pursued.
Even the honors which Your Majesty has been pleased to
bestow upon me are deemed by most officers and by
the whole of the men, who know not the assiduity
with which I have persevered in earnest but unavailing remonstrance
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as a bribe by which I have been induced to
abandon their interests. Much therefore, as I prize those honors
as the gracious gift of Your Imperial Majesty, yet holding
in still dearer estimation my character as an officer and
a man, I cannot hesitate in choosing which to sacrifice
when the attention of both is evidently incompatible. I can
therefore no longer delay to demonstrate to the squadron and
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to the world, that I am no partner in the
deceptions and oppressions which are practiced on the Naval Service.
And as the first and most painful step in the
performance of this imperious duty, I crave permission with all
humility in respect to return those favors and allay them
at the feet of Your Majesty. I should, however, fall
short of my duty to those who were induced to
enter the service by my example or invitation, were I
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to do nothing more than convince them I had been deceived,
it is incumbent on me to make every effort to
obtain for them the fulfillment of engagements for which I
made myself responsible. As far as I am personally concerned.
I could be content to quit the service of your Majesty,
either with or without the expectation of obtaining compensation at
a future period. After effectually fighting the battles of freedom
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and independence on both sides of South America, in clearing
the two seas of every vessel of war, I could
submit to return to my native country and reward it.
But I cannot submit to adopt any course which shall
not redeem my pledge to brother, officers and seamen. That
and other arguments contained in the same letter, aided by
inducements of a different sort to be present referred to,
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had partial effect. A small portion of the prize money
in wages due to the squadron was issued, and Lord
Cochrane remained for another year in the service of Brazil.
His weary waiting time at Rio di Janeiro, however, extending
over nearly nine months, was almost at an end. On
the second of August, he left it, never to return.
While the ingratitude shown to him in Brazil was at
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its worst, it is interesting to note that a few,
at any rate, of his own countrymen were remembering his
past troubles and his present worth. On the twenty first
of June, Sir James Macintosh, in one of the many
speeches in the British House of Commons, in which he
nobly advocated the recognition of the independence of the South
American States, both as a political duty and as a
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necessary measure in the interests of commerce, made a graceful
allusion to Lord Cochrane. I know he said that I
am here touching on a topic of great delicacy, but
I must say that commerce has been gallantly protected by
that extraordinary man who was once a British officer, who
once filled a distinguished post in the British Navy at
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the brightest period of its annals. I mention this circumstance
with struggling and mixed emotions, emotions of pride that the
individual I speak of is a Briton, emotions of regret
that he is no longer a British officer. Can anyone
imagine a more gallant action than the cutting out of
the Esmeralda from Caloh Never was there a greater display
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of judgment, calmness, and enterprising British valor than was shown
on that memorable occasion. No man ever felt more ardent,
a more inextinguishable love of country, a more anxious desire
to promote its interests and extend its prosperity than the
gallant individual to whom I allude. I speak for myself.
No other person is responsible for the opinions which I
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now utter, But ask what motive of this country can
help wishing that such a man were again amongst us.
I hope I shall be excused for saying thus much,
But I cannot avoid fervently wishing that such advice may
be given to the Crown by His Majesty's constitutional advisers,
as will induce his Majesty graciously to restore Lord Cochrane
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to the country which he so warmly loves, and to
that noble service to the glory of which I am
convinced he willingly would sacrifice every earthly consideration. End of
Chapter eleven. Recording by Timothy Ferguson, Gold Coast, Australia.
Chapter eleven of the Life of Thomas Lord Cochrane, tant
ele of Dundonald, Volume one by Henry Richard fox Bourne.
This LibriVox recording is in the public domain recording by
Timothy Ferguson eighteen twenty three to eighteen twenty four. All
of the rewards bestowed upon Lord Cochrane for his wonderful
successes in the northern part of Brazil, except the confirmation
(00:22):
of his patent as first Admiral, be it noted, were unsubstantial.
He had forever crushed the power of Portugal in South America.
He had added vast provinces to the Imperial Dominion, and
had thus augmented the Imperial revenues by considerably more than
a million dollars a year, besides the great and immediate
profits of his price taking. And all this had been
(00:44):
done with a small fleet, poorly equipped and unpaid. The
ships entrusted to him had been rendered efficient by his
own ingenuity, unaided by the government, and with scant addition
to his resources from the numerous captures made by him
in excess of his instructions, and with nothing but cheap
compliments and cheaper promises to encourage him he had acquired
Maranjum and Para and all the provinces dependent upon them,
(01:07):
as well as Baja. Relying on the honor of his employers,
he had pledged his own honor that on their returning
to Rio di Janeiro, his crews, who were clamoring for
some part, at any rate of the wages due to them,
should be fully recompensed. And he had the reasonable expectation
that out of the abundant wealth that had been gained
for Brazil, he himself should receive his lawful share of
(01:28):
the prize money gained by his exertions. Instead of that,
he and his subordinates, both officers and men, were subjected
to an unparalleled course of meanness, trickery, and fraud. This
partly resulted from an unfortunate change in the government that
occurred during his absence. When he left Rio di Janeiro
paid for the first chief Secretary of State had been
Don Jose Bonifasio Diandrade is Silva, a wise and patriotic Brazilian.
(01:54):
The Emperor and his minister had all along been seriously
crippled in fulfillment of their good purposes by subordinates of
the Portuguese faction who persistently twisted their instructions when they
did not act in direct opposition to those instructions, so
as to promote their own and their countrymen's selfish and
unpatriotic objects. But they had been hoped that the zeal
(02:14):
of Pedro and Jose de Andradra would overcome these evil
devices and secure the healthy consolidation of the Empire. When
Lord Cochran returned, however, he found that the honest minister
had been deposed, that his party had been ousted, and
that the Emperor was surrounded by bad counselors who, unable
to pervert his judgment, was strong enough to restrain its action,
and who were robbing him, one by one of all
(02:36):
his constitutional functions and doing their best to bring Brazil
into a state of anarchy, with a view to the
re establishment of Portuguese authority in its old or in
some new but no less obnoxious form. The Emperor, desiring
to do well, had hardly himproved his position a few
days before the Pedro Premierro's arrival by violently dissolving the
(02:57):
Legislative Assembly, banishing so of its members, and threatening to
place Rio de Genaro itself under military law. That was
the state of affairs when Lord Cochrane entered the port.
Only five days afterwards, on the fourteenth of November eighteen
twenty three, he wrote a bold letter to the Emperor.
My sense of the impropriety of intruding myself on the
attention of your Imperial Majesty on any subject unconnected with
(03:20):
the official position with which your Majesty has been pleased
to honor me, he said, could only have been overcome
by an irresistible desire, under existing circumstances, to contribute to
the service of your Majesty in the Empire. The conduct
of the late Legislative Assembly, which sought to derogate from
the dignity and prerogatives of your Majesty, even presuming to
require you to divest yourself of your crown in their presence,
(03:42):
which deprived you of your Council of State, and denied
you a voice in the enactment of laws and the
formation of the Constitution, and which dared to object to
your exercising the only remaining function of royalty, that of
rewarding services and conferring honors, could no longer be tolerated,
and justice and wisdom of your Imperial Majesty in dissolving
such an assembly will be duly appreciated by discerning men
(04:05):
and by those whose love of good order and their
country supersedes their ambitional personal interests. There are, however, individuals,
who will wickedly take advantage of the late proceedings to
kindle the flames of discord and throw your empire into
anarchy and confusion, unless timely prevented by the wisdom and
energy of your Imperial Majesty. The declaration that you will
give to your people a practical constitution more free than
(04:27):
that which the late Assembly professed an intention to establish, cannot,
considering the spirit which now pervades South America, have the
effect of averting impending evils, unless your Imperial Majesty shall
be pleased to dissipate all doubts by at once declaring,
before the news of recent events can be dispersed throughout
the provinces, and before the discontented members of late Congress
can return to their constituents, what is the precise nature
(04:50):
of that constitution which your Imperial Majesty intends to bestow.
As no monarch is more happy or more truly powerful
than the limited monarch of England, surrounded by a free
people enriched by that industry which the security of property
by means of just laws never fails to create. Permit
me too humbly and respectfully suggests that if your Majesty
(05:11):
were to degree that the English Constitution, in the most
perfect and practical form, which with slight alteration and chiefly
in name, is also the Constitution of the United States
of North America, shall be the model for the government
of Brazil under your Imperial Majesty, with power to the
Constituent Assembly to alter particular parts as local circumstances may
render advisable. It would excite the sympathy of powerful states
(05:32):
abroad and the firm allegiance of the Brazilian people to
your Majesty's throne. Were your Majesty, by a few brief
lines in the gazette to announce your intentions so to do,
and were you to banish all distrust from the public
mind by removing from your person for a time and
finding employment on honorable missions abroad for those Portuguese individuals
of whom the Brazilians are jealous, the purity of your
(05:55):
Majesty's motives would be secured from the possibility of misrepresentation.
Actions which disturb the country would be silenced or converted,
and the feelings of the world, especially those of England
and North America, would be interested in promoting the glory,
happiness and prosperity of your Imperial Majesty. That advice, in
the main adopted by the Emperor led to a reconstruction
(06:16):
of the Brazilian Constitution in its present shape, and so
added another to the great many benefits which brazil Os
to Lord Cochrane. But the whole and especially the last
part of it, being directed at variance with the plans
and interests of the Portuguese faction, it won for him
much hatred and many personal troubles. Quote that I, a foreigner,
having nothing to do with national politics, he said, should
(06:38):
have counseled his Majesty to banish those who opposed him.
Was not to be borne, and the resentment caused by
my recent services was increased to bitter enmity for meddling
in affairs which it was considered did not concern me,
though I could have had no other object than the
good of the Empire. By the establishment of a constitution
which should give its stability in the estimation of European states. Consequently,
(07:00):
in return for the great services he had conferred to Brazil,
he received, as had been the case in Chile, little
but insult and injury, the course of insult and injury
being hardly stayed even during the period in which he
was needed to engage in further services. The Emperor honestly
tried to be generous, but he could not rid himself
with the Portuguese faction generally dominant in Brazil, and his
(07:21):
worthy intentions were thwarted in every possible way. With difficulty
could he secure for Lord Cochrane the confirmation of his
patent as first Admiral, which has been already referred to.
No great resistance was made to the conferment of the
empty title of Marquis of Maranjam, but he was not
allowed to make the grant of land, which was intended
to go with the title and enabled it to be
(07:42):
borne with dignity. Prevented from being generous, he was even
hindered from exercising the barest justice. The injustice was shown
not only to Lord Cochrane, but also to all the
officers and crews who serving under him had enabled Brazil
to maintain its resistance to the tyranny of Portugal, though
not to shake off the tyranny of the faction, which
still had the interests of port at heart. It is
not necessary to describe in detail the long course of
(08:04):
ill usage to which he and his subordinates were exposed.
Part of that ill usage will be best and most
briefly indicated by citing a portion of an eloquent memorial
which Lord Cochrane addressed to the Imperial Government on the
thirteenth of January eighteen twenty five. The memorial began by
enumerating the achievements of the fleet at Bayer, loranjum Para
(08:25):
and elsewhere quote to the Imperial Squadron. It proceeds, may
sail for Rio de Janeiro in the full expectation of
reaping a reward for their labors, not only because they
had been mainly instrumental in rescuing from the hands of
the Portuguese and adding to the Imperial dominion one half
of the Empire, but also because their hopes seemed to
be firmly grounded independently of such services, on the capture
(08:48):
of upwards of one hundred transports and merchant vessels, exclusive
of ships of war, all of which they had a
just right to expect would, under the existing laws, be
adjudged to the captors. The whole of them were seen
used under Portuguese colours, with Portuguese registers, manned by Portuguese seamen,
having on board Portuguese troops and ammunition or Portuguese produce
(09:08):
and manufacture. On arriving at Rio de Janeiro, there was
no feeling but one of satisfaction among the officers and seamen,
and the Brazilian marine might, from that moment, without the
expense of one mil ray to the nation, have been
rapidly raised to a state of efficiency in discipline which
had not yet been attained in any marine in South America,
and which the navies of Portugal and Spain do not possess.
(09:29):
It could not, however, be long concealed from the knowledge
of the squadron that political or other reasons had prevented
any proceedings being had in the adjudication of their prizes,
and the extraordinary declaration that was made by the Tribunal
of Prizes that they were not aware that hostilities existed
between Brazil and Portugal led to an inquiry of whom
the tribunal was composed all surprise at so extraordinary declaration
(09:53):
then ceased. But other sentiments injurious to the Imperial service arose,
those of indignation and disgusted that the power of withholding
their rights should be placed in the hands of persons
who were natives of that very nation against which they
were employed in war. His Imperial Majesty, however, having signified
to this tribunal his pleasure that they should delay no
(10:14):
longer in proceeding to the adjudication of the captured vessels.
The result was that, in almost every instance, at the
commencement of their proceedings, the vessels were condemned, not as
lawful prizes to the captors, but as drouts to the Crown.
His Majesty was then pleased to desire that said droits
should be granted to the squadron at about one fifth
of the value of the prizes taken. Was eventually paid
(10:35):
under the denomination of the grant of droits of the Crown.
But when this decree of His Imperial Majesty was promulgated,
the tribunal altered their course of proceeding, and, instead of
condemning to the Crown, did in almost every remaining instance
pronounced the acquittal of the vessels captured and adjudged them
to be given up to pretended Brazilian owners, notwithstanding that
(10:55):
Brazilian property embarked in enemies vessels was by the law
declared to be forfeited, and that too with such indecent
precipitancy that, in cases where the hull only had been claimed,
the cargo also was decreed to be given up to
the claimants of the whole, without any part of it
having at any time been even pretended to be their property.
(11:16):
Other ships and cargoes were given up without any form
of trial and without any intimation whatever to their captors
or their agents, and in most cases costs and quadruple
damages were unjustly decreed against the caftors the amount of
three hundred thousand mil rays. That the prizes of which
the captors were thus fraudulently deprived, chiefly under the unlawful
(11:36):
and false pretense of their belonging to Brazilians, were really
the property of Portuguese and well known so to be
by the said tribunal has since been fully demonstrated by
the arrival in the Lisbon of the whole of the
vessels liberated by their decisions. Thus, the charge of a
system of wilful injustice brought by the Squadron against the
(11:57):
Portuguese Tribunal of Prizes at Rio diigene Row is established
beyond the possibility of contradiction. It was only an aggravation
of that injustice that, when Lord Cochrane claimed the prompt
and equitable judication of the prizes, an attempt was made
to silence him on the twenty fourth of November by
a message from the Minister of Marine to the effect
that the Emperor would do everything in his power for
(12:19):
him personally. His Majesty answered, Lord Cochrane has already conferred
honors upon me equal to my merits, and the greatest
personal favor he can bestow is to urge on the
spinning adjudication of the prizes, so that the officers and
seamen may reap the reward decreed by the Emperor's own authority.
A hardship to the fleet even greater than the withholding
of its prize money was the withholding of the arreas
(12:41):
of pay, which had been accumulating ever since the departure
from Rio di Janeiro in April. On the twenty seventh
of November, three months wages were offered to men to
whom more than twice that amount was due. This they
indignantly refused, and all Lord Cochrane's tact was needed to
restrain them from open mutiny. In spite of the empress
friendship toward Law Cochrane, or rather in consequence of it,
(13:02):
he was in all sorts of ways insulted by the Ministry,
the head of which was now Severiano da Costa. A
new ship, the Atlanta, was on the twenty seventh of December,
without reference to him, ordered for service at Montevideo. He
was on the same day publicly described as commander of
the naval forces in the port of Riodioneiro, thus being
placed on a level with other offices in the service
(13:23):
of which by the Emperor's patent he was first admiral,
and no notice was taken of his protest against the insult.
On the twenty fourth of February, he was gazetted as
Commander in chief of all naval forces of the Empire
during the present war, by which his functions, though now
limited in extent, were limited in time at length, reasonably
indignant at these and other violations of the contract made
(13:45):
with him. He offered to resign his command al together
if I thought the course pursued towards me was dictated
by His Imperial Majesty. He wrote to the Minister of
Marine on the twentieth March, it would be impossible for
me to remain an hour longer in his service, and
I should feel that my duty, at the earliest possible
moment to lay my commission at his feet, if I
have not done so before. From the treatment which, in
(14:07):
common with the Navy I have experienced, it has been
solely from an anxious desire to promote His Majesty's real interests. Indeed,
to struggle against prejudices and at the same time against
those in power whose prepossessions are at variance with the
interests of His Majesty and the tranquility and independence of
Brazil is a task to which I am by no
means equal. I am therefore perfectly willing to resign the
(14:28):
situation I hold, rather than contend against difficulties which appear
to me insurmountable. That letter was answered with complimentary phrases,
and Lord Coctram was induced to continue in the employment
from which he could not be spared, but there was
no diminution of the old treatment to which he was subjected.
One special indignity, he was attended by some amusing incidents.
(14:51):
On the third of June, while he was residing on shore,
it was proposed to search his flagship, on the pretext
that he had there concealed life sense of money, which
were the property of the nation. Late in the evening,
he said, I received a visit from Madame bon Planned,
the talented wife of the distinguished French naturalist. This lady,
who had singular opportunities for becoming acquainted with state secrets,
(15:12):
came expressly to inform me that my house was at
that moment surrounded by a guard of soldiers. She further
informed me that, under the pretense of a review to
be held at the opposite side of the harbor early
in the following morning, preparations had been made by the
ministers to board the flagship, which was to be thoroughly
overhauled whilst I was detained on shore, and all the
(15:33):
money found taken possession of. Thanking my friend for her
timely warning, I clambered over my garden fence as the
only practicable way in the stables, selected a horse, and,
notwithstanding the lateness of the hour, proceeded to Saint Christophal,
the country palace of the Emperor, where, on my arrival
I demanded to see his Majesty, the request being refused
(15:54):
by the gentleman in waiting. In such way as to
confirm the statement Madame bon Planned, I dared him at
his peril to refuse me admission, adding that the matter
on which I had come was fraught with grave consequences
to his Majesty in the empire. But said he, his
Majesty has retired to bed long ago. No matter, I replied,
(16:15):
in bed or not in bed, I demand to see
him in virtue of my privilege of access to him
at all times, and if you refuse to conceive permission,
looked to the consequences. His Majesty was not, however, asleep,
and the Royal chamber being close at hand, he recognized
my voice. In the altercation with the attendant hastily coming
out of his apartments, he asked what could have brought
me there at that time of night. My reply was that,
(16:37):
understanding that troops ordered for review were destined to proceed
to the flagship in search of supposed treasure. I had
come to request His Majesty immediately to appoint confidential persons
to accompany me on board, where the keys of every
chest in the ship should be placed in their hands,
in every place thrown open to inspection. But if any
of his anti Brazilian administration ventured to board the ship
in preparation of the contemplated insult, they would certainly be
(16:59):
regarded as pirates, entreated as such, adding at the same time,
quote depend upon it. They are not more my enemies
than enemies of your Majesty in the empire, And an
intrusion so warrantable the officers and crew are bound to resist. Well,
replied his Majesty, you seem to be apprized of everything,
but the plot is not mine. Being as far as
I am concerned, convinced that no money would be found
(17:21):
more than we already know of from yourself, I then
entreated His Majesty to take such steps for my justification
as would be satisfactory to the public. There is no
necessity for any he replied. But how to dispense with
this review is the puzzle. I will be ill in
the morning, So go home and think no more of
the matter, I give you my word, your flag shall
not be outraged. The Emperor kept his word, and in
(17:42):
the night was suddenly taken ill. As his Majesty was
really beloved by his Brazilian subjects. All the native respectability
of Rio was early the next day on its way
to the palace to inquire after the royal health, and
ordering my carriage, I also proceeded to the palace, lest
my absence might seem singular. On entering the room where
the Emperor was in the act of explaining the nature
of his disease to the anxious inquirers, his Majesty burst
(18:05):
into a fit of uncontrollable laughter, in which I has
hartily joined the bystanders, evidently by the gravity of their countenances,
considering that we had both taken leave of our senses.
The ministers looked astounded, but said nothing. His Majesty kept
his secret, and I was silent. Readerslote of anecdote. That
anecdote fairly illustrates the treatment adopted towards Lord Cochrane and
(18:27):
the straits to which the Emperor was reduced in his
efforts to protect him from his enemies in power. The
ill treatment both of himself and the whole fleet. Continuing,
he addressed an indignant protest to his Majesty in July.
The time has at length arrived, he there said, when
it is impossible to doubt that the influence which the
Portuguese faction has so long exerted, with the view of
(18:48):
depriving the officers and seamen of their stipulated rites, has
succeeded in its object, and has even prevailed against the
expressed wishes and intentions of Your Majesty. The determined perseverance
in a course so op post to justice must come
to an end. The general discontent which prevails in the
squadron has rendered the situation in which I am placed
one of the most embarrassing description. For though a few
(19:10):
may be aware that my own cause of complaint is
equal to theirs, many cannot perceive the consistency of my
patient continuance in the service with disapprobation of the measures pursued.
Even the honors which Your Majesty has been pleased to
bestow upon me are deemed by most officers and by
the whole of the men, who know not the assiduity
with which I have persevered in earnest but unavailing remonstrance
(19:32):
as a bribe by which I have been induced to
abandon their interests. Much therefore, as I prize those honors
as the gracious gift of Your Imperial Majesty, yet holding
in still dearer estimation my character as an officer and
a man, I cannot hesitate in choosing which to sacrifice
when the attention of both is evidently incompatible. I can
therefore no longer delay to demonstrate to the squadron and
(19:53):
to the world, that I am no partner in the
deceptions and oppressions which are practiced on the Naval Service.
And as the first and most painful step in the
performance of this imperious duty, I crave permission with all
humility in respect to return those favors and allay them
at the feet of Your Majesty. I should, however, fall
short of my duty to those who were induced to
enter the service by my example or invitation, were I
(20:16):
to do nothing more than convince them I had been deceived,
it is incumbent on me to make every effort to
obtain for them the fulfillment of engagements for which I
made myself responsible. As far as I am personally concerned.
I could be content to quit the service of your Majesty,
either with or without the expectation of obtaining compensation at
a future period. After effectually fighting the battles of freedom
(20:38):
and independence on both sides of South America, in clearing
the two seas of every vessel of war, I could
submit to return to my native country and reward it.
But I cannot submit to adopt any course which shall
not redeem my pledge to brother, officers and seamen. That
and other arguments contained in the same letter, aided by
inducements of a different sort to be present referred to,
(21:01):
had partial effect. A small portion of the prize money
in wages due to the squadron was issued, and Lord
Cochrane remained for another year in the service of Brazil.
His weary waiting time at Rio di Janeiro, however, extending
over nearly nine months, was almost at an end. On
the second of August, he left it, never to return.
While the ingratitude shown to him in Brazil was at
(21:21):
its worst, it is interesting to note that a few,
at any rate, of his own countrymen were remembering his
past troubles and his present worth. On the twenty first
of June, Sir James Macintosh, in one of the many
speeches in the British House of Commons, in which he
nobly advocated the recognition of the independence of the South
American States, both as a political duty and as a
(21:43):
necessary measure in the interests of commerce, made a graceful
allusion to Lord Cochrane. I know he said that I
am here touching on a topic of great delicacy, but
I must say that commerce has been gallantly protected by
that extraordinary man who was once a British officer, who
once filled a distinguished post in the British Navy at
(22:03):
the brightest period of its annals. I mention this circumstance
with struggling and mixed emotions, emotions of pride that the
individual I speak of is a Briton, emotions of regret
that he is no longer a British officer. Can anyone
imagine a more gallant action than the cutting out of
the Esmeralda from Caloh Never was there a greater display
(22:24):
of judgment, calmness, and enterprising British valor than was shown
on that memorable occasion. No man ever felt more ardent,
a more inextinguishable love of country, a more anxious desire
to promote its interests and extend its prosperity than the
gallant individual to whom I allude. I speak for myself.
No other person is responsible for the opinions which I
(22:46):
now utter, But ask what motive of this country can
help wishing that such a man were again amongst us.
I hope I shall be excused for saying thus much,
But I cannot avoid fervently wishing that such advice may
be given to the Crown by His Majesty's constitutional advisers,
as will induce his Majesty graciously to restore Lord Cochrane
(23:07):
to the country which he so warmly loves, and to
that noble service to the glory of which I am
convinced he willingly would sacrifice every earthly consideration. End of
Chapter eleven. Recording by Timothy Ferguson, Gold Coast, Australia.
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