Narrative of Services in the Liberation of Chili, Peru and Brazil Volume II Part 22

unjustifiably informing him officially that _"I had retired from the service of His Majesty the Emperor of Brazil!"_ notwithstanding my letters to him in contradiction. Indeed, the letter just quoted is sufficient to shew that not only had I not relinquished the service, but that I refused to obey Gameiro's order to proceed to Rio, because I knew that if the frigate returned to Brazil, the impression her presence had produced on Portugal would be altogether neutralized, and the negociations for peace might be indefinitely prolonged; so that his order to run away from the good which had been effected, was so truly absurd, that I did not choose to comply with it. Had the negociations for peace been broken off, I had formed plans of attacking Portugal in her own waters, though with but a single frigate; and I had no reasonable doubt of producing an impression there of no less forcible a character than, with a single s.h.i.+p, I had, two years before, produced on the Portuguese fleet in Brazil. The order was, therefore, one commanding me to run away from my own plans, of which the Envoy however knew nothing, as I did not feel justified in entrusting him with my intentions.

On receiving the above-mentioned intimation to proceed to Rio de Janeiro--without my intervention, Lieutenant Shepherd very properly forwarded the Envoy's letter to me--when, of course, I apprised him that he was under my command, and not under that of the Chevalier Gameiro.

At the same time I wrote to the latter, that "it would be the subject of regret if anything should cause the spurious decree of the 28th of February, 1824, to be brought into operation, but that, _at present, being in full possession of my office and authority_, my opinion was in no way changed, that the _Piranga_ should be first fully equipped, and then wait for a reasonable time for the decision of those important matters in discussion."

Finding that Lieutenant Shepherd would not fly in the face of my authority, the Envoy finally resorted to the extraordinary measure of stopping the seamen's wages and provisions. On the 6th of October, Lieutenant Shepherd wrote to me, that "in consequence of their wages not being paid they had all left off work, and though Clarence did all he could to pacify them, and get them to return to their duty, they had determined not to go to work until they were paid." On the 8th, Lieutenant Shepherd again wrote, "that Gameiro having ceased to supply the frigate with fresh provisions, he had, on his own responsibility, ordered the butcher to continue supplying them as usual." On Lieutenant Shepherd waiting upon the Envoy to remonstrate against this system of starvation, he replied--and his words are extracted from Lieutenant Shepherd's letter to me, that as "His Lords.h.i.+p did not think proper to sail at the time he wished, he would not be responsible for supplying the frigate with anything more--nor would he advance another s.h.i.+lling."

In all this, Gameiro--acting, no doubt, on instructions from the Portuguese faction at Rio--resorted to every kind of falsehood to get the officers to renounce my authority and to accept his! Of the character of the man and his petty expedients, the following extract from Lieutenant Shepherd's letter of the 8th of October, will form the best exponent:--

I have had another visit from General Brown, when he began a conversation by mentioning the evils which would arise from the feeling between your Lords.h.i.+p and Gameiro, who was at a loss how to act, as he had no authority over you--Gen. Brown suggesting how much better it would be for me to place myself under Gameiro's orders.

Finding that I refused--on the following morning he called again, and told me that he had seen Gameiro, and had heard that the misunderstanding between your Lords.h.i.+p and him was at an end, but that Gameiro wanted to see me. On this I waited on Gameiro, who after some conversation told me that if I had any regard for His Imperial Majesty's service, I should never have acted as I had done. I told him that all I had done had been for the good of the service, and that I was ready to put to sea as soon as I received your Lords.h.i.+p's orders. He then asked me if I was the effective Captain of the s.h.i.+p?

and whether I was not under the orders of Captain Crosbie? I told him that I was not acting under the orders of Captain Crosbie, but that I was Captain of the s.h.i.+p by virtue of a commission from the Emperor, and by an order from Lord Cochrane. He then said--Are you authorised to obey the orders of Captain Crosbie? and I said, I was not. Suppose you were to receive an order from Captain Crosbie, would you obey it?

I said I would not. Then you consider yourself the lawful Captain of that s.h.i.+p? I do.

Upon this Gameiro remarked, "You are not an officer of Lord Cochrane's, but of the Imperial Government. It is impossible for Lord Cochrane to return to the Brazils as the Admiralty Court there _has sentenced him to pay .60,000 sterling, and his command will cease as soon as peace is made between Brazil and Portugal! Besides, Lord Cochrane's motive for detaining the_ Piranga _is the expectation on his part of receiving .6000 per annum at the termination of the war, which the Government will never give him_!"

Finding that this made no impression on me, he began to threaten, saying that "he would state to his Government that all delay was occasioned by me, and that I should have to answer for it." I told him that, in the event of my sailing without your orders, I subjected myself to be tried by a court-martial for so doing, and leaving your Lords.h.i.+p behind. He answered that "I must be aware that he was the legal representative of His Imperial Majesty, and that he would give me despatches of such a nature as would not only exonerate me from all blame, but would shew the great zeal I had for His Imperial Majesty's service."

I asked Gameiro--if I were to act in such a manner, what would people think of me? The answer was, "_Never mind what Lord Cochrane says, you will be in the Brazils and he in England, and I will take upon myself all the blame and the responsibility._" He gave me till the evening to think of his proposals, and if I would not consent to them, he had other means of sending the _Piranga_ to sea. He further requested me to keep this secret from your Lords.h.i.+p, as if you heard of it you would come post and stop it; adding that if I would consent, he would send a sufficient number of men in a steamboat, with every kind of store and provisions required to complete us, and we were to sail immediately.

This deep laid plot of Gameiro's was not to be carried on as Portuguese plots are in general, but was to be done--using his own words--_at a blow_, before anybody could know anything about it.

With this I send a copy of my answer to Gameiro's proposals, and a letter representing the state of the s.h.i.+p.

I have the honour to remain Your Lords.h.i.+p's obedient Servant, JA'S. SHEPHERD.

Such were the underhand expedients of a man who was silly enough to tell the secrets of his Government, as regarded the intended injustice of the Brazilian Ministry towards me--in spite of stipulations thrice ratified by the Emperor's own hand. But in confiding them to Lieutenant Shepherd, the Envoy's want of common honesty, no less than of common sense, did not perceive that he was imparting iniquitous projects to a brave and faithful officer, who would not lose a moment till he had apprised me of the whole. I should be unjust to the memory of Captain Shepherd did I not give his written reply to the infamous proposals of Gameiro, a copy of which was enclosed to me in the preceding letter.

Copy of my answer to Gameiro's proposals, sent in Portuguese, and translated by Mr. March:--

MOST EXCELLENT SIR,

In answer to the wishes of your Excellency to place myself under your immediate orders, I have to acquaint you that I have this morning had a letter from Lord Cochrane, stating that he had received letters from your Excellency of such a nature as to require his immediate presence in town, where he intends to be on Monday next. This alone--you must be aware--will entirely preclude the possibility of putting into execution the arrangements which you wished; the celerity of the Admiral's movements being such as to preclude all hope of effecting them.

I am sorry to add, that all our men have this morning left the s.h.i.+p in a complete state of mutiny, occasioned by their not having received their last two months' pay, and I much fear that it will be now more difficult than ever to get her manned--as, from their having been so long kept in arrears, and leaving their s.h.i.+p without being paid, has irritated their feelings to such a degree, that I have no hesitation whatever in saying that they will do all in their power to prevent others from joining her.

I have the honour to remain Your obedient humble Servant,

JAMES SHEPHERD.

To His Excellency MANOEL RODRIGUEZ GAMEIRO PESSOA.

On the 29th of October, I received from the Brazilian Legation in London, further orders from the Imperial Government, dated August 25th, 1825, to return with the _Piranga_ to Rio de Janeiro--and with these I made preparations to comply, notifying to Gameiro my readiness to sail--by the following letter:--

London, Nov. 3, 1825.

MOST EXCELLENT SIR,

Having informed your Excellency on the 1st of October, that previous to quitting Maranham I had antic.i.p.ated the Imperial resolutions, and having in my letter of the 24th further made known to your Excellency that the _Piranga_ should sail for Brazil on or as soon after the 10th of this month as the wind would permit, your Excellency will perceive that there is nothing remaining of the Imperial decree to be executed, unless the _Piranga_ (which I much doubt) should be enabled to put to sea before the early day which I have fixed for departure.

(Signed) COCHRANE AND MARANHA.

His Excellency MANOEL RODRIGUEZ GAMEIRO PESSOA.

This declaration of my readiness to comply with His Imperial Majesty's orders did not, however, suit the Envoy, nor did it fall in with his instructions from the Brazilian Ministry, which, no doubt were, as soon as peace was proclaimed, _to get rid of me without satisfying my claims_--this course being, indeed, apparent from what the Envoy, as just shewn, had communicated to Lieutenant Shepherd. (See page 260.) On the 3rd of November, peace between Portugal and Brazil was announced, and the independence of the Empire acknowledged; Gameiro being, on the occasion, created Baron Itabayana, whilst I--to whose instrumentality the peace--as a consequence of the consolidation of the Empire had been mainly owing, _was to be ignominiously dismissed the service_!

On the 7th of November--four days only after the announcement of peace--Gameiro took upon himself the execution of the spurious ministerial decree issued by Barbosa on the 27th of February, 1824, which _had been abrogated by the Emperor, through the same minister, in the July following, as a prelude to my employment in the tranquillisation of the Northern provinces_. Gameiro did not venture previously to apprise me of the act lest I should resist it--but insultingly sent an order to the officers of the Piranga to "disengage themselves from all obedience to my command." (Se desliga de toda subordinaca a o Ex'mo S'r Marquez do Maranha), thus unjustifiably terminating my services--as I was on the point of returning, in obedience to the order of the Emperor. The subjoined is the order alluded to:--

_To_ Captain SHEPHERD, _commanding the Piranga, still refusing supplies whilst I held the command._

Having received the two letters which you addressed to me on the 4th of this month, enclosing three demands for various articles for the use of the frigate, I have to reply that I persist in my resolution not to furnish anything to the frigate unless she is placed under the immediate orders of this Legation, which I shall only consider accomplished when I shall receive a reply signed by yourself, and by all the other officers, declaring that--in compliance with the orders of His Imperial Majesty, contained in the two portarias of 37th of June and 20th of August last--_you all place yourselves under the orders of this Legation, and cast off all subordination to the Marquis of Maranha!_

Dated London, 7th November, 1825.

(Signed) GAMEIRO.

As this was done without the slightest motive existing or a.s.signed, there was no doubt in my mind but that Barbosa and his colleagues in the ministry had instructed Gameiro to dismiss me from the service whenever peace was effected; indeed, he had so informed Lieutenant Shepherd by the letter before quoted. To resist a measure--though thus insultingly resorted to--in the face of the Imperial order to return, was out of the question, as the instant consequence would have been a disgraceful outbreak between the Brazilian and Portuguese seamen of the _Piranga,_ in the princ.i.p.al war port of England, to my own scandal, no less than to that of the Imperial government. I had, therefore, no alternative to avert this outrage but by submitting to the forcible deposition from my authority as Commander-in-Chief.

This act of the Envoy--_based upon the deliberate falsehood that His Imperial Majesty had ordered the officers not to obey me, no such order existing_ in either of the Portarias mentioned--precluded my obedience to the Imperial command to return to Rio de Janeiro, for being no longer acknowledged as "First Admiral of Brazil, and Commander-in-Chief of the National Armada," I could only have accompanied the _Piranga_ as a pa.s.senger, or rather _quasi_ prisoner; and to this, in either capacity, it was impossible, without degradation, to submit. I had no inclination to place myself at the mercy of men who had taken advantage of a spurious decree to dismiss me--now that--in spite of their opposition--the destiny of the Empire had been irrevocably decided by my having counteracted their _anti-national_ views whilst carrying out the intentions of His Imperial Majesty.

As will presently be seen, it was falsely represented by Gameiro, to the Imperial Government, that I had _voluntarily abandoned the service!_ though, from the letter just quoted--ordering the officers to "disengage themselves from all subordination to me," this subterfuge of my having _dismissed myself_ is obviously false. I will not, therefore, trespa.s.s on the patience of the reader by dilating upon the subject; suffice it to say that, not choosing to return to Rio de Janeiro as a pa.s.senger, I had no dignified alternative but to give up the frigate to the command of the senior officer, Captain Shepherd; confiding to him all accounts of monies distributed for the Imperial service, with the vouchers for the same--taking the precaution to send however the duplicate receipts given by the officers on account of the monies paid by the Junta of Maranham--and retaining the originals in my possession, where they now remain, and will be adduced in the statement of account forming the concluding chapter of this volume.

For these accounts--which the Brazilian ministers _deny ever to have received_--Captain Shepherd gave me, under his own signature, the following acknowledgment--now in my possession; a photograph of which, together with photographs of other important doc.u.ments has long since been sent to the Brazilian Government:--

Received from Lord Cochrane, Marquess of Maranha, the key of the iron chest, in which the prize lists and receipts for the disburs.e.m.e.nt of public monies have been kept during His Excellency's command; which key and chest I engage faithfully to deliver to the accountant-general of His Imperial Majesty's navy, or to the proper authority at Rio de Janeiro, taking his receipt for the same.

On board H.I.M.'s s.h.i.+p _Piranga_, November 12th, 1825,

JA's SHEPHERD.

The denial by the Brazilian Administration--of the accounts and receipts thus acknowledged by Captain Shepherd, and the absence of any ministerial communication on the subject, forms an unworthy imputation on the memory of a gallant officer, who a short time afterwards n.o.bly died in action in the cause of Brazil. It was utterly impossible that Captain Shepherd should have done otherwise than have delivered them, for he was a man upon whose honour no reproach could be cast. There are only two ways to account for their not having been delivered, if such be the case. 1st, that Gameiro on the delivery of the frigate to the legation obtained possession of the chest in which they were deposited, and withheld them to justify my dismissal by casting the reproach upon me of having appropriated the amount--an act of which the Brazilian Government may judge whether he was capable; or, 2ndly, that from the same reason they were purposely withheld or destroyed by the ministers who had been so inimical to me. The present Brazilian Administration is happily composed of men of a different stamp, and it becomes them, for the sake of the national reputation, to inst.i.tute the strictest search for the doc.u.mentary evidence adduced, as no man will believe that I withheld doc.u.ments which could alone justify my acts.

And here I must be permitted to remark, that the doc.u.mentary evidence adduced in this volume proves the history, and not the history the doc.u.ments. If any question be made as to their validity or fidelity, _I hereby call upon the Brazilian Government to appoint a Commission, or authorise their Emba.s.sy to compare the extracts with the originals in my possession, so that no manner of doubt or question shall attach to them._ My object in now producing them is, that I will not voluntarily go to my grave with obloquy, cast on me by men, who, at the outset of Brazilian independence, were a misfortune to the Empire no less than to myself; men who not only pursued this shameful line of conduct towards me who was unable to resist it,--but towards His Imperial Majesty,--who, by similar practices, was eventually disgusted into AN ABDICATION OF HIS THRONE AND AN ABANDONMENT OF THE COUNTRY--to which he had given one of the freest Const.i.tutions in existence--achieved under the Imperial watchword, "Independencia ou morte."

CHAPTER XIII.

I AM DISMISSED THE SERVICE BY THE BRAZILIAN GOVERNMENT--WITHOUT ANY ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF MY SERVICES--INCONSISTENCY OF THIS WITH FORMER THANKS--THOUGH DISMISSED I AM TRIED AS A DESERTER--AND AM REFUSED ALL COMPENSATION--REPORT OF RECENT COMMISSION ON THE SUBJECT--FALSE REPRESENTATIONS--BUT PARTIALLY TRUE CONCLUSIONS--MY ORIGINAL PATENTS NEVER SET ASIDE--UNTRUE a.s.sUMPTIONS AS TO MY DISMISSAL--MY CLAIMS FOUNDED ON THE ORIGINAL PATENTS--LESS THAN HALF THE INTEREST DUE PAID--OPINIONS OF EMINENT BRAZILIANS THEREON--MY SERVICES TARDILY ACKNOWLEDGED--NO ACT OF MINE HAD ANNULLED THEM--THE ESTATE CONFERRED, NOT CONFIRMED--PROMISES ON ACCOUNT OF CHILI UNFULFILLED--THE WHOLE STILL MY RIGHT.

Having been thus unceremoniously dismissed from the Imperial service--without doubt, by order of the Brazilian Ministry to their Envoy in London, I was some months afterwards surprised by the receipt of a letter from the Imperial Government, dated December 21st, 1825, and signed "Visconde de Paranagua," informing me that His Imperial Majesty had ordered all my pay and other claims to be suspended till I should return to Rio de Janeiro to justify myself and give an account of my commission--this being now out of my power, as I had been deprived of command, and the frigate in which I came to England had returned, by order of the Envoy, to Rio de Janeiro.

Without, however, giving me time to do this, I received another letter from the same authority, dated Dec. 30, containing my formal dismission from the service--this shewing that Gameiro had previous instructions to act in the way narrated in the last chapter.

The following is the official letter dismissing me from the command of the Navy, and from the post of First Admiral:--

His Majesty the Emperor, informed of that which your Excellency has set forth in your letter No. 300, dated the 5th of November last, has been pleased to determine that your Excellency shall fulfil the orders already several times transmitted to you, and further in compliance with the order of the 20th inst., a copy of which I inclose, you are to return to this Court, where it is necessary you shall give an account of the Commission with which you were entrusted. His Majesty is much surprised that, after having taken the frigate _Piranga_ to a foreign port, and having there remained in despite of the Baron Itabayana, you should have adopted the extraordinary resolution, not only _to abandon that frigate, but also to retire from the service of the Emperor_, without having returned to give an account of your proceedings _previous to your dismissal from the command of the naval forces, and from the post of First Admiral_ of the National and Imperial Armada. All which I communicate for the information and execution of your Excellency.