n 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 imports 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. To amend this state of things it was necessary
to begin with the officers of Government, of whose corruption and
arbitrary conduct complaints, signed by whole communities, were daily
arriving from every part of the province. To such an extent, indeed,
wad this misrule carried that neither the lives nor the property of
the inhabitants were safe."

This state of things Lord Cochrane set himself zealously to remedy;
and, during his six months' stay at Maranham, he did all that, with
the bad materials at his disposal and in the harassing circumstances
of his position, it was possible for him to do. Unable to break down
the cabals and intrigues, the mutual jealousies and the unworthy
ambitions that had prevailed previous to his arrival, he held them all
in check while he was present and secured the observance of law and
the freedom of all classes of the community.

Thereby, however, he brought upon himself much fresh hatred. The
governor of the province, being devoted to the Portuguese party and a
chief cause of the existing troubles, had to be suspended and sent to
Rio de Janeiro; and though the suspension occurred after orders had
been despatched by the Emperor for his recall, it afforded an excuse
to the governor and his friends in office for denunciation of Lord
Cochrane's conduct, alleged to be greatly in excess of his powers and
in contempt of the constituted authority. In fact, the same bad policy
that had embarrassed him before, while he was in Rio de Janeiro,
continued to embarrass him yet more during his service in Maranham.
That that service was very hel