ry and enter into the employ of his Imperial Majesty? Can it be
denied that these declarations and contracts, written and printed,
were known to, and are actually in the possession of the ministers, or
in the hands of the officers of the pay department, and yet is it not
true that they were neglected to be fulfilled for a period of upwards
of three months after the return of the _Pedro Primiero_; and was
not the tardy fulfilment which at length took place procured by my
incessant representations and remonstrances?

Permit me also to ask whether the good effects of prompt payment
were not illustrated on the arrival of the frigates _Nitherohy_ and
_Caroline_, which happened just at the period I had succeeded in
procuring payment to be made. Was it not in consequence of immediate
payment that the greater part of the English crew of the _Nitherohy_
remained quietly on board, and are now actually engaged on an
important service to his Imperial Majesty? And, on the other hand, is
it not equally true that the English seamen of the _Pedro Primiero_
were so disheartened and disgusted with the long delay which in their
case had occurred, and the manifest bad faith which had been evinced,
that by far the greater part of them actually abandoned the ship?
And generally, is it not true that the violations of promise, the
obstructions of justice, and the arbitrary acts of severity, have
produced dissatisfaction and irritation in the minds of the officers
and seamen, and done infinite prejudice to the service of his Imperial
Majesty and to the interests and prospects of the empire?

Can it be denied that the treatment to which the officers are exposed
is in the highest degree cruel and unjust? Have they not in many
instances been confined in a fortress or prison-ship without being
told who is their accuser or what is the accusation? And are they not
kept for many months at a time in that cruel state of suspense
and restraint without the means or opportunity of justification or
defence? Have not some of them while incarcerated in the fortress of
the Island of Cobras been deprived of their pay for a great length of
time, and even denied the provisions necessary for their subsistence?
And if, after all, they are brought to trial, are not their judges
composed of the natives of a nation with whom they are at war? Is it
possible that English, or other foreign officers in the service,
can be satisfied with such a system? Can your excellency