your Majesty's mind from me, and thus to bring about my removal
from your Majesty's service.

Whilst I have the honour to continue as an officer acting under
the authority of your Imperial Majesty, I shall ever perform my
duty to your Majesty and to the Brazilian people; and I trust that,
up to the present day, your Majesty has not felt any reason to doubt
my sincerity and fidelity to your Imperial interests. And if his
Excellency the Minister of Marine has failed to lay before the
public my despatches, and thereby permitted rumours prejudicial to
my character to go forth, I respectfully look up to your Imperial
Majesty for justice.

In this hope, I most respectfully entreat permission to refer
your Imperial Majesty to my letter No. 271, which I addressed to his
Excellency the Minister of Marine, from Pernambuco, early in
October, previous to my departure from that port, announcing my
intention of proceeding northward, and the necessity of so doing, for
the pacification of the northern provinces; also to my letter of the
13th of October (No. 273), written from Rio Grande do Norte; and
No. 274, dated October 28th, written from Ceara; all of which
letters, explicitly describing my proceedings, intentions, and reasons,
were duly transmitted, both in original and duplicate, by different
conveyances.

I trust that your Imperial Majesty will please to believe me to be
sensible that the honours which you have so graciously bestowed upon
me, it is my duty not to tarnish; and that your Majesty will further
believe that, highly as I prize those honours, I hold the maintenance
of my reputation in my native country in equal estimation.

I respectfully crave permission to add, that--_perceiving it to be
impossible to continue in the service of your Imperial Majesty, without_
_at all times, subjecting my professional character to great risks under
the present management of the Marine department--I trust that your
Majesty will be graciously pleased to grant me leave to retire from your
Imperial service, in which it appears to me that I have now accomplished
all that can be expected from me--the authority of your Imperial
Majesty being established throughout the whole extent of Brazil._

I have the honour to be
Your Imperial Majesty's
Dutiful and faithful servant,

COCHRANE AND MARANHAO.

The permission to reti