els, and with it the
customary revenues of the province, the whole should be repaid to the
account of the captors. This had not been done, and the officers and men
were still losers to the amount, in addition to the non-adjudication of
their prizes generally by the Portuguese tribunal at Rio de Janeiro,
which, in unprincipled violation of the express decrees of His Imperial
Majesty--asserted that "they knew nothing of prizes, and did not know
that Brazil was at war with Portugal!" though, in the Imperial order of
March 30th, 1823--given for the vigorous blockade of Bahia, His Majesty
had explicitly ordered the Portuguese to be considered as "enemies of
the empire."--"Distruindo ou tomando todas as forcas Portuguesas que
encontrar e fazendo todas damnos possives a os inimigos deste Imperio."

It was further pretended by the tribunal that Bahia and Maranham were
not foreign ports, but parts of the Brazilian empire, though, at the
time of my appearance before them, both provinces were then, and ever
had been, in possession of Portugal; the tribunal, nevertheless,
deciding with equal absurdity and injustice, that captures made in those
ports, or within three miles of the shore, were unlawful--this decision
including, of necessity, the unaccountable declaration, that His
Majesty's orders to me to blockade the enemy's port of Bahia, and to
take, burn or destroy all Portuguese vessels and property--were also
unjust and unlawful! although this was the very purpose for which I had
been invited to quit the Chilian service. Yet, notwithstanding this
Imperial decision, the tribunal also most inconsistently condemned all
ships of war taken (as _droits_) to the crown, without the slightest
compensation to the captors.

But there was still a more flagrant injustice committed, viz. that
whilst the officers and seamen were thus deprived of the fruits of their
exertions, they became liable to about twenty thousand milreas in the
prosecution of their claims; for no other reason than the unwillingness
of the prize tribunal to order condemnations injurious to their friends
and native country; for as has been said nine out of the thirteen
members of the tribunal were Portuguese!

It had, therefore, been long apparent that no adjudication in favour of
the squadron was intended, and that its services in having united the
empire and saved it from dismemberment, would only be met by continued
injustice.

As the property left with the Provisi