judge of the motives of the writers, and of the contents of their
communications.

(Signed) COCHRANE AND MARANHAO.

Dec. 14, 1824.

My reply to the memorialists was as follows:--

Maranham, Dec. 18,1834.

GENTLEMEN,

I have read your memorial with attention, and
regret that you should have occasion to detail complaints of so painful
a nature, the more so as I do not know whether I am authorised
to remedy the evils otherwise than by such measures as have been
already adopted.

According to the Constitution, you ought to find a remedy in the
laws; but if any authority, commissioned by His Imperial Majesty,
has improperly placed obstacles in the way of law, to His
Majesty only can an appeal against such conduct be made, for they
who attempt to redress evils arising from a breach of the Constitution,
by violating that very Constitution place themselves in an
equally disadvantageous position with the object of their accusation.

As regards the deposition of the President, which you request, I
frankly confess to you, Gentlemen, that whatever may be my private
opinion as to the course most advantageous to you and the province
in general--and even to the President himself--I should feel extremely
reluctant, except in a case of manifest and extreme necessity,
to take upon myself a responsibility which might possibly subject
me to the displeasure of His Imperial Majesty, and would most
certainly expose me to be continually harassed by prejudicial reports
and false accusations, supported by artful intrigues, against which
neither prudence nor rectitude could effectually avail.

To mention an instance of this, within your own knowledge, you
all know that, last year, when this province was annexed to the
empire, the property of Brazilians under the flag of Portugal, and of
all resident Portuguese, was by me respected and unmolested. You
know, too, that all the public property of the Portuguese Government
in the arsenals and magazines was left untouched, and it is
equally true that upwards of sixty contos of reis (60,000 dollars) in
specie, and one hundred and forty contos (140,000 dollars) in bills
taken in the Portuguese treasury and custom house, were left by
me in the hands of the Government of Maranham, for the payment
of the army. Yet, notwithstanding these notorious facts, it has
been audaciously de