In commission in this province, - - , on account of numerous complaints,
which have come before this government, of violences and extortions
practiced by the said commandant, and those complaints appearing
by the result of the investigation to be well founded, it will be convenient
to exonerate the captain referred to from the command of the fort of - - ,
to which he had been nominated by the portfolio of this general government,
No. 41, of 27th December of the past year; and if not otherwise determined,
the same official shall be judged by a council of war for the criminal acts
which are to him attributed."
Even this public mention of his crimes attaches no stigma
to the man's character. The council of war, by which these delinquents
always prefer to be judged, is composed of men who eagerly expect
to occupy the post of commandant themselves, and anticipate their own trial
for similar acts at some future time. The severest sentence
a council of war awards is a few weeks' suspension from office
in his regiment.
This want of official integrity, which is not at all attributable
to the home government of Portugal, would prove a serious impediment in
the way of foreign enterprise developing the resources of this rich province.
And to this cause, indeed, may be ascribed the failure of the Portuguese laws
for the entire suppression of the slave-trade.
