From The Quarterly Review. THE MARSHAL DUKE OF SALDANHA.* enlightened patriot and statesman is one which has been warmly contested and will not be conceded without dispute. He took the lead in so many subversive changes of government, that the designation of revolution-maker might be as appropriately bestowed on him as that of King-maker on the last of the barons; and the question naturally arises whether, whenever by menaces or direct resort to force, at the risk or cost of insurrection or civil war, he upset a ministry or placed a sovereign under constraint, he was uniformly influenced by exalted motives and kept the public good unceasingly and exclusively in view. This is a question, however, which our readers will be in a situation to decide for themselves, if they are content to follow us in the epitome which, with the aid of the able and spirited work before us, we propose to make of his life and career. The work abounds CONSIDERING the relative importance of the events with which the Muse of History was occupied during the first half of the century, and the unceasing calls of the greater powers upon her pen, it is no matter of surprise that a small State like Portugal should have dropped out of notice, except when its destinies became temporarily interwoven with those of contending nations who thought fit to make its soil their battle-field. The interest of England in Portuguese affairs bagan and ended with the Peninsular War; and it was in a listless, languid, poco curante manner that we heard of the failure of absolutism in the person of Dom Miguel, and the establishment of a constitutional monarchy in a country to which, with all our indifference, we wished well. Yet it was only after a long and dubious struggle, crowded with stirring incidents, in- in materials which illustrate the country terspersed with curious episodes, and bringing every description of civil and military merit into play, that liberal principles triumphed; and whilst that struggle lasted, qualities were displayed which might have given world-wide fame to many of the actors if a larger or grander stage had been afforded them. Foremost amongst these stands the Marshal Duke of Saldanha, whose reputation has hitherto been involved in a luminous mist or haze which a near connection and ardent admirer has undertaken to clear away.f This gentleman, the Conde da Carnota, has certainly succeeded so far as regards the military character of his hero. The bare recapitulation of the marshal's exploits cannot well fail to establish his title to an eminent place amongst modern generals; but his claim to be regarded as an * Memoirs of the Life and Eventful Career of Field-Marshal the Duke of Saldanha, Soldier and Statesman, with Selections from his Correspondence. By the Conde da Carnota. 2 vols. 8vo. London, 1880. † The author, Mr. J. Smith Athelstane, was raised to the dignity of "grandee of Portugal," with the title of "Conde da Carnota," by royal decree, dated Lisbon, August 9th, 1870, having been created a Knight Commander of the Order of Christ in 1843. He is the author of the " "Marquis of Pombal," which has gone through two editions. He became private secretary in 1835 to the Duke de Saldanha, who married his sis ter in 1856. and the period, independently of their bearing on the biography. Saldanha's family, of Spanish origin, was one of unimpeachable nobility. His maternal grandfather was the celebrated Marquis of Pombal; and a king of Castille, a Count Daun, and a Prince de Soubise figure in the ascending line of his pedigree. He was born on the 17th of November, 1790, and christened on the 25th the prince regent of Portugal and the princess consort being sponsors. His education was carefully superintended by his mother, a woman of remarkable talent, who provided him with the best masters; and he is said to have excelled in mathematics, besides attaining such proficiency in English as to read English authors with pleasure and profit. One of his favorite books was "Sir Charles Grandison." "The marshal (says the biographer) has often assured me how anxious he felt, as a boy, to form his character on such a model as Grandison; which was to aim at being as perfect as possible, in whatever situation of life he might afterwards be placed." He was destined for the navy, but the original intention was given up, and on the 28th of September, 1805, he entered the army as cadet in the Ist Infantry. had been offered to him before he left England, and at his request it was conferred on General (afterwards Lord) Beresford, who brought it to a state of efficiency which justified him in declaring in an "order of the day" that "Europe will see and honor the virtues of the Portuguese nation reflected in its army." Lord Wellington after the battle of Busaco wrote: "The time has been well employed in disciplining them, for they form now the most solid foundation for the hopes we have of freeing the peninsula." In the same despatch it is stated that the 1st Infantry (Saldanha's regiment) "showed great steadiness and gallantry." He was promoted to the rank of captain | these fifteen thousand were Portuguese.* in the same regiment on the 9th of June, The command of the Portuguese army 1806, being then under sixteen, and he had just completed his seventeenth year when he was compelled by his military position to take a decided step in politics. Before the end of November, 1807, it had been announced in the Moniteur that the house of Braganza had ceased to reign: the regent, with the royal family and court, had embarked for Brazil; the French under Junot were in possession of the capital; and the country seemed in a fair way to become an appendage of the French empire. Many of the nobles gave in their adhesion, and the bulk of the army, including the officers, took service under Napoleon. Saldanha, when the alternative of a change of service or the The behavior of a battalion led by him resignation of his commission was pre- is specially commended by an historian of sented to him, immediately resigned; and the war. He was already a major, having when the Portuguese army was reorgan- been promoted over the heads of several ized to act against the French, he and a captains by the well-earned favor of Lord brother officer who had followed his ex- Beresford, who had been struck by his ample were the only two who were rein-intelligence, military bearing, and knowlstated as of right in the rank which they previously held: a tolerably strong proof that patriotism was rather the exception than the rule. edge of his profession. He was present during the Peninsular War at no less than twenty-three actions, including battles and sieges. The day after the second assault of St. Sebastian, he writes to his brother: His forced retirement had not been of long duration. In the course of the folI have the satisfaction of telling you, my lowing year the population rose in Oporto, dear brother, that the Marshal Marquis of Braganza, and other districts against the Campo Maior (Marshal Beresford) meeting me Napoleonic rule: a Junta was formed; yesterday, during the assault, complimented and when (Aug. 1, 1808) Sir Arthur me, and said that he had selected me from Wellesley landed at Mondego Bay, a amongst the lieutenant-colonels on account of Portuguese force, about eight thousand, the opinion he had of me, etc., etc., etc.; that had been got together, prepared to co- he had given me the colonelcy of the 13th Inoperate to the best of their ability. Sal-fantry, and would give immediate orders that danha acted for a short time on the staff I should at once take the command. I pass of the commander, General Freire, and over the heads of sixteen or seventeen lieutenant-colonels. then rejoined his regiment. The Convention of Cintra was the unsatisfactory It was in contemplation after the return result of the first English expedition; of Napoleon from Elba to obtain a conbut although baffled and overruled by his tingent of Portuguese troops to act with military superiors, Sir Arthur managed to the army under the Duke of Wellington. bring over the English ministry to his The project was given up on the refusal conviction that the expulsion of the of the authorities to send troops out of French from the entire Spanish peninsula the country, but whilst it was still pend must begin in Portugal; and on the 22nd ing Marshal Beresford publicly anof April, 1809, he arrived in the Tagus nounced that, if only one regiment were with an army which at the end of a to go to Belgium, it should be Saldanha's, week, including allies and reinforcements, amounted to thirty-five thousand. Of Gleig, Life of Arthur Duke of Wellington, p. 91. the 13th Infantry, as best fitted to uphold sulted in the annexation of Montevideo the national reputation. to Brazil, the king, desirous of appointing His next field of action was in the New a captain-general or viceroy of the provWorld; where the revolted Spanish province of the Rio, after full inquiry and inces, especially Montevideo under an ad- deliberation with his most trusted coun venturer named Artigas, were constantly producing insurrectionary movements or carrying on open hostilities against Brazil. On the conclusion of the European peace of 1815 a force called the "Royal Volunteers" was despatched from Lisbon to Rio Grande, and with it went Saldanha, whose precise rank is not stated, but before the war came to an end he had fought or won his way to the front. In 1818 the rank of brigadier and the military Order of Christ were conferred upon him. We are assured that he was adored by his companions in arms of all grades, although a strict disciplinarian of the Wellington and Beresford school, of which an illustration is given by an occurrence whilst his regiment was quartered at Lisbon. The soldiers having got into a habit of applying for leave of absence through ladies, Saldanha issued an order that any soldier who should apply except directly to the colonel should receive twelve lashOne evening a lady came up to Saldanha at a party, and declared that she had a favor to ask. He replied, with his usual courtesy, that it was already granted. "Well," she said, " it is only leave of absence, for three days, for my godson." "Certainly," exclaimed Saldanha, "I will not fail to attend to your request." He accordingly took down the name of the soldier, and, on the following morning, in the presence of the regiment, he called up the man, and inquired of him, if, contrary to orders, he had solicited Dona to obtain leave of absence for him. The man acknowledged he had. "Well," said Saldanha, "I have given my word to the lady that your request shall be granted. I also will keep my word with respect to the discipline of the regiment. You will receive the twelve lashes, and the three days' leave of absence." es. Before leaving Portugal with the Volunteers, he had married a lady of Irish descent named Horan, who accompanied sellors, fixed upon Saldanha, who was nominated accordingly, and thereby placed in a position where his qualifications for civil government could be fully tested. His ntegrity also was put to a rude ordeal by the offer of a large bribe from the farmers of the tithes and taxes to wink at their peculations. He at once took measures for depriving them of their illicit gains: the result being a large augmentation of the revenue. His administration of justice was equally remarkable for vigor and efficiency. On his arrival at Porto Alegre, the gallows were familiarly known as the donzella, or the "Maiden," from their never having been used since they were put up; yet there were no less than eighty-four persons charged with murder in the prisons; most of whom when brought to trial were found guilty. Selecting the most atrocious cases, he hanged four. And in order (says the biographer) that all classes might be alike impressed by the terror of this example, the four who suffered were selected from different races of men, comprising a white man, a mulatto, an Indian, and a negro. The white man belonged to one of the most influential families of the province. "The result of this judicious firmness was that, during the remainder of Saldanha's government in Rio Grande, not another prosecution on a charge of assassination became necessary." The province was so prosperous under his government, and so satisfied that its prosperity was owing to him, that, when the question arose what part it was to take in the struggle between the mother country and the colony, it seems to have been a matter of indifference to the people who was to be their nominal sovereign so long as they were practically ruled by Saldanha. In April, 1821, the king, John VI., left Rio for Lisbon, with his wife and younger son, Dom Miguel, leaving him in all his transatlantic campaigns. his eldest son, Pedro, to govern as regent At the termination of the war, which re- in Brazil. Soon after his arrival in Lis. bon (July 3) the Cortes decreed that risk of throwing everything into confuBrazil should be divided into provincial sion, if they persevered in thus nullifying governments, subordinate to the home the law; and at length a compromise was government, and that Pedro should return to Europe. This decree, followed by others in the same sense and spirit, lighted up a flame of indignation throughout Brazil very similar to that which was kindled by the Stamp Act in what are now the United States of North America. Provisional Juntas were formed, and the authority of the governors was set aside in all the provinces with the exception of Rio Grande, where Saldanha fell in with the popular feeling to the extent of declaring his readiness to be guided by it so far as was consistent with loyalty. He accordingly invited the people, through the municipalities and notabilities, to notify their wishes in writing, promising that their answers should be all opened and made public on a given day in the Townhall. When that day arrived, the replies were found to be unanimous in declaring that they were all so satisfied with the government of Saldanha, that they only regretted it could not be eternal. During the three following nights, the inhabitants, spontaneously and with enthusiasm, illuminated the capital, Porto Alegre. On the third night, when the captain-general entered the theatre, all the ladies rose and sang verses in his honor, which were composed for the occasion, the chorus to which, as sung by the whole house, was as follows: Ditosa gente! Fortunate people! Without being turned aside by these flattering demonstrations, he proceeded to carry out the provisions of the decrees, which required the election of three presidents: one of the executive, one of justice, and one of finance. The electors met at 9 A.M. and continued in consultation until 2 P.M., when fifteen electors waited upon the captain-general to state the conclusion to which they had unanimously arrived; namely, not to proceed with the elections, but to leave the government unaltered in his hands. They were sent back to reconsider their resolution, and returned at 8 P.M., to declare "that the entire body of the electors were satisfied that the people desired no other government than that of Saldanha; and that such were the instructions which they had received from their constituents." Saldanha again pressed upon them that his duty to his sovereign left him no alternative but to retire, at the hit upon. They consented to proceed with the election to the presidencies, but elected him to all three, and intimated an opinion that he was equally eligible for the contemporaneous command of the military forces. This arrangement was not contrary to the strict letter of the law, and he discharged the various offices forced upon him till he found that the hearts of the Rio Grandeans were as much set upon the independence of Portugal as the other provinces; a Junta having been formed at Porto Alegre, the capital, to co-operate with the rest. Pedro, who in the October following was proclaimed emperor of Brazil, had already declared for a separation, and was virtually in rebellion against his royal father. In July 1822, therefore, Saldanha addressed a letter to the Junta of Rio, setting forth his reasons for resigning all his posts, and at once returning to Europe, rather than prove a traitor to his native country and the king to whom he had sworn allegiance. When all other expedients for detaining him had been tried, a deputation from the chief people of the provinces of Rio Grande, Santa Fé, Corrientes, and Montevideo, waited upon him to declare that they were willing to form these provinces into an independent kingdom if he would accept the crown. Thanking them sincerely, I, without hesitation, refused the offer. Un roi parvenu, and in those regions, would have found himself in a precarious situation. I may sincerely declare before God, that neither in my public nor in my private life have I ever committed an intentional act of injustice; and I am persuaded that I should have been un assez bon chef dans un état quelconque. The new emperor did not suffer him to depart without offer upon offer, which would hardly have been refused by a mere soldier of fortune. He was offered the post of marshal-general of the army, the title of marquis, and crown-lands to any extent in any quarter he might choose. The imperial minister of finance, by way of persuading him to become a Brazilian, suggested that Portugal, after the separation, would become an impoverished and insignificant country. "The greater the reason," was the reply, "that I should not desert it." The emperor was crowned on the ist of December, when Saldanha was still at Porto Alegre. There were great festivi ties on the occasion of the coronation. the great powers immediately withdrew At night the emperor went in state to the theatre. Saldanha appeared there dressed in black and occupied a seat in the box of his sister, the Countess da Ponte. The minister of marine going in said, "General, the emperor wonders why you are in mourning." "Can I be otherwise," replied Saldanha, "on the day when the dissolution of the monarchy has been effected?" He left Rio two days afterwards, and arrived at Lisbon, with his wife and infant son, on the 25th of January, 1823. With the principles which actuated his conduct through life, it will readily be imagined that he left behind him many friends and admirers. Nor need it create much astonishment-none to those who knew him well that the captain-general of a province, with almost unlimited power, reached his country after eight years of service, with less than 67. in his possession. According to the biographer, when, many years later, Pedro, then ex-emperor, met Saldanha in Paris, he said to him: "What the devil did you do with the Brazilians in the province of Rio Grande? When I went there, I heard nothing from all sides but what was done in the time of Sr. Saldanha. Sr. Saldanha did this Sr. Saldanha did that." Dom Pedro added, that the very road on which he had travelled was called "Estrada Saldanha," a name which the authorities had given it "in memory of their beloved and regretted governor." Under any ordinary state of things, a man who had acted in this manner might have anticipated an honorable reception from the people or popular represéntatives and the court; but Portugal when he arrived (September, 1823) was in as their ministers; and it met with the most marked disapproval from the rest, including England. Its framers did no more than justice to Saldanha's patriotism and moderation when, despairing of his concurrence, they treated him with coldness and distrust; but his ungracious reception by the court can hardly be accounted for except by suspicion or jealousy. A pronunciamento, or military demonstration, was as common in Portugal as in Spain, and it was rationally doubted whether Saldanha would adhere in the Old World to the selfdenying ordinance which he had imposed upon himself in the New. At all events, the course taken with him by the government, in the name and with the presumed assent of the king, showed a determination to shelve or get rid of him, whilst apparently recognizing his services and his claims. Twelve days after his return, he was appointed to a high command in Brazil the command of all the military and naval forces which "are to be, or are already, collected at Bahia, with the direction and command of the said forces wherever they may operate." This command was a mockery. He was to be sent on a perilous expedition without men, money, or commissariat, for the express purpose of discrediting him, and he took his part with his wonted firmness. He drew up a list of the requisites for the expedition, and concluded a letter enclosing them to the minister of war in these words: Such are my opinions, and my conditions for accepting the command-in-chief; made, I repeat, because I consider them necessary for the public welfare. They are the result of eight years' experience in Brazil in various distracted a condition as Brazil. The commands. Should, however, it be preferred first act of the king on his return (July that I should command a company, a regi 1821) was to take the oath to a new constitution then in progress, "so far as it was already prepared;" and on the first of October, when it was declared ready for trial, he repeated the oath with the required alteration. This is the constitution of September 23, 1822, passed in acordance with the views of the democratic and ultra-radical party, who thenceforth passed by the name of Septembrists. The whole of the legislative and much of the executive authority was thereby vested in a representative chamber, which the crown could neither assemble, dissolve, nor prorogue. In what light this constitution was regarded throughout Europe may be judged from the fact that three of ment, or a brigade, I am quite ready to do so. For then, my only duty will be to obey, and fight when and where I am ordered. This I in-chief, which implies responsibility, I can only do on the terms I have laid down. know how to do. But to take the command The reply was a peremptory order to embark and set sail without delay, and on his refusal he was brought before a courtmartial on a charge of disobedience, and condemned to imprisonment in the Castle of St. George. He remained there (about four months) so long as it suited him and no longer; for on hearing of a rising headed by Dom Miguel with the professed object of delivering the king from undue restraint he made his escape, placed him |