The voice of freedom. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1839-1848, 1847-02-18
Our Troubles with Brazil.

The Albany Argus of Friday contains al
article from journal of Rio de Janeiro, Civ
ing the Brazilian view of these difficulties
which is substantially as follows:
On the evening Of the LIST Oct, as a pa
troll of regulars was makingits round, they saw
sailor, belonging to the American soop-of
war Saratoga, attack some others with knife
in hand. They arrested him and two others
but an officer of the same ship came up and
demanded the release Of the prisoners. This
being refused he got his sword and aided by
some sailors attempted to rescue the prison
crs by force. Meanwhile an escort Of fusi
lcers joining the patrol, they forced the sail
ors toward the guard house. The officer fol-
lowed, menacing the patrol, sword in hand
until they entered the square, where the COM
mandant OF the guard, to prevent the scntl-
ncls from sclzing him, beckoncd him to APP
proach, and disluncd him him3Slf
The U. s. Consul then appeared and de-
handed the release of the officer; this was re-
fused, and he protested on the spot as against
an insult to the u S. The officers were tax
en- to headquarters of the regulars, and the
men to prison. The British Government af-
forward offered to release the officer, with
the declaration however, that this act was not
to prejudice the continuation of the process
which had been begun against him.
MIR Wise would not consent to accept the
release Of the officer CATER the latter had been
given up to him) accompanied with this dec
taration, bat demanded percmptorily his re-
lease without condition, the dismissal of the
commandment Of the guard of the square, and
the punishment of the soldiers who arrested
the sailors, refusing to recognize in the SOL
tIprS thn aharontG, of a 1arr.l fo,,,n
resented the imprisonment Of the officer and
sailors as all insult to the flag and command
Of Commodore Rousseau; argued that they
were upon the coast and that in lhoyc, Bra
I'll has not q perfect sovereignty; that the
sailors having been quarrelng among them
selves in the presence Of an American officer,
without offence to any citizen of Brazil, the
authorities Of the country had no right to in
tcrlere,a ended by declaring that if his de-
mandS were not complied with in a specified
time, he would cease TO recommend Commo-
dore Rousseau to refrain from using the means
he holds in his power.
The singular doctrine is thus,as we see, car
riel to the point of denying the sovereignty
Of Brazil over the square where the offence
was committed, Of refusing to acknowledge
the character Of a legal force in patrols of reg
ular5 and fusilccrs because Of accidental cir
clmstancc5 or the want of uniiorms,a and final
ly, Of prefer ling that Americans were not to
I've punished 10y the laws Of the country for
tao crimes they may perpetratc against each
other upon lis territory. When people have
She face TO make demands founded in preten-
sioas such as those Of Mr. Wise it is not to
be wondered that the simplest fact should give
rise to serious misunderstanding
On the 3th Nov Prince Of the Imperial
Family was baptized and the ships of all ma
tons in the harbor celebrated the event by
showing their colors and firing sa!utes. The
y. s Frgate Columbia exhibited to the peo-
pie of the city the scandalous spectacle Of re-
naming in port an Indifferent spectator of
these r2joicings, neither showing colors nor
firing gun--a scandal all the more unusti-
'iab!e, t'r taking place on festival Of the au-
gust imperial family.
These proceedings of Mr. Wise the formal
a'cribes to thoughtlesncss, trusting that his
government will disavow them and repair the
insult offered to the Imperial family and Bra
lillian Nation by Commodore Rousseau, in
obedience 10 the orders of his minister.