By that time the nation was prosperous and at peace, while moderate men were tired of the faction struggles and the tumults caused thereby.  Lima, Regent at the time, was extremely unpopular, and, when the debates began in the Assembly, there was a general wish that he should be defeated.  The motion of the Opposition was made, and was met by the answer that the Constitution forbade this premature declaration of majority.  The Opposition retorted that circumstances warranted the infringement, since in extreme evils the interests of the State required extreme measures.

Such a proposition as this implied that the Regent and Ministry were an extreme evil, and the scene in the Chamber grew animated as the speech grew more and more personal.  Antonio Carlos de Andrada, one of the younger men of that great family, as fiery tempered as he was patriotic, led the attack, accusing the Regent and Ministry of usurpation and unconstitutional tyranny, since the Princess had attained the age of eighteen.

Then Galvao, one of the most prominent of the Ministerial party, turned against his own side, and urged the immediate proclamation of the Emperor.  Another eminent member of the Assembly, Alvares Machado, declared “that the cause of the Emperor was the cause of the nation, and ought to receive the approbation of every lover of his country.”  The language of the Opposition grew violent and threatening.  Navarro, a Deputy representing Matto Grosso, denounced Lima and all his acts, finishing his declamation by shouting, “Hurrah for his Imperial Majesty’s majority!” The applause from spectators and the Opposition alarmed the Ministerialists, who tried to secure delay in bringing about the change.  Limpo de Abreo moved that a committee be appointed to consider the matter at once, and, this being carried, the Opposition consented to an adjourning of the Assembly.

On the next day the Regent prorogued the Assembly until November, and appointed Vasconcellos, a man of great standing and political power, but factious, selfish, and immoral, as Minister of the Empire.  These unpopular movements brought about actual revolt in the Assembly, for Antonio Andrada called on the members of the Assembly to follow him to the Senate.  The two Houses conferred, and appointed a deputation to the Emperor himself, urging his consent to being immediately proclaimed.  The deputation returned, bearing His Majesty’s consent, and an order to the Regent to revoke his decrees, pronouncing the Chamber to be again in session.  These powerful measures ended the controversy.  In 1841 the coronation ceremony was performed, and Pedro II. assumed actual rule over Brazil.

He was in almost every sense an efficient ruler.  His personality was viewed with confidence in Europe, and so long as he occupied the throne the very important question of foreign loans presented few difficulties.  The influence of the Emperor was especially notable at the conclusion of the Paraguayan War, when the finances of Brazil were in an exhausted condition.  Pedro II. was no autocrat; of a gentle and exceptionally unselfish character, he governed in a simple and most painstaking fashion, manifesting his patriotism in every possible direction.