He also had an important role in the standardization of weights and measurements in Portugal and was a member of the committee tasked with revising the foral laws.

As a consequence of the Vilafrancada he left Lisbon, having returned to participate in the drafting of the Carta Constitucional (Constitutional Charter) which had been promised by John VI of Portugal.

He was appointed as vice-president of the council on 25 September and began to preside over the sessions due to the Duke of Palmela's sickness.

In 1836, after the September Revolution, he tried, unsuccessfully, to reconcile the positions held by the Cartistas with those of Manuel da Silva Passos, leader of the revolutionaries.

He defined himself as a "conservative liberal of the Vintismo" initially, having in later years been a member of the political group led by Pedro de Sousa Holstein, first Duke of Palmela.