STRAY NOTES ON BAHIA.
One of the most singular appearances the upper city has to a stranger is its apparent desertion. There were, until very lately, only about a dozen wheeled vehicles in the place, but the march of intellect has been here, and now there are omnibuses plying to the Victoria. All burdens are carried on the head, from an orange, a candle, or a bottle, to a barrel of fish. The larger kinds, such as pipes of wine, are slung between poles, whilst logs of wood are carried upon the shoulders of twenty or thirty, looking, for all the world, like an immense centipede. During the time of carrying a wild kind of chorus is kept up; one man makes observations as he goes along, and the rest come in with a chorus, which seldom varies, however much the recitative solo part may. Although large burdens are thus carried, one man will not take nearly so much as a European, and would rather lose his chance of a journey than carry more than he thinks proper.
The cupolas of the church towers are very frequently covered with pieces of earthenware, assorted according to their colour, and laid on stucco in patterns, which gives them a glistening appearance, as if they were enamelled. It appears to withstand the effects of time. Some of them are covered with Dutch tiles, and others are formed of marble. Part of the front of the Italian friars’ church, and the bell tower, are covered with the above curious stucco, but a near approach destroys the effect.
Little naked blacks are constantly seen in the street, with no more clothing than a pair of bracelets or ear-rings, and some are very fine-looking. Their appearance is not improved, however, by the protuberance of the abdomen caused by eating farinha, which swells extremely when any liquid is mixed with it. The shape, nevertheless, is soon regained. One peculiarity is the infrequency of a child crying: their food is simple, so that they do not often suffer from indigestion, and they are less encumbered with clothing than the higher classes, although, in the country, none are very particular in that respect. The manner in which the mother carries the child, slung across the back with her shawl, binds its legs in a curve, but they soon recover their straightness when able to walk. When thus tied, the child presents the very picture of resignation, its little head nodding about, when fast asleep, or when awake crowing, or beating a tattoo on its mother’s back, who frequently holds a conversation with it, its replies being in the only universal language now in use.
The huts of the blacks are very curious; they are built of stakes of bamboo &c., driven into the ground, and these intertwined with others; the whole, being filled up with clay, and thatched with palm-leaves. The interior presents the very acmé of wretchedness on a rainy day, and but little better in fine weather. All kinds of rubbish huddled together, a few daubs of saints hung on the walls, a ricketty table with some carved saint upon it, a coach dog, (a hideous animal, without hair, having only a few bristles on the head, back, and tail, and of a dull leaden colour,) or a long-legged scraggy cat, and a few fowls, quite as great curiosities in their way, are the usual characteristics of these primitive habitations.
The blacks of this place swim almost as if they were amphibious. You see numbers of children constantly dabbling at the water’s edge for hours together, and soon learning to strike out boldly. One mode of swimming is very singular; one arm is always out of the water, advanced in front, alternately with the other, sweeping or drawing the water towards them, and raising the body out of the water at each stroke. This method is considerably quicker than the ordinary style of swimming, but appears to be more difficult of attainment.
It is agreed by phrenologists that the head of the negro, above all others, presents the greatest development of Music, and certainly some of the blacks do play remarkably well. You hear little boys in the street, whom you might fancy could scarcely speak, whistle tunes with great correctness; and the negro dances show how admirably the science of time is appreciated.
O surely melody from heaven was sent
To cheer the soul, when tired of human strife,
To soothe the wayward heart, by sorrow bent,
And soften down the rugged path of life.—Kirke White.
It is to European ears, however, that taught combination music has the charm; the monotony of the negro chanting, and its never-ending repetition, convey no idea of the ‘melody of sweet sounds,’ and the dances that are exhibited to these tunes are anything but edifying.
The manner of catching fish here is curious. At low water four or five large canoes will start; two of them divide the net, which is of great length, and has the lower edge loaded with lead, and the upper lightened with cork. On arriving at a given spot, they separate, and dropping the net with all speed, form as wide a circle as possible, and thus enclose the fish in a pen. The canoes are then ranged around the outside of the net, at some distance from each other, and a hand-net, the length of the canoe, is held by two blacks. This net is about six feet in height, and supported by two poles. The other men then beat the water and the sides of the canoes with paddles, making as much noise as they can, which frightens the fish, which, trying to escape, and finding themselves effectually prevented by the net, leap out of the water, and are caught by the hand-net, and fall into the boat. In a few minutes a large catch is made, though numbers of course escape. It is a curious sight to see them flying, as it were, in all directions, out of the enclosure.
The roasted grains of milho (Indian corn) form a dish of which the blacks, are very fond; it is called pipokas, and is thus prepared:—an earthen pot is partly filled with white sand, and placed over a small open stove until it becomes thoroughly heated, when the grains of new milho are stripped off the bunch, thrown in, and stirred amongst the sand with a long stick. The grains soon swell, and burst the skin, and the corn becomes white and light. These grains are eaten with pieces of cocoa nut. ‘Vai plantas pipokas,’ (go plant roasted milho,) is a phrase, rather more expressive than polite, used in bidding a person go and mind his own business.
It is a curious circumstance that the minds of the blacks should, for so many ages, have remained in a stationary condition; and although political and local circumstances may have greatly operated to retard their mental development, yet it seems much more probable that this state of darkness proceeds more from physical causes. Their stupidity, or rather want of intellectuality, is a most unaccountable fact, and one of those mysterious dispensations of Providence that man tries in vain to unravel. Individual, but almost solitary, instances occur of a contrary nature; and although cultivation of the intellect may thus have developed the black’s faculties, it only serves to show more clearly the wild and blank from which he has been separated.
A very singular, in fact almost a barbaric, custom exists here on gala days, such as the birth-day of the Emperor or Empress. The President issues invitations to a ‘Cortejo’ at the Palace, a large building in the upper town. The portion occupied by the President is older than the rest, which is new, and contains the Treasury, and other public offices. The attendance on one of these gala days consists of all the authorities, and many of the principal inhabitants of the city. The ceremony usually commences with a ‘Te Deum’ in the cathedral. The foreign consuls appear in their uniforms, a motley habited, but showy, group: the officers of the army and navy, with the President, all in full regimentals; the archbishop in his robes, and the priests in the habits of their respective orders; the judges in their robes of office, the corporation in their quaint dresses, and a crowd of civilians, all habited in black, and many of them decorated with ribbons and stars. The entry is up a dilapidated stair-case, on the top landing of which a military band is stationed playing national airs. Two large and scantily furnished rooms are entered, and a short time is spent in conversation, until the preparations for the Cortejo are complete. Then the President’s aid-de-camp pushes aside the heavy door curtain, and invites the company to enter. The assemblage enters a long room, papered with green and gold, and lighted by a line of windows overlooking the sea, curtained with green and gold damask, looped with bullion. At the further end of the room, under a velvet canopy, with a kind of dais in front, are portraits of the Emperor and the Empress, which constitute the sole furniture of the room. On one side of the portraits stand the President and the Archbishop, and on the other the General-at-arms, Commander of the National Guard, and other principal authorities. The procession advances down the centre of the room, in Indian file, the consuls going first, and according to precedence; and when within a few yards of the dais, each person makes a profound bow to the portraits, and then to the authorities. Foreigners generally omit the first obeisance, as being too savage, but those who come after most ceremoniously perform the rite. After bowing, each person takes his leave by passing out by a side door, and the Cortejo is over. When all have bowed their way out, the President invites the consuls he is friendly with to view the troops defile before him, as he stands at one of the front windows of the Palace. The military march past to martial music, and then we take our leave.
Caugica is a species of food of a peculiarly national character, and is made in various ways. One is simply taking the skin off the Indian corn, and boiling it in milk or water; this is eaten cold. Another method is to grind the corn, mix the meal with sugar and spices, and boil it with milk, when it makes a very agreeable food.
The butterflies of this country are most gorgeous; agile and graceful, they flutter in the sunlight, their magnificent robes glistening like scales of gold. These sylph-like inhabitants of the air, issuing from the dark cradle in which they exist as chrysalises, seem to rejoice in their new life, hovering from flower to flower, sipping the choicest nectar, and revelling in perpetual enjoyment, and the continued pursuit of novelty and pleasure.
The Solidade Convent is the great locale where they make those beautiful feather flowers without dye, which are so much esteemed in Europe. On my first visit to this place, all the romance of nuns and nunneries was revived in my mind. The lady abbess, or superior, or whatever else she may be, was a stately woman: but the nun who acted as saleswoman was most beautiful—a Carlo Dolci countenance, pale, but with glorious eyes; and far more flowers were bought from her than would have been from any other. Visitors are ushered into a small room, whither the flowers are conveyed in large baskets through a double grating, and the attendants of the different nuns are there to look after their own. None of our party were very proficient in Portuguese, and we had great fun in the purchases, though we probably paid double what we ought to have done. On our departure, the lovely nun came to the door, and as we passed out, courteously bade us ‘adios,’ and requested us, if we came again, to ask for Maria.
A beautiful species of duck is found at Maronia, to the north of this place, of the manner of catching which a description has been given me. The lakes which they frequent are very much choked with vegetable matter, and near their haunts a large gourd is floated, having two small holes bored through the side. After a few days, when the ducks have become accustomed to the presence of the gourd, a man wades into the water with it on his head, and catching a duck by its legs, breaks its neck, and fastens it to his girdle. In this manner, several are quietly killed, and the fowler wades ashore with a well-filled pouch.
The Botocudo Indians make an incision in the under lip, which becomes so distended that they insert in the orifice a round piece of wood, as large as the top of a common-sized tumbler-glass; the lobe of the ear is also perforated and elongated, in order to receive a similar ornament. In height they are about 5 feet 6 inches, and have quite an independent bearing and ar de franqueza.
The Indians, like the Greeks of the Homeric age, deem it the greatest of evils to be unburied, and therefore they delight in making flutes and trumpets of their enemies’ bones. I have seen some of these flutes of the present day: they contain about four or five holes; and are sometimes ornamented with tufts of red and yellow feathers attached to the bone by strings.
The market is a most curious place, and I am told by persons who have travelled in Africa, that it has a thoroughly African appearance. Amongst heaps of fruit, vegetables, &c., shaded by mats, some of which are formed into huts, and others merely propped up by sticks, are seated the black women, in dresses of many diversified colours, but all of the same fashion. Some with their infants slung across their backs, and tied by the pano da Costa; others with heavy baskets of fruit or vegetables on their head; little children, whose only articles of clothing are bracelets, ear-rings, and bands of coral beads round the body, squat on a wooden dish, like an Indian god, or sprawl amidst fowls, ducks, &c. Here and there you see a black girl in her holiday attire, her hands covered with rings, and her neck adorned with chains of solid gold, which she is constantly displaying by arranging her shawl. In this part of the market the boxes of papadura, attended by the taberoá, in his leather jacket and hat; the half-naked qaubadomes busy with unloading and loading, and the different and absolutely gorgeous colours of the fruit, vegetables, and dresses, form a most brilliant picture. The constant chatter of talking, the screaming of parrots, the laughter of the women, and sometimes the serious talk, added to which the procession of the Espiritu Santo, accompanied by its band of music, the ringing of the church bells, and the constant firing of rockets, constitute a perfect Babel of sounds. The dark shades are the dusky sons of Ethiop themselves, the dirty buildings, and the still dirtier streets; but a busier, gayer, or more amusing scene will seldom be found.
This is the land of parasite plants; a thousand different kinds of these vagaries of nature are here. Some, attached to the branches of trees, derive sustenance therefrom and from the air; others form a nucleus with their roots for dead leaves, decayed wood, &c., and flourish; others, again, merely rest upon the branches, and live on air alone. Every curiosity of form is to be seen: some of the flowers like flies; others of indescribable shapes; many with their flowers filled with water, which thus becomes scented; a dozen different varieties on one tree; some of most brilliant colours, others shades of green alone; some long and pendant, one variety of which has received the name of the ‘rat’s tail;’ some without leaves, like nothing but a string, wave with every wind until they reach the ground, where they become fixed and rooted.
The bread-fruit tree is very beautiful; but is not very common in this place, its use being superseded by farinha. The leaves are very large, of a bright green colour, and much indented at the edges. The fruit is green, and the surface has the appearance of network. There are two varieties: in one kind the divisions of the fruit’s surface are raised pyramidally, in the other they are smooth. The latter is the sort used for food, it having no seeds. Roasted and eaten with butter and salt it is palatable, but insipid; and here it is usually planted for ornament, as it grows quickly, and makes a pleasing variety among other trees. The coffee is another very beautiful plant; when in blossom, the long, glossy, dark green leaves present a pleasing contrast to the clusters of white flowers round the stem, and it exhales a delicious fragrance. When the berries arrive at maturity, they are of a dusky red colour; each contains two grains of coffee, surrounded by a soft pulp, which soon dries after being plucked, and is then removed. The labour of picking is very slight, and children can with great ease be thus employed. The cultivation of the coffee-plant is much more attended to in this province than formerly, and is gradually taking the place of sugar. Towards the south a good deal is cultivated for exportation.
The mantis is a very curious insect, which Rondelet, the naturalist, says is called indifferently devin and prega diou, or preché dieu, in consequence of having their fore-feet extended as if preaching or praying. The Latin name of mantis signifies ‘diviner,’ and supposed to have been so designated from the motion they make with their fore-feet; and it was imagined that they could divine or indicate events. The fore-feet are used by the insect to carry food to its mouth; it is of a beautiful green colour. In one of the Idylls of Theocritus the term mantis is used to designate a thin young girl with slender and elongated arms.—See Griffith’s Edition of ‘Cuvier’s Animal Kingdom.’
The banana is a plant about twelve feet high, having a stem similar to bulbous plants in general, and the leaves, many of them two feet wide, and from twelve to fourteen feet long, springing from the top. The new leaf rises from the centre, and is rolled up straight; as it increases in length, it gradually unfolds, and gives way for another. The fruit is green, and grows round the stem in regular semi-circular groups. The blossoms are protected by a thick fleshy leaf-like covering, which rises to allow the sun to have its full influence in maturing the fruit. When the blossoms drop off, the half-circles remain, but it is seldom that more than six or eight rows of bananas are produced, and each smaller than the preceding. The juices of the plant gradually lose their nutritious qualities, and there are numerous rows of abortive flowers, which produce nothing; and the stem is terminated by a mass of the fleshy leaves enclosing embryo bananas never to be matured. The plant is generally cut down when the fruit has attained its full size, to make it shoot for the next season, and the fruit is hung up to ripen, which it soon does, when it becomes of a fine yellow colour.
The sunsets here are sometimes very fine, and I have noticed that when the twilight is hastening on, a brighter glow will appear, with very vivid and distinct bands of blue and pink, alternately shaded off into each other, and radiating from the spot when the sun has gone down. The difference in the apparent sunset is about half-an-hour between winter and summer. Bright as the sky is by day, it is brighter far by night, when the spangled heavens are spread out like a curtain. The air is so pure that the stars seem to shine with an increasing brightness. The Southern Cross is a beautiful object, and so different are the heavens from the northern hemisphere, that nothing seems to produce the effect of the long distance from home so much as the difference of the starry constellations. The Milky Way seems to have received fresh refulgence; and all is magnificence.
The small black ants found in gardens, generally in great numbers, are the most annoying of the species; their bite produces a burning pain, which must be partly the effect of poison, and continues for some time. The red ants very soon strip the foliage off trees, which they are constantly ascending and descending, one party empty, the other loaded; a third party remains in the tree, cutting away whole leaves, so that it is no unusual thing to be passing under a tree, and to see the leaves falling as it were miraculously. A fourth party is employed cutting them up into proper sizes for carrying to their nests. Most of these ants, if squeezed between the fingers, emit a strong smell of lemon. Rose-buds seem to be their most favourite food, and gardens here suffer extremely from their ravages.
CHAPTER IX.
RIO JANEIRO, CAPITAL OF BRAZIL.
Night upon the watery, and daybreak on the land.—Beauty of the approaches.—Apprehended retrogression, but real progression, in the City.—The stag mania in the tropics, and some of its consequences.—Notes on carriages, operas, snuff-taking, polking-washerwomen, blacks, whites, odds and ends, and things in general, original and imported.—Social, sanitary, and governmental matters of divers kinds.—Composition of the Brazilian chambers, and business therein.—State of parties.—Abolition of the Slave Trade.—Sittings of the Senate.—No necessity for Mr. Brotherton in the Brazils.—Character of the present Emperor.—Wreck of the Pernambucano.—Heroism of a black sailor.—Rigorous regulations of the Rio custom-house.—Suggestions for the extension of Brazilian commerce, and the prevention of smuggling.—Revisal of the Brazilian tariff.—Educational progress since 1808.—French literature and fashion.—Provisions in the Rio market.—Monkeys and lizards articles of food.—Oranges, bananas, chirimoyas, and granadillas.—Difficulties of the Labour Question since the suppression of the Slave Trade.—Character of the Indians.—State of feeling as regards the coloured people.—Negro emancipation ‘looming in the future.’—An experimental trip on the Rio and Petropolis railway.—Facts and figures on the commercial and monetary connexion between the Empire and Great Britain.—Comparative humanity of the Brazilians and Uruguayans.—The Slave Trade Question, and European intervention in South American politics.—Prospective glance at the advantages of steam communication between Brazil and the United States.—Authorities of all kinds on these heads; also on the territorial pretensions of Brazil, especially in reference to the disputes in the River Plate.—Portrait and Memoir of Admiral Grenfell.
Note to the Illustrations.—As in the case of Bahia, the illustrations in this chapter are from Sir W. Gore Ouseley’s ‘Sketches in South America,’ the original, however, containing no less than thirteen beautiful views of Rio Janeiro and its vicinity. In the ‘Key,’ accompanying the drawings, Sir William has embodied, in a very graphic manner, the result of his experiences in search of the picturesque in the neighbourhood of the capital to which he was accredited for several years as the representative of England. Describing some of the spots he has so faithfully delineated by his pencil, he says:—The Sugar-loaf Hills at the entrance of the magnificent harbour of Rio de Janeiro, (or simply Rio), literally ‘January River,’ are far off discernible, with the lofty Peak of the Corcovado, or ‘Hunchback,’ in the back-ground. On entering, the hill to the left, called par excellence, the Sugar-loaf, is a prominent object; then follows the wooded peninsular hill, on which is the Fort St. Juan, united to the base of the Sugar-loaf by the Isthmus of the Praya Vermelho, or ‘Red Beach;’ opposite this hill lies Fort Santa Cruz, commanding the narrow entrance of the harbour. Its formidable batteries of heavy guns are perhaps nearer the level of the sea than necessary caution, inspired by proximity of the vast Atlantic, would dictate. For, sometimes, even placed as they are, twenty or thirty feet above the water, the heavy gales from the south-west or south have caused the sea to break over these batteries, with sufficient force to dismount the cannon, as if they were reeds.
The harbour is among the finest in the world; no pilots required by night or by day, entering or leaving; no dangers not visible, or avoidable with prudence; of course a sailing vessel, venturing in or out in very light winds, or if it falls suddenly calm, may, by the enormous Atlantic swell, be cast on the rocks, when little or no steerage way is imparted by the wind.
More than one vessel has thus been lost, in the finest weather in mid-day; but from attempting to pass the narrow entrance of the harbour, without a steady breeze. Steam tugs would obviate such danger, and sea and land breezes, excepting at some seasons, afford a regular means of entrance or exit to those who await their commencement. There are boats with cables and anchors in readiness, sometimes inconveniently so, as the Argentina experienced at Fort Santa Cruz and Fort St. Juan, on the opposite shore, to be sent to vessels in danger. The bay is 17 miles in length, and 11 in extreme width, and contains many small islands, the largest, Ilha do Gobernador, or ‘Governor’s Island,’ six miles in length.
The city, whose original name was San Sebastian, now altogether lost, was founded not long after the discovery of Brazil by Cabral in the sixteenth century. It is of oblong shape, situated on an elevated tongue of land, the most easterly point of which is Punta do Calabouço, (‘Dungeon Point’), and the most northerly, opposite to which is the little Ilha das Cobras (‘Snake Island’), that of the Armazem do Sal (‘Salt Store’). The more ancient north-east part is traversed by eight straight, narrow, and parallel, streets, crossed by many others at right angles. In these the houses are high, though not quite so lofty as those in the metropolis of the mother country; but in the new town, built for the most part since the arrival of the royal family from Portugal in 1808, they are handsomer, being generally of granite. The two towns are separated by the Campo de Santa Anna, one of many large squares, agreeable to the eye, in consequence of the somewhat fatiguing regularity of the streets. Rio, the most important commercial city of South America, is naturally, from its position, the great mart of Brazil, and its advantages are such as to fit it for concentrating the commerce of the globe; but, as we have said above, comparatively little has been done to assist nature, so far as regards the convenience of the considerable quantity of shipping which frequents the port. Lighters are employed in loading and discharging all vessels as they lie at anchor in the harbour; but Government is now carrying out a plan, by an English engineer, for a quay or wharf, to extend between the Military and Naval Arsenals, at which sixteen vessels will be enabled to unload at once, as well as lighters. This is a step in the right direction, and, although even such accommodation will not be sufficient to meet the future requirements of Rio, there is no doubt that the enlightened spirit which at present animates the Brazilian government and nation will induce them to execute fresh improvements as their provincial resources increase.
ENTRANCE TO THE PORT OF RIO JANEIRO.
This is the second time I have entered Rio at night and missed the proverbially fine view of the approaches to the bay.[41] Morning broke amidst drizzling showers, everything looking very gloomy. We were visited about breakfast time, and steamed to our regular anchorage, near the island where our coal depôt is. I will not indulge in any lengthened disquisition upon the merits of the city of Rio Janeiro, so often described, but content myself with noticing the changes or improvements that have taken place since I last visited the place four years back; or, on the other hand, allude to what many consider as its want of progress and the local difficulties which impede its onward march of events. As the capital of so large and important an empire, Rio Janeiro is certainly deserving of a closer analysis than has hitherto been attempted in any public work with which I am acquainted.[42] The fatal barrier to improvement, during the last few years, has been the yellow fever, which has carried off large numbers of the population, especially the industrial and foreign portion, on whom so much depended; whilst during the same period the import of slaves from the coast of Africa has been almost entirely suppressed. In this comparatively short space of time the spirit of joint-stock enterprise has made considerable advance here, resulting in the establishment of a bank, a railway over the flat ground going to Petropolis (nearly completed); other extensive railways and public roads to the interior, for which contracts are now about being completed; a gas company, to light the city, very far advanced towards actual completion, pipes being already laid, lamps erected to about one-half of the city, and works building for making the gas, &c.; a company to navigate the River Amazon, which has already commenced operations with a liberal grant from the government; besides a number of minor enterprises, all conducive to the comfort and well-being of the country. The origin of this movement was no doubt owing to the joint-stock mania prevailing at home, aided by a superabundance of capital from cessation of the slave-trade; and the opportunity was seized by some patriotic individuals to give a right direction to the public mind in the undertakings adverted to. But, as might be expected, things got a little wild; shares of every kind were driven up to a very high premium, and a change has followed, detrimental, for the time being, to practical advancement. Money, so very abundant last year at from 4 to 5 per cent., is now difficult to get at 8 or 10. Many people are locked up in share transactions, which must take them some time to realize. It has been, in fact, a repetition, on a comparatively small scale, of those scenes of monetary derangement to which our own country is so often subjected, and by the result of which the Brazilians have not taken warning. No doubt the effect will soon pass over, there having been no real abstraction of capital from the place.
The city of Rio Janeiro extends some three miles along the south-west side of the bay, and being much intersected by hills, it is difficult to get a good view of the whole range, unless from the top of one of the mountains near the city, such as the celebrated ‘Corcovado,’ which stands out like a pulpit on the plain below, and is some 2,500 feet perpendicular. The view from this pulpit on a clear day is superb, and I should say almost unequalled in the world: the city, with its numerous divisions and suburbs below you—the bay, extending as far as the eye can reach until lost in the plain below the Organ Mountain—the sea, studded with numerous picturesque islands, with vessels looking like white specks upon it, and seen to a great distance—all together form a most enchanting picture, and amply repay the toil of an ascent. The mountain is of granite rock, like all others in this country, but thickly wooded almost to the summit, and you come out quite suddenly on the bare point before alluded to, so much resembling a pulpit. In consequence of the tortuous formation of the streets, constructed round the base of the hills, it is difficult to get more than a bird’s-eye view of the city, on ground made by encroachment on the sea; consequently, the streets are low, without drainage, and in several of the back ones the water collects and stagnates, to the great detriment of health and comfort. Rio itself is a bad copy of Lisbon—streets at right angles, a large square facing the sea, and the suburbs extending up the hills, which everywhere meet your eye. In Lisbon the streets are tolerably wide, but here they have built them so miserably narrow, that scarcely even one carriage can pass through, much less pass each other; and it is evident that such vehicles were never contemplated in the original formation of these streets. The only way of getting over the difficulty is for carriages coming into the city to take one line of streets, and those leaving it another, which they do, excluding omnibuses altogether from the principal thoroughfares. Improvements in this way were what I found most backward; indeed there was a marked falling-off in such respect since I was last here, and there seems a great want of municipal government.[43] In many places the pavement is execrable, and generally very bad, the difficulty having probably been increased by laying down mains for water and gas, the latter now in process of execution, and also to heavy rains having washed away many parts of the road, and otherwise caused much damage. Once this troublesome job is got through, it is to be hoped some effective measures will be taken to put the streets and branch-roads in order; otherwise they will soon be rendered impassable. Coach and coach spring making must be thriving trades here, especially with the immense increase that has taken place in the number of carriages and omnibuses; and it is really wonderful how they stand the continual shocks they have to endure.[44] Government seems at last alive to the absolute necessity of doing something to improve the sanitary condition of the city, and also its internal organization, as they have lately got out some good practical English engineers, who I have no doubt will suggest an effective mode of dealing with present difficulties. If they do not adopt decisive measures, the rate of mortality may be expected to augment fearfully in a dense population of 300,000 to 400,000 inhabitants, huddled together in some 15,000 houses, surrounded by impurities of every kind, not the least being the stagnant water in the streets. No exact census has ever been taken of the population of Rio Janeiro, which is generally believed to be between the two figures above given. There is a migratory population, but the accumulation of humanity of every race and colour, contained in some of the large dwelling-houses, is something extraordinary. As before observed, nature has done much for this country, and if the natural facilities of Rio Janeiro were properly availed of, and local improvements carried out with energy and spirit, it might be rendered one of the finest and most luxurious places within the tropics.[45] The opportunity is now open to them; the government possess ample means, and it is just a question whether measures of progress are to be effectively achieved, or the city to be abandoned to its fate. The great evil attending all improvement in Brazil is an undue appreciation of native capability, and a disparagement or distrust of those whose practical experience would enable them to grapple with the difficulties that surround them—a kind of little jealousy and mistrust that prevents their availing themselves of opportunities thrown in their way to carry out undertakings necessary to the well-being of the country; nor can they understand the principle on which such things are regulated in England, still less the magnitude of operations carried on there and in many other parts of Europe. Yet the time seems to be coming when these principles will be better understood here, and when the application of English capital towards the improvement of the country may be safely and legitimately brought to bear.
SERRA DOS ORGAOS—CABECA DO FRAILE, RIO JANEIRO.
The political and social position of this great empire, whose influence and example are of such incalculable importance to the present, and still more to the future, of the whole continent of South America, must necessarily be a subject of anxiety to all who wish to see it prosper, and who are at the same time practically acquainted with the difficulties that have to be overcome in the maintenance of its present system of a representative government. Without attempting anything in the shape of a history of that government, or of the circumstances which led to its formation and have ensured its consolidation, a few particulars may not be unacceptable to such readers as have not had their attention directed to the subject. After the expulsion of the Portuguese in 1822, Don Pedro was declared Emperor, and, in 1824, the constitution, which is a very close imitation of our own, was proclaimed. The government is confided to ministers chosen by the Emperor; there is a chamber of deputies, 548 in number, elected by the towns and 18 provinces, and a senate or upper chamber, consisting of 54 members, titled and untitled, the numbers in both being limited, and titles are not hereditary. Hence, though there are, we believe, upwards of 20 marquises, 7 counts, 29 viscounts, and 32 barons, the sons of these do not succeed to the titular distinction of their fathers, notwithstanding the honours emanating from a crown that is hereditary. The business of the country passes under the same sort of discussion, and just with as much freedom of debate, but not more, than with us; and according to the support given or withheld by the chambers is the government strong or weak. The revenue of the empire is accounted for, and finds its way into the national treasury at Rio de Janeiro; and hence the difficulty encountered in dealing with its distribution, as each representative of a province naturally wishes to favour his own constituency, and is opposed to what he may think an undue proportion of expenditure lavished, and of interest taken, in the province already favoured with the establishment of the capital and the residence of the court, and where the largest population centres. This is one of their great legislative difficulties, which gives rise to long and violent discussions. Another is the existence of two factions in the state, the old Portuguese and the purely Brazilian party. Some years back the former held the reins, and were the supposed abettors of the slave-trade; but since 1848 the present ministry, mostly composed of pure Brazilians, have retained office, and been enabled to carry out most stringent measures for putting down that abominable traffic, which is for the present not only suppressed, but its restoration is impossible,[46] owing, first, to the complete revulsion that has taken place in public opinion, and, secondly, to the new direction that has been given to the employment of capital, as explained in our chapters on Pernambuco and Bahia. To such lengths have an honest and energetic administration, supported by a high-minded sovereign, jealous of the honour of his country, and, above all, of its credit for integrity in adhering to its engagements, been able to act upon this truly national sentiment, that many of the influential Portuguese, known to be actively engaged in the traffic, and some of whom had sunk vast sums in its prosecution, have been banished the country. Five years is a long time for a ministry to retain office in any country; for even in our own that period far exceeds the average duration of a British cabinet, at least during the last three reigns; consequently, the greater the wonder at the stability of one in a country such as Brazil, and under many trying circumstances. Not the least embarrassing of these was the perpetual interference of England to put down the external symptoms of the slave-trade, though Brazilian ministers were doing it in a manner so rapid and effectual as to constitute one of the most startling and complete social revolutions ever recorded in the history of any nation in the world as the work of half-a-dozen ages, much less of half-a-dozen years.[47] This speaks well indeed for the personal ability as well as for the representative system under which the existing ministry govern, as without a decided majority in the chambers they could not possibly endure a single session. Brazilian policy and Brazilian views seem to be now much more firmly established in the legislature, and the native party greatly preponderates. Still this clashing of interests tends to impede the regular march of business, by giving rise to endless personal discussion and personal invective. The chamber of deputies and the senate are a long way apart from each other, which must occasion inconvenience, and destroy that prompt action and unity of purpose so necessary in a legislative assembly. The locality ought always to be the same, with the monarch as the head, opening and closing the sessions under the same building. Considering their late elevation to political distinction, some of the deputies and senators of Brazil display no small amount of oratorical, and, what is still more valuable, debating, ability; whilst many of the former must make a great sacrifice of time and personal convenience in spending so many months away from their families and estates, which are difficult to be reached in a country where the means of travelling are comparatively so primitive, and the distance to be traversed generally very great. The hours of discussion in the chambers are as much too brief as ours are too long, being only from 11 a.m. to 2 or 2.30 p.m., during which one orator will often occupy the time for speaking sake only, and the business of the day has to be adjourned; whereas if ministers, with no Mr. Brotherton to be afraid of, could keep them at it occasionally until midnight, or 2 or 3 in the morning, it would tire out declaimers, who seek only to pander to the appetite for fervid or piquant rhetorical popularity, and would insure quicker despatch of the business in hand.
AQUEDUCT AND CONVENT OF SAINT TERESA. RIO JANEIRO.
The present Emperor is in every respect admirably fitted for his high station. Born in the country, without the advantage of a knowledge of European life, and that finished tone of education it affords, but possessed of natural endowments of an exalted order, and having turned to the utmost advantage the opportunities of a studious and virtuous youth, he carries with him the full national sympathies of the native Brazilians, the respect of the old Portuguese party, and the esteem of the whole foreign diplomatic body, to whom he dispenses the honours and hospitality of a prudently managed court. As the sovereign of a constitutional country, content to abide within the strict limits imposed by his coronation oath, his reign has been prosperous and happy. In his private capacity he is kind and attentive to all around him, as well as a close observer of passing events. Possessed of a benevolent heart, and actuated by a noble singleness of purpose, he knows how to direct the reins of government, without undue interference or an injudicious exercise of his prerogative. It has often been emphatically said that the Emperor is not only the highest, but the best man in the country, both from his public conduct and his private virtues. The value of such a compliment is not enhanced, or probably we should say is not impaired, by any universal laxity and corruption around him, as in the case of another empire nearer home, wherein it is said that the principal personage is not only the most honest, but the only honest, man in his own dominions. Probity[48] and high-mindedness of every kind in public life are as general in Brazil as in any part of Europe, England itself certainly not excepted; consequently the standard the Emperor is measured by is one by no means conventional or equivocal, but is such as any sovereign in the western world might feel proud of having applied to himself. Certainly, in the matter of truthfulness, the rarest of all monarchic virtues, he has set an example to the royal brotherhood of kings that might be followed with infinite profit to the reputation of the regal race, and with corresponding advantage to their subjects in numerous instances. His Brazilian Majesty is admirably supported by an excellent and high-minded partner, who, like her husband, is beloved by all classes in the empire. The imperial couple frequently attend public balls, and mix in social parties with citizens and foreigners, taking also the warmest interest in all local improvements, or measures calculated to benefit the country, and to raise the character of their subjects. When the kind of life they are compelled to lead is fairly considered, and the extent of court intrigue necessarily prevailing where parties are so much divided and respectively so potent, too much merit cannot be ascribed to the Emperor and Empress for the manner in which they conduct themselves, and the controlling influence they exercise over others. Every one who has been in Rio well knows how exceedingly popular he is, and how strong is the conviction that that popularity is most just and most deserved, though he never goes out of his way to obtain it by any ad captandum arts, or any conduct whatever that is not the result of sound judgment guiding an estimable nature. M. Reybaud, a Frenchman, in a biographical memoir, which appeared also in English in one of our illustrated journals at the close of the year before last, says:
‘But the great work of Don Pedro the 2nd, a work at once of humanity and policy, and which will be his indelible title of glory in the eyes of Europe, is, that of having openly attacked the national prejudice of the necessity of black slaves, and having overcome it. Thanks to him, thanks to his Ministers and the Legislative Chambers of Rio, the traffic is henceforth definitively suppressed in Brazil, for the people have understood and accepted the Imperial policy, which has for its motto, “No more traffic in slaves; European colonization.” Such is at this moment the cry of all Brazil. The agriculturists themselves, until lately insensible to the anathemas of philanthropy, have opened their eyes, and joined the Government and the Chambers in demanding the deliverance of the country from the living leprosy of the slave traffic. It was imperative that it should. It was indispensable that the country should associate itself with the measures of the Government, for up to this time the laws that were made were not carried out, and the people who thought them prejudicial to their interests did not scruple to infringe them. The policy of the Emperor and the Brazilian Chambers was very simple and sensible. It was not sufficient to decree the suppression of the traffic, but it was necessary to open up to the agriculturists new ways and means by which they should, within a longer or shorter delay, dispense with black labourers. The Legislature, to provide for this necessity, took proper means to attract European colonization. Several attempts tried on this new basis have been attended with the happiest results. Little colonies have sprung up, especially in the south of the empire, and are in a flourishing condition. The planters and landed proprietors throughout the empire give a decided preference to free over slave labour, as experience teaches them that it is infinitely to their advantage.’
It is impossible too highly to eulogise the conduct of his Imperial Majesty in reference to the slave trade; but as one evidence, which may be useful by way of example in a certain portion of the world that regards itself as far more advanced than Brazil, I transcribe the following extract from a letter dated Rio, November 14th, 1853, and which appeared in some of the English papers in January last:—
‘The “Pernambucana,” one of the vessels of the Brazilian Steam Packet Company, was wrecked near St. Catherine’s, and upwards of 40 passengers drowned. This disaster afforded an opportunity for a display of heroism and bravery rarely equalled. A black sailor, belonging to the vessel, succeeded with many others in reaching the shore; numbers had perished in the attempt, and but few of the passengers remained upon the wreck. All of these, including a mother and six children, did Simon save. It is pleasing to add that the Brazilians were by no means slow in marking their appreciation of, and rewarding, this heroic action. A subscription was opened in the Praça do Commercio, and the amount subscribed in two days exceeded seven contos of reis, or about £800. The Emperor and Empress, whose hands are always open for the succour of the needy, or the reward of the meritorious, contributed 900 milreis, and the total amount already received approaches to £1,000. In addition to this, a statue of the black is to be placed in the exchange. An unfortunate circumstance, peculiarly annoying to our English community in Rio, may be noticed in connection with this affair. The promoters of the subscription, persons of great influence and respectability, brought the black to the Praça do Commercio, not merely to gratify the curiosity of those who were anxious to see one become so celebrated, but to afford any information which parties connected with the victims or survivors might require. The director of the month, who was unfortunately an Englishman, objected to the presence of a black in the sala, and in spite of the remonstrances of all present, insisted upon his immediate removal. This arbitrary proceeding has called forth some severe articles in the public papers, and it is provoking that one of us who pretend to so much philanthropy for the race should have shown so much prejudice against the colour. This heroic fellow, with whom the Emperor of the Brazils expressed himself proud to shake hands, was driven from the exchange because he was an African! And by an Englishman!’
I cannot learn that this conduct has called for any reprobation in England; that there have been any encomiums passed by our abolitionist press or declaimers on the monarch of that country wherein partiality for the slave trade was declared by the highest authority amongst us to be ineradicable, except by violent measures on the part of England. Nor, indeed, can I find that there has been the least desire to make the amende in any way to Brazil for all the calumnies so long heaped upon her; for even that portion of the Slave Trade Treaties Report quoted, which relates to Brazil (and which has been circulated throughout the Brazilian press), has been passed over with indifference by our purists and censors. Nay, more, within a very short period preceding the date of these remarks, a tale of horrors was tricked out for the regalement of our gobemouche public in this country by a pair of travelling philanthropic malevolents concerning a certain planter in Pernambuco inviting his brother planters of the province to a grand spectacle of boiling a slave alive; and the name of her Britannic Majesty’s consul was actually adduced as that of a witness to the act. The absurdity was, of course, scouted in Brazil as the conjuration of a diseased fancy; but the journals here that gave currency to the figment have evinced small alacrity in recording the contradiction elicited on the spot. So in the case of the imperial conduct towards Simon. Had the President of the United States acted as the Emperor did in this instance, or had a North American Uncle Tom performed any portion of what the Brazilian black achieved, dramas and novels by the score would have appeared, and, in fact, we should never have heard the last of it.[49]
Though she has made wonderful strides in the right direction—advances positively marvellous, considering the locality, and even as contrasted with what would have been the case in England at this present day, had a large section of otherwise enlightened men amongst us had had their way—still, commercially speaking, Brazil has yet much to do in the shape of reform. A great deal of the old leaven of Portuguese exclusiveness and exaction remain to this day, although it is not carried to such an absurd extent as at Lisbon, where is placed in the hands of every shipmaster visiting the port a document,[50] which, considering that its provisions are enforced by a civilised mercantile nation of Europe in the second half of the nineteenth century, and in a great port whence once sailed some of the mightiest maritime enterprises in history, deserves to be regarded as a curiosity of commercial literature, and is preserved as such in a note. No wonder the trade of Lisbon should dwindle down to a mere cypher, and the finances of the country be in so deplorable a state. Any nation issuing such a document as this places itself on a par with, if not on a lower footing than, China or Japan. In Brazilian ports you have the same ordeal of health visits, police, and custom-house searchers, before you can even leave the ship; and if a vessel arrives after dusk, no matter where from, coasting or otherwise, she must remain till morning for the visit, after which she is a kind of custom-house prey, watched and pounced upon in every possible manner, if all is not found to be strictly in accordance with the long string of regulations, numbered like a criminal code; and woe betide the unfortunate shipmaster or merchant, importing goods, who innocently falls into the trap laid for him. It is a case of heavy fines, damages, and often confiscation of ship or property; although it can be clearly and satisfactorily proved that no one is to blame in the matter, and that there has been no fraudulent intention whatever. The stipulations of the custom-house code are being continually infringed, and yet, like the laws of the Medes and Persians, it altereth not! All this is very sad, and unworthy of a country that looks to commerce for its intercourse with Europe, and as a main source of revenue and social progress. The only excuse lies in the force of habit, founded on inveterate prejudice, bequeathed by the old superannuated mother country.[51]
It is true that our own fiscal system twenty years ago contained much of the objectionable matter alluded to, although it was never distinguished by those absurd forms and regulations that are not only a check to personal liberty, but involve the loss of much valuable time. If some public-spirited minister, who took a right and far-seeing view of the true interests of Brazil, were to grapple fairly with this subject, and had the moral courage to bring forward liberal measures, I firmly believe that he would carry them. For instance, let him abolish the farce of visiting vessels, both inwards and outwards, for sanitary or other state purposes; and as regards customs’ revenue, once let the duties be reduced to a scale that would render smuggling unprofitable, and there would be no need of a commercial code or of fines and restrictions. All experience proves that where duties have to be levied for the absolute necessities of the state, the more moderate the scale the less chance there is for smuggling, and the greater the increase and encouragement to consumption of the articles imported, which can then be sold at cheaper rates. It is notorious that for many years after the trade with Brazil was opened, not half, probably not a quarter, of the duties entitled to be levied found their way into the public treasury; and although a good deal of this iniquity has been done away with by the firmness of a few public servants,[52] yet the temptation remains, and some parties still profit by illegal importation at the expense of legitimate traders. I repeat my strong conviction that Brazil might derive a much larger revenue under a moderate scale of duties, and she could then afford to wipe away all the existing restrictions on commerce and shipping. It is true that she has done something, both in reduction of her tariff as well as of her anchorage dues, a step in the right direction, which, for her own sake, it is devoutly to be hoped she will soon follow up vigorously.
As regards the social condition of the Brazilian empire, there is doubtless still much room for improvement. Where is there not? But when we recollect that until 1808 there was not a printing-press in the whole country—and now behold no large town without its journal, generally very admirably managed, and when we see educational establishments, many on a very large and highly efficient scale, in nearly every province of the empire—certainly we cannot say her progress has been slow. Previously to that time the only instruction imparted was through the convents, and consequently it was tinctured with all the old monastic and narrow-minded leaven attached to those institutions, whose downfall in Spain and Portugal was soon followed by similar measures in Brazil. Secular education became extended; seminaries and schools were established, both under the patronage of government and by private individuals; newspapers increased, and are now multiplied to the number of upwards of 50, including scientific and literary; and the whole course of things was changed; but without so far resulting in any general plan by which instruction is communicated to the masses of the people. French being the principal medium of intercommunication between the better classes and all foreigners, and being very generally spoken, publications in that language are necessarily most in request; and an assortment of French reading of the latest Parisian stamp may be had in Rio equal to what is procurable in any second-rate town in the country it comes from. It is needless to say that French fashions, in other than strictly intellectual items, prevail among all the educated classes in the Brazilian capital; and by ministering to such tastes a large number of native French derive considerable profit. In addition to the educational advantages already enumerated, and the list might be greatly extended were we to include the libraries, &c., some excellent institutions of a charitable nature abound, as well as hospitals; the one last founded of this class at Rio is on a most magnificent scale, in a small bay near the entrance of the port, where an admirably executed marble statue of the Emperor has also been most fittingly placed.[53] As it is under his auspices it has been commenced, and by his munificence and example, and that of his estimable consort, it has become one of the noblest edifices of the kind in existence on either side of the Atlantic.
Another of the social evils of Brazil is the difficulty of obtaining a labouring population, a necessity consequent on the importation of slaves having ceased. It is one which, unless seriously and promptly dealt with, must entail very momentous consequences: a continuous immigration of free labourers appears to be the only solution of the question. But whence are they to come in anything like the required numbers? It is quite clear that European labourers cannot work with slaves, nor will the hardy islanders of the Atlantic consent to do so; people, moreover, are needed who can bear the climate, and will put up with hardships which only those acclimated can be expected to endure—that is, the climate of the more torrid parts of the Brazils; for there are vast regions, larger than the whole United Kingdom, where out-door labour is perfectly practicable to natives of Great Britain, and where some of such natives have settled and prospered as agriculturists, as we shall have occasion to refer to in speaking of the Banda Oriental, in respect to the adjoining Brazilian province of Rio Grande do Sul. The only alternative seems to be coolies from China; and with the present propensities of that class, no doubt numbers would flock to Brazil, if the needful encouragement and facilities were given. At all events the experiment might easily be tried, and the sooner it is done the better.[54] Some parties are sanguine enough to believe that the aborigines of the country, the remnants of the Indian tribes, might be brought under civilized rule, and instructed so as eventually to be rendered capable of replacing slaves; but this plan seems very problematical, unless in those districts where they have already been accustomed to mingle and work with the other inhabitants, as in the northern provinces of Bahia and Pernambuco. In the latter province especially, there is a very fine race of men called Sertanejos, who make good labourers, and are very useful in bringing produce to market by means of horses. The number of men so employed may be imagined when, by the law of Pernambuco, one man must accompany every horse; and in the busy season 2,000 horses have been known to pass the toll-bar inwards, and the same number outwards, making altogether 4,000, although the edict alluded to is not very strictly enforced, the distance travelled by these horses being from 50 to 300 miles. It is literally impossible to form a proximate conjecture as to the number of Indians in Brazil, the estimates of various authorities ranging from one-fourth of a million to a million and a half, divided into Indios, Mansos, and Tapirios; the former partially civilized and speaking some Portuguese, the latter still savage. Nearly all the tribes are of large stature; and though exceedingly low in the scale of civilization, possess many of the virtues of the barbarian, especially when uncontaminated by the vices of the white man, or proximity to him. For the most part they are warlike, the climate by no means enervating their bodies or subduing their spirit; and though in some respects ferocious when excited, the practice of cannibalism towards prisoners taken in battle is quite extinct, if indeed it ever really existed. Some of the tribes exhibit an extraordinary antipathy to the negroes, which is the more remarkable as the marriages of people of colour with whites are very common, and degrees of black that would throw a citizen of the United States into a fever of indignation are looked upon with philosophic indifference, both by Brazilians and natives of Portugal in Brazil. Probably this is one reason why slaves in Brazil are treated with a kindness and humanity altogether unexampled in any other part of the world, a fact upon which all authorities are agreed, notwithstanding some shocking exceptions that were wont to be practised towards newly-imported unfortunates from the coast of Africa, a custom now fortunately at an end. No doubt a wise and conciliatory policy exercised towards those Indian tribes who still occupy large districts of Brazil would be attended with beneficial results; but this is a work of time. What the country now wants is immediate labour, and for a supply of this, emigration of some kind is the only available source. The towns are already beginning to feel the effects of the diminution, and wages have consequently risen considerably; whilst in the interior the value of slaves has greatly increased, a preliminary perhaps to their future emancipation.
Before quitting the subject of Rio improvements, I may note an interesting excursion made over a short line of railway, and the first ever attempted in this country, which is to connect the city with Petropolis (the mountain and summer residence of the court and upper classes), and which was recorded as below in the ‘Journal do Commercio’ of the 6th September, 1853, the day on which we left Rio for the River Plate.[55]
Respecting the mercantile position of Brazil generally, I turned with some considerable curiosity to the edition published in the course of the present year, 1854, of ‘M’Culloch’s Commercial Dictionary,’ a work of deserved authority and influence, as every business man is aware, though, I regret to be obliged to add, the article on the country I am now treating of does not sustain the character to which the volume is in so many other respects entitled. I had expected, as the result of recent events in Brazil, some marked modification in the writer’s opinions as expressed under this head in former editions, but could find none; and indeed the whole of his remarks, which I annex, would appear, from internal evidence, to be as emphatic as in previous editions, notwithstanding the date on his title-page, and his assertion in the preface that the latest information had been brought to bear on every point. He says:—
‘The imports into Brazil, which are chiefly from Great Britain, consist principally of our cottons, woollens, linen, iron and steel, hardware, butter, and other articles, amounting in all, in ordinary years, to about £2,500,000. It is frequently, no doubt, said that our exports to Brazil amount to double that sum, or to more than £5,000,000. But there is no room or ground for any such statement. The return is not derived from Brazil, but from our own Custom-house; and there is no reason why the merchants should undervalue the exports to Brazil more than to any other country. The commercial policy of Brazil has, on the whole, been characterised by considerable liberality. The duties on imports and exports have been mostly moderate, and have been imposed more for the sake of revenue than of protection. In October, 1847, the legislature of Brazil issued a decree, imposing 33⅓ per cent. higher duties on the ships and produce of those nations which did not admit the ships and produce of Brazil into their ports on a fair footing of reciprocity. This decree was, in part, provoked by our policy in regard to the slave trade, and was in avowed retaliation of the high discriminating duties we had imposed on Brazilian and other slave-grown sugar. But the modified views of the Brazilian government in regard to the slave-trade, and the admission of slave-grown sugars into our markets under reasonable duties, which are to be equalised with those on British colonial sugars in 1854, occasioned, in 1849, the revocation of the discriminating duties referred to. A provincial duty of 15 per cent., imposed in some of the provinces on hides and other articles, has also been repealed. Great Britain enjoys the largest share of the trade of Brazil; and that share will, it is probable, be a good deal increased, when the duties on foreign and colonial sugars are equalised in 1854. The abolition of the discriminating duty on foreign coffee in the course of the year 1851 has occasioned a considerable increase in the imports of Brazilian coffee. The commerce of Brazil has sustained great injury from the wretched state of the currency and of the finances; the value of the former, which consists almost wholly of paper, being excessively depreciated and liable to extreme fluctuations, and the revenue being inadequate to meet the expenditure. Latterly, however, vigorous efforts have been made to increase the revenue; and it is hoped that, in the event of the finances being placed on a better footing, measures may also be taken to improve the currency.’
The concluding passage, as to the inadequacy of the income to the expenditure, is altogether questionable; and the admission of such an assertion into a work of the character just quoted from, betrays a determination altogether inexplicable, for of course it is impossible to put it down to the score of ignorance. The rapid and progressive liquidation of the national debt, and the unfailing punctuality of the dividends, added to the price Brazilian stocks command in the British market, sufficiently bespeak the healthiness of Brazilian finance. I have not been able to discover upon what data it is that Mr. M’Culloch fixes the annual imports of British produce into Brazil at so low a figure as he mentions in the foregoing extract, and which figure has appeared in successive editions of his work for many years back. But it is quite incorrect; and, at least, as much below the actual amount as the one he condemns as too high. A witness before the committee on Slave Trade Treaties last year, a gentleman officially connected with the Brazilian embassy, and having the best means of knowing the accuracy of what he said, declared the amount of trade during the year 1852 between Great Britain and the Brazils to be about three millions and a half sterling per annum of imports, entirely from England. Those imports[56] are sold there on one year’s credit; so that every year there are £7,000,000 of English goods in Brazil. There is always a deposit of British goods equal to one year’s consumption, and one year’s consumption due. Besides that, there is a national debt to England of £6,000,000 sterling; Brazil has to pay interest for that. Then there is the internal debt, where £600,000 of bonds belong to Englishmen; which makes a total of £13,600,000 of British property engaged in Brazil.
Hence, then, the magnitude of the interests in this country as affected by our relations with Brazil. Nor are the interests of humanity at large on a less extensive scale. The witness last adverted to—and I can state of my own knowledge that the authority he adduces is a most competent one—an Englishman long resident in Brazil, in the public service of that country, says:—
‘Allow me to cite from the writings of an Englishman who appears to be very well acquainted with the affairs of the Brazils: it is an article about a book published by Sir Woodbine Parish, from the British Quarterly Review for February, 1853. The book is about the River Plate, but there are in the article of the Review two or three little passages to which I will beg the attention of the Committee; beginning about the attack of Caseros, where Rosas had been put down. He says, “On this occasion, however, the Brazilian alliance introduced a regular, well disciplined, and properly commanded army into the contest, and in the hour of Buenos Ayrean defeat, it was to its humanity, order, discipline, and obedience that the troops of Rosas appealed; Surrender to the blue pants (so the Brazilian infantry was termed), they do not kill! was their cry.” This is to prove that Brazilians are not so blackened in civilization as they generally think in Europe, and not so inhuman; “and thus a body not exceeding 3,000 men had upwards of 5,000 prisoners, not one of whom was injured; on the contrary, a contingent of Rosas’ army refused to surrender to the Oriental forces of Urquiza; but on the appearance of a Brazilian officer (Captain Petra) at once laid down their arms; nor was this example of humanity lost on the Argentines themselves, in the subsequent occurrences at Buenos Ayres.” I have read that to show that the Brazilian people are ill judged of, and that they are more desirous to put an end to slavery than they have had credit for, on account of the point of civilization they have come to, and on account of the circumstance of its being to their interest. The article of the Review contains still the following observations: “Nor ought the events we have narrated to be uninstructive to Europe; for they teach the impolicy of England and France attempting to precipitate, either by diplomatic or military agency, events in distant countries, whose circumstances they are so imperfectly acquainted with; and the shortsightedness of prohibiting the intervention of a nation materially and geographically, as well as politically, concerned. They teach us also the dignity and office of the Empire of Brazil in the political system of the world; and how much more that state may be made to contribute its share to the great mass of human happiness, by promoting its welfare, than, as has been done, by wounding its pride.” Thus by promoting its welfare, and coming to an amicable understanding with it, there would have been a much fairer result, perhaps much quicker, than by wounding its pride, and by much stronger measures.’
CHURCH OF THE NOSSA SENOR A DA GLORIA, AND AQUEDUCT, RIO DE JANEIRO.
This is most just and true; and though the cause of irritation to Brazil, indirectly glanced at in the concluding sentence, has happily passed away, it is no less necessary to remember with what forbearance that country endured the slights and indignities put upon her, and with what magnanimity she forbore from soliciting the aid of a neighbouring nation that might have required small inducement to vindicate the honour and inviolability of the Brazilian flag; for there cannot be a question that the government of Washington would very gladly avail itself of any opportunity that might contribute to strengthen the connection between the States and Brazil, though it is remarkable that some attempt of the kind has not been made, in the mode of which the establishment of such a steam company as the one I represent is an example.[57]