As the object of my journey into this district was to examine into the real state of affairs, and to give a true report of them on my return, for which purpose I was furnished with many privileges never allowed to any person before, and was thus enabled to see all that I desired, humanity requires that I should make some observations on the fate of those unfortunate persons who have been tempted to smuggle diamonds, and have been caught in the act. I even mentioned the subject to His Excellency, the minister, on my return to Rio de Janeiro; but as his occupations were great, and the state of my health required me to leave the country immediately, nothing more was said of it.
The great demand for these precious articles, and the facility of secreting them, have caused them to be searched for and carried away in violation of the existing laws of the country. Of the numbers who have engaged in this illicit traffic, from an eager desire to become rich at once, many have eluded the vigilance of the guards, and have finished their career with credit and opulence; others less fortunate have been detected, and have incurred the punishment annexed to the offence, namely, the surrender of their illegally acquired treasure, the confiscation of their whole property, and exile to Africa, or confinement, perhaps for life, in a loathsome prison. Mild as are the criminal laws of Brazil, the latter part of this sentence is an exception at which human nature shudders. Surely, when a poor wretch, who has been tempted to this offence, has atoned for it by the loss of all he possessed, he has suffered sufficiently without being subjected to the forfeiture of personal liberty, and to all the woes incident to hopeless captivity. Far be it from me to countenance any infringement on the laws which have been established for the protection of property, either public or private; to respect the institutions of whatever nation I may live in, I hope I shall always be among the first, and to encourage others to disregard them, the very last; for illicit trade of every description is a deceitful and dangerous pursuit, the sweets of which are ever attended with a counteracting portion of evils. The object of my reasoning is to shew that these degraded persons have been of service to the state, and may still be rendered useful to it. May it be permitted me to enquire who were the discoverers of perhaps all the diamond mines which have enriched the caskets of the royal family of Portugal beyond comparison with those of any other state, and which have not only augmented the revenues of the government, but have proved the source from which many respectable and enterprising individuals have derived their opulence? Adventurers, who, at great risk and with indefatigable toil, have penetrated unknown forests, and explored deep ravines among the haunts of the savage Anthropophagi, in search of gold-mines, and in them have by chance found diamonds. When a place of this description has been once discovered by these men, it seldom remains long secret; the agents of Government take possession of it, and either work it immediately, or guard it until a future occasion. The discoverer of course flies from the place; and if he have picked up a few stones, or robbed the earth of some of its most brilliant rarities, he will seek the best and safest means of procuring value for them. If he be a man of sufficient property, he will hire a few mules, load them with cotton, bacon, and other commodities, and proceed to Rio de Janeiro in regular form. On his arrival there, he enters some good house in which he has confidence, and disposes of his concealed treasure. His mind is then relieved from apprehension, and he begins to make preparations for his return. His first care is to lay out his money to the best advantage; negroes are his chief object, and these pay a duty to the state on their leaving Angola, and another of ten milreis each on entering the mining country. If they be employed in mining, Government obtains a fifth of the gold found, and if in agriculture, a tenth of the produce is exacted. The next object of the adventurer is to lay in a stock of woollens, and other English manufactures, which pay a duty of fifteen per cent. on being landed, and are subject to another, according to their weight, on entering the territory of the mines. Thus it really appears that most of the contraband property is divided between the state and the smuggler: but this is not all; the diamonds are sent out of the country, and real effects of value are received in return, leaving a balance entirely in favor of Brazil.
This illicit trade has been carried on to a very considerable extent: there is a strong presumptive authority for stating that, since the first discovery of the mines, diamonds to the amount of two millions sterling have thus found their way to Europe, exclusive of what the contractors accounted for. This has been owing to the ill management of the whole establishment, and to the total want of necessary regulations, which have prevailed so long, that it will not be easy to apply a remedy. Let us suppose for a moment the system to be changed; the two thousand negroes employed in the establishment to be the property of the crown (whom two years’ profit of the diamond mines would be adequate to purchase); these negroes to be supplied with every article for their support from a general store, and to be treated as mildly as possible; they would then form a society, and, knowing no other masters than their officers, would have only one common interest to serve. The contraband trade by this means, though perhaps not totally destroyed, would receive an irrecoverable blow, and would be reduced almost to nothing. Should such a change take place, the shopkeepers, and those persons who subsist by hiring negroes to the works, would find the source of their emoluments dried up, and, rather than remain at Tejuco, would migrate to situations more congenial to their interests: thus the district would be freed from that bane which has so long overrun it, and Government would reap the advantage of having the mines worked by their own negroes, whom it would be difficult for others to seduce.
Another evil which such a change of system would be calculated to remove, is the following:—Every article of sustenance required for the establishment is purchased of farmers who reside a few leagues from Tejuco, or who have farms at a greater distance; and this absurd practice is the cause of much unnecessary intercourse. There are thousands of acres of excellent land in the vicinity of the diamond works, having choice of situation, and fit for the growth of every species of produce. How well might a part of the force above-mentioned be occasionally spared for a few days only, to be employed in the first operations of husbandry, which would be, to inclose a sufficient quantity of ground in various parts for the maintenance of the establishment. A certain number of negroes would be allotted, in proportion to the land under cultivation, and on particular occasions, as in harvest, an auxiliary force would be always at hand. This would be farming with double advantage; the plough would work instead of the hoe; after-crops would be sown to be eaten off the ground, which would thus be enriched and kept in good condition. Numbers of acres would be planted with artificial grass, subject to irrigation where that was practicable, and thus, contrary to the general practice, the cattle would be provided with subsistence in the dry season. Indian corn, wheat, mandioca, feijones, potatoes, &c. would be cultivated, and, under proper management, would yield crops equal to the most sanguine expectation. Storehouses, with requisite conveniences, would soon be erected, in which the grain might be kept without spoiling. Thus would the first principles of husbandry be introduced into the district, and prove a source of more lasting benefit to the state than mines either of gold or diamonds, for when the latter were exhausted there would remain an active and industrious population. It seems, indeed, to have been the purpose of nature, in distributing these precious substances in these remote and almost unknown parts, to allure civilized men to settle upon them.
From the circumstances which have been already explained, it will appear that, under the present system, the Government pay for all the diamonds that are found here, and probably receive little more than one-half; therefore it is evident that those conveyed through other channels can be sold to the public at a lower price than that at which the former are obtained. But the embarrassed state of the establishment is such, that the managers cannot lessen their expenses, being obliged to take credit for every article, and to hire almost any negroes that are offered. These evils have taken too deep root to be eradicated, even by the abilities of the present Intendant: had such a man been placed here forty years ago, empowered to act without control, and to govern the district as private property, on the principles above stated, he might have rendered it a province both rich and independent.
As all the diamonds found in these works belong to the crown, the royal family have been accustomed to select from the quantity annually remitted whatever stones they considered worthy their notice, which were generally those exceeding seventeen carats. They were formerly sent to Holland to be cut, the Dutch being the contractors of the diamonds, from the first discovery of the mines; but since the emigration of the court to Rio de Janeiro, that trade has been transferred to England, where these precious stones annually arrive, and are sold by private contract.
The collection of diamonds now in the possession of the Prince Regent is unequalled in number, size, and quality, by that of any potentate in the world; and I am credibly informed that it exceeds in estimated value three millions sterling.
This district has a direct communication with Bahia, and a few troops of mules are continually employed in going from one place to the other. The journey is much longer than to Rio de Janeiro, but the country is less mountainous; there are fewer ranchos or hovels on the road, and in one part it is requisite to carry fresh water for two days’ consumption. The commodities sent from Tejuco to Minas Novas are very trivial, consisting of smuggled gold, chrysoberyls, topazes, amethysts, and other stones; in return for which are brought English fine manufactured goods, particularly hats, printed cottons, stockings, and saddles, which have been much cheaper in Bahia than in England. Coarser articles are generally sent from Rio de Janeiro, the distance being, as before observed, much shorter.
Of navigable rivers we can say but little. The many small streams, that rise in various parts, join and form the Jiquitinhonha, which, as before observed, may be navigated to sea, without any impediment, in at most ten days’ time. How much would the country be benefited if a port were established at the entrance of this river, and vessels were allowed to load and unload; canoes would find their way from thence into the interior in the short space of twenty days, loaded with every article necessary for the consumption of the district. How superior would this mode of conveyance be to that of making roads through impervious woods, and over almost impassable mountains. How many thousands of crusades annually expended on mules would be thus saved to the public, and what numbers of men would thus be trained for the service of the marine, instead of those now employed as muleteers. With the advantage of such a communication, Minas Novas and Cerro do Frio would soon more than double their population, and it might be anticipated that the banks of these fine rivers, now lying deserted and useless, would bloom with every variety of vegetation, which this genial climate is capable of producing.
Under the present system Tejuco ought to maintain itself, and have the least possible intercourse with other places. Its commerce ought to be confined wholly to gold and precious stones; but should Government determine to make diamonds a free trade, then a contrary policy would be requisite. On this subject I shall, in the sequel, have some observations to make.