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BRAZIL 229 The English, on the one hand, have taken up steam navigation on the Amazon, so long car- ried on by a Brazilian company ; and on the other, American enterprise is penetrating the Madeira and Mamore to open up steam com- munication with the interior of Bolivia; and railroads will be built wherever navigation is impeded by insurmountable obstacles, such as the falls of the Madeira. Before the introduc- tion of railways, the traffic between the coast and the interior was imperfectly carried on by mule trains, which is still in a large portion of the country the only available method. There are in Brazil 19 banks and innumerable pri- vate hanking houses. Chief among the former are the bancos do Brasil, do Bahia, de Campos, Commercial do Eio Janeiro, do Maranhao, do Pernambuco, do Bio Grande do Sul, do Para ; and the English of Eio de Janeiro, limited, London and Brazilian, Brazilian and Portu- guese, the banco Rural e Hypothecario, and the bank of Maua and co. The sociedad eco- nomica de consume, having for its object the establishment of cheap shops, has a capital of $150,000 in $50 shares. The Mercantile Industrial bank of Rio, established in 1862, has a capital of $10,000,000, in $100 shares. Brazil is governed by a hereditary and con- stitutional monarch. The constitution is bas- ed upon the fundamental law of March 25, 1824, modified by additional acts of Aug. 12, 1834, and May 12, 1840. The constitution estab- lishes four powers in the state : the legislative, executive, judicial, and the " moderating " pow- er, or royal prerogative. The legislative pow- er is vested in a national legislative assembly and in provincial assemblies. The national as- sembly consists of two houses, senate and con- gress. The senators, 58 in number, are elected for life ; and the representatives, 122 in number, are chosen by the whole of the free population (save minors, monks, and servants) for four years. Senators must be native Brazilians, have attained the age of 40 years, and possess an annual income of at least $800. They receive a salary of $1,800 for each session. Representatives are chosen by electors ap- pointed by voters, every 30 voters having the privilege of naming an elector in each electoral district. The salary of the representatives is $1,200 for each session, besides travelling ex- penses. The executive power resides in the emperor, assisted by his ministers and a coun- cil of state. The ministers are responsible for treason, corruption, abuse of power, and all acts contrary to the constitution; which re- sponsibility cannot be evaded on the plea of orders from the sovereign. The latter has the power to convoke the ordinary meetings of the legislative assembly; nominate bishops, presi- dents of provinces, and magistrates; declare peace or war ; and to sanction and superintend the execution of all measures voted by the legislature. By virtue of the "moderating" power, the sovereign can choose ministers and senators, withhold temporarily his sanction from legislative measures, convoke extraordi- nary legislative assemblies, dissolve the house of representatives, and grant amnesties and par- dons. The ministry is composed of seven de- partments: interior, foreign, finance, justice, war, marine, and agriculture, public works, and commerce. The council of state is com- posed of 12 ordinary and 12 extraordinary members, appointed for life by the sovereign. These councillors are for the most part ex-min- isters ; and the heir apparent to the throne, if of age, is by right a councillor of state. Each provincial government consists of a provincial chamber and a general council or legislative assembly. The members of the chambers are elected directly by the voters for two years; while the assemblymen are chosen by the same electors as the members of the national congress, their functions for the affairs of the provinces being analogous to those of the representatives for the affairs of the empire. The army in time of peace is composed of 21 battalions of infantry (16,163 men), 6 regiments of horse (4,152 men), 1 regiment of artillery (5 bat- talions, and 1 battalion of engineers, 4,326 men); in all, 24,641 men, to which may be added 641 men forming a special corps. The strength in time of war is 73,784 men. The navy consists of 18 ironclads, 27 corvettes, 2 gunboats, and 7 transports, all steamers; besides which there are 33 sail of the line; making a total of 87 vessels, mounting 316 guns, and manned by 7,901 men. There are 6 vessels without armament, and a number of ironclads and other vessels of war were in course of construction in 1872. The total strength of the navy is 8,393, distributed as follows: 18 general staff officers, 545 first- class officers, 142 second-class, 101 forming a sanitary corps, 234 accountants, 62 boys, 132 engineers, 3,268 imperial marines; naval bat- talion, 1,275, and apprentice marines, 2,616. The expenditure of the empire from 1855 to 1859 was as follows: 1855-'6, $20,120,000; 1856-'7, $20,187,500; 1857-'8, $25,877,500; 1858-'9, $26,859,000. After the Paraguayan war commenced, the expenditure increased as follows: 1864-'5, $43,243,280; 1865-'6, $60,- 930,929; 1866-'7, $60,556,782; 1867-'8, $75,- 523,870; 1868-'9, $82,995,703; 1869-'70, $73,- 189,858 ; 1870-'71, $53,266,047. The amount to be disbursed in 1872 for emancipation annuities was estimated by the minister of finance at $500,000 ; and that for 1902, when slavery is to cease, at $8,000,000. About one fifth of the ordinary revenue is derived from land licenses and other taxes, such as that on transfer of property, &c. ; more than one half proceeds from duties, export as well as import, the former being 13 per cent, on coffee and 9 per cent, on all other articles. From 1865 to 1870, when deficits were of frequent occur- rence, these were covered by loans raised and bonds and paper money issued Vy government, and treated in the finance accounts as extraor- dinary receipts. The total receipts for the