The Sun.
London, England, 1824-02-24 00:00:00

EMPIRE OF BRAZIL.

The following are the principal clauses in a
project of Constitution for the Empire of BRAZIL,
organized in the Council of State, on bases pre-
sented by the EMPEROR :----
TITLE I.—OF THE EMPIRE OF BRAZIL, ITS TERRI-
TORY, GOVERNMENT, DYNASTY, AND RELIGION.
Art. 1. The Empire of Brazil is the political association of
all Brazilian citizens. They form a free and independent na-
tion, which admits of no other bond of union or federation
which may be opposed to its independence.
Art. 2. Its territory is divided into provinces, in the form
at present existing, which may be subdivided, as the good of
the State requires.
Art. 3. Its Government is a monarchy, hereditary, consti-
tutional, and representative.
Art. 4. The reigning dynasty is that of Senhor Don Pedro,
the existing Emperor and Perpetual Defender of Brazil.
Art. 5. The Catholic Apostolic Roman Religion shall con-
tinue to be the religion of the Empire. All other religions
will be permitted with their domestic or particular worship,
without any external form of temple. •
TITLE lI.—OF BRAZILIAN CITIZENS.
Art. 6. Those shall be Brazilian citizens-1, who are born
in Brazil, whether free-born or freed men. This will be the
case though the father be a foreigner, provided he does not
reside in Brazil in the service of his nation. 2. The sons
of a Brazilian fathef, or the illegitimate children of a Bra-
zilian mother born in a foreign country, who may come to
establish their domicile in the empire. 3. The children of
a Brazilian father who may be in a foreign country in the ser-
vice of the empire, even though they should not come to esta-
blish themselves in Brazil. 4. All those born in Portugal or
its-possessions, who being resident in Brazil at the time of pro-
claiming the independence of the provinces in which they re-
side, shall adhere to that independence expressly or tacitly by
continuing their residence. 5. Naturalized foreigners, what-
ever be their religion. The law shall determine the qualities
necessary to obtain naturalization.

Art. f. He shall lose his rights of Brazilian citizens—l. Who
naturalizes himself in a foreign country. 2. Who, without
leave from the Emperor, shall ..ccept employment, pension, or
decoration from any foreign Government• 3. He who is
barmished by judicial sentence.

Art. 8. The exercise of political rights is suspended.—l. By
incapacity, physical or moral. 2. By judicial degradation.
TITLE lII.—OF POWERS AND THE NATIONAL REPRE.

SENTATION.
Art. 9. The division and harmony of political powers is the
conservative principle of the rights of the citizens and the most
secure means of establishing the effective guarantees which the
constitution offers.

Art. 10. The political powers recognized by the constitution
of Brazil are four—the legislative powers, the moderating
power, the executive power, and the judicial power.
Art. 11. The representatives of the Brazilian nation are the
Emperor and the General Assembly.
Art. 12. All powers in the empire of Brazil are delegations
from the nation.

'TITLE IV.-OF THE LEGISLATIVE POWER.

Chapter I.—Of the branches of the Legislative Power, and their

se^;crrate- juisdiciion
Art. 13. The legislative power is delegated to the General
Assembly with the sanction of the Emperor.
Art. 14. The General Assembly is composed of two chain.
bers —the chamber of deputies, and the chamber of senators
or senate.

Art. 15. It belongs to the General Assembly-1. To take the
oath of the Emperor, the Imperial Prince, the Regent or Re-
gency. 2. To elect the Regent or Regency, and to mark the
limits of its authority. 3. To recognize the Imperial Prince
as successor to the throne, in the first meeting after.his birth.
4. To nominate a tutor to the Emperor when a minor, in case
his father shall not have nominated one in his testament. .5.
To resolve the doubs that may arise relative to the succession
to the throne. 6. On the death of the Emperor, or a vacancy
of the throne, to institute an inquiry into the administration
which has concluded, and to reform abuses introduced into it.
7. To select a new dynasty in case of the extinction of the pre-
sent one. 11. To make laws, to interpret them, and to suspend
them. 9. To watch over the constitution, and to promote the
general good. 10. To fix annually the public charges, and to
assess the direct contribution. 11. To fix annually, on the re-
port of the Government, the ordinary and extraordinary forces
by sea and land. 12. To grant et to refuse an entrance to
foreign troops by
sea or land, within the empire or its ports.
13. To authorize the Government to contract loans. 14. To
establish convenient means for the payment of the public debt,

15. To regulate the administration of the national domains,
and to decree their alienation. 16. To create or suppress pub-
lic employments, and to establish those that are ordered. 17.
To determine the weight, value; inscription, type, and deno-
mination of money, as well as to regulate weights and measures.
Art. 16. Each legislature shall laSt four_ years, and every
session four months.
Art. 17: Each of the 'chambers shall have the title of " the
august and most worthy 'Representatives of the Nation."
Art. 18. The imperial session of opening will every year be
the 3d of May.
Art. 19. The session of prorogation shall likewise be impe-
rial, and both shall take place in general Assembly,*the two
chambers being united.
Art. 20. The ceremonial, and the manner in which the Em-
peror shall take part in the business, shall be settled'by an in-
terior regulation.
Art. 21. The nomination of the respective Presidents, Vice-
Presidents, and Secretaries of the Chamber, the verification of
the powers of its members, the form of the oath, and the in-
ternal police, shall be executed according to regulations to be
enacted.
Art. 22. In the meeting of the two chambers, the President
of the Senate shall preside ; the deputies and senators shall oc-
cupy places promiscuously.
Art. 23. To constitute-a chamber at the commencement of a
session, it will be necessary that the half of the members, and
one more, should have assembled.
Art. 24. The sittings of both chambers shall be public, with
the exception of cases where the public good-will require se-
cret sittings.
Art. 25. Business shall be decided by a plurality of votes of
the members present.
Art. 26. The members of each of the Chambers are inviol-
able on account of the opinions which they shall utter in the
exercise of their functions.
Art. 27. No senator or deputy, during his deputation, can
be arrested by any authority, except by order of his respective
chamber, unless in flagrante delicto of a capital crime.
Art. 28. If any senator or deputy be denounced, the judge
suspending every ulterior proceeding shall give an account to
his respective chamber, which shall decide whether the proceed-
ing is to go on, and whether the member shall be suspended in
the exercise of his functions.
Art. 29. Senators or deputies may be elected Ministers, or
Councillors of State, with this difference ; that the senator may
continue in his chamber, while the deputy must be sent to a
new election.
Art. 30. They may enjoy the two offices, if they exercised
one of them at the moment of election.
Art. 31. No person can be at the same time a member of the
two chambers.
Art. 32. The exercise of any other function, except that of
Councillor or Minister of State, ceases as long as the functions
of the deputy or senator continues.
Art. 33. In the interval of the sessions the Emperor shall not
have it in his power to employ a senator or deputy beyond the
empire ; nor shall they exercise these employments when they
would render it impossible to attend on the convocation of the
chambers.
Art. 34. If the good of the State should render in any un-
foreseen case a breach of this rule necessary, the respective
chamber shall determine on that necessity.
Chapter ll.—Of the Chamber of Deputies.
Art. 35. The Chamber of Deputies is elective and temporary.
Art. 36. The Chamber of Deputies has the initiative-1. On
taxes. 2, On recruiting. 3. On the choice of a dynasty, in
case of the extinction of the reigning family.
Art. 37. The Chamber of Deputies shall likewise have the
initiative in the following cases :—l. An inquiry into the
past administration, and the reform of abuses introduced into
it.-2. The discussion of propositions made by the Executive
Power.
Art. 38. They shall likewise decree the impeachment of M
nisters.

Art. 39. The deputies shall en:oy during the session a pecu-
niary subsidy besides receiving the expences of their journey to
and from the chamber.
Chapter lII.—Of the Senate.
Art. 40. The Senate is composed of members elected for life,
and will be organized by a provincial election.
Art. 41. Every province shall elect a number of senators equal
to half its deputies, if the number of deputies be an even one—
if not, a number less than the half by one. Thus a province
which sends 11 deputies shall only elect five senators.
Art. 42. But if a province has only one deputy, it shall ne-
vertheless have a senator.
Art. 43. The elections shall take place in the same way as
for the deputies, but in triple lists, and the Emperor shall choose
the third part of the whole list.
Art. 44. Vacancies shall be filled up in the same way as a
first election.
Art. 45. To be a senator it is required.—l. That he be a
Brazilian citizen, and enjoy political rights.-2. That he be
49, or upwards.-3. That he be a person of knowledge, capa-
city, and virtue, giving a preference to those who have perform-
ed services to their country...A. That he enjoy an income from
land, industry, or commerce, of 899 milrees.
mem-
bers of the Senate, and take their seat as soon as they are 25
Art. 46. The Princes of the
years of age. , . Imperial House are of right
Art. 47 privilege of the Senate.-1. To take
. It is the exclusive e;
cognizance of the individual offences committed by the Royal
Family, the Ministers, and theCouneillors of State, and the Sena-
torslegisl
2. 1 enforce the responsibility of the
Deputies during the period of the
atives Session.—
Secretaries an d t
and
o Councillorsoffences o f th
ofe
State. 3. To expedite letters
for
the convocation of the assembly, in case the Emperor has not
done so two months after the time prescribed by the Constitu-
to theag aion the death of the Em-
ptieorno.r,
for
Ttboeceolnertikoentohfe
aAussemely
--egeney, when necessary.
net crimes, the impeachment of
Chamber of Deputies, the Procu-
n Ino t proceeding
belong
rour of the Crown shall be the accuser.
Art. 49. The sessions of the Senate shall commence and
finish at the same time as those of the Chamber of Deputies.
Art. 50. With the exception
whAicrht d4oBe's
of the cases ordered by the
constitution, every meeting of the Senate beyond the time of
the sittings of the Chamber of Deputies is illicit and of no
I effect.
Art. 61. The salary of the senators shall be one half more
than that of the Deputies.
Chapter IV.—Of the preposition, Discussion, Sanction, and
Promulgationqf Laws.
Art. 52. The proposing, the opposing, and the approving
of projects of laws is within the power of each of the chambers.
Art. 53. The Executive Power exercises, through any of
the Ministers of State, the proposition of laws ; but these pro-
positions can only he converted into projects of law after an
examination by a commission of the Chamber.
Art. 64. Ministers may assist and discuss propositions, but
are not allowed to vote, unless they be members of the chamber.
(Art. 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67,
68, 69, and 70, relate merely to the mode of proceeding with
respect to bills in the two Chambers, and the rule which re-
gulate the communication between them.)
Chapter V.—Of the Councils General of the Provinces and
their Jurisdiction.

Art. 71. The Constitution recognises and guarantees the
right of every citizen to take a management in the affairs of his
province, which may have a relation to his individual interests.
Art. 72. This right will be exercised by chambers of districts,
and Councils called " Councils General of the Provinces."

Art. 73. Each of these Councils shall consist of 21 members,
in the most populous provinces.
(The other articles of this chapter, namely, 74, 75, 76, 77,
78, 79; 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, and 89, regulate the
composition, business, and mode of proceeding of these Coun-
cils, which do not seem to come within the range of a funda-
mental or Constitutional aet.) '
Chapter IV.—Of the Elections.
Art 90. The nominations of the Deputies and Senators for
the General Assembly and of the Councils General of the pro-
♦inces shall take place by indirect elections, the mass of active
citizens electing in parochial assemblies the electors of pro-
vinces, and the latter choosing the representatives of the nation
and the province.
Art. 91 and 92. All Brazilian citizens have a vote in the pa-
rochial assemblies, with the exception of minors, military offi-
cers, priests, monks, servants, and a description of persons that
may be called paupers.
Art. 93. Those who cannot vote in the parochial assemblies
cannot be members of, or vote for any authority.
Art. 94 Fixes the qualification of a provincial elector at 200
milrees, arising from land, industry, or commerce.
Art. 95. .Freedmen cannot vote at provincial elections.
Art. 96. To be eligible to the Chamber of Deputies a quali-
fication of 400 milrees of net annual income is required.
Naturalized foreigners, and persons not professing the religion
of the state, are excluded.
TITLE V.—OF THE EXECUTIVE POWER.
[Here three articles are lost in the manuscript from which
this version has been taken.]
Art. 100. The title of the Emperor shall be that of " Con-
stitutional Empezor, and perpetual defender of Brazil ;" he
shall be addressed by " Imperial Majesty."
Art. 101. The Emperor exercises the moderating power.-
1. By nominating the senators as prescribed in article 43. 2.
By convoking the extraordinary General Assembly in the in-
terval between the Sessions. 3. By sanctioning the decrees of
this Assembly to give them the force of law. 4. By proroguing
the General Assembly, and dissolving the Chamber of De-
puties, in cases in which the safety of the State shall require it.
5. By nominating his Ministers. 6. By suspending Magis-
trates. 7 and G. By pardoning and granting amnesties.
Chapter ll.—Of the Executive Power.
Art. 102. The Emperor is the chief Executive Power, which
he exercises through his Ministers of State. The following are

' its principal attributions.--1. He convokes the General Assern-
bly.-2. He nominates bishops, magistrates, commanders by
sea and land, and ambassadors. He forms alliances and enters
into political foreign negotiations, He declares war and makes
peace. He gives letters of naturalization, &c. &c.
Art. 103. The Emperor, before being proclaimed, shall take
before the President of the Senate the followng oath—" 1 swear.
to maintain the Roman Catholic religion, the integrity and inij
divisibility of the empire, to observe, and to cause to be ob-
served, the political constituticin of the Brazilian nation, and
the laws of the empire ; and to provide for the welfare ofßra-
zil as far as in me lies."
Art. 104. The Emperor cannot go out of Brazil without the
consent of the General Assembly ; and if he does so, he is con-
sidered as abdicating the Crown.
Chapter the Imperial Family and its Income.
(Under this head the articles from 105 to 115 are unimport-
ant, as in the head of income or dotation, they refer merely to
future regulations.)
Chapter IV.—Of the Imperial Succession.
Art. 116. The Senhor Don Pedro 1., by the unanimous ac-
clamation of the people, now Constitutional Emperor and per-
Petual Defender, shall always reign in Brazil.
Art. 117. His legitimate posterity shall succeed to the throne
according to the regular order of priniogeniture and re-
presentation, the anterior line being always preferred to the
posterior ; in the same line, the nearest degree to the more re-
mote : in the same degree the masculine sex to the feminine ;
and in the same sex, the person more aged to the younger,
Art. 118. In the case of the lines of the legitimate de-
scendants of Don Pedro 1. becoming extinct, the General As-
sembly shall, during the life of the last descendant, elect a new
dynasty.
Art. 119. No foreigner can succeed to the Imperial Crown of
Brazil.
Art. 120. The marriage of the Princess presumptive heir
of the crown, shall take place with the Emperor's approba-
tion. In case there should be no Emperor at the time
when such marriage is proposed, it cannot be' concluded
without the approbation of the General Assembly. Her hus;
band can take no part in the Government, and not to be called
Emperor until he have a son or daughter by the Empress.
Chapter V.—Of the Regency during the minority or unfitness
of the Emperor.
Art. 121. The Emperor is a minor until the age of 18.
Art. 122. During the minority the empire shall be govern-
ed by a Regency, to which shall belong the relative nearest
of kin to the Emperor, who shall be aged more than twenty-
five years.
Art. 123. If there be no relative of the Emperor qualifi-
ed, the General Assembly shall appoint a permanent Re-
gency, consisting of three members, the oldest of whom shall
be President.
Art. 124. Until the permanent Regency be appointed, the
empire shall be governed by a Provisional Regency, composed
of two Ministers of State and of Justice, and of the two oldest
Councillors of State, presided by the Empress widow ; and,
failing her, by the oldest Councillor of State.
Art. 125. [TheAreater part of the words of this article are
wanting. Its object appears to be to provide for the case of the
death of the Empress.]
Art. 126. [The commencement of this article is wanting.
From the conclusion it seems to direct, that in case of phy-
sical or moral incapacity on the part of the Emperor, recog-
nized by a majority of each of the chambers of the assembly,
the Prince Regent, if he be turned of 18, shall be appointed
Regent.]
Art. 1..7. The Regent or Regency shall take the oath men-
tioned in Art. 103, with the addition of a clause for fidelity to
the Emperor, and for the delivery of the Government as soon as
he shall he major, or his incapacity shall cease.
Art. 128. The acts and orders of the Regent or Regency shall
be issued in the name of the Emperor.
Art. 129. Neither the Regent or the Regency shall be re-
sponsible.;
Art. 130. During the minority of the successor to the throne,
he shall have for his tutor the person appointed by his father's
will ; failing of such person, the Empress Mother, while she
remains unmarried ; failing her, the Assembly shall appoint a
tutor; but theappointment must not be given to the next heir
to the Crown.
Chapter VI. —Of the Ministry.
Art. 131. There shall be different Secretaryships of State, to
which shall be referred the affairs belonging to each.
Art. 132. Orders shall proceed from the Ministers of State,
otherwise they cannot be executed.
Art. 133. The Ministers of State shall be responsible-1. For
treason. 2. For corruption, subornation, or extortion. 3. The
abuse of power. 4. For failure in the observance of the law. 5.
lawp srorarllty specify. the nature of these
Art. 134.
For acts contrary to the liberty, security, or property of citizens.
tfi cul ar
public
offences, and the manner of proceeding against them.
6.
AForrt.
any waste
The Ministers cannot escape from their responsi-
bility, in consequence of any orders given by the Emperor,whe-
ther verbal or written.
Art. 136. Foreigners, although they may be naturalized,
cannot become Ministers of State.
wAast pea