New-York daily tribune., 1858-02-16

listened 10 with pleasure and sdmration ne Is an
| example of how much patient study und elaborate
| preparation csn accomplish. II these have not
made him the greatest orator of the world, they
have at least rendered him perhaps the most ac-
complished and winning platform speaker in the
United States.
From the cold silence with which the Emperor
Of Brazil received the advances of our Slr. Meade.
il would appear that his Brazilian Majesty does not
perceive all the resemblances and sympathies be-
tween the imperisl Government of Brazil and that
Of our North American Union, which Mr.. Meade,
in his presentation address, dwelt upon with so
warm yearning To that diplomatic parsonage,
fresh from the United States It may be plain enough
that this country governed Brazil is, by an ar
istocracy Of Shareholders, and that between an
hereditary empire in the family of Braganzo and an
administration of the Federal Government fixed in
line of descent Just about narrow by the strict
rules of sectional interest and party discipline there
can be- so far at least the voice of the people has
anything to do with it, very little to choose But in
accurate knowledge of the existing condition of
things among us, the Emperor and his Minister'S are
no doubt sadly behind Mr.. Meade. Their knowledge
of the United States has probably been derived
from books and, quite ignorant Of that retrograde
progress made in the last quarter of a
century. to which Mr. Meade refers with
go much satisfaction. it is not surprising
if they might have quite misunderstood
his unexplained reference to the approximation
" in many respects of the political constitutional
90 organization of Brazil and the United States
Had the Emperor been fully aware that it has be-
come a settled principle of the Democracy, so
called the ruling party in these United States, that
the minority ought to govern, aud that any degree
of force, fraud and chcanery which may be neces
sary to establish and uphold the minority in the
possession Of power is perfectly justlfiabe, he
might perhaps have better perceived what Mr..
Mason WAS driving at. Instead of mistaking this
part of his speech, as perhaps he did, for an unsea-
sonabe, no less than uDpalatabe, insnustion that
Brazil was drifting toward Republcansm, he
would have taken il, on the other hand as it was
doubtless intended, for a cOurtly suggestion that
the United States was on the high road to priVi-
legged sristocrsey and an empire.
But whatever advantage Mr.. Meade may have
had over the Emperor, in his knowledge of the ar
bitrsry and aristocratcsl principles which the ex-
isting Administration Of the Federal Government
is seeking to introduce here the Emperor has, on
the other hand no less advantage over Sr. Meade
in his superior knowledge of the fur damenta prin-
cipes upon which rests the social fabric Of Brazil,
ignorance of which led poor Mr.. Meade into
blunder at once grave and ludicrous. Mr.. Meade
has been deceived 10y appearances and by falling to
penetrate below the surface no less than the En-
peror himself. The Emperor, deluded soul, thinks
that the people govern in the United States, and 80
misspprehends Mr. Meade altogether. Mr.. Meade,
because Slavery exists in Brazil falls into the error
of supposng that this circumstance is alone suf-
fcent to establish " an affinity between" Brazil and
u.s. such as insures unity of action and feeling"
A few menths residence in Brazil will probably
satisfy Mr.. Meade, suppOsng him to have ordinary
powers Of observation and understanding, that, al
though Slavery exists in that country, yet on the
much more important and fundamental question Of
the natural relation between the negro and the
white race there is no sympathy or coincidence
whatever between the Brazilians and us. In Brazil
there is no prejudice of caste. The thesters, the
churches the professions, every calling in life every
means of acquiring wealth, and every post of honor
is as much open to blacks and mulattoes as to
whites, and already very considerable part of the
active business of tft>country is in their hands.
The Brazilian Government Instead of placing OBJ
staees in the way Of the emancipation of the slave,
favor it in every way; and the slave once emanci-
pated stands in the eye OF the law, and in the eye
of public sentiment too on the same level with
every other freeman. The African slave trade,
which some Of our Southern States appear
60 anxious to revive, has been litey
abandoned snd put 9 stop to in Brazil.
We hear of no propositions there, like that
now pending in Virgins, to reduce the free
colcred population to Slavery. On the other hand,
that freed population constitutes, as we have
already stated, an interest constantly and rapidly
Increasing in numbers and weath-the Brazilian
middle Glars, Occupying an intermediate position
between the great prOpretoss on the one hand, and
the slave laborers on the other. The Brazilian
Goverrutbt, instead cf struggling 70 keep the black
race in perpetr a. se1itgde and subiectiou. "a look
M forw.sa ~ the periO!. sOt very far distant.