The tri-weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1866-1868, 1867-05-11
The Abolition of Slavery in Brazil
Now for Cuba and the Last Slave ship.

Tie special Herald despatch. cin London
and the Atlantic cable, which we published
yesterday, announcing decree from Don
Pedro, Emperor of Brazil, abolishing slavery
throughout his dominions, marks the open
ing of a new chapter in the political adj
vancement and material prosperity of that
vast and magnificent empire of the mighty
Amazon From and after the eighth day of
April last all the children of slaves. as Of
freemen, born in Brazil, are free, and the ex-
listing slaves at the end of twenty years are
also to be free. We have no doubt that
within IL year or two another imperial decree
will complete the work of emaRc. patton thus
begun, and that Brazil will thus take her
place with France, Great Britain, Russia and
the United States in the abolition of slavery
The population of Brazil, in round num-
bers, is eight millions, of which two millions
are whites, one million one hundred twenty
five thousand free people, blacks and mixed
races; eight hundred thousand civilized In
dians, six hundred thousand mixed slave
population. and over two millians African
slaves The laws of the empire have rem
dcred manumission easy. and once set free
the negro finds every calling and every office
in the State rs fully open to him as to the
white man. And in society, as in politics.
color is no barrier to success. The work
therefore, of negro enanci patton in Brazil is
an easy NATTER civil. political and social
equality being already established among
freedmen of all races and colors. With US
African emancipation has been purchased at
the cost of stupendous four years civil war,
involving, North and South included the
sacrifice of six hundred thousand able-bodied
men; the impoverishment of extensive com
munities, and heavy taxation to meet the
demands of three thousand millions of debt.
And why? Because of our late broad dis
tinctions between whites and blacks, because
OF decree from the Supreme Court of the
United States in 1856, declaring that under
the federal constitution the negro bond or
free, is not a citizen, and has NO rights
which white man is bound to respect; !"
and because this decree, while it soliditied
the North against slavery. rallied the South
to rebellion in its defence. Even in the
midst of the war, as late as December. 1862,
when the door was open, President Lincoln,
casting about for a way to universal enamel
patton. could find no plan OF safely reaching
1t before the year 1900.
The Emperor of Brazil, then, has done as
much us could be reasonably expected, in
giving slavery margin of twenty years in
which to die out. But, we repeat, that hay
ing broken ground upon it, he will soon find,
as Abraham Lincoln found. that public
opinion is ready for a much shorter term of
grace. In measures of progress the people
in this age of advancement are everywhere
ahead of their rulers. This may be said
even of the Brazilians and of Dom Pedro,
enlightened, Intelligent and progressive ruler
as he Is universally known to be. Meantime,
emigration from our Southern States to Bra
zil to regain the blessings of negro slavery.
will be stopped, and the moral effects of the
Emperors decree, from Virginia to Texas,
will contribute to the work of reconstruction
under the new dispensation of universal lib
erty and political equality.
Spain will also be made to feel the moral
effects of emancipation in Brazil superadded
to emancipation in the United States, and
there will he work of reconstruction before
long in the islands Of Cuba and Porto Rico,
the last remaining places of refuge in Chris
tendon of the African slave trade. With re-
gard to this traffic the Emperor of Brazil has
for years past actively co-operatcd with Eng
land and the United States to suppress it.
Always cultivating the most friendly Clip
rocities with our government and people,
Dom Pedro. in this matter of emancipation,
will bring the two countries into still closer
rapport. Our imports from Brazil, with
the opening of the Amazon to free navigation
and with the abolition of slavery will he
rapidly SWGlicU lTOm twenty-five TO n1Cy
millions year, and our exchanges will be
correspondingly increased. The valley of
the Amazon, which is in Brazil, is equal to
the bountiful support of a hundred millions
of people What limits. then, are we to fix
to our trade with that valley under this new
epoch of emancipation and commercial re-
ciprocitics Meantime we may expect some
important manifestations in Spain and Cuba
of the moral effect of this decree of enamel
patton in Brazil. Steam engines and tee
graphs are bringing all the nations of Chris
tendon so close together that n great event
in one pusates through them all.-Neoo York
Herald
A wag remarks that he has seen couple
of sisters who had to be told everything to-
gether, for they were so much alike that they
couldn't be told apart.
"Pride goeth before fall" 1t often goes
before waterfall.
The widow of Bishop Polk is teaching