The New York herald., 1870-08-10

morning. Then the figures on the egg are to be
studied; then the experts see ships and letters,
horses, palaces, huts and beaux, aud know their
fate. In the morning, also, Is it when
the dewdrops upon the sprigs of arruda or
cloves of garlic tell Of life and death during
the next year; for If the locker do not see his
face mirrored in the morning dew of st. Johns
day, then the winding sheet and coffin are her
doom ere his day returns again. Among other
divinatons is that of pouring lead on the ground
at midnight, the drawings of "book Of fate" or
the name of the first beggar that asks aims. But
the crowning glory of st. John Is the cake eaten
at night. Every one must eat cake, if he starvc a
month before. II she have no money she pledges
ajewel; il lie has no money he buys on credit; il
he has no credit he steals If he can neither bor-
row nor steal he throws himself upon the mercy
of some one who owns a cake, for whatever COM
mandment else may be broken true bred Bra
lillian would rather break every one in the Deca.
logue than the unwritten one that says cake must
be eaten on st. Johns night.
The battle in the Chamber OF Deputies over the
provisions forcing the monastic orders to sell
their lands, houses and slaves has been as unfa-
vorable to them as that in the Senate, and the
measure passed, although that ultra-devout
deputy, Dr. fcrrelrd Nlannd eultOT Ol tne DuftO
do Rio, plead their cause warmly, now pathet-
cally bewaing the extinction of those who taught
us religion laws, science, morality, trades farm
| ing, and how to save our country; now roaring in
mnatory denunciation of all who would dare to
| purchase the sanctifed lands houses and nggers.
"Oh I" said he, twill not all Europe be Mortified
to hear that the monks Of Brazil have been forced
by this aceursed measure to sell their slaves--ther
.
| ber interrupting him, ''the act does not forbid
them to free their slaves" However, only
another Deputy supported the learned doctor, and
the motion to eliminate or separate was mega
| tived by large majority.
| The proposition Of the Minister of Agriculture
| for leave to borrow s35, ,000,O0 to extend the
| Dom Pedro Segundo Railroad to the Rio dos
Velpas in Minas and into st. Paulo, has been re-
| ported as bill by the Committee on Es mates,
| who, in compliance with the wishes of the gov
| ernment, have also added TO the bill clauses to
authorize the purchase of the Pernambaco and
Bahia railroads from the English companies for the
purpose of extending them by applying their net
revenue, and 81 100000 in addition per annum,
to their extension to the San Francisco. In the
case OF the Pernambuco Railroad the net revenue
is rapidly increasing and is now over sl5O,oOO
| on seventy eight miles; but in that of the Bahia
| Railroad the net revenue, the greater part of the
time, is minus quantity, the gross receipts being
generally insufficient to pay the working ex-
penses.
The business in the Chamber Of Deputies at
present has no especial Importance, being chiefly
formal The estimates Of 1912 are being voted
and that Of the Ministry of Agriculture has been
reached. This is the one upon which the great
| scramble takes place. The original proposition
has only 100000 for distribution among the
hungry jobbers in the premises, but every Deputy
Is bound to fight to the last for the biggest bite he
can for his district aud province, that is,
for his friends; and the conflict this year promises
| to be terrible, "a the Minister OF Finance, by his
Boosting of great surplus and the increasing
resources, has deprived himself of the previous
excuse Of hard times for giving nothing unless to
| his own proteges and relatives. The good De
putes are ravenous, their teeth are set on edge
and their mouths are watering at the fat jobs that
some hangers on and relatives Of the Ministry
have already secured from the Treasury, and so
determined are they fer pIunder and numerous
are the amendments and additions pouring in upon
the estimates OF agriculture aud public works
that it looks as though his Excellency the Minister
of Finance, like Act@on, Will be dovoured by the
hounds he has get loose.
OF the promised reforms we hear nothing what
| ever yet, and even those introduced last year are
allowed to sleep unawakened in the committee
pigeon holes. The Minister of Justice ia still sick
and probably the reform Of the judiciary will not
be gone into this session; indeed as the judges
have just secured an addition of fifty per cent to
their salaries il is not unlikely that their righteous
indignation at the prepotence Of tho executive
over judicial functions will not be go hot and
aggressive as it was, especially as those who are
the most subject to the evil complained Ct being
,mrepreseated in the Legislature there is nc good
in troubling ones political friends chiefly for the
immediate relief of ones political enemies and
local antagonists.
In regard to this that Independent old
1 emancipatist conservative Senior PerdiQam
Malheiros, deputy for the province of Rio Janciro
| made, two three days ago. very
pertinent remark, when he said that Il
Is the village politics. that kills patriotism, and
! that the only way to improve the administration
OF justice in Brazil is to withdraw its trustees from
the innaence of politics and place them above the
| need of its pursuit In fact in Brazil the magis-
| tracy is rarely considered an end for it means
| starvation in most cases. and therefore, Judge
| ships are only viewed as a temporary means Of
acquiring influence by doing the dirty work Of
some great man of the district. Thus the judi
! ciary OF Brazil can almost be compared with that
| Of New York, only /. does not pander so much 10
the roughs. inasmuch as the power lies higher up
the scale of social standing in Brazil and is mo-
nopolized by the slavcowners.
1t is understood tnlt the Minister of the Empire
is hard at work upon measures for the improve
| ment and extension of education. for establishing
civil marriage and for altering the electoral system
in the mode shadOwed in his report. He does not
| take any part yet in the Legislative functions
and his bill for development of municipal county
| self-government, introduced last year, IL kept
back until he can find leisure to back up his bant-
ling. He and the Minister Of Agriculture repre-
| sent the young conservative party, and are the
| only reforming elements of the Cabinet. The
policy Of the Minister Of Empire seems TO be to
beat the liberals on their own ground by "steal-
| Thunder " m of yiav a yi
IDENTIFY swallowed by most of his colleagues with
| very wry faces but swallow they must for as
the nephew Of the premier and the leader of the
young conservatives, he is able to hold his own