The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-09-14
BRAZIL AND BRAZILIANS.
Hon. Billy Williams at Rio Janeiro-The
COuntrys Internal Affairs.

An Indianian, now in Brazil in letter from
Rio Janeiro to member Of the Journal staff,
| under date of July 7, says:
''The Hon. Billy Williams, of Warsaw, min
lister to Uruguay under President Arthur has
been here for some time. waiting for steamer
to take him home l attended a banquet given
him at one of the hotels. We had brass band
| to play American airs while we toasted the
| genial old gentleman of our country Mr.
Williams may usually be found surrounded by a
half dozen or SO old merchant captains whom he
keeps laughing at his jokes. He is very popular
here. He says that it is his intention now to
retire from politics, but think he would rather
make political speech than drink milk punches
Mr.. Hanna is expected in Rio Janeiro next
month, on his way to Buenos Ayres. When he
gets settled in Buenos Ayres l shall call on him
and get ali of the news from Indiana"
Further along the same gentleman saws:
'There are a great many English and Americans
here, mostly engaged in the shipping trade
men who leave their families at home and come
out here expecting to make their fortunes in
short time, and then return to enjoy them. This
has been overdone. Competition has arisen
with the influx of foreigners until the margins of
profit have ecreased to such an extent that it
no longer pays to brave the dangers of yellow
fever, smallpox and other ills belonging to this
climate. The coffee trade, which is even more
extensive now than ever before, is carried on in
such a manner as to leave only small margin
of profit for the handler here, whereas few
years ago, man had only to deal in coffee two
or three years to become immensely rich. The
coffee planters, who own the labor that
produces the coffee, are still the
wealthiest people of the Brazilian.
empire, but with the emancipation of their
slaves staring them in the face, they do not feel
at all secure in their property. The slave
owners see that emancipation must come sooner
or later and are casting about for means of
emancipation that will make them secure for a
certain time and then give them the money
value of their slaves. Under Dom Pedro 8 lib
eral reign the people have grown disloyal in the
same proportion that Dom Pedro has grown
liberal. unit! now it is no uncommon thing to
hear of a great southern republic with Brazil at
Its head. The Emperor is supposed to favor
republic, but does not think the people capable
of self-government as yet. He is so liberal that
he will allow local newspaper of large circula-
ton to go UNPUBLISHED for publishing a cartoon
Ill which he is pictured as studying the heavens
while his court and household are dragging
Brazil through the dust. LIE Comte d'Eu the
husband of the Crown Princess, and who on the
death of the Emperor, will become the real SOW
erelgn of Brazil, is man of SO little tact that he
must go into university. where. a
class in history were being taught
about the persecution of the Huguenots
by the old French Bourbons, and deny that the
Huguenots were ever persecuted--and all this
for no other reason than that he is the repre-
sentative and descendant of that old French
dynasty. For this and countless other things as
disliked by the Brazilians, who would do almost
anything to prevent the accession of the Crown
Princess. They point with enthusiasm to our
great country and wish for like form of gov
eminent. If left to themselves l should not be
surprised to see wonderful change after
Dom Pedro's death. If revolution
comes before the slaves are emancipated then
emancipation and republcanism will come
together and the Shareholders will be left as our
shareholders after the war. Were the
government able the slaves would be emanci-
pated now and the slave owners given fair
compensation, but Brazil can scarcely meet her
current expenses of government and the interest
on her debt, let alone accumulate a greater one.
There is no gold, and very little silver in circu-
lation in the country. The money is all paper.
worth about &c per cent. of its face value. and
fuctuates daily. The gold is taken out
of the country either by the bond
holders or men who come here to amass
fortune, and then 20 back to Europe to spend
it. Although an apparently rich and prosperous
country. there is but little real wealth, and the
class of people who live here simply to make
money is very large, and is constantly changing.
The people of the interior who own the
large coffee plantations have the only wealth
that Brazil can call her own"