Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1888-10-11
EMANCIPATION IN BRAZIL.

| What A Southern Paper Thinks it Will Finally
Result In.
While Dom Pedro the wise and liberal
| ruler OF Brazil, is on his way back TO his
prosperous South American empire, the
report comes from Rio Janerio that the
greatest discomfort prevails throughout
the realm on account of the abolition of
slavery especially among the planters
who have large estates to manage, and
are hampered by the new order of things
It is even stated that the emancipation
without compensation for tbs property
formerly acquired and held under the
laws of the empire is developing open
| hostility to the empire itself, and spread
ing republican sentiments to such an ex-
tent as to alarm the government. If
| these reports are true the emperor, even
though a sick man, will not have returned
| home moment too soon for the use Of
his great influence over hitherto loyal
aud aamiring people. Americans famil-
lar with the effects which the sudden
emancipation of the slaves in the south
| in this country produced, and the paraly-
sis which followed that event can ap-
preciate the disturbing effect of the final
contamination of the Brazilian policy in
regard to the slaves of the empire. But,
Brazilian planters are in a far better stu
alton to go on under the changed rela
tions of labor than the people OF our
southern states, whose resources were ex-
hausted and population depleted by
long and bloody war when they were
suddenly depraved OF property rights
which the constitution had guaranteed to
them. Emancipation has been slowly
coming for many years in Brazil. The
final stage, when all the slaves became
free was reached last May, at period in
| the history Of the country, when its COM
| MERGE and agricultural prosperity we're
greater than they had ever been. In ad-
dition 10 this, the sentiments or the peo-
pie were supposed to be heartily in ao-
cord with the government that slavery
should cease TO exist. For long time
large portion of the negro population of
Brazil has been set free. Many coiored
men are already planters. The territorial
area OF the country is immense, and it's
| resources rich. Every freeman may ac-
quire land and become a producer for
himself, and everyone who does SO makes
room for immigration. It is believed
| that the emancipation of the blacks is
one of the chief causes of the large in
! crease CT the German immigration to the
country and to the enormous influx of
Italians within the last three or four
| years. Slavery is a bar to extensive I'M
migration. If slavery had never existed
| in the southern part of the United States,
or if it had been abolished years before it
was, there would not exist to-day the
agricultural and industrial sparity
which IS so manifest between the South
and the East or the more recently de-
veloped West. One of the great needs
| of Brazil has been increased population;
not population such as the slaves, for
merly bought at so much head, from
! the wilds of Africa, but the skilled labor
| of Europen countries. To some of the
| old planters-indeed TO great number of
| hem-abolition without full compensa-
| ton will no doubt prove a great hardship.
Some of these large planters stand in the
same relation TO slave labor that the own
| ers of large cotton and rice plantations
did in our Gulf States. They own great
tracts of land, and find it impossible to
secure free labor on any terms likely to
be satisfactory to both interests. At this
day there are thousands of acres of good
| land in the South which have been offered
at nominal figures on account of the
scarcity of labor, since the slaves were
spite of the temporary distress TO the
generation which suffered most from the
emancipation of slaves, the succeeding
generation is finding it itself by degrees
on surer basis of prosperity and advanc-
| ing in new industrial lines. These may,
| in the course of time, make the South
prosperous and popular beyond anything
that could have been expected of a purely
agricultural country under the old sys-
tenn. Not only was the loss of slave pro-
perty absolute to our people, but they
have ever since contributed their share
toward paying the interest on the war
debt. As a whole, Brazil cannot be in
| jured by the emancipation of its slaves.
With free labor the destinies of higher
civilization are to be wrought in every
country having higher aims.
A stump Speakers Revival of an Old Story
Here Is an old story as told on the
stump in Wisconsin the other night by
W. d. Hoard, the republican candidate
for governor.
There once lived in the little city OF
Williamsport, Penn, an old judge by the
name of Williams. This old Judge
| was noted for two things: For getting