Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1889-11-29
BRAZIL.
INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT THAT
COUNTRY.

An election has recently been held all
over Brazil. All over Brazil means
something, too, at least as far as terri
tory is concerned. My geographical
mind corner recalls the number of square
miles in Brazil to be estimated at or
about 3,609,000, or something above 150,-
600 more than the United States and its
renowned seal country, Alaska, contain;
and the whole world knows the area of
the United States is no baby area. The
population of this country is altogether
disproportiOnate to its territory, for it is
said to contain only about 100000 per-
sons all told, white, black, Indian and
the various shades resulting from the
permutations and combinations of these
mixtures.
Settled, as it was, long before the 1902
Pilgrims ran the Mayflower ashore at
Plymouth, long before Peter Mennitt
made his Zone mill per acre. purchase of
Manhattan island with little fire-water
thrown in) from the Indians, still it
has scarcely one-ffth of the population
of the United States and scarcely a
ripple of the energy that permeates
bone and muscle and fibre of the peo-
pie constituting the great republic of
North America. There must be some
thing wanting in country, in its gov
eminent or its people, when 400 years
have passed away and generations have
lived and moved and fallen asleep and
but little progress has been made com
pared with a country and people like
ours, still younger, but yet where the
giant strides of progress are everywhere
visible. Perhaps it was the great curse
of slavery that checked the growth of
this country and hindered the progress
of the people. We know this evil drag
ged like a tremendous weight upon the
United States and doubtless retarded her
onward march to a higher and mightier
progress, besides showing plainly the
glarng inconsistency of our position,
proclaiming ourselves a free people adj
vocating freedom, while fostering, pro-
tecting and unfolding slavery. But at
length emancipation came. Our land is
no longer the land of the free and the
home of the slave. as was sneerngly but
truthtullv said by those who envied our
prosperity and We're jealous of our grow
ing strength and power despite the cursed
influence of slavery. Once slavery was
abolished the United States. like blaz-
ing meteor obscuring the galaxy of stars
respondent in the armament, attracting
by its superior brightness the gaze of
every observer. shone forth in the con-
stellatiOn of nations. startling. dazzling
them all by the marvellous exhibition of
her progress, by the electric brightness
of her career. Her uneXampled prosper
ity is the theme of public men and polit-
zeal economists everywhere. Every
where her mighty influence is seen and
felt.
On May 10, 1888, Brazil emancipated
her slaves. From early times slavery
became rooted in the soil of this country
us an institution. Whether it was prior
to the time, 1919, | believe, when the
Dutch cursed the soil of the United
States by planting therein an institution
that took so many lives and cost so much
treasure to eradicate, | have not YET
learned. However, slavery was abol
shed on May 13 of last year, and abol
ished without drop of blood being sheC
or farthing's compensation being giver
to the slave-owners. OF course, the cast
of Brazil was different from our case
With us it was a question whether thu
Union, that before had been threatened
with disruption and was really held to
gether only by compromise patches
should be broken up and destroyed by
the withdrawal of a State from tina
Union without the consent of a majority
up as an independent commonwealth, o.
whether it should not. 1t was ques
ton of life or death for the republic
Civil war was the result and out of TIN
war came the emancipation of the slaves
Under such circumstances compensation
to the slaVe-Owners was entirely out o
the question. But in Brazil withou
such Il cause, without such result. will
an export duty of five per cent (calle
an emancipation tax. levied by the gen
eral government for the purpose of ere
ating fund to purchase slaves froi
their owners, buying the slaves and CON
pensating the masters, in two years o
less after this emancipation-fund la,
had been passed another law is passe
! declaring all slaves throughout the EN-
pire free on and after May Ii, 1888. III
Liberal party being in the majority in tn
parliament of 1886, enacted the law crea
ing the emancipation fund by levying tn
export duty of five per cent with view c
bringing about gradual emancipation
guarding against disaster to the empir,
which it was thought likely would fOllo'
sudden and unprOvded-for emancipation
But, owing to the influence of IA lew lea,
ers of the Conservative party. who wei
anxious to get back into power, the sent
|
developed very rapidly, both in and OF
of parliament. The Liberal ministr
was defeated on some financial questio
and went to pieces. A Conservatiy
ministry was formed in the first part
1888, Immediately on the fall of the Lii
erals, and the emancipation act was Z
once passed, to go into effect as STATED
without any remuneration or act of il
demnity of any kind to the parties afiec
ed thereby. Since the law of 1871, whic
declared all children born of slave pr
rents after that year as free, every OF
Q knew that emancipation must come sooI
er or later. But few actually wanted {
expected that it would come with Il
suddenness with which it did come. III
consequences that would follow such
hasty party measure were lost sight of a
together through the avidity of those VIII
it is said, looked only to obtaining and +
tanning power. 1t is now admitted on a
sides that the precipitancy of the measu
\ was unwise, not only in its disastrous I
= suits upon the country financially, agl
= culturaly and commercially. but that II