New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-01-31
THE NEW REPUBLIC.
VIII.
GENERAL APATHY IN COMMAND.
A REVOLUTION WITHOUT A PARALLEL-MARTIAL
LAW PROCLAIMED - THE FINANCIAL OUT.
LooK-sTRONG MEN AT THE HEAD

LAW PROCLAIMED - THE FINANCIAL OUT.
LooK-sTRoYG MEN At THE HEAD
OF THE GOVERNMENT.
rvpon STAFF CORRESPONDENT THE TRiBUNEl
Rio Dec 27.-There is a good deal said here
about military absolutism, but that does not strike
ut the root of the matter. The real master OF
the situation is General Apathy, one of the most
powerful personages in governmental crises Inc
revolution as a military event was one OF tho
most grotesque in history. few battallons
which had been ordered TO a remote Province
overturned the Empire They were young, mex
perienced ill-disciplined soldiers, VINO had never
had practical experience in field cvoiutlons. Ihey
had been drilled at the barracks in slovenly
vav. and had been frequently seen on dress
narade They were raw and untrustworthy
troops and were not even able to fire the guns
which they carried / am told on excellent
authority that their arms had been changed a
short time before the revolution, and that the
ammunition which they had with them when
they were surrounding the Government buildings
and parading in the Ouyidor was not adapteu
for use with the new guns. They were overthrow
ing the Empire without being able TO nre u
shot This seems almost incredible, but IL Is
hardly more farcical than the facility with which
their work done, without Dloodsheu anu
almost without a struggle The new Govern
ment was established in few hours, and within
three DAYS the Provincial administrations were
revolutionized all along the coast. BY few
strokes of the pen all the legislative bodies in
Brazil were abolished. All the institutions of
the Empire were levelled and swept away The
Provisional Government in Rio and twenty
subordinate revolutionary administrations In the
Provinces were established as a substitute for
everything that had previously existed under
constitutional warrants. The Ministers began to
issue DEGREES at rate that made mems heads
reel The French Revolution in its most
paroxysmal periods never witnessed activity equal
to that of these new decree-makers. NaturalIza-
ton, the franchise, civil marriage, a constltu-
tional commission, the conditions OF an election
to be deferred for ten months, and hundred
other matters of the gravest importance were
settled off-hand by a revolutionary commission
created by a few battalons Of soldiers who could
not have loaded and fired their guns. The
country acquiesced in all these arrangements with
an apathy and On Indifference never paraieled
in history. The accomplished American editor Of
the Rio News" told the literal truth when he
said that the Brazilians threw of the Empire as
they would have changed their coats.
The apathy of the people remains, as it was at
~,
revolution On the day after my arrival decree
was issued which practically established martial
law throughout the country. There had been
trivial mutiny on the 1sth inst among some
drunken soldiers, and owing to the absence OF
commissioned officers the Imperial flag was
raised 1t was ridiculous affair, but 1t thor
oughly alarmed the Government. On the strength
Of that mutiny martial law has been virtually
proclaimed. military commission was APP
pointed to investigate the affair, and eleven sus-
poets were examined, nine of them being set at
liberty Silveira Martins and Carlos Alfonso were
arrested for instgatng the mutlny, the latter
being brother of Ouro Preto, the former rrline
Minister. DEGREES of deportation ana exile were
PROMPTLY issued against them. This summary
action did not suffice On December "a a decree
,vas unclaimed investing the investigating com
mission with the powers and functions of mill
tarv court An elastic list of political Offences
beginning with conspiracy against the Repuohc
and Indictment to military mutiny and ending
with speaking and writing against the existing
order of government was made up, and all civil
processes were suspended in such cases. Inc
Military Commission was empowered TO take cog
nizance of all such Offences and TO Try suspeceu
persons by martial law. The decree was not APP
pled to the city alone, but to the whole country
1t is martial law Of the most sweeping CHARACTER
The proprietors of the only Opposition Journal
the "Tribuna Liberal" at once sought an inter
view with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and
according 10 their own version were lhioIheu
that the decree applied to press offences They
concluded at once to suspend the publication Oh
their journal and the last number of the Iribuna
Liberal" has appeared with their explanations
7 think it probable that if the editor had been
,o
tinued TO publish his journal, and would not have
been molested by the police authorities Buteon
the face of the decree it is dangerous for any one
n sneak i'll or TO write critically Of the Repuo-
1can Government. The outspoken and fearless
EDITOR of The Rio News, the only English paper,
told me this morning that he would not pay any
attention to the decree, but would perseVere IN
discussing affairs without restraint lie had
been accustomed to do this under the Empire, ana
so had Senior Bocayuva and all the Kepuohcan
editors free speech being one OF the pOlltlcal
rights guaranteed at all times and under all cir
cuustances by the Imperial Constitution Nheuher
he will be warned by the Government after MS
next issue remains 10 be seen. But nomlnally at
leost free speech does not exist at present, ana
martial law has been procaimed This is state
~ affairs which would have preciptated a revolu-
ton under the Empire Nothing comes Oh IL
now Apathy reigns. Each afternoon the de-
crees are read in the papers, and then the favor
oble weather is discussed Martial law is APP
parently regarded as a necessary evil 1t causes
no excitement. Tomorrow decree formulating
a now decalogue may be proclaimed, but l doubt
II il would make much OF a sur
r. is this condition of popular apathy which
expiains every thing that has happened In Brazil
since the 18th Of November. The people SUD-
nitted to the overthrow Of the Empire because
tbev had ceased to care anything about 1t. Ihey
were aware that the Argentine Republic was
making relatively greater progress than Brazll,
aud they attributed the bacllwardness of their
o,,n conntry 10 the form of government They
disliked centralization cercalism and other
tendencies of Imperial rule. They wanted a
change, and so when the Empire went down IKE