lakes are filled with fish and turtle.
The climate of this country is salubrious and the temperature most
agreeable. The direct rays of the sun are tempered by a constant
east wind, laden with moisture from the ocean, so that one never
suffers from either heat or cold. I found the nights invariably cool
enough to use blankets. With the succulent tropical fruits, the
great variety of game, and the salubrious climate, this country is a
paradise for the indolent man; for here he can maintain life almost
without an effort.
The geographical position of Belem gives it many advantages. It is
in the direct route of vessels to or from European and North
American ports and the Pacific and Indian oceans. Therefore this
city could be made a half way station for vessels thus bound to
receive orders.
With an interior river navigation of many thousands of miles, with a
soil of great fertility, and a climate which allows tropical
vegetation to develop itself in all its luxuriance, with varied and
inexhaustible mineral wealth, the Provinces of Para and Amazonas are
specially marked out by nature to become the most wealthy country on
the globe.
Belem possesses the requisites for carrying on commerce on an
extensive scale. The right steps have been adopted in inaugurating
and securing a general commercial system for Belem by the
establishment of the Amazon Steamship Company.
In order to build up this city and country, and make it what the
future determines it to be, the mineral and agricultural resources
must be developed.
The slave population is being rapidly diminished by the war with
Paraguay and self-emancipation. How is this labour to be
re-supplied? It can only be done by the immigration of the hard
working, industrious yeomanry of the United States and Europe. The
surplus population of Europe and the disaffected citizens in the
Southern portion of the United States will find their way to this
immediate section of the country.
The great exodus will as naturally flow into the vast arable area of
the valley of the Amazon as did the tribes of Asia flow into Europe
through the passes of the Caucausus.
Every advancing wave of population will lift higher and higher the
gathering flood of human life, which the moment it commences to
press upon the means of subsistence in their respective countries
must pour all of its vast tide of human beings into the great valley
of the Amazon, and will eventually unite in one living chain of
industrial life the waters of the Atlantic with the Pacific.
This country as yet is but a wilderness, but the inexorable laws of
civilisation will at no distant day thread the labyrinthian mazes of
this immensely fertile valley, and when teeming with industrious
life it will pour into the coffers of this Empire untold wealth,
thereby giving this portion of the Imperial Government a
significance second to no portion of the earth.
The rich natural and agricultural productions of this valley must be
poured out to the balance of the world. Upon the banks of each of
the tributaries of the mighty Amazon city after city will as by
enchantment arise to export the productions of the soil of this
favoured country. The valley of the Amazon is yet to exercise a
powerful influence on the political destinies of this Empire.
The future destiny of this valley is to be a glorious one; and
fortunate the descendants of those who may now obtain a foothold and
interest upon this soil. As already indicated the true elements of
future greatness lie in the substratum of industry. The valley of
the Amazon must have labour to develop its resources. The cities of
North America and Europe are crowded with young men seeking
employment.
The offices of European Consuls in the United States are crowded
with foreigners, who have exhausted their last cent and are seeking
for any kind of work.
Let them come to the valley of the Amazon with agricultural
implements and obtain a home upon these fertile lands. Those who are
lingering around the crowded seaports of poverty and vice, having no
chance with others in the great world, should turn their attention
to the valley of the Amazon, where a free homestead upon rich lands
and with salubrious climate can be obtained.
The prosperity of this country is the future welfare of all
civilised nations. This country has everything to hope for; nature
has not been unmindful of its most precious gifts to this land.
In the selection of lands, upon which it is my purpose to establish
a colony, I will be governed by the advantages offered by the lands
at Brigança over those explored. If the lands at Brigança are well
watered and rich its accessibility will decide me.
The migration to Brazil of energetic and agricultural population from
the former Confederate States of North America is still going on, and
may produce hereafter a most beneficial effect on the destinies of the
Empire. On this topic General Hawthorn and Mr. W. T. Moore have
addressed some interesting remarks to the Brazilian Minister of
Agriculture. The following is the concluding paragraphs of the
communication to which I refer:—
The people of the South must emigrate but how, and where to? These
are questions that may well engage the earnest attention of every
Government that desires to increase the number of its good and loyal
citizens. Though there may be a few unworthy persons claiming to be
from the late Confederate States who have imposed and forced their
lazy carcases and worthless habits upon this kind and liberal
Government, we desire to say in the most emphatic and unequivocal
terms that the great body of the Southern people are not
professional emigrants, who systematically cringe the knee and
hypocritically kiss the feet of every monarch that will scatter
among them the crumbs of charity; on the contrary, they are the
remnants of a gallant race, who, having struggled in vain to save
their country from destruction and themselves from slavery, will
like Æneas and his Trojan followers gather round them their aged
fathers and mothers, their wives, their children, their household
gods, and, emigrating to some foreign land, lend their powerful aid
in building up the country of their adoption and pushing it forward
to a conspicuous place in the front rank of nations.
They will carry with them their statesmen, their orators, and their
men of science, and though they may carry little gold and silver,
and but a few of this world's goods, yet they will carry with them
rich stores of great and active thought, vast mines of unflagging
energy and industry, immense treasures of practical and scientific
knowledge in planting, navigation, commerce, and the fine arts. They
will carry with them stout hearts, untarnished honour, and
unconquered manhood; but above all, for that Government which shall
now extend its liberal hand and relieve them in this their hour of
need, they will cherish that unshaken fidelity and loyalty that will
uphold and maintain it in its prosperity and rally around and die
for it whenever its day of trial and danger comes. They are a race
that have won imperishable honours in every walk of life, and upon
every field of action that has ever been opened to human enterprise,
and wherever they go in large bodies they cannot fail to add wealth
to the coffers and prosperity to the land of their adoption.
Having adopted Brazil as our future home, and believing as we do
that it is better adapted to the wants of our people than any other
country upon earth, we should rejoice to see the good and true
people of the South emigrate in masses to this wonderful country.
Hence our anxiety that this Government should fully understand the
character, the capacities, and the habits of the Southern people.
Since we have been in Brazil we have reflected deeply upon this
subject, and the result of our observations and reflections is that
the people of the late Confederate States, being, as they are,
strangers to the language, habits, and customs of this country,
cannot be completely prosperous or contented here unless they settle
in colonies by themselves, and that too upon a scale sufficiently
large to carry on successfully all the various trades and
professions, to have their own schools and churches, in short, to
relieve them from the necessity of learning a foreign language
before obtaining complete success in their agricultural,
manufacturing, or mercantile operations. We are also deeply
impressed with the belief that in order to a full development of
their energies as a people and a successful renewal of those
glorious triumphs in every art and science that once rendered them
so illustrious, it is necessary they should be left as free and
untrammelled in their action as the safety and dignity of an
enlightened and liberal Government will admit. We therefore
respectfully suggest that (as an inducement for this heroic people
to emigrate to Brazil in one vast body, bringing with them their
greatest, their wisest, and their best men; bringing with them their
household goods, their customs, their manners, their indomitable
energy and unflinching courage; but above all, bringing in their
bosoms the bright hope that their race is not yet run, but that a
brilliant and a glorious future awaits them here) the Government
cause to be set apart and reserved for their settlement and use
large bodies of the public lands, which may be selected by judicious
and intelligent men; that these lands be surveyed as occasion may
require, and sold in limited quantities, at fixed uniform rates, to
that people alone, or to such as they may desire to settle in their
midst; and that they be allowed full and complete religious
toleration, as also the full rights of citizenship, whenever they
shall take the oath of allegiance to the Government; that each of
these colonies, including such as are already established, as well
as those that may be established hereafter, be made a congressional,
military, and judicial district, which, when it shall have the
requisite number of inhabitants, shall be entitled to
representatives in the national and provincial assemblies, chosen
from among themselves; that so far as possible all their officers
placed immediately over them be men speaking their own language, and
familiar with their customs and manners; that all professional men
among them who shall produce satisfactory evidence of good character
and a reputable practice in the land from which they came be
permitted to practice their respective professions within the limits
of the said colonies, without having to undergo rigorous
examinations in a foreign language; in short, that every liberal
concession be made that a true and loyal people could ask, or a wise
and generous Government could grant.
Your Excellency need not fear the result. Ours is not a race that
breeds either traitors or cowards. When we have once plighted our
faith, dangers cannot weaken nor bayonets break its clasp. Every
liberal concession which a generous prince may grant, or an
enlightened people sanction, will but strengthen our loyalty and
increase our gratitude. We sincerely trust that your Excellency will
live to see the day when Brazil, renovated and strengthened by the
infusion of this great Southern element, will assume among the
nations of the earth the very first place in prosperity, glory, and
power, as she now holds the first in charity and true kindness to a
brave but unfortunate people.
That the policy of the Brazilian Government with regard to her
territories on the Amazon is in the right direction no one can deny, and
it is in striking contrast with the proceedings of the ruler of
Paraguay, who could, in the erection of his formidable strongholds, have
had no other object in view than that of impeding, if he did not
absolutely obstruct, the passage of the River Paraguay. Paraguayan
advocates have, indeed, endeavoured to show that the opening of the
Amazon by Brazil was solely dictated by self-interested motives, but let
the world look at the facts and judge accordingly.
Many years back the Government largely subsidised a steam company to
navigate on the Amazon, which it continues to support notwithstanding
the pressure of financial difficulties. This company goes on prospering,
and adding to its fleet, and will now be still more useful in assisting
foreigners to pioneer their way. Thus the country can be explored and
settlements made. It is gratifying to hear the climate of the Amazon so
favourably spoken of in the reports I have inserted, as at one time it
was feared this would be a barrier to successful emigration. The
emphatic language of the writers is not to be mistaken, and the
Government of Brazil will do well to afford to the active and go-a-head
Anglo-Saxon race every possible encouragement in their emigration work.
The city of Para is admirably placed and its trade has largely augmented
of late. In fact, it promises ere long to become the emporium of the
northern commerce of Brazil as Rio de Janeiro is of the southern, and
when we glance over the map, and see the enormous tributaries of the
Amazon extending as far as the waters of the great La Plata itself, it
is difficult to say what new sources of wealth may not be opened up from
the countries through which these rivers flow. There are natural
obstructions to be overcome, and tribes of Indians to be encountered,
but the strong arm and the willing heart can conquer these difficulties,
clearing their pathway through the forests to the fertile plains beyond.
But little is yet known as to the Indian tribes scattered over the
immense valley of the Amazon and its tributaries. That they are not
numerous, however, is pretty certain, nor can they offer much resistance
to the advance of the white man, when once the tide of emigration to
that country is fairly set in. It would, of course, be politic to
conciliate and make friends of the aborigines, but circumstances do not
appear favourable to such an arrangement.
By a recent Rio paper it appears that a lightship is shortly to be
placed at the entrance to Para, and that it had been successfully
experimented upon outside the port of Santa Cruz in the presence of the
Emperor.
Alluding again to Professor Agassiz, I have had the pleasure of perusing
his valuable narrative, which, although containing much matter only of
interest to naturalists and scientific people, conveys at the same time
a wonderful amount of practical information, and from which a pretty
correct idea may be formed of the probable or speculative future of the
Amazon valley.
The Amazon, I may just observe, flows through the territory of the
Empire for a distance of upwards of 500 leagues, and in its course
towards the ocean receives no fewer than eighteen affluents of the first
magnitude. The names are as follows: From the south, the Xingú, Tapajoz,
Madeira, Purus, Coary, Teffé, Myuruá, Hyutuby, and Hyavary; and from the
north, the Sary, Peru, Trombetas, Nhamunda, Uatuman, Uruba, Negro,
Hyupurá, and Iça. These rivers, from above the falls which exist on the
boundaries of the provinces of Para and Amazonas, are collectively
navigable by steamers for 7,351 leagues, not going outside the Imperial
territorial limits. In this total, navigation on the Amazon proper
figures for 580 leagues; that on the basins of the principal affluents
for 5,771 leagues; and that on the lesser tributaries, lakes, and canals
for 1,000 leagues.
As I have already remarked the Amazonian network of navigable streams
reaches to within a little of the La Plata riverine system. The sources
of the Tapajoz, flowing into the Amazon, are only separated by an
inconsiderable strip of land from those of the Paraguay, flowing into
the River Plate, and were these two rivers connected by artificial means
an immense section of the South American Continent would be insulated by
ocean and fluvial waters. This great work may probably remain undone for
many years to come, but that it will be eventually accomplished I do not
at all doubt. The progress of commerce and the development of enterprise
in these countries clearly point to the ultimate realisation of this
magnificent result.
Before passing to other topics, I will briefly notice another noble
river of Brazil—the San Francisco—which traverses the central portion of
the Empire, and waters the extensive and important provinces of Minas
Geraes, Bahia, Pernambuco, Alagoas, and Sergipe. The Rio das Velhas, Rio
Verde, Rio Grande, and the Paracatu are amongst its tributaries, and are
all of them streams which in Europe would be regarded as of very
superior size. The San Francisco is notable for its famous falls of
Paulo Affonso, which witnesses of both have pronounced to greatly excel
those of Niagara in their imposing majesty and grandeur. Above these
falls there is an uninterrupted navigation of about 230 leagues, and
below to the mouth, nearly 50 leagues, there is not the slightest
obstruction to vessels of respectable tonnage.
A large part of the immense basin of the Paraguay, in the River Plate,
also belongs to Brazil, in whose territories most of the principal
rivers of that system have their origin; and numerous other streams, of
more or less consequence, permeate different parts of the Empire on
their way to the sea. Several of these are capable of navigation by
steamers for at least 100 leagues.
TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION.
The North American Continent has now for some time past been linked to
Europe by the electric wire, inaugurating what may almost be termed a
new era of civilisation; and the fact of laying the cable will live in
history as long as the name of the leviathan ship through whose medium
this great result was accomplished.
South America has yet to depend solely upon steam communication, but
doubtless the means of magnetic intercourse will soon be supplied.
Already a rival company has been formed to lay down a cable from Brest
to America under privileges obtained from the French and American
Governments, and the great ship, with her gallant commander, Sir James
Anderson, is again to be called into requisition. It is very desirable
that extra cables should be laid in case of accident to those at present
existing.
I had hoped on my arrival home to find a company organised and a cable
about to be laid from Falmouth to Portugal and the Azores, for which a
concession had been obtained by Messrs. Rumball and Medlicott; but it
appears that the stupidity of the Cortes prevented this important line
being carried out—important to the world and to Portugal in particular,
as it would have rendered that country the great centre of telegraphic
communication, not only with her own islands, but also with North and
South America, to which it was intended the line should eventually be
carried. There would also have been a large and lucrative business
between England and Lisbon, in connection with the mail steamers to and
from Brazil, which at present is carried on under great disadvantage
through Spain. Portugal and Spain are sadly in arrear as regards
commercial progress and advancement, and Messrs. Rumball and Medlicott
experienced the same fate as the South Eastern of Portugal Railway,
which, though the Government had agreed to take it over, on equitable
terms, the Cortes refused to ratify the agreement. All Messrs. Rumball
and Medlicott required was an alteration in the law which prevented the
Government granting concessions for more than twenty years. The
concessionaries asked for ninety-nine years, which ought to have been
readily granted, seeing the manifest advantage to Portugal of
establishing such a facility for communication; but no, these _pés de
chumbo_ (leaden feet), as they are designated in other parts of the
world, would not quicken their pace even to promote the best interests
of their country. Sordid motives would also appear to be at the bottom
of these acts of repudiation, with which both Spain and Portugal are too
familiar.
I think a line might be stretched across the Isthmus of Panama, passing
from the West Coast and over the Andes to Buenos Ayres, where a
telegraphic cable can easily be laid along the seaboard to Rio de
Janeiro. The Argentine Government is now laying down wires from Buenos
Ayres to Rosario, whence the Central Argentine Railway carries them on
to Cordova, so that a communication with Valparaiso or some port on the
West Coast would not be a very formidable work.
Nothing would tend more to consolidate and bind the Argentine provinces
together than railways and electric wires. It is true the latter might
be exposed to temporary injury, from political agitators and others, but
this is no argument against the introduction of so great a civiliser,
which even savages soon learn to respect, and look upon with a certain
degree of awe. The onward march of civilisation and progress in the
Argentine, as well as the Chilian Republic, would most certainly, under
every circumstance, greatly tend to secure and keep open an agency so
useful to both.
I understand that General Webb, United States Minister at Rio de
Janeiro, has lately been authorised to submit an important scheme for
the laying of an ocean cable to place Brazil in telegraphic
communication with both Europe and North America; and I am glad to learn
that there is great probability of something practical resulting from
the negotiations in progress in respect to this proposal.
RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS.
Spain and Portugal as a matter of course introduced the Roman Catholic
religion in their South American conquests. The aborigines, being imbued
with a veneration for forms, or imagery of some kind, soon fell under
the influence of the priesthood. Volumes have been written on the power
and grandeur of the Jesuits, who were assuredly the pioneers of
civilisation in South America, and they certainly accomplished what the
sword could never have done. Papal and monarchial jealousy led to their
expulsion, but many substantial buildings still remain as evidence of
their activity and influence. The district called Missions, lying
between Paraguay, Brazil, and the Banda Oriental, which has long been a
bone of contention between the ruler of Paraguay and the Argentine
Republic, abounds with their ancient edifices, mostly in ruins, and
Paraguay itself retains to this day many of the characteristics of the
Jesuit rule, which was exercised in a despotic manner—half sacerdotal,
half military.
Any one visiting South America must be struck with the enormous size of
the churches and convents, so utterly out of proportion to what must
have been the wants of the population at the period of their erection,
and even at this moment many of these buildings are unoccupied, as
stated in my notice of the Brazilian city of San Paulo. These churches
and convents were endowed with enormous tracts of land, which in process
of time have become very valuable, and if appropriated to State purposes
would go a long way towards paying off the national debt of Brazil. Some
measure of this kind will inevitably be adopted at some future period,
as in most instances the property itself is unproductive of any national
benefit, nor is it utilised for any national object. The power of the
priesthood still predominates and subjects the masses, if not a majority
of the enlightened population, to its influence, and little short of a
social revolution can wrest from the Church what is no longer required
for religious observances, or distributed in any way towards the spread
of religious knowledge. Mexico is an instance of the pernicious and
fatal effects produced by a dominant priesthood, and although the more
liberal views of Brazilians have weakened the priestly trammels in which
some other parts of South America are still held, few have come forward
to propose divesting the Church of her nonproductive property.