Chapter IX: Rio Janeiro, Capital of Brazil (2)

The total number of bags and barrels of coffee exported from Rio Janeiro in 1847 was 1,650,300; in 1848, 1,706,544; in 1849, 1,451,715; in 1850, 1,392,361; in 1851, 1,993,255; in 1852, 1,899,861; and in 1853, 1,657,520. The total number of cases of sugar was, in 1847, 3,136; in 1848, 2,371; in 1849, 3,212; in 1850, 6,465; in 1851, 4,752; in 1852, 9,012; in 1853, 2,667. The total number of hides imported in 1847 amounted to 268,492; in 1848 to 348,947; in 1849 to 299,262; in 1850 to 195,706; in 1851 to 173,746; in 1852 to 210,223; and in 1853 to 75,852. In 1853 were also exported 21,808 boxes and barrels of coffee; 17,556 bags of sugar; 5,049 half-tanned hides; 222,577 ox and cow-horns; 1,050 pipes of rum; 25,825 rolls of tobacco; 9,935 bags of rice; 32,610 planks of jacaranda; 7,085 barrels of tapioca; and 71,680 lbs. of ipecacuanha. The shipments of coffee to the United States in 1853 were 853,023 bags against 960,850 in 1852, 996,552 in 1851, 638,801 in 1850, 634,565 in 1849, 806,907 in 1848, 729,742 in 1847, 727,263 in 1846, 551,276 in 1845, 534,689 in 1844, 543,239 in 1843, 357,278 in 1842, 427,096 in 1841, 296,705 in 1840, 344,833 in 1839, 265,656 in 1838, 127,032 in 1837, 313,934 in 1836, 264,721 in 1835, 171,737 in 1834, and 236,708 in 1833. These statements are made up from the vessels’ manifests, excepting coffee, which, from the beginning of 1834, is from the daily shipments at the Consulado. The yearly exportation of coffee was, in 1820, 97,500 bags; in 1821, 105,386; in 1822, 152,048; in 1823, 185,000; in 1824, 224,000; in 1825, 183,136; in 1826, 260,000; in 1827, 350,900; in 1828, 369,117; in 1829, 375,107; in 1830, 391,785; in 1831, 448,249; in 1832, 478,950; in 1833, 561,692; in 1834, 560,759; in 1835, 647,438; in 1836, 715,893; in 1837, 657,005; in 1838, 765,696; in 1839, 889,324; in 1840, 1,068,418; in 1841, 1,028,368; in 1842, 1,174,659; in 1843, 1,183,646; in 1844, 1,269,381; in 1845, 1,187,591; and in 1846, 1,522,434 bags.

BRITISH PRODUCE AND MANUFACTURES EXPORTED FROM THE UNITED KINGDOM TO BRAZIL, IN THE YEARS 1849, 1850, 1851, AND 1852.

1849. 1850. 1851. 1852.
£ £ £ £
Alkali 8,369 10,591 13,213 11,752
Apothecary wares 6,994 8,858 7,272 10,667
Apparel and slops 21,189 28,475 45,891 49,290
Arms and ammunition 27,747 39,707 37,786 23,441
Bacon and hams 950 865 7,756 869
Beef and pork 402 70 353 12
Beer and ale 14,770 17,155 25,407 14,971
Blacking 1,889 1,510 1,532 966
Books 3,625 996 750 538
Brass and copper
manufactures 32,596 36,324 45,346 47,212
Butter 82,889 65,279 88,857 96,861
Cabinet and upholstery
wares 482 648 799 876
Carriages 821 386 300 388
Coals, cinders, and
culm 23,036 20,320 26,118 24,248
Cordage 3,972 1,294 1,428 424
Cotton manufactures 1,516,137 1,546,570 2,016,086 1,891,374
Cotton yarn 2,025 1,041 173 191
Earthenware 35,278 41,268 54,588 90,359
Glass 10,432 11,277 15,320 10,866
Hardware and cutlery 80,389 80,973 108,406 104,129
Hats 463 325 1,326 1,376
Iron and steel 94,792 78,105 84,488 109,876
Lead and shot 11,457 18,967 11,793 11,703
Leather 10,016 11,002 11,716 18,332
Linen manufactures 131,412 157,054 295,925 250,243
Machinery and
mill-work 14,817 29,001 23,715 18,816
Musical instruments 6,612 5,776 12,725 11,018
Oil, linseed,
rapeseed, and
hempseed 10,085 5,906 10,810 12,091
Painters’ colours 13,230 8,249 7,776 9,604
Plate, jewellery, and
watches 8,948 7,966 15,115 22,016
Saddlery and harness 2,566 3,133 4,188 7,333
Saltpetre 9,518 5,446 5,860 4,326
Silk manufactures 14,554 14,295 23,624 24,709
Soap and candles 3,429 5,648 2,404 3,115
Stationery 3,532 4,248 7,085 6,293
Tin and pewter 16,049 12,552 21,084 12,310
Umbrellas and parasols 8,507 7,754 5,290 8,184
Woollen manufactures 180,599 223,002 446,062 511,690
Miscellaneous 30,137 33,001 37,323 41,915
--------- --------- --------- ---------
Total 2,444,715 2,544,837 3,518,684 3,464,394

RIO STATISTICS.—EXTRACTED FROM RIO MERCANTILE JOURNAL, JANUARY, 1854.

IMPORT.

Shipping, 1852.—793 vessels 198,053 tons }
” 1853.—750 ” 186,984 ” } Conveying cargo.

Besides a large number of vessels calling in, &c.

EXPORT.

Shipping, 1852.—1173 vessels 448,851 tons.
” 1853.—1004 ” 387,470 ”

Of which 560 vessels with produce, 68 with foreign merchandise, and 139 with their inward cargoes; 15 in ballast had foreign destinations, 15 with their inward cargoes, 2 in port laden with produce, and 205 in ballast, proceeded to other parts of the empire.

COASTING TRADE FOR 1853.

Import (exclusive of 341 steamboats) 2094 vessels 207,872 tons
Export (exclusive of 330 ditto) 2036 ” 202,994 ”

JOINT-STOCK COMPANIES.

The amount of paid-up capital is £2,300,000 sterling.

CUSTOMS REVENUE FOR 1853.

12,479,437 reis, or about a million and a half sterling. The revenue in 1852 exceeded that of 1853 by about £250,000, owing to discouragements of trade by disputes amongst sellers and buyers; and the total revenue of 1852 exceeded that of 1847 and 1848 about 50 per cent. The Consulado revenue for 1853 was 2,208,059 reis, or about £250,000 sterling.

RETURN OF TRADE BETWEEN LIVERPOOL AND BRAZIL FOR THE YEAR 1853.

Number of
Ports. Vessels. Tonnage.
Pará 11 2,058
Maranham 17 5,260
Pernambuco 40 10,506
Bahia 32 10,320
Rio Janeiro 84 25,502
--- ------
184 53,646

QUANTITIES OF THE PRINCIPAL ARTICLES IMPORTED INTO THE UNITED KINGDOM FROM BRAZIL IN THE SAME YEARS.

1849. 1850. 1851. 1852.
Annatto cwts. 462 648 596 1,188
Capivi ” 363 344 574 955
Cocoa lbs. 1,391,162 1,204,572 1,949,666 2,244,713
Coffee ” 6,376,651 1,779,799 7,888,638 3,053,202
Hides cwts. 207,199 157,003 150,585 94,733
Horns ” 8,288 5,247 6,843 2,856
India rubber ” 4,605 5,967 11,053 12,813
Isinglass ” 515 610 547 352
Ipecacuanha lbs. 5,126 1,638 13,554 14,703
Rum gallons 1,139 33,952 20,712 1
Sarsaparilla lbs. 6,220 12,247 17,810 16,517
Sugar cwts. 561,660 362,686 720,424 289,999
Tallow ” 23,925 4,559 5,246 ——
Tapioca ” 6,960 10,989 11,442 6,288
Wood, Brazil tons 329 12 57 135
—— Fustic ” 589 669 438 382
—— Rosewood ” 3,649 3,022 3,200 3,676
—— Zebra ” 85 60 89 187
Wool, cotton lbs. 30,738,133 30,299,982 19,339,104 26,506,144

BRAZIL COFFEE IMPORTED INTO THE UNITED STATES FOR THE YEAR 1853.

Bags.
New York 225,985
Boston 3,293
Philadelphia 123,007
Baltimore 199,314
New Orleans 311,350
-------
Total 862,949
-------

Each bag consists of 5 arrobas, or 160lbs. English weight each, the gross value being upwards of £2,000,000.

Since the foregoing data were published, they have been summarised and annotated by a very competent authority in London, and the results issued for private circulation among Anglo Brazilians. The document so published presents, in a very succinct and comprehensive form, the financial status of the empire; and a further condensation of it, to suit these pages, cannot but be acceptable to such readers as the previous _chevaux de frize_ of figures may repel from the perusal of what is really most interesting fiscal and instructive political facts.

The National Debt of Brazil dates from 1824, when the imperial government contracted a loan of 1,000,000_l._, 5 per cents, at the price of 75, in order to defray the expenses of the war of independence. In the following year, the government contracted a second loan of 2,000,000_l._, also 5 per cents, at the price of 85, with the further advantage of a year’s dividend, to provide for the expenses attendant on the suppression of the revolt in the northern provinces; and in consideration of the recognition of Brazilian independence by Portugal, they undertook the liability of the loan of 1,500,000_l._ 5 per cents., which the mother country had contracted at 87 in 1823. The expenditure was seriously increased by the subsequent war with Buenos Ayres, and scarcely was this brought to a conclusion when the government was led into fresh liabilities by the assistance which Dom Pedro I. gave the constitutional party in Portugal, on the usurpation of the crown of that country by his brother, Dom Miguel. In 1829, two 5 per cent. loans, 392,584_l._, were contracted at 54; and the Regency, ten years later, were compelled to contract another 5 per cent. loan of 312,512_l._ at 78, in order to meet the deficit in the revenue, which then embarrassed the government. During the usurpations of Dom Miguel, the payment of the dividends on the Portuguese loan of 1823 was suspended; but as soon as the authority of Donna Maria was established, her government provided for the arrears, and in 1842 a financial treaty was concluded between Brazil and Portugal, under which the former delivered to the Portuguese agents stock to the amount of 732,600_l._, which at 85, the price at which it was issued, was equal to 622,702_l._, the sum agreed to be paid by Brazil, in liquidation of this and all other claims.

The National Debt of Brazil, therefore, amounted in 1853 to 6,999,200_l._, the interest on which, throughout all the difficulties and embarrassments of the government, has been punctually paid, though, at times, the measures necessary to provide for its payment have been severely felt by the people. The several loans specified were contracted on the terms of a sinking fund, which were fully carried out until 1828, when the increased expenditure compelled the government to put a period to its operations. But as soon as the expiration of the commercial treaty with England in 1844 allowed the government of Dom Pedro II. to revise the tariff of customs duties, and by that means to obviate the pressure of a deficiency in the revenue, the provisions of the sinking fund were revived. The Portuguese loan was thus reduced to 954,250_l._, and in 1852 it was paid off by a new 4½ per cent. loan of that amount, contracted at 95. Reductions of the other loans have been effected in the same way, and the foreign debt of Brazil now stands at only 5,900,000_l._ Further reductions are being gradually effected, and if the provisions of the Sinking Fund continue to be carried out, as doubtless they will be, the time cannot be far distant when the foreign debt of the empire will be entirely liquidated.

Between 1836 and 1840 the deficiency in the revenue increased from 476,825,000 reis to 3,639,608,000 reis, and in consequence of the expenditure consequent on the rebellion in the province of Rio Grande do Sul, this deficiency continued to increase until 1844, in which year it amounted to 9,484,520,000. This deficit did not entirely disappear during the next three or four years, but in 1849-50 there was a surplus of 3,035,006,000 reis (341,438_l._), in 1850-1 of 3,552,404,000 reis (399,645_l._), in 1851-2 of 4,010,220,000 reis (451,149_l._), in 1852-3 of 3,970,202,000 reis (446,647_l._), and in 1853-4 of 3,528,934,000 reis (397,005_l._). Since 1836 the revenue has increased from 13,024,749,000 reis to 35,290,691,000 reis, at which sum it may reasonably be estimated for some years. The expenditure has increased from 13,501,574,000 reis to 30,471,066,000, which increase has not only been at a slower rate than that of the receipts, but exhibits a progression from a deficiency to a surplus, and since 1844 it may be taken as representing an improvement in the administration, the growth of an efficient steam navy, and those numerous public works which have been referred to in preceding pages. The surplus revenue of the last five years has been the natural result of the fiscal reforms of 1844, which have extended commerce and promoted internal prosperity, at the same time that their success has paved the way for further and more extensive reforms in the same direction.

These accounts refer only to the imperial revenue, in addition to which each of the twenty provinces into which the empire is divided has its separate revenue, raised by its Provincial Assembly, and expended on local objects, the aggregate amount of which is about one-third that of the imperial revenue. This system causes the demands on the imperial treasury to be much fewer than in countries where the administration is centralised, and the entire expenditure is defrayed from the general revenue. The entire debt of Brazil does not much exceed three years’ revenue, and while the latter is yearly increasing, the former exhibits an annual diminution. This proportion between income and liabilities is such as few states can exhibit, and considering the almost illimitable resources of the country, and the commercial prosperity that is fast growing out of its adoption of a Free Trade policy, a debt of 12,362,290_l._ cannot be deemed a serious or burdensome charge. Indeed, when we look at the progress which has been made towards the diminution of the debt, in years when the facilities of the government for meeting its liabilities were much less than at present, there can be no doubt that it will in the course of a few more years be extinguished altogether, and thus enable the government to carry out farther reductions, and promote many schemes of improvement.

In concluding this summary of the commercial and social status of Brazil, I venture, before making any observations on the Plate, to solicit the attention of the reader to some very admirable remarks which appeared in an influential morning journal a few weeks ago, with the signature of ‘Braziliensis,’ explanatory of the precise relationship of the empire to the Oriental del Uruguay and to the Argentine states generally. A knowledge of this relationship is essential to an appreciation of what is called, often erroneously, the ‘River Plate Question;’ and, with the aid of the writer referred to, whose remarks I am about to epitomise, and a few explanatory addenda incorporated with them, the matter may be rendered transparent in a brief compass. First, as to the Uruguay, touching which republic Brazil is assumed by ill-informed politicians in England to have sinister designs. Now, Brazil, of all countries, has most interest in the peace and progress of Uruguay as an independent state. But it must not be overlooked that Brazil is a Platine state, just as much as Uruguay, as the Argentine Confederation, as Bolivia, or Paraguay. It is in Brazilian territories that the River Paraguay has its main source, that the River Uruguay rises, that the Parana begins to flow, and that these (with their tributaries) form the River Plate. All three are navigable in Brazil; each forms the natural access to great and rich provinces of that empire, which has, therefore, a deep interest in the free navigation of the upper waters of the Plate; and that interest is the key to her policy on the southern side of the empire. She has a plethora of land. What she wants is an increase to her free population: to European immigration all parties are directing earnest attention. Civilians, not soldiers of fortune, govern Brazil. The Emperor is a civilian; his ministers are civilians: there is nothing aggressive or ambitious in Brazilian policy. Law, order, commerce, and peace—not the sword—prevail. The army is small, not exceeding 65,000 men, of which the regular troops number 22,540 officers and privates (including 3,127 cavalry, and 3,582 artillery); the remainder are militia, and the whole are strictly obedient to the civil power. Like England, Brazil cultivates a naval force, and that never sways the destinies of the state in any country.

To save itself from the unlicensed soldiery of the Spanish provinces—from the savage Artigas—Monte Video sought and found admission into the Brazilian empire, and became its Cis-Platine province. The jealousies of the Spanish and Portuguese races (and Buenos Ayrean intrigues) produced revolt, and led to war between Brazil and Buenos Ayres for possession of the Banda. But this war was most unpopular in Brazil. Her native population did not regard the territory as worth fighting for, and the obstinacy of Dom Pedro I., in persevering against public opinion, was one cause of his downfall. Hostilities terminated by the creation of the independent Republic of Uruguay. But Lord Ponsonby’s treaty, by which it was accomplished, was one of preliminaries only. So little, however, did Brazil then care to intrigue in Uruguay, that, notwithstanding her material interests suffered from the want of definite arrangements, she was content, so long as Uruguay preserved the shadow of independence, to go on with provisional relations only. But Rosas first attacked and then subdued the independence of Uruguay; and then Uruguay became a source of danger, for it adjoins Rio Grande do Sul, in which serious disturbances had with difficulty been suppressed. These Rosas tried to revive. Its boundaries, too, were unsettled; and Oribe carried his incursions into Brazilian territories, levied enormous contributions on Brazilian subjects, and carried off 800,000 head of cattle. Nor was this all: the navigation of the Uruguay, Parana, and Paraguay was closed to Brazil, and commerce down the Plate, Brazil was allowed to have none. Still, whilst there was a chance that British and French intervention would remedy this state of things, she waited patiently. When those powers not only retired, but wholly failed, Rosas openly assumed the protectorate of Uruguay, and required Brazil to submit to the depredations of Oribe, his lieutenant. Brazil expelled the power of Rosas from Uruguay, then drove him from Buenos Ayres, but at once withdrew within its own frontiers, and, in the succeeding troubles, refused to interfere further than to give good and the same advice to all. Brazil had then the opportunity of annexing the Oriental State, and of again advancing her frontier to the Plate. In fixing the boundary line she has gained no territory; her pecuniary claims she has postponed until those of other countries are discharged; she has insisted on the free navigation of the rivers, not for herself only, but for all the countries they water; and when the government of Monte Video was lately oppressed by poverty, she consented to lend it 60,000 dols. a month, in order that it might preserve its independence. Brazil was no party to the recent change of presidents at Monte Video; and just as Brazil supported Giro himself when in power, as the head of the government _de facto_, so, in the interests of peace and independence, she now lends moral support to the present government.[58] She takes no part against Urquiza; she is neither his partisan nor that of Buenos Ayres in Argentine disputes; she has, indeed, tried to throw oil on their troubled waters; but, as that was not to be done, like England and France, Brazil now waits for their natural solution. She is the only South American state with a stable government, with a large and increasing commerce, with a growing surplus, with an augmenting population. She has secured the esteem of England by at last abandoning the slave trade, and she will not risk either her prosperity or her reputation by ambitious designs on Uruguay. [See chapter on the River Plate.] We have seen that she is most favourable to the free navigation of those rivers on her southern and eastern frontier, whose opening has so long been the desideratum of European and South American commerce; and we shall see presently that she is most wisely and energetically coöperating with an affluent company, composed of English, Brazilian, and Portuguese capitalists, for bringing the blessings of steam to bear upon the Amazon, the results of which proceeding it is entirely impossible to exaggerate.

Ten years ago the finances of Brazil were in very great embarrassment. Under all circumstances of distress and difficulty, Brazil had, indeed, paid, as she still continues regularly to pay, the interest on her debt, thereby honourably distinguishing herself from other South American, and not a few European states. But, at that time, her expenditure largely exceeded her income. Gradually Brazil has reversed this state of things; instead of a heavy deficit, she now has a steadily increasing surplus, has been able to reduce the rate of interest on part of her foreign debt, is slowly reducing its capital, and is in a position to compete in the money market of London with the most favoured European governments. Ten years ago Brazil was not a little embarrassed by the fiscal restrictions she had imposed on herself by her commercial treaties with other countries. Now she is free from all such embarrassments, has full powers over her own trading and financial system, and has no treaties at all with other states. Intermediately she raised for revenue purposes her tariff of Custom duties; but now that she has a surplus to dispose of, her Government is engaged in reducing those duties, to the enlargement, of course, of her commerce. The total funded domestic debt of the empire on the 31st of Dec. last amounted to 57,704,200,000 reis, and the funded debt of the province of Rio Janeiro to 3,940,000,000 reis. The total revenue for the present year, 1854, is estimated at about 32,353,000 milreis (£3,594,700), and the expenditure at about 29,633,706 milreis (£3,292,630). The income is chiefly derived from the _ad valorem_ duty charged on all articles imported into Brazil, amounting in 1851-2 to £2,814,443; a low duty charged on the articles exported, amounting in the same year to £503,070; and rents, royalties on mines, &c. The estimated expenditure for 1853-4 is thus distributed: Ministry of the Interior, £412,355; Justice, £250,020; Foreign Affairs, £60,000; Marine, £452,138; War, £813,935; Finances, £1,304,162: total, £3,292,630.

Ten years ago the Brazilian navy was small: it is now rising into importance; its courage and capacity were lately seen in the Plate; many of its younger officers have been reared in the British service, and from British yards it is yearly adding to its steam flotilla. It now consists of 1 frigate of 50 guns, 5 corvettes, 5 brigs, and 9 schooners, carrying together 188 guns; and 4 smaller vessels, carrying together 27 guns; 10 steamers, mounting 36 guns; with various unarmed ships and steamers, and several others are building. The Brazilian army has established its reputation at once for success, bravery, and humanity. Ten years ago Brazil had little external influence; now Brazil is obviously at the head of South American states, and has a distinct and separate part assigned to her in the destinies of the human race. Then she had but slow and dilatory intercourse with Europe; now she has two monthly steam services from England—another is being established from Lisbon; and Rio Janeiro is now only a month’s distance from London and Paris.

Whilst London, Liverpool, and Lisbon are thus sweeping its coasts with steam, Manchester is lighting Brazilian cities with gas. Messrs. Peto and Jackson, (the members for Norwich and Newcastle-under-Lyne,) whose capital and connections are interlacing Canada and the British North American provinces with a magnificent net-work of railways, are also with other capitalists about to bring their vast resources and long practised experience to bear in a like manner in several of the Brazilian provinces, and doubtless with a like result within as brief a period as the circumstances of the country and the obstacles to be overcome will possibly permit. The Government is opening up new roads, clearing away impediments in rivers, and is arranging the internal improvement of the empire on a large and comprehensive system. A great and a happier future is opening on Brazil—one calculated to advance and extend moral improvement and political freedom, as well as to promote material comfort.

In thus recording the material prosperity and anticipating the progressive greatness of this magnificent empire, it affords me infinite gratification to be able to attribute to my distinguished fellow-townsman, Admiral Grenfell, the Brazilian consul-general[59] for England, a large and conspicuous share in consolidating the strength, and enhancing the reputation of Brazil, as eminent among the nations alike for the valour of its arms, the clemency of its counsels, and the magnanimity it has evinced in eschewing territorial aggrandisement which its bravery and sagacity might so readily have secured it. A more befitting preliminary to the subsequent chapter on the Amazon there could not be than a memoir of the gallant seaman to whose skill and bravery the retention of the principal Amazonian province is due, and to whose equally admirable conduct on a scarcely less trying occasion is also due an acceleration of the settlement of the affairs of the Plate, to a correct understanding of which, in their latter phases at least, a perusal of the annexed biographical data, gleaned from the most reliable sources, will greatly contribute.

NOTE TO THE ILLUSTRATION.

The cataract shown in the foregoing page consists, says Sir W.
G. Ouseley, from whose portfolio it is copied, of a succession
of three waterfalls, subsiding into rapids, and then continuing
its course as a turbulent rocky brook, working its way among
the hills of the Serra de Estrella. The falls of Itamarity
are not near any high road, and have been seldom visited by
Europeans. It is not possible to obtain a general view of all
the falls. That in the Plate is taken from an insulated rock,
standing opposite the second fall. The first fall has worked a
basin in the rock, as in other similar sites, and, as usual,
it is asserted by the natives to be of vast or fathomless
depth. Below the isolated rock is a third fall of considerable
size; but the rich and thick vegetation prevents much of it
from being seen. On the morning that this sketch was taken,
when a party visited the Falls, some negroes were sent on
beforehand to cut away the underwood and parasites, and to fell
trees in order to _improviser_ a bridge for the nonce. The
ligatures used in fastening the trees, and the sort of parapet
railing, were made of the lianes or parasitical plants from
the surrounding trees. They hang from the highest branches
like ropes of various sizes, some little larger than whipcord,
others of the circumference of a large cable; indeed, they are
often thicker than a man’s body, and frequently form spiral and
intricate knots, like the writhings of gigantic serpents, à la
Laocoon. The profuse variety of growth and rapid vegetation in
this part of Brazil is scarcely credible to Europeans. A very
few weeks, or rather days, after this path had been opened,
and the bridge constructed to enable the party to visit these
Falls, strangers might have passed close to them, only made
aware of their proximity by the loud roar of the falling
waters, the hoarse sound of which, deadened and rendered
deceptive by the close growth of the forest, would be but an
indifferent guide, and hardly enable them to find any approach
by which to obtain a view of the Falls. The negroes and country
people have alarming stories or traditions respecting vast
crocodiles, differing from the common sort in their nature
and habits, and unlike the alligators of the rivers emptying
themselves directly into the bay of Rio de Janeiro, at the
foot of these mountains. They are said to be infinitely larger
and more voracious than their relations near the salt water.
These monsters, they affirm, inhabit the deep pools formed
occasionally in the course of the mountain rivers. Poisonous
snakes are asserted to be often found in these waters. The
present existence of these crocodiles seems very apocryphal;
nor are serpents so often met with, even by naturalists anxious
to enrich their collections, as is generally supposed. The
name of these Falls, ‘Itamariti,’ or ‘Itamarity,’ signifies in
the Indian language (probably that of the Guarani tribe) ‘the
shining stones,’ or ‘the rock that shines,’ doubtless so called
from the glittering appearance of the large mass of rock, the
face of which is worn smooth by the water. ‘Ita’ means stone or
rock.

The old road over the Serra de Estrella, constructed when
Brazil was a colony of Portugal, was, although much too steep
according to modern ideas of engineering, infinitely better
than the track dignified with the name of road, formerly
leading to the Serra dos Orgaos. Being paved, it was at least
safe and practicable. But the road recently opened to these
heights is on vastly improved principles, and on a scale
thought even unnecessarily large. The foundation and progress,
however, of the new city of Petropolis, situated at the height
of about 3,000 feet above the level of the sea, on this route,
has doubtless called for the construction of a road wider and
more convenient than those hitherto made in this part of the
country. The Emperor has built a summer residence here, near
the highest part of the road, and the court and many of the
wealthier citizens of Rio Janeiro have followed the example,
encouraged by his Imperial Majesty’s liberal allotment of land
for dwelling-houses, hotels, &c. The idea of founding this
mountain city as a retreat during the great heats originated
with the late Emperor, Don Pedro I., who made grants of land,
absolutely or conditionally, to different noblemen of his
Court. He was not enabled, however, to carry into effect either
his plan for a city, or the construction of a new road to and
through the mountains. To the reigning Emperor belongs the
credit of practically calling into existence this thriving and
healthy settlement, of which the success is now beyond a doubt.
Petropolis may now be regarded as like the Royal Sitios in
Spain,—Aranjuez, La Granja, &c., to which the Court regularly
removes at certain seasons. The temperature and climate are
delightful, and the annual removal to this and the other Serras
is sufficient to restore to health those who have suffered
from the enervating heats of the summer in the low lands
around the capital. European invalids especially derive great
benefit during convalescence from a few weeks’ stay in these
picturesque mountains. Many foreigners, particularly Germans,
have settled at or near this city. To the naturalist, and
more particularly to the entomologist and botanist, a sojourn
in these Serras affords endless interest and employment. A
railroad is now opened from Rio Janeiro to the foot of the
hills, which promises great advantages to the new settlement.

ADMIRAL GRENFELL.

Vice-Admiral John Pascol Grenfell, of the Imperial Brazilian Navy, is son of the late Mr. J. Granville Grenfell, of the city of London, and was born at Battersea, in 1800. At eleven years of age, he embarked in the maritime service of the Honourable East India Company, and made several voyages to India in the capacity of midshipman and mate in the Company’s ships. In the year 1819, he left the Company’s service, and joined the naval service of the Republic of Chili, with the rank of lieutenant, under the command of the present Admiral Earl of Dundonald, then Lord Cochrane, Admiral of the Chilian Naval Forces, engaged in the contest with Spain for the independence of the Spanish colonies on the coast of the Pacific Ocean. On the night of the 5th of Nov., 1820, Lieutenant Grenfell commanded one of the boats of the Chilian squadron, which, under the personal direction of Lord Cochrane, boarded and cut out from under the Castles of Callao de Lima, and from the midst of a squadron of armed vessels and gunboats, the Spanish Admiral’s ship, the Esmeralda, a frigate of 40 guns, fully manned, and perfectly prepared for the attack. This gallant exploit was performed by 240 volunteers, chiefly Englishmen, embarked in 14 boats, five of which were gigs. About 50 of the assailants fell killed or wounded in the attack, amongst the latter Lieutenant Grenfell; and 200 Spaniards, stretched on the decks of the frigate next morning, showed how sharply the contest had been maintained. The following order, issued by Lord Cochrane previous to the attack, will be interesting to naval men:—

_On Board the Chilian States’ Ship O’Higgins, Nov. 1.,
1820.—First Division: O’Higgins—1st launch, 2nd launch, barge,
cutter, green gig, black gig, small gig. Second Division:
Lautaro and Independencia—1st launch, 2nd launch, barge,
cutter, cutter, gig, gig. The boats will proceed, towing the
launches in two lines, parallel to each other, which lines
are to be at the distance of three boats’ lengths asunder.
The first line will be under the charge of Capt. Crosbie, the
second under the charge of Capt. Guise; each boat will be under
the charge of a volunteer commissioned officer, so far as
circumstances will permit, and the whole under the command of
the Admiral. The officers and men are to be dressed in white
jackets, frocks or skirts, and are to be armed with pistols,
sabres, knives, tomahawks or pikes. Two boat-keepers are to be
appointed to each boat, who, on no pretence, shall quit their
respective boats, but are to remain therein, and take care that
the boats do not get adrift. Each boat is to be provided with
one or more axes, or sharp hatchets, which are to be kept slung
to the girdles of the boat keepers. The frigate Esmeralda being
the chief object of the expedition, the whole force is first to
attack that ship, which, when carried, is not to be cut adrift,
but is to remain in possession of the Patriot Seamen to ensure
the capture of the rest. On securing the frigate, the Chilian
seamen and marines are not to cheer, as if they were Chilians,
but in order to deceive the enemy, and give time for completing
the work, are to cheer, ‘Viva el Rey.’ The two brigs of war are
to be fired on by musketry from the Esmeralda, and are to be
taken possession of by Lieutenants Esmond and Morgell, in the
boats they command, which being done they are to cut adrift,
and run out into the offing as soon as possible. The boats of
the Independencia are to busy themselves in turning adrift all
the outward Spanish merchantmen; and the boats of the Lautaro,
under Lieutenants Bell and Roberton, are to set fire to one or
more of the headmost hulks; but these are not to be cut adrift,
so as to fall down on the rest. The watchword, (or parole
and countersign,) should the white dress not be sufficient
distinction in the dark, is, ‘Gloria,’ to be answered by
‘Victoria.’—Signed, COCHRANE._

NOTE.—After the first attempt on the night of the 4th of Nov., it was found inconvenient to tow the launches; and, on the night of the 5th, orders were given by the Admiral, on shoving-off from his flagship, for the boats to pull in two lines, and for all officers to report themselves to him on the quarter-deck of the enemy’s frigate.

Lieutenant Grenfell continued to serve with Lord Cochrane till, by the surrender of the remainder of the Spanish naval forces, the war in the Pacific was concluded; and in the beginning of 1823 he left Chili, and accompanied Lord Cochrane to Brazil, whose newly emancipated government solicited the aid of that distinguished nobleman to expel the Portuguese forces from its territory and shores. This was effected by Lord Cochrane at the head of the Brazilian squadron, by a series of able manœuvres on the coast of Brazil, extending from Bahia to Pará, during the latter part of 1823, when upwards of one hundred of the enemy’s vessels, and three thousand troops, were sent prisoners into the Brazilian ports; and the Portuguese squadron, of superior force to the Brazilian, was driven with loss and in confusion across the Atlantic.

Lieutenant Grenfell, now promoted to the rank of commander, had the good fortune of terminating the naval campaign, by effecting alone, in a captured brig of war, manned from the flagship, the surrender of the Portuguese force in the city of Pará, and the adhesion of that immense and rich province to the cause of the empire, and rejoined his admiral at Rio de Janeiro in 1824, in a new frigate of 50 guns, which he found in the Port of Pará. In the execution of this service, while quelling an insurrection of the newly subjugated Portuguese, Commander Grenfell received a dangerous wound with a poignard in the back. For these services, Commander Grenfell was subsequently made an officer of the Order of the Southern Cross.

The acknowledgment of the independence of Brazil by Portugal the following year terminated the services of Lord Cochrane, who retired to England. At this period the aggressions of the Argentine Confederation on the Southern frontier of Brazil called the naval forces of the empire to the River Plate, where Captain Grenfell, now promoted to the post rank, proceeded in command of a brig of 18 guns, under the Brazilian Admiral, Baron do Rio da Prata.

The naval forces of Buenos Ayres, very inferior to those of Brazil, were commanded by Admiral William Brown, an Irishman,—one of those singular characters whose indomitable bravery, converting weakness into strength, for a long time baffled all the efforts of the Brazilian Admiral. A decisive action at last occurred off Buenos Ayres, in July 1826, in which Admiral Brown’s ship, with two-thirds of her men killed and wounded, was driven ashore a complete wreck, in front of that city. On this occasion Captain Grenfell, whilst in close action with Admiral Brown, and attacked by a fresh ship of the enemy, had his right arm shattered by a grape-shot as he stood on the hammock-nettings of his brig, encouraging his men to do their duty. Captain Grenfell’s wound was very severe, requiring amputation of the right arm, at the shoulder-joint, which was performed three weeks afterwards at Monte Video. On his partial recovery, he came on leave to England, but returned to the River Plate again in 1828, in command of a corvette, just in time to witness the termination of the war. For his services therein, Captain Grenfell was made a Dignitary of the Order of the Southern Cross, received a pension for the loss of his arm, and other marks of friendship and consideration from H.I.M. Don Pedro I. In 1829, Captain Grenfell married Donna Maria Dolores, second daughter of the late Don Antonio Masini, of the city of Monte Video, by whom he has had a family of six sons and four daughters. In the same year, he was appointed one of the escort of H.I.M. the Empress Amelia and H.M. the late Queen of Portugal, Donna Maria II., in their voyage from Europe to Brazil; and afterwards, in the year 1830, he conveyed the Duchess of Goyaz, a natural daughter of Don Pedro I., from Brazil to Europe, in the Isabel, a frigate of 60 guns.

On the occasion of the Revolution of 1831, and the abdication of Don Pedro I., Captain Grenfell was absent from Brazil, but was recalled again to employment by the Regency in 1835. In 1835, he was sent to the province of Rio Grande de Sul, in command of the naval force on the lakes of that province, then in rebellion against the Imperial Government. Success at first attended the Imperial arms; the rebels in various encounters were driven from their positions on the lakes and rivers; their flotilla captured, and their principal chiefs, with all their artillery, a considerable force of infantry and cavalry, reduced to surrender on the River Jacuhy, in a fruitless attempt to force its passage. In all these operations, the naval force under Captain Grenfell had a principal share, for which services, in 1833, he was promoted to the rank of commodore. The scene, however, soon changed: the loyal forces penetrating into the interior were, in 1837, completely routed by the rebels at Rio Pardo, and Casapava, the president of the province, taken prisoner, and the Imperial authority again restricted to the capital, the port, and the lakes; and both the former were closely besieged, and in great danger of falling into the hands of the rebels. At this critical juncture, the Commodore, through his personal influence with the rebels, originating simply from the humanity with which he had treated the prisoners that on various occasions had fallen into his hands, effected at great personal risk a suspension of arms with the rebel chiefs, with reference to the Imperial Government at Rio de Janeiro, which gained important time, checked the rebel career of success, and saved the province to the empire.

The Imperial Government profited by the opportunity afforded for remedying past errors: troops were poured into the province, a new army was organized, the naval forces were augmented with several steamers, and, at length, in 1842, under the able direction of General the Count of Caxias, the army took the field, routed the rebels in various engagements, and finally, in 1844, effected their complete submission to the Imperial Government. In attention (as expressed in his commission) to the distinguished services rendered with so much intelligence, zeal, and activity in the Province of Rio Grande de San Pedro de Sul, towards the pacification of the same province and integrity of the empire, the Commodore was raised to the rank of Rear-Admiral, and made a Grand Dignitary of the Imperial Order of the Rose; and shortly afterwards received the permission of Her Britannic Majesty to hold his rank, and continue in the service of His Imperial Majesty the Emperor of Brazil.

In the year 1844, Rear-Admiral Grenfell was appointed to command the Imperial squadron in the River Plate, where the contest between Buenos Ayres and Monte Video, affecting the commercial interests of neutral states, called the naval forces of most of the maritime powers to the spot, where he supported with firmness the rights of Brazilian subjects. The following year the Rear Admiral received the most marked proof of the estimation of the Imperial Government, in being appointed to command the squadron that carried their Imperial Majesties to the southern provinces of the empire, and hoisted his flag in the frigate Constitution of 50 guns. With the Imperial squadron, were incorporated Her Britannic Majesty’s ship Grecian, Her Most Faithful Majesty’s ship Don John, and the United States’ ship Raritan. The Rear Admiral had the honour of accompanying their Imperial Majesties during their tour, and in the course thereof received many notable proofs of the estimation and regard of the inhabitants of those provinces, who took this opportunity of shewing their grateful sense of his conduct during the civil war. Shortly after the return of the court to Rio Janeiro the Rear Admiral proceeded in the Constitution to England, with his family, and resigning his naval command at Plymouth, in Sept. 1846, assumed his civil appointment of Consul General of Brazil, in the United Kingdom. In the spring following, he was presented at St. James’s. During the years 1847-48, he built and fitted out at Liverpool, for the Imperial Government, the steam frigate ‘Alfonso.’

In August, 1848, Rear Admiral Grenfell received the thanks of the town of Liverpool, and the gold medal of the Liverpool Seamens Shipwreck Society, for his exertions in saving the lives of the passengers and crew of the emigrant ship Ocean Monarch,[60] burnt off that port, and which was promptly succoured by the Alfonso under Captain Marques Lisboa, then on her trial trip. The following letter from H.R. Highness the Prince de Joinville, who was present, shews the sense H.R. Highness entertained of the Rear-Admiral’s behaviour on that trying occasion.

_Claremont, 28 Aôut, 1848.—Monsieur,—J’ai reçu la lettre que
vous m’avez fait l’honneur de m’écrire au sujet du sauvetage
des passagers de l’Ocean Monarch. Je ne mérite point les
éloges que vous voulez bien m’addresser. Passager seulement
abord de l’Alfonzo je n’ai été malheureusement que le témoin
impuissant de la plus douloureuse des catastrophes, mais j’ai
vu tenter les plus noble efforts d’arracher à une mort horrible
des femmes et des enfans. Qu’il me soit permis de signaler
à la reconnaissance publique les Officiers et l’equipage de
l’Alfonzo, le matelot Jerome, et surtout Monsieur l’Admiral
Grenfell, dont le noble devouement m’a pénétré d’admiration. Ma
femme me charge de vous exprimer toute sa reconnaissance pour
les sentimens que vous avez bien voulu lui exprimer. Recevez,
Monsieur, l’assurance de ma haute considération.—(Signé) F.
d’Orleans.—His Worship the Mayor of Liverpool._

The serious misunderstanding which occurred in 1850 between the governments of Brazil and Buenos Ayres, on the subject of the occupation of the territory of Monte Video by the latter power, induced the Imperial Government to augment its forces by sea and by land; and Rear-Admiral Grenfell was selected to command the squadron in the River Plate; and, leaving England in the beginning of 1851, he hoisted his flag at Rio Janeiro again on board the frigate Constitution, and proceeded with several corvettes and steamers to his destination. The Buenos Ayrean army, under General Oribe, was found cantonned round the city of Monte Video: the Buenos Ayrean flotilla, under Commodore Coe, lay in the inner roads of Buenos Ayres.

The Rear-Admiral, after concerting measures with the Governor of Entre Rios, General Don Justo Urquiza and the Count of Caxias, who again was at the head of the Brazilian army on the frontier of Monte Video, proceeded to occupy the rivers Uruguay and Parana, so as to impede the communication of General Oribe with Buenos Ayres. This measure entirely disconcerted the plans of the Governor of Buenos Ayres, Don Juan Manuel Rosas, who, not confiding in his own resources, counted on the assistance of Great Britain and France. These powers, however, preserved their neutrality, and in November the simultaneous advance of the forces of Entre Rios and Brazil, together with the position maintained by the Brazilian squadron, compelled General Oribe to surrender himself and his army to terms dictated by General Urquiza. Monte Video, thus freed from its enemies, the Argentine troops lost to General Rosas, and incorporated with the allies, nothing remained but to cross the river, and march on Buenos Ayres, where General Rosas was doing his utmost to levy and organize a new army. The vanguard of this army, under General Mansilla, occupied a position on the River Parana, at the Pass of Tonelero, which was fortified and armed with 16 pieces of cannon, provided with furnaces for hot shot. This passage was forced on the 17th Dec, by the Rear-Admiral, at the head of a division of steamers and corvettes, with trifling loss; and on the following days the allied army, 24,000 strong, under General Urquiza, crossed the Parana, and marched on Buenos Ayres. The battle of Monte Caseros, on the 3rd of February, 1852, the flight of General Rosas, and the conclusion of a treaty between Brazil, Buenos Ayres, Monte Video, and Paraguay, guaranteeing their respective rights, and opening the navigation of the Rivers Parana, Uruguay, and Paraguay, put an end to this short and glorious campaign. Rewards and promotion were liberally bestowed by the Brazilian Government on the victors. The Count of Caxias was made a Marquis; the Imperial Plenipotentiary Honorio Carnero Leon was created Viscount Parana, and Rear-Admiral Grenfell was made a Grand Cross of the Imperial Order of the Rose, and promoted to the rank of Vice-Admiral. In August, 1852, he resigned his command of the imperial squadron, and returned to his civil appointment in England.

THE REGION OF THE AMAZON.

Westward the course of empire takes its way,
The four first acts already past;
A fifth shall close the drama with the day:
Time’s noblest offspring is the last.

Each year we open upon new prospects in an increasing ratio, and among those which now present themselves as calculated to develope fresh fields for adventure and for an extension of traffic, are the navigation, just consummated, of 1,200 miles of the River Murray, and the expedition that is commencing to explore the Amazon.—_Times’ Commercial Retrospect of 1853._

Wide o’er his isles the branching Orinoque
Rolls a brown deluge; and the native drives
To dwell aloft on life-sufficing trees;
At once his dome, his robe, his food, and arms.
Swell’d by a thousand streams, impetuous hurl’d
From all the roaring Andes, huge descends
The mighty Orellana.—THOMSON.