Chapter VII: Preface (7)

Mistress of immense riches, her liberal spirit induced her to bestow them freely; whilst her superior judgment taught her to set bounds to her generosity. Thus endowed with qualities both of body and mind, so infinitely above those of the duke d'Aveiro, the marchioness soon became the life and soul of the conspiracy, which she conducted with the most wonderful skill and address. Her principal accomplices were chosen from the members of her own family, but her insinuating manners gained her several partizans, not only in the highest, but even in the lowest ranks of the people. Her conduct, in the mean time, was of a very extraordinary nature, since she never endeavoured to conceal from the prime minister the hatred she bore him, nor failed speaking of him openly, in terms of the greatest contempt. The sovereign himself was not treated with more indulgence; he became the subject of the most poignant satire, and the bitterest sarcasms; whilst the queen and princesses were the constant objects of her ridicule.

Inspired by the most diabolical sentiments, she put on the mask of religion to effect her purpose, and by her feigned devotion deceived the most clear-sighted. Whilst her thoughts were employed in forming plans of the blackest treason, she frequented the churches, made one in the different processions, went on pilgrimages, and practised all the external forms of religion with the greatest ostentation. Her confessor, father Malagrida, was an Italian Jesuit, sent by the general of the society on a mission to Portugal. Zealous, eloquent, and enthusiastic, he presently became the most fashionable spiritual director: people of every description made choice of him for their confessor: he was regarded as a saint, and consulted as an oracle.

More than two hundred and fifty persons of consequence were concerned in this conspiracy, and nothing now seemed wanting but to fix the day for putting their design into execution.

The hearts of kings are not invulnerable; their passions are frequently strong, and their means of satisfying them easier than those of other men; this facility ought, in fact, to put them on their guard, and teach them to curb the violence of their inclinations, since their elevated rank, and the crowd by which they are constantly surrounded, make it impossible that their actions should long remain concealed. Joseph the 1st made frequent visits to the young marchioness of Tavora; these gave rise to suspicions of an affair of gallantry being carried on between them, which, whether just or unjust, served as a plausible pretext for attempting his life. On the 3d of September, his majesty visited the marchioness, and remained with her, contrary to custom, till eleven o'clock at night. We dare not investigate the reasons of this visit being so unusually prolonged, lest it should implicate other persons in this horrid transaction, without diminishing the enormous guilt of the regicides. The king was on that night attended by only one domestic, who went with him in his calash, drawn by two mules, and driven by a postilion. The conspirators, perfectly well acquainted with the road he would take in returning to Belem, placed themselves in the most convenient spots for the execution of their dreadful project. To secure their success, they divided into different parties; the first of which let the carriage pass quietly on, till it arrived in the midst of the assassins, who consisted of a hundred and fifty persons. Some of these immediately fired, and the pannels of the calash were shivered to pieces by balls of different sizes: the king received several wounds; whilst his valet de chambre, whose name was _Taxera_, with a degree of courage, and a sublime devotion to his master, worthy of the greatest encomium, prevailed on the king to sink to the bottom of the carriage, and seating himself upon him, screened his sovereign from the impending danger. The postilion (called _Castodio da Costo_) at the same moment, with the greatest presence of mind and intrepidity, whipping his mules with violence, gallopped forwards, and in the midst of continual firing, forced them down a steep precipice, and dashing over wide fields, and through bye roads, reached Belem in safety.[42] The king, on alighting from his carriage, wrapped himself in a large cloak, belonging to one of the guards, and sent immediately for Carvalho, for whom he waited with such impatience that he remained at the gate of the palace, without suffering his wounds to be dressed, and without either breathing a complaint, of expressing the smallest signs of apprehension. The prime minister hastened to attend his sovereign, and listened to all that had passed without change of countenance. He then entreated the king to keep the affair secret, and gave orders to the valet de chambre and guards to be equally silent; thus prudently deciding on concealing for some time the punishment awaiting the regicides, with as much art as they had employed in forming so treasonable and bloody a design; for it must be allowed that no conspiracy was ever kept more secret, or was so near being successful; but the attempt being once made, and by so considerable a number of persons, it was scarcely possible the original authors of the plot could long remain concealed.

Notwithstanding all the above-mentioned precautions, a report was presently circulated throughout Lisbon, that the king had been assassinated. Crowds of people assembled before the palace, and eagerly demanded to see his majesty, who immediately complied with their request, and declared aloud, that the hurts he had received were occasioned by being overturned in his calash. He afterwards engaged the nobles more particularly attached to his person, and who had eagerly flown to attend him, to leave no means untried to remove every suspicion from the minds of the public, of an attempt having been made against his life.

The duke d'Aveiro, who had been the first to propose pursuing the assassins at the head of the horse guards on duty that night at the palace, seemed unwilling to consent to the plan of secrecy adopted by the king: but Carvalho, who began to entertain some suspicions of his being concerned in the conspiracy, was not the dupe of his zeal: he therefore pretended to entrust him with some particular secrets, whilst he insisted upon his entering into the views, and complying with the injunctions of his majesty.

Difficult as it appears to keep secret an affair of this nature, it, however, never transpired; and the king, even before his wounds were closed, appeared in public, and took his usual exercise. The conspirators also put on a calm appearance, and began to believe all danger over. One man only amongst the number, named Polycarpe, who was a domestic in the Tavora family, mistrusted such mysterious inactivity on the part of government, and taking alarm, quitted the kingdom.

Every thing now appeared quiet; the public mind was re-assured; the conspirators thought themselves in safety, and the attempt on the king's life seemed forgotten. Carvalho, however, had been constantly and secretly employed in diving to the bottom of this dreadful transaction: the principal contrivers of it were already known to him, when, by the effect of the most extraordinary chance, he became acquainted with the whole of their accomplices.

The conspirators, once relieved from all apprehensions of discovery, without the smallest compunction for the enormity of their crime, turned their thoughts towards a second attempt, and the means of making it a successful one. The spot chosen for their private meetings, was a garden belonging to Tavora, which also served as a place of rendezvous to a foreign servant, who carried on a clandestine correspondence with a woman in the house: she, one night, failing in her appointment, her lover concealed himself in the garden, near the very spot where the conspirators held their assembly. Not one word which passed escaped the ears of the attentive listener, who, by that means, became acquainted not only with every particular relative to the first attempt, but with the plan laid for the execution of the second. This man, no sooner contrived to quit the garden, than he flew to the prime minister, and related with the utmost precision every thing which had passed.

Carvalho instantly perceived the imminent danger to which he was exposed; and having now the most convincing proofs, of what before he only suspected, nothing remained to be done but to deliver up the criminals to the severity of the law: he, however, still continued to dissemble; and the duke d'Aveiro, either from his own apprehensions, or by the advice of his friends, having asked leave of absence for three months, it was immediately granted, and that in the most obliging and flattering manner. The marquis de Tavora was at the same time appointed to a commandery, which he had solicited during several years.

Favours thus repeatedly conferred on the principal conspirators, completely put an end to the apprehensions of their friends, relations, and accomplices. The public was likewise deceived; every thing which had passed was buried in oblivion; and nothing was talked of but the intended marriage between the daughter of Carvalho, and the comte de Sampayo, with the entertainments which would naturally take place on so brilliant an alliance. The king himself signed the contract of marriage, promised to defray the expences of the wedding, and invited all the grandees of the kingdom to be present on the occasion.

The duke d'Aveiro no sooner received this intelligence, than he left the country, and repaired with all possible haste to Lisbon; where every thing around him wore the face of joy and pleasure; but on the very day when the court and city were busily employed in preparing for two balls, the one at the prime minister's at Belem, and the other in Lisbon, at the _long room_;[43] intelligence was brought that troops, composed both of horse and foot, had unexpectedly entered the city, and that great numbers of persons of all ranks and descriptions had been taken into custody.

Never was there a transition so sudden from the greatest joy to the deepest sorrow; never were wedding garments so shortly changed to mourning habits; never were criminals so speedily brought to trial, nor sentences so quickly executed. Scarcely ten days had elapsed since their first imprisonment, before the duke d'Aveiro was drawn and quartered; the marquis de Tavora, his wife, his two sons, and his son-in-law, the count d'Atouguia, beheaded, and four other persons of inferior rank burnt alive.

Dreadful as is the spectacle of punishments, so repugnant to the feelings of humanity; let us, however, take a view of the fatal spot, where the minister, far from listening to the impulse of compassion, but too frequently injurious to the interests of both king and state, delivered up to the hand of the executioner the noble and ignoble, whose blood was suffered to flow indiscriminately in the same channel.

The duke d'Aveiro, on approaching the scaffold, shewed every symptom of the most abject fear, and by his cowardice lost that interest in the hearts of the spectators, which a contrary conduct, even in the greatest criminals, never fails to inspire; whilst the old marchioness of Tavora was all herself, never losing sight of the character by which she had constantly been distinguished, and preserving to the last moment of her existence an heroic firmness, and an unalterable presence of mind.

The sentence which condemned her to death having been read to her, she ordered her breakfast as usual, and seated herself at her toilette, where she dressed herself in her accustomed manner. Her confessor having hinted that her moments ought to be otherwise employed, she calmly answered, _that there was time enough for every thing_. She afterwards breakfasted with her female attendants, and conversed without the smallest emotion. On arriving at the foot of the scaffold, she refused all assistance, and addressing herself in a loud voice to those who had offered it, _I am very well able to mount it by myself; for I have not been put to the torture like the others_. She accordingly went up with a firm step, but on reaching the platform of the scaffold, her constancy was put to the most cruel proof; for meeting her husband, the marquis de Tavora, he reproached her in the bitterest terms for having caused the destruction of her family. Looking towards him with a serene countenance, she only replied, _Well, then! bear your misfortunes as I do, and do not reproach me with them_. The executioner coming towards her, she bound her eyes herself, begged him to dispatch his business quickly, spoke a very few words to her confessor, and with her handkerchief gave the fatal signal.

The second son of a woman, whose greatness of mind makes her criminality the more severely to be regretted, displayed a degree of courage equal to that of his mother: he was only nineteen years of age, but his youth did not exempt him from the torture. The severest torments, however, lost their effect; not a groan, not an avowal of any kind escaped him; till at last the executioner hoping that filial affection might draw from him a confession, which the most excruciating tortures could not extort, brought his father to him, who exhorted him in the most pathetic terms not thus uselessly to prolong his sufferings, since not only he himself, but all the accomplices had made an ample confession. Scarcely could the marquis finish his discourse, before he was interrupted by his son, who briefly answered, _Father, it was you who gave me life, and you are at liberty to deprive me of it_.

The sword of justice hung some time longer suspended over the three Jesuits, Malagrida, Alexander, and Matos, who had been taken up as _instigators and principal chiefs of the conspiracy._[44] Their execution was daily expected; but unfortunately the common modes of justice had not been allowed to take their course, and to the astonishment of all the world, it was not till some years after their imprisonment, that Gabriel Malagrida was alone condemned by an extraordinary court of justice, to be burned alive, (the 21st September, 1761) and then not as a conspirator and regicide, but as a heretic and impostor.[45]

Carvalho, now made count d'Oeyras, had not, however, waited the execution of Malagrida, to banish the Jesuits from Portugal.[46] That a religious order, which causes disturbances in the state, and enters into conspiracies, deserves banishment, and even capital punishment, no one will pretend to deny; but, on the other hand, may it not be alledged that the religious order which had rendered the most essential services to the state, and indeed to Christian countries in general, by instructing youth, and civilizing colonies, might better have been reformed, than entirely destroyed.

A conspiracy, which had been preceded by a revolution in America, attended by circumstances capable of overturning the mother country, and which was followed by the expulsion of the Jesuits, ended at last in a state of tranquillity, which it had cost too many sacrifices to obtain, not to employ every possible means to ensure its duration: but notwithstanding all the endeavours of the king and his minister, the Spaniards and French were determined to disturb it.

A Spanish army, composed of forty thousand men, entered Portugal in 1762; their progress, however, through that country was but very short; and by the assistance of the English, and the count de la Lippe, to whom the former had given the command of the Portugueze troops,[47] an honourable peace was signed on the 10th of February in the following year: after which their quiet was only disturbed by some hostilities in America, which terminated very much in the same manner as the former ones, without the powers of Europe being engaged in the quarrel. The count d'Oeyras, afterwards created marquis de Pombal, never lost sight, even in the midst of all his difficulties, of his original plan of reforms and ameliorations. The greatest obstacles he had to encounter proceeded from Brazil, and the town of Oporto, from the inhabitants of which he had but little reason to expect opposition, since the measure to which they so strongly objected was shortly followed by an increase of their wine trade, which became twice as considerable as before.

Portugal being much more fruitful in vines than in corn, the king published an edict in 1765, commanding all the vines in the environs of the Tagus, Mondego and Vecha, to be rooted up, and the land sown with wheat.

The vineyards in the neighbourhood of Lisbon, Oeyras, and some other places, were, however, suffered to remain. By a former edict, of the month of October, 1761, twenty-two thousand writers or clerks employed in the different tribunals were reduced to only thirty-two persons. The minister, by a salutary law, which took place on the 25th of May, 1773, _for ever_ abolished the odious distinction formerly existing in Portugal, between the _old_ and _new_ christians. The latter, composed of converted Jews and Moors, were always suspected of insincerity, and regarded in the kingdom _as marked with infamy, and for ever separated from the other Christians, and incapable of acting in any capacity, either ecclesiastical or civil_. The progress of learning also was a principal object in the marquis de Pombal's system of improvement: he reformed the university of Coimbra; he converted on the 19th of May, 1766, the college occupied by the novices of the order of Jesus, and which was esteemed one of the finest buildings in Lisbon, into a school for the nobility: he likewise established other schools for children of all descriptions; and published a plan of public education, which, if properly followed, could not fail of restoring science and good morals throughout the whole of Portugal. He left no means untried to wrest from the hands of the English the different branches of commerce, of which they were become exclusive possessors. He set just bounds to the despotic authority of the holy office, which, by an edict of the 20th of May, 1769, became merely a royal tribunal, invested with no other power than what was transmitted to it by the sovereign, thus depriving it of all its odious privileges and pretensions; such as the form of its proceedings, and the absurd idea of uniting the authority of the pope and bishops to that of the king; whilst at the same time, it acknowledged no supreme chief but the pope alone. He patronised the arts, and caused a statue of Joseph the Ist to be erected to him. It was on the very day of its exhibition to the public eye, the day he justly esteemed the happiest of his life, that he discovered it had been marked for his destruction. The last melancholy satisfaction, in attending his master's dying moments, together with the sixty millions of cruzadoes found in the royal treasury after his decease, formed a sufficient proof of the uprightness of his administration.

The reigning queen of Portugal, who was married in 1760, to her uncle, don Pedro,[48] signalized her accession to the throne, by throwing open the prison gates, and causing the proceedings against the criminals concerned in the conspiracy of the 3d of September, 1758, to be revised; after which the greater part were restored to their former rights; though the examination which had taken place, rather confirmed their guilt, than proved their innocence. Far different was the action commenced against the marquis de Pombal, by the enemies of that able minister; for the proceedings which _declared him criminal, and deserving of condign punishment_, so evidently proved his innocence, and the injustice of such a sentence, that he was suffered to die quietly in his bed, at his country seat, whither he had some time retired, on the 5th of May, 1782.[49]

The health of the queen, on the demise of her husband, in 1786, was so much deranged, that the prince of Brazil took into his own hands the reins of government. This enlightened and prudent prince has neglected nothing to promote the national industry; he has encouraged literature, made commerce flourish, and even sometimes caused the Brazil gold to circulate again from England to Portugal. He has established so strict a police in Lisbon, that it is impossible for an assassin or conspirator, should such still exist, to escape the punishment due to his crimes. He has augmented the land forces, and invited the most experienced foreign officers to command them; and he has attended particularly to the navy, for which he has been justly rewarded. Pacific, and faithful to his allies, he has followed as exactly as possible the system of neutrality traced by his mother, who has ever been at peace with her neighbours, and never engaged in any of their wars, till she joined them in that declared against France at the commencement of the revolution: since which, the fate of Portugal has so entirely depended on that of Spain, that the fall of the one must necessarily be succeeded by the destruction of the other. How noble an instance of generosity then does the conduct of England afford, thus to fly to the relief of a country, which, though an ally, had so lately declared war against her?

At a moment when the royal family had been forced to quit Lisbon, when the French entered that capital, and indeed every other town and fortress in the kingdom; whilst the provinces of Portugal were dismembered by the same usurping hand which had disposed not only of the country, but of the crown of Spain, and whilst every thing seemed to announce to the Portugueze that they must no longer look up to the same masters, submit to the same laws, or form a separate state; at such a moment, I say, the victorious British arms came to their aid, changed their destiny, and opened a new field of glory to the descendants of Viriatus, and the fellow-soldiers of Sertorious; and who can doubt that success must attend their arms, if constantly faithful to their generous allies, they never cease to remember, that it was in the plains of Lusitania, where the first standard of a free people was displayed against the masters of the universe; that they, in their turn, and in the same country, planted the last colours of their expiring liberty, and that one and both fell a sacrifice to perfidy,[50] but never were conquered by the force of arms!

DESCRIPTION OF BRAZIL.

Nos patriæ fines et dulcia linquimus arva,
Nos patriam fugimus....
_Virg._ I. _Eclog._

Brazil, which from a variety of circumstances, has ever been regarded an interesting country, is now become doubly so, from being the present residence of the court of Portugal; and as such, we are induced to give a description of it, which, from the nature and size of this work, must necessarily be a short one.

_Cabral_, in the year 1500, first landed on the coast of Brazil, and immediately gave notice to the court of Lisbon of the discovery he had made. The Portugueze, however, were for a length of time very indifferent to the acquisition of so fine a country. This negligence may in a great degree be attributed to the want of civilized inhabitants, and opulent towns, which the Portugueze had been accustomed to meet with in Africa and Asia; whilst the natives of Brazil consisted of different colonies of savages, dwelling in miserable huts, situated either in forests, on the banks of rivers, or on the sea-coast; and subsisting entirely on the produce of the chace, or on fish caught by themselves. The heat of the climate made cloathing not only unnecessary, but absolutely superfluous. The men and women equally painted their bodies, ornamented their necks and arms with necklaces and bracelets of white bones, and adorned their heads with feathers. The Brazilians are nearly of the same stature as the Europeans, but in general not so robust. Their principal arms consisted of clubs and arrows; their wars were not frequent, but cruel; and dreadful was the fate of those prisoners who fell into their hands without being wounded, since they constantly served as a repast to their merciless conquerors.

The French, Dutch, and Portugueze successively formed settlements on the coast; but, in the end, the latter became masters not only of the coast, but of the interior of the country. Let us now take a cursory view of the manner in which the inhabitants have been treated, and the laws by which they have been governed.

The Brazilians have not always experienced the same fate; and several years elapsed, and many contests took place before the rigour of their situation was in the smallest degree softened. King Sebastian was the first who bestowed a thought on mitigating the sufferings of so interesting a part of his subjects. He prohibited their being publicly sold in the markets, and sent as slaves to the plantations. Prisoners of war were indeed excepted, but not unless the war in which they were taken was proved to be a just one.

Philip the IId published different ordinances in the years 1595, 1605, and 1606, by which he declared Indians of every description perfectly free; but this sovereign being informed that his statutes had been of no avail, confirmed and strengthened them by a new one in 1611, whereby he decreed that the severest punishments should be inflicted on whosoever should presume to infringe them. This edict, unhappily, was equally ineffectual with the former ones; as was also another, given by the court of Lisbon in 1647, at the repeated and pressing solicitations of the Jesuit missionaries at Brazil, by which the prohibition of enslaving the Brazilians was again formally renewed; but that people never were really emancipated till the year 1755, when the Portugueze government publicly declared them _citizens_, invested with the same rights and privileges as their conquerors, capable of aspiring to the same distinctions, allowed to be educated at the same schools, and even to the university of Coimbra.

This event, however, was far from inspiring those sentiments of joy and gratitude, which might naturally have been expected from a people thus raised from the degrading state of servitude, to all the advantages of freedom: this may probably be, in a great measure, attributed to their expectations having been so frequently raised and disappointed, that they could not yet place any confidence in the declarations of the Portugueze. It was therefore necessary, to complete so great a revolutionary operation, that the captainships, and the extensive domains in possession of different individuals, who were in fact so many petty sovereigns, should be taken out of their hands, and placed in those of government. This being effected, a new partition took place. A particular governor was appointed for every captainship or government; and the whole of the Brazils was under the command of a lord lieutenant, or viceroy. Though these different governors are obliged to submit to the general laws enacted by the viceroy; there are some amongst them, particularly those whose governments are situated near the gold and diamond mines, who receive their orders immediately from Lisbon. These appointments are only for three years, but they are seldom changed in less than six; and during that time, they are not allowed to marry in the country, to enter into any branch of commerce, or to accept presents on any pretence whatsoever; their salary being from twelve to twenty thousand crusadoes, which are thought sufficient to answer every possible expense. On quitting their employments, commissaries appointed by the mother country examine into their administration; and colonists, with citizens of every description, are allowed to carry in their complaints, and bring forward their accusations against them. If it so happens, that they die during their office, their governments are committed to the joint care of the bishop, the officer who holds the highest rank in the army, and the first magistrate. It may indeed be said, with the greatest truth, that such is the vigilance with which the administration of men in power in Brazil is observed at present, that few, if any, succeed in making great fortunes.

The jurisprudence of this country is precisely the same as in Portugal. Each district has its separate judge; from whose sentence appeals may be made to the tribunals of Bahia, Rio Janeiro, or even to that of Lisbon. The provinces of Para and Maragnhon are the only ones not subject to the jurisdictions of Bahia and Rio Janeiro; their causes being submitted on appeal to the tribunal of Lisbon: in criminal cases, indeed, the process is rather different.

Trifling offences are punished, without appeal, by the judges of each captainship; but crimes of a deeper dye come under the cognizance of the governor, who is assisted by assessors nominated by legal authority. A particular tribunal is appointed to receive and take charge of the property of all deceased persons, whose heirs may be _beyond seas_ at the time of their death; for which they receive five per cent. of the said property. This establishment, though an excellent one, is subject to a great inconvenience; since creditors in Brazil can only be paid in Europe, which not only occasions delay, but is frequently very prejudicial to the affairs of the parties concerned.

Every town, and indeed every large village, has a municipality, which attends to the small concerns entrusted to its care, and regulates (under the inspection of the governor, indeed) the trifling taxes necessary to be laid on. This municipality has the very essential privilege of complaining to the king himself against the conduct of the chief of the colony, the governor, and the four magistrates appointed to manage the finances in each government. The accounts are given in every year to the royal treasury at Lisbon, where they undergo a very strict examination.

The army is on the same footing in Brazil as in Portugal. The mulattoes and negroes are distinguished by particular standards; but the native Indians serve in battle with the whites. In the year 1780, the forces consisted of 15,899 regular troops, and 21,850 militia. On the late arrival of the queen, she found the regulars augmented to 20,000, and the militia might very easily be raised to 40,000.

The colonists have, equally with the Portugueze, preserved the privilege of having slaves on their estates; but the masters are enjoined by the law to find them in provisions; this, however, is attended by very little expense; a small portion of land being consigned to them, which they cultivate themselves, and which not only supplies them with necessaries, but very frequently with conveniences. The laws in favour of slaves have been carried still farther; since those possessed of a certain sum of money are allowed to purchase their liberty; and in this case they can oblige their masters to accept the proffered sum; but they are seldom forced to proceed to such lengths, since nothing can be more rare than a master's refusing to comply with the terms prescribed by the law. There cannot be a stronger proof of the present mild treatment of slaves in Brazil, treatment so different from what they experience in the other European colonies, than the very few who think of escaping from that immense country. The blacks, when once freed from slavery, are allowed the rights of citizens, in the same manner as the mulattoes; neither the one nor the other can enter the order of priesthood, or municipality: if they become soldiers, they cannot rise to the rank of officers, unless in their own particular batallions. They have, however, the privilege of intermarrying with white women.

It is impossible to take a view of the situation of Brazil, its extent, climate and production, without perceiving that no colony ever merited more particularly the attention and protection of the mother country.

Brazil, thus happily situated, is 875 leagues in length, from north to south, and 425 broad, from east to west. The Portugueze settlements are scattered on the coast, and extend in a circuit of nearly 1500 leagues; they seldom penetrate more than 50 or 66 leagues into the interior of the country; except, indeed, down some rivers, on the banks of which they sometimes advance more than 400 leagues from the sea shore.

The limits of this Work will not permit us to enter into a minute description of the various productions of so extensive a country, and so fertile a soil; nor, indeed, of the different settlements successively formed by the Portugueze, we must therefore refer the curious reader to the adjoining account, which we flatter ourselves will not be thought uninteresting, and as such meet with the approbation of an indulgent public.

NAMES

OF THE DIFFERENT

GOVERNMENTS IN BRAZIL,

WITH THEIR

_Boundaries, Population, and Commerce_.