Starch Statement showing the exports from Laguayra, by countries, &c.—Continued. Articles. Value, includ ing costs and $360 96 Countries whither exported. Dutch colonies. Printing materials Miscellaneous.. Statement showing the exports from Laguayra, by countries, &c.—Continued. Annual report for 1880, by Consul-General Adamson. UNITED STATES CONSULATE-GENERAL, Rio de Janeiro, November 23, 1880. AREA AND PRODUCTS. The great Empire of Brazil is one of those countries which most excite the imagination of writers, and in regard to which it appears difficult to fasten the mind down to unadorned facts. It possesses an area of over 3,000,000 square miles, and, if we exclude Alaska, is of greater dimensions than the whole of the United States and Territories. Its domain stretches from almost 50 north to 34° south of the equator, giving to the one part an extreme tropical climate, and to the other the most delightful temperature of the best part of the temperate zones. Even within the tropical part much of the country is either hilly or mountainous, and is swept by trade winds, thus securing to its inhabitants the conditions favorable to longevity and rendering possible the cultivation of the widest range of agricultural products. Its magnificent rivers give unequalled facilities for easy transportation to a country the soil of which is fertile almost beyond the power of language to exaggerate. Its forests of choicest woods, its vast grassy plains covered with prodigious herds of cattle, its boundless profusion of valuable fruits and vegetable products, its wealth, yet undeveloped, of gold, diamonds, iron, and other minerals-all would, to the superficial observer, mark this as the most favored country of the world. While all these good things may be told of Brazil with strict truthfulness, it does not follow that Brazil is entirely a land of pure delights. The shield has its reverse, and there are few countries which more harshly undeceive those who come to them with plans for settlement, business, exploration of mines, and projects for internal improvements, than does this "land of the cocoa and the palm." *Another report from Consul-General Adamson, for the year 1881, immediately follows this. Lord Bacon has well said, "there are three things which make a nation great and prosperous-a fertile soil, busy workshops, and easy conveyance for men and commodities from one place to another"; "to which," says Bishop Hall, "let me add knowledge and freedom." Judged by that standard, this is not yet a great and prosperous nation; it is simply one in which the natural conditions of greatness exist in a dormant state, and may be developed into activity if wise counsels prevail, but the realization of the patriotic wishes of its best sons must for a long time be a thing of the future. Brazil has a fertile soil, but it lacks diversified industries, easy and cheap communication for men and commodities, and the general diffusion of useful knowledge. RIVERS. As a specimen of the magnitude of the rivers of Brazil, it may be remarked here that the Amazon at the mouth of the Aladeira is about a mile wide and 60 feet deep. The Madeira is navigable 500 miles from its mouth, with 20 feet draught of water. The San Francisco above the Falls of Paulo Affonso to the Falls of Girapied, a distance of 1,677 miles, has a considerable volume of water even at its lowest stage, and has recently been ascended and descended, with a small steamer, by Mr. W. Milnor Roberts, an eminent American engineer now in the service of this government. The Tocantins, Xingu, Tapajoz, Purús, Jurua, Rio Negro, and Tapura are all noble rivers, and some of them are to a small extent navigated by steam vessels. The explorer, Dr. Crevaux, recently descended the Tapura for 1,500 miles of its length through the territories of New Granada and Brazil, four-fifths of the route not having been previously explored, and passing through a territory peopled by ferocious and cannibal Indians. Practically speaking, the greater part of the magnificent river system of Brazil is at present useless, because the banks of nearly all the great rivers above mentioned are destitute of civilized population, and for purposes of trade, with the exception of the few who gather sarsaparilla and India-rubber gum, the Indians are worth no more than an equal number of Apaches. RAILWAYS. The railways of Brazil have been made at such a high cost that the necessary charges for transportation of agricultural products to any considerable distance absorb the greater part of their value. In the whole empire there are about 200 miles of railway in operation and 1,200 miles in construction, the major part of the former being roads within the province of Rio de Janeiro or connecting it with San Paulo and Minas Gevacs. The great province of Amazonas has not a mile of railway in operation, and Pará has only some six miles, a suburban road. If, under Divine Providence, Brazil should be favored with a long term of the life and unimpaired faculties of her wise Emperor, the country will, no doubt, march forward slowly, but surely, toward a grand destiny. TRADE WITH THE UNITED STATES. At present, what most concerns our people is not the practical view of Brazil or her probable future, but rather the hard commercial facts as to her ability to buy and pay for such of our products as she requires, or the various handiworks of our artisans which she may be induced to buy of us, instead of getting them from England, France, or Germany. For the purpose of arriving at a better understanding of the present condition of the country, it may be well to take a brief retrospect of. some months past. My last annual report noted the fact that the year ended on the 30th of June, 1879, had not been a fortunate one for Brazil or for the merchants of Rio de Janeiro. In the last month of that fiscal year, however, the turning point seemed to be reached, confidence commenced to be restored, and commercial activity slowly developed. The previous declarations of a new minister of the treasury inspired merchants with the feeling that a change for the better in the management of the finances was about to take place which would elevate the value of the currency and warrant more extensive commercial transactions. Throughout the remainder of the year 1879 the facts appeared to justify those hopes: business in general revived; a very large crop of coffee was shipped at prices remunerative to the producers, and sold in foreign markets at rates which, on the whole, paid shippers; the demand for money increased; the public funds became firm in value, and exchange on London rose from 194d to 234d. per milreis. The drafts on London negotiated here in the first half of 1879 amounted to £6,084,384. During the second half of that year they amounted to £11,247,632, the larger part of which, however, was due to the shipment of the coffee crop in that period. During the first quarter of 1880, with a decreased supply of coffee to ship, and consequent falling off in offerings of drafts on London, an uneasy feeling was caused by the fact that the government entered the market as a buyer and shipper of coffee, with a view to placing funds abroad to meet its obligations and apparently also to bolster up a weakening exchange market. In March upwards of 80,000 bags of coffee were shipped to New York on government account, besides the shipments made to Europe, and strenuous efforts were made by the government, through the Bank of Brazil, to keep up the rate of exchange on London. Meanwhile the extraordinary activity in the United States, known as the business "boom," had somewhat abated; the reports from the coffee market there became unfavorable, causing operators here to exercise more caution; a change in the government deprived the exchange market of its chief support, and in April a fall in exchange took place, bringing the rate down from 23d. to 20d. per milries, and as the nominal price of coffee did not rise to correspond with the depreciation of currency, this was equivalent to a decided lowering in the price of the great staple of the country, and a sudden unsettling of values. In May, 1880, an important demand arose in the financial centers of Europe for the Brazilian national loan of 1879, and, as the purchasers had to draw, the supply of bills of exchange became superior to the demand, and the rate of exchange, or, in other words, the purchasing power of the milreis, steadily increased, until in June it reached 234d. The various events of the year, while at times seemingly unfavorable, have in the end improved the general condition of business here. Credits ceased to be given so freely or for such long periods as had been the rule for many years, and consequently failures have not been so frequent. The low rate of exchange in the early part of the year enabled merchants to raise the prices of their goods, and the subsequent rise allowed them to remit on favorable terms, thus compensating for previous losses. The result has been favorable to the right side of the profit and loss account of merchants, who say that the year ended June 30, 1830, may be considered as a prosperous one for the commerce of this port, as also for that of the empire in general. 4277-37 |