BRAZIL.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1977, 3 December 1889, Page 4

BRAZIL.

The recent bloodless revolution (says the Ashburton Guardian) which has quietly and swiftly effected th® deposition of Emperor Dorn Pedro, and brought within the galaxy of American Republics the last remaining stronghold of monarchial Government, has naturally drawn attention to that little known but magnificent country, anent which a few particulars culled from a very interesting article, over the signature of “ Egmont ” in the columns of the Taranaki Herald, may not be unacceptable co our readers. Brazil, whose present inhabitants are descended from the Portuguese, is in area considerably larger than the whole Continent of Australia, and has a population of between thirteen and fourteen millions, of whom some two millions are emancipated slaves. The vast interior is still almost a terra incognita, save to a few tribes of wandering Indians, the settled population being almost entirely confined to that portion of the country which lies between tbe Atlantic Coast and the river Ban Francisco, “The northern and larger portion of Brazil is included m the immense region watered by the Amazon and its affluents—a region as large as the combined areas of European Russia, German, Italy, and France. Its forests, denser than our own, and of tropical luxuriance, abounding in birds and insects of gorgeous colors, as well as in many kinds of wild animals, have been graphically painted in the glowing pages of Chateaubriand and Audubon, and its soberer tints by Humboldt and Bonplao, Waterton and Burton. The mighty Amazon — compared with which the largest riyer in Europe is but a streamlet —is navigable for ships as big as theDnion coasting steamers over a distance from its mouth of fifteen hundred miles. Even the smaller of its tributaries are equal in length, if not in volume, to the Danube or tbe Rhine, The

tropical forest, through which the rivers slowly wind on their course into the Amazon, is itated to measure fifteen hundred miles in length—in breadth from four to eight hundred.” The soil of this tropical region is extremely productive, and the forests abound in valuable timber, the chief productions of the country being “coffee, sugar, rice, tobacco, cocoa, chiefly from the northern portion; from its southern, hides and tallow ; from the central, drugs, diamonds, gold, and cabinet woods, . . . . Central and South-eastern Brazil enjoy a more temperate climate on the elevations rising from the coast towards the interior in a succession of low terraces or hill ranges—the highest of which does not exceed six thousand feet, the average being from one to two thousand. Between lie well-watered and fruitful valleys, whilst along the Atlantic stretches a low-lying, undulating plain, In this Central Brazil the rivers are comparatively few, too shallow and rapid to be of use for navigation. Along the three thousand miles of its coast Brazil possesses but two firstclass harbors—that of Rio, which is said to surpass even that of Sydney tor commodiousness and beauty, and that of Pernambuco. Bahia, the second city and seaport in the Empire, with a population nearly as large as that of San Francisco ten years ago, has a fine bay, provided with a lengthy pier constructed of open iron work. Bio—the

seat of Government, and largest city m Brazil—has a population of some three hundred thousand, being thus, next to Melbourne, the largest town in the Southern Hemisphere. It carries on an extensive trade with New York, London and Liverpool, as well as with the various ports both on the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts of North and South America. Besides Rio, Bahia, and Pernambuco, other towns are Maranhao, San Paulo, and Para, the last being the most northerly. From the middle of the sixteenth century down to the early part of this, Brazil remained a dependency of the Crown of Portugal. When the French armies' crossing the Pyrenees overran the Spanish Peninsula in 1808, the Royal House of Braganza, frem whom the late Emperor is descended, sought refuge from the tyranny of Napoleon in this their dominion across the Atlantic, Then was founded that Throne which, for the last eighty years, amid all the varied fortunes—the wars and revolutions—ot every other State in South America, has secured for Brazil, under the hereditary and constitutional monarchy, so considerable a share of peace and prosperity, and has placed her at the head of all the States on that continent.”