BRAZIL.

Brazil, the latest nation to join the column of American Republics, the largest except the United States, extends from 50 N. to 33° 41' S., and from about 36° to 730 W. from Greenwich, according to the railway map of the International American Conference, having a length north and south of about 2,675 miles and a breadth along the seventh degree of south latitude of about 2,500 miles, the widest part. It is worth notice that the longitude of New York City and that of the extreme western part of Brazil are nearly identical, so that Brazil lies almost wholly east of the United States; and also that the distance between the latitude of the extreme southern limit of this country, in Florida, and that of the extreme northern limit of Brazil, is only 20 degrees, or say 1,400 geographical miles, less than the distance from New York City to Little Rock, Ark.

The boundaries of Brazil make her outlines very much like those of South America itself, and every political division of that continental area, except Chili, contributes to their formation. Venezuela and the three Guianas lie on the north, while the Atlantic Ocean forms the boundary on the northeast, east, and southeast; then Uruguay, the Argentine Republic, and Paraguay mark the southern and a part of the western limits, which latter are extended by Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia to the boarder of Venezuela. An extension of the extreme westward limit to a distance of 400 miles, across the Andes, would take Brazil to the Pacific Ocean at Callao, Peru. The country now includes more by over half a million square miles than half of South America. It is divided into 20 provinces answering to our States in some respects; and the area and population of these provinces are given in a statistical publication prepared by Mr. J. P. Favella Nunes for 1888, and printed by order of the Brazilian Government in 1889, respectively, as follows: Table showing the area and estimated population of Brazil by provinces in 1888.

This estimate of population is based upon the normal decrease and increase of the census number, ascertained in 1872 to be 9,930,478, of which 1,510,806 were slaves, showing a probable increase in the total population in sixteen years of 4,056,805. An official return of June 30, 1885, showed the slave population to be then 1,133,228, and another of 1886 showed that since 1871 24,165 slaves had been freed by the emancipation fund. Others were freed at 20 and 60 years of age.

In the census of 1872 the population was found to be divided by race characters as follows: Caucasians, mostly of Portuguese descent, 3,787,289; negroes, 1,959,452; Indians (raça americana), 386,955; and mulattoes and mestizos, the latter being of mixed Indian and negro blood, 3,801,782; total, 9,930,478. Over 61.9 per cent of the population, therefore, belonged to the colored races and their mixtures. A like proportion of the estimated population of 1888 would show 5,334,890 Caucasians and 8,667,445 of the colored and mixed races in Brazil. The Indians and mestizos are said by Agassiz and others to inhabit mostly the valley of the Amazon, while it is apparent that the negroes and mulattoes are mainly distributed among the people of Caucasian descent, and hence are to be found in cities and towns and among the plantations, where the most of the negroes have been owned. These facts have their relation to the present and prospective demands of the country upon the productions entering into its foreign commerce.

On the 15th of November, 1889, a nearly peaceful revolution overthrew the empire and banished the royal family, and under the provisional government, on June 22, 1890, the Constitution of the United States of Brazil was promulgated, definitely organizing the republic and defining the duties and rights of the government and people. African slavery, which had prevailed from about the beginning of colonization of the several provinces or captaincies, was in process of extinction by legal limitations, purchase, and voluntary manumission, under the humane and enlightened Emperor Dom Pedro II, and it was finally wholly abolished, and about 732,000 slaves emancipated by a law signed May 13, 1888, by the crown princess, regent during the absence of Dom Pedro in Europe. The value of the slaves thus freed was estimated at over $485,000,000, but compensation to owners was refused consideration by the legislature. The slavery question, therefore, was effectually disposed of before the new republic was established.

CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS.

Those constitutional provisions of most interest in view of the objects. of this article may be summarized as follows: Brazil is constituted a federal republic, with the title of United States of Brazil, of which each of the former provinces is constituted a state and the former munici pal district a federal district, including the national capital. The organization of the different branches of government is nearly like that in this country, the principle being the same. Legislative powers be

long to the national Congress, but acts are subject to approval by the President of the Republic. Congress is composed of a senate and chamber of deputies, members of the former, consisting of three for each state, being chosen for nine years, and of the latter, at the rate of one for every 70,000 inhabitants, for three years.

The executive authority is exercised by the President, whose term is six years, who must be a native of Brazil, over 35 years of age, and who is ineligible to a succeeding term. Both President and Vice-President are chosen by an electoral college, the members of which are elected by the several states and the federal district in proportion to twice the number of their representatives in Congress; but in case of failure to select by this method, by a majority of all the votes, election devolves upon Congress in joint session, each state and the federal district casting a single vote, and electing by majority vote from the highest three candidates shown in the record of votes of the electoral college. The Vice-President succeeds the President in any case of vacancy not provided for as above, and is ineligible to succeed himself after three years service as President.

The President selects and dismisses his cabinent officers, but nominates diplomatic officers for the approval of Congress. His ministers can not appear before Congress, nor can anyone hold two offices.

The judiciary branch of the Government is in its organization and scope similar to the Federal judiciary of the United States, but the judges are appointed by the President of the Republic, for life.

The federal constitution confers the suffrage upon citizens 21 years of age, except beggars, those who can not read, soldiers in service, and members of orders owing first allegiance to a foreign power, as the monastic orders do; it institutes civil marriage, secularizes the cemeteries, secures freedom of worship, and provides for free primary education and for higher schools in aid of the states. It reserves to the national Government the power to levy duties on imports and on shipping, the establishment of customs-houses, banks of emission, and the control of postal and telegraphic communication. It prohibits the Government from favoring the ports of any state against those of any other by commercial or fiscal regulations. To the states, however, is delegated the power to levy taxes on merchandise not belonging to other states, on landed property and on the transmission of property, and on imports of foreign goods intended for consumption within the state, which duties are to be covered into the federal treasury; but no state can impose duties on imports in transit. All duties on exports. are to cease after 1895. A constituent assembly, which met at Rio de Janeiro on November 15, 1890, by legal provision elected Marshal Manoel Deodero da Fonseca to the Presidency of the Republic until the election contemplated in the constitution could be held.