86 



BRAZIL. 



bank, i > aim in* ivhants. To alleviate the crisis in 

 the -oi!Vf trade the Government in 11)01 reduced 

 frei"iit rate- mi .-I ate railroads, and by agreement 

 with the companies on private railroads also. 



Navigation.- There were 1.077 vessels in the 

 foreign trade, of 1.1)10,934 tons, entered, and 1,019, 

 of l.S~>3,707 tons, cleared at the port of Rio de 

 Janeiro in 1899; and in the coasting trade 1,229 

 vessels, of 052,329 tons, were entered and 1,263, 

 of 082,080 tons, were cleared. At Bahia 854 ves- 

 sels in the foreign trade, of 1,390.989 tons, were 

 entered and cleared and 745, of 14,842 tons, in the 

 coasting trade. 



Railroads and Telegraphs. The length of 

 railroads completed on Jan 1, 1900, was 8,718 

 miles, and 4.989 miles were being built, 4,670 

 miles more surveyed, and 8,440 miles besides were 

 authorized. The* Government has guaranteed 6 

 or 7 per cent, on the capital of most of the rail- 

 roads. Of those in process of construction 3,699 

 had Government subventions. The Government 

 owned 1.982 miles, which were leased to com- 

 panies. The cost of these lines was 257,674,937 

 milreis. 



The telegraphs have a length of 10,143 miles of 

 line, with 21,930 miles of wire. 



Political Affairs. -U)n information extracted 

 from Baron de Burgal, who afterward committed 

 suicide, and confirmed by further inquiries, Rear- 

 Admiral Custodio de Mello, who headed the naval 

 revolt of 1893 and was amnestied after a period of 

 exile, was arrested on the charge of conspiring to 

 overturn the Government of President Campos 

 Salles. The old revolutionist was said to have 

 been busy spreading disaffection in the navy ever 

 since his return to Brazil. The plan of the con- 

 spirators was believed to be to procure the mur- 

 der of the President, which should be the signal 

 for an insurrection. During the general confusion 

 the monarchists in the army and navy were to 

 take military possession of Rio de Janeiro and 

 seize the Government buildings. The executive 

 power would be entrusted to a triumvirate, con- 

 sisting of Admiral de Mello, Marshal Cantuaria, 

 and the Advocate Lafayette-Pereira. The ulti- 

 mate object was the restoration of the empire. 

 Rear-Admiral dc Mello was arrested on March 23 

 and confined on the island of Cobras, as it was 

 feared that his presence in the capital might give 

 rise to a disturbance. Extraordinary precautions 

 had been taken secretly to prevent an insurrection. 

 The attention of the Government was directed 

 particularly to the navy, and a close watch was 

 kept on the war- vessels, as it was feared that the 

 officers could not be entirely trusted. After being 

 kept in custody for several months Admiral de 

 Mello lodged a complaint against the Government 

 in the Chamber of Deputies, alleging that his ar- 

 rest was illegal, and that he was refused the means 

 oi defending himself. He based his claim on the 

 Constitution, which allows every one to denounce 

 the President of the republic for abuse of au- 

 thority. His complaint was referred to a special 

 commission, on the report of which the Chamber 

 unanimously dismissed his charge against the 

 I resident, \\hen Congress was opened on May 



the President urged the continuance of a policy 

 of appeasement, from which the best results had 

 own obtained during his administration, and men- 

 tioned a variety of circumstances tending to show 

 the complete public tranquillity of the country 

 I he Government proposed to develop military in- 

 struction and, as far as could be done without 

 creating fresh financial difficulties, to accumulate 

 improved war material. The Government is 

 working for the purchase of the guaranteed rail- 

 roads, which have annually cost the treasury 30 - 



BRITISH COLUMBIA, PROVINCE OF. 



000.000 milreis for many years without any com- 

 pensation. A harbor at Puo de Janeiro was recom- 

 mended to be constructed by private enterprise 

 with Government assistance. On Aug. 5 the Min- 

 ister of Justice resigned and was succeeded by 

 Sabino Barroso. 



BRITISH COLUMBIA, PROVINCE OF. A 

 portion of the Dominion of Canada, 409,910 square 

 miles in area, with a population of 150,000. 



Politics and Legislation. Politics in British 

 Columbia at the beginning of 1901 were more 

 harmonious than they had been for some time. 

 The Government of Mr. James Dunsmuir, a mil- 

 lionaire mine-owner of high character but slight 

 political experience, had developed considerable 

 strength, while the popular personality of the 

 new Lieutenant-Governor, Sir Henri Joly de Lot- 

 biniere, had also helped to put an end to fac- 

 tion warfare. The ministry was composed of the 

 Hon. J. D. Prentice as Provincial Secretary and 

 Minister of Education, the Hon. D. M. Eberts, 

 Q. C., as Attorney-General, the Hon. J. H. Turner 

 as Minister of Finance and Agriculture, the Hon. 

 W. C. Wells as Chief Commissioner of Lands and 

 Works, and the Hon. Richard McBride as Minister 

 of Mines. The Premier held no portfolio. Late 

 in 1900 tw r o constituencies were opened through 

 the resignation of sitting members who were can- 

 didates for the Dominion Parliament Ralph 

 Smith, in Nanaimo, and James F. Garden, in 

 Vancouver. Mr. Smith was elected, and was suc- 

 ceeded by Mr. J. H. Hawthornthwaite in the Pro- 

 vincial Legislature (the latter being elected by 

 acclamation). Mr. Garden was defeated for the 

 Dominion House, but was renominated for the 

 Legislature, and after a stiff fight carried Van- 

 couver on Feb. 19 for the Government against 

 Robert Macpherson, who had combined with the 

 Liberal element, led by the Hon. Joseph Martin, 

 and the Labor party in support of his candidature. 

 The Legislature met on Feb. 20, and was opene'd 

 by the Lieutenant-Governor in some state and 

 with a complimentary escort of 40 khaki-clad sol- 

 diers from South Africa. The speech from the 

 Throne was read by Sir Henri Joly de Lotbiniere. 

 Its significant passages were these: 



" As a mark of appreciation of the valiant serv- 

 ices rendered by the volunteers from British Co- 

 lumbia who went to South Africa to assist the 

 empire in the war with the Transvaal and Orange 

 Free State, my Government will introduce a meas- 

 ure authorizing the conveyance to them of free 

 grants of land. A measure will be submitted 

 amending the school act. There will be submitted 

 for your consideration a bill having for its object 

 the encouragement of the wood-pulp industry of 

 British Columbia. I am pleased to know that 

 the dairying industry continues to develop in so 

 satisfactory a manner, and that new creameries 

 are being established. My Minister of Agricul- 

 ture has obtained a promise of continued coopera- 

 tion on the part of the Dominion in rendering 

 expert assistance in their construction and subse- 

 quent operation, and in giving instruction in 

 the manufacture of butter and cheese. Recog- 

 nizing the importance of encouraging provincial 

 trade in agriculture and other natural products in 

 the mining districts, efforts have been made to se- 

 cure such a reduction of freight rates as will natu- 

 rally tend in that direction, and I am pleased to 

 announce that this will be brought about. 



" For the purpose of promoting settlement, my 

 Government is considering the advisability of in- 

 troducing legislation having in view the exten- 

 sion of the system of small holdings. A measure 

 will be introduced with the view of aiding the 

 construction of a railway from the Boundary 



