BRAZIL. 



75 



tramway between the port and the coal-mines 

 of Arroio dos Ratos, near Sao Jeronymo, was 

 celebrated July 19th, with a festivity and the 

 benediction of the trucks and engines. The 

 tramway is about thirteen miles in length. 

 The shaft of the coal-mine is seventy-five yards 

 in depth. The coal is similar to that of Car- 

 diff, and is used on the steamers plying on 

 Lake Patos. 



The central Government continued to offer 

 liberal encouragement to all projects tending 

 to increase the means of internal communica- 

 tion, such, for instance, as the making new 

 roads, and navigating by steam the great Bra- 

 zilian rivers. 



By decree of January 25th, the river Ma- 

 deira was opened to the merchant shipping of 

 all nations, up to Sao Antonio, the lower ter- 

 minus of the Madeira & Mamorfi Railway ; and 

 foreign vessels can engage in the transport 

 trade between Sao Antonio and other river 

 ports of the Amazon and Para. Goods for 

 Peru or Bolivia may be transferred to lighter 

 vessels at Serpa. A custom-house is to be 

 established at the latter place, and a board of 

 revenue, qualified for import, export, and 

 transit clearances, at Sao Antonio. These pro- 

 visions will be of considerable advantage to the 

 Madeira & Mamor6 Railway Company, whose 

 steamers, with materials and stores for the 

 railway, will be able to take return-cargoes. 



The returns of the Administrator-General 

 of the Post-Office Department give the num- 

 ber of letters transmitted by mail in 1871-72 

 as having reached 6,206,952. 



The French system of weights and measures 

 was to be obligatory in all mercantile transac- 

 tions in the empire, on and after January 1, 

 1874. 



The Transatlantic Cable Company informed 

 the Government that the cable from Lisbon 

 would be connected with Brazil in January, 

 1874. 



The Brazilian Submarine Telegraph Com- 

 pany was formed in February, with a capital 

 of 1,800,000, in 10 shares. 



Telegraph communication was established 

 between Sorocaba and Sao Paulo in March. 



A new contract with the Telegraph Con- 

 struction and Maintenance Company of Lon- 

 don was published in the Diario Official, of Rio 

 de Janeiro, in May, for the laying of a subma- 

 rine telegraph-cable along the coast of Brazil, 

 from the junction with the Monte videan cable 

 to Para. It is probable that the whole cable 

 will be laid early in the present year (1874), 

 and then, with the Lisbon cable above referred 

 to, communication by telegraph will be estab- 

 '1 between Europe and the greater part 

 of South America; and will shortly afterward 

 be extended to the United States, as soon as 

 the cable proposed between Para and St. 

 Thomas shall have been completed. The 

 privilege for the coast cable is for sixty years, 

 on the expiration of which time the ownership 

 will remain with the company. 



On the 24th of August the branch from 

 Pernambuco to Par& was finished, and that 

 from the former port to Bahia was to be com- 

 menced about November 21st. The cable 

 will, of course, touch at all important points 

 between the termini. 



The Montevidean & Brazilian Telegraph 

 Company obtained an authority to make a 

 land line from Rio Grande to the Chuy, on the 

 Uruguayan frontier, the concession being for 

 thirty years. The rights of the Brazil & 

 River Plate and the Telegraph Construction 

 and Maintenance Companies are reserved. 



A government line of telegraph from Sao 

 Paulo ta Santos was opened to traffic on Sep- 

 tember 13th. The Rio Doce was crossed at 

 Linhares. 



At the end of 1873 there -were 3,445 kilo- 

 metres of telegraph-lines in operation in the 

 empire, with 64 offices or stations. 



Nearly one-half of the national revenue is 

 derived from customs receipts on imports ; and 

 about one-seventh from export duties, the 

 average rate of these last being ten per cent. 



The budget of 1871-'72 was, according to the 

 report of the Minister of Finances, laid before 

 the Chambers on May 8, 1873, as follows: 



INCOME. 



Import duties 429,299.642 



Shipping duties 250.CS9 



Export duties 8,614.685 



Interest on railway shares 68.073 



Receipts of the Dom Pedro II. Railway 2,443,186 



Post-Office Department 358,fiW 



Telegraphs 58.580 



Stamp duties l,000.7*l 



Mutation duties 1 .873.450 



Industrial taxes 1.451.52SJ 



Lottery taxes 745.2.">1 



MiDe Ii(,25S 



Receipts extraordinary. 1,177,482 



Deposits 1,347,125 



Appropriation for the liberation of slaves *?7> !) ? 5 _ 



Sundries 



Total $52,824,920 



EXPENDITURE. 



Ministry of the Interior : 



Civil list $400,000 



Legislative Chambers 368,780 



Public Worship 5W,450 



Public Instruction 661 ,541 



Sundries 1 87,999 



Ministry of Justice 



Ministry of Foreign Affairs 



Ministry of Marine 



Ministry of War 



Ministry of Finances 



Ministry of Commerce, etc 



$2,495,770 

 l,8fi(i,202 

 414,374 

 6,811,289 

 7,788,266 

 18,887,818 

 10,940,857 



Total $49,905,36} 



The income in 1870-'71 was but $50,516,- 

 842, or $1,808,078 less than in 1871-'72 ; the 

 expenditure for 1870-'71 amounted to $41,149,- 

 427, or $8,755,935 less than in 1871-'72. But 

 the surplus in the former of those two years 

 was greater than that of the latter by $6,947,- 

 857. 



The income of the year 1872-'73 was esti- 

 mated at $53,406,161, or, with the net de- 

 posits, the issue of nickel coin, and the Para- 

 guayan Railway payment, $54,304,166 ; nnd 

 the expenditure (inclusive of various credits 

 extraordinary $3,925,000 disbursed for the 



