BRAZIL. 



69 



pound per horse-power over the consumption 

 of fuel indicated by the builders for the trial 

 trip of 6 hours at full speed, 2,000 will be 

 forfeited; for two tenths, 4,000; for three 

 tenths, 8,000 ; for four tenths, 16,000 ; for 

 five tenths, 32,000. The ship is to be inclined, 

 and her center of gravity ascertained in the 

 usual way. Her metacentric height when 

 loaded for sea is not to be less than 3 feet, and 

 under no circumstances is it to be less than 2| 

 feet; and by failure in any of these stipula- 

 tions the contractors are to forfeit the final in- 

 stallment. The other new craft is an iron gun- 

 boat to be named Iniciadora, and the king-bolt 

 of which was struck by his Majesty the Em- 

 peror on October 27, 1881, at the national ar- 

 senal of marine. This will be the first iron ves- 

 sel built there. The dimensions and other de- 

 tails published were as follows: length, 117 

 feet ; beam, 24 feet ; depth of hold, 8 feet ; 

 draught, 5 feet; with a displacement of 200 

 tons, and engines of 260 horse-power, expected 

 to give a speed of from 9 to 10 knots an hour. 

 The vessel is to be double sheathed with wood 

 and Muntz-metal ; and the armament to consist 

 of two cannons of 15 caliber at the bow and 

 stern, with -^-inch steel plate casemates for 

 protection against musketry; two machine 

 guns and torpedo apparatus. Electric light 

 will be used on board the Iniciadora, which is 

 to have steel-wire schooner rigging, have ca- 

 pacity for one month's supplies for 60 men, 

 and carry coal for 5 days. This gunboat is 

 specially intended for river service. 



The subjoined table of the latest official re- 

 turns at hand from the Finance Department, 

 being for the year 1877-'78, will serve to show 

 the sources of the revenue and the brandies 

 of the expenditure, but not the real condition 

 of Brazilian finances at the present time-: 



REVENUE. 



Customs receipts $36,597,474 



Imposts on shipping 65,749 



Internal revenue 14,155.169 



Deposits 762,417 



Emancipation fund 521,860 



Keceipts extraordinary 8,270,171 



Total $55,372,840 



EXPENDITURE. 



Ministry of the Interior $11,207.295 



of Foreign Affairs 504,283 



. of Finance 25,526,199 



of Justice 8,2-31,823 



of Commerce and Agriculture.. 21,058,020 



of War. 7,917,894 



of the Navy 6,801,781 



Total $75,746,195 



Deficit $20,378,355 



In the budget for the fiscal year 1881-'82, the 

 revenue was estimated at $58,479,000, and the 

 expenditure, in round figures, at $59,143,380; 

 thus showing a deficit of but $664,380. As 

 for 1880, the revenue appears to have been 

 " greater in that year than any of the preced- 

 ing years." The customs receipts from ex- 

 ports gave a total of $21,425,497, against $20,- 

 877,662 in 1879; though the receipts from 



imports were but $4,765,585 in 1880, against 

 $4,900,163 in 1879. Hence the actual increase 

 of revenue from the customs department in 

 1880, as compared with 1879, was but $413,- 

 257. Much more favorable results were ex- 

 pected by the Government from the tariff" 

 which went into operation on January 1, 

 1880 ; but economists foresaw that a measure 

 so unsatisfactory to the commercial commu- 

 nity could hardly prove profitable to the treas- 

 ury ; for, although merchants had been re- 

 quested to take part in the work of revising 

 the former tariff's, their suggestions had only 

 been regarded as worthy of consideration when 

 favorable to increased rates of duty.* The 

 new tariff undeniably made some improve- 

 ments, such as the suppression of unnecessary 

 distinctions and the approximation of official 

 to market value ; but, on the whole, the re- 

 vision was performed too rapidly to admit of 

 proper attention to fiscal conveniences. A 

 new revision was ordered toward the close of 

 1880, and the work intrusted to a committee 

 composed wholly of government employes; 

 but the expediency of submitting the result of 

 their labors, when these should be terminated, 

 for examination to a committee of merchants 

 and another of manufacturers, was strongly 

 urged by the public press. 



The amount and branches of the national 

 debt of Brazil were reported as follows on 

 December 31, 1880 : 



Foreign loan of 1S52, due 1882. 



" " 1858, " 1888. 



" " 1860, " 1898. 



" " 1868, " 1893. 



" " 1865, " 1902. 



" " 1871, " 1909. 



" " 1875, " 1913. 



390,300 



236,800 



452.100 



1,871,100 



5,575,900 



8.028,200 



5,079,500 



Milreis. 



Total foreign debt 10,704,000 - 148,665,600t 



Six per cent internal funded debt 835.397,100 



Five " " " " 1,995,000 



Four " " " 119,600 



Six " gold bonds of 1868 28,882,000 



Four and a half per cent gold bonds of 1879. .. 50.285,000 



Treasury bills 16,488.800 



Five per cent private loan 700.000 



Various deposits, about 50,000,000 



Paper money 189,250,000 



Total national debt 819,788,100$ 



A new loan of 5,000,000 was talked of in 

 July as probable, and as necessary to permit 

 the payment or funding of the existing floating 

 debt. 



In a report made in 1879 by the Minister of 

 Finance, the total debt stood at 779,116,837 

 milreis = $389,558,418. 



The most recent complete official returns of 

 the foreign commerce of the empire are those 

 for 1878-'79, in which year the exports and 

 imports were, as stated in our volume for 1880, 

 of the total values of $102,029,250 and $81,- 

 752,900 respectively. 



The nature and value of the commodities 

 imported from Great Britain in 1880 were as 

 shown in the subjoined table : 



* See " Annual Cyclopaedia'' for 1880 and for 1878. 

 t $74,882,800. % $409,866,550. 



