BRAZIL. 



67 



frr dos Santos, and (Jen. Ozorio. The revolu- 

 lioiiists captured Simla Anna do Livramento 

 and iiiiiny prisoners without bloodshed, and Gen. 

 Tavari's "moved upon 1'orto Alegiv ; hut ( 'as- 

 tilhos isMicd a inanifosto and then vacated tin; 

 presidency without striking a blow, as more 

 than hall the troops had gone over to the revo- 

 lutionists. Tin- ;iu r '-d (ien. Barreto Leite was 

 made I'rovisioiial President by acclamation, 

 while a junta was formed consisting of Dr. 

 .l<iai|iiiin Francisco de Assis Brazil, Dr. Joao de 

 Barms ('a.ssal. and Gen. Luiz da Rocha Ozorio. 

 In February, IS'.l'J. I>r. Harros Cassal was elected 

 Piv-ident. The old Federalist party split up 

 int 1 1 irreconcilable factions of Parliaraentarists 

 and Posit ivists, and the strife between the 

 parties, which Silveira Martins endeavored fruit- 

 lessly to allay, created revolutionary conditions, 

 which the new Governor only aggravated by is- 

 suing despotic edicts, one of which, prohibiting 

 the publication of any article without the signa- 

 ture of the author, caused nearly every news- 

 paper on March 23 to discontinue its issue. 

 The election, which was to take place on March 

 21. was postponed till May 13 because the Gov- 

 ernor and his party were rapidly losing ground. 

 On March 21. while Silveira Martins was ad- 

 dressing an open-air meeting gathered to greet 

 him on his return, as he fearlessly depicted the 

 disorgani/.ed conditions of the country and the 

 dcirradation of the judiciary and the schools, 

 and then dwelt on the insubordination in the 

 iinuy, the soldiery suddenly attacked the listen- 

 er-. When the Governor in April expressed the 

 intention of putting off for a third time the 

 elections for a Constituent Assembly that should 

 frame a new Constitution and give the state a 

 regular President, the Federalist party organiza- 

 tion declared against it, and in consequence he 

 resigned and Gen. Barreto Leite again became 

 Provisional Governor, being assured of the sup- 

 port of the Central Government. When the day 

 for the elections came round they were neverthe- 

 less postponed till June 21 in the interest of the 

 constantly dwindling Government party. This 

 action caused such dissatisfaction that the new 

 Governor resigned and Visconde Pelotas became 

 Provisional Governor. A few days later he also 

 laid down the office, selecting as his successor 

 Gen. Tavares. The Opposition, led by Dr. Cas- 

 tilhos, who still claimed to be the rightful Gov- 

 ernor and win ise adherents were also partisans 

 of .Marshal da Fonseca, would not accept his 

 choice, and Castilhos. aided by the police, seized 

 the Government buildings and installed Dr. Vic- 

 torino Monteiros as Vice-Go vernor. 



Gen. Tavares, the rival Vice-Governor, who 

 was at Bage, prepared to fight, and called on the 

 Federal authorities for aid. The Government 

 forces in Rio Grande were at first directed to 

 take no part in the conflict, according to a state- 

 ment published in the official gazette at Rio 

 Janeiro. A Government gunboat, the " Maraio," 

 opened fire on Porto Alegre, but was repelled. 

 Near Bage several skirmishes took place, in which 

 the forces of Castilhos were generally successful. 

 The people supported Castilhos generally. An 

 army of over (i.iioo men was raised, and after 

 several fights near Bage and elsewhere the anti- 

 revolutionaryConservative party had to succumb. 

 The civil strife was the outcome of the differences 



of opinion regarding the organization of the 

 National Government, represented by Custilhos 

 and Silveira Martins, of whom the one desired a 

 federation free from parliamentarism, with a 

 chief of the executive responsible for the acts of 

 the secretaries of state, while the other advocated 

 a centralized republic having an irresponsible 

 chief with ministers who should represent the 

 opinions prevailing in the Parliament. The ideas 

 of Martins prevailed.and he was made Provisional 

 Governor. The Sebastian istas, or advocates of 

 the restoration of the empire with Dom Pedro's 

 grandson on the throne, were encouraged in Rio 

 Grande and other States by the triumph of the 

 centralist idea in the greatest State of the 

 federation. 



Italian Riot in Santos. In consequence of 

 an altercation between the captain of a sailing 

 vessel and the collector of customs at Santos, 

 in which the police intervened, the Italian 

 colony of the city of Sao Paulo, on July 2, 

 assembled to protest against the treatment 

 of a fellow-countryman, and in the course of 

 the meeting the excitement rose to such a 

 pitch that the more hot-headed of them assumed 

 a menacing attitude, tearing down a Brazilian 

 flag and beating the police who attempted to 

 stop them. The Brazilian populace rose after 

 the troops had dispersed the Italian rioters, 

 seized the Italian flags wherever they were dis- 

 played, and wrecked the office of the Italian 

 newspaper. Santos is the port which gives access 

 to the State of Sao Paulo, in which many thou- 

 sand Italians have settled. In the fight, which 

 lasted through the night, several persons were 

 killed on both sides. An inquiry was made, and 

 for the satisfaction of the Italian Government, 

 the collector of customs at Santos was dismissed 

 and the troops concerned in the fight were sent 

 elsewhere. The explanations of the Brazilian 

 Government were regarded as satisfactory, and 

 the incident was closed after an interchange of 

 diplomatic notes. 



The Regular Session. When the time came 

 for the opening of Congress, on May 3, a quorum 

 could not be obtained because many of the Op- 

 position members refused to attend, as a demon- 

 stration against the interference of the Govern- 

 ment in the affairs of the individual States and 

 its neglect to provide for the election of a new 

 President. At last the session was opened on 

 May 12. 



An amnesty bill for the pardon and release of 

 persons imprisoned and banished in virtue of the 

 Government decree of April 12 was carried in 

 the Senate. Congress approved a proposition to 

 postpone the election of a President till the end 

 of the year. The Supreme Court refused to 

 order the release of prisoners held in virtue of 

 the decrees of military tribunals, but in the 

 mean time the President proclaimed the amnesty 

 of the conspirators of Santa Cruz and of others 

 who had been engaged in similar enterprises in 

 Sao Paulo and other places. The committee of 

 the Chamber advised conforming with the wish 

 of the Senators regarding amnesty, providing 

 the latter left the initiative to the' Chamber of 

 Deputies and agreed to an act of indemnity, ap- 

 proving all the measures taken by the Govern- 

 ment in regard to the seditious movement of 

 April 10. On July 22 the Chamber passed an 



