16 



Tribunals of justice. 

 The relafao. 



THE BRAZILS. 



Tribunals of justice. 

 The rela^ao. 



tilious, susceptible of flattery, suspicious yet cour- 

 teous, selfish, cunning; assuming frankness and 

 generosity, timid, unsteady in purpose, and without 

 any large and comprehensive views. What is 

 claimed from them as a right in a bold and con- 

 fident manner, is readily yielded, while often 

 through their ignorance they become presump- 

 tuous. 



The people are further advanced in morals and 

 intelligence than their 1 government, but as yet they 

 are not sufficiently enlightened to know their power. 

 They are slow to act, and appear very patient under 

 oppression. Long endurance of despotism has made 

 them so. 



The new constitution was adopted in 1825. This 

 secured the legislative power from further inter- 

 ruption, and achieved a complete victory over the 

 bayonets and tyranny of Don Pedro, by forcing 

 him, through the threats of the people and his 

 fears, to grant a more liberal constitution. Poli- 

 tical freedom seems to have made rapid advance- 

 ment through the freedom of the press; but the 

 advantages of a free and frequent interchange of 

 sentiments are almost entirely unknown. A long 

 time will probably elapse before thei*e will be any 

 political struggle among them. They are prosper- 

 ing in their private concerns and contented, with- 

 out any ambition to advance themselves in political 

 knowledge. 



Every exertion is making to give the young em- 

 peror a good education, and his talents are well 

 spoken of. 



The administration of justice is confided to two 

 high tribunals, which are open to the public, and 

 where causes are decided on appeal by a majority 

 of the judges. 



These tribunals are, first, the rela9ao, of which 

 there are two branches, one at Rio and the other 

 at Bahia, each composed of eight judges. Second, 

 the supreme tribunal of justice of twelve judges. 

 The inferior courts are those for the trial of civil 

 and criminal cases, an orphans' court, and a court 

 and judge of findings and losings, the last of 

 which is not yet abolished, however obsolete it may 

 have become. Great corruption exists in them all, 

 and no class of people are so unpopular as the 

 judges. It is generally believed, and the belief is 

 acted upon, that to obtain justice, all classes, in- 

 cluding priests and laymen, lawyer and client, legis- 

 lators and people, regents and ministers, must sub- 

 mit to great imposition ; that it is next to impossible 

 to recover a debt by law except through bribery. 

 If a debtor has money or patronage, and refuses 

 to pay, it is difficult to obtain the payment even of 

 an acknowledged note of hand through the pro- 

 cess of the law, and it generally takes years to 

 accomplish. 



It is, however, greatly to the praise of the Brazil- 

 ians, that it is not often necessary to have recourse 

 to law for this purpose. The greatest injustice 

 occurs in the orphans' court; but the court of 

 findings and losings is one of the most singular 

 in this respect. It takes charge of all things lost 

 and found, making it the duty of a person finding 

 any thing to deposit it with the judge. The loser, 

 to prove property, must have three witnesses to 

 swear that they saw him lose it, and three others 

 that they saw the finder pick it up, otherwise it re- 

 mains in deposit. To show the working of this 

 system, a gentleman of Rio found a bank-note of 



four hundred milrees (about 250 dollars). The 

 owner went to him and claimed it, proving satisfac- 

 torily to the finder that the identical bank-note was 

 his, upon which the finder gave it up. The judge 

 of findings and losings heard of the circumstance, 

 sent for him, and asked a statement of the case, 

 which the finder unsuspectingly related. The 

 judge praised his honourable conduct, and was 

 punctiliously polite. The next day, however, he 

 issued an order for the deposit of the money found; 

 and because it was disregarded, the finder, a re- 

 spectable foreign merchant, was arrested in the 

 street and sent to prison, to be confined with com- 

 mon criminals. The jailer, however, having private 

 apartments for those who could pay for them, he 

 became his guest, and was preserved from the dis- 

 gust of being a close prisoner, and the companion 

 of degraded and depraved wretches. Before he 

 could regain his liberty, he had to pay the amount 

 found, the decision being the forfeiture of a like 

 sum, together with the jailer's fees. 



The justices of the peace for each district are 

 elected by the people, four at a time, to serve as 

 many years by turns, substituting one for the other, 

 when sickness or other circumstances prevent 

 either from serving. They have final judgments 

 in amounts not exceeding sixteen milrees. In 

 cases of civil process, they act as mediators to 

 effect a compromise and reconcile difficulties. Their 

 political attributes are to preserve the peace in case 

 of riot or disorder among the people; and they have 

 a right to call on the national guard or military 

 police to aid them, who must act under their direc- 

 tion. There is no civil police, and no imprisonment 

 for debt. Trial by jury was at first limited to po- 

 litical offences and violations of the liberty of the 

 press, but it is now extended to criminal cases, and 

 in some instances to civil suits. Sixty persons 

 compose the jury, and forty are necessary to try 

 causes. The juiz de decrito (judge of law) sits 

 with them in court, acts as president, and applies 

 the law to the cases the jury may decide. Jury- 

 men serve for one year, and are chosen in the fol- 

 lowing manner. In each district the vigairo (vicar), 

 a justice of the peace and a member of the muni- 

 cipality, select from a list of male parishioners 

 those qualified in their judgment for jurymen, and 

 submit the names to the municipality, who, assisted 

 by the vigairo and justice of the peace, purge the 

 list of such as may be considered improper persons. 

 It is then officially communicated by the munici- 

 pality to the justice of the peace, and posted up for 

 public inspection in the office, and on the doors oi 

 the parish churches throughout the district. 



To entitle any one to vote at an election, he must 

 have an income of two hundred milrees per annum, 

 from property, trade, labour, or employment of any 

 kind. The vigairo sits with the judges at elections 

 to decide on the qualifications of voters. Friars or 

 members of religious fraternities are not entitled to 

 a vote. Free blacks have all the civil rights, and 

 vote at elections the same as white men. 



The attorney-general of the nation is the accuser 

 in all criminal cases. Criminals have the right of 

 counsel. 



It may be said that there is no standing army in 

 Brazil, for the few troops do not merit that name. 

 A military staff on a large scale is supported, with 

 a large corps of military police, and a national 

 guard. The national guard is organized by law, 



