24 BRAZILIAN COTTON 



public peace. Some States have Upper and Lower Houses. Each 

 State has as executive leader, a President or Governor ; these are 

 elected by public vote for a period of three or six years. 



The governments of the individual States have to attend to 

 primary education, communal administration (especially the police), 

 sanitation, immigration : means of communication such as railways, 

 roads and ships are generally administered by the State and the 

 Federal Government. The State looks after the trade, industry, 

 agriculture, literature, arts and sciences. 



Foreigners ma}^ without being naturalised, own property and 

 exercise all rights, except political. The constitution assures to 

 the Brazilian and the foreigner who resides in Brazil the inviolability 

 of freedom and the safety of person and projjerty. Brazilians and 

 foreigners are equal before the Law. 



It has been said that amongst all civilised countries there is no 

 constitution so liberal as the Brazilian one as regards foreigners who 

 desire to make new homes there. 



Taxes. — The resources of the Federal Government are principally 

 derived from the import taxes on foreign goods. The Custom House 

 tariff is a complicated one. The increases or decreases (the latter 

 very seldom) are made by altering the percentage which is payable in 

 gold. Until recently the pound sterling rate was taken for the 

 purpose of converting paper money into gold, but as this currency 

 has suffered owing to the war, the Custom House authorities are 

 insisting upon the payment of the gold percentage at the dollar rate 

 of exchange. In the past year 55 per cent, of the fixed duties were 

 payable in this way. Cotton goods, generally speaking, are subject 

 to a very high duty, 55 per cent, of which is payable in gold, thus 

 increasing the duty to considerably more than the original value of 

 the goods. The rates vary according to the texture of the cloth. 



The main source of revenue of each individual State is the Export 

 Tax which the Governments of the various States may fix without 

 consulting the Federal Government. All products of agriculture or 

 industry, which cross the boundary of the State pay certain rates 

 fixed every year in accordance with the likely expenditure. If the 

 commodity is sent from one State to another the same rate of " Export 

 Tax " is levied as if it were sent to countries abroad, but when goods 

 have to pass through various States, only the State of origin is allowed 

 to charge export tax. 



The rates of export tax on raw cotton of the various States will 

 be found in each chapter dealing with the respective States. I have 

 used my efforts to persuade the various Governments to reduce this 

 export tax on cotton as much as possible and there is every likelihood 

 that this demand will be conceded by granting reductions for well- 

 ginned and clean cotton, thus stimulating proper picking and ginning. 



There is also a State Tax on every machine of ginning factories 

 and other industries. Small indirect taxation by the individual 

 States is levied by means of affixed stamps on almost every article 

 one buys in the shojDs. This tax (called Consumer's Tax) is. of course, 

 additional to the import duties. The latter go into the coffers of the 

 Federal Government, whilst the former helps to swell the slender 

 incomes of the various States. 



