Paea. 



259 



Fruit Peddlers. 



arts are in tlie hands of free Ne- 

 groes and Indians, mulattoes and 

 maraelncos.* Commerce is car- 

 ried on almost exclusively by 

 Porti:guese and other foreigners. 

 Dry -goods come chiefly from 

 England and France ; groceries 

 from Portugal ; flour and hard- 

 ware from the United States. 

 The principal exports are rub- 

 ber, cacao, coffee,t sugar, cotton, 

 Brazil nuts, sarsaparilla, vanilla, farina, copaiba, tobacco, 

 rum, hides, fish, parrots, and monkeys. :{: Para exceeds in 

 the number of its indigenous commodities any other port 

 in the world, but the trade at jDresent is insignificant when 

 we consider the vast extent and resources of the country. 

 The city can never have a rival at the mouth of the Ama- 

 zon, and is destined to become a great emporium. But 

 Brazilian legislation stands in the way. Heavy import du- 

 ties are charged — from 35 to 45 per cent. ; and on the 1st 

 of January, 1868, it was ordered that 15 per cent, must be 

 paid in English gold. The consequence has been that gold 

 has risen from 28 to 30 above par, creating an additional 

 tax. Exportation is equally discouraging. There is a duty 

 of nine per cent, to be paid at the custom-house, and seven 



* We are inclined to doubt the assertion of Mansfield that Paraguay is the 

 only country in eastern South America with an industrious peasantry. 



t Brazil yields more than one half the quantity of coifee consumed by the 

 world. That of Ceara is the best. 



J In January, 1868, the current prices were as follows : 



Tapioca, per arroba $3 00 



Pure i-ubber " 11.50 



Piassaba cord " 6 50 



Tobacco " 1. ,50 



Sarsaparilla " 11 50 



The Brazilian arroba is seven pounds heavier than the Spanish. 



Refined Sugar, per an 



•oba. . 



..13 00 



Rice " 





.. 1 40 



Cacao " 





.. 3 20 



Coifee " 





.. 3 50 



Farina " 





.. 75 



