304 A YEAR IN BRAZIL. 



and English sovereigns. These were the commonest medium of 

 exchange in Para and on the Lower Amazons, until india-rubber 

 fell suddenly in price in 1855, when the gold again quickly dis- 

 appeared. About the year 1857, new silver coin, issued by the 

 Brazilian Government, was introduced — elegant pieces of money 

 of convenient values, answering nearly to our sixpenny, shilling, 

 and two-shilling pieces." 



The Financial Condition of Brazil. 



In reading statistics of foreign moneys there is always the 

 difficulty of realizing at a glance what the sums represent in 

 English currency. In Brazilian money this difficulty may be 

 reduced to a minimum by taking the milreis (|) at 24^/., so that 

 the English equivalent in pounds sterling will be approximately 

 one-tenth of the amount in milreis. 



The few remarks which I wish to make on this subject I will 

 defer till the end of the note, and therefore, without further pre- 

 amble, plunge at once in medias res, and give some extracts from 

 a pamphlet, " On the Budget of the Empire since its Foundation," 

 published in Rio by a senator.* In his preface, he states that 

 " an estimate is the fundamental basis of the life of man and of 

 nations; without order in the regulation of expenses, confusion 

 will be inevitable, and these will not be in harmony with the 

 income. The first care, therefore, in arranging the budget is to 

 attend to the receipts., and then distribute the expenses. . . . Un- 

 fortunately, this is not the course followed since the foundation of 

 the empire, which, in spite of not having received the value of 

 heavy sacrifices of Hfe and money, has — ignoring these — caused 

 extraordinary expenses, which not only weigh down the budgets, 

 as also the future of the nation, but necessitate stretching out the 

 hand of a creditor to fulfil its engagements. ... I shall examine 

 into the truth of the budgets, so often praised in the ministerial 

 programmes, and always tricked (burlada) in their realization." 



After briefly reviewing the financial conditions of England, the 

 United States, France, and Russia, Senhor Carreira comes to 

 Brazil. In his comparison of estimates, the value of the milreis is 



* " O Or9amento do Imperio desde sua funda9ao," colleccionada pelo 

 Senador Liberate de Castro Carreira. Rio de Janeiro, 1883. 



