MADEIRA. 
66 
they carry over their fhoulder. The country-people are 
fober, inoffenfive, economical, and capable of enduring 
much hard labour ; in the profecution of which they are 
often reduced to great emaciation of body and debility of 
conftitution, and thus a premature old age is brought on. 
While the men are cultivating their vineyards, their wives 
and daughters are procuring lubfiftence for the cattle, and 
travelling to a confiderable diftance, over rugged paths, 
to the mountains, in order to cut broom for fuel. This 
they carry in loads to Funchal, and difpofe of for their 
fublifter.ee. Thus, feverity of labour, poorr.efs of food, 
and warmth of climate, make them old in frame, when 
young in years. The diet of the country people confifts 
of bread and roots, with a little animal food, and that 
chiefly fait fi(h. Their common drink is water, or agua pe } 
an inlufion extrafted from the hulks and ftalks of the 
grapes after they have palled through the wine-prefs, as 
mentioned before. The wine for which the ifland is fo 
famous, and which their own hands prepare, feldom re¬ 
gales them. 
It has juflly been obferved, that the people of Madeira 
are in general very mufical, and extremely gallant. No 
night pafles at Funchal, or in the country, without fere- 
nades of guitars. The women are alio remarkable for 
their delicate and beautiful works in wax and in artificial 
flowers, which are not eafily diitinguilhed from thofe of 
nature ; they are likewife famous for their fweetmeats, 
paftes, &c. So far backward, however, are the mechani¬ 
cal arts, that the muft is brought to town from the vine¬ 
yards, where it is made, in veffels of goat-lkin, which are 
carried by men upon their fboulders. They have no wheel- 
earriages of any kind ; and in town they ufe a fort of drays 
or fledges, formed of a plank, w hich make an acute angle 
before ; thefe are drawn by oxen, and are ufed to trans¬ 
port calks of wine, and other heavy goods, to and from 
their warehoufes. 
The elementary branches of education, namely, the 
Portuguefe language, writing, and arithmetic, are tolera¬ 
bly well taught at Madeira. Befides the fchools kept by 
individuals for the above-mentioned purpofes, the prince 
regent has eftablifned two public ones at his own expenfe. 
As to foreign languages, theEnglilh, French, Italian, &c. 
are alfo taught by private teachers. For the higher 
branches of education, a college exifts : in it are taught 
the mathematics, the Latin language, rhetoric, and moral 
phiiofophy. This eftablifhment is lupported by the prince 
regent, from whom the profeffors receive their falaries, and 
no fee is paid by the pupils. Thus, the college is free in 
every fenfe of the word. 
Funchal is the only city in this Hand ; but it has alfo 
feven villas or towns; of which there are four, Calhetta, 
Camara de Lobos, Ribeira Braba, and Ponta de Sol, in the 
capitania of Funchal, which is divided into twenty-fix 
parifiies. The other three are in the capitania of Maxico, 
which confiftsof feventeen parilhes: thefe towns are called 
Maxico, San Vicente, and Santa Cruz. Funchal has been 
briefly delcribed under that word in vol. viii. but there is 
one curiofity in the town, which deferves to be taken no¬ 
tice of, and that is a chamber in the Francifcan convent, 
called the Chapel of Ghofts, the walls and ceiling of which 
are completely covered with rows of human flculls and 
thigh-bones, lo arranged that in the obtule angle made by 
each pair of the latter, eroding each other obliquely, is 
placed a flcull. The only vacant fpace that appears is in 
the centre of the fide oppofite to the door, on which there 
is an extraordinary painting above a kind of altar ; but 
what the fubjeft it is intended to reprefent, it is difficult 
to determine. A figure, probably intended for St.Francis, 
the patron faint, feems to be intent on trying in a balance 
the comparative weight of a finner and a faint. A dirty 
lamp fufpended from the ceiling, and juft glimmering in 
the focket, ferves dimly to light up this dilmal den of 
fkulls. The monk who attends as (bowman, is careful to 
jmprels on the minds of thofe who vilit it, the idea that 
they, are all relics of holy' men who died on the ifland ; al¬ 
though Mr. Barrow is of opinion that the church-yard 
muft have been frequently robbed, in order to accumulate 
fiuch a prodigious number of lkulls, which, from a rough 
computation made by that gentleman, could not be under 
3000. 
A Portuguefe governor is at the head of all the civil 
and military departments of this ifland, of Porto Santo, 
the Salvages, and the Ilhas Defertas ; which laft only con¬ 
tain the temporary huts of fome filhermen, who refort 
thither in purfuit of their bufinefs $ his falary is com¬ 
puted to be worth 2000I. per annum, 200I. of which is in 
the form of a prefent from the Englilh merchants. The 
law-department is under the corregidor, who is appointed 
by the king of Portugal, commonly lent from Liffion, and 
holds his place during the king’s pleafure. All caufes 
come to him from inferior courts by appeal. Each judi¬ 
cature has a fenate; and a juiz, or judge, whom they choofe, 
prefides over them. At Funchal he is called juiz da fora ; 
and in the abfence, or after the death, of the corregidor, 
acts as his deputy. A third judge, permanently refident 
in Madeira, fuperintends the intereft of orphans. In 
Funchal, there is alfo a number of magiftrates of police, 
who are changed every three months. Their fyftem, how¬ 
ever, is badly organized. In the difpofition of property, 
no father can make one child his foie heir ; but muft leave 
to all bis children an equal inheritance, except in the cafe 
of entailed eftates. With regard to the law of debtor and 
creditor, the latter can feize property for rent, or other 
debts ; but he cannot imprifon the debtor. As to the 
criminal law, theft and minor crimes are judged by the 
criminal court, the governor, corregidor, and juiz de fora 
prefiding. Theaccufer’s and defender’s advocate and at¬ 
torney attend fuch trials. Minor crimes are puniffied by 
confinement or exile. The corregidor is generally alfo 
appointed as confervador, or judge, for the Britiffi fafifory. 
There is an officer called judge of the cuftoins, who is 
the colleffor of the king’s cuftoms and revenues, which 
amount to a very confiderable fum. This revenue arifes, 
firft, from the tenth of all the produce of the ifland, be¬ 
longing to the king, by virtue of his office as grand mafter 
of the Order of Chrilt; fecondly, from twenty per cent, 
duties laid on all manufactured goods, and five on all pro- 
vifions imported; thirdly, from ten per cent, charged ora 
all exports; and lallly, on ten per cent, of property-tax. 
The greateft part of this fum is applied towards the fala¬ 
ries of civil and military officers, profeflbrs, See. and for 
the maintenance of public buildings, &c. The duties and 
taxes, however, produce a revenue to the crown of Portu¬ 
gal, of near 90,0001. a-year; and it might be eafily doubled 
by the produce of the ifland, if advantage were taken of 
the excellence of the climate, and the amazing fertility 
of the foil 5 objefts which are utterly negleCted. 
Of all the complicated mercantile queftions, nothing 
is for the mod part equal to that of the money in Madeira. 
From their intercourle with the Englifh Weft Indies, or 
from fome other caufe, fcarcely any thing is feen but Spa- 
11 i fit filver coins; and, by fome unaccountable incidents, 
thefe have got the name of Portuguefe coins. Thus the 
piftreen is called two teftoons, and five of them are called 
a milrea; and, though five piftreens are as exaftly equal 
to a dollar as 5s. are to a crown, yet, the Portuguefe hav¬ 
ing no coin correfponding to dollars, for a long time the 
five piftreens were more valuable than the dollar, which 
laft was hardly confidered current in the ifland. Though 
this laft abfurdity is now done away, yet it has made no 
other difference in the names of their currency, excepting 
that the dollar has now the name of milrea, in common, 
with its reprefentative five piftreens. But the coins in 
Portugal, whole names are thus ufurped by the Spanifli 
pieces, are intrinlicaliy worth nearly 20 per cent, more 
than the latter. Hence, when an ignorant captain fells 
his cargo for fo many thoufand milreas, he ufually finds 
his bills produce him about 20 per cent, lefs than lie cal¬ 
culated upon. The currency and ufe of the dollar are 
gradually remedying this inconvenience. The mode of 
government- 
