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THE WEEKLY CONSTITUTIONALIST.
[From the New York Times.
Mr. Stephens' Speech.
The effort to magnify trifling incidents for an
evil purpose implies a corresponding effort to
hide or to depreciate everything likely to con
vey favorable ideas of Southern feeling and
opinion. Exceptional cases are held up as sam
ples of the whole ; the real doings of the whole
are cither misrepresented or kept altogether
out of sight. This is the course pursued in re
gard to the recent remarkable speech of Mr.
Alex. H. Stephens at Milledgevillc. Newspapers
which boast of their “convictions” with the
whine of the Pharisee, and set themselves up on
all occasions as the special exponents of the
Northern conscience, have carefully ignored the
views propounded by Mr. Stephens, and have
passed over in silence the fact that these views
have received the formal indorsation of the Le
gislature of Georgia.
If any man in the South has a right to ask a
fair hearing touching the lessons of the war or
the duties which the results of the war have
made urgent, it is Mr. Stephens. His election
as Senator we deemed an unwise proceeding,
because likely to form an obstacle to the rep
resentation of the State in Congress. But the
fitness of Stephens to be the exponent, not alone
of the great body of the people of Georgia, but
of the great body of the South generally, is un
deniable. A representative man before the re
bellion, he was eminently such during the re
bellion, and is 6uch still, now the rebellion is
ended. What he says, therefore, is entitled to
careful consideration, as well because of his own
ability and character as because of the relation
he has sustained and yet sustains to that great
majority of the Southern people who joined
the rebellion by reason of State pride, and the
heresy of State rights, rather than of any per
sonal dissatisfaction with the Union or its Gov
ernment.
The circumstances in which Mr. Stephens de
livered his speech add to its significance. It
was not a gratuitous display of oratory, indulg
ed in for the gratification of an obscure village
crowd. Addressed to the members of the Geor
gia Legislature, it was delivered at their request,
with the evident intention of conveying to the
country the conclusions arrived at by the State
of Georgia—the “Empire State” of the South—
whose citizens exercise a controlling influence
upon Southern commerce and opiniofa.
And what are the viows expounded by Mr.
Stephens ? What is their aim ? what their
scope ? what their relation to the great question
which agitates the North and is the ground of
controversy at Washington ? Os the historical
parallels by which he "seeks to exemplify the
disastrous influence of civil war upon popular
liberty, and the superiority of peaceful and con
stitutional effort for the redress of popular
grievances, we will not speak. Their practical
value would have been greater if delivered at
Montgomery in 1861, instead of at Milledgevillc
in 1866. Aside' from these digressions, how
ever, Mr. Stephens talks with a degree of moder
ation and wisdom which we should be glad to
sec imitated in another capital than that of
Georgia. He deprecates sectional prejudice,
and dwells upon the necessity of sectional for
bearance as a preliminary to the restoration of
peace, prosperity and harmony in the land. He
urges the cheerful and unqualified acceptance
of the issues of the war, and the abiding by
them in good faith; adding his conviction that
those whom he addressed, and their constitu
ents, are resolved to discharge the duty thus
devolving upon them. The State-rights doc
trine he discards as unworthy of further no
tice. “The Constitution of the United States,
and the treaties and laws made in pursuance
thereof, are now acknowledged to be the para
mount law in this whole country.” The prac-I
tical lessons deducible from this position he
sets forth plainly and pointedly. Foremost
among these he places the duty of dealing just
ly and kindly with the race emancipated during
the war. In their ignorance he sees a reason
for much charity and good will; in their form
er fidelity a reason for present consideration
and kindness ; in their newly-acquired rights a
reason for adapting the laws of the State to the
altered circumstances of the time.
The new systom, lie tells his hearers, mnst have
a fair and just trial, and to insure this “wise
and humane provisions ” should be made for
the freedmen. “ Ample and full protection
should be secured to them, so that they may
start equal before the law in the possession and
enjoyment of all rights of personal liberty and
property.” Upon this point Mr. Stephens
quotes with entire approval language used on a
late occasion by Henry Ward Beecher, whose
statement of the relations of the two races, and
the duties incumbent upon the whites, he ac
cepts with a candor which strikingly shows the
depth of the change in the Southern heart. Os
the future of the South, Mr. Stephens speaks
with caution, and even doubt. “It is dark and
impenetrable; thick gloom curtains and closes
in the horizon all around us.” His only hope
rests upon the peaceful re-establishment and
maintenance of the National Government, with
the Union restored, and paternal feeling culti
vated alike by North and South. To this end
he counsels a hearty support of President
Johnson as the standard-bearer of Constitution
al principles, and as the statesman whose resto
ration policy reveals a just appreciation of the
wants of the country, and the means by which
its unity and prosperity may be cfl'ectually se
cured.
We submit that utterances like these would
merit attention were their author known to be
in an insignificant minority; for they would in
dicate the existence of a healthy nucleus, which
the Unionists of the North would be bound to
sustain and cultivate. But Mr. Stephens’ posi
tion is widely different. His voice is the voice
of the majority, at least of his own State, as the
action of the Milledgevillc legislators sufficient
ly attest. And it is in harmony with informa
tion received from other Southern States, in
reference to the feeling prevalent there, and the
good faith with which they are for the most
part prepared to accept the issues forced upon
them by the war. In this regard,us Mr. Beecher
has well said, the Southern people arc all we
could reasonably expect them to be. Were
their loyalty mere pretensions, we should sus
pect them of hypocrisy. Their reticence is
evidence of self-respect; and we are disposed
to attach infinitely greater weight to the pro
fessed adhesion of such a people than we should
be were they more obsequious. There are bla
tant loyalists in the North whose attachment to
the Constitution and the Union is of a more
questionable kind than that of the converted ex
offleial of the rebel Confederacy.
Upon one point, at least, we of the North may
profitably ponder and digest the words of Mr.
Stephens. Differ as we may about particular
measures proposed for the South, the one great
duty which rests upon all is the duty of forbear
ance toward the Southern people. If they fail
just now to meet our expectations in every
thing, let ns make allowance for the peculiari
ties of their position, and invite their further
action by a generous acknowledgment of what
they are already prepared to do. The Republic
cannot endure except upon the basiß of a com
munity of interest and feeling, and we shall best
promote both by interpreting in a liberal spirit
overtures like these from Georgia.
Congressional Anecdote. —lt is related of
a Congressman who made a speech in the
House a few days ago, that he was so mad on
finding it cut down to about a dozen lines in the
telegraphic dispatches, that he wrote to the edi
tor of a New York paper, inclosing a copy of
his speech in the Globe, and inquiring whether
he wouldn’t do him the justice and his readers
the favor of publishing his “argument” entire.
In reply, he received a note from the advertis
ing clerk, informing him that hie speech would
make so many squares, which, at so much a
square, would come to so much, actually one
thousand five hundred dollars. The M. C.
thinks the editor is a wretch, and the press of
the country awfully demoralized.
Tobacco—lmportant Manufacturers and
Shippers.
The following is important to manufacturers
oftobacco:
Treasury Department, )
Office Internal Revenue, %
Washington, Feb. 26,1866. )
By the order of the Secretary of the Treasu
ry, dated February 2, 1866, (Special No. 31,) it
is provided that on and after March 1, 1866, all
Southern manufactures in the possession of the
manufacturer shall be held subject to the pres
ent rates of duty—no exception being made in
any case on account of the date qf manufac
ture.
The reasons assigned for this order are, that
abundant time has been given manufacturers to
dispose of the goods on hand at the time of the
establishment of collection districts, and that
the privileges granted under the circular of
September 14, 1865—intended for the relief of
manufacturers from duties which, under the
circumstances, might bear hardly upon them—
were nevertheless inconsistent with the general
provisions of the law, adverse to the interests
of manufacturers who are paying the current
rates of duty, and susceptible of very great
abuse. The effect of this order is to place all
manufactures and productions which were in
the possession of the manufacturer or producer
on the Ist of March, 1866, on whieh no duty, or
the duty to which they were held liable under
the circulars of June 21 and September 14,
1865, on the same footing as like manufactures
and products were placed by the act of June
30,1864, and to make them liable to the current
rates of duty when sold, or consumed, or used,
or removed from the place of manufacture.
1. Tobacco owned by the manufacturer on the
first day of March, 1866, and not in bond, al
though inspected, branded and a tax having been
paid thereon before the first day of March, 1866,
will not be exempt from additional tax under
the order of February 2d.
2. Tobacco which has been shipped by the
manufacturer in the Statos lately in insurrection,
in bond, will not be held liable to any additional
duty to that conditioned in the transportation
bond.
S. Tobacco in the hands of a purchaser, (the
tax to which it was liable either within or with
out the “insurrectionary States” having been
paid,) and bearing the proper inspection Sharks,
will not be held liable to any additional tax after
the first of March.
4. Tobacco in the hands of a purchaser within
the “insurrectionary States,” and made prior
to the establishment of a collection district, and
purchased prior to March Ist, 1866, will not be
held liable to tax unless transported beyond the
limits of such State.
5. Tobacco owned by a purchaser and shipped
In bond will not, after the first of March, be held
liable to any additional tax to that conditioned
in the transportation bond. In this respect the
manufacturer and the purchaser, having shipped
tobacco in bond, will be regarded alike, and sub
ject to pay only the duty named in the bond.
6. Parties who hold tobacco which they man
ufactured themselves are to be regarded as the
manufacturers, though they may not now be
engaged in the business of manufacturing.
7. Tobacco in the hands of a manufacturer,
made prior to the establishment of a collection
district, or subsequent thereto, must, before the
same is used or removed for consumption, be
inspected and marked with the date of the in
spection and the name of the inspector. When
such tobacco is sold, consumed or removed for
consumption or sale, or removed from the place
of manufacture, (unless removed to a bonded
warehouse or shipped in bond), the tax accrues
thereon, and on and after the first day of March,
1866, the tax on all such tobacco will be assess
ed and collected according to the rates of duty
imposed by the excise law now in force, or
which may hereafter be in force, at the time of
sale, removal, &c.
8. The same rules substantially apply to all
other manufacturers and products, except cot
ton and spirits of turpentine, as are herein given
concerning the 'taxation of tobacco
E. A. Hollins, Comm issioner.
Circular from the Comptroller of the
Currency.
The Comptroller of the currency has issued
the following circular, upon a subject of great
public interest—namely, that of mutilated Na
tional bank notes —in which he very correctly
maintains that banks arc bound to redeem all
their notes in legal tenders on presentation, and
that they are not justified in making deductions
for parts of mutilated notes missing; mutilated
notes should, therefore, be redeemed in full or
not at all, and the redemption of such should not
be refused unless there is reason to believe that
tho multilation was made for fraudulent pur
poses :
Trbasurt Department, }
Office Comptroller of the Currency, >
Washington, D. C., Feb. 15,1866. J
An impression seems to prevail in the public
mind that tho same rigid results and regulations
prescribed by the Treasurer of the United States
for the redemption of mutilated Treasury and
United States notes are applicable to the redemp
tion of mutilated bank notes. This is a mistake
—although a circular issued to National banks
from this office, containing suggestions on this
subject, recognized the propriety in some in
stances of redeeming mutilated notes at less than
their face value —the intention was to leave the
matter mainly to the discretion of the officers of
the banks.
In order, however, to make the matter per
fectly clear, and to obviate for the future all
necessity for explanatory letters, I now propose
briefly to state that experience has demonstrated
the inexpediency, if not the illegality, of allow
ing fractional violations of mutilated notes;
besides which, it confuses and complicates our
accounts to such a degree as to render the plan
impracticable. A bank is bound to redeem its
notes on demand. The fact that a portion of
one of its promissory notes is torn off, or miss
ing,"'does not cancel this obligation, so long as
there is no reason to believe that the missing
portions of the note can or will be used to de
fraud. Section fifty-eight of the Currency Act
will always justify an inquiry as to the cause or
manner of mutilation. If the explanation is
satisfactory, the note should be redeemed in
full; but if the inquiry should lead to the belief
that the fraud was intended, the bank would be
justified in refusing to redeem it. Nothing
would justify a deduction from the face value
of a note except a fraudulent intent, and evi
dence of a fraudulent intent would justify any
bank in refusing to redeem the note ; therefore,
the note should be redeemed in full or not at all.
The full face value will be allowed for all muti
lated notes returned to this office when such
value was allowed by the bank which redeemed
them. The officers of the banks are the only
competent judges as to the propriety or neces
sity of the case, and all questions arising upon
mutilated notes presented for redemption are
left to their judgment and discretion.
Freeman Clark,
Comptroller of the Currency.
Enormous Frauds. —The Times' correspond
ent asserts that if a fearless committee were ap
pointed to investigate swindles on the part of
Government officers at the South, astounding
discoveries would be made. Ge says a well
known Kentuckian, now in the employ of the
Treasury Department in a Southern State, open
ly stated in his hearing that he had been forced
to pay 470,000 to a provost marshal before he
could get a steamboat load of cotton released
from his clutches, although he had permits
from the late Secretary of the Treasury and
President Lincoln. He not only offered to ap
pearand make oath to. the fact, but to contri
bute several thousand dollars towards the ex l
penses of a commission, if the President would
send one there to investigate. —Newark (N. J.)
Journal.
Interesting Letter from Brazil American
Immigration to Brazil.
THE WHOLE HISTOUT IN ONE CHAPTER.
[Rio Janeiro Correspondence. J
Rio Janeiro, Jan. 2d, 1866.
The third, as yet arrived, of the United States
and Brazil Mail Steamship Line of steamers,
the South America, sails for New York to-day.
As the party whose adventures are chiefly my
theme returns to the States in the prosecution
of his mission by this steamer, and as I have
been with him during the whole course of his
travels, and “ know the points” which he pro
poses to publish in extenso in a series of letters
and his forth-eoming book, I have concluded,
without infringing upon his programme, to
give you, in one chapter, a terse compendium
of notes I have kept of American immigration
to Brazil, its rise and progress.
The Anglo-Saxon race, like certain birds we
wot of, are migratory in their character. They
are restless, never contented, and never keep
still. “ Push ahead, keep moving,” soems to be
their motto, and they practically exemplify it.
Previous to the late civil war in the Btates
large numbers of well to do Southern planters
and efficient yet adventurous artisans in the
Southern States premeditated a pioneer visit if
not positive emigration to and settlement in
Brazil. The collapse of the “ so-called” Con
federacy intensified this feeling, elicited much
correspondence, and the hundreds swelled to
thousands, and associations of immigrants to
Brazil were formed, with fixed rules ofguidancc,
as if by magic, in each and every Stato of the
South. And the ball was set rolling, and it has
continued to roll and still rolls significantly and
determinedly.
It was in June last (1865) that General Wm.
Wallace W. Wood, of Mississippi, but longtime
resident of New Orleans, was appointed the
chief agent of associations of immigrants of four
counties in Mississippi. In New Orleans he
became the agent of another association ; of a
third from the Caroline county district of Vir
ginia ; of a fourth in New York of northern and
central Mississippians, and, by reason of an ac.
cident to and the return of the vessel (the Mon
tana) on which he first started out in August
last, of nineteen other associations, the agents
of whom all, without exception, confided their
business to his charge. Gen. Wood is a middle
aged man, a lawyer and editor, a fluent writer,
forcible speaker, popular in his manners and
prompt in the dispatch of business. His arri
val in Rio had been anticipated, and his recep
tion was most enthusiastic. No passport was
asked of him —-he had none—ana his baggage
was permitted to be taken to his hotel without
the surveillance of the customs. The morning
after the arrival the metropolitan papers were
flaming with kindest notices and full of cordial
welcomes. That day was one of decided sensa
tion. A victory had just been achieved over the
Paraguayans, and a regular commissioner of a
large American immigration, with a party of ex
plorers had arrived. The church bells rang
merrily all over the city, the streets were filled
with processions, bands of music were playing
everywhere, and sky-rockets were ascending
and bursting every second in broad daylight,
during the entire day, and at night the city was
illuminated. An hour before sunset Rua da De
reita, the main street in the city, on which the
Exchange Hotel, where we had taken rooms,
was located, began filling for the distance of
three blocks or squares in front of the hotel
with a dense mass of humanity and a band of
music, while the windows, balconies and house
tops of the buildings in the vicinity were
thronged with women and children, waving
handkerchiefs and miniature flags of Brazil and
the States. In response to loud and repeated
“ vivas for General Wood,” that gentleman ap
peared in one of the balconies of the hotel,
where, in his representative character, he was
welcomed with deafening shouts, the band play
ing “ Dixie.” An address in Portuguese, signed
by numerous merchants, bankers, etc., was then
read by one of the citizens to immense applause,
at the conclusion of which the band played the
National Hymn of Brazil, when every head was
uncovered and profound silence ensued during
the performance. The chief agent then respond
ed in English, his remarks, understood by some,
being received by all with a species of wild de
light. The next day all the papers contained
tbe address, signatures and speech.
Within three days from this demonstration
General Wood and party had visited the various
ministers of State, and been called on in return
by them, the foreign ministers, etc., and had
perfected all his arrangements for an extensive
tour into the interior. He demanded that emi
grants should be made citizens immediately .on
their arrival on simply taking the oath of alle
giance, freedom of press and religious worship,
with privilege to erect temples for the latter af
ter the custom of our people in the States ; re
cognition of the rules and regulations adopted
by the emigrants for their internal government,
privilege to create schools, academies and col
leges under their own rules ; charters, with all
privileges, for their villages, towns and cities ;
free imports for all needed by the emigrants for
five years, etc. All thjs was agreed to, though
much requires legislative enactment, as not
being in conformity with existing laws.
Rio Janeiro is a second Lisbon in nppearanee.
There are no brick houses, no chimneys, no
fire-places. The houses are built mostly of mud
or adobe, or of small pieces of stone ; are prin
cipally of a yellow ochre color, and all have red
tile roofs. There are a few four-story houses,
but the mass of the buildings are one or two
stories high ; the streets are notedly narrow,
with the gutter or drain in the centre, and the
side-walks are on a level with the street, aver
aging three feet in width, and are so often used
as the streets by vehicles in passing, to the great
annoyance and detriment, not to say danger, of
foot passengers. Slaves wear no shoes and
very little clothing, bear all burdens on their
heads, and move at a fox trot. Drays and (tarts
are seldom used ; hacks and tilburies are in
abundance. The streets are paved with round
stones. The churches are innumerable, and
bells are ringing all the time. Beggars are
countless, and Saturday is a licensed day with
them ; one or two cents is the usual mite given
them. Rio is ever lively and seemingly full of
business ; located in valleys, surrounded by
mountains, the valley encircling some and wind
ing in and around other mountains ; the days
are hot and the nights cool, with a pulmonary
vapor bath ascending daily. Light flannels
should always be worn here, and are preven
tives of colds, etc. ; black cloth dress coats and
pants, black vests, black or white cravats, black
tiles or stove-pipe hats and light-clorored kid
gloves, constitute the dress suit, and dress is a
feature of the city. The people are remarkably
friendly and sociable, and have a warm affection
for Americans, whom they regard as models
of enterprise, science, skill and progressive
ness.
With letters of introduction to the dignitaries
and prominent men of the provinces of San
Paulo, Parana, Rio grande dn Sud and San
Catharina; furnished with an engineer, who was
also guide and interpreter, and as the guests of
the empire, the general's party, consisting of
himself as chief, a surgeon, physician and
chemist, a planter, an architect and builder and
a machinist, left Rio on a Brazilian steamer on
the 11th of October and landed next morning at
Santos, the seaport of Ban Paulo. There are
two methods of reaching thfi interior from this
point, one by railroad the other by diligences.
The former is an Enelish enterprise, and passes
over a serra or mountain on which there are
four lifts (a stationed engine at each) of one
mile and a quarter distance each, or five miles
up the mountain, at a grade of one foot in nine
feet. The foot of this mountain is fifteen miles
from Santos, and the whole distance to the city
of San Paulo, the present terminus of the rail
road, is forty-two miles. The company, how
ever, have a charter through the entire province
and into Parana. It is a stupendous enterprise,
but the Brazilian Government is liberal, and the
company, after years of labor and the support
of thousands, will pocket its clear millions. -
1 What arc our Yankee friends doing? What
are the Americans doing while John Bull is
thus reaping harvests in this new world *
We took the railroad—guests of the company
—and in due time reached San Paulo city, where
there was another ovation, more addresses,
speeches and distinguished visits, and after a
delay of three days we were off again, with ser
vants and muleteers, furnished us gratuitously
by the provincial government, our cavalcade
consisting of eleven men and seventeen mules.
From this point out our expenses were paid by
the provincial government, and we found our
arrival at each point heralded in advance, and
processions and cavalcades of the most promi
nent citizens, including the officials, with bands
of music, met us a league or so before reaching
each village, town or city, and on our arrival
the entire population turned out to see us.—
Everything was free, and tables groaning with
edibles and potables, substantials and delicacies,
met us at every turn and pause. In America
friends shake hands ; in Brazil they embrace, till
heart beats against heart. Balls and parties and
serenades were our nightly accompaniment, and
whether in town or country, it was the one
great, grand, unvarying scene of life, love and
seductive friendship. Thus, with frequent re
lays of animals forced upon us by zealous and
most hospitable Brazilians, we passed lVom San
Paulo westward, inclining porth, through
Jundiahy, Campinas, Lameiro, Ibicaba, Rio
Claro, Arraraquara, Brotas, Jahn and Sape, to
and beyond the Rio Tiote, between the Rios
Jacqucrc Graude and Jacquere Pequena, over
cainpos (rolling prairies,) valleys, mountains
and table lands, through a country teeming with
oranges, pine apples and bananas, that seemed
indigenous growths, unattended to, and that
filled the air for miles around with their rich
aroma, and whose delicious fruit melted in your
mouth. The country Is abundantly irrigated
with mountain springs that, uniting, form creeks
and small rivers, and permeate everywhere,
are cool and refreshing.
The fazendas, or plantations, are told off in
leagues. A man goes on the top off a moun
tain, stretches his hand out, wheels abound, and
says, this is my estate, or fazenda. lie esti
mates it at so many leagues, and it is registered,
never surveyed. The owner of this property is
called fazendeiro. On many of these planta
tions we find coffee, sugar, cotton, tobacco,
corn, rice, beans, manioca, and all growing to
gether in one field. The coffee trees, from the
number on one plantation of ten thousand to
one million, are planted from twelve to sixteen
feet apart, and between these may be seen cot
ton, a recent introduction and quite primitive,
corn, beans, and manioca, all growing luxu
riantly, while near by is the sugar plantation,
and in the bottoms the rice. No ploughs arc
used in planting. Our party saw but three
ploughs in all the route through the province.
With sharp pointed sticks or stakes, the size of
»man’s arm, holes are made in the ground,
the seed thrown in, the holes filled up with the
earth shoved in by the foot, germination en
sues, and, with a little hoeing, when the grass
interferes—and that but once a seosom—the
harvest is reaped. Coffee yields a harvest three
years after planting, and the same trees yield
from eighteen to twenty years. The sugar
cane, with replanting, produces crops for three
years, the cane simply being cut off Cotton
grows to an enormous height, and, like the
cane, needs no jeplanting for several years.—
The best lands are of a dark red color, and are
mountain or table lands. The valleys are sec
ond rate, and are mostly black earth. The
campos are chiefly sandy, but are fine grazing
grounds, and, with the aid of a plough, would,
yield good cotton and the best of corn. But
the campos are not cultivated by the Brazilian,
though their cites are nearly all built In them;
and the gardens in these, unmanured, produce
vegetables and fruit, with scarcely any cultiva
tion, that are not to be surpassed anywhere.—
The clime of Lan Paulo is the healtiest In the
empire, and its soil is capable of producing, in
grea excellence, all articles hereinbefore men
tioned, and—wheat.
It is the peculiarity of the Government or
Empire that the front yards or lots of houses,
dwellings, etc., are used for horse, mule and
cow lots, the gardens, shrubbery, etc., being in
the rear, and the entrances at the sides. Even
the Emperor’s palace, lit San Cristovao, Rio Ja
neiro, with its three story pannclled front and
its two story side, has its entrance on the side.
The horses of Brazil are small and scraggy,
the mules small, sleek and lively ; the cattle ele
phantine, with huge, wide-spreading horns, and
the vehicles six ages behind the times, copied
from the era of the Bucolics of Virgil. Trans
portation from the interior, of produce, freight,
etc., is on pack mules ; in loads of two hundred
pounds or less. The provinces below San Paulo
are chiefly pastoral, for graziers and stock
breeders. Those further north, on the sea
board, produce cotton, corn, tobacco and fruits.
In the interior —four-fifths of which is unex
plored—mining, stock raising, etc., seem to be
the special employment of the people. “J’ati
encia” is par excellence the Brazilian motto, and
much time is required in'which to do a very little.
The sides of their intent need pricking, and the
Anglo-Saxon is destined to da it.
The scenery of Brazil is both beautiful and
grand, being alternate mountains, valleys and
rolling prairies, with water courses innumera
ble, a vast expanse of coffee fields, huge herds
of cattle, eternal verdure, a warm but oven cli
mate, and fruit meeting the eye at every turn.—
But this is scenery, climate country and all. 8o
let it be.
On our return to Rio we found the Emperor,
Don Pedro 11, who was absent when wc landed
in the empire, and had just returned from the
wars. He is immensely popular, and deserved
ly so. We had an interview with him of near
ly an hour’s duration, and he plied Gen. Wood
with question after question, seemed loth to
part with him, and invited us to be sure and
mil again. He shows age, though but forty,
and is profoundly a statesman. The sights in
the metropolis incident to the Emperor’s re
turn, were confined principally to the churches (
and theatres, where crowds followed liis Ma
jesty.
The Brazilian Government has promised Gen.
Wood, in his representative character, Govern-1
ment lands in the localities he lias selected at
the minimum Government rate of twenty-two
cents an acre, payrble in five years; good dirt
roads of twenty feet width to the points of lo
cation from the nearest ports or railroads; pro
visions and other assistance towards sustenance
and progress of emigrants until they can be
established ; transportation to their settlements;
citizenship on taking the oath of allegiance;
one vcsssel for every two furnished them, and
other privileges enumerated in the early part of
this chapter.
The liberality and progressivencss ofj the Im
perial Government "are exemplified by the en
couragement given to railroad projectors and to
other enterprises and In the rapid strides being
made in emulation of the United States. The
constitution of Brazil is its fundamental law
sacredly observed, and republicanism in its de
tail is its pervading element. There is more
freedom, probably, in Brazil than in any other
government in the world. It is essentially a
inonarchial government with republican insti
tutions.
Slavery will probably last twenty years longer
in Brazil. It is gradually and surely disappear
ing. No slaves,"none of the African race, can
be admitted into the empire, and every year
hundreds are manumitted. Slaves do not wear
shoes. The armies of the empire arc a hetero
geneous mass of all colors and classes. Mar
ried men are exempt from military duty ; so are
lawyers.
We barn from Washington that on the ques
tion of extending the time for withdrawing
bonded goods from stores and warehouses, —
“ Mr. Sprague spoke against the bill, as cal
culated to injurioosly-Sflect home manufactures,
by enabling importers to sell goods cheaper
than they could be manufactured in this coun
try.”,
Comment is unnecessary, save to say that
Sprague had made a fortune of from five to ten
millions exclusively from manufacturing.
Letter from Mr. Louis Schade to Mr. Joka
W. Forney.
Washington, Feb. 28,1866.
John IF. Forney, Esq., Editor of the Chronicle :
Sir : Your paper of to-day reports a speech
of yours, made last night at a serenade by a ne
gro band who came to honor you for your stead
fast and bitter opposition against Presideat
Johnson and the Constitution and the Union.—
In it you use the following language:
“Andrew Johnson, of Tennessee, receiving
and being introduced to the ragged battalions of
the returned traitors by the counsel and apolo
gists of the assassins of Abraham Lincoln and
the miserable wretch, Wirz, who was executed
a few months ago."
As I have been the counsel of Captain Wire
and as no counsel can ever be held responsible
for the alleged or real crimes of his clients, and
as (even in Russia and other despotic countries)
every accused has the right of defense, you have
in those words not only attacked one of the car
dinal principles of our institutions, but unmanly
and unworthily tried to poison and incite the
public opinion against one who, never having
done you any harm, has, on the contrary, for the
last twelve years been on friendly terms with
you. And in the same speech, immediately af
terwards, you proclaim yourself a gentleman,
talk of elegance of manners, decency of lan
guage, and eminent sobriety of deportment!
But you did not always think so. When, at
the beginning of the Wirz case, yonr paper pub
lished an abusive article against me for my par
ticipation in that trial, you had still feelingE of
honor left enough to address the following let
ter to me, and for which, at the time, I was verv
thankful: '
“Washington, August3l, 1865.
My Dear Sir : Yours of the 30tli instant
roached me yesterday. I would state, in reply,
that I was intensely mortified when I saw the
translation from tho German paper copied in
the Chronicle , and while I was writing you a
note, my cousin, Mr. D. C. Forney, called upon
me to express his own regrets. I have since
conferred with him on the. matter, and will be
greatly obliged if you will call upon him, when,
I have no doubt, a satisfactory explanation will
take place.
“ Reciprocating your kind feelings, I remain
yours, truly,
r c, w “J. W. Kornev.
“ Louis ScnADE, Esq.”
Then you were “intensely mortified” that
your paper published something which you now
proclaim in your public speeches I Then yoa
did not believe it to be a contaminating crime
for an attorney to defend an unfortunate man,
an unfriended foreigner, charged with the most
terrible crimes.
But, alas! since you havo received your re
cent degree of D. D. everything seems to be up
side down with you. What you considered, a
few months ago, to be improper and unworthy
of yourself, is now eagerly sought by you. A
kind Os mania to get rid as quick as you can «f
your friends seems to have taken hold of you.
Therefore, you daily insult the citizens of this
District, many of whom were associates in your
better days, applying all kinds of choice epithets
from your “Gentlemen’s" vocabulary. Really
a sorrowful spectacle !
After enjoying in turn for a long time the
confidence and patronage of Franklin Pierce
and James Buchanan, you turned against them
in the most abusive and ungrateful manner
possible. The worst act of Buchanan’s Admin
istration was the letter he sent to the l'ennsyl
sylvania Legislature, urging your election to
the United States Senate. You did not succeed,
and therefore abused him. Now you have tried
the same game with Andrew Johnson, but, un
like his predecessors, he has not submitted to
it, and by the mere pronouncing of two letters,
winged you foeever. Hinc ilUe lachrim.ee. ! You
now whine and cry, and as nobody else will
listen to you, you have to seek among the ne
groes your associates and friends. But I warn
the latter to take good care lest you should
treat and betray them as you have done your
white friends. Fickle as you are, I fear that
love and friendship will not last very long.
You assdrt that I “ introduced the President
to the ragged battalions, ” (meaning our most
respectable citizens.) As you were probably
not present on that, for you, ever memorable
and Interesting occasion, I will merely, and
with all politeness, inform yoo that I havo not
the honor of “ introducing the President to the
ragged battalions, ” and though present, was
not within two hundred yards of him, when he
gave you a life membership in tho groat order
of I). D., something which I could not help o«
account of the immense number of the “ rag
ged battalions. ”
But even if I had had the great honor, I am
sure that Andrew Johnson would not have boon
ashamed of it, not only because he has known me
for years as a faithful friend, but also because
he docs not think it beneath his dignity to be.
kind to every one who, no matter how humble
in life, approaches him with respect and sincere
friendship.
You will Captain Wirz a miserable wretch.—
Whatever may have been his faults—and ho is
dead now—he had one virtue which certain per
sons do not seem to value—he was true and
faithful to his friends. Two bout's before his
execution life was offered to him if he would
implicate others, but lie spurned the Idea of be
coming a liar and a traitor, and died. Would
you have done the same ?
As I know you to be well versed in tho Penn
sylvania Dutch jargon, I conclude with tho fol
lowing old and quaint saying of “ AusscM-ag ist
verboten aber Wiederschlaa niche', " and remain,
most respectfully, your obedient servant,
LOUIS SCI! ADR.
A Want of Dignity.
It is strange how some people’s ideas of dig
nity have changed within a short time. The
Amalgamationists declare that Mr. Johnson’s
speech is lacking in dignity, and that, too, after
the four years of low wit and stale buffoonery
which the country has endured. Mr. Johnson's
speech was a plain, practical talk to the people,
and as such will be responded to. It is very
evident that the way Mr. Johnson has of deal:
ing with public questions is just adapted to the
requirements of the impudent and bullying
faction lie has to deal with. He has cowed them
already. . He sent a bombshell into their camp
that perfectly amazed them, and almost froze
them stiff with horror. “Why, the President
was terribly violent,” says one of Sumner’*
lackey letter writers, “and with an excited
crowd around him, who had been yelling all
day that ‘that stable on the hill onght to be
cleaned outl’ '{meaning the Capitol,) there to no
telling what may happen.”
Ah, yc cowardly, craven conspirators ! Tour
knees begin to shake, do they ? Well they
may, for depend upon it, sooner or later your
hypocrisy, your machinations and your treason
will he laid bare to the indignant gaze of every
American. You pretend to have been contend
ing for the Union. You know and feel it to a
falsehood, for under the cloak of that preteue
you have been trying to carry out the most gi
gantic revolution that ever befell any country.
And now, when the prospect is before youjthat
you will he balked In the completion or this
wicked design, you dare not roar and ravo a* It
has been your wont to do, but you put on an
air of injured innocence, and talk of a want of
dignity because the same epithets are applied
to you, that you have buried with such unspar
ing profuseness upon every person toho has
differed witli you for the past five years. Very
well. You must grin and bear it. You have,
by resisting the rc-adinission of the Southern
States, placed yourselves in the attitude of dis
unionists, and no amount of subterfuge wifi
blind the eyes of the people to your present po
sition. You are rapidly getting back R> your
normal relations in American society. Peace
has stripped the lion’s skin from your carcass,
and you stand forth the same braying traitors
and disunionists you have always been. We
soon expect to hear Fancuil Hall resound with
| your treason as of old. Query—Will Massa
chusetts secede ?—Day Hook.