Of all these stones, the diamonds alone are contra band : they belong to the undertakers, who are obliged to give an exact account of the diamonds found, and to place them in the hands of the intendant arpointed by the king for this purpose, who deposits them im mediately in a casket encircled with iron, and shut with three locks. He has one of the keys, the viceroy another, and the assayer of the royal treasury the third. This casket is enclosed in a second, sealed by the three persons above-mentioned, and which contains the three keys of the first. The viceroy has not the power of visiting its contents. He only consigns the whole to a third strong coffer, which he sends to Lisbon, after hav ing set his seal on the lock. They are opened in the presence of the king who chooses what diamonds he pleases, and pays the price to the undertakers at the rate fixed by their agreement.
The undertakers pay to his most faithful majesty, the value of a piastre, Spanish money, each day, for every slave employed in searching for diamonds ; and the number of these slaves may amount to eight hun dred. Of all kinds of contraband trade, that of dia monds is the most severely punished. If the offender be poor, it costs him his life ; if he has wealth sufficient to satisfy the law, besides the confiscation of the dia monds, he is condemned to pay twice their value, to one year's imprisonment, and is afterwards banished for life to the coast of Africa. Notwithstanding this seve rity, there is a great contraband of diamonds, even the most beautiful ; the hope and ease of concealing them being increased by the small size of the treasure.
The gold drawn from the mines cannot be carried to Rio Janeiro, without being first brought to the smelt ing houses established in each district, where the right of the crown is received. What results to private per sons is remitted in bars, with their weight, number, and the royal arms. All this gold has been assayed by a person appointed for this purpose, and on each bar is imprinted the standard of the gold ; so that afterwards in the coinage the operation necessary to estimate their due standard may be easily performed.
These bars belonging to individuals are registered in the factory of La Praybuna, thirty leagues from Rio Ja neiro In this station are a captain, lieutenant, and fif ty men: here is paid the right of fifths ; and besides a toll of a real and a half per head on men, cattle, and beasts of burden. Half of the product of this duly be longs to the king, and the other half is divided between the detachment according to rank. As it is impossible
to return from the mines without passing by this office, all persons are there stopped, and searched with the the greatest severity.
Individuals are afterwards obliged to carry all the gold in bars, which belongs to them, to the mint of Rio Janeiro, where the value is given in coin, commonly in half doubloons, each worth eight Spanish dollars. Upon each of these half doubloons the king gains a dollar, by the alloy and the right of coinage. The mint of Rio Janeiro is one of the most beautiful which exists ; it is furnished with every convenience to work with the greatest celerity. As the gold arrives from the mines at the same time that the fleets arrive from Portugal, it is necessary to accelerate the work of the mint, and the coinage proceeds with surprising quickness.
The arrival of these fleets renders the commerce of Rio Janeiro very flourishing, but chiefly that of the Lisbon fleet. That of Porto is only ladeo with wines, brandy, vinegars, provisions, and coarse cloths, manu factured in that city or its environs. Soon after the arrival of the fleets, all the merchandise brought is ta ken to the custom house, where it pays ten per cent. to the king. It is to be observed, that at present the com munication of the colony of St Sacramento with Buenos Ayres being severely prohibited, these rights must ex perience a considerable diminution. Almost all the most precious articles were sent from Rio Janeiro to the colony of Sacramento, whence they were smuggled to Buenos Ayres into Chili and Peru; and this fraudu lent commerce was worth every year to the Portuguese more than a million and a half of dollars. In a word, the mines of Brasil produce nO silver ; all that the Por tuguese possess is acquired by this contraband trade. The negro trade was also an immense object to them. It is impossible to compute the loss occasioned by the almost entire suppression of this branch of contraband trade. It occupied alone at the least thirty vessels in the coasting trade from Brazil to La Plata.
Besides the ancient right of ten per cent. paid to the royal custom-house, there is another of two and a half p,r cent. imposed under the title of free gift, since the disaster at Lisbon in 1755. It is paid immediately on leaving the custom-house, whereas a delay of six months is granted for the tenth, on giving good security.