FINANCES. The financial conditions of Brazil are not better than those of any other South American country, if indeed they are not in a worse plight. Reckless extravagance or un scrupulous handling of public funds by the po litical parties in power. a too liberal use of the printing-press for turning out paper money whenever the needs of the hour make it impossi ble to obtain money in any other way, and a general disregard of the simplest rules of public finance—all combine to create a financial condi tion verging on bankruptcy. This, too, in a country hardly having its equal in the world for the wealth of natural resources, salubri ous climate. and other conditions which make for prosperity. The first example of extrava gance beyond income and of shiftlessness in management of public finance was given early in the Nineteenth Century by King John VI., who lied with his Court to Brazil after his overthrow in Portugal. Lr the course of time matters became somewhat improved under the monarchy. but the inauguration of the republic brought about a new regime of reek lessness fanned by party fends and political up heavals. It must :II...) be added, in justice to the republic, that the enormous debts piled up as a result of the costly war- e:Irriol on under the monarchy left no small burden for the for mer to However, the expenditures were allowed to increase beyond the revenue from year to year, and the deficits were covered by fre-li loans on new issues of paper money. The degree of extravagant, re:iebed in th•it practice may be seen from the following illustration: The number of persons engaged in the navy in creased from 11,427 in 1890 to 14,286 in 1900, or 25 per cent., while the expenditures increased more than 155 per cent.. being less than 9.0110,,1100 milreis in the former year and over in the latter. Similar figures could be quoted for the other departments, the result for the total budget being an increase of about 40 per cent. in the number of persons employed by the Government and 175 per vent. in the expenditure. In other words, the providing of political offices for the members of the party in power, coupled with unreasonable additions to their salaries and excessive prices paid by the Government for all kinds of supplies. was responsible for the great increase of expenditure; and as the revenue meanwhile continued to fall behind. the national debt rapidly increased. In 19111 the total gold debt was 421,945.449 milreis: in 1897 it was 606.575,000; the paper debt increased in the same period from 503.222.000 to 1.398,403,972 milreis. In 1889 the gold and paper debts were interchangeable at par: in 1897 the rate of ex change rose from 4 to 1. In iS!N the Government found itself unable to meet its obligations. and to
avoid suspension of payment negotiated with the London house of Rothschilds a new funding debt, limited to $50,000.000.
This loan is of great importance for the possi bilities, embodied in its terms, of a permanent improvement in the financial conditions of Bra zil. According to these conditions the Govern ment was to retire an amount of paper money equal to the new debt. A new sinking fund for the ultimate retirement of the bonded debt was rrovided for. This fund, to 1w begun in 1911, is to be formed from yearly deposits each equal to one-half per cent. of the existing debt. The effect of the new provisions is already making itself felt. The total amount of paper money in circulation, which had swollen from 181.000. 000 milreis in 1889 to 702.000,1100 in 1897. was reduced to about 700.000,000 in 1900. The more business-like administration of finances which followed brought about a surplus in 1900 ex ceeding $14,000,000 in United States money. in spite of the retirement of a considerable amount of paper money.
The chief sources of revenue under the new rtIgime are import duties, which furnish one half the total revenue; next in importance are excise, railways. stamps, posts, and telegraphs.
PoecLATiox. Previous to 1872, when the first full census was taken. the estimates were based upon the official returns of 1817 and 1818. In 1850 the population was supposed to be about 7.000.000, and in 1860. 8,000.000. In the follow ing table the figures for 1872 include about 2.50, 000 Wild Indians. The fimires for 1890 are from the census returns of December 31, 1890.
The population of Brazil is the largest of any country in America except the United States. The average density of persons to the square mile is, however. far behind that of some of time Spanish-American countries. Nexico having 17.6, Chile 9.3, and Colombia 7.7. As in nearly all countries having a considerable immigrat him the numbed of males is in excess of females, the respeetive numbers of the last census having been 7.237,932 and 7.095.983. Less than one half of the people are whites; one-third are half-breeds; one-seventh net roes; and less than one-tenth Indians, nearly one-half of whom are practically savages. A considerable proportion of the so-called whites are people of mixed Cau casian, Indian, and negro origin. As shown by the table, several of the larger States of Brazil are almost devoid of population, the bulk of the people living along the coast.
and Poles, of whom about 100,000 came in the years 1890 and 1891. The liberal provisions of the law were not, however, carried out long, and the Government confined itself later on only to granting free passage to the country, employing