CORNELL 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 The Hull Library 
 
 I 
 
 CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 
 
 Gift of 
 
 Herbert Fisk Johnson '22 
 
THE 
 
 PAEAGUASSU STEAM TEAM-EOAD, 
 
 IN thje: 
 
 IProHittt of ^n\h, 
 EMPIRE OF BEAZIL: 
 
 SHOWING 
 THE ACTUAL TRAl'IIC TO AND FROM THE DIAMOND MINES, WITH THE 
 
 CITY or iuhia; the certain increase or such traffic through 
 
 IMPROVED MEANS OP COMMUNICATION, WHICH WIW. RENDER ACCESSIBLE 
 THE GREAT MINERAL WEALTH NOW UNEXPLORED, AS WELL AS THE 
 EXTENSIVE COTTON FIELDS AND SALTPETRE DEPOSITS OP THE INTERIOR 
 OF THAT province; THUS ENSURING ABUNDANT SUPPLIES OF THOSE 
 IMPORTANT STAPLES POR,#IK NATIONAL INDUSTRIES, AND INCRBASING 
 OUR EXPORTS OP MANUFA^*i$RED GOODS TO BAHIA AND THE INTERIOR 
 OF BRAZIL. 
 
 JOHN MORGAN, Esq. 
 
 A THIETY-FIVE YEARS' RESIDENT IN BRAZIL.) 
 
 With a Map of the Province of Bahia, 
 
 LONDON: , 
 SMITH, ELDER & Co., 65, CORNHILL, E.G. 
 1866. 
 
Htccanica 
 
 jfmnl^l^uir 
 
Cornell University 
 Library 
 
 The original of tiiis book is in 
 tine Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924021097989 
 

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THE 
 
 PAEAGUASSU STEAM TEAI-EOAD, 
 
 Iro&inu of §a^ia, 
 EMPIEE OF BRAZIL: 
 
 THE ACTl'AL TRAFFIC TO AND PEOM THE DIAMOND MINES, WITH THE 
 CITY OP BAHIA; the CERTAIN INCREASE OF SUCH TRAFFIC THROUGH 
 IMPROVED MEANS OF COMMUNICATION, WHICH WILL RENDER ACCESSIBLE 
 THE GREAT MINERAL WEALTH NOW UNEXPLORED, AS WELL AS THE 
 EXTENSIVE COTTON FIELDS AND SALTPETRE DEPOSITS OF THE INTERIOR 
 OF THAT PROVINCE ; THUS ENSURING ABUNDANT SUPPLIES OP THOSE 
 IMPORTANT STAPLES FOR OUR NATIONAL INDUSTRIES, AND INCREASING 
 OUR EXPORTS OP MANUFACTURED GOODS TO BAHIA AND THE INTERIOR 
 OF BRAZIL. 
 
 JOHN MORGAN, Esq. 
 
 (A THIKTY-FIVE YEAKS' RESIDENT IN BRAZIL.) 
 
 With a Map of the Province of Bahia. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 SMITH, ELDER & Co., 65, CORNHILL, E.G. 
 
 1866. 
 
CHAPTER 11. 
 
 A few observations on the concession of the proposed Ime, 
 with the statistical returns of its actual traffic, will suffice to 
 justify the opinion held in the province of Bahia on that 
 important subject, and no doubt will convince the most 
 sceptical that of the four heavy railways at present in 
 existence in Brazil, none possesses a surer basis and guarantee 
 for a prosperous future, than the proposed Paraguassu 
 Tram-road, 
 
 The imperial concession is for ninety years, counting from 
 the date of the completion of the Company's works. The 
 line commences at the city of Cachoeira, to end at the 
 diamond mines, a distance of about 180 miles; with the 
 right of prolongation to the banks of the river St. Francisco, 
 and the steam navigation of that river by the Company's 
 boats, independently of any other resolution that may be 
 arrived at in future by the Brazilian Government. 
 
 Should the line not be ransomed after thirty years' exist- 
 ence, or at any after period, as well as the great bridge that 
 is to unite the city of Cachoeira, with its suburb of St. FeHx, 
 the Company will retain ad perpetuam its property, and the 
 right of working it as usual, although the exclusive privilege 
 wUl cease after the expiration of ninety years. 
 ' Should however the government determine to ransom the 
 line and the bridge of Cachoeira, it will pay the Company 
 in Brazilian Stock of 6 per cent, an equivalent capital that 
 shall give the shareholders a revenue equal to the medium 
 amount calculated on the last three years' dividends divided 
 
 amongst the shareholders.* 
 
 * The right of Government to ransom the line can only take place after 
 thirty years' existence of the Company. 
 
The government grants the Company a special tax on all 
 and everything that passes over the bridge of Cachoeira, 
 independent of the traffic dues recoverable on the tram-road. 
 
 The government cannot at any period impose tax or duty 
 on the capital, materials, rolling stock, revenue, &c., of the 
 Company, beyond that which is at present levied or may be 
 levied in future on the lines subventioned by government. 
 
 The Company is at liberty to fix its own gauge for the 
 tram-road, and to decide the amount and quantity of its 
 rolling stock, so long as the public shall not suffer from any 
 want or insufficiency of means of conveyance. 
 
 The Company may raise as much as half of its capital 
 by the issue of debenture bonds. 
 
 The government has no control or fiscalization over the 
 affairs of the Company, except in so far as it may relate to 
 the police and security of passengers and merchandize 
 along the tram-road. 
 
 The Company will import, free of custom-house duties, all 
 its plant, machinery, materials, steamboats, implements, &c., 
 &c., required for the construction and use of its works, and 
 during ten years after the completion of the same. 
 
 The government grants to the Company at its option, 
 along the line, or in the neighbourhood, but principally in the 
 magnificent forests of the Orob5* — some of the most fertile 
 lands in Brazil, twenty kilometric square leagues of land, or 
 200,000 acres — for the purpose of colonizing, planting of 
 cotton, or any other it may consider advantageous to its 
 interests. The grant is perpetual. 
 
 The Company will be entitled to possess and to explore 
 all mines of gold, silver, platina, copper, lead, quick- 
 
 * Situated in the neighbourhood of the line, and in the direction of the 
 diamond mines. 
 
silver, iron, coal, and all deposits of chemical products, it 
 may discover along the whole line of its tram-road,* or 
 within its twenty leagues of land — such discovery to be 
 immediately made known, when the government will deliver 
 the necessary grants to insure the Company's possession of 
 the property discovered. 
 
 This concession is a very valuable one, as the line un- 
 doubtedly runs into a very rich and virgin mining district. 
 
 All other government lands- required by the Company 
 for the bed and stations of the line, as well as timber found 
 thereon, is given gratuitously. 
 
 The government only reserve the right of having its 
 mails, public treasure, and criminals, conveyed gratis by the 
 Company's trains, and will afford all support and protection 
 to the Company and its property in the same manner as it 
 does to the other subventioned lines in Brazil. 
 
 The above are the leading features of this new concession, 
 the value of which, and the commercial importance of the 
 line, wiU be better understood by the reader on referring to 
 the statistics annexed. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 During the long period — nearly ten years — when the 
 concessionaires were endeavouring to secure the privilege, 
 obtaining a preliminary survey of the line, and collecting 
 the statistical data on which to ground an appeal to 
 the public in support of the undertaking, the Provincial 
 Government of Bahia became aware of the advantages the 
 Paraguassfi line had in view to embrace, having been in- 
 structed by the Imperial Government to furnish informations 
 
 * Within a zone of five leagues on each side. 
 
to serve as a guide to its action in refusing or ultimately 
 conceding the grant, and did not hesitate to come forward on 
 the Imperial grant becoming finally known, to subscribe for 
 account of the public coffers of the province shares in the 
 undertaking to the amount of £100,000, thus showing the 
 confidence it reposed in the future prospects of the Company. 
 The inhabitants of Bahia* in a like manner have subscribed 
 for shares to the amount' of £327,040, while the larger 
 majority of proprietors of the lands which the line will 
 traverse, by written and valid documents, have already bound 
 themselves to deliver to the Company, gratuitously, all the 
 land required for the bed and stations of the undertaking ! 
 Such facts speaJc for themselves in a project that has no 
 guarantee of interest from Government, beyond the favors 
 recapitulated above. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Two words on the principle followed up by the English 
 Railway Companies at present in existence in Brazil, in 
 constructing heavy railroads at a great cost, in a country 
 where, notwithstanding its great productive powers, the 
 population is relatively small in proportion to the extent of 
 territory traversed by their lines. Several years ago, 
 Mr. Lane, the then consulting engineer of the Imperial 
 Government, warned it against that error, pointing out the 
 heavy burthen that would thereby be entailed on the Public 
 Treasury. That warning was prophetic in so far as the 
 results have hitherto proved. By the traffic returns of the 
 Bahia and St. Francisco Railway, the last two dividends 
 (if we are. not mistaken) paid to its shareholders, notwith- 
 
 * Consisting of nearly 1,000 persons engaged in financial, commercial, 
 and agi'icultural pursuits, residing in the province. 
 
8 
 
 standing the 7 per cent, guarantee, were at the rate or 
 3 "8 per cent, and 6 per cent, per annum, whereas had that 
 line been constructed on the tram-road principle, and 
 with a narrow guage — which would have answered all the 
 purposes required — the Company, on the completion of 
 its line, would, no doubt, have declined the Government 
 guarantee, as the result would at once have shown a great 
 success. 
 
 To guard against committing a like mistake, the Para- 
 guassti line will be constructed on the tram-road system 
 with • a narrow guage, and promises on a bond fide 
 commercial trafSc, at present in existence, a dividend of 
 upwards of 15 per cent, per annum, independent of the 
 revenue from land and mineral property. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 The starting point, or rather the principal seat for the 
 departure and arrival of the greater part of the traffic of 
 the interior of the Province of Bahia is from the city of 
 Cachoeira, distant from the capital about four hours' steam- 
 ing, lying on the right and left banks of the river 
 Paraguassii. 
 
 The city of Cachoeira contains a population of 20,000 
 inhabitants. Eight leagues distant lies the important town 
 of Feira de St. Anna, with its outskirts, containing a 
 population of 30,000 to 40,000 souls, the town being the 
 head quarters of the whole cattle trade of the Province, 
 where fairs are held every Monday, frequented by sellers 
 and buyers from all parts : this fair is considered the most 
 important in all Brazil. The branch line to Feira, as an 
 adjunct to the main line to the diamond mines, is in itself 
 
9 
 
 alone a most valuable concession, as it secures the traffic 
 of the interior in a north-east direction, four-fifths of which 
 at present takes that route, and prevents the possibility of 
 any future competition to the diamond mines from any 
 other quarter. 
 
 From St. Felix, the suburb of Cachoeira, the main 
 line will start to the diamond mines along the right 
 bank of the innavigable Paraguassu river. The first 
 section, about twelve leagues, to end at the village of 
 Curralinho (with 4,000 inhabitants) passes through adjoining 
 fertile districts studded with sugar, tobacco, and cofiee 
 estates, containing a population of 70,000 souls. At Cur- 
 ralinho fairs are held every Saturday for the sale of the 
 produce of the neighbouring townships of Tapera, Pedra 
 Branca, Amargoza, &c., from whence supplies of provisions 
 on a large scale are sent to Cachoeira for shipment to the 
 capital. 
 
 Of those two first sections, Mr. Josiah Cato, the engineer, 
 who made a very minute preliminary survey of the actual 
 roads, states in his report : — 
 
 " I may as well call your special attention to one great 
 " advantage which I have observed this undertaking to 
 " possess. The portions of the proposed scheme which 
 " must be first executed, namely, the bridge of Cachoeira, 
 " the branch line to Feira de St. Anna, and the section 
 " of the main line between St. Felix and Curralinho, 
 " are so many distinct works which may be carried on 
 " simultaneously without inconvenience or hindrance one to 
 " the other, and (what is of far more importance) each of 
 " the three, as soon as complete, may be thrown open to 
 " the public and become at once remunerating, for, as I 
 " have before stated, the traffic to and from Curralinho is 
 " very large, even in- this long-continued drought ; while 
 
10 
 
 " the road from Cachoeira to Feira de St. Anna has a lai-ge 
 " resident population along its course, and is continually 
 " occupied by troops of pack animals, bullock carts, &c., 
 " with cargoes of merchandize, and by droves of cattle 
 " from the market." 
 
 From Curralinho the main line proceeds along a district 
 not very populous, but through fertile lands adapted for 
 cotton, now mostly occupied by graziers, covered with 
 excellent timber, and at the village of Joao Amaro, it is 
 joined by the cross roads from Rosario on the left bank of 
 the Paraguassii, and by the one coming from the towns of 
 Marac&,s, Sincora, and other agricultural districts that 
 supply the diamond mines with provisions. Near the river 
 Una we first meet with the deposits of saltpetre, and again 
 at Arara Grande. At the latter point the main line crosses 
 the Paraguassii, and strikes ofiF in a straight direction to 
 Andarahy, the first district in the diamond mines. 
 
 Andarahy is a large straggling town situated on the right 
 bank of a small stream of the same name, with a population 
 of 8,000 inhabitants, while the surrounding hamlets contain 
 as many more. 
 
 From Andarahy at a distance of five leagues to the right, 
 and passing through several villages, the city of Lenpoes is 
 reached, a large place built in an irregular fashion, with 
 several streets running into the principal market square. 
 The private houses and shops are substantial and well built, 
 and the town possesses two churches and a theatre. 
 
 Lengoes is the principal commercial entrepot of the 
 diamond mines and of the interior of the province, as it is 
 also the richest in mineral wealth, and ' its population, 
 including Lavrinha, Cravada, Serra-Negra, &c., and their 
 dependencies, is about 80,000 souls, exclusively engaged in 
 commerce, or in the washings or search after diamonds. 
 
11 
 
 Mr, Cato, who remained at Len^oes for upwards of 
 three weeks examining the neighbourhood, from personal 
 experience states in his report : — 
 
 " I have referred to the extensive supply and apparently 
 " large stock of foreign goods kept in the shops, and may 
 " remark, with the single exception of porous earthenware, 
 " I could find no article of local manufacture in any of the 
 " towns in the diamond district, everything is imported from 
 " Bahia. 
 
 " The market for provisions and diamonds held every 
 " Monday at Lenyoes, was well attended by sellers and 
 " purchasers during the time I spent in the town, the square 
 " being filled by people and goods. Many of the sellers 
 "had come from immense distances, journeys of seven, 
 " eight, or nine days. 
 
 " Around the central nucleus of the large square and its 
 " neighbouring streets there are spread from the river bank 
 " to the mountain tops a vast number of houses and huts of 
 " more or less careful construction, in which reside the 
 " seekors (garimpeiros) for the gems ^bounding in the Serra 
 " and its valleys." 
 
 The town of St. Isabel do Paraguassii lies to the left of 
 Andarahy, distant about five leagues, on a hill of some 
 height, and as it is the inlet and outlet of the whole 
 traffic of the upper serta5, and of the cotton fields, its 
 position is of great importance. The population of this 
 town and of Ohique-Chique, Mocambo, &c., is about 60,000 
 inhabitants. 
 
 The three towns just mentioned contain about 500 
 stores and shops which retail every variety of merchandize 
 imported from Bahia, and this basis of traffic gives rise to a 
 continual movement from one place to another amongst the 
 resident dealers and speculators in diamonds, of no ordinary 
 
12 
 
 value. The garimpeiro or common washer will sell at night 
 the produce of his day's labour to the shopkeeper, and the 
 latter again will go on collecting to a certain amount, either 
 for a remittance to Bahia for payment of stocks purchased, 
 or he will re-sell to a speculator in the precious gem. This 
 commercial ■ movement receives a still greater impulse from 
 the neighbouring agricultural townships, which supply the 
 diamond mines with provisions and the necessaries of life, 
 taking in return the equivalent in foreign merchandize. 
 
 Thus, as the emporiums of the vast interior, those towns 
 maintain active relations with the municipalities of Sincora, 
 Brejo-Grande, Maracas, Rio de Contas, Caetit^, Monte- Alto, 
 Victoria, Urubd, Carinhaha, Campo-Largo, Sta. Rita, 
 Barra, Chique-Chique, &c., &c., and have become the 
 suppliers of all their wants. 
 
 From the confines of the province of Minas-Geraes, from 
 the departments of Minas, Novas, and Rio Pardo, large pack 
 troops loaded with produce are sent to the diamond mines, 
 receiving in exchange what they require of foreign products, 
 but principally of salt, the consumption of which would be 
 greatly increased if that important article could be placed at 
 a reasonable cost at the diamond entrepdt for distribution 
 over that vast interior. 
 
 From the province of Goyaz the traders come for their 
 supplies, preferring the Bahia diamond mines for that 
 purpose, instead of undertaking a six months' journey 
 overland to Rio de Janeiro and back. 
 
 From the province of Piauhy the cattle drovers cross 
 over the river St. Francisco near the town of Barra, thence 
 in direction to the diamond districts, where they meet with 
 purchasers for their cattle that is ultimately destined to be 
 retailed off at the great cattle market of the province — the 
 town of Feira de St. Anna. 
 
13 
 
 This, then, is the great traffic that in the course of the last 
 tweaty years has sprung up by the discovery of diamonds 
 in the interior of Bahia, which has since been steadily 
 growing and extending, and to which the Paraguassii project 
 is destined to give greater expansion ; a traffic which can 
 meet with no possible opposition from the peculiar happy 
 geographical position of those entrepots, where wealth has 
 been accumulated, and where commercial activity and 
 relations have given rise to a community of interests, greatly 
 to be increased when a regular and cheap means of transport 
 shall have replaced the slow, expensive, and dangerous, mode 
 now in use by pack animals. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Should the line be prolonged from the diamond entrepdt 
 to that internal artery of Brazil, the river St. Francisco, 
 which connects four of the richest and most populous 
 provinces of the empire with one another, offering in its 
 course a free navigation of one thousand miles in extent, 
 and which navigation is equally granted to the Paraguassii 
 undertaking, then the long sought for problem will be 
 solved, to communicate a further population of two millions 
 of souls with the seaboard, and through that navigation to 
 promote an extension of commerce little dreamt to be 
 possible by those who have no knowledge of the wealth that 
 would thus become disposable for the purposes of trade in 
 that vast interior of Brazil.* 
 
 * A population of 1,000,000 of souls is located on the margin of this 
 mao-nificent river, which can justly be called the Mississippi of Brazil. 
 
14 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 To promote the exploration of the precious minerals 
 existing unproductive in the so-called diamond districts, as 
 well as to renew on a large scale the culture of the cotton 
 fields adjoining, and the exploration of the deposits of 
 chemical products, were objects that did not escape the 
 originators of the Paraguassii project. It was reasonable to 
 conjecture that where a bond fide traffic already existed, and 
 formed the basis of an important internal communication 
 with the seaboard, the development of so much mineral 
 wealth at present neglected, and entirely overlooked, in the 
 search for diamonds, would ultimately tend to open up still 
 greater relations and interest's on this interesting line. 
 
 Gold, platina, silver, lead, copper, and iron mines, are 
 known to exist, and large deposits of nitrate and alum, 
 limestone, crystals, and marble quarries, are realities un- 
 heeded, because capital and science are wanting to turn 
 that wealth to advantage. 
 
 But this state of things is nowise disadvantageous to the 
 proposed Paraguassii project, because the bonus granted by 
 the Brazilian Government towards the construction of the 
 line, in the shape of all mines discovered by the Company, is 
 one, the value of which it could have no conception when it 
 consented that the Company might explore so large a 
 territory as the whole length of its line, within a zone of 
 five leagues on each side — the prolongation to the river St. 
 Francisco enjoying the like privilege. 
 
 Gold is met with in several localities, either singly as 
 mines, or mixed with other minerals. The garimpeiros, or 
 diamond washers, invariably meet with it, thus proving the 
 auriferous nature of the district, but they do not consider it 
 
15 
 
 sufficient allurement to distract their attention from the more 
 inexpensive labour demanded at their hands in the search 
 after diamonds. 
 
 Near the town of Rio de Contas, and all along the whole 
 Serra de Assurui or Gentio, very rich gold mines exist ; 
 but they are not worked, from want of capital. 
 
 A silver mine was discovered by a Frenchman not far 
 from the town of Andarahy, who jealously kept his 
 secret. He brought down to the city of Bahia a very 
 handsome sample of the natural ore, intending to apply to 
 government for the grant of the same, but dying in the 
 interval, the position of the mine was lost ; but no doubt on 
 proper survey by a competent mineralogist the discovery of 
 the same may be brought to light. On the river Una 
 another mine has been likewise discovered. 
 
 Platina has been found on the Rio das Caixas, a confluent 
 of the Parnemerim in the municipality of the Rio das Contas. 
 
 Lead, showing 7 1 per cent, of pure ore, is also found. 
 
 Iron, of all metals, is found abundantly on the surface 
 of the department of Rio de Contas, in which the diamond 
 mines lie. Some samples sent home contained 89 per cent, 
 pure ore. 
 , Copper has been found in various localities. 
 
 Limestone is very abundant, and, found all along the line 
 of the Paraguassii. 
 
 Crystals are met with in large quantities all over the 
 diamond mines — and in the Serra das Araras, near which 
 the line has to run, there is a mass of iine _y?esA-coloured 
 marble of great extent. 
 
 Six leagues from the city of Lenooes there is rock alum 
 of great extension, the value of which is unknown to the 
 inhabitants, and in the same neighbourhood several extensive 
 saltpetre deposits. 
 
16 
 
 It would , require the knowledge of a professional min- 
 eralogist in the matter, to describe properly the mineral 
 wealth of the diamond districts. In the small limits of 
 a pamphlet an unprofessional can do no more than point 
 out the existence of that wealth. That it exists and is 
 neglected is beyond all doubt, and offers a fertile field for 
 research and investigation in the interest of the proposed 
 Paraguassii Company. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 What is of still greater importance to the line is the 
 renewal of cotton cultivation in the neighbourhood of the 
 diamond mines in the agricultural districts of Maracds, 
 Rio de Contas, but principally at Caetite, Urubii, and 
 Monte Alto, and along the margins of the River St. Fran- 
 cisco. Some forty years ago Bahia exported about 80 to 
 100,000 bales of cotton, the qualities of which were 
 appreciated as equal to New Orleans ; but at that period 
 the value of a pack mule was Rs. 20 ^000, or £2 5s., and 
 the hire of a peon 320rs., or 9d. per week. At present the 
 value of a cargo animal is Rs. 250 ,^000, or £28 2s. 6d. ' 
 and the wages of a peon Rs. 30 ,$000, or £3 7s. per month. 
 Freights from the interior rose to such proportions as 
 entirely to absorb the planters' profits, and the culture of 
 this important staple became neglected until within the last 
 four years, when- the enhanced value of the material, caused 
 by the civil war in the United States, again induced the 
 planters to turn their attention to so profitable a cultivation. 
 
 The mere hopes of the possible construction of the pro- 
 posed line, joined, as beforesaid, to higher prices, has caused 
 a considerable change in the growing districts, and there is 
 
17 
 
 no doubt that this product will become hereafter one of the 
 principal exports from the port of Bahia, through the 
 medium of the Paraguassti Tram-road.* 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 The deposits of nitrate^ claim particular attention. Up to 
 the present period India has been the greatest, if not the 
 sole supplier of this article ; but the chemical tests which 
 several samples were put to in London and Birmingham 
 amply corroborate the fact that a superior article is found 
 in Bahia.t 
 
 On the road to the diamond mines, and on the line itself 
 at Arara Grande, and Ararinhas, on the river Una in the 
 vicinity of Andrahy and Lengoes, and at Brejo Grande, and 
 
 * Cotton, with cheap conveyance from the interior through the means 
 of the tramroad, could be cultivated and brought down with profit at 
 5d. per lb. 
 
 •)• In the neighbourhood of the river " Una,'' close to where it joins the 
 Paraguassu river, and near which the tramroad will have to be carried to 
 reach the diamond district, upon the estate of Major Mangel ba Silva 
 ViANNA, a very rich deposit of nitrate exists. At the bottom and sides of 
 a waterfall, large masses of pure crystallized saltpetre, in all shapes, lie 
 scattered about, formed, in the course of time, by the strong impregnated 
 nature of the water drippings, and the action of the sun thereon. 
 
 J Messrs. TEacHMACHER& Smith, of London, report thereon as follows : — 
 
 A brown earthy substance ; this is a description of guano, containing — 
 49 parts of organic matter, capable of yielding 
 
 il '41 parts of real ammonia, and 
 1-17 „ of nitrogen. 
 11 li parts phosphate of lime and magnesia. 
 13 a „ carbonate. 
 7 „ alkali. 
 12^ „ sand, oxide of u-on. 
 7 14 „ moisture. 
 
 100- 
 From a chemical firm at Birmingham the report was equally favourable, 
 
18 
 
 all along the banks of the river St. Francisco at Salitre, 
 Pilao-Arcado, Bom Jesus da Lapa, Urubii, Carinhanha, &c,, 
 large deposits of nitrates exist interspersed in limestone 
 rocks and in caverns. 
 
 The German naturalists, Spix and Martins, in their 
 work on Brazil, make mention of those deposits of nitrates 
 as running from the Province of Ceara, through Piauhy 
 into Bahia and Minas-Geraes. Hitherto those deposits have 
 been unavailable from the want of roads and means of con - 
 veyance ; but the Paraguassti is destined to be the carrier 
 for this and other important commercial articles which 
 hitherto have been neglected, and thus to open a new 
 field for commercial .enterprise, that cannot fail to prove 
 advantageous to the manufacturers and merchants of this 
 country. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 We must be permitted to conclude this short exposition 
 by remarking on the dissimilitude of the basis on which was 
 founded the Paraguassu project from that of the present 
 subventioned hues in Brazil. 
 
 In new countries where population is not so abundant and 
 disseminated, where the producing elements are very great, 
 but the consuming districts are far off and much apart; 
 where, in short, commerce and agriculture in inland districts 
 are rarely combined, and require an impulse to be placed 
 in easy contact with large markets through the means of 
 improved locomotion; it is of primary necessity to ascer- 
 tain beforehand how far the results of the outlay of capital 
 for the purposes of constructing roads would justify the 
 
19 
 
 expectation of a reasonable and safe profit for the money 
 thereon employed. 
 
 Hitherto the Imperial guarantee of 7 per cent, on the 
 capital employed on Brazilian railroads has been the great 
 charm that has insured the organization of the existing 
 companies. It would appear that it was seldom asked how 
 that guarantee was to take effect, or whether the direction 
 given to, or the traffic or revenue expected on the proposed 
 lines, would-be found sufficient to pay its working expenses, 
 and return a reasonable dividend to the shareholders. The 
 talisman that attracted and fascinated, was that guarantee 
 alone ; a fact which, if it meant anything, proved the excel- 
 lent credit enjoyed, and most deservedly, by the Imperial 
 Government on the Stock Exchange of London. In short, 
 the erroneous impression was that the 7 per cent, guarantee, 
 on the amount of capital agreed upon for the construction of 
 . the lines, constituted a dividend the shareholders could count 
 upon under every circumstance, let the result be what it might. 
 The interpretation, however, given in 1858 by the Imperial 
 Government as to the obligations it had contracted with 
 the respective companies, was one consonant with reason and 
 justice. It determined to provide and to pay the amount 
 of interest guaranteed, should the revenues of the lines not 
 reach the maximum agreed upon. On the other hand, 
 should a loss occur on the working expenses of the lines, the 
 amount of that guarantee was in the first instance to be 
 applied to make good any such deficiency ; but its obhga- 
 tions, under every circumstance, did not go beyond the 
 payment of the original interest agreed upon. 
 
 Experience has taught the Brazilian Government that 
 sufficient care was not taken at the commencement in chosing 
 proper directions or starting points into the interior for 
 some of the subventioned lines in existence, and the conse- 
 
20 
 
 quence is that for some time to come tlie weight of those 
 guarantees must remain a clog upon its exchequer, as the 
 results in a like manner will be a disappointment for the 
 shareholders without the corresponding opening of bye-roads 
 to bring produce and traffic to the main lines. 
 
 In several instances it has been doubted, by persons who 
 have practical knowledge of railroads,' and, if we are not 
 mistaken, the same doiibts have arisen in respect to some of 
 the railways in India, whether in countries abounding in 
 natural resources a guaranteed line is to be preferred to 
 one that has no Government subvention; primo, because 
 the action of Government is felt not always in the most 
 salutary manner, either from its ignorance of such under- 
 takings, or from the well known inexperience of its fiscal 
 agents ; and, secondly, in case the line be a sound one, from 
 the obligation contracted of dividing the dividends with 
 Government when the per centage of profit reaches a certain 
 maximum, , 
 
 Thus, on a really good line, to purchase an ephemeral 
 guarantee, the shareholders have to divide much good money 
 with the Government; whereas on a line that cannot be 
 maintained without the support of Government, it stands to 
 reason that its construction ought never to have been 
 undertaken. 
 
 In two pamphlets, written some time ago in this country 
 on the subject of guarantees of some Indian railways, the 
 following remarks therein made tally with our views on the 
 matter : — " Enterprises, which are in their own nature sound 
 " and attractive, are rather injured than benefited by resting 
 " their pretensions on an indiscriminating guarantee, of 
 " which the tendency is to confound all projects, whether 
 " good or bad, in one uniform superficies of mediocrity; 
 " because it is undoubtedly the indication of both justice 
 
21 
 
 " and common sense that good enterprises should stand out 
 " above the general level, and bad ones sink beneath it, 
 "just as they would do if there were no guarantee in 
 " existence. While, therefore, it is manifestly to the 
 " interest of unsound projects to stickle for the sufficiency 
 " of guarantee, enterprises which are confessedly good have, 
 " in their own intrinsic merits, a much better ground on 
 " which to rest their pretensions, and can afford to treat the 
 " question with comparative unconcern. Although then it 
 " appears that the convictions which have hitherto sub- 
 " sisted as to the absolute nature of a guarantee can be 
 " shown to be a delusion, it does not follow that public 
 " confidence will be diminished, or ought to be diminished, 
 " in those guaranteed undertakings which are in their own 
 " nature sound and reliable." 
 
 The promoters of the Paraguassii, acting on this principle 
 aware of the intrinsic value of their undertaking, delayed 
 for a long time to come before the Government to demand 
 the concession, until by the most minute study and investi- 
 gations of their line, they should feel themselves justified in 
 basing and supporting their pretensions on merits peculiarly 
 its own, as a commercial, mining, and agricultural under- 
 taking, unshakled by government interference, and possessing 
 resources which should offer the only true safeguard to the 
 public for the profitable investment of its capital. 
 
 There cannot be a doubt but that they have fully and 
 conscientiously performed their task ; no expence was spared 
 in obtaining trustworthy data on the traffic, in making a 
 preliminary survey of the line, &c., and by the straightfor- 
 ward manner in which their labours were conducted during 
 a period of ten years they finally convinced the Imperial 
 Government that this was no experiment, undertalcen on the 
 enthusiasm of the moment, but abondjide labour carried on 
 
22 
 
 honestly, for the purposes of a great national improvement. 
 Those labours were eventually rewarded by the advantages 
 and privileges granted by that government, which more 
 than amply compensate an illusory guarantee; the truth 
 of this will at once be evident by an examination of the 
 annexed estimates of traffic, which will prove satisfactorily 
 that a guarantee on the Paraguassli line would in the end 
 have been prejudicial to the shareholders. 
 
 London, i9ih June, i866. 
 
23 
 
 Estimate of Revenue (on the completion of the proposed 
 lines of the Paraguassii) calculated at a minimum of the 
 actual traffic, elaborated by a Committee of Merchants 
 established in the City of Bahia, assisted by others residing in 
 various parts of the interior ; based, and carefuUy revised 
 from time to time, on data collected from the stores of 
 deposits for transmission of goods inland at St. Felix and 
 Cachoeira; since the first initiation of the project in 1856, to 
 the present period: — 
 
 Tkafpic feom St. Fblix to the Diamond Mines. 
 
 60,000 cargas (of 8 arrobas each) of Dry Gooda, 
 Wines, Spirits, Iron, Hardware, Cutlery, Crockery, 
 Drugs, Flour, &c., &c., for consumption in the 
 diamond mines, and the neighbouring Townships. 
 480,000 arrobas, medium freight '3$ 1,440,000 $000 
 
 10,000 cargas of ditto, ditto to Curralinho and other 
 intermediate stations, as far as Maracas. 
 80,000 arrobas, medium freight ' '2$ 160,000 $000 
 
 ° Increase of Traffic on opening the lines, consequent 
 on the facilities and cheapness of transport, 100 
 per cent. 
 
 100,000 bushels of salt— 200,000 arrobas for con- 
 sumption in the mines and in the interior . . 2$ 400,000 $000 
 
 30,000 ditto, ditto, 60,000 arrobas left at the 
 
 intermediate stations 1$ 60,000 $000 
 
 ' Increase of consumption consequent on the cheap- 
 ness and facility of transport, seeing that freight 
 for this primary necessity of life is at present 50$ 
 the carga, or 6$ 500 the arroba, 100 per cent. . $ 
 
 . 50,000 arrobas of sugar for the mines 1$ 50,000 $000 
 
 25,000 „ of coffee „ 1$ 25,000 $000 
 
 * Increase of consumption, &c., 200 per cent. . . $ 
 
 Carried over . . . Ss- 2,135,000 000 
 
24 
 
 Brought forward . . Ba 2,135,000 $000 
 
 Passenqeb Teafpic on the Main Line between 
 St. ITelix and the Diamond Mines. 
 
 15,000 Passengers, Ist class at = 60$ 900,000 *000 
 
 8,000 „ 2iid class « 40$ 320,000 $000 
 
 8,000 „ 3rd class „ *20$ 160,000 
 
 Eeturn of the like number 1,380,000 
 
 N-B. — These passengers are to the diamond mines 
 and the interior municipalities, principally 
 public functionaries, merchants, shopkeepers, 
 speculators, &c., &c., who must^ travel as a 
 matter of necessity. The increase must be 
 
 Passengers for the intermediate stations, constantly 
 up and down to Cachoeira and back, from Salgado, 
 Cruzdas Almas, Outeiros, Sape, Curralinho, 
 Amargoza, Pedra Branca, Tapera, &e., &c. 
 
 5,000 1st class 10$ 50,000 $000 
 
 8,000 2nd „ 5$ 40,000 $000 
 
 10,000 3rd , 3$ 30,000 $000 
 
 8 Eeturn of the like number 120,000 $000 
 
 Traffic from Cueealinho, ok Pirst Section, to 
 St. Felix, op the Produce op the Country. 
 
 Es. 
 
 500,000 arrobas of provisions, medium freight 
 100,000 „ coffee „ 
 
 200,000 „ cotton „ 
 
 200,000 „ sugar „ 
 
 180,000 „ tobacco „ 
 
 Tbappic within the Diamond Mines, between St, 
 Isabel, Andakahy and LEN90ES and vice versa, 
 A distance op 10 Leagues. 
 
 '25,000 cargas of provisions which pass through 
 St. Isabel to Chique-Chique, at the lowest cal- 
 culation, based on the tolls collected at the bridge 
 of Commercio, consisting of farinha, beans, 
 bacon, rice, jerked beef, yams, rum, &c., &c. 
 medium 2$ 50,000 $000 
 
 . . 280 
 
 140,000 
 
 $000 
 
 . . 200 
 
 20,000 
 
 $000 
 
 . . 280 
 
 66,000 
 
 $000 
 
 . . 200 
 
 40,000 
 
 $000 
 
 . . 200 
 
 36,000 
 
 $000 
 
 Carried over . . . Bs 5,477,000 $000 
 
25 
 
 Brought forward . . Rs- 5,477,000 $000 
 
 ' 50,000 cargas ditto for Andarahy, medium . . 3$ 150,000 $000 
 
 ' 80,000 cargas ditto for Len9oes by the outward road 
 which do not pay tolls at the bridge of Commercio, 
 but with the railroad must necessarily take ad- 
 vantage of it to avoid a 20 leagues journey, in 
 which 5 to 6 days are lost in going, and like 
 manner in returning ; actual freight paid for 
 cargo is 12 $000 5$ 400,000 *000 
 
 Special Passengee Tbatpic with the sevebal 
 distkicts of the diamond mines and vice vek8a. 
 
 1st station— Si. Isabel to Chiqm-Chigue. 
 
 Passengers, 1st class 3$ $ 
 
 „ 2nd class , 2$ $ 
 
 „ 3rd class 1$ $ 
 
 2nd STATION— C7i«jue-CAigue to Andarahy. 
 
 :ers, 1st class 3$ $ 
 
 „ 2nd class 2$ $ 
 
 „ 3rd class 1$ $ 
 
 3rd STATION — Andarahy to Lenfoes. 
 
 1st class 6$ $ 
 
 „ 2nd class 4$ $ 
 
 „ 3rd class 2$ $ 
 
 Betum of the same number $ 
 
 N.B.— We have purposely abstained from putting 
 down figures for fear of being considered ex- 
 aggerated. But those who haveno conception 
 of the fever which pervades speculation in the 
 precious gem can form no idea of the con- 
 tinual movement going forward from one place 
 to another in those diamond mines. It will 
 be enough to state that with the exception of 
 the sedentary part of the population (the 
 women, children, and seiTants, &c.) there is 
 
 Carried over . . . Bs 5,932,000 *000 
 
26 
 
 Brought forward . . fis; 5,932,000 #000 
 
 not a speculator, shopkeeper, or garimpeiro, 
 who, in the course of the year does not visit 
 on business several times a year each of those 
 three towns, not to mention strangers and pro- 
 vision dealers who come from afar for their 
 supplies, &c., for the sale of their produce. 
 
 Cattle to the several slaughtering establishments on 
 the line for consumption 
 
 Mules and Horses brought from Minas-Geraes to 
 
 keep up the communications with the neigh- 
 
 I bouring outskirts 
 
 Another very important branch of revenue and 
 traffic within the diamond mines we shall now 
 describe : — Any one who knows what the 
 diamond mines are, or their growing commer- 
 cial importance, and the population that go 
 thither to reside or on business, as well as the 
 large number of travellers from the W, and E. 
 parts of the Province who make St. Isabel 
 and Len9oes their halting points going and 
 coming from the city of Bahia, must ac- 
 knowledge how expensive and difficult it is to 
 find house room or adequate accommodation, 
 and when found, how exorbitant rents are. 
 This is caused by the great difficulties ex- 
 perienced in the conveyance of materials for 
 building over wretched roads within the dia- 
 mond mines, although every material exists 
 in the greatest abundance on the main line at 
 distances of 2 to 8 leagues. A miserable hut 
 or hovel actually obtains -Bs- 50$ to 60$, or 
 £512 to £7 15 rent per month ! ! The 
 projected railroad will supply this desideratum 
 for the conveyance of materials ; and many 
 years to come house-building must be carried 
 on as an absolute necessity. 
 
 Carried over . . . Bs- 3,932,000 $000 
 
27 
 
 Brought forward . . -Rs- 5,932,000 $000 
 
 'Transport or carriage of the following materials — 
 
 100,000 bushels of lime 1$ 100,000 $000 
 
 80,000 bricks, per 1,000 to mix with stone . . 10$ 80,000 $000 
 
 40,000 tiles 10$ 40,000 $000 
 
 30,000 boards 1$ 30,000 $000 
 
 20i000 timber lines 2$ 40,000 $000 
 
 10,000 dozen wooden shingles for roofing, &c. . .1S500 15,000 $000 
 
 10,000 „ palm shingles for walls, partitions, &c. 1$ 10,000 $000 
 
 Rettjrn Teafpic teom the Diamond Mines to 
 St. Felix. 
 30,000 Bales of Cotton, 180,000 arrobas ... 1$ 180,000 $000 
 N.B. — This is a Tery moderate calculation indeed. 
 As this staple has been largely cultivated, 
 and as the line progresses the demand will 
 increase, and become an important item of 
 revenue. 
 300,000 arrobas of hides and skins 1$ 300,000 $ 
 
 „ ox horns $ $ 
 
 „ ox and cow hoofs $ $ 
 
 head of cattle for the annual supply of the 
 
 sugar estates on the seaboard $ $ 
 
 ditto, ditto, for the cattle mart of Feica de St. 
 
 Anna, for consumption of the seaboard ... $ $ 
 Mules and horses for sale to the sugar estates 
 
 and City of Bahia, and seaboard towns and 
 
 villages, from the Province of Minas-Geraes . $ $ 
 
 — arrobas of saltpetre $ $ 
 
 — „ of alum $ $ 
 
 „ of Carnauba wax $ $ 
 
 „ of CaruS hemp $ $ 
 
 — tons of lime stone $ $ 
 
 blocks of marble $ $ 
 
 logs of timber, boards, &c., of various 
 
 qualities, for the use of cabinet-makers and 
 
 ship-building, &c $ $ 
 
 TraflSc to and from the Diamond Mines, exclu- 
 sive of the items not calculated . . . . Bs- 6,747,000 
 
 Carried over . . ■ Us- 6,747,000 
 
28 
 
 Brought forward . . S& 6,747,000 SOOO 
 
 Teaffic on the Bkanch Line i-kom the City op 
 Cachobiea to Town op Feika de St. Anna. 
 
 '240,000 aiTobas weight of merchandize such as 
 
 dry goods, wine, hardware, &c., &c., eight 
 
 leagues reis 40 76,800 $00° 
 
 8,000 Passengers, 1st class 6$ 48,000 $000 
 
 15,000 „ 2nd class 4$ 60,000 $000 
 
 10,000 „ 3rd class 2$ 20,000 $000 
 
 '° Return of the like number 128,000 $000 
 
 Eeturn Teaific fkom Teika db St. Anna to the 
 City op Cachoeiea. 
 
 70,000 bales of Tobacco, 420,000 arrs. 8 leagues, 
 
 at 20 reis 67,200 $000 
 
 100,000 arrobas Hides and Skins . . . at 20 reis 16,000 $000 
 
 100,000 „ Sugar „ 16,000 $000 
 
 500,000 „ Provisions „ 80,000 $000 
 
 Cattle $ 
 
 Sheep, Pigs, &c $ 
 
 Baskets of Poultry $ 
 
 Teafpio on the Bridge op Caohoeika. 
 
 1,000,000 of Passengers, from the constant commu- 
 nication with the neighbouring districts, and as 
 the port of arrival and departure for the whole 
 interior of the diamond district, &c. . at 40 reis 40,000 $000 
 
 Horsemen $ $ 
 
 BuUock Carts $ $ 
 
 Cattle— loaded and empty animals, &c. . $ $ 
 
 Gross total revenue . . Ss- 7,299,000 $000 
 
 At Exchange, 27d. per mih-ea . . £818,325 
 
 Gross total Revenue . . £818,325 
 TrafSc expenses, at the 
 
 maximum, 50 per cent. 409,162 10 
 
 Nett . . . £409,162 10 
 
29 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 ' This freight is at a lower rate than what is charged by the Bahia and 
 St. 'Francisco Railway Company. 
 
 ' The number of pack mules now engaged in the carrying trade between 
 St. Felix and the diamond mines, and along the main line of the 
 Paraguassil is about 10,000, besides those belonging to private individnals 
 for travelling purposes and conveyance of luggage. A shopkeeper from 
 the diamond mines, who is obliged to go to Bahia two or three times a 
 year to purchase his stock or to sell his diamonds, requires an outlay of 
 capital of at least £300 to be employed in animals, and his expences 
 during these joumies is between £40 to £60 each trip. A family of a 
 public functionary, consisting of man and wife, three children and three 
 servants, expended but very lately no less a sum than £350 to remove to 
 Bahia, and it may well be imagined how severely the inconvenience of 
 travelling must be felt that ruins one's finances. 
 
 A bottle of ale in the Diamond District is sold for 5j7 % ; a small Dutch 
 cheese at 18/., although its cost at Bahia is only 4/. It cannot be otherwise 
 so long as freights by pack mules are between £50 to £80 per ton 
 weight ! ! ! 
 
 The large number of pack mules mentioned above would, in the course of 
 construction of the lines, and as the several sections were opened to the 
 public be withdrawn by degrees, and employed further inland for the con- 
 veyance of produce to the stations, thus facilitating an increase of traffic to 
 the lines. 
 
 ' SAX.T. — This is one of the most important articles of consumption in the 
 interior, and must considerably increase through the facilities and cheapness 
 of transport offered by the railroad. At present the salt extracted on the 
 banks of the St. Francisco is not only of a bad quality and worse taste, but 
 is strongly impregnated with saltpetre, which abounds along the margins 
 of that river. Even so, and for want of supplies of a better quality in many 
 districts, the price is as high as fis-46 $000 the bushel, or £5 4 5 and 
 never less than S&16 $000 or £1 16 4. The salt that is sent up from 
 Bahia by the present means of conveyance reaches the Diamond Mines at 
 an exorbitant price from its weight, although in Bahia, good Cadix, Cape 
 
30 
 
 Verde, or Lisbon salt, can be had for 480 reis or 1 $000, or 1/. to 2/6 per 
 bushel I Considering therefore the great demand from the north of Minas- 
 Geraes, which now take their supplies of the better sort from the Diamond 
 Mines, the demand must considerably increase, as it is given largely by 
 graziers to their cattle. 
 
 * Sugar and CorFEB. — In the interior there are a few sugar mills, but 
 the price of sugar is seldom under Ss-16 $000. or £1 16 i the arroba of 
 32 lb., and it stands to reason that with the facilities by rail the populations 
 of the interior will follow the maxim of commerce to buy in the cheapest 
 market to sell in the dearest; for sugar can be bought at Bahia at 2$ to 3$, 
 or 5/ . to 7/6 the arroba, and would necessarily supply the Diamond Mines 
 through easy means of transport. 
 
 ' Lower than the charge on the Bahia and San Francisco Railway. 
 
 ' We have made a very limited calculation for the passenger traffic on 
 the populous district comprised within the first section between St. Felix 
 and Curralinho, a district of great agricultural importance. It would have 
 been no exaggeration to have trebled the number of passengers, as the 
 movement on this section is continual up and down. 
 
 ' The moderation of this calculation wiU be at once apparent, inasmuch 
 as a population of about 200,000 must consume a quantity in provisions of 
 all kinds superior to 155,000 cargas per annum, seeing that the diamond 
 mines do not rear or cultivate a single edible or vegetable. A carga is 7 
 arrobas weight, or 2241b. Moreover, no account has been taken of the 
 large number of passengers from the interior districts who frequent the 
 mines on business, to obtain supplies, &c., or on their way to the city of 
 Bahia. Nor have we calculated the large stock of maize and fodder 
 required to maintain the number of animals to keep up the communications 
 with the outskirts, &o. j for it must be borne in mind, that as the entrepots 
 of the whole interior, a large extra floating population is thus continually 
 going and coming in the diamond mines. 
 
 ' The price of transport here put down is two-thirds less than the actual 
 price paid for conveyance by bullock carts. 
 
 ' The town of Feira de St. Anna is the principal cattle mart of the 
 province, and is at the same time the inlet and outlet of that part of the 
 province in a more northerly .direction, and entertains commercial relations 
 with the municipalities of Camizao, Purificayao, Villa Nova da Bainha, 
 
31 
 
 Jacobina, Joazeiro, Pilao-Arcado, and Chique-CUque. At present, between 
 Cachoeira and Feira de St. Anna, 2,000 carts or waggons drawn by 4 to 8 
 bullocks, and 3,000 to 4,000 mules, are constantly engaged in the carrying 
 trade between the two places, a distance of eight leagues. 
 
 '" If we had put down 60,000 passengers up and a like number down we 
 should not hare exaggerated the passenger traffic on this very important 
 branch. The President of the Province of Bahia, in his official report of the 
 Provincial Assembly, in September, 1861, states that the passenger traffic on 
 the Jirst twelve miles of the Bahia and St. Francisco railroad, in twelve 
 months, was 35,000. Now, no possible comparison of this line can be 
 admitted with the branch line of Peira, because there is but an insignificant 
 commercial and agricultural traffic on the former, no town of any im- 
 portance is reached in all its extensions, and the principal population on 
 the sugar estates is mostly composed of slaves. 
 
 The undersigned British Merchants, established in this city of Bahia — 
 notwithstanding their recent participation in a representation made to the 
 Provincial Assembly of this Province, in conjunction with the native and 
 other foreign merchants of this capital, in favour of the construction of the 
 projected Paraguassii Eoad to the diamond mines — declare it is their 
 opinion that the traffic of this port with those diamond mines is of great 
 value, and that therein reside their best customers; and that since their 
 discovery in 1845, the trade of this port has increased 150 per cent. They 
 are, moreover, convinced, from trustworthy information, that as soon as the 
 roads in question are constructed, a greater increase will be given to 
 the already established relations between this market and the towns of 
 Andarahy, St. Isabel, and Len9oes, which have become the entrepSts of the 
 interior in the western and northern parts of this Province, from whence 
 the traffic is carried far inland with the neighbouring Provinces of Minas, 
 Gerals, and Goyaz, to be still further extended through the medium of the 
 navigation of the river St. Prancisco. 
 
 It is also their opinion that by that road (the Paraguassii) a variety of 
 products from the interior — hitherto kept out of our market — such as 
 cotton, wool, nitrates, gold dust, copper, cattle, hides, skins, marble, 
 timber, &c. &c., will become articles of considerable trade and exchange, 
 
32 
 
 inasmuch as the greater part, from the want of easy and cheap means 
 of transport, is not brought down, and, consequently, considerably em- 
 barasses the extension of the actual trafSc, which is mostly based on the 
 extraction of diamonds; whereas to facilitate the transmission of such 
 important products is so obvious, that it would likewise tend to increase 
 the demand for merchandize of foreign nations. 
 
 Bated at Bahia the 29th November, 1858. 
 
 (Signed) Eichard Latham & Co. 
 James Hooo. 
 Mellor, Southall & Co. 
 HtJGHEs, Marimbondo & Co. 
 Benn & Co. 
 David Easton. 
 p.p. ScHwiHD, Greenup & Co., 
 
 Henry Broad. 
 Wilson, Scott & Co. 
 H. K. Baines. 
 W. Evans. 
 DouoLAS, Mills & Co. 
 
 F. L. SCHWIND & Co. 
 
 p.p. A. Crabtreb & Co. 
 
 T. G. GOODAIR. 
 
 Johnson, Bielby & Co. 
 p.p. T. B. Pekry & Co., 
 
 S. Alport. 
 Dalglish, Simpson & Co. 
 p.p. Harding & Mumford, 
 
 P. A. Barboza. 
 Lane & Co. 
 Cameron, Smith & Co. 
 S. S, Davenport & Co. 
 J. Hardtman. 
 
Cornell university Library 
 HE 2930.P2M84 
 The Paraguassu steam trarn-roadin.th^^ P