perity. The first President was Fructuoso Rivera, who was elected in November, 1830. Under his administration, all the resources of the country were developed and its commerce prospered. Rivera's term ended on the 24th October, 1834, and as specified by the constitution the President of the Senate assumed the Presidency ad interim, till the next March election, when Manuel Oribe was chosen to the chief magistracy. The policy pursued by Oribe, rendered him obnoxious to the people, and in 1836, a revolt broke out against him, headed by the Ex-President. The intervention of the French was sought by the Riveristas, and eventually Oribe was obliged to resign. This occurred 23d October, 1838, leaving about one year and a half of his term unexpired. Rivera re-assumed power, and on the 11th November dissolved the constitutional Congress, and proclaimed himself dictator. His first step was to call together a " Council of Notables," and by this power, created by himself, he was elected President de facto. The Argentines, jealous of the new republic, and viewing it as a serious competitor in commerce, rendered his administration extremely irksome, and in 1840, openly commenced hostilities by aiding and encouraging the former president to regain the supreme government. Oribe, at the head of a considerable force, entered Uruguay, and proclaimed himself president. His advance was met by Rivera with a small army, and the latter was beaten and compelled to take refuge in the capital, Montevideo, which is a well fortified and walled city. From that place, Rivera called upon England and France to comply with the terms of the guarantee, and aid him in sustaining the independence of the country. The object of Rosas, Governor of Buenos Ayres, seemed evidently to gain possession of the Uruguay, and attach it as a province to his own confederacy, and after considerable delay, the attention of England and France was given to the subject. A small combined fleet was sent to those powers, with a demand upon Oribe to evacuate the country: the demand was not complied with, and as Governor Rosas openly favored the invaders, supplying them with men, arms and munitions, the port of Buenos Ayres was placed under blockade, and early in 1846, a fleet of sail and steam vessels was sent up the Parana, with a view of obtaining horses from Paraguay and the province of Corrientes, the first of which about the same time declared war against Buenos Ayres, and the latter was in a state of revolution. At Vuelta de l'Obligado, a severe battle was fought between the combined fleets and the forces of Rosas, which resulted in the dispersion of the Argentines and the opening of the river to commerce for the time, but the allies eventually relinquished the undertaking, and returned to Montevideo, without effecting the design they had in view when they set out on the expedition. This war is still pending, but England has withdrawn from the contest.

The constitutional term for which Rivera was elected, terminated on the 1st March, 1843, and the legislature resolved not to elect another President, but appointed Don Joaquin Suarez, President, ad interim. This man is but a tool in the hands of Rivera, and a fence to cover his constitutional disability to serve another term. It is now the desire of the right thinking of all parties that both Rivera and Oribe shall withdraw from the presidential contest, and leave the people to choose for themselves a chief to rule over their destinies such a course would be likely to bring about the settlement of all disputes and secure the independence of the country. This, however, can never take place until all foreign intervention ceases.

THE EMPIRE OF BRAZIL.

THE vast territories of Brazil, in extent and importance, are second only to the giant empires of Russia and China, in the eastern hemisphere, and the extended limits of the United States of America, in the western world. Brazil stretches along about two-thirds the eastern coast of South America, while its superficial area occupies nearly half its whole extent. It lies between 4° 17′ north, and 33° south latitude; its most easterly point is Cape San Augustin, in 34° 58′ west longitude; its western limit is uncertain-it probably reaches the 75th meridian. The length, from north to south, is 2,500 to 2,600 miles, and its breadth, from east to west, between 2,000 and 2,300 miles. The coast on the Atlantic is more than 4,000 miles long, and its area has been estimated at from 2,300,000 to 2,700,000 square miles. The Atlantic Ocean forms its eastern and southern boundary; Guayana and Venezuela, from which it is separated by a chain of mountains, under the various names of Sierra Tuhuny, Sierra Pecaraima, &c., and the Rio Oyapoco, lie on the north, and its western boundary is formed by the republics of La Plata, Peru, Bolivia and Equador. The country which was originally included under the name of Brazil, is proved, by ancient maps, to have extended only from the sea-coast to the Rio San Pedro; the Portuguese, however, have never ceased adding accessions to the country, and their possession has, from time to time, been acknowledged by Spain.

The form of Brazil may be said to resemble almost that of a heart, of which the greatest diameter, from east to west, in a straight line from Cape San Roque to Peru, approaches an extent of 33 degrees. The east side of Brazil is traversed, from north to south, by a range of mountains, of which the average height is about 3,000 feet; it is known by the name of Sierra do Mars, and its greatest height is 4,100 feet. This range divides the coast land from the campos, or unwooded country, the average elevation of which is about 2,000 feet. It gradually becomes lower on approaching Paraguay, until it is lost on the low and swampy plains inhabited by the Guaycurus Indians. The highest range of the Brazilian mountains is that which traverses the centre of the country, the greatest altitude of which is 6,000 feet. The Brazilian System may be divided into three different

ranges:

(1.) The Cerro do Mars, or coast range, is by far the most picturesque of the Brazilian chains, and in some parts approaches within a few miles of the sea, while in others it sweeps inland for 120 to 140 miles. The soil near the coast is rich in the extreme, and literally teems with exuberant vegetation. At a distance, and near the mountains, are the ancient forests, whose gigantic trees and countless shrubs attest the excellency of the soil on which they grow. On crossing the Cerro do Mars the barren tableland, (the Campos Geraes,) is exhibited in all its native nakedness. Gold and diamonds are frequently found in the vallies. The Cerro do Mars commences in the Campos do Vacaria, sinks abruptly in the direction of the Rio Doce, and loses itself completely at Bahia. The celebrated Monte Pascoal, seen by the early navigators, forms a part of this chain. It is worthy of remark, that the plants growing on the Campos, are altogether distinct from those growing on the Atlantic side of the mountains, and ite a different race of animals inhabit these vast elevated deserts.

(2.) The Cerro do Mantequeira, or Espinacho, the central chain, is more extensive than the former, and comprises the highest points in Brazil, viz. : the Itacolami, the Cerro do Carassa, and the Itambé. This range traverses the province of Minas Geraes, running, in its northerly course, through Bahia and Pernambuco, and in its southerly course, through San Paulo and Rio Grande.

(3.) The Cerro dos Vertentes, or Water-separating Mountain, so called because it divides the eastern tributaries of the rivers Amazon and La Plata from the River San Francisco. This chain is sometimes called the Brazilian Pyrenees. Its loftiest summits are those Cerro do Canastra and Marcella, where, on one side, the Rio San Francisco, and on the other, the most important tributaries of the Rio Grande take their rise; and the Pyreneos, in the Province of Goyaz, where the tributaries of the Parana are found.

Nearly two-thirds of Brazil consist of high land and mountains. Estimates have been given of the comparative quality of the country under tillage, and that still in a wild state, or occupied by rivers, lakes, swamps, &c.; but, from the limited knowledge possessed of this empire, even by the Brazilians themselves, such estimates must be entirely futile. It is, however, abundantly certain that the extent of cultivated land bears but a very small proportion indeed to that of the whole country-perhaps, not more than two or three per centum.

Brazil, above all other countries, has been favored by nature with all the advantages and requisitions for carrying on an extensive commerce; its principal cities are on the coasts; its harbors are the finest in the world, and its large rivers, most of which are navigable to a great distance inland, are connected therewith in such a way as to facilitate the transit of inland products, and ensure their ultimate shipment to foreign countries. The principal rivers are:

1. The Amazon, that mighty stream which almost divides the continent, and which is generally considered the longest river in the world. It is formed by the junction of the modern Marañon (Tunguragua) with the Ucayale, or ancient Marañon; it enters Brazil. at San Francisco de Tabatinja, and flows from west to east along the immense northern province of Para, discharging itself into the Atlantic in about the meridian of 50° west longitude. Its principal tributaries are the Madeira, which takes its rise in the Bolivian province of Potosi, and flows a distance of 700 leagues; the Xingu, in the province of Matto Grosso, itself possessing many smaller confluents; the Rio Negro, the recipient of more than 40 tributaries, which rises in New-Grenada, and loses itself in the north of Brazil, after a course of 700 leagues; the Tapajoz, which rises in the Matto Grosso; and, in addition to these, are upwards of sixty others, of less importance and magnitude, which give bulk to the vast volume of water that constitutes the Amazon,

2. The Rio Pardo, which traverses a portion of the province of San Paulo, rises in the district of San João del Rey, and empties itself into the Parana.

3. The Rio Doce, traversing the province of Espiritu Santo, and serving as a sort of means of uniting the interior of Minas Geraes with the coast. 4. The Pura, or Tocantins, formed by the junction of the Araguay and Tocantins, properly so-called; the former is the principal branch; it traverses the provinces of Goyaz and Para, and empties itself into the Atlantic. At the mouth of the Para, the phenomenon of the bore, to which the

Indians have given the name of pororoca, manifests itself in a very striking manace Diree divs previous to the new or full moon, when the tides are bewest, a 'mrease wave, upwards of fifteen feet in perpendicular height, "shes that shers to store with a tremendous noise, and is succeeded im34 a second and tri, nd sometimes by a four.

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perka s trd stay at the distance

3rd, mist, of necessity, be very La me neighborhood of Rio Janeiro Las with bear every indication of reap the high tides, are covered by the

love with we find the Rhizophora of best of rucksands, and seen almost inmust plans, at a distance from the sea, 2.25 be made available for the purposes of

The sci upon the heights, which suramxture of clay and coarse quartz sand; and in times of drought becomes extremely town, traces of considerable improvement are en dneh quirtz sand rests upon a bottom of resis mach injured, however, by the uniThe soul of Brazil is generally wellLets pant: its tendency is, nevertheless, to the purse of a few years; a plantation never emes, afer which it is abandoned. In the moun

tainous districts in the interior, which are still covered by their native woods, the excellence of the soil is amply proved by the size and abundance of the trees. Neglected for centuries, a layer of the richest mould has been formed of their fallen leaves and decayed trunks, which, resting again upon a rich and deep bed of clay, is of a red or yellow color, as it contains more or less of the oxides of iron. Between Rio Janeiro and Villa Rica, the soil is everywhere of hard and excellent white clay; the mountains are of granite, in which the amphibole predominates.

The mineral products of Brazil are chiefly confined to the more rare and valuable descriptions: the most celebrated, though not the most important, are diamonds. These are principally found in the Provinces of Minas Geraes, Minas Novas, Goyaz and Matto Grosso; but it is supposed that they exist in several of the other provinces of the empire. The diamonds found in Minas Geraes are generally the largest, but they are not of the purest water. The most celebrated diamond mines in Brazil are those of Serrado Frio, which are also known by the name of Arrayal Diamantino, or Diamond District. These mines were not actually discovered until the government of Dom. Lorenco d'Almeida, although the diamonds were known to have been in the possession of the Negroes, who met with them accidentally while employed in gold washing, and other persons, ignorant of their value, long before that period. They were first exported from Brazil to Lisbon, in 1726, by Bernardo da Silva Lobo. This district is surrounded by almost inaccessible rocks, and was formerly guarded by so much vigilance, that not even the governor of the province had the liberty of entering it without the special permission of the director of the mines.

The mines are wrought by accumulating the cascalhao, a kind of ferrugenous earth, (in which the diamonds are found mixed with flints,) and washing it. The former operation is generally performed during the hot season, at a time when the beds of the rivers and torrents are dry, and the diamond sand can be easily extracted. When the wet season arrives, the washing commences: it is performed in the open air and frequently under sheds. At the bottom of the bed glides a small stream, which occupies one of its sides. Seats raised, and without backs, are arranged along the shed, in such a manner, that the subaltern officers (feitores,) are enabled to watch the negroes at work. One feitor superintends eight negroes. Each negro works in a compartment of the shed, separated or walled off, as it were, from the others. The cascalhao to be examined, is placed in troughs close to the stream, and the negroes are introduced entirely naked, excepting in time of extreme cold, when they are allowed a kind of waistcoat, but without either pockets or lining. They are furnished with an alavanca, a kind of handspike, by means of which they separate the earth from the flint, and then taking the largest stones in their hands, they proceed to search for the diamonds. When a negro discovers a diamond, he shows it to the feitor, and then deposits it in a large wooden vessel suspended in the middle of the shed. If any negro is fortunate enough to discover one, weighing seven carats, he is purchased by government, and obtains his liberty: the discovery of a stone of less weight, also confers liberty on the finder, but with some restrictions. Various premiums are distributed according to the value of the stone, even to a quid of tobacco. Formerly there were as many as 30,000 negroes employed in the mines, but according to Freiyreiss, the number employed at the time of his visit to Brazil, (1823,) did not exceed 20,000.