the building of lines from many widely separated points on the coast into a sparsely populated hinterland. A majority of the ports, from which these roads are built, are small and difficult of access, and the coasting trade is restricted to vessels carrying the Brazilian flag. The only ports having a rich and well-populated country behind them are Rio de Janeiro and Santos, and these are the terminals of long lines of railway which are being slowly extended farther into the interior.
The total mileage under traffic at the beginning of 1905 was 10,600 m., divided into 94 separate lines. There were also 745 m. under construction, 1740 m. under survey, and about 1600 m. projected. Of the 94 lines under traffic, 45 were operating by virtue of national and 49 by provincial and state concessions. They were grouped in the official reports of 1905 as follows:—
| Government lines (21):— | Miles. | |
| Administered by the state (6) | 2228 | |
| Leased to private parties (15) | 2174 | |
| —— | 4402 | |
| Private lines (24)— | ||
| With national interest guarantees (12) | 1290 | |
| Without such guarantees (12) | 815 | |
| —— | 2105 | |
| Private and state lines operated by virtue of state | ||
| concessions, with and without interest guarantees (49) | 4093 | |
| ——— | ||
| 10,600 | ||
The policy of the national government has been gradually to lease all its lines except the Estrada de Ferro Central do Brazil, which is retained for sentimental reasons. This great railway runs from the city of Rio de Janeiro westward to the city of São Paulo and northward into the interior of Minas Geraes, with a total length at the beginning of 1905 of 1002 m., and an extension of about 104 m. to Pirapora, on the São Francisco river. It was formerly known as the “E. de F. Dom Pedro II.,” in honour of the sovereign who encouraged its construction. The main line has a gauge of 63 in. (1.60 m.) and affords an outlet for a number of inland metre-gauge lines. The first two sections of this great railway, which carry it across the coast range, were opened to traffic in 1858 and 1864. The series of trunk lines terminating at the port of Santos are owned by private companies and are formed by the São Paulo, Paulista and Mogyana lines, the first owned by an English company, and the other two by Brazilian companies. The Mogyana carries the system entirely across the state of São Paulo into the western districts of Minas Geraes. The principal trunk lines (the São Paulo and Paulista) have a broad gauge, while their extensions and feeders have a narrow gauge. The comparatively short lines extending inland from the ports of São Salvador (Bahia), Pernambuco, Maceió, Victoria and Paranaguá serve only a narrow zone along the coast. To encourage the investment of private capital in the construction of railways, the general railway law of 1853 authorized the national government to grant guarantees of interest on the capital invested. Under this law companies were organized in England for building the São Paulo railway, and the lines running from Bahia and Pernambuco toward the São Francisco river. Political considerations also led to the construction of similar lines in the states of Rio Grande do Norte, Parahyba, Alagôas, Sergipe, Espirito Santo, Paraná, Santa Catharina and Rio Grande do Sul. The result was that the national treasury became burdened with a heavy annual interest charge, payable abroad in gold, which did not tend to diminish, and had a long period to run before the expiration of the contracts. The government finally determined to take over these guaranteed lines from the foreign companies owning them, and a statement issued in October 1902 showed that 1335 m. had been acquired at a cost of £14,605,000 in bonds, the interest on which is £584,200 a year against an aggregate of £831,750 in interest guarantees which the government had been paying. In addition to this economy it was calculated that the lines could be leased for £132,000 a year. The loan finally issued in London to cover the purchase of these railways aggregated £16,619,320. All but three of these lines had been leased in 1905.
The use of tramways for the transportation of passengers in cities dates from 1868, when the first section of the Botanical Garden line of Rio de Janeiro was opened to traffic. The line was completed with its surplus earnings and continued under the control of the American company which built it until 1882, when it was sold to a Brazilian company. Subsequently the tramways of the city have been mostly concentrated in the hands of a single Canadian company. All the large cities of Brazil are liberally provided with tramways, those of the city of São Paulo, where electric traction is used, being noticeably good. The substitution of electricity for animal traction was begun in São Salvador in 1906. Mules are universally employed for animal traction, and narrow gauge lines with single-mule trams are generally used where the traffic is light.
Brazil is lamentably deficient in steamship communication considering its importance in a country where the centres of population are separated by such distances of coasts and river. Previous to the creation of the republic, the coastwise service was performed by two national companies (now united), and partially by foreign lines calling at two or more ports. A considerable number of foreign sailing vessels also carried on an important coasting trade. The coastwise service centres at Rio de Janeiro, from which port the Lloyd Brazileiro sends steamers regularly south to Montevideo, and north to Pará and Manáos, calling at the more important intermediate ports. From Montevideo river steamers are sent up the Paraná and Paraguay rivers to Corumbá and Cuyabá, in the state of Matto Grosso. The company receives a heavy subsidy from the national government. Parts of this coastwise traffic are covered by other companies, two of which receive subsidies. There were also six lines of river steamers receiving subsidies from the national government in 1904, and the aggregate paid to these and the coastwise lines was 2,830,061 milreis. The largest of the river lines is the Amazon Steam Navigation Co. (an English corporation), whose service covers the main river and several of its principal tributaries. Two subsidized companies maintain services on the São Francisco river—one below the Paulo Affonso falls, and the other above, the latter covering 854 m. of navigable channel between Joazeiro and Pirapora. Besides these there are other companies engaged in the coasting and river traffic, either with subsidies from the state governments, as feeders for railway lines, or as private unsubsidized undertakings.
The telegraph lines, which date from 1852, are owned and operated by the national government, with the exception of the lines constructed by private railway companies, and the cable lines of the Amazon and the coast. The government lines extend from Pará to the Argentine and Uruguayan frontiers, where they connect with the telegraph systems of those republics, and from Rio de Janeiro westward across country, in great part unsettled, to the capitals of Goyaz and Matto Grosso. At Pará connexion is made with the cable laid in the bed of the Amazon to Manáos, which is owned and operated by a subsidized English company. At Vizeu, Pará, connexion is made with a French cable to the West Indies and the United States, and at Pernambuco with two cable lines to Europe. A coastwise cable runs from Pará to Montevideo with double cables between Pernambuco and Montevideo. There were in 1903 a total of 15,150 m. of land lines, with 29,310 m. of wire and 1102 telegraph offices. The government maintains reciprocal rates with most of the private railway lines.
The Brazilian postal service is under the general supervision of the minister of communications and public works, and is administered by a director-general. Owing to the size of the country and the sparsely-populated state of a large part of the interior, the transportation of the mails is attended with much difficulty and expense. Although the postal rates are high, the service is not self-sustaining, the receipts for 1904 being 7,018,344 milreis, against a total expenditure of 10,099,545 milreis. There were 2847 post offices (agencias), of which 2166 were of the 4th or lowest grade. Brazil is a member of the Postal Union, and like Argentina exacts higher nominal rates of postage upon outgoing mail than those agreed upon to cover the depreciation in her own currency. The letter rate was at first 200 reis (nearly 512 d.), but it has been increased to 300 reis, which is equivalent to 8 d. at par and 412 d. at 15 d. exchange. An inland parcel post was in operation long before the overthrow of the monarchy, and a similar service with Portugal has been successfully maintained for a number of years, notwithstanding the difficulties interposed by customs regulations. National and international money order systems are also in operation.
The constitution of Brazil provides that the coastwise trade shall be carried on by national vessels, but this provision did not go into effect until 1896. And even then, because of the insufficient number of Brazilian vessels it was provided in the regulations that foreign vessels could be enrolled in that trade by using the Brazilian flag and employing a certain proportion of Brazilians on the crew. One of the purposes of this restrictive provision was that of creating a national merchant marine, but the disinclination of Brazilians for maritime pursuits has been a serious obstacle to its realization. In 1901 the merchant navy included 228 steamers of 91,465 tons net, and 343 sailing vessels of 76,992 tons net. These vessels are all engaged in the coasting and river trade of the country. Efforts have been made, however, to engage in foreign trade, and subsidies were offered for a passenger and freight service to the United States. On the 23rd of February 1906 the government completed a new contract with the Lloyd Brazileiro Company for its coastwise and river service, and included clauses providing for a line to the United States. This foreign service (monthly) began in August 1906.
Although the coast of Brazil shows a large number of bays and tide-water river channels which are apparently suitable for commercial ports, a close examination of them reduces the number of good ports to less than a dozen. The others are either difficult of access, or are rendered practically useless by dangerous reefs, sand bars and shoals. Important improvements have been undertaken in some of these ports. Those at Santos and Manáos, for example, have produced good results. In many cases, as at Rio de Janeiro, Santos and Manáos, the cost and maintenance of the new port-works are met by an additional tax on merchandise, though the immediate expenditures are met by advances from the national treasury, and at Rio de Janeiro by a foreign loan.
Commerce.—The imports, exports and domestic trade of Brazil
