CHAPTER XII.

LOCAL ADMINISTRATION.

A GOOD share of the contentment of people in almost every country arises from their liberty to manage their own local affairs. Even in old European countries, with absolute governments, the people have generally been allowed to have their own way about many local concerns.

For local government, every province of Brazil is divided into municipalities. Sometimes a municipality will include simply a city with its suburbs; sometimes a small city or village, and a large extent of contiguous territory. In this municipality we find that the people can elect a municipal body or council, called a chamber, consisting, in cities, of nine, and in villages of seven, members who hold for four years, and whose president, holding for one year, is elected by them from their own number. This president is the executive officer for the city, and corresponds somewhat to the office of mayor in the United States. The Municipal Chamber, whose room is often in the same building as the jail, can levy a tax on a few things, such as the manufacture and sale of spirits, the slaughter of beef-cattle, licenses, etc., but it can not tax property in general-neither houses nor vacant lots, nor personal property. The greater part of the municipal expenses are paid out of the municipal treasury from its

own revenue, but nothing can be expended without the consent of the Provincial Assembly. The amount which any municipality may spend in a year has already been fixed and limited by the Provincial Assembly, and the Municipal Chamber must limit its estimate of expenses to such sum. The practice is for each municipal chamber to send, in due season, every year, its budget or estimate of expenses, specifying how much under each head, to the Provincial Assembly; and the latter, usually as a matter of course, votes the amount in a general bill for all the municipalities of the province, yet showing the items for each municipality-so much for salaries, so much for lights, so much for rent, and so on. If the municipalities have not quite money enough in their own treasuries, the deficiency is voted out of the provincial treasury; but such deficiency probably would not amount in all to more than a quarter part of the aggregate municipal budgets. The Municipal Chamber has no control of schools, nor of the police, nor of paupers, and its powers indeed seem to be quite limited. It has, however, charge of sanitary matters, and of roads and streets in its limits. Besides electing a "chamber," the people can elect justices of the peace; but the agent and sub-agent of police, the collector of taxes, the prosecuting attorney, the inspector of schools, and the school-teachers are all appointed by the president of the province. Of course, the parish priest is appointed by the bishop. On the whole, therefore, it does not seem that a large amount of local self-government devolves on the people.

The Municipal Council of Rio de Janeiro, like the others, is elected for a term of four years, and its president is the executive officer of the city. As, however, Rio de Janeiro, like the city of Washington, is directly

under the jurisdiction of the General Government, the council has subordinate authority. The matters of watersupply and street lights, for example, are controlled by the Imperial Government. The municipal body has no power to run into debt; consequently, Rio, for a city of its size, has a very small debt. The city government, however, justly or unjustly, is the target of a great deal of complaint. Within a couple of years it has moved into its new and handsome building, with marble floors and spacious marble stairways, fronting on Acclamation Park. The criminal court is held in the same building.

The twenty provinces of Brazil not only have their separate legislatures and executive governments, but they can and do levy taxes on the live-stock and products brought into their respective limits from sister provinces.

At the capital of every province there is a chief of police-an office next in dignity to that of president, and for which is usually selected a man of acknowledged judicial or legal ability. He receives his appointment from the central Government.

The office of provincial president, like that of the Governor of a State, is very important. The appointment to it is made by the central Government without regard to place of residence. Sometimes very able men are appointed to this office; often, however, young and rather inexperienced men are appointed. The service is regarded as a good school for training statesmen, and some of the ablest administrators of Brazil have served as provincial presidents. The office. affords a fine field for statesman-like ability, but, unfortunately, it has been granted in many cases as a reward for party service, and changes have been frequent. The "Paiz," a daily "jornal" of Rio, of May 19, 1885, laments that the Govern

ment should so often change the presidents of the provinces, not allowing them time to become experienced. A position as president, it says, is nearly always given with a view toward one of these two ends: to enable a party colleague to receive a certain amount of money for expenses of moving, or to find him a temporary situation during the intervals of the legislatures. As a rule, the administration of a president lasts only five or six months. The "Paiz" says it knows of one who received ten contos of reis (four thousand dollars) to defray "expenses" to go to Nictheroy (a distance of four miles) to manage the affairs of the province.

"The financial state of the provinces," this journal adds, "is very bad; the most important have a deficit which they can not meet. In some the police is not paid, in others public-school teachers are left without a penny, in others public employés are paid in tenders; all of which tend to paralyze necessary works and to cause general poverty. This state of affairs," it says, "shows a . profound defect of administration, and threatens, if continued, to ruin the country."

It would take at least a couple of years for even a bright man to become familiar with all the official duties of president of an important province. In his reports and messages to the Provincial Assembly he must annually submit a clear statement of the condition of the province and its needs in respect of legislation; its industries, means of transportation, education, care of the poor, tranquillity, and all the various interests that affect its welfare, need his guidance. All bills of the Provincial Assembly appropriating money for roads and bridges, improvements of navigation, schools, churches, the promotion of immigration, and the like, are approved or rejected by him.

It is remarkable, therefore, and, I should think, very unfortunate, that presidents of provinces hold their offices, on an average, only about one year or less. The practice in several European countries, of giving a permanent tenure to such posts, and filling them by the appointment of tried and competent statesmen who wish to retire from active politics, would seem preferable. I know of at least one well-administered state in Europe where such posts are considered a dignified retreat for ex-cabinet ministers.

There are several other provincial officers, such as the secretary, the inspector of instruction, the collector of taxes, and the engineer. The latter has charge of all highways outside of the municipal limits.

Most legislative assemblies will vote money lavishly when they have an overflowing treasury to draw from. But years of abundance are only exceptional; and it would benefit a province if its president had that position and influence that would enable him to prevent extravagant appropriations. Take the province of Amazonas, for example; for a year or two, rubber, its great product, had a very high price; the export of it was immensely stimulated, and, as the province collected a high export tax on the article, its treasury suddenly acquired a large surplus. What was the result? The Provincial Assembly voted away the money in a prodigal manner; and then in a year or so, when the rubber-trade suffered a very great depression, they found their treasury very short of money. Baron de Mamoré, of that province, spoke of this matter in the Senate on March 23, 1885. He is a Conservative, and naturally was not unwilling to make a point against the (Liberal) party in power. He said that, at the beginning of 1884, the province had in hand a balance of