Foreign Mission J ournal
S'nbliNli.Ml Monthly l»y tint Foreign JIInhIo.i jRourrt
о
t llic Southern JCiipliNt Convention.
«all l'UWER is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
GO YE, THEREFORE, AND TEACH ALL NATIONS .”
Vol. 11.— New Scries. RICHMOND, V A., AUGUST, 1879. No. 6.— Whole No. 113.
FOREIGN MISSION JOURNAL
KATES PER ANNUM:
flnn ropy . .HI els.
r copli'M iuiiI over,
Ю
onn nililrci**, ourli .
2Л
cIh.
4rf-|MriiHii remit liy Draft. I’oalal Oritur, or III Heitiatereil
I.i'lirr, anil notify ux I'Iiomiti.v of aav clmncii In aildreea.
Aililrw*, FOREIGN MISSION JOURNAL.
HlCIIMOSIl,
Л'а,
. - ■ ■ - - — - ' ' "•
FOREIGN MISSION BOARD
OK THE SOUTHERN BAFTIBT CONVENTION,
I.1K.ATKD at RIOIIMONI), VIRGINIA.
l’HKHiuKNT— J. Ij. M. OUltRY.
Viok-I'ukhiiikxtm.— Hiram Wood», Mil., J.
Л.
Ifaclictt,
Ml»».. K. Ooarmey, I.a„ J. H. Jetiir, Va., II. 31. McUallam,
Kin., T. II. I’rllcliaril, N. O., .1. I.. Harrow*. JCy.. S. Hen-
ilerson, Alabama, W. I’ope Yeaman.Mo.. .1.
И. Ыпк,
Texas,
II. II. Tucker, (In., .1. U. Knrman, S. O., Matt. Hlllsman,
Tenn. , .1. It. Hoone, Ark.
(kiaciKSi-ONUiN-n Skciiktakv— II. A. TUITER.
TIIKAMIUKU— .1. O. WILLIAMS.
Rkcohihnii Skiuktauy— W. II. OWATIIMEY.
AllblTOn— .lOSKI’H
К.
COTTRELL.
IlOAiib ok
Маяаокнк.— К.
V’. Warren, .1. It. Watkins, II.
K. Kllyson, W. K. Hatcher, E. Wortliain, Henry McDonald,
W. GihIiIIii.H. II. Harris,
Л.
K. Dickinson, J. W. Jones, A. It.
(Ilarke, .1. 11. Winston, T. .1. Evans,
О.
H. Winston, ,S. O.
Cloplon. _ _
Ej?'yl II communication.*1) in reference to the lntsine.it
of t/iis Hoard should be addressed to 11.
Л.
Tuitkii,
Oorre.spondiny Secretary, Richmond, Kit.
FORM OK BEQUEST.
“1 hereby Kivu stnti bequeath unto the Southern
Baptist Convention, formed in Augusta, Georgia,
In tin; iiinnlb nt May, 1815, anil chartered by tins
Legislature of tbe Stall: of Georgia, by an act
passed am! approved December 20th, 1815, ( here
insert the amount, if in money, or ‘ subject,' ij
other property, either real or personal,) lor Foreign
Missions.”
OUR BRAZILIAN MJB8I0N.
Every one who visited in 1S7G “ the Centennial”
in I’liiladelpliia was strnek with tjie department of
Sunlit America, conspicuous as it was lor its rich
anil gorgeous articles, arranged witlt exquisite
skill ami taste, and fort lie rare and beautiful speci¬
mens of wood produced in that country of bound¬
less forests and wonderful resources. From the
dye-wood Uamlphiia Jlrazilicnsis, called in the
I’ortugesi! language Panbrazil, on account of its
resemblance to lirazas — “coals of lire,” the coun¬
try which was formerly known as Vent Cruz, or
Santa Cruz, derived its present name, Brazil. In
accordance with the recommendation of our Board,
I be .Soul hern Baptist Convention at its last meet¬
ing expressed the hope, that “ the Board will feel
authorized to enter tills Held at as early a day as
its means may justify.” A station lias been opened
at Santa Barbara, in the province of Sao Paulo,
which adjoins the province of Kin tie Janeiro, un¬
der tlie charge of Elder E. 11. Qnlllln, under wlnit
circumstances reference will lie hereafter made.
Hoping that Hie hearts and prayers of our peo¬
ple are enlisted in tins now enterprise, we presume
that some account of t ho country and people,
which has been gleaned from llie admirable work
of Kidder & Fletcher, “ Brazil and the Brazilians,”
"III not be uninteresting.
ITS VASTNESS AND DISCOVERY.
'Ibis vast empire, which lies between the lines of
c° n^ to 33° south latitude, and contains an area of
3,COO,b°vi square miles; is by far the most highly
favored portion of South America, which boasts
tlie mines of Peru, the highest mountain of the
Western Hemisphere, and tlie mightiest river of
the world. 'J'iie Amazon, it may ho stated bore,
which rises in the Andes and Hows from west to
east through tlie whole extent of Brazil, waters,
with its tributaries, a country of unsurpassed beau¬
ty, tilled with birds of the most brilliant plumage
ami animals of rare kinds, and in extent no less
than 2,330,000 square miles, and sends into the At¬
lantic, through the Narrows at Obidos, 550,000 cu¬
bic feet of water every second. The ebb and How
of tlie ocean may lie seen live hundred miles above
tlie mouth of this “ Father of Waters.” “ Guani-
liani — that outpost of tlie New World — was beheld
by European eyes six years before the discovery of
South America, in 1-193 Columbus landed near
tlie mouth of tlie Oronoco. lie recorded in enthu¬
siastic terms ‘ tlie beauty of tlie new land.’ and de¬
clared that lie felt as if ‘lie could never leave so
charming a spot.’ The honor, however, of dis¬
covering the Western Hemisphere, south of tlie
Equator, must lie awarded to Vincent Yanez Pin-
znii. who was a companion of Columbus, and bad
commanded tbe Nina in that llrst glorious voyage
which made known to tlie Old World the existence
of tlie now.”
HKOHI.H, LANGUAGE AND RELIGION.
The Brazilians are descended from tlie. Portu¬
guese, hut a very superior people to their progeni¬
tors. They are described as inllil, generous, court¬
eous, intelligent, aspiring and hospitable. Their
self-possession is said to lie remarkable. A long
resident of tlie country told us that a Brazilian
gentleman was superior to receiving or resenting
an insult. The daughter of a distinguished gentle¬
man of Virginia who, with tills lady, spent some
time at Rio Janeiro as U. S. Minister, and to
whom we repeated this remark, replied somewhat
piquantly, "Too lazy to light!” 'J'iie Portuguese
language is universally spoken in Brazil. Tills is
not a dialect of tlie Spanish, but as Vicy says, is
"tlie eldest daughter of tlie Latin.” It is more
masculine than tlie Castilian; anti in its strength,
compactness, anil expressiveness clearly indicates its
Roman parentage. The religion is Roman Catho¬
lic; and, perhaps, in no Catholic country is the
priesthood more debased and despised. Their
wickedness is notorious and nvowcu. But. by tlie
liberal Constitution of tlie government, and bj'
tlie equally liberal sentiments of tlie Brazilians, all
other denominations have tlie right to worship God
as they choose, * * with the single limitation that
tlie cliurcli-cditice must not be in tlie form of a
Temple, which lias been defined by tlie Supreme
Judges to lie a building “ without steeple or bells.”
CLIMATE AND PRODUCTIONS.
'J’iie climate of Brazil is varied and delightful.
‘‘Cool breezes, lofty mountains, vast rivers, and
plentiful pluvial irrigation are treasures far sur¬
passing the sparkling gems and rich minerals which
abound within tlie borders of this extended terri¬
tory.” Why Brazil is blessed in climate above
other lands in corresponding latitudes is shown by
Com. Maury: “South America is like a great ir¬
regular triangle, whose longest side is upon the Pa¬
cific. Of the two sides which lie upon the Atlan¬
tic, tlie longest — extending from Cape Horn to
Cape St. Rogue— is 3,500 miles, and looks out, upon
the south-last, while tlie shortest, looking north¬
east, lias a length of 2,500 miles. This configura¬
tion lias a powerful effect upon tlie temperature
and Irrigation of Brazil. 'J’iie La 1‘latta and the
Amazon result from it and from those wonderful
winds called tlie Trades, which blow from tlie two
Atlantic sides of tlie great triangle, lienee, winds
which sweep from the north-east and from tlie
south-east come laden with humidity and with
clouds. They hear tlicir vapory burdens over tlie
land— distilling as they liy refreshing moisture
upon the vast forests and the lesser mountains,
until finally caught up by tlie lofty Andes, in that
rarefied and cool atmosphere they arc wholly con¬
densed, and descend in tlie copious rains which
perpetually nourish tlie sources of two of tlie
mightiest rivers of the world.” * * No other tropic
country is so generally elevated as Brazil. * *
The whole empire lias an average elevation of 700
feet above tlie level of the sea. * * The mission¬
ary does not have his first months of usefulness
thrown away or ids constitution injured by accli¬
mating revel's. Tlie mean temperatiro of Brazil
is from Sl° to SS° F., according to tlie different
seasons of tlie year.
Among tlie products of tlie country are tea ;
large plantations of which may ho seen between
Santos and San Paulo, where our mission is es¬
tablished. The culture of coffee is immense. Its
principal growtli is in San Paulo. This plant,
whose home is Abyslnla, whence it was carried
into Arabia, was taken to South America early in
tlie present century. The annual exports of tills
commodity are some 3 to 5,000,000 sacks, which
supplies two-thirds of the demand of the world.
GOVERNMENT.
During the war between Portugal and France
the royal family of the former country lied to Bra¬
zil, and entered tlie harbor of Rio Janeiro on tlie
7th of March, JS0S. In 1S21 King Dom John VI
conferred tlie regency on ids son, Dom Pedro I,
and returned to Portugal. On the 7tli of Septem¬
ber, 1S22, in tlie sight of Sail Paulo— a city which
had ever been, as it is now, celebrated in Brazil for
the liberality and intelligence of its inhabitants—
Dom Pedro I made that exclamation : Jndepcn-
dencia an morte, (independence or death,) which
became tlie watch-word of the Brazilian revolu¬
tion. During a reign of ten years, under Dom
Pedro I, tlie country made more advancement, in
intelligence than it had done in the three centuries
which intervened between its first discovery and
tlie proclamation of the. Portuguese Constitution in
1320. On 7tli of April, 1831, Dom Pedro I ahilic-
ted in favor of his son Dom Pedro II, tlie present
enlightened, liberal, and gifted Emperor, whom
many of us had the pleasure of seeing a few years
ago in our country. The government is described
as nionarcliial, hereditary, constitutional, and rep¬
resentative. The legislative power answers to tlie
Parliament of England or tlie Congress of tlie
United States. Tlie senators arc elected for life ;
tlie representatives for four years. The presidents
of tlie provinces arc appointed by the Emperor.
The press is free. There is no proscription on ac¬
count of color. Tlie Constitution thus formed was
