THE FUTURE OF BRAZIL.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 9567, 13 August 1909, Page 3

THE FUTURE OF BRAZIL.

I Through he death of Dr. Alfonso Penna her President a couple of months ago the greatest of Sojth American republics has just entered upon the era of a new administration. But the change of governmental control arouses no apprehension among the Brazilians who through their zeal and patriotism have built a government that is stable and secure. Whether by wise executive advise or through the workings of a beneficient fate Brazil has escaped many of the trials and tribulations that have fallen to the lot < f her sister republics. Her evolutiun has not been marked by the bloodshed and strife that have all but wrecked the less t'urtunate countries that are her neighbours. She has gone on calmly and serenely until she has attained commercial relations that are world-wide and has made her importance as a trade centre felt in every civilised clime. Since th<? bloodless revolution of 1889 when Brazil became a republic her growth has been fatt and certain. At the present time she supplies more than half of the coffee that is consumed in the world, while in other industries she is forging rapidly into the foremost rank. She produces 2 C 0,000 tons of sugar in a year, 280,000 balee of cotton, 300,U00 bales of tobacco, 26,000 tons of rubber, 40.000 carats of diamonds" ! and kills 250,000. head ot cattie. These are average- figures, and they | are remarkable fxom the fact that I they represent the productive | capacity of only a comparatively ! small part of the vast country—a country that is larger in, area than the United States. But she has other industries, too—gold, coal, practically all of the more important ' minerals, as well as silk and woollen | mills, that turn out thousands of yards of fabrics anuually. Brazil by no means has reached the extent of her development. When the thousands of square miles of dense jungle and the unexplored areas along her mighty rivers shall have yielded to the touch of civilisation and the magic of modern machinery, there doubtless will be found riches sufficient to ransom a world. Brazil is yet in be infancy as a world factor.

COMMONWEALTH COINAGE V ■ —- The proposed change in the Commonwealth coinage has been discusser! by a Christchurch journalist with several bank managers. One of them said that if the changes had affected the gold currency the result would have been highly unsatisfactory. As, however, it was not proposed to make silver an international legal tender, in settlements, it was purely a matter of internal convenience, and he did not see how New Zealand would be affected adversely. I The small Australian coins were bound to drift to New Zealand, the 1 way of their entrance being in the pockets of visitors from the Commonwealth. These would, no doubt, be accepted by New Zealand tradesmen, who would rather take them than let business go by. There would hardly be any probability of the banks refusing these coins, as at the most it would only mean the expense of shipping them to Australia and getting their equivalent in gold. As to the free, and unlimited inter change of coins with Australia, that was a matter for tha Government, hut h° could not imagine that being agreed to it, unle&a New Zealand participated in the profits of the mintir:g. The abt.litio" of the halfcrown would n-t ba ,it:vved favourably in New Zealand. The experience of bankers was that this coin was very considerably- in demand, more so than the florin. The obvious objection to the substitution of nickel ciin fur th 2 brmze oi.iw.is that it would ba to ( small like the small silver coins. ,