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156  ANNUAL REGISTER
acts besides the confiscation of the diamonds, he is condemned to pay double their value, to be imprisoned for one year, and then exiled for life to the coast of Africa. Not-withstanding this severity, the smuggling trade with diamonds, even of the most beautiful kind, is very extensive; so great is the hope and facility of hiding them, on account of the little room they take up.
  All the gold which is got out of the mines cannot be sent to Rio-Ja-neiro, without being previously brought into the houses, established in each district, where the part belonging to the  crown is taken. What belongs to private persons is returned to them in wedges, with their weight, their number, and the king's arms stamped upon them. all this gold is assayed by a person appointed for that purpose, and on each wedge or ingot, the alloy of the gold is marked, that it may afterwards be easy to bring them all to the same alloy for the coinage.
 These ingots belonging to private persons are registered in the office of Praybuna, thirty leagues of Praybuna, thirty leagues from Rio Janiero. At this place is a captain, a lieutenant, and fifty men: there the tax of one fifth part is paid, and further, a poll-tax of a real and a half per head, of men, cattle, and beasts of burden. One half of the produce of this tax goes to the king, and the other is divided among the detachment, according to the rank. As it is impossible to come back from the mines without passing by this station, the soldiers always stop the passengers, and search them with utmost rigour.
 The private people are then obliged to bring all the ingots of gold which fall to their share, to the mint at Rio Janerio, where they get the value of it in cash: this commonly consists of demi-doubloons, worth eight Spanish dollars. Upon each demi-doubloon, the king gets a piastre or dollar for the alloy, and for the coinage. The mint at Rio Janerio is one of the finest buildings existing. It is furnished with all the conveniences necessary towards working with the greatest expedition. As the gold comes from the mines at the same time that the fleets come form Portugal, the coinage must be accelerated, and indeed they coin there with amazing quickness.
 The arrival of these fleets, and especially of that from Lisbon, renders the commerce of Rio Janeiro very flourishing. The fleet from Porto is laden only with wines, brandy, vinegar, victuals, and some coarse cloths, manufactured in and about that town. As soon as the fleets arrive, all the goods they bring are conveyed to the custom-house, where they pay a duty of ten percent to the king. It must be observed that the communication between the colony of Santo Sacramento an Buenos Ayres being entirely cut off at present, that duty must be considerably lessened; for the greater part of the most precious merchandizes which arrived from Europe were sent from Rio Janerion to that colony, from whence they were smuggled through Buenos Ayres to Peru and Chili; and this contraband trade was worth a million and a half of piastres or dollars annually to the Portuguese. In short, the mines of the Brasils produce no silver, and all that which the Portuguese got, cam from

For the YEAR 1772        157

from this smuggling trade, The negro trade was another immense object. The loss which the almost entire suppression of this branch of contraband trade occasions, cannot be calculated. This branch alone employed atleast thirty coasting vessels between the brazils and the Rio del la Plaza.

Besides the old duty of ten percent. Which is paid at the royal custom-house there is another duty of two and a half percent. Laid on the goods as a free gift, on account of the unfortunate event which happened at LIsnon in 1755. This duty st be paid down custom house immediately, whereas for the tenth, you may have a respite of fix months, on giving good security. The mines of S. Paolo and Parnagua pay the king four arrrobas as his fifth, in common years. The most distant mines, which are those of Pracaton and Qaiaba, depend upon the government * of Matagrosso. The fifth of these mines is not received at Rio Janeiro, but that of the mines of Goyas is. This government has likewise mines of diamonds, but it is forbidden to search in them. 

All the expences of the king of Portugal at Rio Janeiro, for the payment of the troops and civil officers, the carrying on of the mines, keeping the public building in repair, and resitting of ships, amount to about fix hundred thousand pirates. I do not speak of the expense he may be at in construction ships of the line and frigates, which he has lately begun to do here. 

A summary account, and the amount of the separate articles of the king's revenue, taken at a medium in Spanish dollars.
                                             Dollars.
One hundred and fifth arrobas of gold, of which in common years all the fifths amount to ----- 1,125,000
The duty on diamonds 240,000
The duty on the coinage - - - 400,000
Tea per cent. of the custom-house - - 350,000
Two and a half per cent. free gift - - 87,000
Poll tax, sale of employs, offices, and other products of the mines - - - 225,000
The duty on negroes - 110,000
The duty on train-oil, salt, soap, and the tenth on the victuals of the country - 130,000

Total in dollars or piasters - - - - 2,667,000

From whence, if you deduct the expences above mentioned, it will appear the king of Portugal's revenues from Rio Janeiro, amount to upwards of ten millions of our money (lives t)

Some Extracts and Anecdotes from Grosley's Observations on England

SUCH is the influence of the national character in England, that the people know no medium between prodigality and the most rigid ceconomy. The parsimoni-

* Capitainie
↑ Upwards of 450,000 pounds sterling; at 4 s. and 6 d. per dollar.