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'our benefactors. This is the substance of my intentions, and it is 'to fulfil this commission that I am now in France, as I could not do it in America without exciting some suspicions. It is for you to 'judge if they can be realized. And in case you should wish to 'consult your nation on the subject, I am enabled to give all the 'information that you may think necessary.

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As by this time I had been advised to try the waters of the Aix, I wrote to the gentleman my design, and that I should go off my road as far as Nismes, under the pretext of seeing the antiquities of that place if he would meet me there. He met me, and the following is the sum of the information I received from him:

"Brazil contains as many inhabitants as Portugal. They are: 1st. Portuguese. 2d. Native Whites. 3d. Black and Mulatto slaves. 4th. Indians, civilized and savages. 1st. The Portuguese 'are few in number; mostly married there; have lost sight of their 'native country, as well as the prospect of returning to it, and are 'disposed to become independent. 2d. The native whites form 'the body of their nation. 3d. The slaves are as numerous as the 'free. 4th. The civilized Indians have no energy, and the savage 'would not meddle. There are twenty thousand regular troops. 'Originally these were Portuguese, but as they died off they were 'replaced by the natives, so that these compose at present the mass 'of the troops, and may be counted on by their native country. The officers are partly Portuguese, partly Brazilian. Their bravery 'is not doubted, and they understand the parade, but not the science ' of their profession. They have no bias for Portugal, but no energy 'neither for any thing. The Priests are partly Portuguese, partly 'Brazilians, and will not interest themselves much. The Noblesse 'are scarcely known as such; they will in no manner be distinguished from the people. The men of letters are those most 'desirous of a revolution. The people are not much under the 'influence of their Priests. Most of them read and write, possess 'arms, and are in the habit of using them for hunting. The slaves 'will take the side of their masters. In short, as to the question of revolution, there is but one mind in that country. But there appears no person capable of conducting a revolution, or willing to 'venture himself at its head, without the aid of some powerful nation, 'as the people of their own might fail them. There is no printing

'press in Brazil. They consider the North American revolution as 'a precedent for theirs. They look to the United States as most 'likely to give them honest support, and from a variety of considera'tions, have the strongest prejudices in our favor. This informant is 'a native and inhabitant of Rio Janeiro, the present metropolis, 'which contains fifty thousand inhabitants. Knows well St. Salvador, 'the former one, and the mines d'or, which are in the centre of the 'country. These are all for a revolution, and constituting the body 'of the nation, the other parts will follow them. The King's fifth 'of the mines yield annually thirteen millions of crusadores, or half 'dollars. He has the sole right of searching for diamonds and other 'precious stones, which yields him about half as much. His income 'alone, then, from these two resources is about ten millions of dollars ' annually; but the remaining parts of the produce of the mines, 'being twenty-six millions, might be counted on for effecting a revo'lution. Besides the arms in the hands of the people, there are 'public magazines. They have abundance of horses, but only part of their country would admit the service of horse. They would 'want cannon, ammunition, ships, sailors, soldiers, and officers, for 'which they are disposed to look to the United States, always 'understood that every service and furniture will be well paid for. 'Corn costs about 20 livres the 100 pounds. They have flesh in the 'greatest abundance, insomuch that in some parts they kill beeves for the skin only. The whale fishery is carried on by Brazilians 'altogether, and not by Portuguese; but in very small vessels, so 'that the fishermen know nothing of managing a large ship. They 'would want of us at all times shipping, corn, and salt fish. The 'latter is a great article, and they are at present supplied with it 'from Portugal. Portugal, being without either army or navy, could 'not attempt an invasion under a twelve month. Considering of 'what it would be composed, it would not be much to be feared; 'and, if they failed, they would probably never attempt a second. Indeed, this source of their wealth being intercepted, they are 'scarcely capable of a first effort. The thinking part of the nation ' are so sensible of this, that they consider an early separation 'inevitable. There is an implacable hatred between the Brazilians and Portuguese, to reconcile which a former Minister adopted the 'policy of letting the Brazilians into a participation of public offices, but subsequent administrations have reverted to the ancient policy VOL. II.-4

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'of keeping the administration in the hands of native Portuguese. There is a mixture of natives of the old appointments still remaining in office. If Spain should invade them on their southern 'extremities, these are so distant from the body of their settlements 'that they could not penetrate thence, and Spanish enterprise is not 'formidable. The mines d'or are among the mountains, inaccessible 'to any army, and Rio Janeiro is considered as the strongest port in 'the world, after Gibraltar. In case of a successful revolution, a ' republican Government in a single body would probably be estab'lished."

I took care to impress on him, through the whole of our conversation, that I had neither instructions nor authority to say a word to any body on this subject, and that I could only give him my own ideas as a single individual, which were that we were not in a condition at present to meddle nationally in any war; that we wished particularly to cultivate the friendship of Portugal, with whom we have an advantageous commerce; that yet a successful revolution in Brazil could not be uninteresting to us; that prospects of lucre might possibly draw numbers of individuals to their aid, and purer motives our officers, among whom are many excellent; that our citizens being free to leave their own country individually without the consent of their Government, are equally free to go to any other.

A little before I received the first letter of the Brazilian, a gentleman informed me there was a Mexican in Paris who wished to have some conversation with me. He accordingly called on me. The substance of the information I drew from him was as follows: He is himself a native of Mexico, where his relations are principally. He left it about seventeen years of age, and seems now to be about thirty-three or thirty-four. He classes and characterizes the inhabitants of the country as follows: 1st. The natives of old Spain, possessed of most of the offices of Government, and firmly attached to it. 2d. The clergy, equally attached to the Government. 3d. The natives of Mexico, generally disposed to revolt, but without instruction, without energy, and much under the dominion of their Priests. 4th. The slaves, mulatto and black; the former enterprising and intelligent; the latter brave and of very important weight, into whatever scales they may throw themselves; but he thinks they will side with their masters. 5th. The conquered Indians, cowardly, not likely to take any side, nor important which.

6th. The free Indians, brave and formidable, should they interfere, but not likely to do so, as being at a great distance. I asked him the numbers of these several classes, but he could not give them., The first he thought very inconsiderable; that the second formed the body of the freemen; the third equal to the two first; the fourth to all the preceding; and as to the fifth, he could form no idea of their proportion. Indeed, it appeared to me that his conjectures as to the others were on loose grounds. He said he knew from good information there were three hundred thousand inhabitants in the city of Mexico. I was still more cautious with him than with the Brazilian, mentioning it as my private opinion, (unauthorized to say a word on the subject otherwise,) that a successful revolution was still at a distance with them; that I feared they must begin by enlightening and emancipating the minds of their people; that, as to us, if Spain should give us advantageous terms of commerce, and remove other difficulties, it was not probable that we should relinquish certain and present advantages, though smaller, to uncertain and future ones, however good. I was lead into this caution, by observing that this gentleman was intimate at the Spanish Ambassador's, and that he was then taken to Paris, employed by Spain to settle her boundaries with France on the Pyrenees. He has much the air of candor, but that can be borrowed, so that I was not able to decide about him in my own mind.

Led by a unity of subject, and a desire to give Congress as general a view of the dispositions of our southern countrymen as my information enables me, I will add an article which, old and insulated, I did not think important enough to mention at the time I received it. You will remember, sir, that during the late war, the British papers often gave details of a rebellion in Peru; the character of those papers discredited the information, but the truth was that the insurrections were so general that the event was long on the poise. Had Commodore Johnson, then expected on that coast, touched and landed there two thousand men, the dominion of Spain in that country was at an end; they only wanted a point of union, which this body would have constituted; not having this, they acted without concert, and were at length subdued separately. This conflagration was quenched in blood, two hundred thousand souls on both sides having perished, but the remaining matter is very capable of combustion. I have this information from a person who was on

the spot at the time, and whose good faith, understanding, and means of information, leave no doubt of the facts; he observed, however, that the numbers above supposed to have perished were on such conjectures only as he could collect.

I trouble Congress with these details, because, however distant we may be, both in condition and dispositions, from taking an active part in any commotions in that country, nature has placed it too near us to make its movements altogether indifferent to our interests or to our curiosity.

I hear of another arrêt of this Court, increasing the duties on foreign stock fish, and the premiums on their own, imported into their islands, but not having yet seen it, I can say nothing certain on it. I am in hopes the effect of this policy will be defeated by the practice which I am told takes place on the bank of Newfoundland, of putting our fish into the French fishing boats, and the parties sharing the premium, instead of ours paying the duty.

I am in hopes Mr. Short will be able to send you the medals of General Gates by this packet. I await a general instruction as to these medals. The academies of Europe will be much gratified to receive each a set.

I propose to set out the day after to-morrow for Bordeaux, (by the canal of Languedoc,) Nantes, L'Orient, and Paris.

I have the honor to be, &c.,

TH: JEFFERSON.

FROM THOMAS JEFFERSON TO WILLIAM CARMICHAEL.

Dear Sir,

Paris, June 14, 1787.

Having got back to Paris three days ago, I resume immediately the correspondence with which you have been pleased to honor me. I wish I could have begun it with more agreeable information than that furnished me by M. Grand, that the funds of the United States here are exhausted, and himself considerably in advance; and by the Board of Treasury at New York, that they have no immediate prospect of furnishing supplies. We are thus left to shift for ourselves, without previous warning. As soon as they shall replenish

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