Page:Statesman's Year-Book 1899 American Edition.djvu/793

 RELIGION — INSTRUCTION 437

and Miiias the negroes are numerons. At the seaports the chief part of the population is of European descent.

In April, 1897, a convention was signed on behalf of the French and Brazilian Governments, submitting the Guiana boundary dispute to arbitration.

Movement of the Population.

The returns of births, deaths and marriages are incomplete, and no statistics are available later than 1884.

From 1871 to 1892 860,991 immigrants are stated to have entered the country. The annual rate through Rio, Santos, and Victoria during fivevears has been : 1892, 86,513 ; 1893, 84,143 ; 1894, 63,294 ; 1895, 164,371 ; 1896, 157,948. Of the immigrants in 1896, 96,324 were Italians, 24,154 Portuguese, 1,070 Germans, 11,366 Austrians and Hungarians. In Rio Grande do Sul there are, under the administration of the Land and Colonisation Department of the Federal Government, 15 Colonies with a population of 108,000, occupying 562,400 hectares of land, of which 220,050 hectares are under cultivation. In September, 1892, the President sanctioned a law permit- ting Chinese and Ja]>anese immigration.

Religion.

The established religion under the Empire was the Roman Catholic, but under the Republic the connection between Church and State has been abolished, and absolute equality declared among all forms of religion. The Federal Government continues to provide for the salaries and maintenance of the existing functionaries of the Catholic Church. The population in 1890 contained 14,179,615 Catholics ; 143,746 Protestants ; 3,300 of other faiths ; and 7,257 of no religious profession.

Brazil constitutes an ecclesiastical province, with a metropolitan arch- bishopric, the seat of which is at Bahia, 11 sutt'ragan bishops, 12 vicars- general, and 2,000 curates. For the private instriiction of the clergy there are 11 seminaries.

Instruction.

Public instruction is divided into three distinct forms or classes — namely, primary ; secondary, or preparatory ; and scientific, or superior. The higher education is controlled l)y the central Government. There are two schools of medicine, four of law, four military and one naval school, a school of mines, and a polytechnic. In 1890 these schools had, in all, 2,916 pupils. There are, besides, the Lyceum of Arts and Trades with 2,277 pupils, and five other special schools with 575 pupils. Connected with the observatoiy at Rio is a school for astronomy and engineering. The two establishments for secondary education called jointly the Gymnasio Nacional (old Pedro II. college) confer a degree, and are controlled by Federal Government. The States Governments are allowed to found gymnasia with similar organisation and privileges, and to a certain extent control this branch of instniction. All other secondary schools are private. Examinations are always official. Primary instruction in the Federal District is under the charge of the muni- cipality, and in the States under the municiiial and State authorities. Accord- ing to the Constitution education is, at all stages, under lay management, and primary education is gi-atuitous. The central department complain that they can get no data from the States on puldic instruction. It seems that education is nowhere compulsory in Brazil. In 1889 there were, it was