Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, With the Annual Message of the President, Transmitted to Congress, December 4, 1893
Mr. Thompson to Mr. Gresham.
Petropolis, January 20, 1894. (Received February 24.)
Sir: I have the honor to transmit copy and translation of a manifest published by Dr. Alfonso Augusto Moreira Penna, the present governor of the State of Minas-Geraes, in which he strongly advocates the maintenance of the existing government both as to form and personnel.
I have, etc.,
Proclamation of Dr. Alfonso Penna to the citizens of Minas-Geraes.
The revolt of the national navy, which for three long months has imperiled our national existence and caused irreparable loss of life, property, money, and credit, has assumed a new phase in consequence of Real-Admiral Saldanha da Gama’s manifesto.
The instigator of the revolution, Rear-Admiral Custodio de Mello, has declared himself in his manifestoes to be in favor of the republican constitution, and has pledged himself to restore it in its purity in the face of all opposition by the constitutional chief magistrate, Marshal Floriano (President Peixoto), and has at the same time declared the necessity of putting an end to military despotism in Brazil.
In joining the revolution Rear-Admiral Saldanha da Gama goes much farther in his manifesto of the 7th instant (December 7), which fact is shown by the following important declaration:
“Both logic and justice warrant us in seeking, by force of arms, to replace the Government of Brazil where it was on the 15th of November, 1889, when, in an unguarded moment—a moment of national stupefaction—it was overthrown by a military insurrection, of which the present government is but a continuation.
“The respect, however, which is due to the will of the nation, freely expressed, tells us that it is proper for it to choose, on its own responsibility, the kind of institutions that it desires to adopt.”
It follows, therefore, that all that has been accomplished since 1889, up to to-day, in the way of constitutional and governmental organization, whether in the federal government or in the separate administration of our States, is valueless, and disappears as if it had never existed. The autonomy of the State constitutions, the organization of their magistracies and municipalities, the public land system, the colonization and immigration laws, etc., all must be abolished and the people again be consulted for a free expression of their opinion.
But under what government shall we appeal to the voice of the people? Rear-Admiral Saldanha da Gama would have public affairs regulated according to the requirements of logic and justice. And if these were not complied with, what new guaranties of exemption and impartiality can any de facto government offer in order to escape the suspicion with which he accepts the decisions of the ballot-box ordered by the revolutionary government which was the outgrowth of the revolution of 1889? With the very same right by which the admiral condemns the elections held during the revolutionary period and the constitutional period which followed, any officer of the army or navy might in the future come forward and declare the new [Page 110] election, which it is now proposed to order, to be null and void. And thus Brazil would be subjected to a series of uninterrupted revolutions.
Radical revolutions like that of 1889 are sanctioned by the declaration of the people at the ballot box and through the manifestations incidental to national existence in its multiform and constant relations with the organs of administration, and a de facto government created by these circumstances is unable to consult the nation through the regular channel, as is the custom on normal occasions by virtue of constitutional rights and preexisting laws.
An overthrow of political order affecting society to its very foundation will not admit of regular proceedings for consulting the will of the people. This is what was done in virtue of the revolution of 1889. Even the distinguished admirals who have rebelled could pursue no other course if their cause should triumph. It would, however, be the greatest calamity that could befall Brazil if the field should be reopened for political reconstruction, since that would prolong the revolution of 1889 indefinitely.
Revolutions, even when successful, are the cause of incalculable evil to the economic life of a nation. What, then, would be the result if revolutions should succeed one another in such rapid succession as is now attempted amongst us. It would be the complete destruction of public and private wealth, the ruin of the producing and laboring classes; it would cause stagnation of our vast natural resources, which throughout Brazil are awaiting development to lead us to unrivaled prosperity, for labor and enterprise thrive only when peace, law, and order prevail.
They are greatly deceived who hope for the abolition of military despotism by military revolts! That person is blinded who does not see that military despotism is mainly due to the competition and rivalry of army and naval officers for the possession of power, each one that controls an armed force striving to raise himself to the position of supreme arbiter of the established government, and claiming to act under the constitution.
Instead of appealing to constitutional means and to the law for the trial of those in power, they constitute themselves judges from whose decisions there is no appeal, and resort to the ultima ratio—arms.
And this is exactly what Admirals Mello and Saldanha are doing.
The manner in which the revolution of 1889 was accomplished was unquestionably deplorable, and, owing to the absence of a popular element to support it, the armed classes appointed themselves the depositaries of the power by force of circumstances. Rear-Admiral Saldanha thinks that for this reason the nation should be again requested to express a decision concerning its destinies, and that all the results of the elections which have been held during the intervening period should be discarded as null and void. The rear-admiral forgets that the Provisional Government also declared that it spoke in the name of the nation, as he now claims to speak.
Let no one be deceived; that which is contended for is firmly to establish for the heads of the army and navy the power to appoint themselves the supreme arbiters of the nation. If, when the constitutional term of office of Marshal Floriano Peixoto, who was constitutionally vested with power by the national Congress, is drawing to a close, just before the Presidential election, and if a portion of the public force, led into revolt by some of its officers, then seeks forcibly to compel it to relinquish its authority, who will put any faith in the stability of power in the hands of Presidents who shall hereafter be elected to serve for four years?
It is no less an error to resort to the restoration of the monarchy as a remedy for our troubles. If that form of government was unable to maintain itself in Brazil after a trial of sixty years, and while so estimable a man as Dom Pedro II was at the head of affairs, how can anyone believe that it could be advantageously restored when it has not a single representative who is at all remarkable for his capacity to govern?
After the States and the local authorities have enjoyed autonomy for more than four years, can anyone believe that we could return to our former régime of centralization?
Nations are jealous of their liberties and privileges, and do not readily renounce those which they have once secured.
It usually happens, when radical revolutions take place and when the form of government existing in a country is changed, that the new institutions meet with friction and resistance, although such friction and resistance disappear when the newly introduced institutions have become well established. This is now the case in Brazil.
The people would give evidence of unexampled frivolity if they should think of giving way in the face of this quite natural occurrence, and they would receive immediate punishment for their frivolity, because the old order of things would now meet with greater obstacles than it ever did before, and its reestablishment would, from the force of circumstances, occasion a tremendous reaction, thereby still further complicating the governmental and social problem.
[Page 111]Proof that a republican form of Government is adapted to Brazilian society is furnished by the way in which this form was received and has been developed in our State.
If distinguished writers on international law declare that a republican form of government will, at no distant day, be adopted by the old nations of Europe, who will dare to hope that a monarchy can become popular among those which are thoroughly democratic and opposed to class distinctions, as are the nations of America?
The efforts of all Brazilians should be put forth in order to give to our institutions their true character, to the end that their working may be satisfactory.
Patience is a virtue which is indispensable in a government of the people, and the beauty of such a government lies in the fact that under it no one is all powerful and no one is always powerful. The depositaries of public power are chosen by the people at the ballot box, and they succeed one another after each has held office for a brief period.
There are courts for the punishment of crime and malfeasance in office; no one is free from responsibility. The ballot boxes are there for the repression of political wrongdoing.
In troublous times like the present it is very easy for those who are not thoroughly instructed to be led astray, owing to the erroneous way in which they look at political problems, and I consequently deem it my duty to address the people of the State of Minas-Geraes and frankly to state the view which I take of the situation, after examining it in a calm and unprejudiced manner, and availing myself of the knowledge of men and things which I have acquired in the course of my now long experience in public affairs.
Every one knows that I did not favor, but that I lamented, the revolution of 1889, which overthrew the monarchy, at the head of which was that eminent patriot Dom Pedro II, whose knowledge was so profound, and who had rendered such eminent services to his country. I foresaw the disturbances that were likely to follow that uprising, and I am not surprised by any of the deplorable occurrences which I now see in our country. I nevertheless saw at once that it was impossible for the monarchy to be restored in such a way as to secure peace and order and to initiate a career of prosperity for the country.
The prestige of monarchical government was destroyed, and the new elements which had taken its place could never be eliminated in an American country—at the close of the nineteenth century. Under such circumstances the necessary consequence of a restoration would be the destruction of our beloved country—a disaster which every patriot should do everything in his power to avert. Autonomous and prosperous states have never submitted to become helpless provinces, without any prospect of development.
This is an indisputable truth.
The Republic must be made what it should be—orderly, conservative, and progressive.
Revolutions are never justifiable except when they are necessary to overthrow tyranny, and woe to nations that resort to them as a normal means of correcting the errors and misdeeds of their rulers, before they have exhausted all the means afforded by their laws and constitutions! Instead of liberty they will have anarchy; instead of greatness, decay, and instead of the esteem and respect they will have the contempt of civilized nations.
It is this evil that I desire to see removed from our country, and I therefore did not hesitate for a moment to condemn the revolt of September 6, which has been the cause of so many evils.
It has been a cause of much gratification and patriotic satisfaction to me to see that my view of the interests of the nation and of our State met the approval of the Congress of the representatives of the State of Minas-Geraes, which has just condemned the revolt in unmistakable terms, there having been, so to speak, unanimity of opinion, even among those who did not vote for the resolution as passed, as is shown by the statements made by those who did not favor that resolution.
In conclusion, I pray God to enlighten the minds of the combatants, and to teach them that the blood of women and children and of defenseless aged persons—in a word, that the blood of our brethren—does not fertilize, but exhausts the soil of our country.