The responsibilities assumed become due on the occasion of the arrival of the cargoes of rubber. In fact, it is exactly at this moment that the merchant-trader is most in need of money, because besides the imperious duty of paying the amount of his debts and the immediate necessity which he has of furnishing new supplies to his clients the aviados, he has still yet expenses to disburse with the repair and fitting out of the steamers, which owing to the bad conditions in the navigation of the rivers return nearly always in a damaged condition; balances to pay to the seringueiros whose debts were relatively small or advances to make to those whose production was inferior in value to the supply sent, but who required a new resource under the danger of otherwise not being able ever to liquidate their debt. Thus it is that the aviador or merchant-trader has no other remedy, but to sell without delay the rubber which has been consigned to him and that is the psychological moment for the decided action of the buyers. Reduced as to number, well informed about the business and in the possession of daily and direct notices from the consuming markets, perfectly bound up to them by a question of mutual interest, they decide to make the price for the merchandise that is offered to them. It is not always that that price corresponds in reality to those of the foreign market, but the apprehension that seizes the merchant-trader that moved by their interests the buyers may resolve to retire the offer, does not permit him either to hesitate or resist. He hands over the merchandise with a small profit and not uncommonly with a loss. Treating of an article which up till to-day has been produced in a quantity inferior to the necessity of the industry, whose price was kept up high, much above that which might be called a remunerative price, that inversion of the law of economics is a very curious one, because, in this case, it is not the producer who imposes the price, but the buyer who does so. The difficulties which the merchant-trader had to fight against, have been increased lately with the advent of the “regatões,” a species of barter-commission travelers on the rivers. This trade is exercised by individuals acting for their own account or as agents of the merchants and who go up the rivers with merchandise, doing business at sight in exchange for money or rubber, diverting in this way a large part of the transactions until now exercised through the inter-medium of the merchant-traders. The principal causes of the precarious position of the “aviadores” or merchant-traders are the lack of adequate capital and the want of banking facilities and other establishments of credit which might come to their aid.