Previous to my arrival in Brazil, I had been led to believe, from the reports that have been published in England, that the condition of the slave in that country was the most wretched that could be conceived; and the accounts which I heard when I landed—from individuals whom I now find to have been little informed on the point—tended to confirm that belief. A few years’ residence in the country, during which I saw more than has fallen to the lot of most Europeans, has led me to alter very materially those early impressions. I am no advocate for the continuance of slavery; on the contrary, I should rejoice to see it swept from off the face of the earth—but I will never listen to those who represent the Brazilian slave-holder to be a cruel monster. My experience among them has been very great, and but very few wanton acts of cruelty have come under my own observation. The very temperament of the Brazilian is adverse to its general occurrence. They are of a slow and indolent habit, which causes much to be overlooked in a slave, that by people of a more active and ardent disposition, would be severely punished. Europeans, who have this latter peculiarity more strongly inherent in them, are known to be not only the hardest of task-masters, but the most severe punishers of the faults of their slaves. In Brazil, as in all other countries, there is more crime in large towns than in the agricultural districts. This arises from the greater facilities which exist in the former for obtaining ardent spirits; yet, among the black population, intoxication is not often observed, even dense as it is in Rio de Janeiro. It was on a Sunday morning that I arrived in Liverpool from Brazil, and during the course of that day I saw in the streets a greater number of cases of intoxication, than, I believe, I observed altogether among Brazilians, whether black or white, during the whole period of my residence in the country. In the large towns the necessity for punishment is of frequent occurrence. The master has it in his own power to chastise his slaves at his own discretion. Some, however, prefer sending the culprit to the Calabouça, where, on the payment of a small sum, punishment is given by the police. Many of the crimes for which only a few lashes are awarded, are of such a nature that in England would bring upon the perpetrator either death or transportation. It is only for very serious crimes that a slave is given up entirely to the public tribunals, as then his services are lost to the owner, either altogether, or at least for a long period.