th of
February, the provisional government has taken upon itself to refuse
payment, on the grounds that it is entirely independent of Rio, until
the pleasure of the cortes at Lisbon shall be known. The revenue is
derived from direct taxes on land and provisions, excise upon exports
and imports, and harbour dues. Land is subject to a tax of one-tenth of
the whole of its produce, and since the revolution, church lands are
under the same law, and the clergy are paid by the government.

The taxes on provisions are annually farmed out to the highest bidder:
they are imposed on beef, fresh fish, farinha, and vegetables. Each
parish has its separate farmer, who pays the amount of his contract into
the treasury, and then makes the most he can of his dues.

The import and export duties are paid at the custom-house, between which
and the treasury a monthly settlement takes place.

The port dues for foreign ships are 2000 reals per day, a trifle for the
light house, and rather heavy charges for entering, clearing, &c.
Portuguese and Brazilian ships pay no anchorage, but are subject to a
tonnage.

We ended our perambulation of the town, by going to the opera at night.
The theatre[69] is placed on the highest part of the city, and the
platform before it commands the finest view imaginable. It is a handsome
building, and very commodious, both to spectators and actors. Within it
is very large and well laid out, but dirty and in great want of fresh
painting. The actors are very bad as such, and little better as singers;
but the orchestra is very tolerable. The piece was a very ill-acted
tragedy, founded on Voltaire's Mahomed. During the representation, the
Portuguese ladies and gentlemen seemed determined to forget the stage
altogether, and to laugh, eat sweetmeats, and drink coffee, as if at
home. When the musicians, however, began to play the overture to the
ballet, every eye and voice was directed to the stage, and a loud call
for the national hymn followed, and not till it had been played again
and again, was the ballet suffered to proceed. During the bustle
occasioned by this, a captain in the army was arrested and hurried out
of the pit; some say for picking pockets, others for using intemperate
language on politics, when the national hymn was called for. Meantime
one of the midshipmen of our party had his sword stolen, adroitly
enough, from the corner of the box, yet we perceived nobody enter; so
that we conclude a gentleman