e conditions very little more. It is certain, indeed, that he had
intended ultimately to do away with this state of affairs by a gradual
series of moves, so as to leave the general industrial situation
unaffected. Princess Isabel, on the other hand, favoured the idea of an
immediate uprooting of the evil.

As it happened, some steps had already been taken which must in the end,
of themselves, have done away with slavery; thus, it had been decreed in
1871 that every child of a slave born after that time was free. This was
not sufficient for the warm-hearted daughter of the Emperor. In her
impatience to free the older generation from their shackles, Princess
Isabel determined on a general abolition forthwith. In 1888,
notwithstanding the entreaties and warnings of her Ministers, she issued
a decree to this effect, by which it is said that 720,000 slaves became
emancipated.

At the time remarkably little stir was caused by this upheaval of the
industrial status; but there is no doubt that the measure alienated the
sympathies of the most important class of all--that of the landowners,
who were now quite determined that the Princess and her husband should
never come to the throne of Brazil. While all this was occurring,
matters had cropped up in Europe which had caused the Emperor's absence
to be prolonged unduly so far as home matters of State were concerned.
His health was bad, and his suite were anxious to save him as much as
possible from the anxieties of politics. In order that this should be
effected, he was persuaded to stay away from his country for a
considerable while. At length it became evident that his return was
imperative, and in August, 1888, he landed again in Rio, where he was
received with genuine enthusiasm. His loved personality, however, could
no longer stand between the throne and popular opinion, for, in addition
to the discontent aroused by the acts of the Princess, the centralized
system of government, and the general prevalence of corruption in the
provincial administration, had excited a widespread feeling of
discontent, especially in the Assembly and among the Republican party.

In May, 1889, occurred the resignation of the Cabinet which was in power
when the Act of Emancipation had been passed. A new Cabinet was formed
on June 7, under the Presidency of the Vizconde de Ouro Preto, a
statesman much respected by the Emperor. The liberal policy of this new
Cabinet was resented by the landowners,