The New York Herald Newspaper, May 4, 1858, Page 2

2 IMPORTANT FROM MEXICO, Our Special Correspondence fro that Republic. Bmharrassed Condition of the Zuloaga Government. Atysmpted Negotiations of Mr. Forsyth for More Land. Qeltion] Situation of the Juarez Government in Vera Cruz. ACTUAL CONDITION OF MEXICO. INTERVENTION BY THE UNITED STATES, &e., &e., &e. ur despatches and papers from Mexico brought Dy the Tennessee, at New Orteans, reached us yes- Yerday morning. The latest advices from the City ef Mexico are of the 19th, and from Vera Cruz of the ‘224 of Avril. OUR MEXICO CORRESPONDENCE. « Mexico, April 17, 1858. Present Position of Parties—Straitened Financial Condition of Zuloaga’s Government—Rumored Negotiations for a Sale of Territory to the United States— Gen. Osollo’s Return to the Capital—His Political Designs— Movements of the Belligerents— ‘The Mexican Press and Foreign Intervention, &c. ‘The problem of who or what isto govern here ie asfar from solution as ever. The government of President Zuloaga continues in power; and while on one side it isexhibiting signs of strength—as, for in- stance, in the liberation of Santa Anna’s friends, whom it had imprisoned—on the other it shows the most marked signs of weakness. Although the Juarez government has been defeat- ed in the interior, and ita forces dispersed, yet none of the revenue paying ports have come into posses- ‘sion of this administration. The periphery of the yepubtic still holds out against the centre, and there isa stroggle going on between the centripetal and ‘the centrifugal forces of the country. President ‘Zaloaga represents the former, and has decreed the subversion of the States; while the latter is sustained by Liave in Vera Croz, Garza in Tampico, Vidaurri 4m Noeva Leon, Pesqueira in Sonora, Alvarez in Guerrero, and numerous bands of guerrillas every- where. Ie this exigency the necessities of the government ave great, and its income literally nothing. The mil- onand a half given by the church when it first ame into power, for the decree restoring its posses- sions, has now been reduced to Jess than $50,000 in Ihand, and the pay of the garrison, the army and the eficers of government has been partially stopped. Bm this dilemma the first recourse was to the clergy, and they offered to give a million more when all the Bishoprics should have been brought into subjection. ‘Bo do this the government requires $10,000,000, ‘and then the result is doubtful. Subsequently there Ihave been several consultations between the cabinet ‘end private citizens of influence, but there is not even a suggestion made for the raising of revenue, ‘and no minister can be found to take the treasury. Fer some days past there has been a rumor afloat that the government was negotiating a sale of ter- ritory to our Minister. Every one said it is tre only possible resource it has, and yet it is now equally cur- ‘vent that the negotiation has been flatly refused by the President and his cabinet. I have reason to believe ‘Mast ruch is the case. ‘The chief Santanistas—Basadre, Trigneros and Maaso—were liberated a few dayssince. It is not Aknewn to what influence this measure is owing. Beme epine that it is because Garza, who is be- sieging Tampico, caught some twelve or fourteen of Banta Anna's agente as they were landing from the British steamer, with all hi# correspondence and re- ommendations. Extracts we:® sent tothe Progreso ef Vera Craz, and have been rej wblished here, and the popular idea is that this acciden* has broken up fhe plans and hopes of the ex-Dictator. Others as wert that it was brought about because tle govern. ment had no proos of any complicity of thee three gentlemen; while # third story is that Gen. Ovvllos ‘mterfered in their favor. There is a rumor here that Perez Gomez, Blancarte and Casanora, who are com- manding troops in the west, are bound to pronounce fer Banta Anna. Kt ie the genera) impression here that Santa ‘Anna’s chances are rapidly waning, and J am told wven his friends have, when in private, frequently expressed that opinion. The capture of his cor- espondence, and his proved reliance upon Spanish ‘troops and Spanish money for assistance, have aunty settied the question for the mt. Yet xico is an exceptional country, and what every- Body suppores ew what does pon take lace here. Gene ales baa stareel bee without the s know or consent government, } iy are a thousand rumors afloat about the @ausee of ‘)\s proceeding on his part. He alleges the necessity of attending to his injared leg, but Ons ee eee cin eeeene teams ‘hing with him jast now. ire I fhe Presidency, and in this he is no doubt urged o> Ly many who surround him, and who wish to prof by the changes that woald naturally follow thauge of President. . As to his capacity to fill that post there is not Moch difference of opinion. All concede that he is brave, but even his nearest friends do not claim for him citber attainments or genius in politics. He is Miked by the army—loved woukl be too strong a word— for bis personal courage, and because he is a firm eS for its old privileges. In his recent career the interior, he has not had much opportunity to ay the ion of mili skill; bot he has exhibited the true energy of a soldier in the field, ‘and no smal! degree of wisdom and moderation after . He has not been severe with the opponents of the op | he ir fighting for, and has shown more ‘the spirit of a ruler of a partisan. In admiais- ‘tration he is said to have been honest himself, and exacting a rigid accountability from all others. Since bis return to the capital he has not exhibited — which do hirr equal honor. As he was ill, e Preside nt and Cavinet Ministers called upon him. In the:e interviews he is said to have intimated to the oo. that he expected it to adopt some @ecided course of policy which should give it cha- racter in the eyes of the nation, but he expressed no views as to what that policy should be. Though he has recovered sufficiently to be able to go out, and has been out, he has not a been to the palace, nor retarned the calls of the Ministers. In one ether respect he is open to severe animad- version. Holding the position of Commander-in- Chief of the army, he has given directions to one, at least, of his subordinates, not to obey certain orders went by the government, unless two month: ad vaneed pay and rations were put in his possession. ‘This ocurred within afew days with Gen. Mira- mon, who is advancing on San Luis Potosi. This want of faith with the government from which he obtained and still bv'ds bis commission, is setting a bad example to those who may help him into the Presidency, to nay the least What his chances are hi porstbility of judging. ath is result there is little he possesses the power, through ‘he troops under his command, of over. throwing the pres ont government, there is no doubt; bat without support from any of the political cliques caBing themeeives parties, and having no poicy which would bring the civil war now raging to@ eloge, he would be entirely without resourses, and ly anable to retain his position for ix 4 f, indeed, for a# many weeks. Be«ides tb h men who are leading the opposition in the several sections of the republic, are figt mor fa hand in President-making than for any gr at prin ciple, and would not be disposed to ive up their chances to Gen. Osollos. Yet I must repeat what I have so often said before, that there is no jx ibilit Mexican, ©/ reasoning upon political — So far as can be learned the present Wait its fate n apat on of a pol ure stories of diasensions in the Cabinet ‘ has been ocuarrently repo: ae, the Minister of Poreig He is the ch’ f the adn thirawal might lead to tha The military operations « ef note in the movements who ict} Pockla w advance oy Jalapa, r seems disposed neral Peheagaray bee WEW YORK HERALD, TURSDAY, MAY 4; 1858—TRIPLE SHEET. | been obl to return to Nopaltican, a town mear | There he pduses to Pueb! with a great loss of men from desertion; bat he has not been followed by the forces of La Liave. It is supposed here also lost many men from the same cauge, in the “marches and countermarches that were made, as he went to Vera Cruz in person after the retreat of | Echeagaray, it is said for the purpose of hastening forward a iaaotiee. Gen. Miramon, with about 2,000 men, has returned from the west as far as Queretaro, and gone to the support of San Luis Potpsi, which city is threatened b forces of Vidaurvi, in conjunction with some of the guerrillas of that State. is doubtful; some of his subordinates, with about @ thousand men, are in that State. The pintos continue their ravages in the sonth, and have advanced to within some five or eight leagues of Puebla. Gen. Alvarez himself has not moved from his residence at Providencia. There is areport that his son Diego has gone to the United —, to seek for essistance, but there is reason to joudt it. From the West the accounts are very me; The troops of the government are operating against the constitutionalists in Colima and the ites that are numerous in the country this side of that point. There isa report in town that Camaron has pronounced in Zacatecas for Santa Anna; and itis supposed that Blancarte, Perez Gomez and Casa- nova, who have command of different divisions of the government forces, will second the movement. Advices from Sonora confirm the death of Don Jesus Gandara, and that Pesqueira has triumphed completely. The State, however, is in a very dis organized condition. ‘The filibuster question excites but little interest rts of an invasion of the Rio Grande country by Vidaurri causes some uneasiness. Reports are also in circulation that Lower California is in danger of an invasion from San Francisco. ‘The public feeling here is very generally against the here, although the re] filibusters. But the prominent topic now is the question of intervention. Several of the journals, among which the Mexican Extraordinary and the Courrier Francais have taken the lead, are publishing articles forei, from the Henatp, the London Times and the Jour be combined and brought into action by dipo! skill and foreign support. Mexico is begii industrial change. Mr. Ha) has lately constructed and oj lupe.” It is also doin, atle thing about it is over which many a penitential knees. Now, th the pilgrim, or carries him Janghingly night Dr. Naphegy lighted up pad Ley to the plaza. To-nigh' lights are lig! — the brightness of the new illuminator. mon, the south, I should have mentioned the Pedregal mine at Tasco, Sear Dr. Burr, an American citizen. some da; ten; but, for some reason, to-day, his house, farni- ture, and even his papers, addressed to Washington, have been attached and taken possession of. [am informed that the officers were Larimer Sarat to secure possession of the papers relating to bis Mexico, April 19, 1858. Movements of Juarez—Dreadfully Embarrassed Condition of Zuloaga’s Government— Military Reports—Mr. Forsyth Negotiating with Osoilo— Expected Arrival of the British Minister—Mr. Robles to be Retained at Washington—Article in the Sociedad on Annexation, §¢. Since the departure of the stage on the 17th, by which your attaché left this, the budget of news has been slightly increased. During yesterday I learned that Juarez and his Cabinet had deserted thetr fede- ral capital at Colima and on the &th instant took ship for down the coast. One report says they were togo by way of Panama to New Orleans or Havana and thence come to Vera Cruz, there to re- establish their government. Should Juarez and his party manage to reach Vera Cruz soon, they might establish themselves at San Juan de Ulloa and hold out for some time, perbaps might overturn the shell of a government we have here. The government here Is very hard up for money. A new loan is talked of from the clergy, but it goes ahead slowly. For several days all payments have been suspended in the palace. The tight times of Comon- fort have returned. The moneyed men here do not t=), at the paper of the clercy, and it is very proba- le the next loan will be made at ruinous sacrifices. I doubt if they will be able to raise money on the pen of the clergy on more favorable terms than irty cents on tke dollar. We have no news yet from the brigade of Gomez, that went against ‘Colima, or that of Miramon which went against #an Luis Potosi; or that of Blancarte, which went against Colima. The bri- gade of Manero, which took Zacatecas, has pro- pounced for Santa Anna, Thus a new game is opentd. There is Feneady > beget goed ahs ente of the streets an does amoun' muel Amongst other things, I learned yesterday that Mr. Forsyth was ingratiating himeelf with Gene ral Qsollo, doubtless looking forward to the making a treaty with him if he takes the reigns of I believe Mr. F. is not pi with govermpent. cool manner in which his negotiations for a trea- ‘vipere lately broken off by Z "Seta eB to hear of the arri- Minister. A cer- it questions now. ‘The octal nal announced y that Mr. Robles would be retained at Wi A very curious article appeared in the semi-offi- cial journal, the Sociedad, yesterday, on annexation. I ed no poe ag es and hy Ringed complete in the origi you. subject wi soon be warmly discussed here. OUR VERA CRUZ CORRESPONDENCE. Vena Cavz, April 21, 1858. Capture of Orizaba— Movement upon Vera Cruz— Suiney Coolidge, of Boston, among the Prisoners — Position of the Invaders— Strange Combination at the Capital—An American Protectorate— Vio lence of Garza—Detention of the Maile—Puture Prospects, &e., &e. Since my last the government forces under Gene- ral Echeagaray have suddenly burst forth from the plains and taken Orizaba by a coup de main. There was but little resistance made by the liberal troops, who were, it is true, in very small force—the main bodies being on the Jalapa line. K was quitea rout at Orizaba, a regular sauve gui peut, or devil take the hindmost. We had accounts of a vigompus resistance, a four hours’ assault, &c., but it seome nobody was very seriously hurt, unless, indeed, we may except an anfortanate donkey, who didn’t display as much sagacity and activity in get- ting out of the way as did the two-legged asses. Even the donkey “‘casnalty” wante confirmation, and this asinine episode will give one a pretty fair idea of a real Mexican fight against Mexicans. “When Greek meets Greek,” &c. Lopez, commander of the liberals, refused to fly, and Sidney Coolidge, of Boston, stuck by his chief, and they were made prisoners together. We hada report that Echeagaray had Coolidge immediately shot. Again, one of the fagitive officers, who didn't stop ronning until he reached this place, declared he (Coolidge) had received two mortal wounds from “@ base marander’s lance.” The truth is, he isn’t burt, nor will he be. Mr. Thrasher, who came down this morning, saw him alive and well, although im- prisoned. Mr. Coolidge came out a few months ago as assistant astronomer to Colonel Tulcott’s Engineer corps, leaving which he joined the patriot army ae volunteer aid-decamp of Gene- | ral La Liave, an officer of military en cineets, for which he is well qualified. young man and a finished scholar. an eminent India merchant, of Boston—his mother having heen one of the Jefferson-Randolph family of Virginia. J enter into this pergonal detail that his in the United States may know that be is intry. pushed for qnihuite (9 f ow on the ¥ 1 *, and is that La Lave has | [t was said that Vi- daurri had come up in person to San Luis, but this nal des Debats. A Huropean intervention is consi- dered out cf the question, and every one looks ex- pectatively to the government at Washington. No suggestions are made, and the idea has not yet taken form here. But it must take form, for although the elements of a good government exist here the; mast atic In the midst of the political disorder existing here ing to receive an impulse toward an en,an American, ned a railroad to Tacu- baya, some fcur miles distant, which is doing an excellent business. Another road about the same length has been built to Guadalape, the shrine of the great patron of Mexico— Our lady of Guada- well; but the most remark- at the road is built upon a fine causeway which was constructed many years since for the accommodation of the pilgrims, and r being has te urneyed on his iron supersedes: along. Last ith gas, for the first time, a large portion of one of the mainstreetsof the it the oki city hted, but their ineffectual light pales the outrages committed by the pintos at ie of the in great to le has bean for reparing his papers to remit to Washing- He isa fine | He is the con of ; go of region) ip great strength, ' So comity for our friend vométo bas as little respect for General Echeagaray as the Angel of the Lord had for General Sennache- ib in the olden time. Meanwhile it is supposed La Llave and his army are crossing the country to fall upon the invaders rear, bat that chief has net displayed military ability which was to have been expected of him,and it is doubtful tomy mind whether he will accom- plish saysicag or not. ‘This place remains firm, though there is some aj prebension of treachery inside the walls. 'To-nigl (it is now 10 P. M.) guards are doubled and nearly the whole National Guard under arms. Although Eche: y may have 4,000 men he could make no Peep any Vera Craz—even waiving the vomito—provided the garrison remain true to their colors. Governor Zamora and others have gone too far to recede, and must either fight it out or embark. We have strange, vague rumors from the city of Mexico. It is said that it is not improbable Osollos (the great defender of the faith) and Lerdo de Tejada (the arch enemy of the church) may comre to an ar- rangement by which the former would step into the Presidency, with the latter as Premier. Well, nothing is too imprcnatie, for Mexico. There is much talk, too, of an American protec- torate. Indeed, that idea appears to be gradually wing upon the enlightened public mind. In it lexico may find at last the panacea of her woes. Who knows? We have a report that Garza has shot, at Tampico, Generals Corona, Pacheco, Zires, and some ten ora dozen other officers, who, it will be remembered, he made prisoners some three weeks ago. If so, it were an Cig tone and inhuman deed. We have littie information from the Northern Btates, though it appears that the powers at Mexico are still pushing forward vigorously the war of re- subjugation. The mails haye been detained by Echeagaray for some days past. True he permits the despatches of foreign agents to pass after a brief quarantine, but the correspondence of merchants and private indivi- duals generally has no such periee ace d. T close this hasty sketch of affairs by giving it as my deliberate conviction that this country will never have peace without foreign intervention. If the conservatives carry the day now, or a patched up acitication be had, it would be but to smother for a rief space fires that will be sure to burst forth with renewed fury. In no case and under no government. of their own will there ever be anything like har- mony. Mexico is too strong to be filibustered; so let us have that American protectorate. Ra Cruz, April 22, 1858. Capture of Orizaba by Echeagaray— Mr. Coolidge, of Boston, Amongst the Prisoners—Instructions of Echéagaray to Have Him Shot—Probable Suc- cess of the Efforts Made to Save his Life—Ne- grete’s Force Pronounced in Favor of Zuloaga— American Interference, §¢., §¢. I left Mexico on the 17th instant by the diligence for Puebla, where we arrived that evening without hindrance. The next morning we left for Orizaba, and about noon were stopped by highwaymen at the barranca of Quichola. We were armed, and a couple of shots sent these fellows about their business, and they left us to pursue our way, which we did without molestation. We reached Orizaba al nightfall, and found it in possession of Gen. Echeagaray, who had made a forced march from Nopalucan and entered it by sur- prise two days before. Little resistance was made, and Col. Alberto Lopez, who commanded, was made prisoner witha portion of his staff. Among the latter I was told wasa young man from Boston, by the name of Sidney Coolidge, who had come out to Mexico with Col. Talcott’s Railroad Surveying Corps, but who had left that party and joined the liberals, It was further stated that Gen. Echeagaray was much incensed against him, and that he was to be shot the next day. Interest had already been made in his favor by Mr. Grandison, an English gentleman of influence settled in Orizaba, and I at once sought him out to learn the truth of the case. He confirmed the ra- mor, and said that he had seen the General, but was not satisfied with the result of the interview. {immediately called upon Gen. Echeagaray, and was very courteously received. When I informed bim that my business was concerning young Coolidge, his countenance changed ; but he listened to all I had to say. His ground was that Coolidge had come into the country with an amicable charac- ter, which he had thrown aside to take arms with a party fighting against the supreme government,and that his instructions were to treat him with the utmost rigor ; in fact, to consider him as a filibuster, and to shoot him as such. I defended Coolidge as well as I was able, and before I left the General I received from him a tacit assurance that his life was safe. He readily granted me permiksion to see Coolidge, and I at once availed myself of it. I found him con- fined with other prisoners of war in the com- men jail. He was very nervous, bat seemed to be assured when I told him the result of my interview with the General. He will probably be tried by court martial, and eentenced to some term of econ- finement, and, a labor, [am told that bie friends reside in on, and they may doubtless ep his release by exertion through oficial quar- rs, Among the prisoners I found another American, a young man by the name of Clement P. Garcia, son of John P. Garcia, Eaq., of New York. He has been in the country for some years, and during the war served General Scott as an interpreter. He afterwards established a school near Jalapa, and has been residing there ever since. He was ar- rested for being a puro, or liberal, and was brought by, bye army to Orizaba. He was not looked upon in the some hight ae Coclidpé, but was at the time kept in confinement with him and the er =. His life is in no danger, but it is nncer- ‘in when he may obtain his liberty. Both of these cases eave the immediate attention of the go Yermmeht. - General Pebengesy entered Orizaba with 3,700 men, and the 'y of this force led the liberals to abandon town of Cordova, which was occa- ied by 500 men, under Cobos, the next day. We found the maila and the diligences all stopped at Orizaba, but a party of us, being anxious to catch the Tennessee, succeeded, after great exertion, in obtaining a wagon to carry os through the contend- ing forces. The party waited for me while I took the ne steps in favor of Coolidge and Garcia, and at nightfall we started. We passed through the advanced pickets of Cobos at Cordova, under an order from and a yao to find the liberals posted at the bridge and pass of Chiquihuite. But on reaching that posi- tion we found the barricades abandoned and the pass and heights clear. Some further on we found the Mayor of Cordova, with about 200 men, in full retreat for Vera Cruz, which place he entered the next day. Here the city is in much alagm, fearing an attack from Echeagaray, but from what I at Oriza- ba Iam inclined to believe that General will not come down into the hot country, as Whey mostly from the high plains and are subject el. low fever. He will now probably turn his attention to the other line, and endeavor to take Perote and dalapa, under the conviction that Vera Cruz will fall when these have surrendered. Governor Zamorra, however, says he will hold out till his last cartridge is expended and his Jast biscnit eaten. General La Liave arrived here last night, and this morning the news came that the forces of Negrete, at the national bridge, had pronounced in favor of the Zuloaga government. ere are 1,200 men on their way from Oajaca to defend Vera Craz, which are expected to arrive here in a day or two. The contest may now be said to lie in the fate of this city. If it holds out for any time the Au!) goverament may die for want of resources; if it falls government, will obtain a lease of some months’ fife, to be suc- ceeded by another revolution or by Santa Anna. President Juarez and his Cabinet left Manzanillo by sea on the 8th instant for the south. What their destination is is not known. Nonews of importanse bad occurred in the capital on the 19th, when the express left there with the mail for the Tennessee. There were ramors of a combination between Ovollog and Lerdo de Tejada to overthrow Zaloaga and form an aati-charch party government. Gevernor Zamorra, of Vera Cruz, and General La Lieve will do all that men can do to resiet the tide of treason that is setting in around them; but whether they will be able to resist it is ancertain. They have flatly refused all the offers of filibuster aid that have been made them from New Orleans, as has also Vidaurri in the north. If ever American assist ance goes to Mexico it mast go under other leaders and other counsels than those who have been seek ing to find acceptance there. ACTUAL CONDITION OF THE REPUBLIC. OUR SPECIAL MEXICAN CORRESPONDENCE. Crty or Mexico, April 15, 1858. Jans Gorpor Desvert, Bsq.:— Srr—In accordance with your instructions, I have now been several weeks here, engaged in studying the political and social influences that are at work in this community. During that time I have had the pleasure of intimate and free conference with many gentlemen who arc promipent in the political, muilitary and private circles of this country. 1 have | found them all easy of access, exceedingly courteous and affable, and frank in their expositions of the state of the republic and the causes that have led to the present condition of things. Justice requires me to say that I have met among them many pro- found thinkers, who see clearly and appreciate properly the influences that are destroying the co- hesiveness of the body politic, and nota few who perceive the national disintegration that is going on. In the following remarks I do not pretend to give the views of any particular school of politica here, but rather those generalizations which I have been able to deduce from information gathered from many sources. . It must str ke every one who studies the condition of the Mexican Union, that as a federated republic Mexico has virtually ceased to exist. Nominally it still consists of twenty-three States and six Territo- ries, and the forms of the federal government are kept up in the national capital. But the power of this government does not extend beyond a few of the central States for any effective purpose. Those lying upon the frontier,and in the most distant quarters of the Union, are @ prey to the savages, civil discord, or some local raler who keeps up his army and his arbitrary rule with little regard either to the behests of the federal government or the wishes of the people. Thus we have Yucatan desolated thronghont the greater part of her territory by the savages, and civil dissensions existing at the same time between the local authorities of Merida and Campeachy; Guerrero, subjected to the arbitrary rule of Don Juan Alvarez, whose power is supported by a horde of savage pintos, who take peste in making a direct or indirect war upon the white races. Alva- rez acknowledges no federal authority except upou condition of a monthly subsidy regularly paid, and this acknowledgment consists merely in restraining his pintos from Taree the neighboring States. Goy. Yafiex has ruled in Sinaloa for several years with power that is really begess not nominally abso- lute, and he recognizes no federal government that does not reciprocate by sega aie him. In Sonora two cliques, led respectively by Gandara and Pas- queira, are continually struggling for the local power, while the barbarous tribes of Indians roam through the State at will. In Nuevo Leon Vidaurri rules in much the same manner that Yaiiez docs in Sinaloa, and besides this, he has annexed the State of Coahuila to his own without the federal power being able to prevent it. Tamaulipas is subjected to the sway of Gov. Garza, who pays as little heed to the federal auth Chihuahua, Lower are too distant from the centre and of too little weight in the republic to call for much attention from the federal authorities. The proximate frontier Zacatecas are a constant tribes of the north, who have driven the white population mostly into the cities and larger towns for safety from their raids, which are made with impunity, in bands of from twelve to States of* Durango and prey to the In thirty warriors. From the foregoing recapitulation it will be seen that the true republic of Mexico consists at present of the States of Vera Cruz, Puebla, Mexico, San eretaro, Zacatecas, Jalisco. These em- running from the Gulf of ean, between the 17th and 24th arene of north latitude, and comprise about five millions of the estimated eight millions of total pulation. It is in these States, but particularly in hose of Vera Cruz, Mexico and San Luis Potosi, that the continual strngue for power and the revolutions ‘ir chief seat is the capital itself, Luis Potosi, Guanajuato, Aguascalientes, Michoacan ani brace a belt of territor Mexico to the Pacific Be are carried on. and in this it may be said of this city, as it has been said of Paris, that it is the whole country. Whenever a revolution has possessed itself of the capital it has Pree, Reger oe Although Mexico experienced so many so- called revolutions, the true revolution of the country has never yet been made. It has indeed thrown off the yoke of Spain, but the institutions and the ideas of Spain still rule here, both in the potticnl and the social organization of the republic. The church and State are still closely united; the ecclesiastical and military tribunals civil power; the feudal limited class, which is estimated not to exceed sixt; thousand persons, in a territory com) wz 115, square leagues of land and eight mil like that of Spain of the present da: age existed; the mercantile and mechanic c! hold a social position net unlike that of the burghers popular of Europe three centuries ago; and all rights, all power and honors, and all public enter- rises must emanate from the government, as of old hey flowed from the king. ice the overthrow of the Spanish ir revolu- tion after revolution in the personnel of government has been effected, but never in the principles of gov- ernment. Efforts have been made, it is true, to imi- tate the forms of the great American republic, but their spirit has never animated the rulers here. In- dustry and trade of all kinds, not even excepting the daily traffic of the public markets, have been onoe- rously taxed for revenue, but no tax is laid upon the vast possessions of the landed proprietors. Protective systems and monopolies have been sedulously elabora- ted fer the benefit of the favorites of the ruler. The ac- Seen of public officers has never been estab- lished, and the plunder of the public treasury has been the practice of every administration. Under the privi- 4 aflorded them by the law and the corrupt ad- ministration of government, certain ecclesiastical corporations have absorbed the great masa of the wealth of the community, until now they oversha- dow the land. It is only within a few years that the principles of @ true revolution in ment and society have dawned upon the public mind here, and the struggle is now ing on in the midst of an ex- Ping anally a tegrated society. With these preliminary remarks I shall to consider the present ization of society here, objects of the eenges and the elements and now going on:— POPULATION AND RACES. No complete census of the inhabitants of Mexico has been made since the year 1793, when the Vice- roy, Revillagigedo, directed one to be taken, which gave a total population of 4,483,680. In this several of the departments were not included, and in others the enumerations were made with great careless nese. Two years afterwards corrections were made of these omissions, and the total popniation was es timated at 5,200,000. In 1831 a censns was ordered to be taken by the government, and ite result was announced as giving 8 total population of 6,982,284; but several of the States were set down at round numbers in this ena- meration because the statistics could not be ob- tained. Subsequent general enumerations have been made by several writers, based upon the partially obtained returns of the respective local authorities, and of the parish sters of births and deaths, the | of which is pabiisued in the Mensoste ar bat Manuel Sil jer of Fomento in the administration of Li ged Nyy }. . In this document the uilation tepublic is estimate B87 dit si xbox In these ennmerations no distinction has been made of race or color, it having been considered im- politic todo so. Don Miguel Lerdo de Tejada esti- mates, in hig Cuadro Sin $0," she different races of the populatn in the followitk proportions: One aixth part European, one half pure Iudian, and one- third a mixture of the Puropean, Indian and Afri- can.” From the want of data the law of increase or decrease of these races is not defined with any cer- tainty. The general impression is that the {ndian race experiences a constant decrease. Don Manuel Orozco, chief of the statistios! barean, in a report pgm om tod the Memoria of Senor Siliceo, makes the following statement in regard to this point:— Tn fact, the conquered race bas never increared; from meration Ww generation its individuals, iaft in absolute iberty and protected by the law, diminieh visibly, with out any ontonsibie cause to which this result can be attri. bated; and on every side wo see the towne inhabited ex- cinsively by them becoming depopala’ed and ruined, wibout the possibility of prevention, when we find an Increase ie (pn the part posmersed iz, the conquering races: tn Increase which, acooring to the data given by every ‘writer, \s constant, and at times too rapid. Thus it ia, in that the census supports my idea. for it dooe it the constant increase of both races, but marke ‘tion between one that increases and the other the propor ‘that diminishes, and from (his firws the phenomenon that the aggregate ation geome to aivance Prowl that |t a) most remaine stationary. ‘The same want of data operates to preveat the deduction of any law in regard to the fec undity of the mixed races here. I find, in conversation with intelligent and well informed persons, that the pre- vailing impression is that the mixed races do not in- crease —— themselves, but only do so as they eat out the pure Indian. If this is the fact—and I see no reason to doubt it—we must believe that the na’ law of popula tion here is that the mixed races are displacing the | indigenous; and that these, through their leaser fe. enndity, will soon give way to the pure white. whenever the indigenous has disappeared. Such « result must be hastened whenever the white p ypula- tion here shall receive a new either from the advent of immigration or from other canse, A notable fact in this connection was told me by Aperican gentlemay who bas been a coustayt | ow resident here for twenty-ci ars. time he informed me that fe ho had at the least fifty female servants, and of this number he has known only two to have children. of Indians have abandoned their own adopted the Aztec or Mexican, and they took pride in having done so. Don Manuel as any of his compeers. "Oajaca and chara are superior to those of the panenion of the land by a ons of inhabi- tants; the serfdom of the great mass of the people, and Europe in the sixteenth century, are virtually the same now, either through ‘State laws or admitted custom, as when the old system of mend “In connection with this branch of the subject there is another work of displacement going on here al g the races which is worthy of notice. A gen- tle! gotbering the statistics of an who has been pressventiy en; in the State of Puebla in- formed me that, within his knowledge, whole Geer an as it is here called, Orosco, in an ethnographic report accompanying the Memoria of Senor Biliceo above referred to, thus alludes to this lingual displacement:— From the t:me of Montezuma to the present day the lo- calities inbabited by the indigenous tribes poe Ada very litte, We have to note one curious fact, which is, that mapy of the rude and savage tribes, in order to enter upon the road to civilization, have given up their rude idiom for the Mexican. The Popolocas, for example, in the State of Puebla, formerly extended to Tecamacha!co, and now those speaking this Jang) are reduced to & small space, the others making a st that they have abandoned ther idiom for tha civilized tongue. ‘The Spanish, however, is continually gaining upon the Indian languages, except in Yucatan and those portions of the republic desolated by the northern savages. In Yucatan the conquerers have not been able to impose their language u) the tribe inhabit- ing that peninsula, and the whites have been com- pelied to learn to speak the Mayo for the purpose of trade and intercourse. It is worthy of notice that in both these sections of the republic the white race is gen way before the Indian. twill be seen from the abs Sg data that the Indian races here are obeying the same law which has exterminated their compeers in the more north- ern parts of America. The white race is asserting its superior vitality, and the time is approaching when the aborigines will have entirely disappeared. THB RELATIONS OF LAND AND SOOIBTY. In studying the social organization of Mexico, the first thing that strikes the observer is the vast ex- tent of individual estates. A gentleman here telling me of certain property he possessed, said, ‘ two of my estates lie together, but the homesteads on them are five leagues apart, and the distance from bound to bound is fifteen leagues.” T have endeavored to obtain some proximate idea of the number of landholders in the republic, and have conversed with many well iaformed gentlemen here on the subject. The absence of all information on this point in the compiled statistics of the coun- ty is remarkable, but the mean estimate of those with whom I have conversed is that there are 60,000 preprietors; the maximum estimate gives 80,000 ae epee et, notwithstanding this small number of land- holders, and the extent of the republic, which is estimated at 115,000 square leagues, the ublic lands, which are supposed to exist in large tracts, are unknown, and there are many floating grants in existence which have not yet been located. It seems to me to be the general im- pression that the only public lands are those held by he Indians, and people are waiting until somebody ehall extirpate or drive these off to bring forward their claims. The memorial of Senor Siliceo has the following remarks on this subject :— During the years immediately after tho conquest, each conquestador took for himeelf tha lands he liked best, with- out other limite than thoge presented by the mountains which were séén in the distance, and of which even the ames were upknown ; and as the number of ‘was small in comparison with the extent of terri tory they had subjected to their dominion, the result was that even taking the land they wiehed without bounds, Saye Se ee oe ei cee. as ns their catanee, or ‘pereased ‘the iador to wala they dedi cated them. ' From thie there has arieen the aglomera‘ion in a few hands of the landed pr of the country; the incredible extent of some estates, contain @ greater superficial extent than several of European sovereign- es; and lastly, that when they were estimated to contain five or ex ues of land, they have been found to cun- tain forty or ' The first notable effect of this limited division of the land is that the country everywhere is thinly populated, and the people are gathered her in towns and villages. col ited ir con- stant aim is some petty occupation and barter, in which latter the Indians are particularly shrewd. But another and more pernicious result is found in the wide developement of vice of all kinds, and a universal = of gambling. Thus the trae foun- tains of public welfare and morality are dried up, and society is hone; bed throughout its entire extent, not only by vice in its many forms, but bi its natural concomitant. a universal distrust whic! every man entertains of his neighbor. ‘The fabric of society that has been erected upon this feudal system of land tenure is one of a most unhealthy constitution. Above the great mass of ppecktea, which consists of the inferior race living extreme indigence and degradation, there existe @ medium class, distinct from the landholders, com- d mostly of whites, bat with a large intermix- are of mixed races. This class is distinctly divided into the following grades:—The professional, com- prising politicians, lawyers, &c.; the military, the ecclesiastical and the mercantile or general public. Of these the military and the ecclesiastical have their separate administration of justice and their own tribunals, to which alone they are amenable. The politicians, which comprise all who hold, have held or expect to bold office, fostered by the nu- tical revolutions that have occurred have increased so largely that they are estimated to include nearly, if not quite, one-half of the approximate two millions of whites in the dap Under the same fostering influence the military class is estimated to contain more than two thousand officers in so-called active fervice, and very nearly twice that number of fur- loughed pensioners, &c. It is those two classes, whieh, acting together or ‘ely, and un- = ® vane eet hg wr Rapa are witnessed ie, whic! fact country in rae ain keep try in achronic only of recent years that the clerzy has taken an open part in politics, for reasons which I shall set forth elsewhere. The land@l proprietors, among parm —- Log eet aes I panee do not in general participate ac lic questions, are onl; robbed of horses, corn and’ f + time to time, by the different parties in t mili- tary movements. These exactions, from the extend- ed character of their i, are not heavil: recovered from,” The ‘mercaatil felt, and are soon \. the established exactions class, or general public, of the government, and take little interest in public —s = that of a listless curiosity. They are not suffic numerous be Seg great it in the State, and are utterly without that come asa body which exists in the clerical an: military classes, and in some degree among the poli The great mass of the popalation takes by —-4 Whenever men are need- whatever in public affairs. ed by the politicians and soldiers to carry out their movementa the Indians are seized wherever they can’ be aid hold ot, and forced into the ranks, where their natural docility leads them to obey impli: ity: and to fight, run, or change sides, as officers direct. Whenever a defeat takes place, or a retreat becomes nece: , they de- sert in great numbers, which Tact accounts for the frequent sudden dissolution and disappear- ance of large armies here. The constant repetition of political revolutions and the consequent disorganized state of the public finan- cen, Sct ansagee another influence in society which should not pass unnoticed. The goyernment is in frequent poten | loans, the repayment of which is attended with great risk and uncertainty. Only men of large resources, great of cha- racter, anda skilful rapidity of making nancial combinations, dare come forward to the assistance of government in these moments of crisis, Such exist in Mexico; and as they constitnte the only hope of the State at times when other men shrink from it in fear, their influence is proportionately great. They have the sagacity, however, to refrain from pe ge gw aa in faver of any political school, and may to represent no politi opinions whatever. — TH SOCIAL RELATIONS OF THR CLERGY. The least numerous, bat beyond all comparison the most powerful class in society here! is the ecclesiastical. One of the greatest statisticians in the republic, Don Migael Lerdo de Tejado, estimates their numbers, inclading ail classes, at leay than eight thousand persons. Endowed with large granta and great privileges for pious purposes, from the earliest times of the Spanish conqnest, and which have never been rescinded, their possessions have gone on accumulating and extending until they now overshadow the land, and their power pervades both society and government. It must not be supposed, however, that all the grades of the church organization participate in the posession of this immense wealth. Win in fact, monopolized by a few corporations and a limited namber of the higher clergy, while the great maas of curates and working priesthood toil through a life of prey and privation, First among the elements of this it wealth are the granta of land which were made in early times to the «lifferent ecclesiastical corporations as religions foundations. These, having been scrupulously ad- minis‘ered in a spirit of accumulation, have heen largely extended by subsequent purchases and do- nations, and are, now supposed to, abenth, more than half the land of the republic. TT aether domael Ei Beorion by the church, and the one which has probably exercised the most pernicious influence upon the material interests of the country, is the established system of jons by individual piety. Por. securing the eternal re of the soul have endowed individaal chaplaincies, endowments are made by the im) fe During that | perpetual rent of $150, in ey | Fue of 68,000 ugar centering BY martgage in sot ‘pon real estate, in favor of the arch- blahop oe, bishop of the diocess, who holds the gift of the chaplaincy forever. In 1804 the minimum esti- mate of the amount of these mor es upon pro- rty not belonging to the church was eighty mil- ions of dollars, and it is supposed at the present that they are not less than one hundred millions. | similar practice in the dowry of nang upon their ad- 1d. mission to the convents has prevailed. The great evil of this system existe in the fact that these mortgages are given in solidum upon propert; i. if and there being no law to compel or authorize the division of a mortgage, the church has always re- fused to permit the division of mortgaged property, on the ground that it might cause them adverse ee tion, upon plea ot innovation of contract. This it is that has perpetuated the feudal system of land tenure, and operated even toa greater extent than woe Se law a primogeniture against the division of landed property. Combined with these causes of accumulation of the wealth of the church, there is another which hag. had and still possesses no small influence. In pos- session of large revenues administered by few hands, these ecclesiastical corporations have peti the only real bankers of the country. As their income flowed in they have nee the means of its perma- nent reinvestment, and being both the greatest and cheapest money lenders, they have been the universal resort of al! who wished to borrow. Through this operation they have so extended their grasp upon the real property in the republic, that Iam credibly assured there is scarcely a Ct a piece of land, or valuable house, which does not, in some way, recog- nize a claim of the church “oe it. Besides these sources of income, the church de- rives a large revenue from tithes. The payment of these is not now barat na zpon the people, a3 they were abolished hay in 1833. But large sums are still collected, either through the operation of indivi- dual piety, or moral coercion exercised by the priest- hood at favorable moments. In many instances ab- solution has been known to be refused a* the bed of death until the dying penitent had directed the pay- ment to the church of tithes which had beea with- held for years. These are the principal sources of the inttuence of the clergy in the social and political organiz tion of the country. Until within a few years past this in- fluence has been exercised npon the government in an indirect and covert manner; but circumstances have operated of late; years to force it to exert a direct influence in eon affairs, until, at the pre- sent moment, it is the indirect administrator of the government of the republic; a position which it has attained through the recent revolution. The complete absence of publicity in the affairs of the church makes it impossible to ascertain with ac- curacy the amount of its jions, and there is a wide difference in the several estimates. It is a ge- neral impression, however, that they hold some three hundred millions of property, and that the annual revenue of the clergy amounts to twenty millions of dollars. In the city of Mexico alone they are known to own more than one half of the public and private buildings. In intimate relation ‘with this fact is an- other which all parties in this cityagree upon, which is that since the publication of the Lerdo law in re- gard to the church property, there has been more work at improvements, repairs and rebuilding of edifices in city than in any ten years previous, THE FOREIGN ELEMENT IN MBXICO. There is one other element in the social organtaa- tion of Mexico which should not pass noticed. In this eminently material age, when “ng mechanicad developement of every nation, nas so importao’ an influence upon its Prosperity and progress, the foreign element in Mexico, though limited in num- ‘ver, holds an important position in its social im fluences. Spain, and all Spanish America, may be charac- terized as differing from the rest of the civilized world more in the inferior developement of the mechanic arts than in any other particular. It is, in fact, this which constitutes the great difference between them and the American and other Ea- ropean civilizations. The power, which mind ee ee ore the ——— my eniede ae jown and diti hroughont, ba yx anieb ves naga countries, os is superior mechanical ability that consti- aes the og tgd of = foreign ‘clement in Nomen: power is ev: ere recognized in th: remuneration which the foreign artisan ped than the Mexican. While the average daily wages 2 a Fo oi 5 carpenter, —_ or blacksmith, is from 5 a a day, i commands from two. to four do ae mer fn every part of the republic, in varied degree, this foreign element is stimula the in the country. Teemintecieaeed ee nemer at the facilities of travel by lines of stage coac: due to its knowledge, rf every breath of on Fy private enterprise seeks its aid. The onje-ts of use and —. which enable Mexico to with the ized capitals of the world, are the products progress of society here. PRESENT CONDITION OP THE REPUBLIC. Any one who has made himself familiat with the | social and political organization of the Spanish colo- nies will perceive at once that, with the ex-eption of the foreign element, very nearly the same social constituents exist here at the t time of the Spanish waa" — Peonage is abolished by law, but still exista, in fact, for the lower classes of aociety. The class of landholders is limited in number and holds the posi- tion of lords over the working classes, The charch is a separate organization, co-equal and in alliance with the State; the army is a distinct body from the general community; and the governing or rather the administrative class hold their power, not struggle whee » drove out the ' pa fag atl So Beets Bcinls, but replaced : with same organizations composed tive elements. These knew no other forms of cedure than those of the colonial é was had begun to take it was soon overthrown, to be or nearly thirty years the hi of Mexico sents little else than a conthonal Catone forthe possession of the government, alternating 4 federal form, centralized form, anda dictator. ship; which hae demonstrated the futility of en- } pin = Lg erect a government in accordance with the political ideas of the age upon a society modelled after the forms and spirit of sixteenth centary. = was the est ey of 4 toa na from power gave great impulse tothe social struggle which is now going on here. It came into the government with the avowed of ef- fecting a social reform, and its first ol of attack was Sool leon the charch. The Lerdo law, principal object of which was to discover the im- ies of the ecclesiastical corporations, was the first step in this reform and the only one that was taken. It does not tome within the of this re- port to examine the causes which led to the of government that brought the church party into power arain; and it will suffice to say thabthe clerry are now openly ruling the country, and endeavoring to carry it ionck toa centralized organization, «o often rejected by the nation, and which seems to have for its principal object the preservation of their pos sessions and immunities. No one here, not even the clergy themselves, be lieve that they can suerced in this contest with the liberal principles and desire for reform that are pored to them. The trae objects that they hope attain are not exactly known, but their supposed wishes will be referred to heveafter, The natural results of this straggle have heon detri- mental in every way to the best interosts of the country. The material interests of the people have been sapped at their fonndations, Commerce and industry have been diminizshed and disheartened. Political porte have become demoralized to a fear- ful extent. Principles have been forgotten in the for wealth through power or the hy of revenge. The obligations ‘of the vernment, both external and internal, bave heen neglected or irnored. The interest upon the public debt remains inpaid; and even reg of the army, the officers of the go. vernment and the pensioners have been only parti- ally covered. And, finally, the nation at large hae in a great measure lost its confidence in its power of self government, and been led to looktoaf * intervention as its only hope for peace, This result has been brought about by the con. tinnally incressing weakness of each an coscive fovernment. So great is the exhanstion of the national resources under the present nization that each sneceasive administration hag nd itself x - nt than its predecessor to make iig pc sections of the republic and 49 i SSF OW 9 E TEE eee me nee 6 Fe Set 8 eo Sees ome es eres wee 2