The Sun.
London, England, 1864-02-18 00:00:00

THE FRENCH IN MEXICO.

The dlfoniteur publishes the following intelligence from
Mexico, addressed to the Minister of War :
"Mexico, January 9th.

" A despatch from General Neigre, the commandant in
the city of Mexico, sums up the operations of the expedi-
tionary column of the interior from the 16th December to
the 29th. General Bazaine, who arrived on the 16th Dec,
at Lagos, being resolved to rapidly pursue Doblado, who
was marching on Aguas Calientes, organised a light column
with two days' provisions. While he was on his march the
chief of a band named Chavez, who had occupied the
country of Lagos for the last three years, came and placed
himself under his orders with 509 horsemen. The General-
in-Chief directed him to make a forced march on Ledesma,
where the old Juarist chief arrived at four in the afternoon
of the 18th, thus getting the start of the French column,
which did not reach Puerto, 31 leagues in the rear of Ledes-
ma, until 5 o'clock. Gen, Douay, who went in pursuit of
Uraga after the affair of Morelia, came up with his rear-
guard at Zamora. The Mexican General, being
closely pressed, had no other means of preventing
his stores and baggage from falling into the hands
of the French than by setting fire to them, Gen. Bazaine,
who arrived at Ledesma in the night of the 18th Dec., left
again on the 20th for Aguas Calientas, where he hoped to
come up with Doblado, but the enemy on the same day left,
and marched with all his stores on Guadalajara or on Zaca-
tecas. From the 20th to the 23d Dec. the General in Chief
made useless efforts to overtake the enemy. The Juarist
army was in full retreat, dispersed and flying in all direc-
tions, without any fixed plan of operations. On the morn-
ing of the sth January the General entered Guadalajara
without firing a shot; the enemy did not defend the two
positions of Puente Calderon and Puente Grande; some
musket shot fired by our auxiliaries sufficed to put to flight
large party of cavalry which had announced their approach
to the Juarist troops, and they immediately evacuated
the place. The inhabitants are animated with the best
feelings towards the French. General Bazaine, before
falling back on the city of Mexico, proceeded to the admin-
istrative organisation of the country. The enemy's army
dispersed, disunited, anti removed from the capitals whence
it could no longer deprive any resources, has taken
refuge in the poorest and most thinly-populated States. It
will infallibly break up altogether in a short time, and no
longer act except as guerillas. The inhabitants despoiled
by those bands, feeling themselves supported by the
French army and by the Mexican troops, now well armed
by us, will easily rid themselves of the remnants of
the Juarist army., General Bazaine on the 30th Dec.
received accounts from General Douay, who was in pur•
suit of General Uraga, and bad come up with one of his
convoys. The Juarist General in that encounter lost a
considerable quantity of stores destined for boring cannon
and coining money, as well as ingots of copper and 145
mules laden with arms and ammunition. General Neigre
informs the Minister of War that on the 31st December a
body of 300 Juarists, having received information that the
diligence from Queretaro to Mexico would convey the
mail of the General-in-Chief, placed themselves on
the road about 33 leagues from the capital. The
passengers and the escort, attacked by superior
forces, made a vigorous but useless resistance.
The diligence was pillaged, most of the despatches torn up
or thrown away, a fact which explains why several of the
journals did not receive any news from the ex?editionary
corps by the last mail. Some letters, however, and amongst
them one from the General-in-Chief, were recovered, sent
to Mexico, and thence to France."