The Sun.
London, England, 1862-12-31 00:00:00

tends as far as the coast, and which may be said to
comprehend nearly the whole of that part of the
State of Tamaulipas which lies between the coasts
and the mountains. It is supposed to be one of the
richest tracts of land in the whole r: public! ; in
many of its parts it is well irrigate 1; at present
there is but a small portion of this plain under cul-
tivation, nearly the whole of it being smothered in
a rank tropical vegetation. lam inclined to think
from all I could hear and see that this portion of
the State of Tamaulipas is destined before long to
become one of the finest cotton growing countries
in the world.

At Ozuluama we received intelligence that the
French were in possession of Tampico, and the Pre-
fect refused to allow us to proceed upon the ground
that the French were in search of horses and mules,
and that they would assuredly seize all our animals.
Remonstrances were in vain, but other means more
powerful were resorted to, and we were, after some
little detention, allowed to proceed on our journey.
We arrived at Tampico on the 26th. The French
took possession of the town without firing a shot,
the Mexicans retreating in the greatest haste
as soon as the squsdron appeared off the coast. The
garrison consists of about 2,000 men, composed
almost entirely of the 81st Regiment, The most
perfect discipline is preserved, and the inhabitants
have every reason to congratulate themselves upon
the change. An expedition to the interior was
talked of; but I do not sea how it can be carried
ont for the present, as the force was deficient in
land transport. The mere occupation of Tampico
will, in my opinion, insure a pronunciamiento in
favour of French intervention at San Luis and
other towns of the interior dependent upon that
port for its supplies. The day after my arrival I
called upon Admiral de la Graviere, and met with
the most courteous reception. The affairs of
Mexico, of course, formed our principal topic of
conversation. The garrison of Vera Cruz does not
exceed 800 men. General de Bertier, with 6,n00
men, is at Jalapa. He experienced no opposition
on his march. At Cerro Gordo one Diaz Morin,
formerly a little shopkeeper at Vera Cruz, but now
a Constitutional General, drew up his men, 2,000
strong, and made a show of resistance, but upon a
demonstration being made on his flank, 1,400 of his
men at once dispersed, and the rest retired upon
Puebla with their gallant chief.
General Forey is at Orizaba, with the bulk of
the French forces, and it is supposed, if they have
not already done so, that they will extend them-
selves to San Andres de Chichicuhuela. As I
feared, her Majesty's courier has not been allowed
to leave for Vera Cruz, so that we are without ad-
vices from Mexico. It is supposed, however, that
the correspondence will be sent by way of Aca-
pulco. It would be well for English houses, at all
events for some time to come, to send duplicates of
their letters by that route. Her Majesty's ship
Orlando, Captain Randolph, is at anchor off Sacri-
ficios, where there are also some French men-of-
war and a considerable number of transports.

THE GREEK REVOLUTION.

(From the limes' Special Correspondent.)

ATHENS, DEC. 20 (Afternoon).
Decidedly Fridays and Saturdays are the days
for a change in the situation. Four weeks ago on
those days the demonstrations began in favour of
Prince Alfred, the week after the agitation for the
plebiscite, a fortnight ago the election of the Sove-
reign and of the representatives for the Assembly,
last week on Saturday the collective note was signed
by the three Ministers here, and the news arrived
of Mr. Elliot's mission, and to-day the news ar-
rived of the refusal of King Ferdinand of Por-
tugal. Already last night there was a rumour to
that effect, without anybody knowing exactly where
it came from ; to -day these rumours are confirmed
by a telegram received by the Government from
London. According to this, King Ferdinand re-
fuses on the plea that he does not wish to leave
Portugal.
The effect is as if a great impending calamity had
been removed. It is only at this moment that
one can thoroughly appreciate his unpopularity as
a candidate. Any candidate supported by England
and France could not but produco a certain im-
pression on all thinking people, above all, con-
nected, as he was, with such palpable advantages
as King Ferdinand has been shown to be in the
prospective. The reasoning classes tried, there-
fore, to suppress the dislike which he excited, and
began to discuss it ; but the very manner in which
he was discussed showed a determination to find
every imaginable fault with him. He was a Catholic
and a German; no one had ever heard of him;
he represented nothing which could excite en-
thusiasm ; no one could, therefore, espouse his
cause, and make him popular and acceptable. The
fact was, that the transition from Prince Alfred to
King Ferdinand was too great and too sudden.
The popularity of the former is as much matter of
feeling as of reasoning, not only among the mass of

the people, but among the educated classes and
even the politicians. He is the beau ideal of the
future King of Greece, possessing all advantages
and not one fault. His name had become synony-
mous with all that is good and grand; it was a
guarantee and a promise. It represented wealth,
prosperity, and constitutional Government, honesty,
and morality. In one word, it was the symbol of
national regeneration, and Prince Alfred is the first
love of the fair Hellas. Even the most accomplished
suitor would have but a poor chance against " Al-
fredaki;" how much one less who, whatever may
be his good qualities, does not at all appeal to the
imagination! The very name Don Ferdinand grated
on the ear of the people ; it reminded them of
Roman Catholic priests, who go here by the title of
Don. Both his native and adopted country are as
mythical in the eyes of the mass as Scythia once
w..s in those of the Old World. Mr. Gladstone or
any English nobleman with a great name would
have had more chance of taking hold of the popular
mind. And, after all, in popular movements such
as the present such follies cannot be altogether lost
sight of; the refusal, therefore, of King Ferdinand
himself, if confirmed, is only a happy solution
where failure was unavoidable. It is considered as
the only good news this week from Europe.
In vain have all the papers and letters been
scanned and turned over which came by the last
mail. There is not a ray of hope in them for the
accomplishment of the national wish. The conti-
nental press probably foresaw this general gloom
and disappointment, and it was really kind of it
to try to excite a little hilarity by its accounts of
the state of Greece, of the bloodsheds, rows, of the
regime of terror, of the clubs which don't exist, of
the fury during the elections, of the attacks on the
French Legation, of the French, Austrian, and Rus-
sian marines, which alone keep us in order and pre-
vent a general massacre. As every one on the spot
has been long agreed that this has been, and is still,
the most respectable and dullest revolution the
world ever saw, it is pleasant to read the amusing
manner in which this dullness on the spot can be
made highly entertaining and exhiliratiug by skil-
ful hands—in the distance.

From different local causes the elections have been
delayed in several provinces, and above all in the
Greek communities abroad ; the consequence is that
only about 100 out of 300 deputies have arrived
hitherto. There was a talk about putting off the
day of tho opening of the National Assembly from
the 22d to the 30th, but it has been decided to keep
to the date fixed and go through the form tlity of
opening, although real business can scarcely begin
bofore another week. The whole ceremony is to be-
gin with a prayer, then will follow the instalment
of the President by age, and th.n the prorogation
for a few days. The programme is not yet uut, hut
I am assured this will be the Order of the Day. To-
day the
prJelinizaar Deputies who have arrived are to hold a
age. Y meeting to agree on the President by
A number of th
the Nauplia
~, 0 officers who were exiled after
Captain Bruer
a`rnre giving a dinner to-day to
gratitude for the 'as
token of their esteem and
Majesty's ship pelicat: sc'Eae of the officers of her
eost.rit:.thown to them during
wistiegdtotothe capitulation of
their journey to Smyrna
you will remember, accordinoard the Pelican. As
English
crld embark
Nauplia, all those who
went on boearard.-
on board of either the French or
war which were in the harbour. 173 availed of the offer, and 170 of them
the Pelican,