The Sun.
London, England, 1865-01-17 00:00:00

THE EMPIRE OF MEXICO,

(From the Correspondent of the Times)
MEXICO, Dec. 10.
The arrival of Senor Meglia, the Pope's Nuncio,
leads every one to believe that a satisfactory settle-
ment of the long-pending question, the " Church
property," is not far distant. On presenting his cre-
dentials the Nuncio expressed himself as follows :

" Sire,—ln handing to your Majesty the brief by which
our Holy Father has deigned to accredit me, I am happy,
Sire, in being able to assure you of the sentiments of tender
affection which his Holiness the Pope entertains for your
Majesty. The sovereign Pontiff, already aware of your
devotion to the Church, and of your benevolent intentions,
places in you too much confidence to doubt but that our
sacred religion—the fruitful source of the prosperity of
nations as well as the most solid support of Governments
and Thrones—will ever be the constant aim of your Impe-
rial Majesty. I, Sire, shall ever employ all my zeal in the
maintenance of amicable relations, and to the preservation
of those bonds which ought for ever to unite the Holy See
and the Mexican Empire."
The Emperor's reply, as it will be seen, was much
more to the purpose. He said :
" To us it is a matter of real congratulation to see at
length realised, by the sending of a person so distinguished
and enlightened, the promise made to us while at Rome ;
a realisation which our Government, as well as the whole
nation, await with anxiety. The Holy Father, with his
proverbial bounty, gives us in this an evident proof, which
we accept with gratitude, that the Church is anxious for the
final settlement of the difficult question pending between
our Government and the Holy See. The Mexican Govern-
ment, Catholic, loyal, and based upon true liberty, will not
fail in its duty, and it is with these sentiments that it re-
ceived the worthy representative of Christ's Viceregent, in
full confidence that his arrival is the first step towards a
settlement beneficial for all, and which the Almighty will
bless."
Although nothing official has yet transpired re-
specting the base of the " Concordat" about to be
signed by the Imperial Government and the Court
of Rome, I think that the following are the points
which will be mainly insisted upon. The toleration
of all religions not prohibited by the laws ; the
Catholic clergy to be provided for out of the public
treasury, and not to receive fees for the administra-
tion of the Sacraments ; the Catholic religion to be
the religion of the State ; the nationalisation of all
Church property ; the re-establishment of religious
orders, dissolved during the Republic not to take
place without the express consent of the Mexican
Government ; the exclusive privileges heretofore en-
joyed by the clergy to be remodelled in conformity
with the usages now prevalent among civilised na-
tions ; and the establishment of a civil register for
births, marriages, and deaths in all districts where
the Government may deem it necessary.

This Concordat once promulgated the semblance
even of an armed resistance will at once cease.
Mexicans fight for money, but not from patriotism.
I have heard many a rabid Liberal exclaim, " Let
the Emperor secure us in the possession of the
Church property, and it is all we ask." A revision
of all fraudulent sales must necessarily be made, as
it would be an act of gross injustice to place those
who have violated the law on an equality with
those who have complied with it. Itais not too much
to expect that the Government, from this source
alone, will realise sooner or later from 60 to 100

million dollars.
A Council of State, composed of eight members
and a president, has been named by the Emperor.
Its duties are to prepare such laws and decrees as
may be intrusted to it either by the chief of the
State or his Ministers ; to form a tribunal on legal
matters ; to adjudicate in all cases where high
functionaries are incriminated ; to report upon all
matters referred to it either by the Emperor or his
Ministers ; and to perform all other functions
which may be required of it either by the laws or
by the chief of the State.
The forces commanded by General Douay have
nowhere met with any serious resistance. Mazatlan
was occupied on the 13th, and the Empire solemnly
proclaimed on the 19th. This is one of the most
important events of the campaign ; in a military
point of view the occupation of Mazatlan secures the
possession of all that portion of the Pacific coast ;
in a financial one it is important as likely to supply
the Imperial Treasury with three or four millions of
dollars annually. An expedition to Sonora is much
talked of, and it is not improbable that the Belgian
troops will be employed in this service. From
Oajuca there is no news of importance ; by the last
accounts the French force was within 15 leagues of
the capital, and it was not expected that any serious
resistance would be attempted.
Several propositions having been addressed to
the Government for the establishment of a line

The Queen's Advocate, late this afternoon, on the part
of Mrs. Codrington, moved for a new trial in this case,
which at the time of its hearing excited considerable at-
tention, on the ground of " imperfect direction of the
Judge," and also that the verdict was against the evidence.
The hon. gentleman then read the letter written by Mrs.
Codrington to Colonel Anderson, commenting upon his ap-
proaching marriage, and which, it will be recollected, the
learned judge, in his summing up to the jury, observed
that it was not the sort of letter an affectionate wife would
write to a third person. He could not deny there were
certain parts of the letter which were peculiar, but the
writer was of a very romantic turn of mind—it con-
tained .not one direct word as to criminality. On the con-
trary the whole of the concluding portions clearly showed
quite the reverse.
The learned Judge said he thought ho told them that
the letter only went to a certain extent, a further step

being wanting,
The Queen's Advocate said the jury were likely pre-
judiced by the comments of his lordship, but he did not
make his motion on a certain part. His complaint was
that the whole of the remarks led the jury—

His Lordship interrupted the learned gentleman, and
asked to be furnished with the shorthandwriter's note of his
summing up. This having been handed to his lordship he
said he thought his comments went to show certain condi-
ions of feeling at the time the letter was written, and no-
thing further.
The Queen's Advocate said his lordship remarked that
the letter went three fourths of the way to prove the
adultery.
His Lordship said he perfectly recollected using that

term.
The Queen's Advocate, with the greatest respect to the
Court, thought that the jury had been induced to place
undue importance upon the letter. The verdict of the jury
as it stood was exceedingly unsatisfactory, because it went
the length of declaring that adultery had been committed
without specifying when or where, and that of course was
a great hardship to the petitioners. The allegation
of adultery at Malta was absurd, because he felt certain
no person would attach the slightest importance to such
an unsatisfactory witness as Duck. He contended that the
charge of adultery abroad was altogether groundless, and
that he could only therefore come to the conclusion that
the adultery, if any, was committed at the Grosvenor
Hotel. A careful perusal of the evidence would show that
there was not a single word which would bear out such a
construction. On the contrary, he contended that there
was no evidence at all to prove that Col. Anderson eve r
went to the Grosvenor Hotel at aIL The evidence that
was given on the occasion, only went the length
that Mrs. Codrington and Colonel Anderson never
went into a bed-room, supposing-he was ever in the hotel
which was denied. Now, if there was no adultery com-
mitted at Malta or at the Grosvenor Hotel by Colonel
Anderson, he could only come to the conclusion that the
jury had in 'their minds at the time they delivered the
verdict that attributed to Lieutenant Mildmay. The chief
evidence on this point was that given by Mrs. Watson
which he considered was of a most extraordinary nature,
because that person showed throughout her whole exami-
nation that she was imbued with the most violent and
virulent enmity. He felt that the confession attributed to
have been made by Mrs. Codrington was simply ridicu-
lous, because the most abandoned in the world would
not be guilty of rushing into a room and, without
the slightest intimation make the declaration that had been
attributed to Mrs. Codrington. The evidence taken by it-
self was peculiarly imperfect, because there wasnot a single
admission of any of the witnesses that they had ever seen
one single act of undue familiarity, such as kissing or em-
bracing, or even shaking hands. He did hope that as the
result of the long investigation had been so unsatisfactory,
that his lordship would grant his application for a new
trial.
Mr. Price, Q.C., on the part of Col. Anderson, said he
had to make a similar application, and he did so on the
ground that the verdict of the jury was against the weight
of evidence, misdirection, and misconception of evidence
The great point that had been made against his
client, Colonel/ Anderson, was that he was at the
Grosvenor Hotel when he met Mrs. Codrington ; but on a
calm reflection he hoped the Court would agree with him
that it was not at all likely that a gentleman of Colonel
Anderson's position would go to one of the most public
hotels in London, and risk the loss of rank and the dis-
grace of exposure, and there commit the atrocity he was
accused of. He contended that such a conclusion as that
of the jury was perfectly monstrous, and one that ought
not to remain on the records of the court without another
investigation. The learned gentleman then made some
very strong observations on the letter said to have been
sent to Colonel Anderson by Mrs. Codrington, in which
his marriage was referred to, said that if such a matter was
allowed to rest where it was it would be, in fact,
placing every person at the mercy of any
flighty person who might feel disposed to write certain
accusations against him. The learned gentleman then
referred to the case of Robinson v. Robinson and Lane, in
which similar inflated and extravagant language had been
written by the lady in her diary, and where the Court had
decided that no reliance could be placed on the writing of
one who was vain enough to imagine that every person
with whom she came in contact was in love with her. He
thought it had been shown beyond contradiction that Mrs.
Codrington was a lady fond of admiration; and, with the
case he had mentioned standing as an authority, he hoped,
as a matter of justice, a new trial would be granted to his
client, Col. Anderson.
His Lordship said the case had been ;very ably: argued,
but he would consider the matter before he gave his deci-
sion.