The Sun.
London, England, 1846-08-31 00:00:00

SOCIETY and CRIME in MEXICO.

In no country is murder more frequent than along the
coast, on the road to the capital, and in the interior.
The traveller is never out of sight of little rude wooden
crosses, of melancholy meaning, monuments erected over
the bones of murdered individuals. One ravine called the
Barranca Secca, on the highway between Vera Cruz and
the metropolis, is actually dotted with these sad signs..
Assassination is of every-day occurrence, while not un-
frequently the traveller will stumble over the freshly
slain bodies of some luckless predecessor. Robbers, in
gangs of from five to twenty, scour the country, waylay-
ing the stage-coaches, plundering in the open light of day,
even in the very city of Mexico; -while association: for
this lawless purpose are known to exist, in which me.o of
wenith and rank play a conspicuous part. The von",
Custom-house officers have been discovered in league
with rise banditti, affording them information and
sharing their gains. General Santa Ana at one time
executed sixty or seventy ; but the evil is too deeply
seated, springing, as it does from the unsettled and law-
less state of the country, to be thus violently uprooted.
So systematic and ordinary, indeed, is robbery in this
country, that the traveller is regularly warned as to what
ho is to do, when he hears the terrific words " boca bed e."
The ladrones, in order, we suppose, to rob with more
case to themselves, than they would with the victim 's
eye upon them, intimate to you in these words their cle-
sire that you will prostrate yourself upon your face. 'r he
statistics of crime in Mexico city are fearful. The
prison, one of the most loathsome and ill-regulated hot-
beds of crime in the world, contained, in one year, Ave
hundred men and women, charged with adultery, inn est,
and unmentionable crime; fifteen hundred with robbery,
seventy with murder—while hundreds of murderers were
not even accused—altogether more than nine thousand
criminals charged with gross violations of every law
divine and human. The very form of the houses denote
the universal insecurity of life and property. To the
street, they all present a sombre and gloomy appearance
but few windows being ever seen in the first storeys, or
if they are, never without being strongly barred
with iron gratings. When we reflect that six
hundred thousand only of the whole population can
even read and write, while a very small proportion of
them have any real education to boast of, such results
are the less to be wondered at. Moreover, the Church,
which should teach them better, is but a huge corpora-
tion for obtainit, land and wealth, which it squanders
in idleness and vice. Its members keep mistresses
openly, take them into society, and spend the greater
portion of their time in lounging about the streets and
drinking shops, smoking, and often in a state of ine-
briety. Further, the only amusements afforded to the
people are of a brutalising and degrading character.
Gambling is the passion of high and low; lotteries are
in every square; while Sunday, by their neighbours set
apart as a period of repose, thoughtfulness, and love, is
here the moment chosen for the savage unveiling of the
slaughter-house, in the shape of bull-fights, conducted
in the most coarse manner, and where the most wicked
passions of an ignorant and debased people are fostered
and nourished. These exhibitions are habitually at-
ended by all classes, including the clergy, who, with
no or two noble exceptions, set the example of that
careless, thoughtless nonchalance, which is the character-
istic of this principle. And yet, clearly showing that
adverse circumstances have alone caused this state of
things ; in the middle classes are to be found many in-
stances of a very superior morality and bearing. They
are often kindly, gentle, hospitable, brave, and intelli-
gent, and in the privacy of their in-dwelling, those who
know them best have had occasion to remark the utmost
love and regard between parents and children—sincere
friendship—respect for genius—and an ardent and en-
lightened patriotism. The contrary is the result of an
ill-regulated society, and the misery of their political
position. Their revolutions have been always without
object, and therefore unprogressive, and devoid of any
guiding principle. The long disturbance of national
peace which we have sketched above, has arrested all
healthful action, impaired the morals, checked industry,
prevented emigration, made agriculture a menial toil,
created an hierarchy of arms and priests, covered the
people with debt and difficulty, and fostered the most
extensive political corruption that ever demoralised and
beggared any nation. The majority, therefore, are
treacherous, suspicious, and cruel. Many seek an ex-
planation in the climate, saying that the temperature is
too high for the virtues of enterprise and industry. Such
theorists must explain why the Rome and Greece of to-
day are not the Rome and Greece of by-gone times. We
may rely on the fact that education, wise legislation, and
the gradual infusion of honesty and pride into a
people, will overcome the disadvantages of the most
enervating climate. Besides, many parts of Mexico are
cold enough for a practical refutation of this idea.—The
Topic.

AN ENTHUSIAST.—We read in a Belgian journal—
" The sale of the gallery of paintings of M. Van N., of
Brussels, who died in the course of the last month, is ad-
vertised. This celebrated amateur not only devoted his life,
but sacrificed the whole of his fortune, which originally pro-
duced him a revenue of 40,060 f. a-year, to his passion for
possessing the masterpieces of the great Flemish artists.
Reduced by this to the want of even the necessaries of life,
he could not be induced to part with even one of his cherished
treasures. At last, an old servant, who continued to serve
him without wages, converted the gallery into a source for
the maintenance of his master and himself, by applying the
gratuities given him for showing the splendid collection to
visitors in purchasing food for them both. A few years ago
the faithful and affectionate old servant died, and M. Van
N., hopeless of finding another on the same terms, took the
office upon himself. When visitors came to view the gallery,
he put on the old livery, and attended them through it, dis-
playing a critical acquaintance with tie merits of each pic-
ture that delighted all and astonished those who were able to
appreciate his erudition. Sometimes the visitors, supposing
him to be really the servant, would make the master the
subject of sarcastic observations, some calling him an eccen-
tric fool, and others a madman, and wondering that his
friends did not have him declared a lunatic. All this he
listened to either with perfect indifference, or making palliat-
ing excuses, as his old servant used to do, and, when their
curiosity was satisfied, holding out his hand for the accus-
tomed fee."
The Bishop of Barbadoes had an intervie.wpwiitht Earl
Grey on Saturday at the Colonial-office. M= go
also an interview with his Lordship.
Viscount and Viscountess Berehaveh arrived at Far.
rance's Hotel, Upper Belgrave-street, on Saturday,' from
their neat in Ireland.