The Sun.
London, England, 1867-10-07 00:00:00

MEXICO.

Mexican journals have thrown themselves with
more ardour into the Presidential contest than was
anticipated. Juarez is the chief object of their
attack. He lately issued an edict, conferring on
governors of provinces the summary power of im-
prisonment, enabling them to seize the responsible
editors of journals who are supposed to have trans•
gressed the law of the 28th December, 1855, which
is again brought into question. Juarez is desirous
of modelling the republic on the plan of the United
States, with two Houses of Congress, and a Cabinet
appointed by and responsible to the Executive. He
asks for a similar power of veto as that possessed
by the President at Washington. He is now considered
secure of re-election, as he has gained over Porfirio
Diaz, his chief opponent. This, it is hinted, has been
accomplished by a liberal appropriation of the pub-
lic funds. Castillo, and all the generals at Queretaro
sentenced to be shot, have been pardonld, but the
fate of Santa Anna remains undecided, the proba•
bilities being that he will be shot. The Mexicans
are tired of bloodshed, but Juarez still continues his
proscription of the Imperialists. He has issued a
liberal decree, permitting all to vote in the
elections, except those who served the Empire
above a private soldier, or whose services were
unpaid, or who quitted the service previous
to the 21st of June, 1867. He has created
two orders of decoration—the one to those
who persistently resisted the French intervention,
the other for those who declared for the Republic
previous to the French evacuation of the country.
Trade is stagnant, indeed it has been utterly
annihilated. Bandits render the roads impassable.
Even Government trains have been compelled to halt
for days until a sufficient escort could be procured.
The Treasury is empty, and the Government at its
wit's ends for supplies. They are about to press
for a loan in the United States. To such a pass
has the country come that even the Mexican press
advocate annexation to the United States. Mr.
Otterburgh, the Minister, in his first interview with
Juarez, assured him of " the sympathy of the
United States with the triumph achieved through
the heroic constancy of Mexico in her recent
struggle for independence and liberal institutions."
Admiral Tcgethoff had been well received, though
Juarez has refused to deliver up the late Emperor's
body without authentic documents from the Impe-
rial family of Austria requesting it. The nation
desire that the corpse should be surrendered. A
correspondent of the New York Iribune in Quere-
taro, writing on the 24th of August, states that he
visited the remains of Maximilian, that he found
the coffin containing the corpse in a room in the
second story of the house occupied by Don Munos
Ledo. A soldier guarded the door, but any one was
admitted, especially if they were willing to pay him
a few reals. The apartment bore the appearance
of having once been a store room, and was both
very dark and extremely filthy. The coffin was in
the centre, resting upon two rude wooden benches.
it was covered with black cloth and adorned with a
cheap quality of gold lace, while the top had a false
cover, the opening of which revealed three glasses,
through which the last remains of the ill-fated Em-
peror were dimly visible. He was dressed in a: blue
coat with military buttons, dark blue pantaloons and
heavy cavalry boots. His hands were covered with a
pair of soiled white gloves. His mouth and eyes were
partially open, revealing his teeth and the colour of
his eyes, and his beard was quite gone, having with
the greater part of his hair been cut off, it is said, by
Dr. Lisso, who had charge of the embalming,
who sold it, receiving as high as soz. (080) for very
small locks. This same man, the correspondent
adds, had the Emperor's body for some time at his

Fifty years ago St. Jean de Luz and Socoa were
names familiar enough to English ears, the former
as the headquarters of the Duke of Wellington, the
latter as the little port at which the stores and
munitions of the British army were landed ; subse-
quently their career has been so uneventful that you
may not know of the existence of a breakwater which
now runs out from Socoa point.
Here last night happened an accident which in-
volved the life of one poor fellow, but which might
have been politically much more disastrous. The
Empress and the Prince Imperial had been cruising
towards the Spanish coast; but, finding the sea would
be too high to land at Biarritz, the Royal yacht
took shelter behind the breakr,ater, and the Royal
party, instead of landing at Sficea, started in the
yacht's boats for St. Jean de Luz. The pilot who
had charge of the leading boat, in which were the
Empress and the Prince, missed the entrance of the
harbour, ran the boat among the rocks, somehow
fell overboard himself, and was drowned. The
Royal party were carried through the surf and safely
landed. The boats in which were the suite hit the
entrance of the harbour, following, as they sup-
posed, the Royal gig. Great was their consternation
when they found what had befallen the Empress
and her boy.

You may like to hear something about this break-
water, as from its importance to the nautical world
I believe it to be among the greatest of the many
great works of Napoleon 111. The breakwater,
which runs out from the foot of Socoa across the
bay to the eastward, is now completed to within
about a third of its length. Up to this time there
has been no harbour of refuge from La Itochelle to
the coast of Spain. Already, however, an ironclad
may ride behind the Socoa breakwater, sheltered
from all winds to the westward of north by compass,
from which quarter come those dangerous ocean seas
that have given to the Biy of Biscay its bad renown.
Contrary to the plan of the Plymouth breakwater,
this one of Socoa stands some 20ft. above the sea,
the base and parapet of the wall seaward being in
about the same perpendicular line, but it is slightly
concave between those points. The foundation is
made of huge oblong blocks, formed of rocks and
stones embedded in wooden cases filled with Port-
land cement. These blocks are taken out to sea
two at a time—one on each side of a sort of plat-
form, which, being lifted in the centre, sends both
masses overboard simultaneously, to find their rest-
ing place as chance throws them. The plan has re-
sulted in a structure which has stood the spring
and present equinox without the apparent displace-
ment of a stone. The Emperor takes great interest
in this work, and as a recognition of its success has
lately paid it a State visit.

In these holyday times a man may do worse than
spend a week or two in rambles among the neigh-
bouring hills and quaint old Basque towns; and he
will find an able chaplain and a kiin pl e little church,
and may pass an English Sunday at St. Jean de
Luz.