The Sun.
London, England, 1829-11-14 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

The accounts received within these few days
relative to the affairs of Mexico, having excited
some interest, if not alarm, amongst the friends
of Spanish American independence, we deem it
desirable to sta'e the following particulars, com-
municated from quarters in the highest degree
respectable :—ln the first place, the Emulous
packet, which arrived on Thursday last from
Vera Cruz, which place she left on the 6th of
September, brought no news from the seat of
hostilities, at Tampico, of a date more recent
than the 30th of August ; whereas the accounts
which were published several days ago, and
which contained Santa Anna's despatches, de-
tailing his brave and successful attack upon
the garrison of Tampico, were brought in
the Matilda by the way of Baltimore and
New York, which vessel left Tampico on the
Ist of September, two days after the Emulous.
The first arrival in this country, therefore,
brought the latest news. By the Emulous we
were told, in Vera Cruz letters, that Barradas
" was in possesssion of Altemira," a long day's
march up the country from Tampico; whereas,
Santa Anna's official bulletin of more recent
date, and which -arrived by the Matilda, had
previously announced to us that Barradas had
been forced to abandon Altemira, from the
necessity of defending Tampico itself, which
he just reached at the critical moment when his
garrison had actually capitulated, and was about
to deliver up its arms and the town. Santa
Anna's despatch, therefore, is the last au-
thentic intelligence which has reached London
of the authentic military occurrences at Tampico.
As for the rumours about the Mexicans desert-
ing, the force of " 3,000 effective men" under
Barradas, and so forth, we understand it rests on
no credible authority ; but, on the contrary,
there never was displayed more zeal or unani-
mity among the Spanish Americans against the
troops of Ferdinand since the very beginning of
their resistance to the Sp nish yoke. The de-
lay in bringing forward an efficient force to repel
the invaders is accounted for as follows :—First,
the Mexicans, not having the least idea on what
part of their extensive coast the expedition was
likely to disembark, had not felt it prudent to
concentrate their troops in any given point ; and
thus Tampico, as being a position most abso-
lutely useless to an invader, and least calculated
on by the Mexican Government as the seat of
warfare, was left without a garrison. Next, the
country is of such vast extent, the roads so im-
perfect, and this being the season of the inunda-
tions, when roads always bad had become almost
impassable, it was necessary, since Vera Cruz
and Campeachy could not be left without con-
siderable garrisons, to draw regiments from the
interior, and from distances which the mili-
tary men of Europe are scarcely ever called
upon to traverse. We may judge what time
must elapse in such a country, before any for-
midable force could have been collected, when
the greater portion of them had to march many
hundred miles to the neighbourhood of Tam-
pico. • It is not very surprising, therefore, that
Santa Anna had hut a feeble detachment under
his command on the 29th and 30th of August,'
within one month of the invasion, during which
period no troops could have moved above 300
miles. Reinforcements, however, we have been
assured, were advancing from many points to
support the above-mentioned General. On the
9th of August, 1,400 cavalry and 1,600 infantry
left St. Luis de Potosi. On the 10th there
moved from the same city the battalion of Gua-
najuato (placed on active service), and General
Vahlividio. On the 17th there arrived at
Aguacallan the regiment of Mextillan ; and the
Ist battalion of Mexican militia, with the 3d
regiment of regular cavalry, were expected im-
mediately after. Colonel Montezuma was with
his division, on the 16th of August, at Maiz.
On the 20th of August, the 10th regiment of
the line, and 300 infantry of the local militia,
marched for the scene of action from St, Luis.
As for the statement made with such coolness
in some quarters, that a second expedition of

V,OOO men had actually sailed from the Havan-
nah, we can only affirm that w•e have seen a let;
ter from official persons at the liavann4h to a
commercial house here of the very highest respec-
tability, and dated on the day of the last vessel's
departure from that place, containing this deci-
sive sentence :—" There is hardly a word said
here about sending off reinforcements to General