New Orleans daily crescent., 1857-05-11
The Tehaantepec Company.
Report of the President to the Stockholders of the
n Iehuantepec Company.

Il
1 New ORLEANS, May 2, 1857.
4 Gentlemen-The present administration of the TIE
huantepec Company commenced in June, 1856.
This great enterprise had been languishing for up
wards of two years, and the risk was becoming mmi
nent that the grant would lapse from nonfulflmen
of its stpulations No tme therefore, was to be lost
and the Board entered upon the discharge of its du
ties with determination to employ its energies and
resources promptly and to the best advantage, in the
accomplishment of the great object in view. .-,
A contract entered into between the late President
A. G. Sloo, and person without means and rrespon
sble, for the construction of wagon and railroad
across the Ishmus threatened to interfere seriously
with the operations of the Board at its inception but
the contract was finally remodeled the Objectionable
| features were expunged and with hope that the
contractor at least possessed sufficient qualifications
to prosecute the work. the Board determined to carry
out the agreement in good faith, and applied them
selves to the onerous duty of repenlshing empty
treasury, and of despatching the contractor to the
field of operations To facilitate this last named i'm
portant purpose, few large stockholders agreed to
dispose of sufficient amount of stock to raise given
sum, at any obtainabe rate Under this arrangement
about $50 600 was raised during the months of July
August, and September. The active operations of
the company commenced by the purchase of the
steamer Lenora, which was despatched on the 9th
June last, and reached the Coatzacoacos on the 4th
of July. Her cost and outfit amounted to about
$1,000.
The cordial reception of the party on the Lenora
by the people and Government officials on the 18th.
mus and the cheering reports conveyed to of the
progress of the work, led to the confident expecta-
ton that the road would be opened by the month of
November, with the aid of native and without any
additional foreign labor. No farther steps were
therefore taken to increase the latter and it was not
until the end September early in October, commu-
nicaton with the 1sthmus in the interval having been
very irregular, that the company were made of
the fact that the representations of their contractor
were not to be relied upon and that unless early and
energetic steps were taken to supersede him by the
appointment of person well qualified to superntend
and control the work. the grant would inevitably be
lost
In this emergency, John 7. Pickett, ESQ.,, of Vera
Cruz, who had always been identified by interest and
sympathy with the enterprise, was selected for the
position but as his readiness to proceed instantly
to the work was doubtful, Mr. E. Yorke was solici-
ted to go down in the interval, under an appoint
ment OF an assistant superintendent to act as in Mr.
Picketts absence, and to cooperate with him after
his arrival Mr.. Yorke sailed on the lst of Novem.
ber for the purpose of commencing the duties assigned
him.
Our condition then and this new plan involved the
immediate necessity of raising farther considerable
sum of money, as iniudicious expenditures of por-
tion that had already been remtted to the Isthmus
and similar ones by the previous contractor in New
York, had very nearly depleted the treasury.
10
forward and sales of stock were effected on the same
terms as in the first instance and about $50 900 were
OF that amount $40 900 was at once
RENTED to the Isthmus being the estimated sum re-
qured for the completion Of the opening of the road
After the arrival of Messrs. Pickett and Yorke on
the lshmus the work progressed steadily and rapidly
and with the assistance of about $50 aborers shipped
from this place, the road was finally opened, and the
through transit effected the 4th of February being
one day within the limit prescribed by the original
grant. The official acknowledgment of the requisite
in proof of this transit has been furnished
to the Mexican grantees and the late address issued
by the Executive Of that Government, subsequent to
the transmission of those documents, conveyed the
official assurance that works on the Isthmus were
being actively prosecuted and that according to the
most recent information the carriage road was already
Successful as the efforts of the company thus far
proved, they could not be accomplished without fur
ther expenditure, and the funds before raised had
been exhausted, by the extraordinary exertions which
the Board deemed it incumbent to put forth in prose
cutting the enterprise to completion, it was considered
advisable to negotiate series of bends with the view
of paying off all the expenses incurred on the sthmus
This was effected to the extent of about $50 900,
when urther progress was arrested by the action of
Mr. Sloo The pretensions of this gentleman are suf
iciently well understood in this community. Every
effort to compromise the difficulties between him and
,he company was frustrated by course which, while
to impose arbitrary and exorbant terms
Willingness to come to settlement bat
IN conditions utterly incompatible with the interests
'f the company Mr. Sloo was finally referred to the
'ompany's agents at the North to whom a commune.
ation was addressed on the subject Nothing has
nce resulted from this negotiation, but, on the con-
rary, continuous attempts have been made by Mr..
'loo to destroy the credit of the company by nyoy
ng it in yexatious lawsuits and thus preventing the
Board from making such arrangements as would have
reed it from pressing liabilities and enabled the com.
'any to open the road for through traffic at an earlier
,eriod.
On the 18th of January the agents o: the company
n Washington wrote to the Board that they had had
wo interviews with Mr. NJ. O Roberts, who was then
n Washington, and that Mr. Roberts informed them
hat he was induced to believe that A. G. Sloo and
Ar. e. Fisher, from statements made to him by them
we're duly authorized agents to act for the Tehuan-
epec Company, and that he had signed paper, the
ieails of which he did not communicate, agreeing TO
unsh steamships for the service of the Tehuantepec
company, and also to advance to the company one
lundred thousand doars. He also stated that he was
hen building steamer at Wilmington for the use of
be company, for the navigation of the Coazacoalcos
iver, and had done and doing this on represen.
ations made by the parties herein named, that they
we're the authorized agents of the company
The agents warned Mr.. Roberts of the want of au-
horty by the parties making these representations to
ind the company, but the fact of the pretensions
ased here by Mr.. Sloo prevented other parties from
losing contracts for steamers with our agents upon
he most favorable terms.
contract was made on the 10th of November last
y the companys agents at the North, with H. S.
tephens and others, responsible persons, for the
transportation OF passengers, freight etc. across the
sthmus, by stage and wagons.
The company having been advised by Mr. Stephens
nat the stages and wagons ready for shipment,
devolVed on them to make immediate ARRANGEMENTS
construct bridges across the various rivers inter.
ecting the route, to build piers, etc, and to place