The daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1863-1864, 1863-09-26
France and the Con-
o. ,saia federacy. baa ssa.,
Recognition of the Richmond
Government the Necessary
Consequence of the Mex
lean Expedition.
---el--
M. CHEVALIER,S PAMPHLET.
TRANSLATED FOR THE WORLD.


ways provoked bitter criticism on the par
of the Opposition, and have always me
with but little sympathy among the sup
porters of order. We are inclined to at
tribute to this fact the relative inferiority
OF our country as commercial and colon
ial power, while it occupies the second and
almost the first rank as naval power
The Frenchman Is infinitely better fitted
for action than for traffic, and in war he
commonly considers Only its military glory
sometimes its political results; never its
business side. In this respect We are at
once superior and inferior to our allies, the
English-superior by all the greatness OF
our generosity and our disnterestedness;
ferior by all the depth of their calculations
and their mercantile genius. Thus it was
when after the rupture of the treaty Of La
Soledad, Engla and Spain, which had in
tervened in Mexico under the samo preteXt
as France, retired from the intervention,
leaving to France the cost and the conse-
quences of an expedition which had been
commenced in common, there was but one
voice in our country to deplore the situa-
ton in which we had been left by our allies
Noone suspected, and no one then chose
to suspect, the fruitful results of our inter-
vention in the affairs Of Mexico 1t was
then fashionable to calculate the sums
which it would cost to transport soldier
from Cherbourg 10 Vera Cruz. and it was
attempted to show that our only object
| was to impose upon the Mexicans form Of
! government more or less hostile to their
taste and to their convictions. President
Juarez; Notwithstanding his,numerous re
| fusals of Justice, his open contempt Of
pledged faith, and the divisions excited by
his deplorable administration, still, in the
eyes of European demagosues, remained
the sacred, representative Oh the national
will of Mexico the paragon of liberal ideas.
1t was respeatsd Qd nauss0n, that the En-
peror yielding to natural love of adven-
ture had allowed himself to be subduced
by fallacious stories of the wealth of the
ancient empire of the Montezumas; that
having thrown himself headlong into an
expedition which could have no end. he
persevered in it through obstinacy, ,and that
our soldiers were marching to most use.
less, dangerous, and ruinous conquest
Unfortunately the failure Of the first attack
on Puebla offered the enemies of the expe
dition natural opportunity for redoub-
ling their clamors. The echoes OF the
Palais Bourbon (tRe Corps Legislatif) rang
with calumnies which up to that time bad
been contined to the purlieuS of foreign
newspaper Offices, and nothing less than
the authoritative eloquence of Mr.. Billault
was requirad to clear up the question and
dspel the cloud which masked the future
of our Intervention. The fruitless, or even
the unfortu nate result of the warlike opera
ton proves nothing against the origin and
object of war. The origin Of the actual
war in Mexico is more than justified by the
wrongs which France is bent upon redres-
sing The objec of that war is to aid the
Mexicans in establishing, according to their
own free will and choice, government
which may have some chance of stability
The failure of the first attack on Puebla
simply proved that we had been ill-inform-
ed as to the military resources which in
timidation had enabled Juarez to command.
1t neither diminished the gravity of our
interests nor lessened the impo, tance of our
object. 1t inflicted no damage even upon
our military reputation. 1t was then de-
cided that complete army corps, armed
with formidable artillery and adequate
| means of transportation, should be en-
barked for Mexico as soon as the season
| would allow The money expenditure re-
quired by this considerable movement OF
troops and warlike material was simply an
advance made upon the enterprise. Where
so many people insisted upon seeing moth
ing but little glory to win, Napoleon III.
had already laid the foundations of COM
pletely new system of policy. While for
everybody else the Mexican war was mere
| military question, he was limiting and de-
tsrmining the part TO be played by our sol
diers, our seamen and our diplomats in this
enterprise which is to give to France the
commercial rank she has right to hold.
'In the actual state of the civilization o
the world the prosperity of America is not
a matter of indifference to Europe, for th::
prosperity feeds our factories and keeps ouI
commerce alive. 1t is our interest that the
republic of the United States should be
powerful and prosperous, but it is not oul
interest that it should possess itself Of the
whole Mexican Gulf, that it should thence
domineer over the Antilles as we'll as Soutl
America, and that it alone should contro
the distribution Of the products of the New
World" This passage, from the instruc
tons given by the Emperor to Gen. Forey
VIGOROUSLY answers those who now asl
> why We have been sxpending men ant
money to found regular government il
Mexico. France must oppose the absorp
tion of Southern America BY Northerl
= America; she must in like manner oppos
the degrea'ior of the Latin race on tn
other side OF the ocean; she must establis
the integrity and security of our West In
J.. dian colonies. 1t is the interests whic
compel France to sympathize with the Con
federate States which have led our banne,
= up to the walls of Mexico.
The recognition of the Southern State
!. will be the consequences ofour Intervention
: or rather our intervention has prsparet
facilitated, and made possibls diplomat