The Placer herald., 1864-06-11
French DESIGNS on California.

/ L
Of the Boston Saturday Eoening Gazette,
writes from the French capital, March 3lst:
"lhere are few people in Paris who dsbe
Ieve that it is the design of the deep plotter
who sits on the French throne to relanuex
California to Mexico l, is believed that the
Californians themselves will eagerly embrace
the project and carry it into execution with
out shedding drop of blood French
agents (not always OF French birth) will in
press on them the darkness of the future
which awaits them if they are united with
the Federal States, saddled with load Of
debt almost unprecedented in amount and
certainly unprecedented in its rapid accumu.
latlon, the prey of the most prohigate politii
cal adventures to be found out of Greece or
Turkey, the victim Of ceaseIess agitation
which must end by severing no one knows
what States from what other sections of the
States. France offers California peace, Sc
curity, empire. She tells Caifornians: You
may be, if you join us, masters of the whole
Mexican Empire and of the whole transl
Rocky Mountain country, for with your en-
ergy, your perseverance, your political tai
enls you must soon find the destinies of
Mexico in your hands A railway, such as
these built in Europe, that is, great public
monument, shall place your trade in direct
communication with the Gulf of Mexico and
with Europe which will be much more to
your advantage than the roundabout and
distant route to New York by the Isthmus.
Suitable subsidies will maintain lines OF
steamships between California and China and
Japan and those considerations of islands
which stud the Pacific and give YOU two
thirds of the Chinese, Japanese, Indian and
other Pacific trade There will be no CON
scription. Emigration from Europe will be
encouraged on the largest scale | have
good ground of reason to believe that these
whispers have not found lislless or incredu'
lous ears in Cafornans. Secret societies
will manage the whole affair, and one fine
and not very distant morning the world will
be startled bv the secession of California and
her annexation to Mexico the Emperor of
the French acting as sponsor. Observe the
preparations France is making TO carry out
this scheme. She is collecting on the West.
ern coast Of Mexico most formidable feet
for the avowed purpose of borkaling those
ports. Every steamship that goes to Mexico
carries out French officers. All the French
navy yards are busy getting tenders and
other vessels and great tleights Of powder.
shell, guns and muskets ready for that dis
tant quarter The French military officers
reckon that any war with the Federal States
would prove speedily exhaustng to them, for
the French would act entirely upon the de-
fensive They would meet the Federal ar
mics only in Mexico, where defeat would be
the destruction of the defeated army, which
would lose every thing These armies could
be thrown so far beyond the Mississippi only
at immense cost (Which would be quadruped
in these days Of paper money! and dreadful
sacrifice of men and material of war. After
one Federal army was destroyed the French
would wait for the appearance of another,
taking good care in The meantime not to
advance pace toward the Federal frontier.
The French Navy would be actively engaged
in sweeping Federal commerce from the
ocean, but it would not blockade single
Federal port, because free trade in time of
war serves to encourage expense to initiate
the paper currency and make its end most
disastrous and keep up the price Of gold and
all the necessaries and Injuries of life The
French navy might run in and lay an ex-
posed town like Salem or Newburyport or
Portland under contribution and carry of
all the gold and silver in the banks; for the
French woull make the war a sefsupport-
ing war. Prizes would pay the expenses of
the navy; Mexico and the booty taken on
the battle field would pay the expenses of the
army in the field. If a corps was dispatched
to aid the Confederate GovernmenD as would
probably be the case), the Confederate Gov
ernment would bear all its expenses. Thus
France would be enabled to keep up a con-
siderable portion of its army and all its
navy without cost to the French treasury,
and to keep them up in the very highest
state Of efficiency"