The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1864-01-14

u D.
that country and find practicable line Of ad-
vance into Pennsylvania, or to the Ohio, further
west than the Shenandoah valley If it SHOULD
be so isSr west as to give Lee range of noun
tains on his r,,ssbt flank, with gaps easy to hold
and debouch on The HQaongahela, within easy
reach Of Pittsburg. he viii be in a country
where he will not care much for lines Of com-
munication, and will give us more trouble than
he has done yet, and If it should be 80 far west
as ogive Ohio, or any of the Northwestern
States taste Of the war, that wilt exactly ac-
cord with the hatred that the southern leaders
feel against the States that would not
be bribed by the offer of the freedom of
the Mississippi river. Doubtless 1t is thought
Ia Richmond that the troops accumulated un-
der Longstrest will be handy in either event.
We cannot find in the history Of Mr.. LlnooIn's
direction Of our military affairs any Nason to
hope that suoh an advance can be cut short In
any other way than by sanguIaary battle such
as we have seen at Gettysburg and at Antietam;
and, though we have beaten Lee ct tho end Of
two advances, il Is we'll enough to remember
that the third victory may 10 his.
-l
qAe Iayasion Of 1lexaoe-Qshs OatY o.
France ana of Amertoa.
The latest aews from Msxiee. By way Of
California. is very important Il may be un-
reliable In some minor poiats, a. former tele-
grams from San FRANCISCO have been; but in
the main we have no doubt that the inteili-
gence is correct. II is pleasing to soc by these
accounts that the national spirit of the Mexi-
cans is not SO dead az their enemies have
represented. The assault Of General Uraga,
with his five thousand Mexicans. on the 10
trenched positions Of the French at Morelia,
although resulting In disaster and repulse to
the ASSISTANTS, speaks we'll for their courage
and determination to defend their homes II
required no small degree Of 6rmness and reso
confessedly inferior in arms aud discipline to
attack French veterans in their defensive
works. But that the Mexicans did 90, and lost
no loss than two thousand men in the attempt,
out Of total force Of FIVE thousand, affords
evidence that there is still some grit left in
Mexican soldiers and their commanders. Our
advices do not say anything about the losses Of
the French in tue engagement; but we may be
assured, from the fact Of their superior artil-
iery and covered position. that they suffered
muca less than their antagonists. Pre-
vious to this battle General Uraga had sue
ceeded in inflicting serious damage on the
French by interrupting their communications
and capturing OF destroying their supplies;
while large force Of the allies Of the invaders.
three thousand mon, under the
traitor Tobar, was completely routed and put
to flight by an equal force under another
Jnarist commander In addition to this we
perceive that General Doblado. when he found
thai he could no longer hold Guanaiuato. de-
liberately destroyed the aqueduct. reservoirs.
mining works, agricultural Implements and
growing crops. leaving tho whole country
barren waste. to be occupied by the enemy.
He then retreated to Zacatecas whore il was
expected that Jesus Ortega-the gallant de-
feader Of Puebla-would unite with him. aud
there give battle to tho French, vino were
steadily marching in that direction.
Now, whatever may DO the ultimate result OF
the French crusade against the neighboring
republic. the intelligence just received from
that country docs not indicate that the Mexi-
cans are yet prepared to abandon their liberty
and national independence. President .Iuare1
frankly admits. what everybody knows.
that tho French are superior soldiers.
ed than his raw Mexicans layies can
possibly be. French science and artillery
would inevitably decide any pitched battle
between the French aud Mesicans ia favor OF
the former. The advantage would Invariably
be on the stronger side. But tho Mexican
do not appear to be such fools as
to give this advantage to their enemies.
carry on more than what il classed a. guerilla
warfare. owe are" he says, ''nct in position
to wait for an attack on any Of our points by
their system Of artillery warfare but adds
that "by harassing and destroying their CON-
muuicatioas. and carrying on roviag system Of
warfare like that which the French once ex-
perienced il Spain, they perhaps will hss con-
slider Mexico an easy empire to govern." Tho
abandonment Of the principal cities OF tho re.
public TO the enemy he explains on similar
grounds, the idea being to draw Thorn as far
away as possible from their base and into che
interior Of the country. This seems to be
the wisest course that the Mexicans can adopt
in the present condition of their country and
the limited means OF their command; but how
long they will be able to sustain even this ir-
regular kind Of warfare is one OF the difRcult
questions Of the future.
In the meantime the Emperor Of the French
should open his eyes to the dangers BY which
no is surrounded, and the folly Of any longer
wasting the wealth, energies and bravo soldiers
Of France 10 the vain attempt to establish an
smpirs On this continent. II IL bis duty to
withdraw his troops while there Is YET time
to do 20. The sentiment of the American
a. we'll as Of the Mexican people is