Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1866-03-26
NfpxaUAN AFFAIRs.
DitfienIty of PRcifyiny the Country
The Mexican ATmy-Misf1kes OF
Ma1imi tan,s GOVsriinfeIit

muNihAI ltau's GONBrnnfent.
, GFtorn this Pail Mall Gazette. March S.1
ANY one Wishing to attain clear Idea o
the difficulties attending the paclHcatior
0f Mexico will do well to look through q
I series OF papers lately published IN tht
AeUue deS Deu1 MohdeS. under the title OF
'-Ia Lontre-Guerilla franchise au Mek4
ique" The writer, Count H. de Keratry,
seems a feen and not too partial an Observ-
er. as he DC certainly rough and ready SOL
dier, not accustomed to make too hluch of
diflicnlties. Notwithstanding then, his
pridein the exploits which his corps, under
the command of the famous Col Du Pin
lave achieved. he Is forced to confess their
essential futility. His ultimate conviction
is despair of seeing Mexico brought into
peace and order Within any limited time by
any of the agencies now at work there
The insuperable difficulties are the immense
extent OF the country totally untraversed
by roads, the scarcity of food, aud the
sparseness of population. To compress
anarchy over so vast ion would require
a great army, since the difficulty of car
riage and the impossibilty of obtaining
local supplies made 1t hopeless to replace
numbers by ubiquity. This army must
consist chiefly of foreigners. The Mexi-
can portion of the Imperial army is de6-.
cent in two military quallties-courage
and loyalty. Mexican officers take very
kindly to all the pomps and pleasant
nesses of war, pay ,sOnOrous titles and snowy
uniforms, but they are averse to personal
danger, and very prone to betrayal and de-
sertiOn. Where Mexicans really appear
willing to ''pay with their persons is in
attempts at assassination. In such enter
prises they will occasionally incur some
risk. Col. Larumbide, chief of the staff to
Gen. Mejia and the divisional commandant
of Mexican artillery at Vittoria, attempted
to murder the author of these papers In
manner which, although he was unarmed
and unsuspecting in his own quarters,
showed that they were not incapable of act
ing in their own persons. The only shadow
of motive for this attempt at assassination
was the jealousy of the Mexican officers
towards their French allies. The punish
ment for this irregularity was months
arrest, but even this was remitted, and the
would be murderer was shortly after ap-
pointed to the command of an Imperalist
brigade. The wOrthleSsness of the native
military material is not compensated by
enthusiasm or even good will on the part
of the population. What national feeling
there is is against foreigners and the cause
which foreigners may happen to support.
The Government of Macmillan negle ted
an opportunity when il stunned to invite
the cooperation and sympathy OF the Ia
dian population, not only the most nuIner-
Gus, but on the whole the most hopeful
section OF MeXcans. Nearly all the prom
Inc t MeXlcans who are not entirely OdiUus
or contemplate are pure Indians. Juarez
himself Is an Indian, so is Almonte. so
is the bravest of the Imperialist officers.
Mejia. Thisbmeasure, the emancipation OF
the peOnes, which the Imperial Government
SlOul0 hp Vp "a kpu has m "a hnpu
by the Juarists, and MaXmilian has thus
sacrificed a source of strength. Anarchy
in Mexico, as war did under WaIenstein,
maintains itself. To ask the people to be
industrious or peaCeable, is asking them to
accun, ulate prey for the robber and to offer
their thrOats to the assassin. The only way
not TO be victim is to victimize. The chief
difference between the native partisans of
the two factions is, that the Imperialists ex-
ercise retaliation with more timidity and
circumlOcutiOn. Why should people de-
sire peace when they do not value comfort,
when they hardly require food or shelter,
when their only real necessity is tobacco?
Is it reasonable to expect conclusive results
from military operations in a country where
the roads, SO pompously traced on the map,
can only be guessed at in practice here and
there by hOof- marks where the ground is
soft, or by the horses skulls suspended from
branches, which roughly represent mile
stones, or rather league stones. where there
happen to be trees? The CountIde Keartry
shows us that the succOr afforded to the
Republicans by America is, if less Ostenta-
tious, hardly less efficient than that
given by France to the Imperialists -
This is not solely diSinterested sympathy
with an idea-no idolatry Ofthe Monroe doc
trine-On the part OF the United States. 1t
is not pure love for Republcanisnl, but
very warm love tor some Republican Prov
inces. On the 2Sth of April, 1862, after the
French repulse before Puebla, President
Juarez signed treaty with Mr.. COrwin,
the Minister of the United States, by
which the two Provinces were ceded to the
latter country as security for loan which
assuredly never would have been redeem
ed. Lastly, among the hopeless features of
the struggle is the circumstance that the
Republican cause is nOtrepresented by any
men Of such eminence that their death or
conversion to the cause of order would par
alyZe insurrection. COrtinas, Mendez, Car
bojal are not superior to the base average
of their followers. COrtinas is only con-
spicuOus for the impudence of his many
treacheries. MendeZ, it is true, though
signal coward, even in Mexico, has talent
at organizing fOray. On the other hand,
the Imperiaist cause does not possess sin |
gle native soldier, except Mejia, who has
shown the smallest capacity for command, |
and very few who have not shown them
selves deficient in courage and doubtful in |
loyalty. Altogether, judging by Count de
keratry's experience, it looks as if we
might hope for peace and civilization in
Mexico when there shall be no more Mex