, 1866-07-23

| utlcAL VI q CHHS6Y. II Qlu IEi1 us o. Lit
defeat of the Austrfaus under Col. Polak, 10l
miles from Tampico, aud how dreadtnlly ht
VAS cut up; hut. when the truth was told
the boot proved 10 be upon the other leg
Polak was victor, having beaten tho Libcralt
soundiy, captured their only piece OF artillery
proved unreliable several times, latelY; three
wecks aso IL took Tatnpico, and gayc us tht
particulars Of the booty gained, loss, &c; but
it turned out that the Libcrals only pene-
trated to the centre Of the city, from which
they were driven Win much loss. It again
says tba, Tamplco Is in the hands Of the LII.
era1s- II this ue not true, Its fall cannot be
long delayed, unless rclnforccments be soon
sent to the garrison. The city contains many
French citizens, who have armed themselves
move, as the Liberals have sworn to destroy
the place ifthey take it, the city being very OBJ
no1fous to them on account Of its having
been the headquarters OF tho French npl re-
sort If 1mperialists, and having tone much
toward sustaining the Empire. It Is strongly
Imperial, ns are nll in its vicinity aud upon
That part Of the coast.
The taking OF Mata1noras, the defeat Of the
large convoy from that city, and the value Of
the goods captured, are amung the best ef-
forts Of tue war, and show Escobado to be
one Of the ablcst Of the Liberal generals. An
old-time Warrior Of this valley, one Of the
ablest among the commanders when the Re.
public could boast III army, and whose bod
bears The scars from Yankee bullets, says Es-
cobado Is the only soldier In lis party. The
who fight for spoils, and who will desert the
cansc In time Of trial. Escobado certainly has
made most honorable and unexpectedly gen.
erous offers to the owners Of the captured
goods, promising to release them upon pay-
ment Of the regular custom.house dulles.
lcjia feels deeply his disgrace, both at the
loss OF the convoy and city, as we'll as ut be-
ing 70 casily outgi neruled BY leader whom
he had before affected to despise. He Il now
in Or1za1a, but has received orders, and will
accompany large expedition which is being
fitted out with secrecy and great expedition.
Several points claim Imperial attention. If
Matamnrns Is to be retaken, /: must be done
| at once, or the Liberals will soon be there in
such force as to resist all attempts to dtslolgc
them Tampico is in danger, i it Inns not a.
Vorma is reported advancing on Guadalajara,
nnd the Liberals around San Luis Pot0sf are
I altogether too numerous to be either aorec.
able or profitable To which Of these places
the expedition is bound has not yet been made
public. The men are In excellent spirits.
| They are tired Of trayersing the country fu
ecalch Of guerillas, and hope to meet IN enc
| my bold enough to resist or make an attack
somewhat after the civilized mode Of warfare.
| Since pennlng the above paragraphs, the
fall Of Inmpico has been confirmed. Lama-
drid, Mexican lmpertalist, who was In com
maEd Of all the Imperial troops In his de-
partment, suddenly turned a summcrsault
and landed square IN the Liberal ranks. He
had defended Tampico bravefy some weeks,
and his trenaon was the more sudden and un
expected. lie pronounced against the En-
plre, taking with him hts Mexican troops,
nbout 500 10 number. The inhabitants OF
Tampico and the French soldiers arc said to
have resisted this treachery, but the Next
cans were too much tor them, nnd Forty
Freuchmen are reported to have been slnln.
Lamadril has changed his colors several
times and has always made 1t pay. The Lib
srale are suspicious OF him and do not hesi.
tate to say that although he has done very
well this time, still be cannot be trusted in .
post Of importance. or where money and con-
tdencc are concerned.
Tu1pan, q small port between Tamplco aud
Vera Cruz, in Lamadri1's district, hns also
surrendered and Tlacotalpan will soon fol-
low. This will give the whole coast north of
Vera Cruz to the Libersis. Near Tuxpan il
there; how they will like the change Is hard
to tell. These Texans, like all Southerners,
we're Intense Imperiallsts, aud made huge
hoasts Of what they intended to do to the
Liberals. Doubtless they nre now as brave rs
50 many sheep. and cndeavoring to satisfy the
L1bernls OF their entire devotion to their
cause.
II any among your readers intend coming
to this country, advise them to remain nt
home little longer. There is absolutely no
employment here for anyone, save for few
mechanics. The country Is full Of Americans
seeking for something to do, and who abso-
1utely hnye not q dime with which to pur-
chase food. The Imperial Railway Company
has about "smashcd ups" at al events It
has suspended all operations, and this has
thrown thousands out Of work. Those Of us
who were economical, managed 10 lay. up q
few dollats, but our piles are rapidly dimln-
ishinE under the fearful inroads Of Mexican
prices, and most of us who have the means
Will return to the States before our money is
exhausted AL made money whilst the work
was going on, but generally our couutrymou,
with their accustomed thoughtlessncss, spent
their wages ns faat us received, expecting to |
retain their situations for several years. Such |
arcin pi,iable plight, and scores, even hum
dreds, who four weeks ago were In Cumplra-
tire aii'uenee, ase now pennlless, and aetnally
objects oi charity. When peace and order are |
rc-established, and the public works are re-
commenced, Mexico will present superior in- |
ducemcnts to young men, especially indus |
tfious mechanics and skilled laborcrs. but at |
tue present time they have most unpromis- |
Ing prospect he:orc them.
THIS Imperial Railway is one Of the ereat-
est undertakings Of the age, and deserves \
special attention from Americans, who should |
not be ignorant Of the great improvements
progressing upon their own continent. This |
great work WIS begun more than twenty |
years ago, and several miles Of 1t Lad already |
been completed at the time General Scott |
took Vera Cruz. But under the Republic no |
works Of public benefit ever prospered, and |
Tor years tho work 1aDguished, progressing |
not more than twenty miles fn eighteen |
ycn1s. Maxiinllinn, upon assuming the Gov
eminent, at once commenced 4 series Of pub /
lie tmprorements,s we'll knowing that his peo- |
pie could not flourish and become great With l
out means Of Intercommunication Uulrr |
hts auspices. the Mexican Imperial Railway |
Recommended operations, and wns pushed |
forward with such yigor that in a few months |
It was finished to Paso del Macho, forty eight |
miles from Vera Cruz. Here the mountains |
interposed frighttnl barriers to be overcome,
and vide ind deep barrancas, or guIches, |
we1c to be crossed-works, which will require |
years 10 complete. The traffic between the |
cities Of Puebla and Mexico has always been |
enormous, and the railway company bent |
their best energies toward completing thasr
prise was carried forward With spirit and res~
olution, until the Withdrawal OF the foreign |
troops became fixed fact. Since that TING
the work has tallen of gradually, and at last |
u was suspended entirely, lcariag only about
twenty miles out Of the hundred to be !
country that just at this juncture the work !
should be stopped, and II Is unfortunate rs
well for the company, Us not osiy will
1t be deprived oi an important
..onrce Of revenue, but 'ts credit
found s su eut to to reco9er eo 10 condance
will be ielt By EuroDaen capitalists in Mc1i-
can enterprises Ii the 1s1'nblc be re-estab-
ished, us they hare b.se lad too much cx-
perience already, aDf lost too much money
under previous gp'efnoents. The hope that
the Empire wot.l prove 4 Success was the !
great inducerent to invest In this railway
stock. II ais hope prove futile, the project
viii be atandoned for years. Another efcat
disadr-ltagc that the company labors under
Is. &c loose and extraragant manner in
,tIr51 tnk14n nF7v1ft1 fn1 I
.uly las never been considered; but tue cor
poration was considered to be rich, and could
stand any amount Of plucking; hence, its
managers aud contractors eulcred into all
manner OF extrarasances, and 1t is asserted
that French engineers who haze recently in-
spccted the work declare Tint 1t should hnre
been constructed nj dftY per cent Of what Il |
hns really cost. The affair was English
throughout. inexperienced men ut large fala-
rics were brought out, who could do nothing,
dsaughtsman, engineers, clerks and over
scefs had to be employed in addition. Mil
lions upon millions have been spent already, |
and 1t Will require near fifteen millions more
to complete the line according to the present
plan. The entire road is to be nearly 500
miles long, including the branch Of twenty
miles from Apua to Pnebla. The whole crst
will be from les ,o00, ,Oo0 to s,o, COS 600. some
idea Of the magnitude Of the under
taking may 9e obtained by my giving q
teh uEAlls. 4AG lilly O1 Me4lC0 lies nearly .
5000 leet above VcrA Cruz, but the most OF
this ascent Is to be overcome upon the arst
half Of the road. The highest poiut upon the
load Is {, SsS3 teet above the 1eyel Of the sea.
In the first Gity-dre miles the road accom-
plishes m ascent Of 600 feet in the second,
afty fire miles 1t rises I, $40 tcet, correspond
ing to 110 feet per mile, or one foot In Az in
the entire distance. The principal incline is
twentYthFee miles long, with grade OF two
hundred and eleven teet to the mile--the