New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1869-07-24

Dao;ec and will be under terIloio US
odvantages, so far as through lreign'
~ MASSAGE is concerned, IN coInPeu-
lion with even the Suez route. They WIZ Gel,
taply interfere but little with the es'aoiieii0e
traffic of the Panama Road and Its conhecS'ono s
and much less will they be able 10 conVonu , 0Uo
sessfuly against the overwhelming "u'al'" oEA
of Tehuantepec. So much for history III gen
sral: and it is sufficiently clear that IL any QUO
NJ the several Istbmian passages is ehtitied 10
nrio,ity of consideration as the pioneer 'no
Tebuaptepec deserves the featner-iI' inueeu'
SO sLode of fernando COrtez ID not fairly en-
titled to position upon the Board Oh Direc'iOn'
THE PRESENT ENTERPRISE.
The "bjstoryp of the present enterprise is a
br;of one. Nor would it have been so pro-
tracted "a it is, but for the sad misfortunes
which for so many years conyulsed our SISTER
Republic of Mexico, and surrounded all imam
cial undertakings upon her territory with an
air of uncertainty which temporarily precluded
their active prosecution. To their honor be 1t
said. the statesmen of Mexico seem to have in
berited the ideas and the liberal foresight OF
their great ancestors, and have ever eviDeed
the utmost readiness and anxiety to cooperate
in enterprises which promised such lncalculaDle
advantages to their country. Promptly grasp
ing the grand conception of a worlds highway
across the richest portion of the territory OF
their country, with its attendant growth OF
commerce, population, strength, and consldera-
ton in the eyes of the world, they have been
eager to acquire for their Republic the posi-
ton of "Keeper of the Gate between the
Atlantic and the Pacific.
1t would hardly be interesting, and wOnld
serve no good purpose, to detail the causes
which led to the defeat of other and earlier
Enterprises having the same object in view,
Il the resumption of their grants by the Mex
...n Government suffice it to say that, on
the 9th of October, 1867, the Government of
Mexico made grant or concession, for seventy
years, to a company 70 be formed by Don Emilio
La Sere, to open inter-Oceanic cOmmuni-
cation across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, by
railroad, carriage-road and telegraph line.
The grant also includes large tracts of valuable
land the nature of which will be more especial
" set forth in this paper in treating of the fl
nances and resources of the proposed Road. 1t
"a is free from taxation or impOsts of any kind by
the Mexican Government, except the payment
of twelve cents for each through passenger, and
eight per cent. of the net profits whenever div
idends to stockholders shall be declared. This
grant was confirmed by the Congress of
the Mexican Republic, with few modifica-
TONS on the Doth of December 1868, approved
by the President, January 2, 1869, and duly
officially published. Pursuant to said grant,
Don Emilio La Sere formed the Tehuantepec
Railway Company, composed wholly of citizens
of the United States; and this company, in
November, 1868, obtained q charter from the
State of Vermont incorporating it with cap
ital of $4,000 900, divided into shares of 800
each The Company has received from La
Sere the assignment of the grant, as intended
by the Government of Mexico and entered
into a bond to that Government, in the sum
of one hundred thousand dollars for the con-
struction of the road in compliance with the
terms of the grant.
OF course the enterprise cOntemplates thu
establishment of the necessary steamship line
ON either oeoon and the future requirement
of commerce will be amply provided fol-
While there is q sufficient depth of water il
the GoatzacOalcOs River for twenty miles frOI
its mouth, to the village of Minatitlan, tn
proposed northern Cor Atlantic) terminus
the road. it may be regarded as highly prob
able that the line will eventually be con
structed to tine Gulf 1t will be remembers
that the greatest difficulty in the construction
IN of the Panama Road was in securing land
ing place, and that the causeway from Aspinwal
TO the MAN land cost more in human life than
did in money The existence of so good har
Dor as the GOatzacoalcos river affords, and 81
available landing as that of Minatitlan, re
lieyes the Tehuantepec enterprise of any sucl
obstacle.
The bar at the mouth of the river is perma
nent, and susceptible of being readily deepened
and it is proposed to enlarge the channe
to 800 feet in width and IS feet in depth at Low
water on the bar. g..
On the Pacific coast, the bay Of VentOsa, a
the mouth of the Tehuantepec river, was. fol
long time, regarded as the most feasible ter
minus; but subsequent investigations have re-
vealed the fact that even better barbOr car
be obtained at Salina Cruz, about three miles
to the westward. AT this point, there is an
abundance of fresh water, bubbling up in CO.
pious and unfaling springs, hot as well as
cold; and this advantage, rare enough on that
coast, is in addition to others which are of vast
Importance to the future commerce of the Pa
cifc. From the interior, the approach to the
shore is easy and the typographical features such
as to make the site suitable for the erection of
all necessary buildings, or even for the growth
of new city. The anchorage is excellent: the
shore being so bold that from IS to % feet
of water can be obtained at a very short dis
tance. Nature has done much to prepare
tho way for the construction of the necessary
Improvements, which can be erected at very
reasonable cost
RESOURCES.
When Tehuantepec" comes to speak of its
resources and the elements of its present finan-