Year: 1869




The news from this city does not Of
ten present topics of great interest to the
reader abroad, and the present period
forms no exception to the rule. Congress-
is in session, and pretty active in pass
ing bills of secondary nature and re
ferring to local matters; the construction
of railroads absorbs large proportion of
public attention, and I will, in this let
ter, quote two bills which the Executive
and Congress are generally anxious to
convert into law: The building of a
railroad from Tehuantepec and another
one from Presidio del Norte to Guaymas.
or some other port on the Pacific coast. 4
The concession for both roads had al
ready been given to company of foreign
capitalists, but the enterprise failed on
account of the parties to whom the con-
cession had been made having failed to
comply with their engagements. 1t can
not be denied that from Presidio del
Norte to Guaymas no road could, until
very recently, be built, on account of
the late war, which rendered any works
of that description matter of absolute
impossibility. But no such plausible
excuse exists in regard to the Tehuante-
pee road, and the public of Vera Cruz
and Mexico City say, with fair show
of reason, that the concession should
not be renewed by Congress-,
but given to other parties more
reliable in the fulfilling of their
engagements. New York capitalists,
such as Mr.. Marshall o. Roberts, they
say, have not found it to their pecuniary
advantage to build the road, when the
concession was made to them, but this
is not the reason why the privilege
should be renewed now, that the pros
poets of peace would render the enter
prise more profitable one. National
pride and jealousy has likewise share
in the sentiment of the public, for it is
urged as an additional reason for the
withdrawal by Congress of the above
concession to the American company,
that one of the paragraphs provided for
the admission of foreign troops on Mex
lean territory under the pretext of serv-.
ing as protection Of the property of the
company. Mexicans are exceedingly
afraid of further acts of Annexation
on the part of the United States author
tiles, and it is believed that Congress,
will pass no law or make any concessions
during its present session which has the
least tendency towards encouraging or
facilitating any plans of aggrandize-
ment of territory, which may spring up
at some future date on the part of our
Northern neighbors. -.,
A bill has lately been presented in
Congress for general amnesty to be
extended to all political convicts of the
late war, and has met with a favorable
reception on the part of the committee
entrusted with the investigation of these
matters. The general impression is that
no obstacle will present itself to the plan
becoming reality, and now that peace
has been restored, no danger need, be ap-
pretended on the part of those who had
reen conspiring against the Government.
There is great deal of sympathy pre-
valent among us for our neighbors on the
island of Cuba, who are struggling for
their political independence. Several
mass meetings have been held and revo-
lutions formed which are intended to as,
sure the Cubans of the moral support ex-
tended to them on the part of the Mexi-
can people. This sympathy will not, of
course, benefit the Oubans any, but goes
toshow in which direction the wind blows
and what attitude this republic would, be
likely to adopt should the insurgents in
Cuba any time meet with decisive success
in their present conflict against the regu-
lar Spanish troops and the representa-
tives of the Provisional Government on
the island. HIoE b1s .Toi5s-s =