The Mexican crisis., August 18
The Mexican crisis.
THE MEXICAN CRISIS.
The arrival of the empress of Mexico in Paris has made the forgotten affairs of that country the order of the day. There is no doubt about the object of this voyage; the official journals of the Mexican empire thus divulged it on the 7th of July:
“Her majesty the empress starts for Europe to-morrow. She goes to treat about Mexican affairs, and make various international arrangements. This mission, accepted by our sovereign with true patriotism, is the greatest proof of abnegation the emperor could offer his new country. We give this news that the public may know the real intention of her majesty’s voyage.”
Mystery is impossible in these important affairs, undertaken by such a courageous and intelligent sovereign. The news that has come to us from Mexico for several months explains the whole affair. The New Era, the semi-official journal of the French expedition, speaking of the empress’s departure, says: “Things look very gloomy.” In Sonora and Sinaloa, near California, the imperial garrisons are much diminished, and disasters are anticipated. On the other limit, towards the Texas frontier, the rout of a column conveying a specie train, the desertion of many imperialists, the capture of Matamoras, where the Juarists had a rich booty of merchandise, the use of its entry fees, one of the most important ports to the Mexican treasury, the ports of Acapulco, on the Pacific, and Tampico both feebly defended, the warlike people of the Huasteca in rebellion—these are checks which the authorities do not try to conceal.
The aspect of affairs would be more gloomy still if paragraphs from American newspapers and scraps from private letters were taken into consideration. The official promise made in Paris before the Corps Legislatif to recall the French troops, the only ones that inspired fear to the dissidents, has echoed widely in the New World, and has produced the anticipated effect. The republicans are so firmly convinced they are masters of the situation that the partisans of Juarez and Ortega are already contending for the presidency. Abominable and cruel reprisals terrify those who have openly declared for the new rule: and the poor Indians, not knowing what to do, hide themselves in the forests with their goods and cattle, and avoid both parties.
Well-established revenues could not long stand such a state of things; so the few and uncertain resources of the Mexican treasury were soon drained. By a formal order of Maximilian, great efforts are making to enforce the European engagements; but there is want in the civil departments, and even around the throne. The paragraph above quoted shows the discouraging crisis of the 5th of July. The abdication of Maximilian seems inevitable. The empress, men, with that boldness we admire in the French, and which secures her our sympathy, developed a plan to restore the situation, and started for Paris the next day.
The court of Mexico complains of not being able to follow a proper policy, because it has no army at its disposal. The French generals, in their marches, follow their own will without making it accord with that of the government. The foreign auxiliaries have not performed what was expected of them, and some have been discharged. The troops, called imperialists, are, for the most part, bands of certain chiefs like Mejia, depending upon the influence of their leader.
According to Maximilian’s advisers, then, the only means of safety is a national army of 40,000 men at the absolute disposal of the emperor. A new plan was laid out: instead of hunting the dissidents wherever they were to be found, a centre was to be formed, and a line from Acapulco to Matamoras was to be held, without caring for the immense northern regions. Now, this army could only be formed by the aid of France, and in two ways: the French army was to remain in Mexico till the commencement of 1868, within a few months of the time fixed for the complete evacuation. At the same time France was to furnish Maximilian one hundred millions of francs, to be paid monthly within two years, to pay for the organization of the national army. On such conditions the imperial government of Mexico could afford to let the French troops leave, and could guarantee the French interests in Mexico. If this indispensable aid was refused, the empress of Mexico was to quit Paris for Miramar, where her husband was soon to join her.
We are not in the secret of the Mexican embassy, and we hesitate in publishing rumors about it that appear well founded; but, whatever may be the determination of the court of Mexico, there is no doubt but it is a fearful crisis, and that the demands carried by the empress Charlotte is an ultimatum, which, if refused, will be followed by the certain abdication of Maximilian.
We are sorry to grieve those who yet believe in the security of the Mexican empire, but our duty is to tell them that nobody in France believes in it. The Mexican question is dead, and its friends in France are mourning for it. The government announced that the troops would be withdrawn from Mexico by the end of November, in three instalments, and that our expenses would decrease in the same proportion. The Corps Legislatif welcomed this promise, and was comforted. The cause of war with the United States was removed, and the world rejoiced.
Even if the French government does not consider itself bound by its word, the new arrangement is inadmissible. In the present condii ion of things the Mexican expedition costs us fifty or sixty millions a year; out of that sum we have reimbursed ourselves, since the treaty of Miramar, with twenty-five millions, deducted from the Paris loans. The new arrangement would suppress this annuity, and throw the entire expense of occupation upon us. We would then have to furnish for two years fifty millions for our troops, and a like sum to recruit the native army. With this new arrangement what would become of the pretended balance of our budget, and the new extinguishment of which Mr. Fould is so proud?
What if we have to buy the securities of European creditors at the price they ask? We are told that the Mexican treasury will pay all its obligations if relieved for two years from all military charges; but how can we believe that Maximilian, if left to himself, confined to a small space by an enemy emboldened by success, can collect a revenue, which he has failed to do up to the present time, and pay an annuity of fifty-six millions of the foreign debt alone, to say nothing of other expenses? On the other hand, the difficulties that would be caused by Maximilian’s abdication would require a prompt and radical solution. If the recall of our troops should take place before the time specified there would be the dignity of our army to protect as it retired, and the safety of our citizens residing in Mexico to. be insured; and we would have to take care of the holders of Mexican bonds, who are of that class that could not afford to lose their little savings, so hardly gained, and whose sufferings would be irreparable. These are interests of importance to everybody, and it is necessary to attend to them. The decision of the government is, therefore, anxiously expected.