No. 285.
Mr. Nelson to Mr. Fish.
Mexico. January 29, 1872. (Received February 16.)
Sir: The military situation in Mexico has not essentially changed since the date of my last general dispatch. There have been numerous [Page 383] partial engagements in various directions, all resulting, so far as is yet known, in the triumph of the government. The most important of these have been the defeat of the rebel General Jimenez in the State of Guerrero; that of General Negrete, in the State of Tlaxcala; the repulse of Garcia de la Gadsna from Colotlan; of Betanzos from Huamantla; and of Carvillo from Chalehicomula; the capture of Zongolica by General Rocha; and the defeat and death of the marauder Llanos, near Cuernarraca.
General Porfirio Diaz, after traversing the sierra of Oaxaca, arrived at Zongolica on or about the 15th instant, and is believed to have separated from the few hundreds of his troops, escaping almost alone into the sierra of the north of Puebla. General Rocha moved northward after the fall of Oaxaca, and now has his headquarters at Orizaba. He will doubtless soon be sent against the rebels of the north. A battle of great importance has been imminent for some days, near Fresnillo, in Zacatecas, between General Neri and the rebel general Guerra. Each of the combatants has between three and four thousand men, and the government is hurrying forward re-enforcements under the command of General Sanchez Ochoa.
On the northern frontier, General Treviño was at last advices at Cerralvo, near the Rio Grande, and seems to have no present intention of attacking San Luis Potosi. Robberies have multiplied of late in the vicinity of this city; they being perpetrated by notorious bandits, in the guise of revolutionists.
The railroad train from Puebla has been twice robbed; several of the stations have been sacked and burned, and the neighboring State of Hidalgo is so completely overrun by bandits that President Juarez yesterday declared it “in a state of siege,” i. e., proclaimed martial law.
Notwithstanding the uncertain state of the country, the Mexico and Vera Oruz Railway Company is pushing forward the work of that line with the utmost activity, employing several thousand laborers, and announces its intention to complete the road within the time of the contract, which expires on the 11th of November next. About one-half of the line remains to be built, but the principal engineering difficulties have been already surmounted. In view of the approaching completion of this road, the Mexican newspapers are now recommending a project for a universal exposition, to be held in this city in May of next year.
In a famous libel suit brought by Secretary Romero against D. Juan A. Zambrano, for having charged him with malversation of the public funds, judgment has been rendered in the last instance, confirming the former sentence, which condemned defendant to a fine of $500 or to a year’s imprisonment.
I am, &c.,