496 



MEXICO. 



The office of the commission will be open every 

 day, except toast-days, from ti-ii in tin- mumin^; till 

 four in the afternoon, in the house situated on the 

 corner of Morela* and Sixth Streets, known as " the 

 New House of Pedro Jose de la Garza," 

 KMILll) VKLA- 



ANTO.MO UAKCIA CABRILLO. 



Aiil/STIN SlLIi'Ku. 

 MATAMOKCS, Hootmbtr 21, 1872. 



Seflor Don Jose Maria Iglesias was ele.i,.l 

 Chief-Justice of tlie Supreme Court, an ottico 

 equivalent to that of Vice-President, inasmuch 

 as, on the demise of the President of the Re- 

 public, the latter is succeeded by the Chief- 

 Justice. 



Disturbances occurred in Yucatan, caused 

 by the result of the State elections ; and a 

 large number of persons were killed. 



The most important topic of the time was 

 the insurrectionary movements of the Indians 

 of Tepic, under one Lozada. The first battle 

 between the insurgents and the national troops, 

 commanded by Generals Corona and Flores, 

 was fought on January 28th at Mohonera near 

 Guadalajara, Lozada's men numbering upward 

 of 6,000. The rebels wore routed, with heavy 

 loss, and were divided into separate bands; 

 one of which, 2,000 strong, attempted to take 

 possession of Mazatlan ; but these in turn were 

 defeated near the town of Rosario by a few 

 hundred men under Colonel Altimirano. The 

 sustained by the Government troops at 

 Mohonera was little short of 400. 



Immediately after the victory of Altimirano, 

 the President of the Republic issued a decree 

 for the closing of the port of San Bias, and 

 authorizing General Ceballos to equip a war- 

 vessel to cruise in the vicinity and prevent 

 blockade-running. Ceballos was likewise in- 

 structed to interfere with the dispatch of any 

 supplies from San Bias to the insurgents at 

 Tepic. 



The inhabitants of Mitlan, in the State of 

 Oajaca, had risen, in March, displaced the 

 Government authorities, and appointed in their 

 place officers of their own choice. 



The remains of an ancient temple, supposed 

 to have been erected centuries before the dis- 

 covery of Mexico, have been found in the 

 mountains of San Juan in the State of Chiapas ; 

 and in the vicinity of the temple have be. -a 

 dug up three stone statues representing Ana- 

 huao dignitaries. 



About the middle of March the epizootic 

 made its appearance at the capital, and soon 

 became alarmingly prevalent, attacking fowls 

 as well as horses ana cattle ; largo numbers of 

 afflicted animals were killed and burned in 

 several localities in order to oheok the spread 

 of the distemper. The lack of facilities for 

 transportation in consequence of the malady 

 caused an enhancement in the price of the 

 necessaries of life in the city of Mexico, and 

 elsewhere. Although of short duration, its 

 effects were very violent and frequently fatal, 

 specially among hones. 



The United States Government received a 



flattering mark of cordiality in a banquet 

 given by President Lerdo to the American 

 minister and secretary of legation. Messrs. 

 Thomas II. Nelson, and Porter ('. Kli>s, on the 

 eve of the departure of the former, in u 

 stead John W. Foster had been appointed 

 minister. Julius A. SSkilton, K>.|.. tlie Amer- 

 ican consul-general at Mexico City, and other 

 distinguished American citizens were present 

 at the entertainment. 



The anniversary of American independence 

 was cordially celebrated by tlie Mexican (iov- 

 ernment ; flags were Hying on all the public 

 edifices; and the newspapers of the capital 

 were unanimous in the expression of friendly 

 sentiuienta. 



The Federal District Court of Matatnoras 

 pronounced, July 23d, an important decision 

 favorable to importers of merchandise from 

 foreign countries, denying the right of the 

 Government to collect a duty of one-half i-r 

 cent, per pound on goods imported into the 

 "Free Belt." 



This decision was based on the provisions 

 of the new tariff, and was made on the pr 

 of Matamoros merchants against the exactions 

 of this duty by the custom-house officers, who 

 had persisted in collecting it, although the 

 former tariff, under which it was previously 

 imposed had been repealed. The effect of the 

 decision will be to extend the privilege under 

 the " Free Belt," and is applicable throughout 

 the whole region. 



Lozada, the Tepic rebel chieftain, was cap- 

 tured, and shot in August. 



The loss of several lives, and destruction of 

 a largo quantity of property in Guanajuato, 

 were caused by the bursting of a water-spout. 

 and the consequent inundation of the city. 



Yellow fever was unusually prevalent and 

 fatal at Vera Cruz during the summer; there 

 were also numerous cases of cholera there 

 and elsewhere in the republic ; and the small- 

 pox committed frightful ravages in Oa.jaca. 



In March, General Alatorre was appointed 

 Governor of Yucatan. 



On the occasion of the opening of the Na- 

 tional Congress on April 1st, President Lerdo 

 presented an address, which was responded to 

 by Seflor Don Francisco Gomez Palaeio, presi- 

 dent of that body for the month then current. 



Among oilier subjects for deliberation in 

 Congress was that of railways from the capital 

 to the Pacific coast, on one hand, and to tho 

 northern frontier of the republic on the other. 

 Two American companies, represented by the 

 same agents as during the previous year* 

 sued for concessions, one of the companies 

 that represented by Generals Rosecrnns and 

 W. J. Palmer proposed a narrow-gauire line; 

 while the other, by Mr. Plumb, urged tho 

 superiority of the broad-gauge. Neither, how- 

 ever, was successful, owing, perhaps, more to 

 an indisposition on the part of the Govern- 

 in. -nt and tlie majority of the influential inein- 



* Set AMXCJU. CYCLOP JTOIA for 1873. 



