MEXICO. 
$10 
■with a new viceroy for Mexico, has put back ; becaufe it 
was afcertainecl that the privateers and other veffels be¬ 
longing to the patriots had rendezvoufed in a certain lati¬ 
tude, and would give battle to the royal fleet. 
“ Aug. 30." Huafl'a Huales, on the f'outh fide of Vera 
Cruz, one of the bell ports on the Mexican fliore, and Ma¬ 
tagorda alfo, are in the hands of the patriots j and the 
depredations which the patriot privateers make with im¬ 
punity on the public and merchant fiiips of Spain have 
1 difconcerted the partifans of the monopolifts of Cadiz, fo 
that they now fay publicly, that they are afliamed to be¬ 
long to a government fo imbecile as to be incompetent to 
defend their commerce againft the infurgent privateers.” 
The above accounts are of a nature to excite a lively in- 
tereft both in the people and government of this country. 
The independence of that great and interefting feftion 
of the new world is fall advancing; and the United States 
alone feem fenfible of the great event, and ready to grafp 
at the incalculable advantages that will refult from it. 
The citizens and government of that country have turned 
their ferious attention to the ftruggle of their Mexican 
neighbours, and now begin to feel the benefits of the te¬ 
nure of Louifiana as a point of contaft. The conduft of 
Spain has excited a fovereign contempt; and the threats 
of her agents againft thofe who favour the patriots has 
called forth a fympathy and a refolution to aid them by 
every effebtive means not amounting to an open declara¬ 
tion on the part of Walhington government, but which 
muft eventually produce equally favourable refults. The 
numbers flocking to join the Mexican ftandard, a3 well 
from Europe as the American union, muft give the caufe 
an impulle hitherto unknown, and fliortly bring about 
events againft which the monarch of Spain may rail, but 
cannot prevent. 
The ntuation of Mexico, and of all Spanifh America, is 
indeed a peculiar one. They did not wantonly ereft the 
■ftandard of revolt againft the mother-country; they mere¬ 
ly followed the example which the latter had given, and 
refufed to recognife the intrufive government eftabliftied 
in Spain. They did not aflert their independence till the 
Spanifh monarch had renounced the allegiance of his fub- 
jefts, and made over the empire of Old and New Spain to 
jofeph Bonaparte. This aft cancelled the tie which 
bound the Americans to their former government; and 
•they are by law, as well as by the right of Nature, perfeftly 
entitled to aflert their independence. They did not de- 
fert their ancient race of monarchs ; it was the latter who 
made the ignominious furrender of their own rights, and 
confequently gave to their tranfatlantic fubjefts the choice 
of accepting or rejecting Jofeph Bonaparte as their fove¬ 
reign. When unforefeen circumftances replaced a Bour¬ 
bon upon the Spanifh throne, he invited his former 
fubjefts to renew their allegiance; without condefcend- 
ing, however, to give them a Angle guarantee in favour 
of their liberties, wliilft he left them even in doubt whe¬ 
ther their conduft during his captivity would receive pu- 
nifhment or reward. In the interval, the Americans had 
acquired a ftrong attachment for freedom ; and the con¬ 
duft of Ferdinand, on his refumption of authority at 
home, left them no alternative, but that of fubmitting 
unconditionally to the old abules and commercial mono¬ 
poly which kept them for fo many generations in fervi- 
tude, ignorance, floth, and poverty, or of vindicating 
that independence which the cowardice and fielf-aban- 
donment of this very Ferdinand conftrained them to pro¬ 
claim, 
What conduft will the Englifh cabinet purfue under 
tliefe circtitnftances ? The policy of fupporting the Ame¬ 
ricans is apparent. We are perhaps upon the point of 
being excluded from the markets of the Old World, where 
a fpirit holtile to our manufaftures is manifefting itfelf 
from day to day with increaling rancour. We muft there¬ 
fore either prepare to give up our manufacturing fyftem, 
at leaft that part of it which ufed to find cullomcrs on 
the Europeaii continent, or ftrike out new markets. No 
part of the globe offers fo many advantages as Spanifh 
America does in this refpeft. The independence of that 
large and rich traft would, in a few yeirs, multiply its 
means and its wants in fo extraordinary a degree, that it 
would afford a perfeft equivalent for any injury we may 
fuftain in the markets of Europe. 
MEX'ICO, [dignifying according to Clavigero, Th« 
Place of Mexitli, or Huitzilopoclnli, i. e. the Mars of the 
Mexicans ; on account of the ianftuary there erected to 
him.] The chief city not only of Mexico or New Spain, 
but of all Spanifh America. It is fituated in a beautiful 
vale, on fenny ground near the banks of the lake of Tez- 
cuco, and crofted by numerous canals, the houfes being 
all founded on piles. Hence it would feem that the wa¬ 
ters of the lake have diminifhed, fo as to leave a fenny 
morafs on the weft; and it is not improbable that this 
might happen after the inundation of 1629, when a wide 
canal was led through a mountain to drain the lake. The 
fcite of the modem Mexico is the fame with that of the 
ancient city ; and the viceroy refides on the fpot of Mon¬ 
tezuma’s palace, in a large manfion built by Cortes, and 
ftill rented at 4000 ducats from the marquifes de Valle, 
his defcendants. The ancient city is laid to have been 
fituated upon almall ifland in the before-mentioned lake; 
its circumference, exclusive of the fuburbs, meafured 
more than ten miles; and the number of houfes was at 
leaft 60,000. The city was divided into four quarters, 
and each quarter into feveral diftrifts. The four quar¬ 
ters w'ere divided by four broad roads, which led from the 
four gates of the area of the greater temple. To the four 
parts into which the city was divided from the firft foun¬ 
dation, A. D. 1325, the city of Tlatalolco was added as a 
fifth, fituated towards the north-weft, having been united 
after the conqueft of king Axajacatl to Tenochtitlan; and 
both together formed Mexico. Around the city there 
were many dykes and refervoirs for collefting water, and 
within it many canals, fo that there was hardly a diftrift 
that could not be approached by boats; and, for the de¬ 
fence of the city by water, they had many tlioufand fmall 
veftels, and frequently exerciled themfelves in naval en¬ 
gagements. But the moll Angular fortifications were the 
temples, and eipecially the greater temple, which refem- 
bled a citadel. The wall which furrounded the whole of 
the temple, the five arfenals there which were filled with 
every fort of offenfive and defenlive arms, and the archi- 
tefture of the temple itfelf, which rendered the aficent to 
it highly difficult, give us to underftand, that in fuch 
buildings policy as well as religion had a lhare ; and that 
they conftrufted them not only from motives of fuperfti* 
tion, but likewife for the purpofe of defence. It is well 
known from their hiftory that they fortified themfelves 
in their temples when they could not hinder the enemy 
from entering into the city, and from thence liarraffed 
them with arrows, darts, and ftones. Befides the large 
and famous fquare of Tlateloco, where the principal mar¬ 
ket was held, there where other fmaller markets diftri- 
buted through the city, where ordinary provilions were 
lold; and in different places there were fountains and 
fiffi-ponds, particularly near the temples ; and many gar¬ 
dens, fome of which were laid out on the natural level of 
the earth, and others railed on high terraces. 
Of the modem city, Chappe d’Auteroche, cited by 
Pinkerton, gives the following account. The ftreets are 
wdde and ftraight, but very dirty; and the hcules, relem- 
bling thofe of Spain, are tolerably built. The chief edi¬ 
fice is the viceroy’s palace, which lfands near the cathe¬ 
dral in a central fquare, and it is rather folid than ele¬ 
gant. Behind the palace is the mint, in which.more than 
a hundred workman are employed, as the owners of the 
mines here exchange their bullion for coin. The other 
chief buildings are the churches, chapels, and convents, 
which are very numerous and richly ornamented. The 
outlide of the cathedral is unfinilhed, as they doubt 
the foundations; but the rail round the high altar is of 
folid liiver, and there isaftlver lamp fo. capacious that 
i -tbres 
