UNITED STATES AND MEXICO. CRITICAL POSITION Of THE AMERICAN ARMY. [From the Weekly Chronicle, October 31.]

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume IV, Issue 275, 18 March 1848, Page 3

UNITED STATES AND MEXICO. CRITICAL POSITION Of THE AMERICAN ARMY. [From the Weekly Chronicle, October 31.]

By the royal mail steamship Hibernia, Capt. Ryrie, we received on Friday advices from Mpw York to the 15th, Boston lo the 16th, and Halifax to the 18th instant respectively. She brings ninety passengers, and £12,000 in specie. The Hibernia spoke the Cambria on the morning of the 18th, between Halifax and Boston, where she would arrive on the evening of the 18th. - Our accounts from Mexico, though mere rumours, are interesting. Santa Anna was stated to be at Guadaloupe, whence it was expected he would retreat to-Oaxaca. This, however, is contradicted by rumours which report that the American troops, after taking the city of Mexico, had numerous severe conflicts with the almost innumerable swarms of Leperos who inhabited and surrounded the capital, and that the latter finally became so annoying and destructive that they obtained the advantage over the American troops, who were finally under the necessity of retiring from the city. It is further said that Santa Anna had left his quarters at Guadaloupe, and returned to the capital at the head of an army of 10,000 regular troops, and that fighting had been resumed and was still going on desperately at the last accounts.' It was further stated that in consequence of the above report the Mexicans had become inspirited, and were flying to arms throughout the country. Three thousand were reported to have gathered at Victoria. Iv consequence of «hese reports, great an- . xiety was felt for the troops- under General Scott. A rumour, which is confirmed, states that Santa Anna had resigned the Presidency, and that the instrument of resignation was dated from Gdurfaloupe the 16th of September; but that the Mexican people were not disposed to receive it, and had again placed him at. the head of the army. There is no confirmation of the report that Santa Anna had been wounded. Among other improbable rumours, it is stated that General Herrera is now in command of the army, and will proceed with 14,000 n en to station himself at Queretaro, where it is intended that the Mexican Congress shall reassemble. It is also said that Santa Anna has moved towards Puebla with 2000 horse, and that Paredes is raising troops with some success in the state of Jalisco. The New York Express says :—": — " There was a report by the last arrival from Vera Cruz, that Geneneral Quitman, with 4000 men, had left the Mexican capital for the purpose of opening communications with the coast. But we hardly think that General Scott would deem it advisable to weaken his force in the capital so much as would be necessary to carry out this movement. Obviously the communications ought to be opened from below." General Rea is said to have gotten full possession of Puebla, but the Mexicans were pouring a deadly fire upon his troops from the surrounding heights commanding the town. Large reinforcements of American troops were on their way from Vera Cruz, to the Mexican capital. By the last accounts from Vera Cruz, September 25, there was an American force of 2,500 men at the National bridge, under General Lane ; and another of about 1,000 men at Jalapa, under Major, Lally ; a garrison of a few hundred men at the fortress of Perote ; and another of 1000 men at Puebla, under Colonel Childs. The greater part of the force at the National bridge was immediately to march for Jalapa, where it would be joined by Major Lally's cammand, or a part of it, and 10 proceed to Perote, and thence to Puebla and Mexico, to reinforce the main army under General Scotc. General Cushing's division of about 2000 men was daily expected at Vera Cruz from the Brazos, and would forthwith advance to the support of General Lane. As Lane's division will encounter opposition from the guerillas, particularly at Cerro Gordo, where considerable fortifications are said to have been erected, it is probable that by the time he reaches Perote General Cushing will come up, which will swell the advancing column to 5000 men :

The Hanging of the Irish Legion. The execution, by order of General Scott, of the Irishmen in the Mexican service, had called forth the following address, published in "a supplementary number of the Dinro del Gobierno, the official organ of the Mexican government :—- " Mexicans ! — Among the European volunteers whom the American army has hired to kill us, there are many unfortunate men who are convinced of the injustice of this war, who profess the same Roman Catholic religion we profess, but who, being harrassed by the mi-

scry which prevails in Europe, from the want of employment, and the failure of the crops, have consented to enlist. Some of these men, abjuring their errors, and following the noble impulses of their hearts, have passed over to •our army to defend our just cause. From these his Excellency the President formed the Foreign Legion, known under the name of the <Jompany of St. Patrick. At La Angostura and at Cherubusco they bore themselves with the highest intrepidity, and after the enemy had gained possession of this last point which was only after its defenders had exhausted their last cartridge, they were made prisoners. The Generals of the American army, who cannot count upon their soldiers in a war so iniquitous save through the influence of acts of ferocity, were determined to shoot these Irishmen. Scarcely was this known to the city, before every breast was filled with horror at the thought. His Excellency the Minister of Relations, in a touching letter to the English Consul; the estimable lady of her Britannic Majesty's Minister, various private individuals, both Mexicans and foreigners, we ourselves, and even the ladies of families residing at Tacubaya, interceded for these brave men ; and we expected that if they could not be pardoned, they would at least be spared capital punishment. It would have been deemed base and repugnant to the laws of civilization as practised in modern war to offer the bloody spectacle of the execution of these men ; and yet it could have been palliated to a certain extent by the part which those men took in the defence of Clieruhusco, but they had no share whatever in the slaughter which was made the day before yesterday upon the heights of the King's Mill. *Well, then, will you believe it, my countrymen ? this day, in cold blood, these Caribs, from an impulse of superstition, and after the manner of savages, and as practised io. 'the days of Homer — have hung up these men as a holocaust — they have themselves said it — to the manes of the general or generals who there fell ! And in what manner did they hang them ? Noosing them by the neck as they stood upon the ground, and so suspending them, they died by ' inches,' strangled by their own weight, the mode adopted being such that their horrible agony lasted more than one hour — a spectacle worthy of such men, or rather of demons escaped from hell. This they did with eighteen- of these unhappy men, and among them the brave Captain Reilly, whose head they stuck upon a pike, and planted at Cherubusco. To six others, who proved that they bad not volunteered but had been impressed, they gave 200 lashes each, and compelled them to dig the graves of their companions." The loss suffered by the United States' troops, from the Bth to the 13th of September, js stated to be 25 officers killed and 47 wounded, and 490 men killed and wounded, in the last battle. Our Canadian accounts are uninteresting. The Times correspondent, dated from New York, October 15th, says — The administration and its friends concede that they have been outwitted by Santa Anna, and they threaten consequences the most direful. *' Our army swore terribly," &c. The toscin is sounded. Mexico must be conquered ; she must be humbled in dust and ashes, and then annexed to the United States. "All or none" is the watchword. If my memory does not fail me, we heard something of the same tone in reference to Oregon, — and the result none can have forgotten. The Journal of C ommerce, an administration paper, has recently published an inflammatory article, pleading the necessity for conquering and taking possession of the whole of Mexico. The writer oi the article referred to says :—": — " We must have a permanent occupation of Mexico, by means, for the present, of a territorial government, and the extension of our government and laws over that people, as the only way of making them useful members of society. Our advices from the city of Mexico and its dependencies, at the latest dates, are of such an exaggerated and contradictory character, that it seems not to be possible to give an intelligible and reliable statement, of facts. It is certain that there had been a sanguinary conflict and great slaughter before Santa Anna abandoned the city to its fate. What occurred after that event is matter of great uncertainty. The American army, or detachments of it, entered the city, and rumour states 'tha.t the Leperos gave them battle and 'committed great excesses. Without attempting to detail, I think it may be safely said that the worst consequences are to be apprehended. All, or nearly all, communication is cut off between Vera Cruz and the city of Mexico. If at any time since the commencement of this war, General Scott has been in an embarrasing position, the present is that time. The government, there is no doubt, feel the immediate necessity of prompt arrangements to press forward reinforcements to sustain the commanding general. These arrangements are now in such a state of progress that it may be presumed that they will be completed at the earliest day practicable. Politicians of every

grade and hue are engaged in discussing the merits of the late negotiation for peace. "The champions of the administration consider, or pretend to consider, the demand of the Mexican commissioners, that the territory between the Nueces and the Rio Grande, or Rio Bravo shall be neutral ground, as outrageous presumption. We are waiting with deep anxiety (or the advices from General Scott. No alarm is ielt for his present security. The apprehensions entertained are, that the whole country may be so aroused as to cut him off from procuring the necessary supplies for his army, and that thus he may be compelled to fight his way to them under the most unfavourable circumstances, and beore the arrival of reinforcements now on their way, and others preparing to start. In any event, however, the most entire confidence is entertained by the Government and the people that he will be successful and defeat his enemy, although it may be at a great sacrifice of human life. We have experienced, in different parts of the United Stales, a most disastrous and overwhelming flood, carrying away bridges, railroads, &c, thus interrupting greatly transportation from the interior of the country to the seaboard.

The "Avon." — Serious Affray with the Natives of New Caledonia. — This vessel, the property of Captain Towns, sailed from Sydney on the 13th October last, for Port Nicholson, and from thence proceeded to the South Sea Islands on a sandal wood voyage. After cruizing /or some time off Erromanga, and along the east side of New Caledonia, without success, she proceeded to the west side of the latter island, and on the morning of the 2nd January, anchored in the same bay where three months previous, the captain and two boats' crews of the schooner Vanguard were entrapped by the natives. This circumstance, however, was then unknown to Captain Cooper. During the day (Sunday) the chief Agulla, (the same as was concerned with the Vanguard) accompanied by another chief who called himself Jackey, went an board the Avon, and remained there about three hours, appearing very friendly, and telling Captain C. if he would send his boats on shore the next day, they would have plenty of wood ready for them. They were treated on board with every kindness, and had several presents made them. The next morning, two boats proceeded on shore in charge of the first and second mates, and obtained 'about a ton of wood, with which they returned to the ship. On their leaving the shore Agulla told them to bring n.ore men the next day, as they would have plenty of wood cut. Late that night, Captain Wooden, of the barque Eleanor, of Hobart Town, which, vessel was lying a distance of eight miles to windward, paid Captain Cooper a visit on board the Avon, for the purpose of putting him on his guard, and informed him that, having a native boy of the Isle of Pines on board the Eleanor, he had sent him on shore for a few hours, as a spy, and on his return to the vessel, he informed likn that the natives were in possession of two boats which bad belonged to the Vanguard, the crews having been all murdered and eaten. Captain Wooden left the Avon again the same night, for his own vessel. At seven, a.m., on Tuesday, (4th January), the two boats again proceeded on shore, in one of which was the chief mate, (Mr. Edward Rodd) and four of the crew, (Joseph Gabriel, David Orr, William Moffitt, and Tait,) and in the other, the second mate (Mr. John Moorcroft), and four of the crew, (Thomas Johnson, Henry Aaron, William Curtis, and Edward Huntingdon.) Previous to their leaving the vessel, they were cautioned to watch closely the actions of the natives on approaching the shore, and if they thought there was the least danger not to land. About an hour after they had left the vessel, a number of natives went alongside in a canoe, with sandal wood, and wanted the crew to take it out. It immediately struck Captain Cooper that they wanted to take possession of the ship, and therefore he would not allow them to go down into the canoe, but ordered them to load their fire-arms and directed the cook to have plenty of hot water ready. He then told the natives, if they would hand up the wood themselves, he would pay for it, which they subsequently did ; finding they could not accomplish their purpose, and on a smoke signal being made from the natives on shore, the canoe left the vessel. At the same time, Captain Cooper observed his boats leaving the shore, about two miles and a half distant ; and before they reached the ship it was seen they had been attacked, the chief mate lying in the stern sheets covered with blood, and the back of the second mate, who was steering, also streaming with the same. Having been got on board, they informed the captain, that on reaching the shore they found tfie chiefs, Agulla and Jackey, with about thirty natives, who appeared very friendly. They told them tliere was plenty of wood in the bush, if they would go for it ; but the mate told them to fetch it themselves, as he would not leave the beach. Agulla finding he could not entrap

them into the bush, directed bis people to fetch the wood down to the beach, which they did, and from thence it was taken to the boats by the crew. They had got about half a ton in," and were beginning to have more confidence in the natives, when Mr. Rodd, (the chief mate) stooping to examine a piece of wood, observed Jackey raising a tomahawk, to give him a blow ; he raised his left arm before his face, and drew his pistol with the right hand, but scarcely- had he grasped it, than- the blow was struck by Jackey, and with such force, as to sever the hand from the left arm, which was upraised, and to take off the right cheek. This was followed up with a sti-nnil blow in i he back, which broke one of his ribs, and lelt a deep cut ; he then ran, or rather staggered a short distance, falling insensible in the water, within a few yards of the boat. Jackey, seeing he was not dead, was about to give him a third blow, when Gabriel rushed forward with a cutlass and saved him. The first blow given by Jackey was the signal for au attack ; the instant it was given, a shout was raised, and about forty more natives rushed from their concealing places, and joined with the others. The second mate, (Mr. John Moorcroft) was attacked by Agulla, and received some very severe cuts ou his shoulders and other parts of the body with a tomahawk ; Johnson received a blow from a tomahawk which laid his right side completely open : Huntingdon, who had been left in charge of the second mate's boat, received some severe* cuts in defending it from the hands of the natives ; Moffitt was slightly injured ; Orr and Tait, who were in charge of the first mate's boat, escaped wholly without any injury, as also Aaron and Curtis. All miraculously were enabled to reach the boats, and they instantly shoved off. The natives then retreated up the hills, and raited a fire, which was the signal for the canoe to beware of the ship's boats. The wounds of these unfortunate men having been dressed as well as possible by Captain Cooper, with the assistance of some of the crew, he proceeded in the afternoon to the barque Eleanor, and informed Captain Wooden of the circumstance. The chief officer of that vessel (Mr. Westbrook) being the son of a surgeon at Hobart Town, and knowing something of the profession, with the assent of the Captain offered his services to Captain C, which were gladly accepted, and they at once returned to the Avon. The next day Captain Wooden moved his vessel to within a short distance of the Avon, and on Friday both Captains landed with strong crews, well armed, on the beach where the attack was made ; not a native, however, was to be seen ; about a ton and a half of wood remained there, which they brought away, and then set fire to the huts and plantations. On the Bth January, both vessels got under weigh, and proceeded further down the coast — cruising in company until the 9th February, in search of wood, when Captain Cooper thought it advisable to return to Sydney, in order that his chief officer and others seriously wounded might receive proper medical assistance, and fortunately has had a quick run of six days. On her arrival yesterday morning, Rodd and Johnson were immediately forwarded to the hospital ; the former, we are sorry to say, has lost the sight of his right eye. The bay in which the above occurrence took place lies in lat. 22*40 south, long. 166*19 east. We' should mention that the suddenness of the attack rendered it impossible for the crew to make much resistance — all their fire-arms being in the boats, and they carrying wood at the time it commenced ; but it was supposed that Agulla, and one or two of the natives were killed, the former having been struck by Huntingdon with the butt end of a musket. Captain Cooper, of the Avon, speaks in most grateful terms of the kindness shown to him, his officers, and crew, by Captain Wooden, of the Eleanor, and his chief officer, Mr. Westbrook. — Syd. Morn. Herald.