MEXICO. [From Supplement.] After the declaration of war against Juarez by the French, they issued a proclamation to the Mexican people, April 16, 1862, setting forth that one, of the objects of the contest was to rescue them from' the tyranny of the presi dent, and put the government of the country on a stable footing. Little faith, however, seems to have been put in these professions; and the invaders, though joined by Mar quez, the military leader of the clerical party, met with little success till the arrival of Forey with a reinforcement froni France in September. Forey then took the com mand in chief, addressed a proclamation to the 3Iexicans, promising them perfect liberty in the choice of a new government in rooin of that of Juarez; and in the spring of 1863 concentrated the French troops, and marched on Mexico. On his way he took the strongly fortified city of Puebla after a two months' siege, capturing its defender, Ortega, and his whole force (May 18); and, Juarez having fled from the capital, and transferred the seat of his government to San Luis Potosi at their approach, the French entered Mexico on June 10. A fortnight afterwards, a provisional government, headed by gen. Almonte, was established, and an " assembly of notables," which was called (June 24) to deliberate upon the best form of government, decided in July, by a vote of 231 to 19, in favor of a " limited hereditary monarchy," with a, Catholic prince for sovereign, under the title of " emperor of Mexico," and resolved in the first place to offer the crown to the archduke Ferdinand ,Ifaximilian (q.v.) of Austria, failing whom, to request the good offices of the emperor Napoleon in obtaining another monarch. That this resolution was the fruit of a general earnest wish on the part of the Mexican notables, the feeble and almost unwilling support most of them accorded to their chosen emperor after his deser tion by the French, will not allow us to suppose; but, on the other hand, we have not the slightest reason for believing. that anything approaching intimidation or undue influ ence was exercised by the French. Most of them doubtless argued that a government supported by France would be sufficiently powerful to maintain the country in a state of tranquillity, and in the hope of this long wished-for result, cast in their lot for empire. These changes were, of course, vigorously protested against by the republican assembly at San Luis, and the two parties prepared with eagerness to try the fortune of war. On Oct. 1 Forey departed from Mexico. and gen. Bazaine took the command of the French forces, and commenced the campaign with vigor. The result of the winter's struggle was that in spring the imperialists were in possession of the whole country, with the exception of the four northern provinces. On Oct. 3, 1863, the archduke -Maximilian had given audience at his chateau of Miramar, near Trieste, to a deputation which was sent to offer him the crown, and had accepted it. On 31ay 29 the emperor and empress
landed at Vem Cruz, and on June 12 made their public entry into the capital; and soon after the middle of the year the iinperialists had gained possession of every state in the kingdom, Juarez fleeing in August to the United States. As small parties of the repub licans still maintained a species of guerrilla warfare in various districts, Maximilian, on Oct. 2, 1865, published a proclamation, menacing with death, according to the laws of war, all who were found in armed opposition to his government; the republic having ceased, not only by the express wish of the nation, but also by the expiry (Nov. 22, 1864) of Juarez's terzn of office, and his flight beyond the frontiers; an amnesty, however, being accorded to such as submitted before Nov. 15. In accordance with this edict, gens. Arteaga and Salazar, who were defeated and captured Oct. 13, were shot on the. 21st; and many hundreds of captured republicans were dealt with under the terms of the same order.
This contest in Mexico had from the commencement excited the liveliest interest in. the United States, though the civil war, raging there also, prevented any active inter ference in the affairs of its neighbor. A general impression existed that France had. taken advantage of the troubles of the United States to establish its authority firmly on the American continent; and this belief, along with the violation of the " Monroe doc trine" by the establishment of imperialistn in Mexico, induced the United States to give all their sympathy and diplomatic aid to Juarez and his supporters. In Nov. 6, 1865, secretary Seward forwarded a dispatch to Paris, in which it was stated that the presence of the French army in Mexico was a source of " grave reflection" to the government of the United States, and that the latter could on no account allow the establishment of an imperial ,rovernment, based ou foreign aid, in Mexico, or recognize in that country other than repuolican institutions. This dispatch led to an interchange of diplomatic notes during the following six months; the Americans holding firmly to their first statements, and even insinuating the probability of an armed interference on behalf of Juarez; till the French emperor, who was weaned with a contest so expensive and, though success ful, so barren of lasting fruits, ultimately agreed, in the summer of 1866, to withdraw his troops from Mexico. The Belgian legion and some Austrian levies, however, were. not included in this arrangement. Accordingly, from the autumn of 1866 till Feb., 1867, the French troops by degrees evacuated Mexico, and their departure was the sig nal for a fresh rising on the part of the Juarists. See 3fAximmAN and JUAREZ. Since 1871 Mexico has remained a republic; but it has repeatedly been disturbed by rebellion> and civil war.