horse-power. It is expected that some of the ships will be completed and begin running within a year. They are to be constructed by the builders of the well-known ocean-steamers Servia and Britannic, which run between New York and Liverpool, and are expected to have a speed of sixteen knots per hour.
DILIGENCES.
The diligence system, or diligencias generales, was established in Mexico about fifty years ago. The central office is in the capital, and coaches are run from Cuernavaca on the south, to Durango and San Luis Potosi on the north. Other lines connect the latter town with Monterey, and also bring Durango in communication with Chihuahua. The smaller diligences that are driven between the towns lying beyond the routes of the "general" system are called diligencias particulares.
The coaches are built in Mexico, after the “Concord" pattern. They soon wear out, owing to the rough pavements of the streets, and the bad condition of the roads. Each stage-coach has one and often two whippers besides the driver. The whipper will often descend from the box while the diligence is in motion, and run ahead, in order to strike the forward mules. When on the box he throws stones at the leaders. The coachmen generally drive in a very skillful manner, and are polite in their deportment toward the passengers.
Eight mules are attached to each vehicle in the dry season, and nine in the rainy season. They are arranged as follows: two wheelers and two leaders, with four animals abreast in between. Most of the diligences have accommodation for nine persons inside and three outside. The inside is called el interior, and the outside el pescante. A few of these vehicles have broader seats, so as to make room for twelve passengers within.
