The Sun. — London, England, 1852-12-24 00:00:00

- 010 0 " -- --". don ess [s r‘TINSITLAR MAILS. • Peh• milisuLlr and Oriental steam-packet Tagus, ,illlissell, arrived at Southampton last night , . 4 sual m a il s . He r dates are—Gibraltar, i r 16th ; Cadiz, 17th ; Lisbon, 19th ; 1, 414 Vigo, 20th. • t h ugs 43 passengers, specie value 2,8411., of 4 'eight 1,200 half-chests of oranges, 150 r aisins, 116 barrels of dates, 160 cases of k o ' 1. . 63 packages of general merchandise. ' g to Lisbon letters of the 19th inst., the have been generally favourable to the l e i _ l tt candidates and adverse to the ultra % ' l4 and ultra-Cartistas, who formerly sided tilit Thomar, but can no longer be fairly 11 4 " Cabralistas," as the Count fruitlessly ki them to take no pains in these elections, Viot himself interfere in them. The Minis , 14 „ nee ' M. Fontes, had been returned for vloorto, and several other places ; the p Cabral had not been returned, neither M. 4480 8 nor other chiefs of the ultra-Progre tion ; but the large number of the mode of that party, elected as Government s% is not calculated to allow the Ministers .tia. to in a bed of roses when the Cortes :;g l. aPh. dispatch from Paris had,certifi.ed to igliese Government the arbitration of the t the in favour of Portugal, and 'i A le 'United States, on the question of the 4 rtnstrong claim, consequent upon its de at Payal in 1814, reported in the Times 4 . 11 of July, 1850. • Corry had been joined on the 15th by lance, Phaeton, and Fury, from Gibraltar, he morning of the 19th got out with those 1,,_ 48 also with the Prince Regent, Rodney, iiiaga„ nt, for Portsmouth, after being de „ the bav below Belem four days by bad 1 n... 21 .' 3 ,:tici. an unsafe bar. ' r each steamers were in the Tagus when. 't left, as also the Sanspareil and Inflexi *Ll erg, Captain Dacres, having received an e r r order to winter at Lisbon, where it was I,c ll eh fleet would soon appear. ' B bon exchanges for three months' bills are ,'I this mail at 54k on London, with a °f money, the Board of Publie Credit being a Y taken, and having remitted 10,0001. on ``a•ceou.nt. Paris was at 525 ; Amsterdam, burgh, 48# ; and Genoa, 524 ; with little Pa any of those places. Portuguese Five •41 ,. 139 to 39-i ; Four per Cents., 32 to 32i ; ,Portugal Shares, 215 to 210 milreis per onnt. These rates are in Lisbon bank- Countable at 2i per cent., and the state 1 4 te-market was dull, with few buyers, and ',... tendency, except for the Oporto Bank which were at 15 to 16 milreis premium Oil metal. ~Porto letters state that the elections in the ji f i a ls ing provinces had all gone off quietly 1 1 , 1 1 ' 01 1r of the Government. m i lge transactions for this packet at 54 to a good deal of paper remaining over. 4 was no improvement in the cotton or t rades. B vessels in harbour were engaged with full liii i Wine freights to London were 40s. Lie flood had taken place on the Douro. l ritish Mediterranean squadron, under Ad 11s, comprising the Britannia, the Ven obim, Trafalgar, Bellerophon, Phaeton, L'' steam-frigate the Sampson, the Tiger, and .', arrived at Gibraltar, during the 7th and k i? . from Malta. The Tiger and the Phaeton he 10th, and the Vengeance and the Fury ql'h, for the eastward. ( . 1 / 4 1 0wing British ships of war were lying at . 14 Gibraltar Bay when the Tagus left : ,tlt4 • 4 0 allia, the Albion, the Trafalgar, the Bel :',..the Arethusa, the Retribution, the Tiger, p4xatelop e. 4 reach war steamer Chimere, from Toulon, tk h kt Gibraltar on the 7th inst., and left on Atil . e3 7 l) , tian frigate Taid Gahaal , five days from i4, l l) ,tou, bound for Alexandria, arrived on the ..s_ieft on the 15th. tc;,; edish corvette Naden left Gibraltar on the k 'he Mediterranean. 1 41 listrian steamer Calcutta, nine days from touched at Gibraltar on the 6th inst. on iLto Trieste. . A ' l. eir steamer Orontes, ten days from Alex f}'illtl: four and a half from Malta, arrived on t 4 ou her way to Liverpool. b o e 12th inst., the French brig Marie Eliza, ti t l llad from Ada to Dunkirk, came into colli- V,. the Greek brig Triton, when off Cadiz, ('' immediately afterwards, the whole of the I 1 % the exception of the master, who clung (,4 1 4 'spiit of the vessel rescued) perished. t, iraltar, exchange on London was quoted '; Spanish pillared dollars, 2/ to 3 pre- )British steamer City of Norwich, bound. to Was under repairs at Vigo on the 20th in- a lum on the 19th.—The Harper,, bound. to 1 Ns _ tto on the 20th.—The British schooner tlf don correspondent, in a postscript to his he 19th inst., contradicts the statement 11,.tiriefi.nitive concession of the Portuguese Rail- Aot been made to Mr. J. D. Barry and his o• The matter is not yet settled, as the he Company has not hitherto been able to e Conditions required. E FRENCH EMPIRE. Stifaupas, Minister of General Police ; M. lie of Marine ; M. Fortoul, Minister e Instruction ; and M. Pietri, Prefect of l efti t , Paris, on Wednesday, for Compiegne. 4 2 ' 4 `', 4 4 in the Constitutionnel :—"M. Demer -0 JOr of Compiegne, who accompanied the 4 in his visits to the Hospital and the ' en, having expressed to his Majesty the . t h , he should feel at commemorating his ent to the mayory by the establishment c4tl4,i ceAsile, but observed that he dared not lit on account of the limited resources of a l l% the Emperor replied, ' And what 41 4 7,, e expense be?" About 30,000fr.,' said (11. "Well, then,' replied his Majesty, kl tl4 ' s then while waiting for something better,' tome time handing to M. Demerson ten 4 a thousand francs each." c 1,,„, Persigny, Minister of the Interior, has 11 1 4 , (1 _,ed on immediately carrying into execu - V l ea of the Emperor to make the entrance 44 1 ,7k5,.., by the Barrier° de rEtoile the finest in cl• The place de l'Etoile is to be made ep in length, and 180 metres in width. 3,' surface, larger than the Carte Marigny ti ' l 4 . amps Elysees, will serve for an exercise ' t i t ' °,r the troops in summer, as well as a con , }lace for public fetes. The Prefect of the t ,' already given orders to have the prelimi &V"te commenced. The expropriation is to `Veat th e cost of the State. V 4 ctbrad or steam-frigate left Marseilles on t Y h t 3 , With Abd-el-Kader and his f a mily and tb.,' board, in all about 50 persons. Every mk"„t exp er i enc e could suggest was e ffected to 1 c , 41 0 voyage as agreeable as possible. The A l leaving France, expressed his gratitude e xtreme kindness shown him by the Em- Nbedthe p o p u lation of the various towns zllad visited. 4 k"Tenda,n,ce of Brussels says :—" It ap ' chin that the Duke de Bassano, who left a few days since, will only return to k., L to have an audience of his Majesty to pre reti'' letters of recal. M. de Sampayo, now eo c i t3 . of the French Legislation, will fill the ,lt , l nierinn." ' Oti l te elaination of the Empire took place on A tif T 9 1 1 board the French vessels in the road lAcc-ilsbon. At eight in the morning the New al4,t , Cv atinat steam-corvettes were dressed out, 'l,, C 3O ll a salute of 101 guns was fired. The IN I "% Pladron lying in the roads and the vessels k ki„c ) rtuguese navy displayed their flags, and es of 24 guns. o te Ilsually la r ge quantity of dead keys ti;lt thi s Christmas from France t turkeys are this Christmas from France to England are , , t iN a a Weight of not less than 10,000 kilo hklaja.llas been dispatched from the single port I ,!lt e i l -. - known Restaurant Dagneaux, Rue de ‘k t i 4 : 4 ° Comedie, near the Odeon, will exhibit 4, ~as-day, a Pate Monstre ; among the N es '' Parts of which will be 501 b of butter, P h 1 6 turkeys, 6 legs of veal, 4 hams, 301 b of , '4 % 0. & 11 0 ' c• !k t l irse was dull, and it was difficult to effect .t4io k , l el s t at a reduction on the prices of the day 1 1, 1 ,,. 25,, The Four-and-a-half per Cents. opened at r°04.6: , and closed at 106 f. for the end of A t ' 4 4 l% 4 . 14.. . The Three per Cents. closed at 82f. 25c. ; h Nlll . " 4 ilviuy New Shares, 1,035 f. ; Rouen, ~ a, - Ze j 525 f. • Great Northern, 897 f. 50c. ; r ir t : R ,;" (I I. „. 750. ; Pa' ris and Strasburg, 827 f.. 50c. ; . 1 ;t1 75, • Lyons, 925 f. ; Lyons and Avignon, t A il ._ • ; St. Dizier to Gray, 550 f. ; Caen to Aili,":_g, '632f. 50c. ; Dijon to Besan9,on, 580 f. ; ''' te Cette , 615 f • rid SPAIN. Gazette of the 18th, publishes a cir ea the 17th, which ' has just been addressed t4 l , ernors ofprovinces, by M. Lorente, the ge o ef the Interior. After announcing the `4r iti- 41 Plistry, he says —la Jesty's Ministers think that they cannot THE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 24, 1852 allow any doubt to exist. as to the propriety, the op portuneness, and even the necessity of revising and re forming in some points the political laws of the State. The striking testimony which has been given by the dif ferent Ministries who have governed the country during the - last seven years, ministries composed of persons of different political opinions, though all animated with the most lively desire to serve with loyalty their Queen and their country, and for the most part endowed with the most eminent qualitieA ; the repeated occasions on which these different ministries, in spite of their sincere desire to preserve intact the laws confided to their guardianship, have been obliged to depart from the literal text of them, having been compelled to do so by the imperative law of public safety—all these cir cumstances are at once proofs and causes of the im perious necessity for modifying, and putting in harmony with the circumstances under which the country is placed, some points of the fundamental law. The pre ceding Cabinet presented to her Majesty and to the country various projects of reform of the constitution and the organic laws, and the Government of her Ma jesty thinks that the proper moment is arrived to en lighten the public on the propositions, by means of a moderate but free discussion of them. This ground re mains open from this moment to all legitimate parties and to all sincere opinions, and when the day shall have arrived, the advisers of We Crown, after having duly weighed the opinions of all, and with the au thorisation of her Majesty, will present their plans of reform to the impartial and enlightened examina tion of the Cortes. To exalt, if it is possible, the splendour and influence of the Throne, the symbol of all the traditions, and of all the glories of the na tion, without weakening in any way the representative regime, and without removing the right of publicly ex amining and discussing the acts of the Ministers ; to add to existing institutions new elements of stability and conservatism—such is the great problem which we shall endeavour to solve, and on which, when the moment ar rives, the legislative bodies will pronounce their solemn judgment. Such are the ideas and views of the Govern ment relative to the electoral struggle which is being prepared. The will of her Majesty is that you should seek to inculcate them into public opinion, in order that the electors may deposit their votes in the balloting urns with conviction, and with sentiments in conformity with proverbial Spanish loyalty, and I make this communica tion to you for your guidance and Government." A letter of the 18th states that the Minister of Finances had that day received several of the prin cipal capitalists of Madrid, and consulted them as to the financial measures necessary . for the interests of the country. M. Bravo Murillo was to leave Madrid for Bordeaux on the evening of the 18th. The Three per Cents. were done at 44g ; the New Three per Cents., at 24i ; the Debt of the Frst Class, at 11 ; and that of the Second, at sg. THE COALITION MINISTRY. (From the Times.) We may now safely announce the 'complete suc cess of the project of a united Administration. From the following arrangements it will be seen at once that all the supposed difficulties of the design have been met in such a way that the country does not lose the services of any considerable statesman, and that no sacrifice of dignity has been imposed on any statesman or any party. Lord John Russell takes the Foreign-office, with the leadership of the House of Commons. The great and growing im portance of this department in the present state of continental affairs, and the fact that in every other European Government the Foreign Secretary is the chief of the Administration, will entirely satisfy the scruples of Lord J. Russell's most jealous admirers and most sensitive friends. The department, it is well known, had at one time been marked out for Lord Clarendon, undoubtedly as qualified for it as any other man in this kingdom. He has, however, we believe, been among the foremost to persuade Lord J. Russell to undertake it. Should it prove too laborious for the Whig chief, he may, without any compromise of dignity, ask to be relieved by re moval to an office of less arduous character, and in that case no doubt his opinions will be considered in the choice of his successor. Lord Palmerston takes the Home-office. It is impossible to overstate the value of his lordship's adhesion, and his implied testimony to the prospects of the new Administra tion ; still less is it possible to deny the universality of his genius, and that tact which is the first requi site for the successful discharge of any public office. As Home Secretary, too, it must not be forgotten, his lordship will have the management of that militia in the constitution of which he has performed so prominent a part. These two names arc in themselves a sufficient guarantee for the support of the whole Whig party. The Duke of Newcastle will take the Colonies. As some other probable ar rangements, including the distribution of the Chan cellorship of the Exchequer, the First Lordship of the Admiralty, and the Presidency of the Board of Control between Sir J. Graham, Sir C. Wood, and Mr. Gladstone, are not yet definitively settled, we forbear to say more, but the decision will not be postponed beyond L-day. That such a Cabinet will require for its harmo nious operation a degree of mutual forbearance on the part of some of its members is not to be denied. But, notwithstanding the public questions that have divided for a time some of the Whig statesmen, there has never been the least interruption of per sonal friendship. If any real differences remain between the Whigs and the Liberal Conservatives of Sir R. Peel's school, they are amply counter balanced by the friendly regard and mutual respect that have long subsisted between them. Among men of this temper and this calibre common sense and experience have much greater weight than with the lighter class of minds. These statesmen have doubtless pondered much over the very unsatisfac tory history of the last seven years, over the long and undeserved exclusion of some, and the final, but equally undeserved, downfall of others ; on the great scandal hence arising to the cause of public justice and truth, and on the utter impossibility of rectifying the errors of this very long period, except by some such union as that now accomplished. The necessity of a comprehensive Government is evident to everybody who is not perfectly blinded by party, or by some less defensible species of egotism. It is plain as facts can make it that one clique, or one class, cannot govern the country, that all men cannot be Premiers, or even Foreign Secre taries, or even Chancellors of the Exchequer. What might have been the effect of such a combi nation as the present several years back, it is use less to inquire ; just now there is an opening for it, and not to profit by that opening would argue a gross indifference to the real interests of the coun try. If any great question remained which could only be solved by the dishonest connivance of a section in the Cabinet, that would render the union as short-lived as it would certainly be unjustifiable, but such a question must have to be invented before it can be alleged. There is none so much as alleged at present. So well defined is the policy on which the coun try will alone submit to be governed, and so tho roughly understood are the qualities required in a Minister, that we must look out of policies, and out of Administrations, for the causes of political weak ness in these days. The greatest infirmity that can now happen to a Government is a state of bondage, or, at least, a too intimate and peculiar relation to some particular classes or interests of the realm. If a statesman chooses to tie himself with obligations to the agricultural or any other interest, of course he must reap the fruits of his divided allegiance, and be de serted by either his country or his friends. Happily, there is not a shadow of any such disabling and dis honouring engagement in this instance. There are no splendid promises to be redeemed, or neglected, or explained. The Premier does not enter Parlia ment in the condition of the captive described by the Roman poet " Qui lora restrictis lacertis Sensit iners timuitque raortem." There may not be a very wide scope for the exer cise of political ingenuity. Legislation is not so much an inventive as a remedial, a corrective, or accumulative work. It developes, it adapts, it im proves, it adds, it reforms, but all the time it is dealing with a substantial body of legislation, and an existing policy, which no prudent statesman will venture to disturb without reason. There is, indeed, a great deal to be done, but it will only be hindered by attempts to legislate for a party instead of the State. The very name, the barest suspicion of class legislation, will be fatal in these days to the efficiency of the best-in tentioned Government. In hailing, however, the experiment of a broad and comprehensive Adminis tration, we must beg to suggest that what it loses in symmetry of appearance and harmony of mate rials it must make IR in efficiency. If such a Go vernment is not a working one, it must soon be come ridiculous, for all men will insist on a reason for union between those who have not hitherto acted together. " England does not love coali tions." Certainly not. It is easier to love one person, by no means worthy of our affection, than a dozen persons together, each of them quite as good as we deserve, but with the usual variety of person and character. It is easier to love a Sove reign than any Government whatever, though the Sovereign may to us be little more than a poetical idea, and the Government may be a very service able and good one. No. We respect utilities, we bow to necessities ; we do not even neglect what is convenient ; but we do not love any of them. Why, then, should we be expected to love the pre sent " coalition ? " We have no fear but that the new Government will receive just as much respect and affection as the British people are accustomed to bestow on their Governments. All depends on its working ; and it is its own fault if it does not work well. (From the Morning Post.) The cards are still, it seems, undergoing the pro cess of shuffling, and the curious, be they never so impatient, must perforce wait, at the least, till Monday, when, as we are informed in the very curt announcements which were made respectively by Lord Derby and Mr. Disraeli in the two Houses, Lord Aberdeen hopes to have completed his arrangements. We have refrained from join ing in the speculations indulged in by our contem poraries who are supposed to be the organs of va rious political sections, as to what parties would form the basis of the new Cabinet, or in what pro portions they would be blended in its structure ; it is an employment not more profitable than blow ing bubbles, and scarcely so amusing. Apart, how ever, from those inferences which gossips love to draw from the chronicle of the visits of public men to Lord A. or to Lord 8., it was evident to all who watched the Parliamentary strategy of the many leaders who, for the last two or three years, have been seeking for troops or aiming at command by recruiting from discordant parties that the ad vances which, from time to time, had been made by Sir James Graham and Lord John Russell to wards Radical alliance, and the countenance which had been held out by them to Democratic move ment, must render it extremely difficult to incor porate them in a Conservative Cabinet in such a manner as not to interfere with the uniformity of its action, or the true development of its legitimate principles. It was perfectly natural, after the community of action to which they had been repeatedly invited, and after the shadowy tableaux with which they had been indulged of future structures on the broadest basis, the Radical party should expect that, whenever Lord John Russell or Sir James Graham might be again called to the councils of the Sovereign,. they would urge the claims of Mr. Cob den and Mr. Bright to seats in any Cabinet of which they might be principal members. Reason able, however, as the hope might be, we have never, as we have repeatedly said, believed in the possibility of such a combination, notwithstanding the prophecies of a contemporary, who, among the many strange things which he has supported in turn, has not forgotten the ambition of the Man chester leaders, or the foreign policy of Lord Aberdeen. _ _ It seems that we were right ; and this much is positive, and beyond the province of speculation, that the door of the Cabinet as yet remains shut in the face of that Manchester school towards which Lord John Russell has (so often looked so blandly. It may be that the question of those• claims which Lord John could not but acknowledge, or of those expectations which he could not but be sensible of, has been the cause of that further ad, t journment which sent away both houses complain ing of Christmas week spoilt, and curiosity unsatis fied. It boots not much, however, speculating about the matter : it seems pretty clear that there is no prospect of the construction of that broad bottomed Administration which Mr. Hume desires, and the Times predicted. Lord John Russell and Sir James Graham have withdrawn apparently the hand which they once so frankly held out to the Manchester party, and now as frankly offer it to the friends of Sir Robert Peel. It is not so difficult to guess " the reason why." The Radicals, if we may judge from the tone of their organs, are angry exceedingly, and doubtless will take the first feasible opportunity of wreaking their anger on the new Government. We cannot shut our eyes, under these circum stances, to the possibility that we may see a repro duction of the difficulties which, since 1847, have stood in the way of efficient legislation, and of a strong or decided administration of public affairs : .and that again the real progress of the country may be impeded by a Government driven to occupy itself with steering delicately among broken and contending factions rather than with the real busi ness of the nation. We thought we saw, when the great agitation of the question of Protection was laid at rest for ever, and the gulf was closed that so long had kept asunder the sections of the great Conservative party who ruled the country from 1842 to 1846, an opportunity of binding again into a uniform structure, by a new cohesion, the elements which in that latter year suffered such violent disrup tion, and we had hoped that, by insensible degrees, such an approachment of great public men might naturally be induced as would result in such a combination of all the great conservative elements in Parliament and the country as would hedge round our ancient institutions with a defence that 1 1 would set at defiance for ever the assaults of Our hopes, it seems, are vain. Personal diffe rences now stand in the place from which political ones had been removed, and the Peelite section of the Conservative party are endeavouring to con struct a Cabinet by the aid of the statesman who, throughout his long public life, has been the strong and consistent opponent o f the leader whose me mory is their political faith. That there must be much concession of principle on the part of some body, in order to give vitality to a Cabinet so con structed, is self-evident. When we see the modes in which the friends of Lord John Russell and Sir James Graham are conjoined with those of Mr. Gladstone, we shall be better able to judge of the direction which concession is likely to take, and better able to advise our Conservative frier,ds as to the course which it will be their duty to pursue. (From the Morning Herald.) Well, Lord Aberdeen has marshalled his powers at last, but how they will march is another ques tion. Lord John Russell, so often denounced by the Peelites and their organ, is, through their help, to return to power ; Mr. Gladstone an - cl. Mr. Sidney Herbert, who felt it inconsistent to act will: him or accept his offers on a former occasion, have digested their scruples ; they have consented to rut in the same harness with him, and submit to the cha rioteerina of Lord Aberdeen. The humilityof Lord John is edifying, the conciliatory tone of these he roes of the Peelites not less so ; there is t meek ness in the one, and a disinterestedness about the others, quite refreshing, when compared with the scenes of turbulence so lately witnessed, tnd the jibes and sarcasms displayed by both in the last de bate. Mr. Gladstone is the very Mawwormof poli tical charity and purity; Lord John Russell t blush ing virgin, unhackneyed in the ways of the world, covered with a profusion of smiles and curtseys for the ,civilities of his new friends and his dowager patron, Lord Aberdeen. " Oh ! world, thy slippery turns !" The ambitious author of Don Carlos md the Reform Bill turned serving man to the P:elites ! The indignant champions of conservatism and free-trade banding with the most liberal of Whigs and the leader of the Radicals against the Conser vatives ! High-Church, Low-Church, Poseyite, Presbyterian, Whig, Peelite, Radical—all brayed together in the same mortar ; the oily partsbf Mr. Gladstone with the acidities of Lord Join, the creamy morbidezza of Mr. Sidney Herbert wth the virgin honey of Sir A. Cockburn—these ire to form the ingredients of this new Aberdeen sauce, to be commended henceforth to the palate of the nation. Here, by the boast of its new advocates, every interest and every party in the natior is to find what it most needs or most desires, however inconsistent and contradictory those warns and those desires may be. All are represented there except two, which we are accustomed to eotsider indispensable—Protestantism and Conservatism. The Pope and his brass-band need not turn away disconsolate—Mr. Fox and his scheme of secular education will find sympathy—universal outrage, the ballot, and all the other tit-bits of the Ilan chester men will be found at the bottom of the bowl, if they will but have patience to drain it to the dregs. It is a regular conjuror's horn—a cornu copia of schemes , parties, and devices, quite worthy of the Great Northern Wizard who has produced it on the stage, and unquestionably quite as substan tial. If any gentleman will accommodate it with a shilling, or concede it the loan of his silk hand kerchief, he shall see—what he shall see. Does any member of the Opposition desire universal suffrage ? Let him trust his measure to the new conjuror's hat, and "Heigh, presto !" the thing is done ; another rap and the same measure is a graduated franchise. Does a member of the Irish Brigade modestly request the confiscation of the Church property , in Ireland, or the transfer of the rights of the landlord to the tenant ? Anything you please, g entlemen, nothing is too large ; it is but to ask. What is there that our political =jurors are not ready to perform and to promise to the satis faction of all parties, but especially of themselves ? Eat fire or their own words, swallow Swords or the ballot, string needles with their lips or thread para doxes—all are comparatively easy. Lerd Aberdeen and his troupe are prepared for more astonishing feats than these, if we may believe the/. new-found trumpeter, whose music will not cease so long as his company can p a y and keep t oge th er . Such are the prospects held out, though perhaps in more serious language, by the new )offers of a new Administration. If we are to be guided by their encomiums and their promises, we tre scarcely yet capable of estimating the store 01 happiness they have discovered for us. Hencefortime are to have a stable Administration. There it to be no contending for a defunct and worn-out principle ; the rage of party is to cease, and under tle guiding hand of Lord Aberdeen, and the submissive ten derness of Lord John Russell, we are to enjoy those halcyon days, so long desired and so oft deferred, but now brought near by the eloquence fad fidelity of the Peelites, especially of Mr. Gladstone, who, when Lord Derby was in power, accordng to the estimate of the Times, was a bad reasoner and a pompous debater, but now, w i t h the odour of office upon him, is metamorphosed into a grace ful and convincing orator, and a tnatchless senator : No abuse, Ned, in the World ; honest Ned, none. I dispraised him before the wicked that the wicked might not fall in love with him—in which doing, I have done the part of a careful friend and a true subect. No abuse, Hal ; none, Ned, none ; no, boys, none." So said honest Jack ; and with the same ex cuse will we accept the dispraise of our contemporary passed so lately on Mr. Gladstone and Lord John Russell—on our own Party and our own principles. With about the sam e consistency does he now praise the new Administration, and with a similar end—that the wicked may fall in love with it. A praiseworthy task, undoubt e dl y , an d wo rthy of him who undertakes it, to whom nothing comes amiss. Looking at the origin and formation of the present Government, there is no reason why they should not. Hereafter, if it be asked boy they came into power—the answer will be easy, If it be asked, how the minister who for many years considered only the advancement of his own connections, who sought and relied only on their help, was reinstated in his high functions, and those connections dropped when they were no longer convenient—the answer will be easy. If it be asked again, how a party professing entire concurrence with Conserva tism in all points but one, when that point was conceded jilted the men whom they professed to follow, and jockeyed the rider out of his saddle that they might ascend his seat—the answer will be easy. There is no reason henceforth why i nco nsistency should despond, or political perfidy be sheepish or discomfited. Both may look up ; they may see their examples and their rewards enshrined in high places. If encour agement be wanted, they need only to look at the Treasury Bench • if praise, at the Times. But though Ministers have fallen by a trick; we can hardly believe that their s u pp or ters w ill in crease the disastrous consequence of that fall by disunion. The motley band which now faces them cannot lon g hold together. The more they please the more will they displease ; and as their Iffy harmony and combination depend upon mutual concession, and a proportionate and regular , de velopment of every part, or the neutrality of all, their progress must of itself bring dissolutior, or decay. Like the Macedonian yhalanx, which Was impregnable if stationary, or on even ground, so the present Administration, by observing a just neutrality on easy and acknowledged topics, Amy perhaps hold together. But this cannot last long. There are questions, foreign, fiscal, and political, on which they are not agreed among themselves, and for which they cannot reckon on support. Theme is .the income tax .to be decided or readjusted—to re main as Mr. Gladstone would have it, in all its pre sent unfairness, with all its unjust exemptions, or as Mr. lume contends (and truly), proportionised and modified. There is the question of Convocation becoming daily more prominent ; the ballot, to which several of the Peel party have pledged them selves, Mr. F. Peel among the number ; the ex tension of education, of university reform, and not least, of the suffrage. There is, moreover, a Conservative side in all these questions, popular with a great party in the house and out of it ; the Radical tendencies of Lord John will draw one way, the Conservative tendencies of Mr. Goulbourn and Mr. Gladstone the opposite. One or other must eventually prevail ; and which shall prevail, no man can doubt. The Liberal tendencies of Lord John will be backed up by his own supporters, and by the Radical members of the house. The Peel party will have only their small selves to fall back upon, for never again will the cause of Con servatism be trusted to their hands ; they must be merged into Liberals, or become nonentities; " For though the treacherous tapster Thomas Hangs a new Angel two doors from us, As fine as dauber's hands can make it In hopes that strangers will mistake it, We think it both a shame and sin To quit the true old Angel Inn." (From the Morning Chronicle. ) From the day when the division on the Budget rendered the resignation of the late Goverment inevitable, we have felt satisfied that no difficulty would impede the formation of a Cabinet which should comprise the principal statesmen of the time. During the past week, many of our contem poraries, in a natural spirit of impatience, have raised against an imaginary Ministry various hypo thetical objections, which will probably not be repeated when the arrangements now in process of completion become known. It is one of the most satisfactory duties which can fall to the lot of a journalist to announce the formation of the strongest and ablest Government which has held office within living memory. With the exception of the late Premier in the House of Lords, and of Mr. Disraeli in the Commons, no Parliamentary reputation of the highest class is to be found with out the limits of the new Cabinet. It would be premature to publish in regular order a list of appointments which we believe is still im perfect, and which may yet, perhaps, be subject to internal modifications, although the general organ ization of the Government may be regarded as com plete. It will, however, be satisfactory to our readers to know what is understood to be the pro bable distribution of some of the principal depart ments of Administration ; and it will be acknow ledged that so great an amount and variety of ability has rarely been enlisted in the public service. To the chief post in the Government the Earl of Aberdeen brings his matured experience, his Euro pean reputation, and that resolute devotion to the cause of liberal progress which marked his intimate and confidential affiance with his friend and col league, Sir Robert Peel. Quiet, unostentatious, and decided, the new Premier is well qualified to preside over a council of statesmen, who combine a thorough knowledge of the traditions of the past with an enlightened appreciation of the wants and feelings of the present. Many shocks and confusions of old political asso ciations will be healed by the renewed union of Lord John Russell and Lord Palmerston in the common service of the Crown. It is unnecessary to dwell on the reasons which have made it inex pedient that the late Foreign Secretary should re sume the office which he held during so long a pe riod. In the recent negotiations, every leading statesman has shown an honourable willingness to waive his personal pretensions for the sake of har mony and efficient co-operation. Lord Palmerston's great ability and long familiarity with affairs will add authority to his office as Secretary for the Home Department, while his influence in the house will, in case of need, be available for the assistance of a body of colleagues who will only be embarrassed by the absence of competent opponents. Lord John Russell, as Secretary for Foreign Affairs, and leader of the House of Commons, will secure the confidence of a large and powerful section of politicians to the Government in which he will hold so prominent a situation. Having often criti cised his lordship's acts, though with little objec tion to his general political principles, we are espe cially bound to acknowledge the frank and generous spirit in which he has acted during the progress of the recent arrangements. Having in his hands the power of rendering the formation of any govern ment but his own a matter of the most extreme difficulty, the former Prime Minister has willingly consented, in furtherance of the public interest, to waive claims which it would have been inconvenient to assert. The high position which he now occupies is fairly due to his official and parliamentary rank. We cannot doubt that, in the conduct of his de partment, he will be guided by a steady re gard to the honour of the country—first, on its own account, and secondly, because its maintenance is the best security for the peace of the world. Foreign Powers will not regard England with less respect because the Minister who treats with them on behalf of the Crown bears a name which is honourably known to all who have the most cur sory acquaintance with the history of the present generation. Sir Charles Wood and Lord Granville will share with their former leader the credit of forming part of an Administration which is pro bably destined to a long career. The former Chan cellor of the Exchequer, as President of the Board of Control, will apply his industry and aptitude for business to the construction of the new Charter for India. Lord Granville's office in the Cabinet is we 'believe still uncertain ; but there is no doubt that his talents! and activity will find due scope in some important department of the State. The names of Lord John Russell and Lord Pal merston sufficiently illustrate the willingness of the Prime Minister to strengthen his Government by the addition of all the recognised Whig leaders. His arrangements, howeer, would have been incom plete and unsatisfactory if his own friends and former colleagues had not joined the Ministry with a rank proportioned to their reputation and capacity. We have already spoken of the self-denying spirit in which the statesmen who have been consulted have come forward to serve the Crown and the country. Perhaps the most striking proof of the absence of personal motives is to be found in Mr. Sidney Herbert's consent to resume his former functions at the War office, while Sir James Graham, long a Minister and Parliamentary leader of the highest rank, accepts the department of the Admiralty. It is true that both the army and the navy require, at the present moment, the services of the ablest and most vigorous administrators ; and every con fidence may be felt that, neither by land nor by sea, will the defences of the country be neglected by the able Ministers who have undertaken their organi zation and superintendence. The Duke of Newcastle will command confi dence, both at home and in our distant dependen cies, as Secretary of State for the Colonies. Scarcely any politician of the present day has devoted so much study to their history and their interests, nor has any statesman been more dis tinguished for a firm and enlightened devotion to the cause of liberty and progress. With ripe offi cial experience to assist him, and sound political and financial doctrines to guide him, the new Colo nial Secretary may fairly hope to discharge his responsible duty to the benefit and honour of the empire. In. the person of Mr. Gladstone, the fittest man in England has been selected for the office of Chan cellor of the Exchequer—T7hich is probably, at the present moment, the most anxious and difficult office in the Government. In large grasp of theories, and in minute familiarity with details, Mr. Gladstone excels, perhaps, all other living statesmen. It is a secondary merit that he can defend his measures in debate in such a manner that only bold assailants will venture to attack him. It is not by speech, but by action, that an able Minister displays his powers ' • and we trust to the future for an experimental justification of the con fidence which will readily be afforded to a financier who has no superior in general reputation. The remaining appointments are, perhaps, not disposed of ; but it is supposed — a nd yetwe finallyr joiee that such should be the case—that office has been offered to some of the ablest of those liberal politicians who have hitherto been unconnec:;ed with the Executive Govern ment, and whose junction with the Administra tion would at once add to its strength and tend to secure the confieence of the country. Lord Aberdeen has throughout displayed an honourable desire to render the union of all friends of progress complete and permanent ; and we may well hope that all to whom proposals have been made will concur in the great object of establishing an effi cient Administra Hon. It is unnecessary to dwell on the contradiction which our present statements offer to the rumours which, during the last three or four days, have been circulated for the purpose of discrediting the new Government. Any one of the leading Min isters is himself sufficient to give lustre to a Cabi net. Lord John Russell, Sir James Graham, Lord Palmerston, or Mr. Gladstone might worthily lead the House of Commons, or head a Ministry which would command the confidence of the country. On the other side is Mr. Disraeli, without a colleague, a cause, or even a cry. The Government not only includes all existing Parliamentary strength it represents at the same time the predominant feeling and opinion of the country. At once Liberal and moderate, the more enlightened classes only wish to be governed by the ablest men, unfettered by prejudices or by party interests. , It is, indeed, never wise to boast, and prudent persons shrink most sensitively from ostentatious language when circumstances appear i most rosperous and easy. The Ministers have not p t their harness off, but are even now putting it on. Yet it may fairly be anticipated that, with publi opinion favourable to their success, with oppos . ion disarmed, with a perfect freedom from the t ptations furnished by weakness for going astray in pursuit of party advantage, and with the well-f unded hope of public gratitude and approv ing co science as the reward of their labours, the states en whom we have named are about to enter with t eir colleagues on a long, a prosperous,. and a frui ul career. (From the Morning Advertiser.) Eve succeeding hour convinces us more and more t iat the Aberdeen Administration will be one of the, most short-lived Governments on record. Never was such a mongrel Ministry witnessed in this, or in any other country. If it holds together for three months, it can only be by a sacrifice of principle and consistency far exceeding anything of which we have had a previous example in the Ministerial annals of England. On the one hand, we have the new Premier, the same Lord Aberdeen who, up till the present hour, r has publicly and . Crepeatedly avowed his accordance of conviction and judgment with the Government of Lord Derby, except on the one question of Free trade. • Now, that Government, as we all know, was a, thoroughly Tory Government. It was not merely Conservative,—a word which simply signi fies the preservation of what we have, but it was reactionary. It thought that we had already gone too far in the pathway of political progress, and sought to induce the country to adopt a course of gradual retrogression. No one can have forgotten the vehemence of manner with which Lord . Derby, on more than one occasion, declared, in the House of Lords, that he considered his main mission, as the leading Mi nister of the Crown, to be to stem the current of demociacy. Mr. Gladstone, to whom is now as signed the important position of Chancellor of the Exchequer, has very recently expressed his horror of democracy, and avowed himself the determined opponent of everything which would be regarded as synonymous with popular progress. So that we have here the Prime Minister of the new Cabinet express ing, again and again, his concurrence in the ultra- Tory principles and policy of the Derby Ministry, on all points save free trade ; and, at the same time, we have Lord Aberdeen's right-hand man and bo som friend in the House of Commons adopting not only the sentiments, but almost the very words of Lord Derby, when that nobleman denounced demo cracy, and said he regarded it as his main mission to arrest the progre t es of the democratic principle in her Majesty's dominions. Turn now for a few moments to another and very different picture. Not more than three i months, if so much, have elapsed since Lord John Russell, he who was the Premier of the Whig Ministry, and to whom is to be confided the.task of leading the House of Commons, declared at the Perth banquet, with a frequency and emphasis seldom surpassed, that democratic principles were the right principles,—right not only inherently, but right because in accordance with the spirit and letter of the British constitution. His lordship showed that our institutions were essentially democratic—that the word had unjustly been made a bugbear to frighten ignorant or timid persons—and that the Government of the country must hereafter be carried on in accordance with the principles of de mocracy. In fact, a more thoroughly democratic speech was never spoken than that which the ex- Premier delivered three months ago at the dinner at Perth. Did we not remember that the oratori cal exhibition made on that occasion by the noble lord, took place while he was in Opposition, we should ourselves have regarded it as one of the most hopeful circumstances for the cause of popular progress *filch had occurred for a long time. The friends, however, of the noble lord insisted that the Perth speech expressed his honest and deep seated convictions, and that in the event of his re turn to office, he would be prepared to repeat the sentiments he there expressed in his place in Par liament. Well, the noble lord is in office now. Will he give us a new edition in the House of Commons of his Perth oration in favour of Democracy? Can he or his friends give us the assurance that he stipu lated, before consenting to accept office under Lord Aberdeen, that the Government of the noble lord should honestly and in good faith carry out the principles in favour of popular progress which he laid down in his Perth address ? If he has made any such stipulation, and is prepared to sever him self from the Peelite Premier, in the event of the latter pursuing a policy at variance with the Perth speech, then we say that Lord John Russell is not to blame in accepting office under " the good Aber deen" of Louis Philippe. But is it so ? We must confess our incredulity. We cannot believe it—for this, were there no other reason, that we cannot persuade ourselves that Lord Aberveen would ever have consented to receive Lord John Russell on such conditions. We fear the event will show, that as there must of necessity be what haberdashers, selling off their stocks, call an "awful sacrifice" somewhere—an awful sacrifice of character—that sacrifice will be found to have r been made by the Whig ex-Premier. Happily we shall not have to wait long in suspense on the subject. We shall soon see on, which side the " awful sacrifice " has been made—whether on the side of Lord Aberdeen, or of Lord John Russell. A few weeks at the farthest, possibly a few days, will suffice to enlighten our darkness. The com pact which has been come to cannot long remain a secret. The country has a right to know on what principles the Coalition Cabinet is based, and the country will take care to assert that right. One of our great grounds of quarrel with the Derby Ministry was, that it persisted as long as it could in shrouding its principles, if it had any, in con cealment. And both the Whigs and Peelites were equally vigorous and incessant in assailing the Conservative Cabinet on that very ground. It is impossible, therefore, that the mongrel Ministry which has succeeded the Administration of Lord Derby, can hesitate to make an explicit avowal of its principles. The programme of its policy must be laid before the country without delay. We shall then, we repeat, be in a position to decide who has made the sacrifice of character— Lord Aberdeen or Lord John Russell—the Whigs or the Peelites. . But apart altogether from the incongruous ele ments of which the Aberdeen- Administration is formed, its Premier does not possess, and never did possess, any position as a public man ; nor has he ever displayed any commanding talents in debate. There is no prestige of any kind attaching to his name. And because he never was, at best, any thing which could attract the eyes of the country towards him, as one who was likely to bring it through a crisis, people everywhere wonder by what lucky combination of circumstances he should have been called to preside over the councils of his Sove reign. We could throw some light on the matter; but we abstain for the present, because nothing but an imperious necessity could induce us to make revela tions which would compromise persons in high places. But this much we may say, as a fact which admits of conclusive proof—that it was clearly foreseen, as far back as July last, in quarters which shall be nameless, that the result of the appeal to the country at that time must be the overthrow of the Derby Government, and it was then finally arranged that the Earl of Aberdeen should be the successor of Lord Derby. But let us, before concluding, do an act of justice to the new Premier. If Lord Aberdeen has no pretensions to popularity in his own country, he is immensely popular in the Court of Vienna. Con tinental despotism everywhere doats upon him. Metternich and he were bosom friends. And just in proportion as Louis Philippe descended towards that absolutism which characterised the latter period of his reign, did " the travelled Thane" grow in his affections, until at last he came to speak of him as " the good Aberdeen." ( From the Daily New s .) The Coalition Cabinet is understood to be finally constituted, and the writs for the places vacated by the principal persons who have accepted office will, it is supposed, be moved for to-clay. Some appoint ments of minor note have not yet been completed, and several days may yet elapse before the entire will be arranged ; but enough is knoWn to enable the country to judge of the character and mission of the new Administration. Nearly all the import ant offices in the Government are to be filled by Tories. The patronage of the state will be in their hands. The Whigs, having assented to sever them selves from the popular party, have been cajoled into giving up point after point in the Administra tion, and although they claim a nominal majority of seats in the Cabinet, it is plain that without party or cordial support from without, or energy or purpose amongst themselves, their position is one of unenviable weakness, which is likely to be rendered more embarrassing every day. The avowed and authentic organ of the Peelite half of the Cabinet does not hesitate to proclaim openly that its policy is to be e ssentially and tho roughly Conservative, and the Premier has him self explained what " Conservative ' means—. namely, agreement upon every subject, except free trade, with the party headed by Lord Derby. Th e ascendancy of the Church in matters of opinion, and resistance to democratic progress in matters of state, the exclusion of Jews from seats in Parlia ment, and resistance to the ballot in matters of reform, aristocratic influence supreme at home, and Austrianism as our policy abroad ; these Are the elements of the faith as it is in Aberdeen ; and for this the Liberal party has been made use of both : 43 in the country and in the Home of Commons.ll. whole patronage of the army is to remain in-rbZ-V hands of Lord Hardinge and Lord Ral two of the most uncompromising partisa Toryism in the realm. And if the distributay , Or legal honours and emoluments, with the mass of clerical patronage which appertains to office of the Great Seal, be not ostensibly appro. . - r x printed in like m anner, it i s on l y b ecause L or d St. -,\.11- Leonards, with more spirit and consistency than others have displayed, has refused to retain his seat upon the woolsack. But the Cabinet, who feel content to leave in his hands the department of public justice, and the absolute control of the magis tracy, must of course have approved of the manner . in which he exercised those functions heretofore : and what the result of that exercise was in nicely balanced communities throughout the country, it' were superfluous in us to say. Will the power of the Chancellor over the magistracy be used in the same spirit for the repression of popular opinions and the strengthening of Tory influence ? If so, why was Lord St. Leonards turned out of office ? If not, why was Lord St. Leonards asked to retain the seals ? Vague and evasive professions have indeed been held out of comprehensive inclusion, both as re gards men and principles. Public distrust has been lulled to sleep by the sonorous chants of un prejudiced views, and a noble disregard of all party distinctions. The door of the Cabinet was said to have been flung open to men of all opinions, bUt we haye not heard that any were invited to enter, with one noted exception, whose presence could afford any guarantee of what might be done within. Wanting that, the people will be driven to look elsewhere. Upon whom are the new Ministers to rely for Parliamentary support ? Is it upon the forbearance of that discomfited party whose chiefs they have hustled from power within the last few days ?—although Lord Aberdeen says he concurred with them on every point of their policy save one which they had surrendered. Of Free Trade we shall hear no more as a &eve de battaille. It has served its turn, but can never again be made to stir. Everybody admits that Free Trade is irreversible, and that compensation is a burst bubble. It will not do to rely, therefore, upon empty, meaningless professions upon these subjects. Some other Shibboleth must be found. What is that to be ? A new Reform Bill ? But who that really cares for or loves purity of election independence of voting, or an equal distribution of popular power, will believe in the sincerity of a Cabinet whose existence depends upon the tolera tion of the Carlton Club ? Any ingenious Tory might produce a dozen soi-disant reform bills in as many days, each of which, with a nomi nal extension of the franchise and a shuffle of seats and districts, would inevitably lessen rather than augment the influence of popular opinion in the Commons House of Parliament. It is vain to talk of blind credulity and confidence in the face of a Conservative Coalition. Were Lord John Russell or some other man of tried service in the popular cause ht the head of affairs, and had he beside him in thetCabinet a preponderance of colleagues repre senting popular constituencies or committed by their past vbtes to reform principles, such as the people underhand them,—it would be a different matter ; but unfortunately it is not so. Parliament is about to be adjourned for six weeks, in order to give time to the Coalition to mature their measures. Mean time many of them will be compelled to give an account of themselves and their new colleagues on the hustings. We shall await with some curiosity to see; what that account will be. By whom will these elections, we should like to know, be managed ? Will the confidential committee of the Carltott be consulted, or its counterpart at th.e* Reform In ana logy with constitutional practice, we would suggest a conference in some Painted Chamber ; or possibly a temporary bridge might be thrown. across the passage between the two establishments that leads most appropriately to the mansion of the noble viscount who refuses to be identified with either. Perhaps Lord Palmerston would lend them a policy. He . would certainly be impartial if he undertook the task ; and his superior ability has been suffi ciently attested, not only by his conduct when in office,' but by the eagvness displayed both by the late government and the new one to induce him to resunie it. That one so habituated to official life, and se clever in the discharge of its duties, should. decline the offers of the Coalition as well as those of their predecessors, is an omen not likely to escape attention. The doubters of Lord Palmerston will ascribe his refusal to more ambitious aims : his friends will perhaps ascribe it to want of confidence in the stability of new and strange combination this day launched into existence. But in either case the absence of Lord Palmerston, should the reluctance of the noble loud prove eventually in-, surmountable, will certainly be regarded as an evil augury for the Cabinet of Christmas eve. GERMANY. The first Chamber of the States of Prussia dis cussed in the sitting of the 20th the report of the committee on the proposition for the changes in the mode of composing that body. Some of the con clusions of the committee were adopted, and the discussion on others was adjourned. A letter trom Berlin states that the Minister of the Interior has given orders to the police of Prus sia to pay particular attention to the habit of con cubinage, which, he declares is increasing consider ably amongst the working classes. It is remarked that foreign workmen, after having obtained leave to reside in Prussia, contract illicit unions without having any hope of afterwards marrying, for the reason that the authorities of their own country al most always refuse to give them the required per mission for the purpose. In consequence, the police authorities are ordered to put a stop to such connexions, and send back the workmen to their own country. • A German journal publishes an account of the railways in Germany, from which it appears that Austria, in comparison with her population posses ses less than any other state in Germany. Those which possess the most, in comparison with their population, are the free towns—Frankfort, Bremen, Lubeck, and Hamburgh—Saxony, Lippe-Schauen burg, and Anhalt. The German States entirely without railroads are—Luxemburg, Lippe, and Detmold, Oldenburg, Schwartzburg, Waldeck, Reuss, Hess Homburg, and Lechtenstein. ITALY. In its sitting of the 18th, the Senate. of Turin closed the general discussion on the Civil Marriage Bill. The discussion of the articles was to commence on the following day. The Univers publishes a letter addressed by the Pope to the King of Sardinia, on the subject of the Civil Marriage Bill, and the charges brought by some of the Piedmontese journals against a por tion of the clergy in that country. The letter is dated as long ago as the 19th of Sept. last, but the interest is not diminished by the date, the Civil Marriage Bill being still under discussion in the Piedmontese Senate. In the course of the letter, His Holiness assures the King, in reply to the ob servations of his Majesty, that the Civil Marriage Law exists in other Catholic countries, that he is well aware of the fact, but that he has never ceased to protest against it. He states that if the bill 14110111 d pasts in Piedmont, he will not on that ac count entertain less esteem for the Sovereign, or a less charitable disposition towards his people, but that he is bound to do everything in his power to prevent consequences injurious to the Church. A correspondent of Galignane s at Naples writes, Dec. 18 : " After four years of langour, Naples has resumed its former gaiety. Strangers, however, are not so numerous as in past times ; and, except among the Russians, there are few of title. During Advent we have both routs and assemblies, which, after Christmas, are to be soirees dan santes. M. de Barrot, the French minister, gives a grand ball in honour of the re-establishment of the Em pire, at which the King and Queen, and all the court, are expected to be present. Lady Holland opens Palazzo Rocealla on Thursdays during the season, and the balls of the Real Accademia ' begin on the 27th, and continue every Monday till the end of the carnival. The King's brother, the Count d'Aquila, hunts with his fox-hounds at Carditollo once a week, and gives a splen did dinner afterwards to the party invited, usually from 24 to 30 guests. Upon the Corso di Chiago are to be seen a hundred equipages, rivalling those of Hyde-park, and several of them teams of four beautiful English horses. Their R.H. Counts de Syracuse and Aquila drive each teams of bays and chesnuts ; Lady Strachan has a barouch e and four greys ; the Due de Forli, bays ; Duc de Paganica, bays and chesnuts ; Marquis de Salsa, bays ; and Count de Nociglia Treensa, roans. Whilst parties regularly follow the dinners ; and the Amph y trions whose chefs are in most activity are Sir William Temple, Count Creptowich, Baron Adolphe de Roths child, Lady Strachan, Prince Cimitala, Count de Mon tesantangelo, and Chev. Meuricoffe ; and though last, not least, Lord Holland's, a veritable cordon bleu. To this agreeable picture, the only drawback is the arrival for the season, of 500 beggars, horrid objects, who dis tribute themselves daily along the several promenades to annoy strangers more particularly. This nuisance was bequeathed to us by the soi-disant liberal ministry of 1848, and ought now to be reformed." STATE OF THE WOOLLEN TRADE. (From, the Leeds Mercury of this day.) The wool market has been active for English samples, and in colonial and foreign a fair business has been done. The imports into London during the week to Thursday last have been only 1,988 bales, of which 1,618 were from Sydney, 188 from Germany, and 85 from Italy. In the English wool market the demand for combing and clothing wools still continues. Prices are without any change of moment. There has been a very fair business done in the Cloth halls this week- On Saturday the market was rather brisk and animated, and on Tuesday about an average quantity of go ods changed hands. Cloths of a middle quality in true wool blacks were in demand, and found ready purchasers. There is a fair amount of business doing in the warehouses, both for the home trade and in the shipping business, quite as much as usual at this period of the year. THE COLLIERY ACCIDENT AT SHORTWOOD.—The coro ner's inquest, which was postponed for the purpose of ena bling the Secretary of State to send down a. Government inspector of collieries to watch the proceedings (for which purpose Mr. Mackworth attended), was esnmed yesterday. The inspector made a minute examination of the works, particularly directing his attention to the point at which the irruption of water from the old works took place. After evidence had been given of the deaths, Mr. Mack worth proceeded. to give the result of his examination. He pointed out -what he considered to be deficiencies in the management of the pit, and the means that should be adopted for their remedy. For this purpose he read the third clause of the 13th and 15th Vic., cap. 100, which ren dered it necessary for the proprietors of collieries to have maps of their workings, and he showed the great necessity there was for such maps in pits, situated like the present, near old workings, the approach to which required great caution. The object of this act was to compel proprietors of collieries to work more regularly, not only for their own ad vantage, but also for the greater safety of the men employed in them. Mr. Mackworth considered the map in use at the colliery exceedingly incorrect, and that the proprietors had not complied with the terms of the act in this respect. Mr. Cossham believed they had done all they could to com ply with the act.. The ground had been surveyed by Mr. John Taylor, of Stafford, one of the first miners in the West of England, and under whose general direction they worked ; he should be most happy to adopt any improve ments the inspector could suggest, and as to the map, he could only say that at the commencement of the year it was the proprietor's intention to have a now survey and the pitthoroughly mapped out. Mr. Ellis also observed that lie had had great experience in mining accidents, and he knew it was impossible at all times to prevent accidents arising from the carelessness of the men. The room was then cleared, and the jury, after about 20 minutes' consul tation, returned a verdict of " Accidental death." CONTRABAND TOBACCO.—The Lords Commissioners of her Majesty's Treasury having adverted to the inducement to fraud which the sale of tobacco seized for non-payment of duty appears to afford, as well as the injury to the honest trader, by displacing in the market a corresponding quan tity of tobacco which would otherwise have been entered for home consuMption, and to the small advantage gained by the revenue from such sales, their lordships have ex pressed their opinion that all seized tobacco, whether manufactured or unmanufactured, except cigars, should henceforth be destroyed, and have desired the commission ers of Customs to give the necessary instructions for that purpose. THE NEW MINISTRY. (From the Daly News.) Yesterday, in the Commons, Mr. Disraeli moved the adjournment of that house till this day at two o'clock, when it is fully understood the new writs will be moved for the seats vacated by the appoint. ments of such of the new ministers as sit in the Lower House. Each day shows more clearly the true character of the coming Aberdeen Administra tion. Sir Wm. Molesworth was offered the Secre• taryship at War, without a seat in the Cabinet, but before accepting the offer very properly required to know who were to be his colleagues, and what the policy to be pursued. He could not take office with out guarantees that the principles he had always advocated were to be advanced by the Government in which he was invited to take part,—and such guar antees were to be best shown by the presence with him in the administration of some distinguished. members of the advanced Liberal party. Upon learning that the Liberals indicated were not to be invited to join the Ministry, Sir William Moles worth at once declined the proffered post :—very much indeed to the credit both of his judgment and of his political consistency. The hon. member for Southwark is a scholar, a thinker, and a good Liberal, and it is pleasant to see that, in an hour when a man of smaller views might have snapped at an offer flattering to an ordinary ambition—the editor 'of the works of Hobbes—the great English philosopher —respected himself, his principles, and his future, by refusing to join the Aberdeen coalition. Unlike some of our contemporaries, we have given from day to day the changing forms of the new Ministerial programme. We have sought to show how, in this strained offort to achieve a hybrid Ministry, the list of office-bearers has changed from day to day. We must repeat that until the London Gazette gives the names in dull official fashion, the whole story will not be absolutely and certainly known, except in so far as the issue of new writs this afternoon will indicate who, in the House of Commons, has ventured to ship himself on board the new ship Coalition—Aberdeen, master. RAILWAY TRAFFIC RETURNS. CHESTER AND HOL - THEAD RAlLWAY.—Traffic return for railway and steam-boats for the week ending . Dec. 19, 1852 23,074 6 6 Corresponding week last year 2,443 13 5 Increase in 1852 £63o 13 1 SCOTTISH CENTRAL RAlLWAY.—Traffic return for the week ending Dec. 19, 1852 22,007 9 2 Corresponding week last year 1,603 4 6 - ENLARGEMENT OF KING'S COLLEGE HOSPITAL. —The works that had commenced some months ago for the en largement of the hospital having been suspended since the laying of the foundation stone, in consequence of some pecuniary matters, have again been resumed during the last few days, and a number of men are now busily at work in clearing away the rubbish , so tha t t h e foundation may be commenced immediately, and thebuilding completed as soon as possible, as the present hospital, situated, as it is, in a densely-populated n eighbourhood, is far from being sufficiently spacious for the applications from persons who solicit to be admitted as in-door patients, as the beds in the different wards are nearly all occupied, and many oases are obliged reluctantly to be. refused admission i n consequence. The new building will afford accommoda tion for from two to three hundred more patients. The old burial-ground of St. Clement's Danes in portva, street, which was purchased by-the trustees and directors of the hospital, has not yet been at all disturbed, a n d the removal of the bodies will not commence till after the ensuing spring. THE COUNTESS BOCARME.—It has been stated that the widow of the Count de Bocarme, • _..... Was executed for the murder of his brother-in-law, was on the point of being married again, but that the m arr i age had b een postponed to await the decision of the T r ib una l respect ing an application by a member of h er f am i ly to d ec l ar e her incapable of ma n aging her own affairs, on the ground of prodigality. The case came on last week before the Civil Tribunal of Tournay, M Belgium, at the suit of M. Baugmes. M. Duchate au , o f t h e bar of Tournay, stated to the court, the grounds of the application. He declared that the Countess de Bocarme had, by her habits of luxury and extravagance, ruined the estate of her husband, and that, since she had inherited the property of her murdered brother, she had been equally reckless in her expenditure, frequenting the most fashionable places, putting herself prominently forward, having car riages and valuable horses, expensive apartments, &c., and dissipating the property she has inherited so rapidly, that, after the payment of the interest due on the deficit of the succession of the Count of Bocarme, she would really be possessed of only 2,000 fr. a year. This sum being insufficient to .meet even a small portion of her annual expenditure, she had, said the counsel of M. Baugnies, raised by mortgage and otherwise, between October, 1851 and 1852, 84,000 f. on the property which came to her by the death of her brother, thus dissipating in the course of a single year one-third of the entire suc cession. In this state of things, and with a view to pre serve her children from ruin, M. Baugnies, although only a distant relative, had resolved to apply for her civil in terdiction. The court, after hearing the counsel of M. Baugnies, adjourned for a week to hear the pleading of M. Morel for the Countess de Bocarme.—Galignani. ,~~ `>\ 3 fi - 10 273 J !rl