The Sun.
London, England, 1853-12-24 00:00:00

THEATRE ROYAL DRIIRY-LAITE.

Lessee, Mr. E. T. Smith.

The Attractions of this great National Establishment for the
CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS will be on a most extensive scale, un-
precedented in the annals of Theatricals for Novelty, splendour, and
mechanical wonders, embodied by the first Artistes in the world.
Magnificent Scenery,' Dresses, and Decorations ; gorgeous excite-
ment, and Ballet unrivalled, forming an ensemble of talent and en-
chanting attraction never equalled. Mr. SMITH, the Lessee, begs to
remind his Juvenile patrons that this great CHRISTMAS PANTO-
MIME will be produced on MONDAY NEXT, DEC. 26, with a
DRAMA and FARCE. Reduced Prices as usual.

THEATRE ROYAL, HAYMARKET.
Under the management of Mr. Bnekstone.
On MONDAY NEXT, Dac. 26,

Will be performed THE HOPE OF THE FAMILY. Characters
by Messrs. Chippendale, Compton, Buckstone, and W. Farren ; Mrs.
Buckingham, Mrs. Poynter, Mrs. FitzwWiam, and Miss E. Grey.
♦fter which, a Grand CHRISTMAS PANTOMIME, called
HARLEQUIN AND THE THREE BEARS ; or, Little Silverhair
and the Fairies. Columbine, Miss M. Brown ; Harlequin, Mr. J.
Marshall : Pantaloon, Mr. W. A. Barnes; Clown, Mr. H. Marshall.

ROYAL PRINCESS'S THEATRE, OXFORD-STREET.
Under the Management of Mr. CmiaLas KEAN.
On MONDAY NEXT, Dac. 26,
Will be performed THE CORSICAN BROTHERS. Principal
character by Mr. C. Kean.
After which will be produced a new Grand CHRISTMAS PAN-
VOMIME, entitled HARLEQUIN AND THE MILLER AND
HIS MEN; or, King Salamandar and the Fairy of the Azure
Lake. Harlequin, Mr: Cormack ; Clown, Mr. Huline ; Pantaloon,
Mr. Paulo; and Columbine, Miss Desborough.

THEATRE ROYAL ADELPHI.
Proprietor, Mr. B. Webster.—Directress, Madame Celeste.

Rare Christmas Amusements—The Great Attraction of London—
" One of the Sights of London"—The Sea of Ice and Marvellous
Aelelphi Effects in the exciting new Nautical Drama of " THE
THIRST OF GOLD," every Evening—A new Grand Fairy Spec-
de, NUMBER NIP.

MONDAY, and during the week, the popular new nautical melo-
drama, in Ave tableaux, with new scenery, the Sea of Ice, &c., new
dresses and appointments, called THE THIRST OF GOLD, or
THE LOST SHIP AND THE WILD FLOWER OF MEXICO.
Principal characters by Messrs. B. Webster, Keeley, Paul Bedford,
0. Selby, Parselle, Marsden, &c. ; Madame Celeste, Mrs. Leigh
Murray, Miss F. Alaska, &c. ; with an entirely new grand specta-
cular legendary Christmas piece, in two acts, with new scenery,
dresses, machinery, and appointments, called NUMBER NIP, or
THE SPIRIT BRIDE. Principal characters by Madame Celeste,
Sirs. Keeley, Miss Woolgar, Miss M. Keeley, Miss Cuthbert, Miss
C. Harding; Messrs. Paul Bedford, J. Rogers, Romer, G. Lee, Ikc

ROYAL OLYMPIC THEATRE.
Lessee and Manager, Mr. A. Wigan.
On MONDAY NEXT, DEC. 2% and during the Week,
Will be performed PLOT AND PASSION. Principal Characters
by Mr F. Robson and Mrs. Stirling.
After which, a new historico-geographical CHRISTMAS PAN-
TOM [ME, 'called HARLEQUIN COLUMBUS; or, The Old World
and the New. Harlequin, Mr. F. Moreland; Pantaloon, Mr. W,
Rochez; and Columbine, Miss Wyndham:.

ASTLEY'S EUROPE'S NATIONAL AMPHITHEATRE.
Lessee and Manager, Mr. W. Cooke,
Last Week of Performing before the Holidays. A New Grand
Equestrian CHRISTMAS COMIC PANTOMIME, written ex-
pressly for this Theatre, by Mr. NELSON LEE, entitled BILLY
BUTTON'S JOURNEY TO BRENTFORD ; or, The Ladles'
Favonrite—will be produced on MONDAY, DEC. 26.
Mr. W. Cooke's Elephants, pronounced by the Press and all who
have witnessed their Performances the most extraordinary Trained
animals in the World, will appear every Evening.
THIS EVENING, DEC. 24,

The New Grand Equestrian Chinese Spectacle, entitled " THE
WISE ELEPHANTS OF THE EAST; or, THE MAGIC GONG.
Followed by a series of, Mr. Was. Cooke'a matchless scenes o
Equestrianism in THE CIRCLE, by the talented artistes of this
establishment.
Concluding with a favourite AFTERPIECE.

Box-oMee open from Eleven till Four. Stage Manager, Mr. W'
West.

HIGH. WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE.
Tins DAY —Morning 40 min.after 7' Evening 11 min.aft. 8
To-Moanow—Morning 46 min.after 8 I Evening 20 rnin.aft. 9

THE WEATHER.—SIN OFFICE, DEC. 24.
THERMOMETER, IN THE SHADE.
62 —highest since noon yesterday.
37—lowest this morning and during the night.
41—this day at noon.

BAROMETER, 30'15.
WIND, N.E.—Dull weather.

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LONDON, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 24, 1853.

Overtures, it will be perceived, have been made
to Lord PALmEasroN—overtures on the part of
his recent colleagues, inviting him earnestly to
return to the bosom of the Coalition Government.
Whether successful or not,, these overtures consti-
tute a direct acknowledgment by Ministers them-
selves of the weakness of the ABERDEEN Adminis-
tration. The vacated office having been rejected
by Lord Joint ramssr.r, and declined by Sir GEORGE
GREY—Was ints44.lin the. of thp clubs,
with a supplementary probability of change at the
Admiralty, in connection with which change the
names of Lord PANMIIRE and Sir JAMES GRA-
HAM were shuttle-cocked to and fro between the
political battledores of the Reform and the Conserva-
tives. Yet suddenly out of the thick of these
breathless rumours, starts forth the announce-
ment that the Coalition is, figuratively speaking,
on its knees to Lord PALmEnsTorr—that Ministers
are haslening, one after another, to the unofficial
quietide of Carlton-gardens--that offers are being
mad' and listened to which, if adequate for the
en-urgency, may end in the return of the Noble
7iscount to his former position in the Cabinet,
though in that case, of course, with more than
his former authority over the Councils of her MA-
JESTY'S Government. Such are the rumours
audibly whispered about from St. James's
.6 Mayfair, from Pall-mall to Piccadilly.
If otherwise worthless, they are at least 'valuable
2s indicating the conscious impotence of the Ad-
ministration. That Lord PALMERSTON would
dream for a single instant of returning to Down-
ing-street unless his way back were smoothed by
really enormous concessions, it were frivolous to
anticipate. Nothing but concessions so enormous
can possibly lead back the ex-Minister to his post
at the head of the Home Department. To sup-
pose for a moment that anything else could, would
be to imagine that one of the most sagacious
and experienced statesmen of the age would
be prepared to dice away his popularity
by (what can we possibly call it but ?)
—literal tomfoolery. It is quite impossible
that Lord PALMERSTON could have been induced
to withdraw' from the Ministry so suddenly and at
so very critical a juncture in the affairs of Europe
but after the most weighty and mature de-
liberation. Whatever, so to speak, the colour
of the cause •of that withdrawal, it must,
at any rate, have been one of consider-
able magnitude. Therefore it follows that Lord
PALMERSTON could not lightly return to the
ranks of the Coalition Government. He could
only return after large concessions to him from
the other advisers of his SOVEREIGN. Conces-
sions having reference of course to the origin
of his resignation. Everybody knows perfectly
well that that resignation was attributable either
to the New Reform Bill, or the Foreign Policy
of the Administration. The official organ said—
the New Reform Bill. We, on the contrary,
said---the Foreign Policy. And our opi-
nion ill this particular, at once com-
manded
the coincidence of the vast majority
of our ?ontem
poraries. It is manifest, con
sequently,
that the withdrawal of Lord PAL-
MERSTON had reference 'either to the one of these
things or to the other, either to the New Reform
Bill, or to the old Foreign. Policy. For the
comparatively nothing which
moment, it matters
so far at least as concerns u
o r present argu-
ment.

Supposing it to have been the lie, Reform Bill
that brought about Lord PALMERSTON'S resigns.
tion. Well—his return could only be purchased
by his late colleagues on the condition of their
yielding largely to his scruples. In that ease
what would the country think, or say, or feel,
about their consistency ? How would the character
of the Coalition stand then in the estimate of the
general population ?

Supposing, on the other hand, that the Foreign
Policy, or in other words, the Russo-Turkish ques-
tion originated Lord PALMERSTON'S abrupt seces-
sion from the Ministry. Well--even then his return
to the Ministry, could only be brought about by a
reversal of that policy, by a total change in the
ministerial tactics, by an abandonment of the

views of the Coalition, and a wholesale adoption

of those of the ex-Home Secretary. What would
become, then, of Lord PALMERSTON'S name for
sagacity, of his acknowledged popularity, of his
world-wide reputation? How would these things be
affected by his consenting to unite once more with
a body of Ministers who were only chivalrous and
energetic on compulsion ?

We leave these thoughts to be ruminated over
by the more reflective and intelligent. We throw
out these queries to the observant for their calm
and conscientious consideration. •

President PIERCE has spoken• again, and, it
must be confessed, spoken with ability. Very
different, indeed, is a President's Message from
a QUEEN'S speech ; but as no COBBETT exists to
criticise the grammar of the latter, we may well
let alone the rhetoric of the former. Indeed,
there is less of that article than usual in Ameri-
can documents. Probably the majority of our
readers have chiefly complained of its length,
especially since, like our Royal speeches, it tells
all Americans, and most Englishmen, little which
they did not know before. We do not mind five
or six sentences with such a result, but five or
six columns is a rather serious tax upon our time.
In brief, then, the " fellow-citizens of the Senate
and of the House of Representatives," are in-
formed that, notwithstanding the ravages of disease,
they still have abundant cause for thankfulness
for an accumulation of signal mercies ; and that
while toleration is universal and perfect, they are
not Atheists, disbelievers, or Mormonites, but
" place no secure reliance upon any apparent pro-
gress, if it be not sustained by national integrity,
resting upon the great truths affirmed and illus-
trated by Divine Revelation." With foreign
Powers all is as it was last year. Some disturb-
ing questions are in a fair way of settlement, after
a fashion nearly to the heart's content of Mr.
COBDEN, by negotiation or commissions. Ques-
tions regarding the fisheries, the Central Govern-
ment of America, and the claims of British and
American citizens, are all to be disposed of in
this sway. As a set off, however, to this Manches-
ter strain, he recommends an increase of the Army
and Navy. With France, America appears to have no
" questions" to settle; "the relations between the
two countries are on the most friendly footing."
Spain is assured that all the President's powers
will be used to repress " unauthorised expedi-
tions" against Cuba ; but a consul resident on the
island is to be again demanded, as Cuba "lies in
the track of trade between some of our principal
cities." Hitherto Spain has refused to allow of
an "authorised" American agent in Cuba. She
had better take care ; the track of American trade
is a very suggestive hint. MARTIN KOSSTA iS
safe in the States, the demands of Austria are en-
tirely declined, and " our officers fully justified."
We hope King BOMBA will soon have a visit from
Captain INGRAHAM, and truly glad should we be
could our naval officers in the Bosphorus feel sure
of a like justification for obeying the promptings
of a sailor's heart at the present time. With China
and Japan extended commercial relations are
being vigorously pressed, and on the southern
portion of their own continent strenuous efforts I
are making to secure for commerce the free navi-
gation of the immense length of the Amazon.
Turning again to home, the President re-
joices in the almost entire extinction of agitating
controversies, in the general satisfaction with the
justice of the territorial acquisitions which was
once questioned (including we suppose even Texas
and Mexico), and impressed with the responsi-
bility of governing the now 31 States of the
Union, he is consoled by remembering the present
wisdom of Congress, the inherited wisdom of their
forefathers, and the vast majority which placed
him in the Presidential chair. His first solicitude
as a federal governor, is his enormous income ;
an income unfelt by the people who pay it, drawn
almost exclusively from imports, of course—accord-
ing to Mr. NEWDEGATE, no tax on his own people
at all. Happy land ! its revenue from foreigners'
commodities, a revenue equally protective and
fiscal, embarrassing the Exchequer with its abund-
ance ! His total surplus last year was more than
half his annual income, and his last year's surplus
$17,783,312, considerably more than one-fourth
of the year's revenue ! This huge surplus he pro-
poses to reduce by paying off the national debt,
which is now less than one year's revenue, by re-
ducing the duty on several articles, and by adding
to the free list such articles especially as enter
into domestic manufactures, but are not produced
in the States. In this way assuredly Protection
in America will die of Free Trade. We know by
experience that he will not succeed in emptying
his treasury by reductions in his tariff. Fresh re-
ductions must therefore follow, till few and light
indeed will be the duties levied on foreign manu-
factures. Land is being disposed of by
sale or warrant at the rate of 25, 346, 992
acres per annum, and is to be granted
to railways (to the Pacific Railway, for which
authorised explorations are now making, among
the rest), on the same terms as a proprietor makes
roads for the benefit of land he wishes to sell.
A long digcussion on the relations of the States
to the Federal Government, and inter se, hardly
claims our notice ; but it is impossible to over-
look the peroration of this written speech. It ap-
pears from the decennial returns of the last fifty
years that the population of the States doubles

itself every quarter of a century; that it is, there-
fore, to amount to 50,000,000 in five-and-twenty
years hence, and 100, 000,000 in double that

time. Emigration may somewhat diminish, but
the length of life increases, and Chinamen bid
fair to supply any lack from Europe, and in tens
of thousands to become " clothed—like KOSSTA—
with the nationality of the United States." Well
may the President become philosophic and poetic,
and speak to his fellow-citizens of the present as
a point from which they are bound to expand
their gaze over the vast perspective, and descant
on the 1` vast, powerful, and prosperous confede-
ration of self-governing Republics," and foresee
the populations of other countries flocking to it,
as to a Nifw JERATSA.LEM, and " seeking the privi-
lege of being admitted within its safe and happy
bosom."

One other topic, however, the President could
not forget. Notwithstanding the "hushing of
controversies" before adverted to, the bosom of
the United States is not quite happy. It cherishes
a great national wrong, while it cannot expel a
national conscience ; and not the smoothest ex-
pressions about "involuntary servitude" on the
one hand, or the " acquiescence of distinguished
and devoted citizens" to a Fugitive Slave Law on
the other, can appease the strife. President
PIERCE glories with the coolness of a NICHOLAS
in promising that during his short reign " the
Union" shall triumph over right. He has got
the very , "material" guarantee of a law, and he
will enforce it. The black man guilty of loving
freeedom shall find an unrelenting persecutor in
FRANKLIN PIERCE. In his view, "national in-
tegrity resting upon the great truths of Divine
Revelation," is compatible with buying and sell-
ing the bodies and souls of Christian men and
women ! The truth is, disguise it as he may, that
the American Union, as a Union, is a fellowship
of the grossest and self-convicted =righteousness.
A combination of incompatibles, of liberty and
slavery ; of Christianity and the cruellest oppres-
sion. Their own Declaration of Independenoe con-
fronts with its "self-evident truth, that all men
are born free and equal," the provision of
their constitution that some men shall be " held
bound to service" by the circumstance of their
birth. President PIERCE, in eulogising the beau-
ties of the Fugitive Slave Law, actually is corn-
Relied to invoke the " voice and the arm of Free-
d•orn," in its behalf ! "There is no condemnation
which the voice of freedom (sic) will not pronounce
on us, should
we prove faithless to this great
trust"---the trust, • e., of the
Nor Fugitive w
i Slave I
,a,vael i
eLawna
as the preserver of the Union.-
tion of feeling," &c., i.e., Free Soil and Aboli-
tionist Doctrines, be permitted to paralyse the
great arm of freedom (sic), uplifted for the vindica-
tion Why, really, we should
of SELF-government !"
think he ought not to fetter afresh the black arm
endeavouring to achieve for itself Freedom and
self-government after this. No Christian Repub.