The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1853-01-04 00:00:00

We have thus given a brief sketch of the principal
events which marked the year just closed, and it
only remains for us to allude to the prospect which
opens upon us, and our own position with respect
to that portion of the public press entrusted to our
guidance. It is true that those great Conservative
principles which are especially identified with the
maintenance of the British Constitution and the
welfare of the British people have experienced a
temporary reverse ; but the cause is not lost, for
the honour of its leaders has been preserved, and
we may anticipate, with all the confidence of buoyant
hope, the reinstatement of a Conservative Govern-
ment at no distant period, when the impossibility
of cementing the crude and discordant materials of
the present Cabinet has been fully proved. It can-
not be that the proud spirit which animates the
men who accepted PEEL as their leader will stoop
to fraternise with the shifting policy of Lord JOHN
RUSSELL, the puerilities of Mr. VILLIERS, the
infidelity of Sir NV ILLIAm MoLEsivoRTH, or the
frothy declamation of Sir A. COCKBURN. Nor
will the Radicalism of the more numerous Man-
chester party brook the extreme opinions, on reli-
gious matters, of Mr. GL A DSTONE, or the cold
caution of the Earl of ABERDEEN. The Romish
Brigade can turn the scale, and their support will
not be gained without such a sacrifice as the Minis-
try dare not make, although the Romish proselyte,
Mr. MONSELL, has a place in the Ordnance Office.
The men float easily into office, but their measures
must sink them ; and so long as the Conservative
body retain their numerical strength in the House
of Commons, and remain true to their principles,
we may defy the parties which have combined to
oppose them, and rest in perfect security that there
is a brighter future in store for us.

Of ourselves we would speak with all becoming
modesty, willing rather that our part in the great
matter of the struggle to maintain the Constitution
should speak for itself. Without turning to the
right hand or to the left—to gratify personal feel-
ings, or individual crotchets however well intended—
we have laboured to advocate those great principles
upon which the welfare of this mighty empire is
based—which help to secure the greatest amount of
happiness for the greatest number—which
e me prerogative of the Crown and
the liberties of the people—and which the expe-
rience of all history has proved can alone conduce
to the great end which, in charity, we may presume
all parties have in view. In carrying out this course,
we have sedulously endeavoured to avoid all unne-
cessary collisions of a personal nature, confining
ourselves to the principles at issue, rather than to
those who take part in their advocacy ; and if
occasionally we may have found it requisite to par-
ticularise individuals, it has been with no other
feeling than a due regard for the interests at stake.
For the future, no promises can be required, other
than the expression of our determination to pursue
the same course with undiminished energy—animated
by the conviction that the cause is a just one, and
rewarded with the hope that, so far as our influence
extends, we have promoted that great object
to: which all our exertions have been directed.
With this hope, we conclude our opening address
for 1853, by wishing each and every of our Readers

A HAPPY NEW YEAR.

FOREIGN NEWS.

FRANCE.

The Emperor has published a decree, appointing his
uncle, Jerome Buonaparte, as his successor in the event of
his dying without issue. Another decree, in the form of
a senatus consultum, gives the Emperor the right to grant
pardons and accord amnesties.
The extraordinary session of the Senate has been closed,
and the next session fixed for the 14th of February, the
day for which the Corps Legislatif is convoked.
Scarcely a single day has passed since Louis Napoleon's
sojourn at Compiegne that rumours have not circulated of
some terrible accident occurring to him, or to one of his
attendants.
The Emperor returned on Tuesday from Compiegne,
and there was great anxiety to see whether he had expe-
rienced any of the accidents which had been reported.
A rumour is in circulation that certain chiefs of the
Republican party are about to tender their adhesion to
the Count de Chambord.
The journey of Prince Lucien Murat to Dusseldorf has
excited some curiosity in political circles ; it is generally,
and perhaps truly, attributed to fresh matrimonial nego-
tiations on behalf of the Emperor.

It was only on Wednesday last that the Ambassadors of
the three Powers, Prussia, Austria, and Russia, receive d
their credentials for the recognition of the Emperor of
the French. The bearer of them, as also of other
despatches, is, it appears, a secretary of Prince Metternich.
An extraordinary credit of 700,000 francs has been
opened to the Minister of the Marine on the estimates of
1853 for the execution of civil and military works at Mar-
tinique, Guadaloupe, and Senegal.
Accounts just received from Algeria announce the death
General Bouscaren, who was wounded at the taking of
Laghouat, and expired On thy 19th, about half an hour
after the operation of amputation had been performed.
Among the numerous commercial speculations at pre-
sent spoken of, a company, it is said, is being organised
for the concentration of the packet service between France
and North and South America.
MIDNIGHT MASSES were celebrated on Christmas-eve
in several churches at Paris and at Notre-Dame, by the
Archbishop of Paris. This is the first time for many
years that midnight masses have been celebrated publicly.