The Sun.
London, England, 1862-03-22 00:00:00

PRUSSIA.—A letter from Berlin, dated the 18t

inst., says :—" The Ministerial crisis is over. The previ-
sions of the public are unhappily confirmed, and the new
Ministry presents a strong reactionary character. The King
paid a visit to-day to M. d'Auerswald, and' was nearly an
hour with him. It is thought that the King wished to
induce this statesman to remain in the Cabinet, but it is
scarcely possible that he will succeed ; for, besides the poli-
tical incompatibility between the new Ministers and M.
d'Auerswald, the health of the latter is too much compro-
mised to allow him to undertake the duties of a Ministry.
To-day is the anniversary of the revolution of 1848,
and on this occasion a large number of people of the better
class assembled at the tomb containing the remains of the
victims of March. The tomb was decked with flowers and
garlands. The attitude of the people was calm and dig-
nified, and the police abstained from appearing on this
occasion. The Ministry have decided, it is said, upon send-
ing a circular to all the Government authorities, enjoining
them to observe the most strict neutrality at all the elec-
tions. The question will be to see whether it will be acted
up to."
MANCHESTER UNITY OF ODD FELLOWS.—The
Lord Melbourne Lodge (North London district) had a
special meeting on Thursday, at the Rose and Crown,
Welwyn, P. Prov. G. M. Harris in the chair. An excel-

lent repast was provided by Mr. Brand, the treasurer, and
after the usual loyal and other toasts, the Chairman pro-
posed "Prosperity to the Lord Melbourne Lodge," and in
a speech of some length, referred to the fact that it was
the anniversary of the day last year when the then trus-
tees of the lodge (who were all now expelled from the

order), had, without any authority, sold out the society's
stock, and afterwarls withheld it. He congratulated the
lodge that it was rid of such members, that the County
Court proceedings the lodge had been compelled to take
had been the means of securing justice, and that Mr. Tidd
Pratt ha 1 given his authority under the Friendly Societies'
Act by which the whole of the funds of the society had
been restored. He trusted that a bright future was before
them, and believed the lodge would have a long career of
usefulness as an important branch of the order. Mr. T.
Catlin, the secretary, responded, and said the lodge had
new about £1,005 surplus money, and 60 members; the
rules had been revised and newly certified; they had
adopted a graduated table for new members; and young
men would find they could join a safe lodge on easy terms,
whilst the valuation of assets and liabilities would satisfy
every one. He thought that now their troubles were at an
end, and they were determined to work harmoniously to.
gether, they must be successful. The health of the new
trustees, Messrs. Bonbon, Blow, and Sibley, was then
honoured, and acknowledged by them. Various other
speakers followed, and capital music enlivened the enter-
ment, which was altogether of a very happy character.

AWKWARD MISTAKE.—The litago (New Zea-
land) Witness reports : " A most ludicrous affair has oc-
curred at Waitahuna with the new Bank of New Zealand.
The manager or inspector, determined not to remain idle
whilst his premises were being completed in Dunedin, went
to the diggings and purchased £lO,OOO worth of gold, after
which he took his departure, probably very satisfied with
his labours. :Unfortunately the notes of his own bank,
which he issued in payment, were dated in advance, the Ist
of December, and as this day fell on Sunday, they were in
a legal aspect worthless, except in a court of equity. The
other banks, with extreme narrow-mindedness, taking ad-
vantage of the error, refused to ac, ept them, and then
such a. row ensued as has seldom occurred before. The
Miners thought they had been duped, and one storekeeper
who had issued a great number of the notes in purchase of
gold, was arrested for obtaining gold on false pretences.
He was chained to a bed-post, and in the morning marched
to Tuapeka, with other prisoners. Of course the case was
dismissed. Other storekeepers had to find cash to take up
the notes they had purchased gold with, and the store-
keeper with whom the manager stayed was threatened with
having his premises pulled down. It is difficult to say
which was the more culpable, the stupidness of the mis •
take, or the illiberality of the other banks in taking advan-
tage of it."

A HERRING-HOUSE AT FILEY.—The building
includes a large shed open to the rafters, which contains
casks, boxes, washing-tubs, spits (long sharp-pointed pieces
of hazel-wood), and piles of herrings, and used for washing
and spitting the fish. Opening upon this shed is a long
narrow room fitted with two tables; on one of these the
fish are packed, on the other the packing-boxes have their
covers nailed on. At the far end are piles of spitted her-
ring which the assistant hands to the packer, who strips
the herrings off the spit by twenties at a time, upon the
table, and then rapidly places them by fifties in boxes,
which a boy quickly covers. On the side next the only
window is a wall ladder leading into an upper room,
' where boys, who receive from ss. to 78. a week, are em-
ployed in making little packing-cases, the boards for
which are supplied ready-made from Sheffield. • Upon
the opposite side are two doors, each of which leads
into a room open to the roof, higher than the shed, and
capable of containing 12,000 herrings. Upon the floor seve-
ral fires of oak and ash wood are burning and throwing up
clouds of smoke ; rude racks of wood line the walls on either
side, and across these are laid the spits with the herrings
strung upon them. The fish are usually salted fcr a fortnight,
and smoked for various periods, varying from two hours to
an entire night, to convert them into bloaters ; and from a
day and a half to weeks, to make them red, or as they are
locally called, " soldier" herrings. Four girls, who com-
monly begin their work at 3 o'clock in the afternoon, can
spit at least 10,000 herrings in 2 hours upon their spits Of hazel
wood ,at payment of ss. amon g them; and as eachspit is covered
with 20 fish, it is piled upon a rack. The scene is one
of great animation at this hour: one man shovels the fish off
the floor of the shed into baskets with open wicker sides,
with a broad flat spade ; while another transfers them into
a larger swill or basket, which he immerses in a huge tub of
cold water, and stirs with both hands to free the scales from
salt. When perfectly clean, the fish are thrown into a long
flat tub which is dry, and then quickly spitted by the nimble
fingers of the girls, .vho relieve the monotony of their task
by a vivacious and almost unbroken conversation, often in-
terrupted by peals of hearty laughter.—Once a Week.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs has received a
letter from Abd-el-Kader, in which the ex-Emir announces
that he is sending to the Emperor Napoleon two horses from
Yemen, of the purest breed which exists in Arabia, and
which, according,to the writer of the letter, are descended
in a direct line from the famous mare of the Prophet. The
precious stallions are shortly expected in France, and
it is said to be the Emperor's intention to place them in his
breeding stud in the South, where the Arab blood succeeds
admirably in regenerating the French race of horses.