The Sun.
London, England, 1847-04-29 00:00:00

(seeing that they were not in a stu9tion to purchase the
propery) to draw the attention of Government to the
subject. ,The following letter was consequently trans-
mitted to the Chief Commissioner of Woods and
Forests :

" Stratford-upon• Avon, Nov. 19, 1846.
"My Lord,—l am deputed, as chairman of the com-
mittee of the Stratford-upon-Avon Shaksperian Club, to
address your Lordship upon a subject, the general into •
rest of which it is hoped I may be permitted to plead as
some apology for the liberty of so doing. The house in
which Shaksrere vras born must shortly be disposed of,
in conformity with the will of its late possessor, and the
Shaksperian Club is most anxious that an 'opportunity
for securing the preservation of a relic so peculiarly in-
-. Wresting should not be lost. The Shaksperian Club is
not in the possession of rends at present, but it indulges
the hope that an appeal to the country for such an object
would meat with a liberal and tilicient response. An
opinion has, however, been expressed by some of the
papers of the day, in which also the Shaksperian Club
entirely concurs, that a property that has on it a stamp
so essentially national, and to which is attached such uni-
versal interest, should, if possible be placed under the
protection of Government. The committee is, therefore,
desirous, before proceeding further in the matter, that
the circumstance of the property being in the market
should be brought under the notice of your Lordship,
and at the same time respectfully to offer to communi-
cate whatever information they may be able to obtain
relative to the subject, either by letter or by deputation,
as might be agreeable to your Lordship.
" I have the honour to be," &c.
To this letter the following answer was received :
" Nov. 22, 1846.

" Sir,—l am extremely obliged to you for the commu-
nication you have been good enough to make to me,
upon the part of the Shaksperian Club, respecting the
approaching disposal of the house in which the greatest
of our poets was born ; but upon the whole, the Mem-
bers of the Government are disposed to think that-the
acquisition of so interesting a property pertains still more
to the people of England than to the Government.
"I have the honour to be, your very dutiful servant,
" MORPETH.”
After the receipt of this letter several meetings of this
committee were held relative to this subject, at the last
of which, in consequence of the present holders of the
property declining to name a price, and announcing their
determination duly to dispose of it by the public compe-
tition, it was resolved, " That it was not expedient to
take any public steps in the matter at present." It is to
be hoped the property will be secured by some party in-
terested in its preservation.

ORGANIZATION of the GOVERN-
MENT OF PRUSSIA.
(From La Presse.)
Frederick William IV. was born on the 15th of Oc-
tober, 1795, and has consequently entered his 5 rit year. •
Married in the year 1823 to Elizabeth Louisa, daughter
of the King of Bavaria, born in 1801, he has no children.
He has reigned since the 7th of June, 1840, the day of
the death of his father, Frederick William 111. his
brother, Frederick William Louis, born the 22d of
March, 1797, is Prince itoyal of Prussia. In Prussia
the Government belongs to the King exclusively ; he
exercises the sovereign power with the assistance of a
Council of State, of a Minister of State, and of Privy
Councillors. The Council of State is composed of a
president and a vice-president, of the Princes of the
Royal Family having attained the age of 18 years, of
the Ministers of State, of the commanders-in-ehief and
presidents of provinces, of 60 officers who attain their
seats in the Council through the confidence of the Go-
vernment. The Ministers of State are composed of the
Prince of Prussia and of all the Privy Councillors on
duty. The private Ministries are nine in number, viz.,
the Ministry of the King's Household, divided into two
departments; 2, the Ministry of War, divided into two
departments, under the direction of General Von Boyen;
3, the Ministry of Public Worship, of Public Instruction,
and of Medical Affairs, three departments, under the
direction of Dr. Eichhorn; 4, the Administration of the
Treasury and the Mint, directed by General Von Thile;
5, the Ministry of the Revision of the Laws, directed by
Dr. Savigny ; 6, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, of
which the head is Baron de Canitz ; 7, the Ministry of
the Interior, directed by Baron Von Bodelschvring—
Velmede, at present Royal Commissioner to the United
Diet ; 8, the Ministry of Justice, under the direction of
the Privy Councillor.Uhden; 9, the Ministry of Finance,
divided into four compartments, under the-control of the
Privy Councillor Duesberg. There are, moreover,
certain central or superior authorities subservient to the
departments of the Ministry. The first are—the
General Tribunal of Censure attached to the Ministry of
Justice, the Direction of Public Works, the Consulting
Committee of Arts and Finances, the General Direction
of the Lottery, the Committee of Examining Com-
missaries attached to the Ministry of Finance, the
Archives of the State and of the Cabinet, under the
special direction of the Ministers of the Royal House-
hold and of Foreign Affairs. The second are—the
Court of Accounts, the Post-office, the General Admi-
nistration of the Debts of the State., the Commercial and •
Statistical Offices, and the General Commission of the
Royal Commands. The Court has likewise its officers—
the grand chamberlain and the grand marshal, the
master of the royal hounds, a general inspector of the
Antic music, a grand butler, a grand master of the
ceremonies, a marshal of the Court, and inferior officers, •
such as prefects of the Castles of Koenigsberg, Stolzen-
felds, Breslau. The State Budget for the year 1647 pre-
sents the most perfect equilibrium. The revenue and
the expenditure amount equally to 64,033,697 dollars.
Direct taxation figures for 19,319,966 dollars ; the
indirect taxes amount to 26,782,334 dollars ; the salt
monopoly to 4,992,200 dollars, and the produce of the
courts of justice to 4,032,215 dollars. In the expenditure
the national debt figures for 7,219,320 dollars, the
Ministry of Public Worship and Instruction for
25,770,502 dollars—nearly one-half the expenditure ex-
clusive of the national debt. The remainder is absorbed
by the other administrations. There does not appear to
be any fund for secret service money. The army on the
peace establishment is composed of the infantry of the
Royal Guard, 11,202 men ; 40 regiments of the lineusf
63,384 men : cavalry, six regiments of the guard, 3,764,4. men ; 32 regiments of the line, 19,360 men :
artillery, a brigade of the guard, and eight brigades
of the line,
15,651 men: engineers, 2,544 men. Total army of the
line, 115,905 men. To these must be adied the Laed-
wehr of the first class, 70,648 infantry, and 10,400 cavalry;
and the Landwehr of the second class, 259,561 men. The
war establishment consists of 205,000 trcops of the line,
130,000 of the first class of the Landwehr, and every
man between the ages of 32 and 39 of the second class of
the Landwehr, and, in fine, the Landsturm, which com-
prises every man from 17 to 50 years of ago capable of
bearing arms."