The Sun.
London, England, 1861-01-11 00:00:00

OF PRUSSIA. i REDUCTION OF THE NATIONAL EXPEN-
DITURE.

The mortal remains of the late King of Prussia
were consigned to the grave, at Potsdam, on Mon-

day last, when, in conformity with the orders of

;he present King, the ceremonial observed was in

accordance with that used at the interment of the

father of the deceased King, Frederic William 111.

As the Church of Peace, wherein the vault is
situated, is only about ten minutes' walk from
the palace, but little space was afforded for the

accommodation of the populace, who, notwith-
standing the severe weather, assembled in very
large numbers, especially from Berlin, which is

17 miles from Potsdam. Long before the hour

fixed for the commencement of the ceremony
the road along which the procession was to
pass, and which was strewed with branches
of fir-trees, was lined by the populace. In front
of the houses along the line of route stands were
erected, from which the occupants could witness
the cortege, and from these houses, as well as from

the houses in the town, mourning banners were

suspended. The troops consisted of guards, infan-
try, and cavalry; and parties of artillery, with 16
guns, were ranged from the obelisk to tlfe gates of
Sans Souci. The troops were in parade uniform,

the body guards wore their gilt enirasses, and the

helmets of the officers were covered with crape,
whilst the colours, standards, drums, and trumpets
were similarly enveloped.

At ten o'clock the bells of the churches in the
town and outskirts, and those of the Church of Peace,
began to toll solemnly, announcing that the
funereal ceremony had commenced, The pro-
cession was arranged according to the programme
previously drawn up, but with some slight devia-
tion in consequence of the excessive coldness of the
weather. Thus the reigning and dowager Queens,
the royal princesses, and the ladies of their suites,
instead of following in the procession, were driven
to the church in their carriages previously to the
cortege setting out. The procession was set in
motion about a quarter past twelve, when a body
of choristers chanted the hymn " Was Gott tlaut,
das ist wohlgethan" (What God does is well done),
accompanied by muffled drums, and from time to
time salvoes of artillery were fired. A squadron
of Hussars of the Guard headed the line some
time in advance, and on arriving at the church
drew up in front. The coffin was richly
covered, and on it rested a helmet, mounted by
a golden crown, and other royal attributes.
The coffin was raised from the position it had pre-
viously occupied before the throne by 12 colonels,
and, preceded by the royal chamberlains, the mar-
shals, the Cabinet Ministers, who bore cushions on
which were the insignia of State, the field-marshal
carrying the electoral sword, and other personages.
it was theme through the various chambers and
down the central staircase, known as the staircase
of Frederick the Great, to the carriage upon which
it was to be conveyed to the grave. At this point
two of the late King's adjutants took up their
stations by the side of the carriage, laying
hands on the head of the coffin. Eight staff
officers, who had previously left the palace, now
held the reins of the horses drawing the car-
riage, and four Knights of the Order of the
Black Eagle, who were to hold the corners of
the pall, and the generals who were to
hold the cords of the canopy assumed their
posts. The 12 colonels who had borne the coffin
to the carriage placed themselves six on each side,
and near them were two staff officers and 12 captains,
and behind the carriage came the generals carrying
the royal insignia. The exterior of the canopy
was covered with black silk, and it was lined with
white, whilst at each of its sides a black eagle was
emblazoned. Down the sides of the eight horses
which drew the carriage hung black velvet on
which the black eagle was embroidered on a white
ground. Single companies, squadrons, and bat-
talions of the troops in garrison at Potsdam,
Berlin, Spandau, and Charlottenburg opened the
procession, and immediately in front of the coffin
were court pages and pages of honour clothed
in red tunics embroidered in silver, and wear-
ing hats surmounted with black feathers ; but
the magnificence of their costume was much dimmed
by being covered with crape. Immediately behind
the bearer of the electoral sword walked the King,
wearing a military overcoat, and on his head a
handsome helmet ; near his Majesty was the King
of Hanover, conducted by Prince Charles; and
behind them were the suites in their immediate
seroice. As next mourners followed the Crown
Prince (Prince Frederic William), then the other
princes of the Prussian Royal Family, and the
foreign princes who had arrived'to take part in the
mournful ceremony.
A numerous body of clergy appeared at the door
of the church, and there received the coffin, which
they conducted to a dais in front of the altar.
Before this altar a catafalque was erected on the
spot where later the body of the King was to repose
in the vault. Three steps led to the catafalque,
which was hung round with branches of cypress,
between which hundreds of wax lights were placed,
and the whole of the church was draped with black
cloth. The windows were darkened, so that the
only light was that from the wax lights around the
catafalque, and the seats and footstools were also
covered with black cloth. When the coffin
was conveyed into the church, the two
Queens, the Grand Duchess Dowager of Mecklen-
burg-Schwerin, the Grand Duchess of Baden, and
the Prussian princesses were in their places
waiting to receive it; and when the King, the dis-
tinguished personages by whom his Majesty was
accompanied, and the other participators in the
procession had taken the places assigned them, it
being then about one o'clock, the funereal ceremony
was proceeded with. The choir of the cathedral
first sang the 130th Psalm, and then the local choir
sang a hymn. After this the Court chaplain, M.
Heyt, said the Litany, and at its conclusion the
Queen Dowager and the King mounted the dais,
knelt before the c iffin, and prayed in silence for
a few moments, which pious example was fol-
lowed by the other chief mourners. About half-
past one o'clock salvoes of artillery, taken up
by the troops in the streets without, and the tolling
of the church bells, announced that the last blessing
had been pronounced over the remains of the
deceased monarch.
The King and Queen, with most of the foreign
princes, then returned to Potsdam, and in the
evening their Majesties, the Crown Prince and
Crown Princess, the Grand Duke and Grand
Duchess of Baden, and the Grand Duke and Grand
Duchess of Weimar, arrived at Berlin by special
train. The King of Hanover left for his capital
the same evening, and the Grand Duke of Meck-
lenburg-Schwerin took leave on Tuesday morning.

The following communication to the Premier is
being circulated for signature amongst liberal
members of the House of Commons :
,4 TO THE RIGHT HON. VISCONT PALMER.STON, FIRST LORD