THE CHERBOURG FETES.

Colonist, Volume II, Issue 113, 19 November 1858, Page 3

THE CHERBOURG FETES.

(From the Some Nevis, August 16.) Cherbourg*. Fok upwards of 200 years the formation of the harbor of Cherbourg has occupied more or less the attention of successive Governments of France. It was under Louis XIV. that the fact was first brought seriously before the notice of the - Government that for very nearly 400 miles of the French coast, in the English Channel, there was no place- suitable as a refuge for. ships of war; and it was therefore resolved to construct a harbor equal to that of Rocheforfc or Toulon, on the north coast. For many a year, however, the work advanced but slowly; and it may be truly said that the gigantic military port which has just been inaugurated was planned, founded, and constructed under the influence of one idea, which colours all the descriptions of it, old or recent; the Bourbons, the First Republic, the First Empire, the restored Bourbons, the Citizen Monarchy—it is the work of all of them; but the Consulship and the Empire, more than any of these, created it. Cherbourg is another "Napoleonic idea"— at last realised. . ■■■ ; *

In order to form a proper idea of the importance of Cherbourg, it is necessary to understand its exact, geographical position. It lies immediately south, of the. Isle of Wight, distant from its most southero point about 60 miles, and it is about equi-distant on the east and west from Calais and Ushant, the extreme north-west point of France. The little town of Cherbourg stands at the bottom of an open bay, at the top of the jutting peninsula, known as the Cotentin, or the department of the channel. The eastern point of this peninsula is Cape La Hogue, and the western is formed by the cape and town of Barfleur. The first thing that was necessary to be done in order to make a harbor of this most unpromising place, was the construction of an immense .breakwater, as there was literally nothing to protect the place from the storms, whether of the north-east or north-west. There is the -'-smaill island of Pelee, and the .sunken rock of Chavaignac, which form the advanced posts, of harbor; and between these two spots, running eastand west, but leading inwards from, the centre, at considerable angle, has been constructed the large breakwater. This work measures in iebgth: 12,556 feet; it has been raised from the bottom of the sea, from an average depth, at high water, of 60.feet, and its width at the bottom is not less, than 300 feet. Many failures occurred in the early commencement of the colossal task, but at length, by continued labor, extending over 70 years, the great breakwater was finished in 1853, at a cost of £2,680,000. Just half a century ago a tremendous storm swept over the place. The newly-formed parapet gave way, a battery with 20 36-pounders was swept into the water, and with it upwards of 200 soldiers and persons engaged in the work. The breakwater was a ruin, and nothing was done until three years after. The Emperor Napoleon, " burning with a desire to humiliate England," resolved upon renewing at Cherbourg the. marvels of Egypt; and the work which he set in motion was completed during the reign of Louis Philippe. This advanced work of Cherbourg is protected by four strong forts. 7 Fort Central mounts 40 guns, the eastern and western ones 60 guns each, and an intermediate one 14 guns. There are also several batteries in the work armed with about 30 more guns. These forts on the breakwater are supported on the coast by the great Fort Imperial, on the Island of 'Peter, which is armed with three tiersi -of guns and mortars, 93 in all—namely, 37 in the lower tier,- 52 in the second, a^nd 20 guns and 14 mortars on the platform. On the western side,; the breakwater has two very efficient supporters, in some heavy batteries upon the ;rock Chavaignac, and the Fort of Querqueville, which has 46 guns in casemates, and two open batteries of 26 guns and 18 mortars. These, of course, command the eastern and western channels into the outer harbor, and any vessel which had run the gauntlet of these forts, might expect to be allowed to remain in tolerable security within the quiet waters of the Bay. This, however, is not the case, for behind this out§r line of fortification is another line of strong works. There is a Fort dv Chenal which would give useful assistance to Fort Imperial in case of need; and there are then in succession Fort dv' Galei, Fort dv Longlet, Fort dv, Hornet, and St. Anne's Battery. These all protect the town and docks from the harbor, assuming the entrance channels to have been passed successfully. Within the breakwater, and up to the town, the area, enclosed is very nearly 2000 acres ; and of this about one-third has a depth of 26 feet at low spring tide, affording anchorage for 25 ships of the line in the summer, and 17 in the winter. * -Cherbourg has a commercial as well as a military port or harbor j but of course the latter i 3 by far the most important. The outer, port, the entrance to which faces the east, is 206 feet in width, has a depth of water of more than 50 feet. Its cost was ,£680,000. Ten years were spent in its construction, and it was formally opened in 1813, by the Empress Marie Louise. Next to this, but lying to the north, is the floating basin, 957 feet in length by 720 in breadth, which was completed in 1829, and opened by the Duke D'Angouleme, with the usual solemnities. The third basin, commenced in 1836, 'destined to swallow up all the others/ is that respecting the opening of which France and Frenchmen have for awhile taken leave of their senses. It is of course called " The Dock Napoleon the Third"—though begun by Louis Philippe. This basin is 2788 feet in length, and 1312 feet in width, and has been cut out of the solid rock, giving a depth of water of nine metres, or very nearly thirty feet. The dock was commenced iv 1853. The mode in which this stubborn rock was hewn was by a process of mining never hitherto attempted on bo large a scale. Shafts were sunk in the first instance, from which galleries were cut in various directions, which were charged with gunpowder, and exploded by the electric spark. The upheaving and rolling of these immense masses of solid rock, which followed the explosion, formed a series of most imposing spectacles. The rock having been loosened was removed by trucks upon a railway, and thrown into an indented I part of the coast called St. Anne's Bay. : In addition to the numerous forts, redoubts, j and batteries which protect the town and harbour, and docks, from attack on the sea side, the whole of the place is surrounded by a double line of 14 forts and redoubts on the land side. They are all in a commanding position, and their guns would sweep the outer harbor as well as the entrance channels.

t: An attempt was made at Paris a few days ago to publish a complete map and plan of the works and fortifications of Cherbourg ; but the plates and drawings were all seized, and the publisher was informed that he might print a general map, but not one which'gave aoy

detailed description of the for Is, or the number of guns which they carried. The appearance of the Cherbourg panorama from the end of the jetty of the commercial port is thus briefly pictured by a special correspondent of the Times: — "At that point the ships and the breakwater are behind the spectator, the military port on the right; and the eye Bvveeps over the. trading vessels in the basins, and the town, to be arrested again by the La Roule mountain and fort, always the dominant feature, and the less elevated hills that shut in the view, with their fields and woods of the richest and softest green, beautifully tinged by _ the sunset of a summer evening. The foreground of the view from the jetty is the quays. On the one to the right, between the jetty and the distant military port, is the statue of the great emperor. The place of this memorial is most appropriate, for, though something had been done for Cherbourg before the Consulship, all the military works are the creation of Napoleon, and his effigy fronts the greatest of them; his right hand points to the military port and dockyard, and there is a meaning in the gesture that cannot be mistaken." .

Another correspondent says that the best point from which to look over the town and port is a rock which beetles over the commercial port, and which is actually situated within British territory. This fact, he thinks, should quiet British alarmists;—

"It will be therefore some consolation to that portion of the English community who believe in and tremble at the imminency of French invasion, to know that if their warder watches vigilantly on his tower, it will be impossible for any preparations hostile to England to be ever commenced in the military port without his at once becoming aware of what is going on."

The Imperial Progress. The Emperor aud Empress left St. Cloud on the morning of the 3rd of August, their Majesties having previously attended mass in the private chapel, the Archbishop of Paris officiating. When the train reached Evreux there was the usual demonstration in favor of the ruling power, and so at the other stations and towns on the line.

Napoleon and Eugenic completed their day's journey by reaching Caen. The town was illuminated and decorated, and in the evening there was a splendid ball at the Hotel de Ville which the Emperor and Empress attended. About noon next day they took their departure from Caen, and, after various ovations on the way, reached Cherbourg between 4 and sin the afternoon, At the station a splendid retinue of officials awaited the arrival of the Imperial couple, but all theavailable forces connected with the town and harbour lined the streets from the railway to the Prefecture, where the Emperor took up his abodei The town was illuminated at night, and so were the ships of the squadron and the splendid breakwater.

Ike Inauguration of the BailroacL The completion of a railroad from Paris to the great military port is in itself an event. It is one of the imperial works, as it was granted after 18S2. It runs through a country the localities of which are parts of English history, like Caen, the burialplace of the Conqueror. Bayeux of the tapestry that rudely pictures his Saxon conquest; and others little less familiar. The iron road, we should state, has been driven through it by English engineers and contractors,, which is a conquest also of a different kind*

The Cherburg station was, of course, the scene of the inauguration. It had been carefully prepared both to accommodate the immense number of spectators, and to make it the theatre of a brilliant scenic display. From the station yard itself, almost from the platform, rises abruptly the rocky face of the mountain of La Roule, crowned by the fort. If its walls were only old and ruinous, it is perched as high, with as steep and bare a declivity from it, as any castle of the Rhine. Unfortunately it is white and solid, very straight lined, and promises not to be dilapidated enough for sketchers for centuries to come. But as to position, the Rhine sweeping past the foot of the Drachenfels is to that rock and ruin what the level lines of iron are to the. cliff and fort of La Roule.

AH the galleries, as well as the dais, in the centre of which was placed the altar for the religious ceremony, presented but bare woodwork up to a few hours before the celebration, though the decorators had for' some days been busy with walls and roof. The latter was hung with festoons and garlands of green, with depending banners, not too large, some merely ornamental and fanciful, others bearing the imperial crown and ciphers. The flags at the side were not spread flat, like a ship's sails shaken out to dry, but disposed in fasces, the staves slopping at angles, and the colours drooping gracefully from them. A. grand bouquet of such standards, so disposed, filled up, to the eye at least, the back of the building. " Plants and shrubs were placed at the doorways and along the walls, so that the general effect was something like a large grove of verdure, with the gay colours of the flags as the flowers. The great merit of the whole decoration was its not being overdone. It was light and elegant, the work of those who make taste in such things a profession, and succeed in it. Along both the exterior semicircular galleries, and all the approaches of the, station, were the same lines of garlands and masts, with a cluster of flags at midheight, surmounted by some national standard-r-English,; Spanish, Turkish, Ame-. rican,; and. many others; all nations were represented.

The actual ceremony of inauguration, at which the Bishop of Coutances assisted, was soon over. v "Not, long afterwards the sound of a salute from the ships of war in the bay announced the arrival'of the Queen

in the Victoria and Albert yacht, which, with the naval escort, came in at half-past 6. This was on the 4th of Angust.

Queen Victoria's Visit. Her Majesty proceeded on the 4th August, as arranged, to visit the Emperor and Empress of the French at Cherbourg, attended by a convoy befitting the head of ,a great maritime nation. A number of English yachts proceeded to the fetes, conveying their owners and large parties of their friends. The Pera, with some hundreds of the members of the House of Commons on board, got underway soon after daybreak on the same day at Southampton, and proceeded direct to Cherbourg. The escort squadron to her Majesty weighed anchor at Spithead at 5 o'clock on the morning of the 4th of August: It consisted of the Royal Albert, 121, screw, Captain Egerton, bearing the flag of Admiral Lord Lyons, and having on board his Excellency the Duke of Malakoff and suite; the Renown, 91, screw, Captain Forbes; the Euryalus, 51, screw frigate, Captain Tarleton, C.8.; the Diadem, 32, screw frigate, Captain Moorsom, C.8.; the Curacjoa, 31, screw frigate, Captain T. Mason; the Racoon, 22, screw corvette, Captain Paynter, &c. The Osborno left Portsmouth the same morning, having on board some of the Lords of the Admiralty, and also the band of the Royal Marine Light Infantry, which had been specially summoned to proceed with the naval squadron to Cherbourg. Her Majesty went on board the Victoria and Albert a "few minutes before 12, with the Prince Consort and the Prince of Wales, being accompanied by the Duke of Cambridge, the Countess of Desart, lady in waiting the Hon. Mary Bulteel, maid of honor, the Earl Delawarr, Lord Chamberlain, the Earl of Malmesbury, Sir John Pakington, Sir C. Phipps, and Mr. Gibbs. The remaining members of the royal party had preceded the royal family, having embarked on board the Black Eagle. At nine minutes past twelve the Victoria and Albert started for Cherbourg, the wind being moderate, blowing west-south-west, and the ship steaming against tide. The royal yacht passed on with great velocity, the Admiralty flag floating from her foremast, the royal standard from her mainmast, and the union jack from her mizenmast and stern. The Trinity yacht, having on board the masters of the House, was about two hundred yards in her wake. At seven o'clock her Majesty the Queen, having had a very fine passage across the Channel, arrived at Cherbourg, with her escort, and was saluted by the French fleet. At eight o'clock the Emperor visited her Majesty, amidst remarkable demonstrations of enthusiasm.

On the sth of August the Queen of England, the Prince Consort, and the Prince of Wales, breakfasted at noon with the Emperor.and Empress. Their Majesties afterwards made the tower of the city, and were received everywhere with the greatest enthusiasm. The Queen and Prince Consort were then entertained at dinner by the Emperor of the French, on board the line-of-battle ship La Bretagne. The Emperor, in proposing the toast of the health of her Majesty and of the royal family of England, made a speech, in which he said, /' I am happy to be enabled to express the sentiments by which I am animated upon this occasion of the Queen's visit to Cherbourg. The facts do, indeed, speak for themselves, and prove that the hostile passions which were excited by some unfortunate incidents have never 'been able to alter either the friendship which exists between the two crowns, or the desire of the peoples to remain at peace. I have, therefore, the firm hope that if any attempts were made to revive again the rancours of a former period, such attempts would be foiled by the good sense of the public, as the waves are baffled by yonder breakwater, which at this moment serves to protect the squadrons of both empires against the violence of the sea." The Prince Consort, on behalf of her Majesty, responded to the toast, in doing which he said:—" The Queen is most sensible of the words we have just heard, which will for ever be dear to her. The Queen is doubly happy in having an opportunity, by her presence here, to join the emperor in endeavouring to draw together as closely as possible the ties of friendship which exist between the two nations. That friendship has their mutual prosperity for its basis, and the blessing of Heaven will not be wanting to confirm it.!'

After the banquet the fleets and fortifications were illuminated. The French squadron saluted the Queen, and a magnificent display of fire works took place. The town was also brilliantly illuminated.

After a farewell visit from the emperor, her Majesty, with the royal family and the squadron, quitted Cherbourg on the 6th of August at noon under a triple salute. She arrived at Osborne at sin the afternoon. The squadron hove in sight over the east end of the Isle of Wight shortly before 6 o'clock, and anchored at Spithead about an hour afterwards.

The Inauguration of the Napoleon Dock. The second of the special celebrations of the fetes of Cherbourg, the opening of the Great Basin, or. Napoleon Dock, of the military port, took place on the 7th August in the presence of the Emperor and an immense concourse of people. The weather was fine, and everything at the gates of the arsenal promised success; but one of those cross accidents that will spoil even imperial fetes had intervened between preparation and execution:- The long-expected immersion as a spectacle was a total failure.^

The water was to have been let into the excavation in a great and sudden rush through one of the two locks that connect this inner basin with the two smaller ones Between it and the sea. The water, it was thoughtj was sufficiently controlled by a

clam and caisson. The dam was constructed of earth inclosing a mine at its base; this should have kept the water at the level of the outside dock, while the caisson was floated away. The dam would then have been the only barrier between the vast, empty space arid the external docks, and, finally, the sea itself. But when the water was admitted up to the dam, either the flood was stronger or the barrier weaker than had been calculated. One end of it was washed away, the mine was destroyed, and it was too late to remedy the disaster. So the great coup of the day, the anticipated explosion, the sudden rush of the element, and its first dash and spread over the immense granite level were all lost. The actual ceremony of immersion, the subject of the longest official programme, was reduced to opening the sluices of another lock and admitting the external water in a volume equalling a mill race.

When the imperial couple left, the emperor conducted the empress through the arsenal, leaving sufficient time in his passage through the dense mass of people for the admiration of the Empress Eugenie's simple and tasteful toilet, consisting of a white muslin dress with embroidery, a shawl mantilla of light green silk, fringed with black point, and white bonnet, with ribbons of the colour of the mantilla • —quite an English summer toilet, in its simplicity and composition of colours. The imperial couple were accompanied by Lord John Manners, Lord Alfred Paget, Lord and Lady Chelsea, the Marquis of Conyngham, Lady Churchill and her daughter, Lord apd Lady Colville, the Duke of Rutland, and Admiral Sir Charles Napier. On their arrival at the gate, as well as on their departure from the arsenal, the imperial couple were greeted with lively acclamations.

In the evening the imperial party returned to the arsenal to witness the launch of La Ville de Nantes, while, in the meantime, the water in the dock had reached the height of the tide. They again took their place under the tent, and the emperor himself gave the signal for the launch. On this occasion everything went on beautifully; the colossal ship descended into the water slowly and smoothly, and soon rode on it in the middle of the dock. The crew, who were hidden up to this moment, then suddenly made their appearance on the deck, and at the port holes, and broke out into an enthusiastic cheer, which the masses all around took up, with waving of hats and handkerchiefs, and so this da} r of the festival came likewise to a happy close.

The Inauguration of the Statue of Napoleon I.

The last act was performed on Sunday, the Bth of August. After mass, the emperor and empress, followed by all the imperial cortege, proceeded to the Place Napoleon to inaugurate the equestrian statue of Napoleon 1., which took place in the presence of an immense crowd. On their arrival, the sheet which had covered the statue was removed, amidst the most enthusiastic cries of " Vive l'Empereur !" " Vive Napoleon I.!" " Vive Napoleon III..!" while at the same moment salutes were fired from all the vessels in the harbour and from the forts. The Emperor, observing round the statue a number of persons wearing the St. Helena medal, invited them to approach to the foot of the platform. Each of them had in his hand a wreath of immortelles or of laurel, and they advanced with the loudest acclamations to the place assigned to them. As soon as silence was restored, the Mayor of Cherbourg ascended the steps of the platform and delivered a rather poetical address, to which the Emperor' made the following speech in reply :—

"Gentlemen, —In thanking you on my ai-ri val at Cherbourg for your cordial address, I told 3^ou that it appeared to be my destiny to see accomplished by peace the great designs which the Emperor had conceived during war. In fact, not only have those gigantic works of which he conceived the idea been completed, but in the moral order of things the principles which he sought to enforce by means of arms now triumph through the simple effect of reason. Thus one of the questions for which he struggled the most energetically—the freedom of the seas, which ratifies the rights of neutrals— is solved by common accord. So true is it that posterity 'always takes on itself to realise the ideas ot a great man. But while rendering justice to the emperor, we must not forget in these places the persevering efforts of the governments which preceded and followed him. The first idea of the creation of the port of Cherbourg dates back, as you well know, to him who created all our military ports and all our fortified j places—to Louis XIV., seconded by the genius of Vauban. Louis XVI. actively continued the works. The chief of my family gave them a decisive impulse: and since that time every government has looked on it as a duty to follow his example. I thank the town of Cherbourg for having erected a statue: to the emperor in the space for which he felt so much solicitude. You have wished to render homage to him, who, in spite of continental wars, never lost sight of the importance of the navy. Nevertheless, when there is now inaugurated at the same time the statue of the great captain, and the completion of this military port, public 1 opinion feels no alarm, for the more powerful a nation is, the more it is respected; and the stronger a government, the more moderation there is in its councils, and the more justice in its resolutions. The repose of the country consequently is not risked to satisfy a vain pride or to achieve an ephemeral popularity. A government which, is founded on the will of the masses is not the slave of any party; it does not make war, except when compelled to do so in defence of national honor; or of the great interests of the people. . Let us therefore continue to develop in peace the: different resources ojTFrance; let us invite foreigners to come and inspect our works; let them come as friends; not as rivals. Let us show theni

that a nation in which unity and confidence prevail resists the passion. of a day,-, and, being under self-command, only obeys the dictates of honor and of reason."

Louis Napoleon delivered this "improvised" speech with great fluency. It was received b}'loud acclamations from the thousands of persons assembled. The emperor then descended the steps of the platform and distributed decorations to some soldiers, sailors, Custom-house officers, and civil functionaries, who were presented to him. After the ceremony the troops, the crews of the fleet, and the marine infantry and artillery who had been stationed round the Place filed off before the emperor amidst loud cries of " Vive I'Empereur!" " Vive rimperatricej" "Vive le Prince Imperial!" The imperial couple returned at half-past 12 to the prefecture, and after a breakfast, to which the emperor invited the chiefs of the army and navy, and the principal civil functionaries, they proceeded to the dockyard stairs, and embarked in the imperial barge to proceed on board the Bretague. At 2 o'clock that vessel, with the court on board, got under way and left the harbor for Brest, under a salute from all the ships and the forts. The weather was beautiful, and the sea calm, and the wind favorable.