The Sun.
London, England, 1865-08-17 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, AUGUST 17, 1865.

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The Meeting of the Allied Fleets,

CHERBOURG, Aug. 15.
Tho most necessary element of success in all spectacles,
whether military, naval, or civil, is fine weather, and in
this respect nothing was yesterday left to be desired. The
sky, which in the morning was rather heavily overcast,
was, so to speak, cleared of the threatening clouds by a
breeze from the south-west ; and, as the time approached
for the- arrival of the English fleet, everything promised
well for a fine afteinoon. The quays of the town were.
lined with steamers, fishing-smacks, and every conceivable
kind of craft, many of which strongly suggested the idea
that they had been called into requisition_for this special
occasion in order to iueet the winfs of the thousands who
were desirous of witnessing, from-as close quarters as pOs-'
sible, the English squadron entering'the roadstead. On a
Derby Day people- do -not mind trusting life And limb to
conveyances Wfiich, except on that anniversary,' remain
utterly forgotten and nncared for—because there: appearsto be a special providence which watches over the weakest
axletroes when-going to or returning from the downs. But
the same confidence cannot be exhibited when the' " pro-
menade," as our Friends say, is not on the land, but en tho
sea. If you come to grief on the road you will, with ordi-
nary luck, be none the worse for it ; but when you are
tumbled—not into a ditch—but into 50 fathoms of water,
the chances preponderate so much against you that it is
only common prudence to avoid, if possible, sueha contin-
gency. To judge, however, from the vast variety of
cockle-shells which, freighted till their gunwales touched
the water's edge, ventured out into the middle of the road-

stead, danger was evidently something which was either
unknown or uncared for. The wind was off the shore and
the waves were consequently not high, but the breeze was
sufficiently stiff to iieekNittate a reef in the foresails of
large and well-built boats, and when, from time to time,
it became necessary to change the tack in beating to and
fro whilst awaiting the arrival of the fleet, many a sea
was shipped, which at the same time wet the jackets and
damped the spirits of the venturous landsfolks who, in
the pursuit of pleasure, had braved the perils of the
deep. But in truth it was by no means necessary to risk
a ducking in order to view the pageant of yesterday. In
a previous letter I spoke of a hill, surmounted by a fort, at
the rear of the town, which commands a view not only of
the roadstead but of the sea beyond. And I should say
that those who took up their position at this point obtained
a more comprehensive. though a more distant, coup-d'vil
than those who lay in wait in the waters of the port for
the approaching fleet. Not only was this hill crowded, but
also the various forts and bastions which on both sides of
the port overlook the roads ; whilst many, anxious to see
the fleet as it neared Cherbourg from the channel, betook
themselves in boats to the breakwater, which, stretching
almost from point to point of the opposite promontories of
Le Roule and La Fauconnaire, creates the gigantic har-
bour which serves for the protection of the French fleet ;
and it must be confessed that even before the arrival of
the fleet the roadstead presented a very pretty appearance.
Anchored nearly in the middle, but rather nearer to the
eastern entrance, lay the Magenta, her superior size, but
more especially her singularly shaped prow, sweeping
forwards and downwards into the massive eperon, which
lay hid beneath the waves, rendering her easily distin-
guishable from her consorts, the Flandro and the Heroine,
which, as she swung to the ebbing tide, lay respectively
on her starboard and port quarter. Still further to the
eastward rose high out of the water the old sailing line-
of-battle ship La Forte, which now serves the purpose of
a naval school, and here and there one distinguished the I
ensigns of the despatch-boats and transports, which, toge-
ther with the iron-clads, at present represent the French
navy at Cherbourg. It was not, however, to any of these
vessels that the roadstead was indebted for the gay ap-
pearance which it presented. Crowded with yachts, for
the most part English, and thickly covered with
sailing craft from almost every port in the Channel,
dressed in the many-coloured flags which on other
occasions serve the more useful purpose of signals,
the general effect was pleasing in the extreme. The
sun shone brightly, and as the cutters danced over the
waves, the time, which might otherwise have seemed to
lag, passed quickly enough whilst awaiting the arrival of
the much-expected fleet.
The general impression was that the English squadron
would arrive early in the day. Whether this was the re-
sult of a miscalculation, or whether the fleet was in truth
behind its time, I am not in a position to say ; but with
the head-wind which it was compelled to face it is not to
be wondered at if its arrival was retarded. About 2 o'clock
the squadron was signalled, but for long afterwards it re-
mained by the vast mass of spectators unseen. At length
a hazy smoke appeared above the horizon, and those with
good glasses could discover in the midst of the smoke the
masts of ships. Higher and higher, more and more distinct
grew the rigging, and by 4 o'clock the several vessels com-
posing the fleet wore plainly visible. Tho manner of ap-
proach, as the squadron neared the port, was by what
military men would call echelon, but which doubtless was
what nautical men term line of battle. In the van came
the Osborne and the Enchantress, the former carrying on
board the Lords of the Admiralty, the flag of that depart-
ment flying from the main of the royal yacht, and in their
wake followed the flag-ship
Edgar and the rest of the
fleet.

The breakwater to which I have so frequently referred
marks at each extremity an entrance to the port, and
through the western passage it was arranged that the
English fleet should steam into the roadstead. Coming
from a point almost due north, the fleet bore down on the
fort which marks the middle or elbow of the breakwater,
and then, skirting its western half, doubled the fort, in
which it terminates on that side, and entered the harbour
in single file. First to round the point, at a few minutes
past 5 o'clock, was the Osborne, whilst at the same moment
a salute was fired by the guns of the fort. Immediately
afterwards followed the Enchantress, and then, slowly
wheeling round, came the Edgar, her lofty masts visible
high above the fort. Steadily and majesticallyshe steamed
in, her sides and poop towering far out of the water, and the
two broad white stripes which mark her tiers of guns broken
at intervals by port-holes from which peeped the cannon
ready to return the compliment she was about to receive.
As she passed the end of the breakwater the Magenta fired
a salute of 11 guns, which was immediately returned by
the English admiral's ship with one of 19 guns. These
compliments having been exchanged, the Edgar slowly
steamed up the roadstead to her appointed moorings mid-
way between the Magenta and the shore, and astern of the
Admiralty yacht, which had by that time dropped her
anchor.

In the wake of the flag-ship came a vessel the singu-
larity of whose appearance struck with surprise all who
saw her for the first time. Broad out of all proportion to
her length, with a bow so flat as scarcely to deserve the
name, with sides raised to all appearance but a few feet
above the water, and unpierced by any port-holes—a deck
covered from stem to stern, except at one point where a
steam funnel raised its head, with four cistern-shaped ob-
jects not unlike small gasometem—the Royal Sovereign
presented an object as ugly and as outré as any naval archi-
tect ever called into existence since the world began. If
Rear-Admiral Dacres was desirous of striking a contrast,
and by this means showing to the best advantage the
graceful 014 which carries his flag, ho could not have done
it more effectually than by interposing this great iron barge
between the Edgar and the armour-clad frigates which
brought up the rear.

Following each other at about quarter-mile distance, the
English ironclads then entered the harbour. First came
the Black Prince, then the Hector, the Defence, the Prince
Consort, and the Achilles. Varying in size and in the
strength of their armaments, these vessels presented a fair
sample of ono of those new fleets with which modern
science has superseded the bulky wooden-built navies of
which the flag-ship was the representative. Not rising
out of the water to the height of the old two-docker, pre-
senting a smaller object for an enemy's guns, and cased
from stem to stern with an armour plating believed to be
impregnable, the English vessels. appeared to be all that
the most exacting of naval engmeers at the present day
could have desired. The graceful lines which marked the
fast steaming frigates which they have been replaced have
not perhaps been preserved, but even those most pre-
judiced against the form of the new ships cannot say that
beauty has been entirely sacrificed. Strong and massive,
their very solidity creates a special charm which was
wanting in their wooden rivals, and the eye quickly be-
comes accustomed to what now appear to be departures
from the hitherto recognised canons of taste. It was not
easy, whilst making their way to their moorings, to draw
a comparison between them and the French armour-plated
vessels ; it may, however, suffice to say that the admiral's
ship, the Magenta, is larger, and carries a heavier arma-
ment than the Black Prince, which is the principal of the
English iron-clads. The steam-frigate Constance, and the
three despatch-boats, the Victoria, Salamis, and Trinculo,
were the last to pass inside the breakwater.
I have this moment learned that the English fleet was
compelled to cross the Channel in the teeth of a heavy
gale. The breeze, which, under the lee of the hills which
shelter Cherbourg from the south, seemed tolerably stiff
was in the Channel a perfect tempest. The squadron left
Portland Roads at seven o'clock on Sunday evening, in
the expectation of entering Cherbourg early on the fol-
lowing morning, but even before it left its anchorage the
constantly recurring squalls from the south-west augured
a dirty night. The fleet had scarcely gained the open sea
when the gale burst forth in all its fury, and some appre-
hensions were entertained lest it should have been found
necessary to return, to port. In the course of the night the
Salamis, which- on account of her superior speed was com-
pelled to employ only half her available steam power, car-
ried away her fore-topsail-yard, and the Liverpool, a screw
frigate of 39 guns, having been fouled by the Octavia, was
signalled to proceed to Portsmouth. What other casual-

ties may have happened I have not been able to learn ;
but, however unfortunate it may have been in one respect
that the fleet should have encountered such tempestuous
weather, no better opportunity could possibly have been
afforded for testing the sea-going qualities of the ironclads,
and especially of the new cupola ship, the Royal Sove-
reign. That the latter should have succeeded, not merely in
weathering such a gale as that to which she was exposed
on Sunday night and Monday, but should have been en:,
abled to steam against it and reach her destination in as
good trim as the other vessels composing the fleet, is in it-
self matter for congratulation. In the Royal Sovereign, as
in the American. monitors, seagoing qualities have to a
great extent been sacrificed in order to secure what, it is
believed, will prove to be an impregnable floating battery.
Of course, for whatever purpose a vessel of this class may
be designed, it must at all events be tolerably seaworthy,
and the difficulty which naval architects have hitherto
experienced -has. been in drawing the line so as to avoid
'sacrificing the vessel to the fury of a gale in their anxiety
to make it invulnerable to the attacks of man. The cupola
ship of Capt. Coles has now experienced as heavy weather
as any to which it will probably ever again be exposed, and
the apprehensions which wore entertained that it could
only be made available for the protection of our own ports
may now be considered as sot at rest.
in the evening the English admiral entertained on board
the flag-ship at dinner the captains of the several vessels
composing the fleet, and this evening the Prefect Maritime
of Cherbourg will give a banquet to the Lords of the
Admiralty and the principal officers of the English fleet.
It has been raining all the morning, with a high wind,
and, unless a favourable change takes place before night-
fall, the illumination in honour of the Emperor's fete will
prove a failure.—Post.

(REUTER'S TELEGRAMS.)

CHERBOURG, Aug. IG.

At a banquet given here yesterday the Duke of Somerset
proposed a toast to " The Emperor Napoleon and the
French Navy."
M. Chasseloup-Laubat, in reply, proposed the following
toast :—" Queen Victoria, the English Navy, and the
entente cordiale between the two Governments."

BREST, Aug. 16.
Tho Mediterranean ironclad fleet entered the roads at
11 a.m. to-day.

A Friendly Society.

Yesterday Mr. Tidd Pratt, the Registrar of
Friendly Societies, attended before the Lord Mayor,
at the Justice-room of the Mansion-house, to call
public attention to a matter which had been brought
prominently under his consideration in his official
capacity. Addressing the Lord Mayor, who had
readily afforded him the opportunity, he said he had
to state a few facts respecting a friendly society not
many yards from the Mansion-house. The Lord
Mayor would be aware that it was his duty, as
Registrar of Friendly Societies in England, to see,
as far as he could, that the public were protected
against such societies of that kind as could not be
reasonably expected to follow out what they had
undertaken. The society to which he now particu-
larly referred had been lately brought under his
notice, and he had taken the proper steps to protect
the public from joining it, or any institutions of the
same kind, without first inquiring as to the parties
who instituted them. It was called the "Garibaldi
Mutual Life Assurance and Sick Fund Friendly So-
ciety." Its rules were certified by him on the 13th
January, 1863, and the business was stated to be
carried on at 58, King William-street, city. In the
same year, pursuant to Act of Parliament, a notice
was sent to him by the society as to the parties who
were its trustees. They were in a resolution of the
society, dated the Bth October, 1863, stated to be
Isaac Fairweather, of Holly-cottage, Muswell-hill ;
Thomas William Horner, of 58, Copenhagen-street,
Islington (said to be a beer retailer at that time) ;
and Abraham Smith, of 2, Dockhead, tailor. That
document was forwarded to him in the usual way,
and everything appeared at that time to be going
on smoothly. At the end of the year 1863 or the
beginning of 1864 an account was sent to him of
the funds of the society, signed by Thomas William
Horner, as secretary, and by Abraham Smith and
Isaac Fairweather, as trustees. In that the receipts
were stated to be-Cash advanced by Mr. J. D.
Rees (the treasurer), £l3l 10s. ;by A. Smith,
£B6 1 ls. 2d. ; by T. W. Horner, £8 ; sale of rules,
£1; entrance fees, £34 3s. ; contributions paid by
members for sickness relief, £26 13s. 11d. ; and by
members for payment of sums at death, £4O 12s.
4d.-total, £328 10s. 11d. As is. was the entrance
fee, £34 3s. would give about 600 members. On
the other side of the account the payments were :-
Stationery and printing, £7B ; surgeon's salary,
£lB 12s. ; secretary's salary, £l3 12s. ; other ex-
penses of management, £l6l Os. 11d. ; rent of fix-
tures, 6s. ; and sums paid at the death of members,
£6, leaving a balance in the banker's hands on the
31st of December, 1863, of £5l. The number of
members on that day was 601, 85 having previously
withdrawn and three been excluded ; and to show
how well they were going on, it was stated that
only one member had been sick during the year, and
only two had died. At the beginning of the next
year-1864-another account was sent to him
by the society, which showed under the head
of receipts-Cash advanced by Mr. J. D.
Rees, £B2 ; by Mr. A. Smith, £2O 10s. ; by
Thomas William Horner, £l3 Bs. 7d. ; mem-
bers' premiums, £lB6 3s. 2d ; entrance fees,
£39 17s. ; cash in hand, December 31, 1863, £5l
-total, £392 18s. 9d. The disbursements were
-for stationery and printing, £26 13s. ; rent of
office, £2O ; expense of management and advertise-
ments, £l5O 13s. 2d.; secretary's salary, £37 45.7 d.;
paid on death of members, £35 ; sick members'
claims, £7 4s. ; repaid Mr. Rees, £5O ; surgeons'
fees, £l7 4d. ; making the cash in the treasurer's
hands available for the next year £49. The sick
fund members then entitled to benefit were 21; those
not entitled, 23 ; the medical aid members, 36 ; the
endowment members, 3 ; members entitled to sums
at death, 158 ; members not then in benefit, 370 ;
and members not entitled to benefit through arrears,
but not then excluded from the socity, 239; making
a total of 840 members. So that if their statement
to him at that time was correct there were 840
members, but of those 239 were not entitled to
benefit through arrears, though not excluded. A
few days ago his attention was drawn to a printed
paper purporting to emanate from the society, but
which was without any printer's name. In that they
said " This society is established to meet the re-
quirements of the working as well as the middle
classes. To provide for sickness, accident, old age,
and death, its members may receive the following
benefits by payment of Id. per week and upwards
-weekly allowance in sickness to males from 10s.
to 20s. ; and to females from 4s. to Bs.; endowments
of sums from £lO to £2OO payable in five years and
upwards, for children, or persons of any age ; sums
payable at death from £2 to £2OO ; persons insured
from infancy to 70 years of age. Agents for the
Government for the purpose of endowments, annui-
ties, &c." This last statement was wholly untrue.
In the first place, the Government did not grant
endowments, nor did they employ agents for annuity
purpose. Annuities were granted through the National ,
Debt-office, and also latterly under Mr. Gladstone's
Act through the Post-office. Then, under the head
of "Advantages," they said, being enrolled pursuant
to act of Parliament, the society guaranted a perfect
security against non-payment of claims, or any frau-
dulent dissolution or misapplication of the funds.
Among other advantages enumerated were the "small
weekly contributions paid and the great benefits
given.: Agents call at the members' houses toreceive
their contributions, and enter the same in a book
held by the member, which stands as evidence for
the member's payments. The society's tables are
founded on the calculation of an eminent actuary,
and are as liberal as the security of the members
consistently allow. The directors feel that by the
prompt payment of claims, and by the increased
number of insurers they have gained the confidence
of the public ; they therefore earnestly call the atten-
tion of those not already assured, and invite them to
partake of the liberal advantages offered by this so-
ciety." The Lord Mayor was not perhaps aware that
by Act of Parliament if the tables of a society were
certified by an actuary he (Mr. Tidd Pratt) was