The Sun.
London, England, 1840-10-15 00:00:00

OCHEFORT, OCT. 10.

Rochefort is too important a place not to require a
separate and distinct letter. It is a large handsome,
and strong maritime city, in the Department of the
Charente Inferieure, with a Alaritime Prefecture, Tri-
bunals of Commerce, and of Premiere Instance, a school
of hydrography of the second class, as well as a school
of medicine. The population exceeds 17,000 souls.
The city is situate at the extremity of a large plain, on
the right bank of the Charente, about four leagues from
the Atlantic. Rochefort is the third port militaire of
France. There is twenty feet of water in the :harbour
at low watermark, and more than forty at high tide.
The largest vessels are afloat, whether in high or low
water. There is also a mercantile harbour separated
from the Port Militaire which is capable of receiving
vessels from 800 to 900 tons.
The Port Militaire of Rochefort is entered only by
means or a carte d'entre. You enter by a very elegant
gate eall.d the Porte du &diet, constructed in 1828,
and the first remarkable object is a sawing-mill, capable
of sawing the largest pieces of wood. The Atelier des
tours a Metaux is also remarkable. Brass, iron, cop-
per, and wood, are here turned, polished, drilled, and
modelled into a hundred forms, by one steam-engine,
which gives life to twenty different operations. By one
of these the joint of a block is made in two minutes
with wonderful precision and exactness. Formerly this
operation occupied a workman half a day.
The Atelier de Sculpture, where the external orna-
ments of ships of war are chiselled out, is next visited.
Formerly Rochefort was celebrated for colossal figures
representing gods and heroes for the stems of ships, but
now it has been discovered that these colossal masses
not only injure the speed, but detract from the strength
and solidity of the vessel. They are therefore made on
a much smaller scale than heretofore. The modal-room
adjoins the Atelier de Sculpture. Here are models of
every machine and vessel in the dockyard, and among
the rest a recently invented stopping machine, to be
applied to steamers, the invention of MM. Pechameil
and Legofr.
The Bagne is but a step from the model-room. In
or der to enter it you must obtain the permission of the
Commissary of Galley Slaves (Commissaire des Chiou-
mes.) There arc now beds sufficient to receive 1,000
prisoners. Two pieces of artillery are planted at the
entrance of the Bagne. They arc loaded with ease
shot, and as the, forcats proceed to and return from their
labour the cannoneers stand by these guns with lighted
matches in hand, and all the guard is under arms.
Here, as at Brest, the forcats tempt you with imploring
looks to buy their little wares in cocoa wood, bone,
ivory, and hair, and the humane traveller seldom hesi-
tates to select some small object.
At the Bagne of Rochefort, as well as at the Bagne
of Toulon, there arc too many forcats in each Salle, and
the beds are also too close to each other. Here, how-
ever, is practised a system of rewards in reference to
the slaves which is found to work with happy effect.
These rewards consist in unchaining the slave for a
time, in accoupling him with lighter irons, &c.
There are also additional punishments, which consist
in the deprivation of wine, the use of the garcet!e,
&c. These punishments are inflicted for thefts, insub-
ordination, attempts at or making disguises to facilitate
escape, &c. There is a marked diflerence between the
forcats of L'Orient and the other galley-slaves, as at
L'Orient none are condemned to the Bagne but soldiers
for insubordination. Drunkenness is a prevailing vice
at L'Orient, but theft is rare. Here, however, both
theft and drunkenness prevail, as well as the more
odious vice of informing against each other, which is
unknown among the soldiers condemned to the travaux
forces at L'Orient. I ought to state, to the credit of
a gentleman with whom I was formerly acquainted—l
mean M. Hyde de Neuville—that when Minister of
Marine he materially ameliorated the condition of the
forcats in the ports militaires.
The Magazin-General contains everything necessary
for the arming and provisioning ships-of-war. It is
remarkably clean and well arranged. There is here, as
at the Usine d' Indret, of which I sent you an account
some days ago, a chanticr specially dedicated to the
construction of steam-beats. Two are now on the
stocks of 2:20 horse-power, and of the length of a 90
gun ship, and preparations are being made with great
activity to get on the stocks four additional ones of
440-horse power, which I beg to slate are not to be
made of " past board."

The Cilantier des Vaisseaux is well worthy of atten-
tion. There are now on the stocks the Ulm aild the
Duguesclin of 90 and 100 guns, the three-decker the
Louis XIV. and Oie City of Par;s of 120 guns, the
Semiramis of 60 guns, and the Turenne of 100 guns.
All of the:e vessels are in so forward a state as to he
capable of being launched by the Ist of January, 1841.
The grues de dechargeineut or cranes in this dock-
yard are of ilimense power. I saw one of them raise
60 barrels of win‘!, the weight of which was estimated
at 80,000 lb. Four men only were engaged in this
operation

The cot•derie is two storks high and 250 toiscs long,
and cables are here made of 200 toiics
Rochefort has a repute in cable and ropewaking un-
equalled in France.

The Marc aux Ancres is exceeding]
y well disposed.
The anchors are symmetrically arranged according to
their weight. The largest weigh 5,500 kilogrammes.
In the Marc d'Artiderie are about 1,800 cannons, car-
ronades, and osuses. Some of these weigh as much as
4,000 kilogrammes. Bullets, balls, bombs, and the shot
arc here also ranged in regular order.
The Magasin des Subsistances is an immense build-
ing, in which are manufactured and stored all the provi-
sions necessary for the use of the marine in this port.
The navy biscuits, which were formerly kneaded with
the feet, arc now made without even the assistance of
the hand. A large circular kneading trough receives
the flour from an upper story, when a spigot from be-
low gives as much warm water as is necessary ; the
dough is then kneaded, mixed, and receives its form by
the aid of machinery, which not only fashions the biscuit i
into an oval form, but transfers it alternately to the