The Sun.
London, England, 1841-11-03 00:00:00

FORTIFICATIONS OF PARIS.

The Debats announces that the works of the fortifi-
cations of Paris will necessarily, as regards the masonry,
he suspended by the approach of winter, and enters into
sery long details as to the progress which had been
made up. to the 15th inst. The substance of its re-
marks is as follows

" The execution of the continuous wall, which is con-
fided partly to the engineering department and partly to
the ministry of public works, is proceeding with great
regularity and rapidity. The two first chefferies, ex-
tending from the river Charonne, are not yet commenced,
owing to an obstacle as to want of ground, but the
chefferies of Belleville and La Vilette are in a very ad-
vanced state, and the masonry, which has been com-
menced to an extent of 2,800 metres,* is in some parts
already five metres in height. The works of the three
chefferies of La Chapelle, the Batignolles, and the Bois
de Boulogne are also carried on actively. Oa the La
Chapelle lino the masonry covers an extent of 900 me-
tres, and is from three to five metres in height ; the
length of masonry at the chefferie of the Batignoltes is
2,800 metres. The escarpment of Bastion No. 50 is at
the height which it is intended to have, and workmen
are now putting on the crown. Oa the Bois de Bou-
logne line the extent of masonry which has been begun
is 3,600 metres, and the height above the foundations
is in many places from six to eight metres. The other
works on this line arc also in a forward state, and gene.
rally speaking, they are more advanced than on any
other part of the line of the continuous wall ; first, be-
cause the work was begun there at an earlier period ;
and, secondly because certain portions of the ground
hava reedered it unnecessary to give the same thickness
to the walls as as in some other places. On the left bank
of the Seine the works are not quite in so forward a
state ; but from the route of Gentilly, nil the plateau,
including the heights of Montrouge and Vanvres, is in
a state of great activity. The fortifications on this point
run in a disect line to the extent of 4,200 metres. Four-
fifths of the excavations are completed, and the masonry
has been commenced to an extent of about 1,700 metres.
zlnd in many I lices is four to five metres high. The
road which runs by the side of the continuous wall in-
ternally at this part is nearly completed, and prepara
trona are making to plant more than a league with trees
from five to six years old, so that in a few days this road
will form a magnificent outer boulevard of the capital.
At St. Denis, which, at the north is the key of a series
of entrenched positions, the foundations of the east fort
are entirely laid. The works of the double crown, des-
tined for the defence of the Calais road, have been re-
tarded, owing to the nature of the ground. The wes-
tern fort of La Briche has not yet been commenced, the
Government not being in possession of the ground.
These three forts form part of a single chefferie ; 2,100
workmen, civil or military, are employed upon ahem, but
it is not expected that the ten millions of francs appro-
priated for the works of St. Denis will be all employed.
Tue fort of the plateau of Romainville is to be more ex-
, tended than was originally intended, and is to have six
fronts ; the masonry is not yet commenced. The es-
carpments of the forts of Noisy, Rosny, and Nogent,
have their foundations laid to the extent of two-thirds.
The masonry of the fort. of Nogent has as ya been
commenced_only on two of its fronts. The fort of Chas
reatun is in the moat forward state of all, as it is consi-
dered, after St. Denis the most important for defence.
This fort is to protect the triangle formed by the Seine
and the Marne, and the Fontainebleau and Troyes roads.
According to the present plan it is to have only five
fronts, each of 300 to 350 metres ; but this supposed
inefficiency will be counterbalanced by the construction
of a second fort at St. Maur. 'Dm masonry of the
fortifications at Clarenton are commenced on the whole
development, and are on many points up to the level
of the ground. The casements on one of the fronts are
already in hand. The military road to connect St. Denis
and Clarenton is made. Mont Valerien, on the left bank,
is in a state of forwardness. The works of two of the
bastions are almost terminated, but, for want of ground,
the other three bastions have not yet been begun.
At the fort of Ivry, which is situated over deep
quarries, extensive under-ground-works have been
formed, and the workmen are frequently obliged to
descend to a depth of 25 metres. The escarpment of
this fort is not yet above ground, but everything is pre-
pared for it. The fort of Issy was only commenced
s:x weeks ago ; but the foundation of the escarpment
on two cf its fronts is in course of execution. As to
the forts of -Bicetre, Vsnvres, and Montrouge, nothing
has yet been done." In this part of its statement the
Debuts replies to the assertion of some of the opposi-
tion journals that the works of the forts have been
carried on with a greater view to strength and resistance
than those of the continuous wall, by saying that this is
not the fact, and e.,ives the dimensions of each to prove
that the assertion was untrue, explaining, when there is
any variation, that it has been caused by circumstances,
which enabled the engineers to practise economy
without taking from the solidity of the works as
laid down in the plan, After describing various
mechanical and other contrivances for the expedition
of the works, but which have been noticed already, the
„, ,
peoats adds,•that, with few exceptions, the agents of
the Government have found the owners of the land rea-

sonable in their demands, and willing to forward the
operafons, and have experienced every possible faci-
lity from the authorities of the communes. Aluding
to the rate of wages earned by the workmen em-
ployed on the fortifications, the Debals says, that, for
ordinary labour, the civilians earn from 21. 500. to 31.
50c. per day ; but that some, who work by the piece,
earn per week, including Sundays, from 35f. to 401.,
and the soldiers earn, in addition to their pay, about
70 to 80 centimes per day. The Debats then adds,
The number of workmen employed daily is about
16,500, of whom 5,000, not including 1,200 sol-
diers, are employed on the forts. • The length of
masonry work in hand, of the . continuous wall, is
11,800 metres, viz., two-thirds of the whole extent of
the intended wall, whereas only 2,800 to 3,000 metres,
r.ot a seventh part of the whole of the outer forts has
been commenced. The credits of 42 millions (in.
eluding the seven millions of the last year) cannot be
absorbed. The State has only just begun to pay the
owners of land who gave up their land from the first,
whereas the Chambers approptiated 15 millions for
this purpose out of the credits of 1841. We see then
that relatively and proportionately the continuous wall
is in a more advanced state than the forts. Those
which are nearest the Octroi wall, such as Mont-
rouge, Vanvres, and Bicetre, are not yet begun ;
yet the outer defence has not been neglected. The
engineering department, notwithstanding the tar-
diness of the operations of the Domaine, has succeeded
in forwarding the works of the fort situated be-
tween the canal of Saint Denis and the Marne, which
is the part most exposed to the attack of an enemy, and
where the Government, after the year 1830, had already
thrown up some works in earth and some redoubts."
In conclusion, the Debats declares, in answer to the
opposition journals which have described the capital as
being commanded by the forts, that it is impossible, on
looking at Paris, front the heights of the ramparts, and
noticing the greatness of the distance, to believe that
the cannon of the forts could ever reach the boulevards,
with the exception, indeed of Vincennes, which com-
mands the Faubourg Saint Antoine.
* The French metre is equal is equal 39.37 inches,
or about one foot and nearly one-third, so that eleven
French metres arc equal to twelve English feet ; 2,800
metres, therefore, are equal to 3,054 English feet.