The Sun.
London, England, 1860-08-28 00:00:00

FORTIFICATIONS OF CtIBRBOU_RG.

A writer in a contemporary says :—Visitors to
Cherbourg appear to labour under a misappre-
hension as to what is to be seen there, and, dis-
appointed at not finding an armada ready for a
descent upon England, they turn round and
rate the good folks at home for ever having had
a moment's uneasiness about so inoffensive a spot.
It is those tourists, and not the British public,
who really are at fault as to the character of
Cherbourg. They are evidently as astonished to
find that a French Sebastopol can look pleasant,
and have sweet music discoursed on its ramparts,
as that French soldiers should be jolly dogs
over their claret and filberts. Yet, for all that,
I say John Bull is perfectly right in keeping a
sharp and suspicious eye upon a vast fortification
and arsenal especially created for his destruction in
the next French war. Cherbourg, we all know, is
not, like Portsmouth and Plymouth, a natural
harbour of God's own making, whence ships have
been sailing for peace or war from all time—
where, from centuries of practice, the people are
naturally sailors and the builders of ships ; and
availing itself of those qualifications, the Go-
vernment has there established Royal dockyards,
and surrounded them with works for purely de-
fensive purposes. The visitor to Cherbourg
should remember that it is the creation of
the ambition and warlike genius of man,
exerted, not for a beneficent purpose, but purely
out of hostility to Great Britain. It is a vast forti-
fication and armed roadstead, with a purely naval
and military arsenal enclosed within its girdle.
Behind that armed breakwater a single ship or a
great fleet will iie equally secure from hostile
attack, and sheltered from all storms. The docks,
the basins, the slips, the extensive workshops,
factories, and steam mills are there all ready, not
to construct ships, but to repair, make good de-
fects, equip, and send to sea in perfect trim any
force that should ever be suddenly concentrated in
Cherbourg. The great barracks, the well stored
magazines would then come into play, and the per-
fection of Cherbourg for its esFecial purpose would
then probably strike the most incredulous English-
man, and we might have cause to regret not having
a secure roadstead of a similar character as nearly
as possible in front of it. Napoleon 111., to whose
genius we owe rifled cannon and iron-shod ships,
knew well, when carrying out the designs of
his great uncle, that for Cherbourg to be of any
use as a point d'appui for an assault upon Eng-
land or the freedom of the Channel, it must
contain within itself the means of thoroughly
re-equipping any steam fleet. He knew that
our system of having the steam factory at one
end of the Channel, the roadstead in the centre,
and the arsenal at the other extreme,—Keyham,
Portland, and Woolwich, to wit,—would never do
on his side of the water. Cherbourg, therefore, com-
bines the characteristics of all three, with the addi-
tional advantage of being secure from any assailant,
whereas our ports are not likely to be so for the
next three years. An invasion of this country by
France I, with most naval men, laugh at; but what
she can now do with the armed roadstead of Cher-
bourg is clear enough. She would, in the event of a
war, render the English Channel very unsafe for
our commerce. She would, I fear, cripple the
traffic of the port of London, and constantly harass
the whole of the south coast of England by partial
forays and expeditions. Ido not believe it any
longer possible to closely blockade through summer
and winter such a port as Cherbourg, if there are
fast steamers and enterprising sailors within it ;
and as an instance the feats of the Vladimir, Rus-
sian corvette, may be quoted, when Sebastopol was
blockaded by an entire allied fleet. Lastly, with-
out tiring you with nautical and strategical reasons
as to the serious importance of Cherbourg, I am
sure all naval officers will agree with me in saying
that in the next war 10 sail of the French line
behind the Digue, ready to put to sea, will cause
more anxiety from the Lizard to Yarmouth roads
than four times their number would have done in
Brest harbour.

These are the considerations which have justly
awakened the anxiety upon this side of the Channel
of those who look a little deeper than the surface of
what is apparent at Cherbourg, and are neither
carried away by good music nor the charming
sociability of French military or naval officers.

The next China mail is expected to bring intel-
ligence of the operations of the allied forces on the Peiho,
and the telegram in anticipation may be expected about the
10th or 12th of September. It is almost certain, however,
that the military authorities, on the occu nce of an im •
portant events, will despatch a fast clipper earner to Cal-
cutta, whence news may be telegraphed to Bombay in
time for the approaching homeward mail. In the latter
case the telegram will be due in London about the 2d or 3d,
or more than a week earlier than the regular China mail,
PUBLIC PETITIONS COMMITTEE.—The average
number of petitions presented during the five years ending
1859 was 8,6761 the average number of signatures,
1,074,000. The number of petitions in the session 1860 was
24,261. The total number of signatures has not yet been
summed up, but is computed at upwards of 3,000,000. The
committee have made this session 54 reports. The number
of petitions presented during the present session is very
much larger than in any year since the first appointment of
the select committee in 1832, with the single exception of
the year 1843.

THE NEW GAME DUTIES.— By the Ist of Septem-
ber the new game licenses are expected to be taken out.
The old licenses, which cost V, are repealed. They expired
on the sth of April, and the now licenses will only cost £3
for the year; and in the now licenses conies (rabbits) are in-
cluded, except in Great Britain, by the proprietors or ser-
vants in a warren or enclosed ground. The new duties are
to be granted by the Excise uner the Commissioners of the
Inland Revenue. For a license taken out after the sth of
April and 1 afore the' Ist of November, to expire on the Ath
of April in the following year, the duty is £3 ; to expire
on the 31st of October in the same year, £2 ; and £2 if such
license be taken out on or after the Ist of November, to
expire on the sth of April following. For a gamekeeper
assessed as a servant the duty is £2. For every license to
deal in game in England, Scotland, or Ireland the duty
under the new act is £2. All persons doing any act requir-
ing a license to kill game are, on demand, to produce the
same, or give their names and addresses. A license to kill
game, except by servants, is to be available in any part of
the United Kingdom. The exceptions and exemptions al-
lowed by former acts are continued by the new law.