The Sun.
London, England, 1861-02-09 00:00:00

FRANCE.

A Paris letter in the Independance gives the
following details of the recent reception of the
bureau of the French Academy by the Emperor :
" His Majesty, first approaching M. Guizot, said :
' I always see with pleasure persons of such great
talent as yours, even when they are among my
adversaries !' M. Guizot bowed respectfully, but
did not answer. Next, turning to Father Lacor-
daire, the Emperor said, I know all your works,
and I have in particular read with great pleasure
your fine funeral oration on General Dronot !'
The reverend gentleman answered, ' I am happy to
have been able to celebrate one of the purest glories
of the Empire!' Afterwards, addressing M. Ville-
main, his Majesty said that he had been glad on a
recent occasion to be agreeable to him by giving
promotion to the husband of one of his daughters.
M. Villemain expressed his thanks."

OFFICIAL STATEMENT OF THE FRENCH

NAVY.

The marine has continued to fulfil its mission of
protection in all points of the globe where French
interests are engaged. Independently of its ordi-
nary obligations, it has had to satisfy all the exi-
gencies of the China expedition. In less than two
months this expedition has been decided and
organised. Transport vessels have been repaired
and armed, and the embarkation effected of a corps
of 8,000 men, together with the enormous material
necessary for troops about to act at a distance of
6,000 leagues from the basis of their operations.
Notwithstanding the haste of preparation, this un•
exampled expedition touched the coasts of the
Celestial Empire six months after, without
having sustained any serious loss during a pas-
sage so long and so laborious (1). Whilst our
sailors and marines took a brilliant part in the
successes which forced the Court of Pekin to
accept the propositions of the Emperor, and re-
established the Cross in the capital, a handful of
men, maintaining themselves in Saigon against the
attacks of the whole Annamite army, preserved for
us an advantageous position in the midst of the
richest and most fertile provinces of Cochin China.
Finally, the maintenance of a fleet of 68 ships in
the China Seas, the victualling required for itself
and for the expeditionary army, did not prevent
the marine from being ready, at the first command
of the Emperor, to transport to Syria 6,000 men
and 1,100 horses. A naval division remains per-
manently on this coast, where the presence of our
flag revives the confidence of the Christian popula-
tions, and secures the tranquillity of all the cities
on that coast.

The activity displayed at sea has not caused
the labours of our arsenals to be slackened. For
the special requirements of the China expedition
twenty small steam gunboats have been constructed,
easy to take to pieces, and which have been trans-
ported there in fragments. Many of them, after
having been rapidly put together on the coast of
China itself, joined in the attack of the Peiho forts,
and then reascending the river beyond points acces-
sible to shipping, powerfully contributed to secure
a communication between the corps of disem-
barkation and the fleet.
The work of transformation of the fleet is carried
in conformity with the credits regularly allotted in
the budget of each year. Oar steam fleet has been
augmented in 1860, without counting transport
vessels, so indispensable to the services imposed on
us, by two ships of war and four screw frigates;
finally, by a cuirassed frigate, the first of its kind,
the trials of which, still going on, give presage,
in the art of naval constructions, of a progress due
to the personal initiative of the Emperor.
In presence of results already obtained, the
Government could not hesitate to adopt the cuirass
system for ships of the line not yet put on the
stocks. At the end of 1860, indeed, our building
S ards were more dismantled than they had been
for many years. In fact, with the exception of a
few transports, some coastguard batteries, gunboats,
and light craft, we had nothing on the stocks at
that time but two ships of the line and eight ordi-
nary frigates, with five frigates destined to be
plated. We are therefore far from having given to our
new constructions, up to this day, the importance
which has been on many occasions pronounced to
be necessary for the maritime forces of France. In
fact, in the year 1646, after a unanimous vote of the
Chambers, the composition of our fleet was to be
40 ships of the line, 50 frigates, 40 corvettes, and
50 bricks or avisos, without including vessels on
local stations and transports. At a later period the
Government of the Emperor thought it necessary
to reduce to 20 the number of frigates, and to 30
that of the corvettes and avisos ; and, in fact, in
1855, we possessed 146 war vessels for steam or
sailing (2). But at this day, when the only war
ships worthy of the name are steamers, our real
force is reduced to 88 vessels, even including those
of a mixed order, which are but of secondary value.
These 88 vessels are thus classed :
New Ship. Mixed.
Liners .. .. 12 23
Plated frigates 1
Ordinary frigates 11
Corvettes .. 7
Avisos

Total.

6 17

This reduction in the number of our war-vessels
is the inevitable consequence of the transforma-
tion and of the greater cost of our new marine.
To reach the rank which we must gain, on pain of
declining, we must then continue to devote to new
constructions at least the credits foreseen in 1857,

(l) The mortality during the voyage was only 0.8 per
dent.
(2) 39 liners, 38 frigates, 30 corycttcs4 38 first-ciass ayisoo,