THE SPLENDID REVIEW BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE FRENCH FLEET IN CHERBOURG.

Wellington Independent, Volume VI, Issue 565, 12 March 1851, Page 4

THE SPLENDID REVIEW BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE FRENCH FLEET IN CHERBOURG.

This grand and imposing display of the finest fleet ever sent to sea by " Iα belle France," has long engaged the attention of all sight-seeing people in tin's country as well as in France itself; and, as might be easily divined, the number of visitors to Cherbourg during the week has never before been equalled; in fact it was a monster spectacle; to Frenchmen a proud national treat—an epoch in the history of France.

Saturday broke with as favourable a promise of fine weather as the preceeding days. The first active movement afloat was the simultaneous dressing of the ships, and in the course of a few minutes after eight the French fleet, according to to their fashion, bringing their flags no further down than the lower yards, and totally omitting to decorate the stays from the bowsprit end to the spanker boom end; and the yachts, according to the spanker boon end the yachts, according to the more tasteful English custom, wore the colours of all nations—the tricolour, however, in honor of the French,

formed the inosi numerous and most conspicuous. The French had only signal Hugs, with the tri-colour at each must' . head, and also at the peak, Yachts now began to weigh, boats commenced to ply. steamers with crowded freights of all classes, and apparently of all countries, steamed out from the harbour, round the fleet and through the yachts, and multitudes assembled on the piers, wharfs, roofs) and shores. First there was v regatta, commenced at nine o'clock on Saturday morning. The first race riui was open to all gigs, and several of the gigs belonging to the English yacht squadron were entered, and ran for the prize which, however, was won by a French boat. The second race was for pinnaces, being bouts belonging to the French fleet! This was, as well as the former, stoutly contested, and afforded much amusement.

The President and staff first proceeded to the arsenal; a royal salute from the batteries welcoming his arrival. Every department of this magnificent establishment, still incomplete and in its infancy, was visited, and industriously inspected • the basin, the finest work in the world capable of holding forty sail of the line • the seven superb building slips, on one of which was a large frigate half finished, the immense range of furnaces, all of which were in full work at the time, and the substantial buildings and store-houses with their valuable contents, formed the subject of inquiry, comment, admiration, and congratulation of the President.

The President was received at the dockyard by the maritime prefect, who accompanied him all over the works; but on quitting the establisment, at half-past twelve, under another salute of the seaward battery, the vice-admiral commanding the fleet received the president on board the state barge, a handsome boat, painted white, with scarlet awning and gilt decorations rowed by 16 oars. The procession of boats then rowed towards the flag-ship, and, on nearing the guard ship Bucephalus, the first salute fired from afloat was commenced by this vessel This was a signal for a deafening roar of artillery. The yards of each sloop of war had been instantaneously manned, but not higher than the topsail yards, (the English always man their yards up to the royals,) the yachts that had yards also manned them. The most rapid firing was made by the line of battle ships; every gun was fired on both sides, to the number of 101, and with the most excellent time. The flag ship Friedland, in. particular, fired with such regularity and celerity, that her massive sides appeared in one sheet oflurid flame. The yachts, also that had guns, fired salutes of 21 guns, and amid the thunder of cannon, and the roaring cheers of the crews, caught up from ship to ship, and running for many miles, from the breakwater to the town bridges, and from the eastern side to the dockyard shores, the President boarded the Friedland.

After staying here for three quarters of an hour, the Prince proceeded to the breakwater, a mighty and stupendous work (exceeding in length the breakwater at Plymouth) with a battery of heavy guns in the centre.

From the breakwater the Prince visited each line of battle ship in succession, each ship cheering as he arrived and quitted—a new feature in the French character, and undoubtedly in imitation of the English. The President must have minutely inspected every one of the fleet, for he did not quit the Minerva, 54 gun frigate, until nearly seven o'clock. Whilst on board the Inflexible, of 90 guns, the crew were exercised hoisting topsails, topgallant sails, and jib, and dropping courses. They did not, in the estimation of the English, perform this evolution so well as they had been led to expect, sails being furled in 3 minutes, but not reefs taken in, whereas the Prince Regent 90, would have performed the evolution in from a minute and a half to two minutes, with two reefs taken in. Whilst on board of the frigate three targets were placed out to seaward, and sixty rounds of shot were fired from her sides at them, but we believe only one of the targets was destroyed. On leaving the frigate, the President came in through the yachts, and paid a visit to the noble commodore of the Royal Yacht Squadron, the Earl of Wilton, on board of his splendid schooner the Zarifa, and then went on board the Enchantress, to pay a visit to the Earl of Cardigan. On leaving these vessels both Lord Wilton and Lord Cardigan manned yards and fired royal salutes, and as the Prince then passed through the line every yacht's crew on the yards, in the rigging, and on the decks, gave him three hearty English cheers. The Prince was evidently most gratified by this burst of good feeling, for the barge was frequently stopped, and was rowed very slowly until the last yacht was passed; when nearing the guard-ship he again was saluted with rounds of cheers once more in imitation, of the English " hip, hip, hurrah !" The procession now returned to the dockyard, just as the sun took his leave of a most glorious day. In the evening, a ball was given by the inhabitants in the arsenal.