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 FRANCE.]

DOCKYARDS

are determined semi-annually by a board of officers, who ascertain the wages paid by private establishments in the vicinity of the navy yard. Eight hours constitute the legal work day. When emergencies necessitate longer hours the workmen are paid at the ordinary rate plus 50 per cent. The nature and extent of work to be performed upon naval vessels is determined by the Secretary of the Navy; the commandant then issues the necessary orders. The material required is obtained by a system of requisitions, which provide for the purchase from the lowest bidder after open competition. Heads of departments initiate the purchase of materials which are peculiar to their own work; ordinary commercial articles, however, are usually carried in a special stock called the “Naval Supply Fund,” which may be drawn upon by any head of department. All materials are inspected, both as to quantity and quality, by a board of inspectors consisting of three officers. (w. T. s.) 3. Other Dockyards. France.—The French coast is divided into five naval arrondissements, which have their headquarters at the five naval ports, of which Cherbourg, Brest, and Toulon are the most important, Lorient and Rochefort being of lesser degree. All are building and fitting-out yards. Each arrondissement is divided into sous-arrondissements, having their centres in the great commercial ports, but this arrangement is purely for the embodiment of the men of the Inscription Maritime, and has nothing to do with the dockyards as naval arsenals. In each arrondissement the vice-admiral, who is naval prefect, is the immediate representative of the Minister of Marine, and has full direction and command of the arsenal, which is his headquarters. He is thus commander-in-chief, as also governordesignate for time of war, but his authority does not extend to ships belonging to organized squadrons or divisions. The naval prefect is assisted by a rear-admiral as chief of the staff (except at Lorient and Rochefort, where the office is filled by a captain), and a certain number of officers, the special functions of the chief of the staff having relation principally to the efficiency and personnel of the fleet, while the “ major-general,” who is usually a rear-admiral, is concerned chiefly with the materiel. There are also directors of stores, of naval construction, of the medical service, and of the submarine defences (which are concerned with torpedoes, mines, and torpedo-boats), as well as of naval ordnance and works. The prefect directs the operations of the arsenal, and is responsible for its efficiency and for that of the ships which are there in reserve. In regard to the constitution and maintenance of the naval forces, the administration of the arsenals is divided into three principal departments, the first concerned with naval construction, the second with ordnance, including gun-mountings and small-arms, and the third with the so-called submarine defences, dealing with all torpedo materiel. Cherbourg, at the head of the Cotentin Peninsula, is a dockyard and harbour chosen on geographical grounds and possessing no natural advantages. It owes its existence in the first place to Louis XIV., and Vauban as the engineer, but the construction of the great breakwater, which encloses the harbour on the north, was a work of very great difficulty; it, after being damaged and washed away several times, was recommenced in 1832 and completed. It is over 4000 yards long, is well protected by forts, and has two entrances, the eastern passage having been narrowed to 500 yards by a second breakwater carried out from the Batterie des Greves to the He Pelee, while the western entrance is about 1000 yards wide, and lies between the main breakwater and a mole run out from the Fort de Querqueville. The arsenal covers an area of about 54 acres. It consists of an entrance port and of two large basins, all cut out of the solid rock, and there are eight dry docks, of which the principal are capable of admitting the largest

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vessels. The arsenal is very completely fitted, and there are extensive stores, magazines, barracks, and engineering shops. The small battleship Henri IV. has been built there, with several modern armoured cruisers, and Cherbourg has become the principal arsenal for the building of submarine boats. The harbour and arsenal of Brest are approached through the Goulet, which is divided into two deep channels by the Fiilettes and the Mengam Reef, beyond which a great expanse of water is reached, stretching eastward to Landevenec and having the arsenal of Brest on the north. The arsenal lies in a rocky valley open to the harbour, into which the little river Penfeld flows, the two sides of the channel being united by a splendid revolving bridge, which gives a headway at high tides of 72 feet. The water space has an average width of 110 yards in the port, with a maximum of about 170 yards and a minimum of 75 yards. Near the entrance is the great basin excavated in 1683 and enlarged in 1864. Beyond are the stores and magazines, the old prison, the rope-works, the sawyard, and the building slips, while on the Recouvrance or western side, beyond the bridge, are the gun-shops, the salle d'armes, machine-shops, basins and slips, as well as coaling and other establishments. The arsenal possesses a dry dock for destroyers and gunboats, two for cruisers and small battleships, and two for the largest classes of ships. A reconstruction has been begun which will give two additional large docks, of which one can be used for two vessels owing to the provision of a dividing dockgate. Another dock of large size is to be constructed in the commercial port. At the entrance to the arsenal, and actually in the harbour of Brest, a jetty has been constructed, forming what is called the rade-abri. The works there are to be extended, and magazines and engineering shops are to be built on land won from the harbour. In regard to building facilities, it may be said that Brest has five slips for the construction of vessels ranging from 150 tons to 13,000 tons. The sinuosities of the valley in which the arsenal lies render it somewhat incommodious, but the protective harbour mentioned above will considerably increase the facilities. The arsenal and the harbour, as well as its approaches, are protected by a great number of forts and batteries furnished with modern heavy and quick-firing guns. The harbour of Lorient is formed by the junction of the Blavet and Scorff, and is 3^ miles long, the naval arsenal being on the Scorff, and chiefly on its right bank. Lorient is a port of construction, but large ships built there are usually fitted at Brest. The largest battleships, such as the Bouvet, Brennus, and St Louis, as well as first-class armoured cruisers, have been constructed at the port. There are two dry docks, and the port is well equipped, but the harbour is shallow, and will not accommodate a large squadron, the usual anchorage being to the north of the He Groix. Rochefort, the head of the fourth arrondissement, dates from the time of Louis XIV., and is formed by the river Charente, the waters of which are being deepened to facilitate the approach for larger vessels. The largest ships built at the port do not exceed 8000 tons. There are two dry docks, three building slips, and a torpedo basin. Toulon is the most important of the French dockyards, and is the headquarters of the Mediterranean fleet. The arsenal, which was created by Louis XIV., Vauban being the engineer of the works, lies on the north side of the Petite Rade. This is approached from the Grande Rade by passages at the north and south ends of a long breakwater which extends from the direction of Le Mourillon towards the Cepet Peninsula. The arsenal has been greatly enlarged, and at the present time the water space within the moles amounts to about 150 acres, while the quays approach 4 miles in length. Outside in the Petite Rade is a splendid protected anchorage for a great fleet, the whole being commanded by many forts and batteries. There are four great basins approached from the Petite Rade—the Vieille Darse, to the east, on the side of Le Mourillon ; the Darse Vauban, next to it; and the Darse de Castigneau and the Darse Missiessy, farther to the west. In the Darse Vauban are three dry docks, two of them 246 feet long, with a depth of water on the sill of about 20 feet; while the third is 283 feet long, with a depth of over 24 feet. Three other dry docks are in the Darse de Castigneau, of which one is in two sections. The largest of the docks is 385 feet long, and the depth of water on the sill in all these docks averages 30 feet. In the Darse Missiessy are two dry docks, 426 feet long, with a depth on the sill of over 32 feet. There are several building slips, and the yard is supplied with a gun foundry and wharf, fitting shops, boiler works, victualling and other establishments, rolling mills, magazines, and everything that can be required to make it the efficient base of a great fleet. Le Mourillon is a subsidiary yard at Toulon, devoted chiefly to shipbuilding, and possessing large facilities, including five covered slips. Corsica, which has naval harbours at Ajaccio and other places, is a dependency of the arsenal at Toulon. Porto Vecchio is intended to be made a centre of the mobile defence of the island, with every facility for the repairing of torpedo-boats; Bonifacio to be