Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume IV.djvu/384

 376 CHERBOURG CHERBULIEZ vated from the solid rock. The first, the con- struction of which is due to Napoleon I., was inaugurated by the empress Maria Louisa in 1813; the second was commenced the same year; and the third, called the dock of Napoleon III., built of granite masonry, 1,377 ft. long and 600 ft. wide, was begun in 1836, and open- ed in the presence of the French emperor and empress, Aug. 7, 1858. Its cost was 16,000,000 francs. Brilliant fetes and rejoicings preceded and followed the ceremony, and the occasion was selected for a visit to the works by the queen of England, for the inauguration of an equestrian statue of Napoleon I., and for the opening of the railway from Cherbourg to Paris. There are six smaller docks or building slips connected with the principal basins, and the dock of Napoleon III. has three of its sides grooved with slips for repairing vessels. These slips, seven in all, are furnished with flood gates, and may be used as dry docks. Sur- Town and Harbor. rounding the basins are workshops, smithies, timber yards, a ropery, furnaces, barracks, a powder magazine, and all the establishments necessary for a naval arsenal, the whole shut in by a strong line of fortifications extending from shore to shore. The town and harbor are defended by a series of formidable works com- manding every avenue of approach. On the centre of the breakwater is a strong fort, and on each of its extremities is a battery crossing fire with similar works on the opposite points of land, or intervening islands. The shores of the bay and several rocky islands bristle with the guns of numerous forts, so placed as to sweep every part of the roadstead and harbor ; while on the land side the town is surrounded by a double line of 14 star forts and redoubts ; making a total of 24 regular works of defence, mounting over 3,000 guns of heavy calibre, which have been erected in different parts of this apparently impregnable position. Cher- bourg is ill built, but has fine promenades and a handsome theatre, and on the Place d'Armea is a monument commemorating the landing of the duke of Berry in 1814. It is the seat of many foreign consuls, of a maritime prefecture, of civil and marine courts; has a communal college, a public library, and a library connect- ed with the navy. The chief exports are eggs, butter, and cattle. There are some sugar and salt refineries, and manufactures of chemicals, leather, lace, and hosiery. It is estimated that about one half of the population are employed in the navy yard. As early as the 10th cen- tury Cherbourg was very much frequented as a port. When Edward III. of England landed at La Hogue in 1346, Clferbourg was among the first cities of Normandy conquered by the English. It changed hands several times, until it was finally secured to the French by Dunois in 1450. During the seven years' war the Eng- lish effected a descent on the coast, took the town, and destroyed all the naval and military works, docks, and ar- senals, blowing them up, and burning the lock gates of the harbor with all the vessels in it. The project of creating at Cherbourg a harbor of refuge for war ves- sels was entertained by Louis XIV. as early as 1665, and Vauban was commissioned to draft the plans of a series of improvements and de- fences ; but nothing was done till 1739, when quays and two moles were construct- ed. From that time the works were con- tinued, with occasion- al interruptions, until their completion in 1865. Nearly $100,000,- 000 are supposed to have been expended upon them. Violent storms have more than once destroyed the labor of years. On June 19, 1864, the engagement between the Kear- sarge and the confederate steamer Alabama took place off Cherbourg, 9 m. from the har- bor, which resulted in the destruction of the Alabama. On Jan. 11, 1866, a violent storm stranded 22 vessels in the road, but caused no injury to the breakwater. CHERBILIEZ. I. Antoine fclisee, a Swiss polit- ical economist, born in Geneva in 1797, died in Zurich, March 4, 1869. In 1833 he became professor of jurisprudence, and in 1837 of po- litical economy, at the high school of Geneva. He took part in public affairs in the conserva- tive interest till the revolution of 1848, when he went to Paris, where he continued to oppose revolutionists and socialists. He returned to Switzerland in 1853, and after teaching for