The present political situation and the feverish activity which prevails at the French ports have naturally caused a good deal of attention to be directed to the location and movements of the French fleet. It is certainly not necessary to con-neet the stir at the shipyards with grave political complications, for the whole object of BL. Lockroy has been to impart an active impulse to naval preparation, and the changes he has made in the squadrons would themselves have sufficed to throw a vast. quantity of work upon dockyard hands. He is an "expert" as well as a Minister, and, in defiance of the views of Admirals Besnard and de La Jaille, has not hesitated to send to the Mediterranean four vessels which were specially built for the Channel, and to break up the squadrons with o precipitancy that evoked a public Protest, in the Minister's presence, from Admiral Humann. This change, and a Wholesale transfer of battleships from Toulon to the Channel, with the necessity of doing work upon several of them, would account for a large display of activity. Moreover, quite a month ago, a thousand men were engaged upon the Zéna, recently launched at Brest. At the same time we cannot overlook the fact that—while we hear of the leave of officers and men being stopped, and of measures resembling those of a general mobilisation, with the corresponding activity in the filling and supplying of ships—it had been the intention, according to custom, to leave the Channel of Northern Squadron with reduced com-piements for the winter months from October 1. In the circumstances it is interesting, and may be important, to know in what situation the French fleet is at present found.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.