A meeting of the fleets of Great Britain and France
came off at Cherbourg on the Emperor's fête-day, the 15th inst.., the Channel ironclad squadron, attended by four wooden ships, all under the command of Admiral Dacres, entering Cherbourg. No review was arranged, and the fête was confined to a ball and a banquet, at the latter of which M. Chasseloup-Laubat, Minister of Marine, proposed as a toast the entente cordials between the two Governments. The fete itself, which was interrupted by the rain, does not seem greatly to have delighted the Lords of the Admiralty, Admirals, and other visitors, but the Emperor is said to be greatly pleased with this open acknowledgment of alliance, and the Illoniteur declares that "France cannot but congratulate herself on the friendship and courtesy of the British Government." We have commented on the meeting in another place.
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