HAVRE, LE (a contraction of the original name, LE HAVRE DE NOTRE DAME DE GRACE), the second town in the department of Seine-Inferieure, France, and next to Marseille, the chief commercial emporium of that country, is situated on the n. side of the estuary of the Seine, in lat. 49° 29' 16' n., long. 0' 6' 37' e., and 108 in. n.w. of Paris, reckoning in a straight line. Havre has direct communication with Great Britain, Holland, Hamburg, Portugal, Mexico, Brazil, United States, India, etc. It is the port of Paris, with which it is connected by a railway 134 in. long, and the continuation of this line to Strasburg afford's such facility of communication with Germany, that the greater part of the trade of that country with America is carried on through Havre. For foreign trade, Havre is the Liverpool of France; it receives annually from 500,000 to 600.000 bales of cotton, nearly three-fourths of the whole quantity imported; it also ships most of the exports to America, and generally speaking, possesses about one-fifth of the whole trade of the country. The stun-total of its imports and exports is about 2,000,000,000 francs (R80,000,000). Customs receipts in 1874. £827,300. The imports consist of cotton, spices, coffee, tea, sugar, timber, coal, etc.; and the exports of French manufactured goods, of wine, brandy, oil, jewelry, provisions, etc. In 1877, 5,925 vessels, of 1,854,202 tons, entered the port—a considerable falling off as compared with previous years. About 500 vessels belong to Havre. Havre also possesses manufactories of paper, sulphuric acid, tobacco, cotton goods, starch, lace, oil, machinery, ropes, salt, etc., also sugar refineries; the annual value of the manufactures being estimated at £2,500,000. Its harbor is one of the most accessible in France, and is entered by a narrow channel formed by two long jetties stretching from e. to w. and which, owing to the current, requires little dredging. This channel leads to the avant port (outer harbor), where the various passenger-W;aarners lie, and within this avant-port are capacious wet docks, capable of accommodating 500 ships. The of these is
L'Eure, which contains 700,000 square feet. Among the dry docks, one recently completed, 515 feet long and 112 broad, is a stupendous work, and obviates the necessity for sending large steamers for repairs to Southampton. A new basin has been constructed in the plain of the Lcurc, measuring about 53 acres. Havre was, till lately, surrounded by ramparts and lofty walls; but these were demolished, to admit of the extension of the town, which has now absorbed the neighboring communes of Ingou ville and Graville I'Heure, and numbers, '76, 85,407 inhabitants. Among the public buildings may be noticed the churches of Notre Dame and St Francis, the new City hall (built in the style of the Tuileries), the tower of Francis I., exchange, mansion house, arsenal, barracks, and a number of elegant villas which clothe the slopes of Ingouville. The principal institutions are a royal school of navigation, a school of applied geometry, and a library vols. The greater part of the town is modern. Havre was founded in 1509 by Louis XII., on the site of a fishing village, and was intended as a harbor of refuge for the French navy. It was greatly extended and improved by his successor, Francis I., and from his time rapidly rose in importance, especially as the rival harbor of Harfleur was being gradually silted up with sand. The names of Richelieu, Colbert, Vauban, Napoleon, etc., are connected with the improve ments and additions made to the original harbor. It was bombarded by the British in 1634, 1759, 1794, and 1795. Under Lonis XIV., it became the entrepot and chief seat of operations of the French East India and the Senegal and Guinea Companies. It is celebrated as the birthplace of Mademoiselle Scuciery, Bernardin St Pierre (author of Paul and Virginia), and Casimir Delavigne. The statues of the last two are placed in front of the library facing the harbor.