THE NEEDLE GUN.

New Zealand Herald, Volume III, Issue 896, 27 September 1866, Page 5

THE NEEDLE GUN.

To the Editor of the New Zealand Herald. Sir, —The greatest excitement appears to have been produced by the supposed results of the employment of the above-named gun, and all the arguments go to prove that the authorities ar-i always slow to «dopt any suggestions until verified by experience. But unfortunately, by adopting this system of verification, wo ourselvet may be the means of supplying such experience. To illustrate this, I will take the liberty to mention a few facts. In 1848, this needle guli wasnupp'ied to the Prussian Guards,and I suppose has been gialually supplied to the whole army since About the same timo the British authorises had this same gun brought under their notice, but roj cted it principally on account of the dangerous construction of the cartridge. For it is likely, nay certain, that if. a stray bullet fctruck a cartouch-box the whole wis liable to explode ; the namo catastrophe would overtake an ammunition-waggon: making it better tactics against an nnemy, supplied with this arm, to fire at the ammunition-cart» and cartouch-boxes than at the men. The Austrians in their late defeats ; must have been ignorant of the above suggestions, or the British authorities must have been mi-taken.. But that they (the British Government) still hold the same opinion with respect to the ammunition appears donbttul, from the extracts supplied by you from the British Press on this subject. Surely the authorities at home have not gone to the other extreme, and, yielding to a surprise, put their ammunition waggons at the mercy of the enemy, capable of perfecting a rille such as Whitworth's to carry a shell such as Norton's. Forj,l have never read that British troops lose a battle before their cirtouchboxe* wanted replenishing. The advantages ol the breech-loading principle are undeniable, as, also, that of the revolver or repeater. But there is little doubt that arms will not l»a perfect until tho repeator and breech-loading principle are combined, tho lirst feature of such an arm for sudden attack or surprise, the second for general action. It would appear that by the present Bystem in vogue of rapid firing, immense expenditure of ammunition must take place, consequently tho demands on the ammunition waggons must be great, and the safety of these waggons of the greatest importance. It would follow from the foregoing that the authorities, beiug right in 1818, are wrong in ISG6, or that, being right in ISGU, they were wrong in 1848.—1 am, iScc., Grey-street, Sept. 2G. S. C. S.