THE AUCKLAND AMMUNITION.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 772, 17 December 1886, Page 17

THE AUCKLAND AMMUNITION.

TO THE EDITOR OP THE NEW ZEALAND MAIL Sib, —Your article of last week, about the Auckland cartridges was so fair, and expressed so “public-spirited > a hope that Captain Whitney Bhould ; ultimately aueceed, that I should have sent you full explanations if I had not- already done so to another portion of the Press. I will, however, reply to the remark about the constable, which you made/and which was quite a reasonable one. Constable Law did not use his cartridge on police duty, nor does that department require ball-practice of its constables. The only Auckland ammunition ever sont to Kaikoura amounted to 2000 rounds, and was issued to the. Sheep Inspector, for the purpose of shooting scabby sheepi; Of this amount 1360 were returned, and Constable Law was consequently injured it would seem, by -one of the remaining 640 cartridges. That sample of ammunition having been proved to be faulty, all that had been issued or sold was recalled, and with the quantity in store returned to Captain Whitney and broken up at Auckland. The faults fount! with -the cartridges were, however, remedied by the loth July, and all since delivered are found to. be quite free from any risk to the person firing them, and jas accurate and capable of as rapid firing as the Kynoch paper cartridges from Birmingham.—l am &c., G. S. Whitmore. December 9.

TO THE EDITOR OP THE NEW ZEALAND MAIL.

Sib.—ln last week’s issue of your

valuable paper, I notice two statements regarding the Auckland made Snider rifle , cartridges, one being to the effect that a policeman at Kaikoura was injuigd by the breech of his rifle being blown out by such a cartridge, and the other, .that Colonel Baillie. an expert rifleman, declared the New Zealand cartridges to be fully equal to Kynoch’s Birmingham make. This is. not the first time that such conflicting accounts have appeared in the Press, in some cases supported by facts. Colonel Baillie states that the defective cartridges must be part of a batch ©f 30,000 sent out at the beginning. Notwithstanding this explanation, a widespread feeling of distrust toward Captain Whitney’s, cartridges prevails ; and I would humbly suggest that Government should institute a careful inquiry ■into the matter, and call upon Captain Whitney to give an explanation. If matters remain as they are, the local ammunition will become quite unsaleable, even though the.cartridges be turned out faultless in future. I think the subject deserves immediate attention, for, as I pointed out some years ago in connection with the Owake Powder Mills, it is of the utmost importance that this isolated Colony should be independent with regard to ammunition, in view of the possibility of a European. I ;struggle, when all vessels carrying contraband of war would be liable to seizure by the enemy.—l am, &c., December 9. Rifleman.