AUCKLAND AMMUNITION.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XIII, Issue 4737, 10 December 1886, Page 2

AUCKLAND AMMUNITION.

. -4 CAUSE OF ITS FAILURE. Wellington, to-day. Colonel Whitmore has published a long statement regarding the Auokland ammunition, in which he attributes the first failure to Captain Whitney being unable to procure English powder in time, and therefore used sporting powder which was too strong, and there were other trifling defects in the manufacture of the cartridges. Captain Whitney took back 10,000 cartridges and broke them up and tried again, this time with proper powder vyhich had arrived. The amended sample succeeded fairly well, and 40,000 rounds were then supplied and mostly issued, but the first complaint stopped these and re-called all on issue. An examination was made and it was found that the whole supply was inferior to the tested sample. All the rounds were retijrned to the manufacturer and broken up. On 15th July Captain Whitney having obtained additional machinery and remedied faults, brought a large supply to Wellington which have been satisfactorily tested. Colonel Whitraore attributes the recent accidents to non-returned defective ammunition. Christchuhch, to-day. Mr Martin, Crown Prosecutor, states that the Auckland cartridge which burst in his rifle was one of the old issue of July.