A NEW WEAPON.

Tuapeka Times, Volume XX, Issue 1334, 16 March 1887, Page 5

A NEW WEAPON.

The military forces of this colony are (says the " Argus ") to be armed with a more effective rifle than any that has yet been adopted in these colonies. The new weapon to be introduced is the '40in bore Schouthoff magazine rifle. Six shots may be fired from it without once removing it from the shoulder, and its magazine can be loaded whilst the rifleman is lying on the ground, whereas in using the Martini-Henry rifle it is necessary for the men to raise themselves slightly, in order to extract the fire charge, and in doing this they would be exposed for a time to the fire of an enemy. If placed in loopholes — as, for example, in defending the QueensclifE forr from an attack in the rear — the new rifles need not be withdrawn for reloading. The action of the breach-piece is that of the bolt, but improved. It appears that in 1885 the then Minister of Defence sent Home an order for 5,000 of the new '•lOin ball rifles, the pattern expected to be introduced into the Imperial Army. The "War Office, however, had not absolutely decided upon the pattern to be adopted, and the Agent-General (Mr S. Murray Smith) wisely witheld the order, pending the decision of the Imperial authorities. Meaawhile, the order had not been placed, so that Mr Lorrimer was left free to review the question in the light of the latest information on the subject. Acting on the recommendations of his military advisers, the Minister of Defence has now telegraphed to the Agent-General, cancelling the order as regards the supply of single-shot rifles, and directing that the order should be for a similar number '40in magazine rifles, of the pattern eventually adopted by the British War Department. It is probable, according to the latest advices on the subject, that the Schouthoff magazine will be adopted.