THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 20, 1906.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXIX, Issue 8266, 20 October 1906, Page 4

THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 20, 1906.

One of the very earliest of the War Office troubles during the Boer war was due to the discovery that the Boers were freely using quiokflring field-guns of which the British Army had no supply. An attempt was made to appease the public anger by spending a large amount of money on Austrian quick-firers, made by the firm of Ehrhardt. But these were by no means satisfactory, and sinoe the war the British artillery experts have been engaged iu trying lb produce a quick-firing field-gun of their own. They seem to have suooeeded in constructing a very serviceable weapon, and numerous batteries of borße and field artillery are being armed with the new gun. From a description which appears in the JLondon Times, its most remarkable feature, to a civilian, Is the adoption of bulletproof shields to protect the gunners. The use of shields has been advooated for twenty years, but it needed the lesßon of the Boer War to recommend them to the War Office. The shields are large enough to be a protection in action and at the same time can be quickly and easily paokefl. For once, *e are

told, expert opinion is unanimous that a quick-flrer of great power and accuracy and equipped with every necessary auxiliary, has been provided. The new gun weighs 9awt, is Bft long, and with its carriage and limber packed with ammunition and stores gives a load of rather less tnan two tons behind the team. The quiokflring mechanism appears to work perfectly. After the first round the spade at the end of the traU buries itself in the ground and insures absolute steadiness and immobility to the carriage; the gun, whioh is connected to a hydraulic Buffer, is allowed a recoil of about 41 inohes, this action compressing powerful springs which restore the gun to the firing position. On emergency it is claimed that 20 rounds a minute can be fired. The only fault that is found with the new gun is that it is more easily apset when being galloped over rough ground than was the old-style of field gun. But that is a mere mote in the eye compared to the imperfections ef the old weapon brought to light daring the Boer war.