NOTES ON THE WAR.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXVI, Issue 7, 17 June 1898, Page 20

NOT E S ON THE WAR.

(From various sources.) Tim L.vri'.sr i\\ en nox . :)0,000 iu'ij-i-.ts \ ■wist/ vk A Tyxi>idk engineer. Mr .Limes Judge, managim; pu;:irnif the Walker Engineering and Galvanising Compiny. has patented a which ho believes, when perfected, will discharge the cimnnounumber of IJO.OiiU bullets p'T minute. Sir. Judge di -cribe I ln>weapon to a NeueistJe correspondent, and their seem& to Ijj no theoretic.il objection to his design The gun di^char/e^ its missies hy centrifugal force, bring in fact, a wonderful development of the ancient sling. H« h.is a di>c \TOL-khi£ within a case at ]."i,ni)') tl volutions per minute, a speed which has already been obtain*. d in j^ractice. From the circumlerence of the disc project two hand-. The bullets are poured into the case from a hopper, and as they tail are ciu^ht by the haurltf. \\ hich in coming round rain them out in a continuous stream through tin orifice. They are guided into a slu-ve which may be elevated or depressed, and sighted like Ihe muzzle of a ritle. A great velocity may be obtained by the use of hand power, but the inventor's idea is to use his t>un upon an armoured motor car, which should also have projecting blades like the ancient war chariots, with this difference, that they would be moveable. The disc of the gun is about three foot in diameier, and as it travels at the rate of 15,000 revolutions per minute the circumferential late i>* 45,000 ft. This would impel bullfts with tremendou- muzzle \elneity. and at close quarters would, i r. Judge dedans, mean absolute annihilation to an enemy. An imperfect machine has already been tested and f.mnd to answer the expecations of its inventor. Mr. Judi>e is an invent')! of a watertight door for warships, of an automatic signalling apparatus in use upon railways, and other contrivances that li.i\e provtd useful in various departments of mechanics. maxim's lvthst im;a. Hiram Maxim, the inventor of the famous rapid-filing <i,an. lias a scheme for protecting our .seaports by means oi submarine pipelines of petrolern, to be set on iir«* at the proper time, th.is enveloping a hostile fleet with a sea of flume. Thid is not exac ly pouring oil upon the troubled waters, but if effectual it will serve the purpose of peace just as well.

AN IRISH BBIGADE. An Irish brigade of three fully-recruited regiments of Irishmen were offered to the President of the United States at the beginning of the war. The chief executive was asked to appoint as the brigadier-general an officer from the army. The regiments were stationed in three cities — Chicago, Boston, and New York. Concerted action has been effected through letters and telegrams among their commanders. With favourable action at Washington, the Irish brigade of the United States Array will consist of the Clan-na-G-ael GuarJs. of Chicago, the Hibernian Rifles, of Boston, and the. Irish-American Military Union of New York. THE NICARAGUA CANAL. Among iU o »ii,'Ji i]t-> on the Spanish-American war, the Daily Xncs rei'eis to ill" proposed Nicaragua C inal, and points out how much Auit'iu a, \\ ill l»i>e through having no short Feawny between the Atlantic ami Pacific Oceans, and being compelled to make the tedious voyatre round Cape Ilurn. The w liter goes on to suggest that " the war w ill b ■ the compelling cau->e lor the canal, and when tin work is dun Ml will change the commercial and perhaps the military "-ttu.iti >n ut ihe whole world."' The advantages to New Zealand aie poiund out, and it is remarked that the "SO or 40 i million stet I'iig which it is likely to cost will be a flea-bite to its enormous yield in financial and material advantages of every sort." IN MUDDY WATERS. A certain cl isa of clergymen in the United States have been improving the shining hour of the war trouble by endeavouring — like some of their New Zealand confrere* have done — to stir up sectarian animosity against the Catholic body, who, in proportion to their numbers, have sh 1 more blood in founding and defending the great Republic than the members of any other creed or party. As an instance of the lengths to which men of this stamp are prepared to go, we quote the following from the Bo3ton Pilot :—: — Parson Fulton advanced the theory aftsr the destruction of the " Maine." that the Catholic chaplain of the ship might have thrown a bomb into the magazine, apparently for the purpose of murderiDg several scores of other Catholics and Protestants on board, without any regard to the certainty of being himself one of the first victims in such a cjse. Another sensational preacher, in Revere, Mass., suggested that the loss of the ship was a possible visitation of Providence because its captain had attended a bull-fight in Havana on the preceding Sunday. Captain Sigsbee has taken the unnecessary trouble of replying to that remarkable expounder of the Divine will. He says :—: — ■• It is a f ict that I attended a bull-fight on that day, not, however, to sac the hull-fight, but to test the feelings of the Spaniards in ll avan a auainst me and my vessel under circumstances when they were wildly ex'iied. 1 con-udeied this an important matter. I fail to nndorsian 1 your pastor's logic. It is inconceivable that the good Lord would utter'y destroy in an instant, so many men who did not aMend the Imll-fi^ht. and were not responsible for my attendance, wheivis he permittd those to be en vtd, without exception, who a;linlly attended the bull-fight, including myself. I trust I have a prop jr sense, ot propriety, and in re-puct to the bull-fight, my cons ioiiee ih p"neiAly char." The trouble with most of tho-e volunteer interpreters of Providence is that they cu'dit Him with no more judgment or justice than tiny po^-ets themselves ; and that is little indeed. THE rili&T SHOT. The fir -t shot in the w,.r (says the Boston Pilot*) was fired by Pal lick Mull m, ;i gunner ot thu " Nashville," in the capture of the Spanish yes el. '" 1> ten i Ventura," ou April 21. As hid name indies itt>, he is aa " Anglo-Saxon," of course. THE HODCRN BATTLKSHIP. In a hcturcfu li\ GK'd by Mr.J. A. Yates, the chief constructor at PoiLMiiouth. the ••modern battleship" was the principal point. I'iie lecturer lvfencd to the naval review of last June, and stati d that it was difficult tor those who were not experts to realise the magnitude of a modi in bittlerhip. ior the most important half of ouch vessel ww r »s below water, and therefore out of sight. The lower hn lf dis.pl wed a weight of water equal to the weight of a ship, which was ;ib nit l.">,0(>0 tons. The weight, and consequently the size, of a battleship d< ponded upon a number of considerations, among which were the size of the harbours and docks she would be required to enter, the character of the ships she would be required to meet in action, and the character of the ships with which t-he would be requhvd to co-operate ; and last, but not least, her cost. Having fixed upon the. total weight, it was very difficult to divide it among the various requirements, as expert opinions differed widely as to the relative importance of the several features. The weight of the hull structure was considerably less than half the total weight, and was now reduced to a minimum by careful designing and the utilisation of the best material obtainable. The disposition of the armour varied with every type, but even with the great weight cirried, it was tound impossible to protect more than a portion of water line ;md the principal portion of the armament. Great advances hid been made m the manufacture of armour and giin«. and a Din ar.nour-plate of wrought iron. The fittings for olli -f-'rs and men, he pointed out. formed a very small portion of the total weight and 00-t. while theco»t of armour overshadowed every other item, and, with, the armament, cost about halt' the total of the ship.

Mc-irs. Duthie Bros , Limited, are offering the whole of the Wellington exhibit which appeared at the Exhibition at a large discount. As the goods were manufactured ior the Exhibition it can t asily be conceived they are of the best possible quality, and the firm ha\ ing purchased the goods cheaply they are offering them to the public at a very low price during the next 11 days. Some of the goods secured the highest awards. An advertisement regarding them appears elsewhere in this issue. **„.