The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1859-05-17 00:00:00

WAR PREPARATIONS AT WOOLWICH
ARSENAL

lAt Woolwich, the great nianufacturing centre for
destructive weapons and warlike material of all kinds,
works in every department have been suddenly urged
forward, and with the exception that the men are not
yet engaged day and night--a continuance of labour
which would add very little to the amount of produc-
tion—the some activity is observable Si during the
very height of the Crimean war. These preparations,
it is true, are regarded at Wo,lwicli—and perhaps
rightly so—as being more in the nature of increased
efforts for the maintenance of peace than intended for
carrying out a war. But be the object what it may,
the 11141.1111 to the end are the same in both cases, and
the public we are sure will be glad to learn that such
diligence is now being used that every day materially
strengthens the defensive position of this country, and
that in the course of two or three mouths more England
will be in a condition to be perfectly indifferent, as far
as preparations are concered, to either peace or war.
Woolwich Arsenal is the greatest deplit and manufac-
tory of warlike stores not only in this country, but of
its kind in the world, and the activity that is visible
here is a fair sample of what is going forward at all the
naval and military stations throughout the kingdom.
The new gun factory at Woolwich le not, at present,
contributing its quota to the general din of preparation. ,
For the last two or three weeks work has been sus-
pended, in order that additional furnaces might be
erected. In the original design for this foundery it was ,
intended to erect five pairs of furnaces, but from a I
sudden fit of timidity or economy it WM last resolved I
only to begin with two pairs, or four furnaces in all.
With this small number during the past year, 197, 32 ,
and 68-pounders have been cast at an average cost in'
round numbers of about £5O per gun. About a fort-
night or three weeks ago, sudden orders came down to
construct two additional furnaces, which have accord-
ingly been erected, and working easily with these the
foundery can turn out 10, 68-pounders a week ; but in
case of emergency, and working over time, this number
can at any moment be doubled. During the last
financial year the Government onlered of private con-
tractors 1,335 pieces of iron ordnance, weighing in the
aggregate 4,8110 tons, and nearly all of which were from
the well-known Low Moor and Gospel Oak Ironworks.
Of these guns, 312 were long 68-I,ounders, 460 10-inch
guns for hollow shot, 300 long 32-lounders, 19 10-inch
howitzers. 44 8-inch ditto. 200 guns 10-inch, and 1910-
inch field howitzers. The contract prices of these
varied from £l9 to I:21 per ton. This year tendeni have
been sent out for about 1,000 iron guns of the different
calibres we have mentioned above, but contractors
for quite treble that number can easily be found if
wanted, and, with the aid of the new gun factory in
full work, between 4,000 and 5,000 of the best
and largest ordnance used in the service could
be made with the greatest ease in this country
each year. But even without these enormous resources
England is amply provided, even at the presentmonient,
with guns enough to carry on • European war for years
to collie. There are now in store at Woolwich very
nearly 12,000 pieces of iron ordnance, and deducting
from this number olil gulls and 24 pounders, which are
now no longer imueil either to ships or to forts, there
are still available for service at any moment upward. of
7,000 cannon, all of the best modern make and the
heaviest calibre. In this number of course no account is
taken of the store guns at the dockyards, at each of
which there are kept from 1,000 to 1,500 heavy cannon
of the very newest description. The resources of
Woolwich Arsenal are now equal to bringing forward.
fitting, and issuing these reserve gulls for active service
at the rate of 300 per week, and on an emergency this
number could be increased to nearly SOO. At present
the orders are to get ready and send off fur service 100 of
these heavy ordnance weekly, and they are accordingly
being mounted and shipped off to Malta, Corfu, Gibraltar,
and other ports in the Mediterranean with the utmost
rapidity. Ordnance of the heaviest des4ription is also
being shipped for the Canadian forts, and sent round in
lighters to replace the light guns of the inartello towers
and coast defences, especially on the eastern shores of
this island. The guns of all the forts and lines at
Chatham and Sheerness which are of old construction
and light calibre are also being changed as quickly as
possible for ordnance g the newest and heaviest kinds.
This same is being done with all the works at Tilbury
Fort, where several additional 68-pounders will also be
mounted. The latter armament may be regarded as an
, instance of excessive precaution on the part of the
authorities, imomuch as there will be very little worth
defending when an enemy's fleet can come so far up the
river, and the fleet that coil/ride it would knock Tilhury
into a inud bank in 10 minutes. We should be very
glad indeed to see • little of this jealous fear manifested
on behalf of the works at Portsmouth and Plymouth.

In the former especially, the greater part of the guns
are of the oldest kind, and ninny batteries are armed with
nothing better than short 18's and 24-pounders of the
year MIX/. At Plymouth it is not so bad, though, even
there heavier ordnance is wanted, and, above all, inure of
it. AU the shot and shellac are everlikely to use in wars
of the greatest magnitude could he supplied with ease
by the every day working of the Arsenal foundery. Just
now this department is unusually active, and is turning
out shot and shell at the rate of 26,000 rounds per week.
Working overtime and during the night the weekly
total can be raised to nearly 40,000 rounds. With
Arinstron's gun there is literally no secret worth pre-
serving at all, save that great one which can neither be
sold or divulged--our manufacturing superiority. If
an Armstrong gun was presented to each arsenal in
Europe, their engineers might and would undoubtedly
try to make them, but their efforts would only result in
long delay) immense expenditure, and in their sending
over to have them made here after all. It is a popular,
but nevertheless, a very great error to suppose that the
weapons which are made here, if wen. can at once be
made to any extent in the arsenals of France. Russia,
Austria, or Prussia. As a proof of this we have only ,
to look at the Miele rifle, which, long as its paramount •
advantages have been known, is nevertheless used
entirely by no army in the world but our own.
Our readers may be surprised, but it is still strictly true
that the armies of France, Russia. Prussia, and Austria,
with the exception of about riper cent, of their entire ,
numbers, who are armed as sharpshooters, have no ,
better weapon than the discarded Brown lkss. Nine'
I tenths of the small proportion of rifles to be found in the
Austrian, Russian, and Prussian armies are made at
Liege, where they can be manufactured at the rate of
about 500 a week. The French make their own, but
very slowly, and a heavier or more awkward weapon to
, use than their Chasseurs possess it would be hard to
devise as a firearm, though in range and accuracy it is
I, nearly equal to the Minie. The Emperor of the French
made a great mystery
of his rifled field pieces, yet great
as are his means of securing secrecy, our Government
have inforazation of every gun lie has made. We believe
we are right in stating that not 100 have yet been
constructed, and these are only very light guns rifled in
four groves. and made to tire cylindrical shot, cased
with lead to fit the riding. This is certainly an improve-
ment on the ordinary field pieoe, but as infe-
rior to Armstrong's gun as a pocket-pistol is to
the Enfield rifle. Rut, to return to the Armstrong
weapon. The principle on which it is made and its
mode of manufacture are well known in the neighbour-
hood of Sir William's works at Newcastle, and, if we
are not much mistaken, good working drawings of the
invention are already at Paris and SA. l'etersburg,
though they might as well be here for all the practical
use that is likely to be inade of them just now in those
countries. 200 guns are to be made this year by Sir
I William Arinstrong—all of them 9, 12, and 18 pounder
field guns, • number quite sufficient to supply all our
field artillery bitterns,. Before long. however, we hope
to see guns of 50 cwt. which will thrn• a 90113. or 10011 i.
ball a distance of five Mlle*. An ordinary long 32
pounder weighs 57 cut., and minima 10Ib. a powder to
throw a hall to its utmost effective range, 3,000 yards.
Sir W. Armstrong's 32-imunder only weighs tfii cwt.,
and a sharge of rAli, of po's'er throws its shot 5i miles,
or nearly 10,000 yanls. In P. 32.imunder of this latter
kind there are 110 less than 44 rifle gnsives, having one
pitch in 10 feet, or making one complete twist round
the inside in a gun of that length'. The gun on which
the Government experimented for mmiths at Shoehury-
nes/ before adoi.thig it, was actually fired 3,500 tittles,
and yet Is now as serviceable as the day it left the
foundery. So perfect is the weapon as to accuracy, that
it is said that at 4,000
,
yards • target. 10 feet square.
could be hit 90 tinnis out of 100 by a good artilleryuian.
There are between 410,000000 and 90,000.000 rounds
of Mime ammunition in store, and the Minis': bullet ma-
clones are turning out the conical balls at the rate of
2,000,000 rounds per week, • number which can always
be increased to 3,000,000 by keeping the machines going
during the night as well as day. Of percussion caps we
should be afraid to say how many millions there are
ready, or how niany hundred thousands weld be manu-
factured per day if necessary. Whether meant for defen-
sive or offensive operations, it is rather a comfort as well
as • novelty to know that this time we are well prepared
for whatever eventualities may arise, and that if unfor-
tunately England be compelled to take part in the war
it will be with such power and resources at coininand as
will astound the world.

E..itLwAY Rectiria.—The trail° returns of railways
in the United Kingdom published for the week ending
May 7 amounted to £481,130. and for the corres-
ponding week of 1858 to £448.970, 'belying an increase
of £32,150. The gross receipt. of the eight railways
having their termini in the metropolis amounted to
£102,725. and for the corresponding period of last year
to £1813,792, showing an increase of 1:15,143. The in-
crease on the Eastern Counties Railway amounted to
£1,310; on the Great Northern to £T.35 ; on the
Great Western to £3,461; on the London sad
North-Western to £3,(1; on the London and
Blackwell to £l4 ; on the London, Brighton, sod
South Coast to £1,718; on the tendon mad South
Western to .C 3,401 ; and on the tiouth•Eadern to
£2,773 ; total, £15,933. The receipts On the
other limes in the United Kingdom amounted to
/1278.8115. and for the corresponding week of last year
to 1182,178, showing an increase of £16,217; which,
added to the increase on the metropolitan lines, makes
the total increase a 2,150, as compared with the COM&
poodles week of 1858.