The Sun.
London, England, 1864-07-15 00:00:00

Breech-Loaders for the Army.

(From the Morning Post.)
We believe it is no secret that an important
change is about to be made in the armament of our
troops. It is understood that the committee ap-

pointed to consider the subject have strongly recom•
mended that the whole of our infantry should be
furnished with breechaloading rifles, and there ap.

pears to exist little doubt but that the recommends.
tion will be acted upon.
It will not be disputed that our authorities at the
Horse Guards are keenly alive to the desirability of
keeping the forces of this country upon an equal
footing with those of other nations in the manufacs
ture as well as the practice of our weapons of
offence. The announcement which we make this
morning to the effect that steps are likely to be
immediately taken for the furnishing our whole
army with rifles on the breech-loadiug prirciple, is
a convincing proof of it, This change has in fact
long been considered, by those who have practically
studied the subject, to be one of almost absolute
necessity, the only obstacle worthy of any exami-
nation being one purely of expense. The decided
supremacy which has been lately manifested by
those foreign corps which are thus armed, the
Prussian rifle regiments, for instance, furnished
with the needle gun, has been so marked and un-
deniable that it would demonstrate the very height
of obstructiveness were England to hesitate for one
moment to emancipate herself from such an infe-
riority. For effectual service in the field a breech-
loader, properly handled,is as superior as an Enfield
is to a Brown Bess. It must, however, not be at once
concluded that the increased rapidity of firing thus
obtained is the only, or even the chief, advantage
which will be secured. Our most experienced officers
are o opinion that that is a power which may be
but too easily abused and turned to a discomfiture.
With young soldiers the facility of firing a dozen
rounds in a minute would be a sore temptation to
waste their ammunition at an ineffective distance
and with hurried aim, instead of calmly and coolly
awaiting the proper moment when the destructive
qualities of their weapon would be tested to their
utmost. With steady troops the number of rounds
per minute which are now attainable would be
held quite sufficient for all purposes by a coma
mender who knew that he could depend upon his
men for coolness when they did pull the trigger.
But, though this facility will require stern super-
vision, there are other advantages to be found in
the breech loader which render its adoption almost
indispensable. In the first place, in the ordinary
rifle, after firing many rounds, there naturally arises
an increasing difficulty in loading, an operation
which (in the excitement of action) is not at any
time to be quite so easily accomplished as when
rook-.hooting or stalking red deer. When under
fire that very difficulty increases the confusion of
it
of
the attempt to perform it. The cartridge which
would be difficult to ram "home" even with_a
miss
care,
an
is left an inch from the breech by hurry, d
probable
consequence. or, worse still, a burst, is the
e overe avery yrobabli
i cool
consequence. Then again it must
under fir© is not
hand indeed whose effective loading
materially interfered with by the very natural desire
to keep one's eye always on the enemy. Even the
wrong
expectation
of a
oldest soldiers, in the immediateth
ed first.
• ht be well excused the mks
charge of cavalry, might
take of inserting a cartridge
iates all s. The ran and
The breech loader b
eyes on thethi advancing foe k
they
file may keep both
"
may stand with
their rifle presenting its bayonet
towards the enemy, instead of pointing in the air,
and they can insert their cartridge by a mere me-
chanical operation which neither requires examina-
tion nor interferes with precision of aim by strain-