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

horse shoe nail, may materially affect a very great

result. On the whole, the superiority over the
present rifle seems so unmistakable that its adop-
tion may be looked upon as a necessity. There will,

however, also arise the necessity for consideration

as to details More an alteration so extensive as that

comprising our whole army can be confirmed. That
of keeping up a perpetual supply of ammunition to

troops when in Action will be one objection present-

ing much difficulty. Nothing eo effectually para—
lyses the British soldier us the finding himself with-
cut a cartridge in his pouch. Though he might

oreEee no iname6atc use for it, erd might, have rea-

son to suppose that ere long he would he suppliEd
with it, the acttill absence of it is like.iy enough to

create th9.T.: irresistible spark--a pule. 'SiPee the

breech loader c:lri be fired some fiat; (r sir ti Cs ay

often as a muzzle loader, it is obvious trheastpohnspi::
portionate supply of ammunition must be at hand.
rAetopmreenset,nitfeancoht beraigehadecocrearprainesnitbseion: n, but it is
probable that the new system will necessitate each
_ _

for its own supply. In fact, there seems no doubt
but that a certain extra number of mon must be tokl

off solely to supply the pouches from the tumbrils.
This, as it will seriously diminish the fighting
strength of each regiment, will require a good deal
• -

of careful consideration from the authorities cre

,hey sanction the system demanding it.

It is but fair to admit that there still exists a very
formidable obstacle to the securing the entirety of
the advantage which a breech loading rifle would

confer on our troops. Those who use breech loaders
over tha stubble or in the forest, have of course over
and over again congratulated themselves that the
cartridge is the charge per se, and the " bother of
caps" has been done away with. But the military

authorities have hitherto, with commendable pru.
deuce, invariably set their faces against the use in
the army of a cartridge which shall combine such

elements of danger as the presence of the percus-
sion powder as well as that of villanons saltpetre.
Moreover, the cartridges which include the combi.
nation are delicate of s'ructure, and would be very

easily liable to get out of order, and indeed to be.
come useless, under the rough usage of the camp or
the barrack. It is obvious that the brass pin which
stands out at right angles at the end of the cartridge,
and the blow on which causes the ignition of the
fulminating powder, would be extremely likely to

be bent from its position or forced out altogether in.
the rough handling to which it would be subjected.
in a campaign. The scrupulous care which sportse
men are apt to bestow upon their contrivances for
preserving their ammunition from harm, even for
the bloodless campaign of a moor, of itself establishes
this drawback. It is, however, not insurmountable;
It seems that there is an American invention already
in practical operation which will obviate at least the
obstacle of facile derangement... The cartridge is to
all appearance similar to that in ordinary use, save
that it is without the " pin." But it seems that the
whole inside of the copper rim, which forms its base,
is lined with a paste of the fulminating powder, and
thus the hammer, especially formed for the purpose,
striking it through the aperture in the barrel where
the pin would have usually intruded, on any pore
Lion of its circumference, will ignite the charge.
The facile derangement is therefore obviated, and
there is a minor difficulty (but still a difficulty) also
superseded—that of its being necessary to insert the
cartridge into the barrel with the pin accurately
fitting the groove prepared for it. There is, how-
ever, another advantage asserted for this cartridge.
It is deeared that nothing but the peculiar action of
the hammer will ignite it. It has been shaken,
struck, thrown down violently on atones, and sub-
jected to the most elaborate rough handling, with
the avowed ititention of accomplishing its explosion,
bat all to no purpose. The inventors ex plain that
to do so it requires a squeen as well as a sharp blow,
an(l that, unless it be inserted in a ethEe.fitting
barrel, its el...slieity preservta it from the couabint,-
t ion of the two.

The question cf expense is one which, however

formidable, as it will undoubtedly be, is one
which we submit should never be weighed by this
country for one moment. There are occasions when
no expense is extravagance, 'out when thrift is ruin.
The expense with which next year's estimates are
thus threatened is one which should be regarded
only by the advantages gained in return for it, or
rather by the overwhelming consequences contin-
gent upon its retention. If those competent and
authorised to decide pronounce an unhesitating
opinion that the improvement is desirable, we can.
not conceive a singlo guardian of the public purse
demurring to the expenditure. That the authorities
will very carefully weigh the considerations on
which the committee have founded their report, we
make not the slightest doubt. But we earnestly

trust that pounds, shillings, and penCe will not be
allowed to turn the scale. That it would eventually
prove the fairest economy conceivable, is as clear as
the sun at noonday. The benighted economy that
cost us so dearly in the Crimea should preserve us
from a repetition of it for centuries. In fact, we
must needs march with the times, however fast they
may progress. It stands to reason that if rival
nations can invent a rifle giving them a superiority
over us, though they cost a hundred pounds a piece,
we must unquestionably lay out another hundred
in their counterpart. If not, we shall retain but
brief possession of the hundred pounds we think we
have saved.

THE BOMBAY AND MAURITIUS MAILS,

The heavy portion of these mails, in charge of Mr
Ronayne, of the General Post-office, arrived at Southamp-
ton yesterday, at 10 a,m., in the Peninsular and Oriental
Company's screw steamship Ellora, Capt. W. C. Angove,
which left Alexandria on the Ist inst., Malta the sth, and
Gibraltar the 9th, The Ellora had fine weather all the way
home, with head winds.

On the Ist inst., in lat 33 58 N, long 21 40 E, the Ellora
spoke the steamers Thessalia and Elaine; on the 4th, lat
35 17 N, long 17 29 E, the steamship Dwina ; on the 6th.
lat 37 31 N, long 9 32 E, the British brig Martha; on the
9th, lat 35 57 N, long 4 15 W, the steamship Baroda ; on
the 12th, lat 46 5 N, long 7 36 W, the steamship Adria ; on
the 13th, off Ushant, the steamship Massilia.
_

The French steamship El Dorado, the usual Egyptian
fleet, and a large quantity of shipping were in harbour at
Alexandria when the Ellora left.

Her Majesty's ships Marlborough, Meeanee,Liffey, Royal
Oak, Magicienne, Pelican, and Psyche were at Malta, and
the Redpole and Procris at Gibraltar. A French sloop and
a despatch boat wore lying at Gibraltar.
The Austrian steam ram Kaiser Max, 31 gulls,
of.tho 4th to coal
Morelli, and the paddlewheel steam frigate
guns, Commander Nauta, from the Adriatic, arid last from
Santa Lucia, 10
Algiers, passed through the straits of Gibraltar on the 3d
inst. They put into Cadiz on the morning
and left on the 6th to reinforce the Austria.ll squadron,
under the command of Admiral Wulierstorff, in the North

of Cuba state
Sea.
p . Lobo y Biala-
aniron-c ad frigate to re-
inforceuadron
Capt.
t Peru,
Miguel The Spanish Minis.
thatA
the Spanish squadron dtvhiec ei Buhreceived t
inhabitants
in
ad Madridou gufrto al the. Island
b tocommand the squadron
i which is about to proceed
gam a
to the Pacific to reinforce Rear Admiral Pinzon,
Minis-
ter of Marino has appointecl u
The following British merchant steamers had arrived out
at Gibraltar—
July 2, the London, Capt. W. G. S. Roll,
Gt days from London—the Clotilda, Capt. R. Way, G days
from London for Genoa and Leghorn—the Rhone, Captain
J, Owens, six and a half days from Liverpool for Malta and
Constantinople—and the Livorno, Captain T. Livingstone,
12 days from Glasgow and 40 hours from Lisbon for Genoa
and Leghorn--Sth, the Italian, Captain N. Fitt, 6 days from
Liverpool for Genoa and Leghorn. The following sailing
vessels, all laden with coals, had also arrived out :—From
Liverpool, the brigantine Jane, B. Owens—the schooner
Champion, J. Macheli—the schooner Ada, T. Williams—
the brigantine Dreadnought, J. Roberts—and the cutter
Fride, S. I\l'Perran. From Newcastle, the bark Expert,
W, Badsey. From Swansea, the cutter London, C. Rabey—
the schooner Penelope, W. Roberts—and the schooner
Jessamine, J. Rider. From Newport, the schooner Jane,
J. Williams. From Cardiff, the schooner Fayaway, A.
Selean—the schooner Adam "White, J. Beeman—aud thQ
schooner Eleanor and Jane, J. Griffiths. On the Gth inst.,
in the Gut of Gibraltar, the Eleanor and Jane spoke the
brig Gerandine, of Carnarvon, bound from Newcastle to
Alexandria, 24 days out, all well.

MEYERBEER'S SUCCESSOR AND METERBEER'S
MMOlRS.—Signor Verdi has been elected by the Academy
of Fine Arte, at Paris, es successor to Meyerbeer. The
Gazette Musicale informs us that M. George Kastner is to
write a life of the composer•