The Sun.
London, England, 1866-08-24 00:00:00

The Inventor of the Need'e Gm'.

Amongst Pauly's workmen at Paris was an ii-
tel"gent Prussian, by name John Nicholas Dreyse,
the son of a locksmith in Sommerda, near Erfurt,
and, moreover, a pupil of the eminent Italian che-
mist Berthollet. Berthollet, it will. be remembered,
was well versed in the chemistry of war ; he had
aucce:, led in supplying the patriotic armies of
France with the matelials of wrr, when her sup-
plies were cut off by the ene-ries that surrounded
her, pointing out the means of obtaining saltpetre
from the ce", and of forming P" ritre-beds ;
and under him Dreyse cl-'gently studied the pre-
paration of explosive compounds. In the construc-
tion of Pauly's experimental gun Dreyse took a
deep interest, which he doubtless turned to profit-
able account in after yea7s. In 1821 he left
and estabvshed himsele. in h's native town as an
engineer and ironfounder ; and in 1824 set up a
manufactory for percussion caps, which caps he
improved by the invention of the upper interior
lining which supplanted the old coating of varnish,
and for which he obtained a patent and special pri-
v"eges. This business brought Dreyse into official
connection with the Prussian Ministry of War,
and, taking advantage of the occasion, he was not
long in suggesting plans for the improvement of his
country's armaments; but the public mind, nauseated
with bloody wan, was thenindifferent to a". matters
connected with fire-arms. By perseverance, how-
ever, le secured attention, and even received en-
couragement; and in 1827 submitted to the milita-y
authorities the first needle-gun—a muzzle-loader,
fitt :A with a needle, 0 inn by an ordinary hammer
through the breech-pin, and firing a fulminating
compound that, with the br"et, comprised the cart-
ridge, for the charge contained no g inpowder.
T(''S gun was in appearance very l'ke the sma"-bore
fancy rifles for rook-shooting, &c., at"' t) be found
in gunsmiths' shops. The gun was not adopted
because it la Dired a caution in its use that a soldier
might neglect in the heat of an engagem• it, and
which, neglected, might have caused ink,- y to the
person who happened to load it. Undaunted
by the rejection of I's first gun, Dreyse
in the next year, 1828, submitted another; this,
too, was a muzzle-loader, but it embodied the prin-
ciple of the now famous ignition cartridge,
in this gin was held in the chamber by a sma"
spring, and fired by a need'e propelled by a spiral
sp. ig. It was svl'le this second weapon was
under tiial that Dreyse had the good fortune to
become personally known to the then Crown
Prince of Prussia, afterwards King Frederick
William IY., who took the warmest interest in
the progzers already made, and secured for the
inventor the co-operation of skilful. officers and en-
gineers. The i itei Jai between 1829 and 1836 was
occupied with the profound study of the principle
and constructive deta-s of the gun and its cartridge.
Liberal sums of money were voted in each annual
bu lget, and the mechanical genius of the country
was brought to bear upon the perfection of the wea-
pon. But a const.mt difficulty had °cm- :ed from
the use of iron bari-els,which would, and R 'll, always
wear loose at the breech ; this was overcome in 1836
by the introduction of a bai2el foimed of cast steel,
and then was produced the gun whose fame is now
echoing through Europe, and of which 60,000 copes
were immediately ordered. These were in 1841
sec ved out to the ai.ny ; one hundred men of every
battalion o: the line being eqpipped with them.
The royal decree—which, it must be remembered,
came from a king who had served a good appren-
ticeship to y art, and who, from his education
and training, was well able to judge the merits of a
weapon—justified this adoption of the needle-gun
in the fo"owing remarkable words The rifled
needle-gun "s, according to our present connection,
the perfection of militaly arms ; and its practical
introduction will no doubt lead to its adoption in
all branches of the service. The result of nume-
rous experiments made us appreciate this invention
as an especial dispensation of Providence for the
strengthening of our national resources ; and we
cherish the hope that the system may be kept secret,
until the great part which it is destined to play in
history may couple it with the glory of Prussian
arms and the extension of empire." With what a
prophetic import has the history of the past few
weeks endowed these words ! The use of the
needle-gun by the Prussian infantry became gene-
ral about 1848: slight modifications in its corstruc-
tion were introduced in 1854, 1860, and 1862 ;
while in 1857 the cavalry regiments were pros ided
with a breech-loading carbine. From the factories
at Sommerda, Spandau, Erfurt, and Danzig,
105,000 needle-guns can be produced annually,
while the actual number of these arms possessed by
Prussia last year amounted to 660,000. We be-
lieve that Herr von Dreyse, who was born in 1788,
has llved to see the fearfully successful result of his
labours. A few months ago he was in the enjoy-
ment of full health—and abundant wealth ; and it
is hardly likely his death could have occurred re-
caitly without creating attention, we may reason-
ably conclude that he is still alive.—Once a Week.

THE PILCHARD FISHERIES.—The accounts from
the Nerd' Sea which have reached Penzance during the
past week have been more favourable than on former occa-
sions. Wo have hoard of ono boat wh'ch has caught ..£BO
worth of he• lngs ia ono week. The lilsh fishery draws
fast to its close. Several ar,:vals havo taken place slurs
our last, and in many instances the boats have not cleared
the expenses attending their outfit. At St. Ives tho seines
were put iu pay on Monday, and the boats stemmed at d:ffe
rent stations. Vessels and boats report at St. Ives large
quantities of pilchards in the Bristol Channel, and it is
hoped the fishery may be successkl, as the mackerel and
Irish fisheries have bawl failures so far vs St. Ives is con-
cerned. At Scilly some pilchards have been 4:aken by ordi-
nary baud-nek.—Corrgisll ,Telegraph,