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

The Inventor of the Needle Gun.

Amongst Pauly's workmen at Paris was an in-
telligent 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
succeeded in supplying the patriotic armies of
France with the materials of war, when her sup-
plies were cut off by the enemies that surrounded
her, pointing out the means of obtaining saltpetre
from the soil, and of forming artificial nitre-beds ;
and under him Dreyse diligently 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 years. In 1821 he left Paris,
and established himself in his 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 copper interior
lining which supplanted the old coating of varnish,
and for which he obtained a patent and special pri-
vileges. 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 wars, was then indifferent to all matters
connected with fire-arms. By perseverance, how-
ever, he secured attention, and even received en-
couragement;. and in 1827 submitted to the military
authorities the first needle-gun—a muzzle-loader,
fitted with a needle, driven by an ordinary hammer
through the breech-pin, and firing a fulminating
compound that, with the bullet, comprised the cart-
ridge, for the charge contained no gunpowder.
This gun was in appearance very like the small-bore
fancy rifles for rook-shooting, &c., still to be found
in gunsmiths' shops. The gun was not adopted
because it required a caution in its use that a soldier
might neglect in the heat of an engagement, and
which, neglected, might have caused injury to the
person who happened to load it. Undaunted
by the rejection of his 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, which
in this gun was held in the chamber by a small
spring, and fired by a needle propelled by a spiral
spring. It was while this second weapon was
under trial that Dreyse had the good fortune to
become personally known to the then Crown
Prince of Prussia, afterwards King Frederick
William IV., who took the warmest interest in
the progress already made, and secured for the
inventor the co-operation of skilful officers and en-
gineers. The interval between 1829 and 1836 was
occupied with the profound study of the principle
and constructive details of the gun and its cartridge.
Liberal sums of money were voted in each annual
budget, and the mechanical genius of the country
was brought to bear upon the perfection of the wea-
pon. But a constant difficulty had occurred from
the use of iron barrels,which would, and will, always
wear loose at the breech ; this was overcome in 1836
by the introduction of a barrel formed of cast steel,
and then was produced the gun whose fame is now
echoing through Europe, and of which 60,000 copies
were immediately ordered. These were in 1841
served out to the army ; one hundred men of every
battalion of the line being equipped with them.
The royal decree-,-which, it must be remembered,
came from a king who had served a good appren-
ticeship to military 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 following remarkable words :—" The rifled
needle-gun is, according to our present conviction,
the perfection of military 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 1818: slight modifications in its construc-
tion were introduced in 1854, 1860, and 1862 ;
while in 1857 the cavalry regiments were provided
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 lived 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-
cently without creating attention, we may reason-
ably conclude that he is still alive.— Once a TVeek.

THE PILCHARD FISHERIES.--The accounts from
the North Sea which have reached Penzance during the
past week have been more favourable than on former occa-
sions. We have heard of one boat which has caught £BO
worth of herrings in ono week. The Irish fishery draws
fast to its close. Several arrivals have taken place since
our last, and in many instances the boats have not cleared
the expenses attending their outfit. At St. Ives the seine
were put in pay on Monday, and the boats stemmed at diffo
rent stations. Vessels and boats report at St. Ives large
quantities of pilchards in tho Bristol Channel, and it is
hoped the fishery may be successful, as tho mackerel and
Irish fisheries have been failures so far as St. Ives is con-
cerned. At Healy come pilchards have bee 4 taken by ordi-
uary hand-nets.—CorniA Telegrcirh.