The Sun.
London, England, 1866-12-12 00:00:00

TO GUNMA li. ER S and Others.

The SECRETARY of STATE for WAR is desirous of
receiving PROPOSALS from Gunmalcers and Others for
BREECH-LOADING RIFLES, either repeating or not
repeating, which may replace the present Service Rifles in
future manufacture.

The following are the conditions considered essential in
military non-repeating Rifles:—
A. WEIGHT.
Not to exceed 91b. soz. without bayonet.
B. LENGTH.
_ _

To be 51 inches, with short stock, measured from the
hollow of the butt-plate to muzzle.
c. WEIGHT OF AMMUNITION MADE UP.
Must not exceed Mb. 4oz. for sixty rounds as packed for
service.

D. CARTRIDGES.
Must carry their own ignition.

E. SIGHTS.

The foresight must be such as to admit of a bayonet
fixed according to the present system.

F. STOOK.
Must bfi such as to carry a light metal cleaning.rod, and
allow a sling to be used.

G. RECOIL.
Must not exceed that of the Enfield Rifle by more than
10 per cent.

u. THE AIM AS A WHOLE.

Must be as little liable to injury bylong-continued firing,
rough usage, and exposure, as the naval rifles converted to
breech-loaders on the Snider system. To be as capable,
also, of being used without accident by imperfectly trained
men, at., of being manufactured in quantities and of uni-
form quality.
L THE AMMUNITION AS A WHOLE.
Must be as little liable to injury by rough usage, damp,
and exposure in all climates, as the Boxer cartridge for
Snider's converted Enfield rifle—also as little liable to acci-
dental explosion as the same cartridge, and as capable of
being manufactured in large quantities, and of uniform
quality. K. CALIBRE.
Optional.
L. THE TWIST AND FORM OF GROOVE.
Optional.
Optional.

M. THE LOCK.

N. RAPIDITY OF FIRE.

Capable of firing at least 12 rounds per minute, without
aiming, the cartridges being arranged on a table.
o. ACCURACY WHEN FIRED FROM A FIXED REST.
The arm must give a mean figure of merit of not more
than 36in. at 1,000 yards, 301 n, at 800 yards, 12in. at 500,
and 6in. at 300.

The mean to be taken upon at least five targets of twenty
shots each.

P. TRAJECTORY.
Not to require at 500 yards an elevation of more than 1
deg. 80 min, _ _

Q. FOULING.

The shooting not to deteriorate more than 20 per cent.
at 1,000 yards after firing 250 rounds.

it. PENETRATION.
The mean penetration of five shots not to be less than
that of the present service muzzle-loading Enfield Rifle--
viz., 12 half-inch elm planks, which have been soaked 48
hours in water.
Distance 30 yards.
s. LUBRATION.
Wax on bullets is indispenlsaCble, but any other lubricant
may be superadded or applied to the cartridge, if thought
necessary by the competitor.

No arms will be received without the usual proof marks.
Specifications, and drawings of the methods proposed,
stating the probable cost per arm, and accompanied by a
finished specimen arm, with 20 rounds of suitable ammu-
nition, should be sent to the "Director of Ordnance, War
Office, Pall-mall," on or before the 30th March, 1867.
The specifications and specimen arms will be considered
by the Ordnance Select Committee and its associate mem-
bers, who will be selected by the Secretary of State for
War, ^nd who will, after firing the 20 preliminary rounds,
select rnd recommend for further trial such of the systems
as may appear to them sufficieni:ly promising, rejecting all
such ss mey not be considered to offer sufficient merits to
warrant tlieir being included in the competition, the con-
ditions of which are stated in this advertisement.

accepted competitor will then be required to furnish
fo- experiment, at Woolwich, six arms in strict conformity
to the specimen arm submitted, with 1,000 rounds of am-
munition per arm, within four months after date of de-
mand. Each competitor will be required to disclose to the
committee the exact nature of the lubrication he may em-
ploy. A sum of £3OO will be paid to each of the accepted
competitors, to cover the expense of the six rifles, and of
the supply of rmmunition required.
The Secretary of State offers a reward of 42,000 for the
arm which, on combination of all qualities, is considered
by the committee to be the best submitted.

A second ;Waril of £6OO for the arm which, while at-
taining a satisfactory degree of excellence in other particu-
lars, is selected for merit in respect to its breech mechanism.
A third raward of £4OO for the best cartridge. The qua-
lities which will be principally taken into consideration in
awarding this prize will be economy of manufacture, power
of sustaining rough usage, freedom from deterioration in
various climates, I nd general serviceability.
The shooting qualities of the cartridge must be fair; but
as they may depend upon the rifling of the arm with which
the cartridge is associe.ed, they will not be so much con-
sidered as those above-mentioned.
It is clearly to be understood that undo'. no circumstances
will a competitor be entitled to more than one prize; but
such prize will be irrespective of any reward which may be
given to the inventor of the arm finally adopted into the
service.

I V:
MAGAZINE AND REPEATING ARMS.
Magazine and Repeating Arms for Infantry will be re-
ceived and examined in a manner similar to the Breech-
loading Rifles. They must not be less in length than 48
inches, including the stock.
The limit of weight for these arms is fixed at 911 b. ex-
clusive of the charges in the magazine.

It is indispensable that the arms be made to take a
bayonet.
The Secretary of State offers a reward of 300 for the best
Magazine or EepeatingArm produced that fulfils the abave
conditions; and in the absence of experience does not at
present define the standard of accuracy or other conditions
to be fulfilled before such an arm can be adopted. .
Those Magazine orßepeatingArms, which are accepted
for further trial, will be paid for at the rate of £6O each.
This sum is to include 1,000 rounds of ammunition per
arm.

The Secretary of State will take care that no ingenious
novelty produced in answer to this advertisement shall be
adopted into the service without proper acknowledgment,
and that the name of the individual with whom it origi-
nates shall be recordetl in connection with it.
if the riflo to which the first prize is awarded is adopted
into the service, it will bear the inventor's name.
J. ST. GEORGE, Major-General, Director
of Ordnance.
War Office, Oct. 22, 1866.

THE RESCUE SOCIETY wishes to add another
Lome to th,, 12 now in operation. Last year no fewer
'han 45i poor. friendless, young females were rejected from
want of FUNDS and room, making a total of 3,087, who have
been sent away in five years.
The new home the Committee wish to form would be for
young girls, almost children, tram the age of 6 to 15, who
have been led astray from the path of virtue.
Contributions trill be reoeired gratefully by the Secretary,
lir. Daniel Cooper, Queen -street. Chcapaide; or by limn
Barclay and Co.. Lombard-street.

'ROYAL FREE HOSPITAL, Gray's-inn-road,
in the immediate vicinity of the Great Northern Hall-
way Terminus, King'e-orot.s.
Patron—Her Most Gracious Majesty the QUEEN.

Vice- Patron-111s Royal Highness the Prince of W A LE F4.KG.
President—Ms Grace the Duke of BUCCLEUCIL R.G.

This Hospital, foundel in the year 1823, the first to estab-
lish the principle of free admission to the sick poor, without
the delay and difficulty of Governors' orders. is wholly de-
pendent for support on voluntary contributions and t -,,acres.
It affords relict to a large number of in-patients, and, in
addition to this, the average number of attendance of the
lestitute sick has for a considerable period averaged between
3,000 and 4,000 weekly.
The Committee earnestly solicit the ASSISTANCE of the
benemlent, as the premises of this Hospital are capable of
containing several hundred more beds had the Committee
the requisite funds to maintain them.
Contributions are received by their bankers, Messrs. Brown,
Janson, and Co., Abchurch-lane; also by Messrs. Coutts and
Co.; Drummond and Co. ; G.yn and Co. ; Berries and Co. ;
Ransom and Co.; Prescott, Grote, and Co.; Smith, Payne,
and Co. ; Barclay and Co. ; ilhatas, Deacon, and Co.; Nisbet
and Co., Berners-street : and at the Hospital, from 10 till 6,
STANFORD BUITH, Beatty y,

HOMELESS BOYS OF LONDON. —The
Committee are most anxious to provide for 400 boys.
One hundred and fifty are now In the Refuge. The annual
expenditure for supporting the 400 boys is estimated at
beinz, £l5 a year for each boy. Several kind friends
have promised to pay for one bay each year.
Subscriptions thankfully reoeived by the London and West-
aunighd byHolborn ; Messrs.
mit
ai nusstoemr Ba anndkco, 4.1:
1,1 optabibi.umr va, al nEda:
tl4; 2,
WM. WILLIAMS, Secretary.
Refuge, 8, Great Queen-street, W.O.

PROVIDENCE ROW NIGHT REFUGE,
FOR
HOMELESS WOMEN AND CHILDREN,
14A, Providence-row, Pillsbury, E.G.
Sixty Thousand Nights' Lodgings, with Suppers and
Breakfasts, have been given in this Institution to the
destitute, who otherwise would have had to pass the
nights in the bleak streets or under railway arches.
Breakfasts, are given gratuitously every week. The poor
rArotmpraelslenptariatesaarlrye
as,olomNittiegdh,tts' Lodgings
heonly
yco with Suppers and
n,
dition being that
they. are homeless and starving. The Manager &c.,
receives no remuneration whatever. Notwithstand-
ing the provision made by the Poor Houses, each
cliihtren, and orphans
sod ad mit tance and have
wet, andsleet. To
tnoi
are,gs hpfteonrnduwnmainbg
tchrtascacof
0::
nn.yrnno toitg(nihagtt i
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m.
meet this evil, and to provide more ample accommoda-
tion, £2,000 has been raised, but to accomplish the
work a sum of at least 5,1,000 more will be required.
Besides providing shelter for the homeless, this year it
is proposed, as far as the donations obtained for the pur-
pose will allow, to give bread and coals to poor families
in want. Will you, in your charity, help to carry on and
accomplish what has been began ? Will you help to give
shelter to the really homeless, and food to the really
starving ? The smallest donation will be most welcome,
and, night and morning, the prayers of the destitute will
be offered in your behalf.
SUBSCRIPTIONS are earnestly requested, and will be
gratefully received by the Rev. D. GILBERT D.D., No, 22,
Finsbury-circus, E.O.