The enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1804-1815, 1809-06-02

stitntion, and come up TO the model, that
succeeded in ensasirg for the service of the
state, Joseph Hopkins, the very person whos.
province it had been TO prove the Springfield
arms. On this subject beg leave to annex
the evidence OF Joel Horton, "a witness exam
ined before the committee & whose evidence
now lies before me in the form of a certifi-
hcate under his own hand.
- hereby certify that was formerly em-
pioyed as an artihCer i'm the ". s. manufacto-
ryot arms, at Springfield in the state of \; as
sachusetts. where Wrought about years.
C left those Works in the year 1901, that tlu-
ring my employment there, was very fire.
quentiy present at the loading and proving
OF the musket barrels made ut that mapufac.
tory that :or the first proof, the barrel was
Charged With one eighteenth part of pound
OF powder: and for The second proof. a TWEEN
~ second part of pound. And 1 further
certify. that the balls used in proving. were
OF size to weigh one eighteenth part of a
pound, which is the. common cartridge bail
also certify that Joseph Hopkins who was
employed by MAR. Clarke, was the principal
person employed improving arms at Spring
neld ). that we both contracted at the same
time with the said Clarke while. st Spring.
heid, to work at the Virginia rnanufactory to
month OF June 1902, and at which place I am
still employed.
JOEL HORTON"
10 make our muskets as portable and con-
went to the soldier, as was consistent with n
capacity to sustain the proof, was the just and
rational object of the manufacturer. ;sut
since that time, the proof has been greatly
increased IN the manufactures of the United
states; and have followed their footsteps
ask II 1T be any imputation OF, the officers
OF tue institution, ii the guns calculated for
the original proof and now capable of entlu-
ring it. should burst under che late cncreased
proof tor which they we're not calculated.
Yet 1t is from this irrational and absurd e,i-
pertinent, that much of the Glamour against
our arms has been raised.
ouch and even worse was tic proof, which
capt hthcrton went down last sum mer. TO
make OF the arms at Hampton and Norfolk.
In MS experiments the bail was forced down
with heavy iron ramrod, so violently as to
lose Its spherical form, assume that ola cvlih-
| oer' ana become, as it were, Incorporated
with the barrel. The same process would
burst the heaviest ordnance, or even the rock
of Gibraltar.
! =. Again; OF the arms which have been
distributed. very great proportion are arms
| not manufactured here; they were made.
elsewhere; purchased by the executive be-
tore our institution began to work, but dis
trlbuted since. Before they were distributed
however, they were brought to our nanufac
tory, stamped with the word Vireinia, and
t'ieh given out to the state. These arms, Il
great part OF Which were extremely dcicc-
uvc, have from bearing the stamp of Yirei-
ma, been supposed III the country to be IA
bricated here, and by their bursting in the
nands OF the militia, and other faults. have
most uhJustly contributed to swell the cry a.
sa'nss the Virginia Mandatory of Arms.
ms remark was made last winter before the
armory committee; and to give a view of the
fairness OF the Logic employed against the in
| sutu'ion, IT may not he anss to note the an
swer which was offered to it, The chair
man OF the committee denied that this mic
take Could possibly have been committed in
the country; and why ?-Recause he had oh
se;ved that tie arms which were made here
mad the words Virginia Naautactorv STAN
| pea OH the lock; while the arms of fc.,cirn
| "'a'sAiacture, have the stamp of Tirei1iu.
ohiy toat Is to say, tina. If the County of Am
herst, Tor example, had been armed in 1907.
with muskcts stamped with the word Yirp-i
ma, the militia there could not have suDposed
'nen made here; because, forsootil. the
cnairniaA OF the armoury committee in the
"'hter OF 1905, discovered that our stamp is
| - wv ~ 5 ana VflNNJQcE0rU, But
sotar was tnis fact from being know, amonp.
| tle country militia, that it was not even knowp
III 'hehouse OF Delegates not having been OBJ
rived even by some Of those member, who
| i'Ned in the vicinity of the institution and il
certainly is not very ingenious TO suppose
the conclusions of people in the country. in
the year 1907, regulated by fact not known
tothen', at that time nor even at this dav &,
only observed by member of thc house of
delegates IN the winter Of 1909.
3. Norifit should be admitted, that in some
instances the iron wrought into the barrel in
our nanutactory, has, upon experiment. an
peared brittle and unfit for the purpose :.
does TINS demonstrate any neglect in purcha-
sing the IRON or any original fault in the j.
ron Itself; since it happens, not unfreonent-
~ that iron, good when brought from the
forge, IS spoiled by unskilfl operations in
ne hands OF the welder or anneaieg. Ofthis
am told, that a curious proof has been
recently submitted to the executive council
OF t'lis state and which has proven, that our
IRON was good. piece OF iron, pronounc-
ea to have been originally unfit for use a.
the manutactory here, "a part of a bursted
gun barrel,) has been submitted again to the
hfe' brought back to its original state. bv a
nj