Dallas herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1849-1873, 1859-05-04
New ENGINES of Warfare.

ENen tne cusuul OUstINtV lio INV ih'ANN ~ ''"
tice, with feelings akin to alarm, the rapIditl
with which new discoveries are being made II
the enginery of war, and by which destructivc
ness is increased almost fOur-iOld with every
stride People of n philosophical turn OF mine
may well ask, what will be the upshot OF al
this! That revolution in the present system
of warfare must take place, is admitted, nut tHe
inquiry suggests itself whether war VIII not n'
abolished altogether because OF these very dlS'
coyeriesl 1t is getting to he pretty serious
matter for nations to 90 to battle nowadays;
In the oden time, n king or clcitain armed IN,
retainers with few simple weapons and invaded
the neighboring country, feeding his army OF
whatever he could steal from the inhabitants.
and fighting his battles in cheap hnnd-to-hana
fashion With the invention OF gunpowdcr t"c
art of war became more OF science, the aeS'
truction of life and property became greater
and the cost increased in corresponding ratlo
We have now advanced so far il. the art OF throat
cutting, that the weathiGst nations, alter one OF
two campaigns like that in the Crimea, are iorc-
ed to withdraw from the combat from sheer e"I
haustion not only for the want OF men pnt ol
funds The cost and dcstructivencss OF modern
warfare will necessarily shorten wars, ana II the
destructiveness is to be carried TO such an cA'
tent that annihilation will follow the very hrst
shock of contending forces on land or ut sea- we
will be constrained to admit that the WoiiH ~
fighting DAYS are DER, and that something Ike
the millennium is Mt hand.
Our exchanges give us from time to time start
ling news of new inventions, each one surpasflhS
the last in Importance. With all inventive
genus, we Americans are falling behind hand III
the race We have already given eur readers !.
minute description of the new gun just brought
into use in England, and for which it's inventor
Mr.. Armstrong. has been knighted Marvel
lous as the stories told of this new engine oi
warfare may seem, they are certainly thrown IN
the shade by the accounts given OF II later ihVen-
ton by Mr.. Wary, of the Royal Engineers
London paper says of it ;-DGg .Ree+.
"The Wary gaa. iiks~-itg prototype, is
breach and rleC. and as long as 1t issup-
piled with ammunition it will contlnne 20 pour
forth torrent of shot shell or case, at the rate
of one discharge every three seconds, OF I--oo
rounds per hour. There is fitted to 1t, ut the
left side of the chamber, lever of simple con-
struction, which by one movement, ana Almost ~
the same instant. seizes the cartridge, cuts 1t, aP-
plies the priming to the nipple, hcrmcticaily clos
es the breach, and fires the charge In lfeciS-
ion it equals any gun that has yet been nle"'
and it has this great advantage OF Slr W. arm
strong's that whereas his being made oi wrought
iron, Is necessarily very oxponsige Worry IN
venton can be applied to all existing ordinance
of whatever calibre, and mt u comparatively !r'-
fling COSTA very important iact, cohsiucr."S
Illdt bilcTc SOulc Ic.buD S"hS III WV
navy. The Wary gun was tried at Chatham,
with the terrific missile invented by Captain
Norton, and charged with his liquid lire Inc
result (says the Daley News) left but one I'M
preston on the minds Of the spectators and
that was that naval warfare, as hitherto conluct'
ed, must he deemed at an end. Whilst the Arm
strong steel-pointed holt, fired from thlrty-tWo
pounder of the new kind, will tear to pieces II
vessel faced with five inch metal platos OF, at Il
Of airht hnn1re6 orlS traverse Il sOllU
mass of heart of oak, bolted together, even to
the thickness of nine feet, Captain Norton :
leaden shell, charged with the liquid lire, ca'!
accomplish greater marvels, as the 'Dally news
thus points out--'It has been demonstrated that
single rileman, by the help of this extraordl-
nary proiectle, can at any distance up loUo or
even 1000 yards infallbly set fire, if not to the
hull at least to the sails and spars of any vessel.
If, then, we imagine, in case of actual hostiil-
ties, one of Warry's guns pouring from an eni-
brasure in comparative security, at the rate OF
90 per minute. shells of a few inches .diamater,
with an absolute certainty, too, that each sila'i
hit its mark, what other conclusion can we odopo
than that war, upon he principles by which IL
has hitherto been regulated, Will become he"r'y'
If not wholly, impracticable I"
We find in the English journals the description
of another invention, or rather OF new appll-
cation of an old principle. Naptha, the de-
structive agent, was used in much the same man
ner by the Italians in the middle ages, but with
far less effect Here is the account =
gentleman named Macintosh has just pro-
pounded a certain new invention, which he as
serts will entirely chan ,e the conditions OF mod
ern warefare without loss of life or eilusion oil
blood-at least comparatively speaking. By thls
new system those who intend to attack SCI tor5
or battery upon the patent principle have only
to provide themselves with suitable coil OF hose,
n f5ree- nump. stock of coal naptha, and n bail
of potassium. Taking care to keep well to wind
ward of the point to be assailed, the attacking
marty allow the tube to drift towards it by means
of a boat or other buoyant object they then DIS
charge through the tubing supply OF the nap
tba, which cannot mix with the water, and may
now easily be in6amed, as it floats upon the sur
face by means of pellet of pota sum. lmme-
diately there arises from the blazing naptha II
dense suffocating vapor. In tnis horrible Amos
phere the unfortunate enemy. becoming eh' 4oP-
ed, will have no possible alternative but to ny OF
to remain and be asphyxiated. In any case re-
sistance is useless; the assaiants cannot be des-
cried through the impenetrable carbonib curtain
there is no need of any expenditure OF ammuni-
tion, and the day is nolslessy won.
1t seems, then, that if the use OF Mr. Mack
intosh's invention should become general, the ate
of nations will hang on the whims of the incon-
slant winds-for he who is so unfortunate as to
stand in the way IN which Boreas may be pleased
to blow, will have to take his choice between run
ming or being asphyyiated.
Whether science in its progress viii develop
instruments which viii counteract the destruet-
ife saaliti5s Of these Inventions, reiaaiost y be
ssen, IS
Nfr Yosx, April 1s.--Byf late arrissl from
Kneston, Janafoa we learn that ~ sFi
Al n