Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1863-05-01
CONFEDsEATG POWDER

, CONFEDEEATG POWDER ii Lis
The London "T,mes," Of the lS.h March
contains 4 is.tt~ from liz CORES pondep,
dstad Augusta, Ga:
Whom, rpon tho l3tE Of April. 1861, Fort
Sumter surrendered - tien. BssuregaId anG
the C0nfsderatcs, Not enc tingie pound q
gunpOwder WAS anyHhe:o manufactures IL
the Orntederaay. a rigorous blockade O
tho seSnorts vi ID. South was Immediately
comnehcad. through which tho principal in.
grodlent OF guEpowdor lsatpatre) he'd to be
largely sucked in. At this iunc.urs i. Scented
advisable to President DAVIS 10 entruss to
Colonel Rs;nes, formerly an officer of tho
United Satcs arGy, tie responsibility ot
planning and building e large Goyernmtn.
mill for Tho ibanuiactrTu OF euapo wdcr. For
this post Uolonel R.iacs possessed eminent
qualifications. He atd heaE professor of
chemistry st'Wca! Paiasr sbd fox sous yeaIs,
since lsaVing tae army lie had been 81 The
head CT some lsrgs iron wo-ks a. Nsaburg,
OH tha Hudson. August, IN Georgia, " az
select ! ss tho sit2 Of III, intended m.ll, and
nsVsi, both as regards ii,o refEon aEd lhc
s'tuAis' 'n pitched Apen, wss hzppisr SD ga:ity
evinyfS by the p esiderIt Following, su fer
xs hJiW Was-scquain;ed With is, trie plan upon
which the gunpowder mil at Waltham Alb
bey, belonging to she English Government, is
built Colonel Rane5 proceeded to construct
the works necesssry for his purpose; aud the
success which has attended his Efforts has
been SUCH as could naysr h:ve Uoan believed
before tho pressure OF WEI and privaiicn had
awakened Southern ingenuity Iud uuterp,is
The result ia that ut the cost Of about
100000, one Of the most PEI iSct gaapowder
mills in the world has been prcdatcd, winch
turns out live thousand pounds OF powder
per diy, and could p,odUce double that
amount if worked Gay aud night, snd much
more if worked under the txgsncy Of
pressing demand.
The cost Of this powder, il spite Of the
costliness Of the saItpct'e which hiss b. EN-
introduced through the blockade, is about
four cents per pound, which is about the
same III its cost in England. The mill has
now been constantly at work for many
months, and consequently moro powder than
the Coniedcracy is kelly to require for years
to come has already been produced There
is another Government powder mill at %
lumbia, in South Carolina working, l be-
lieve, to supply the wants mot very la!ge ss
yet) CT the Confederate navy. But all the
gunpo2 der issued for The service of tho Con.
fedurate Armies Of Virginia AID tho Moss,
ard also for tho defence Of Charleston AMI
Vlcksburg, has como of The mill at Augusta;
and it is stated to mo by All ordnance ofticor
in Charleston, thst the powder wlIch Lc Lad
recently received t:,cru and tested, wss ybry
nearly, If not onlirely. up to the standsri OF
the finest English u.nu ac,urc.
The extreme delIberaticn with which the
Confederate Government has engaged in III, any
large and costly un iortskings requiring long
time for their com plclion aud much ngonui-
.y III their design--is lie best earnest .f tie
guietness and cOriilehcs with which they
have, from the worry commencement, looked
at their independence as al q thing which they
could not fail 10 obtain. These Government
powder mills at Co'um ola and Augusta are
by no means tho SOLE schisvcnIsnts Of Tho
Uonfederates at home in support Of their sol
diers in the field. 1t may be noticed in the
North although ths necessity iof tho erection
Of q Government po der milf has often been
represented to the War Department at VAST
ton, no auGh mil has ever been erected. Il
has baen fpund that prlys:c :.,tc;os. have
been too strongly represented in Congress 70
admit Of the wIthdraw.l of the Government
patro onage from the great private firms in Con-
neot'cut and Delaware, between which it IS,
believe, divided. In hun!re'is Of matters,
That necessity, which was though: by IT,,
North certain to c,usii the Southern p0yrer
Of resistance, has but developed All enoigy for
which the world-anh especially Eiglaad-.
was worry little prepared.