The weekly Panola star. [volume] (Panola, Miss.) 1857-1881, 1866-09-08

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efsian and abmsssle pFam. That W.
publish We isilowIna h leeafd % Il |
fhe invention ~ Ne hesile run /
baa Riven Prussia 4 superiority In \
EafoleHn eunnella steeud only laibal !
which 4 nation might have, which |
shguld Wnaess monopoly IN The
manufacture and use n gtnpowdef
N u bopuning n aefleis question
whether . poeef which ean tfpple |
Austria n ihe ground with 90 small
M expenditure N men and money,
may net lecoine dangerous 70 France,
and indeed 10 all continental Europe,
A. against the needle gun valuf ROca
for nothing, gclcralship i ~ little
consequence, aud numbers eut @afce.
y q figure. There i no evidence that
the pfus.ians have been commanded
on The 6eld Of hattie with any con-
siderable ability. Their general plan
Of campaign has been consummaie,
but In The movement ol corps and
divisions In The presence Of the enemy
we have seen no extraordinary gener-
alship. Tho execution Of the needle
gun and the confidence which rs
possession gives 10 the Prussians
constitute nine factors In the result
The Greek fire, with which the En-
pcrors of Constantinoplc fought of
the barbarians, long after bravery
had ceased TO be q Byzantine virtue,
was not more terrible than the needle
gun 10 the Austrians. Naturally
enough nations are asking themselves
what Is to be the end Of all this. The
Emperor Napoleon, as we learn by
the last steamer, is experimenting
vigorously with needle guns Of some
sort at the ordnance depot of Vim
cennes. If Prussia chooses to keep
her Rhine provinces, instead Of ced-
ing them to France, she may be able
to do so, and even carry out the M
poleonic idea of nationality by annex
Lorraine and Alsatia without waiting
for Napoleon's permission. An in
vention is at this moment overturning
Europe more rapidly than the first
Napoleon overturned it with the
leverage of the French Revolution.
II is a matter of vast concern TO
every civilized nation to find out
what is the needle gun, or to invent
something which shall counteract its
deadly effects, Or equal it in producing
them. In the first place, it is a
breech-loading arm. This Is a point
gained; and it leads US to inquire
why breech-loading arms for infantry
service were discarded by our ord
nance officers during the late war.
The reason assigned by Gen. Ripley,
chief Of ordnance, was, that soldiers
using The Sharpe's rifle, for instance,
would shoot away their ammunition
so fast they would hit nothing-that
Isoldiers could not carry enough am
munition to last them more than
thirty minutes. This is shown to be
sheer bosh. The Prussians take
better aim by keeping the gun in q
horizontal position, and firing rapidly,
than the Austrians who drop their
pieces after firing, and go to work
with their teeth and their ramrods to
put in new charge. IL the aim is
good, soldier had better fire away
all his ammunition in thirty minutes,
than protract the operation through
ten hours He not only saves his
own strength, but disables the enemy
from firing back, which is the import
ant thing in war. The idea, 50 studi-
ously fostered in our army, that the
great thing is to fire slo,Oly, is ex-
ploded. If there is any valid objec-
ton to the Sharpes rifle, the Spencer
rifle, and other breech-loaders, they
do not lie against the rapidity with
which they throw their bullets at the
enemy. Heating or fouling of the
breech piece may be an objection, but
rapid firing is not.
The next feature Of the needle gur
is the secret chemical combination
which gives il an unprecedented
range. This secret is kept with ty.
rannical vigilance by the Prussiar
Government as it probably would b
by any government which should b
so fortunate as to possess it. Th'
needle gun, without this element j
i no better than any other breech
: loading arm. Can Prussia hope 4
b keep this secret any considerable
n length Of time? We think not. Tn
: wits Of the whole world will be turne'
y upon it. Specimens of the strang
e ammunition will be annalyzed in
: hundred laboratories. The mechani
: cal contrivances will be copied with
IS out difficulty, and the chemical ingre
% dients will be discovered by somebody
y and then the equilibrium Of physics
;, force will be destroyed. For tn
'e purposes of this war, however, Pru:
d sia need fear no harm to come fror
a the counterfeiting Of her weapor
1t Her arsenals are already supplies
while those Of her enemies car
y not be supplied till long afis
N the present war shall have endet
le however penetrating the wisdoI
re which other countries may apply
Is the investigation Of her wonderfi
Of frearm. The real ccnqueror Of Au'
y tria is not Bismark, or Napoleon, b,
Of the inventor Of the needle gun.