Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1867-05-30

Experiments with the ChassepOt Rifle
Astounding ResuIts-NaPOleOn HOrri-

Paris May 2 Correspondence London Timesl
The emperor and Prince Oscar o
Sweden have gone to witness expert
ments with the ChassepOt rife at Vim
cennes The battalion Of the foot chas
seurs OF the guard left their barracks il
Paris at eleven O'Clock, and marched t,
the firing ground near the fort, where thel
were soon after their arrival Joined bl
Marshal Regnault de Saint-Jean-d7An
gely, and Gems. BOurbaki and BrincOurt
At two O'Clock the imperial party arrived
and on the emperor alightiug the firm.
commenced. The regiment was place,
at six hundred yards from the mark, ant
the results obtained were quite extraor
binary. After a period Of precisely tw,
minutes the trumpet sounded the call t.
cease firing. 1t was then found that tn,
battalion, five hundred strong, had fire.
5000 balls, of which 1892 had struck tn
line OF the object aimed at. Some of tn
persons present, however, affirmed tina
better practice had been obtained both a
ChOlons and Satory, and that the mel
were under q certain emotion from firiu,
for the first time in the presence Of his ms
jesty. Allthe ground In from
OF the mark was cut up by the balls il
such a way as not 70 show a blade o.
a 90 ALAAs A4C NAAAkEA0A uAAEANA ah "a
clamatiOn which graphically depicts tn,
result, at is frightful! it is a pOsitiv,
massacre !' The battalion afterwardl
executed several times a similar exercise
but at distances increased to 1000 yards
His majesty, during the whole time, re
manned in the midst Of the men, ques
tioning them on their experience Of the
arm, on its superiority over the old, anC
on the recoil, which they all agreed il
representing as insignificant. The EN-.
peror also fired one shot himself, to judg,
of the effect, and then ordered the men
to go on loading and firing as before.
A NEW CANNON BY THE INVENTOR Oh
=THE NEEDLE-GUN.
Berlin MAY a Correspondence London Times.
Experiments are being made with the
new double barreled cannOnSSf Herr
Won Dreyse. the inventor of th1Sneedle-
gun, Of which a small number of speci'
mems seem to have been manufactured.
The cannon is said to be completely sue.
c~essful, and perhaps will be soon called
upon to measure its powers with the
weapon of the Emperor Napoleon. The
mystery envelOping the latter instru-
ment has been solved at length. 1t is,
indeed, true that this is a gun without
powder, smoke, or report, surprising all
others in the frequency of its discharges
and the simplicity of its machinery.
Less certain is our intelligence respect
ing the steadiness of its aim and the
force with which the balls are propelled.
Figure to yourself an iron plate of q cir
cular shape, sunk in the middle. This
cavity is filled with balls, which on the
plate being set in motion are propelled
along a grove radiating to the edge,
NUhaFn fhaU ara VlaaFUnH into M ~
several barrels made TO point to the OBJ
ject aimed at. The centrifugal force
with which they leave the disc, being on
mathematical principles twelve times as
great as the celebrity attained by the re-
vOlving edge, exceeds, we are confidently
assured, anything yet achieved by rifles.
The dice, which has s close fitting cover
ing and several other addenda, to facili-
tate the surer aim, is set in motion by q
wheel, worked either by a single man or,
in the case Of heavier balls, by a
steam engine. This novel cata-
pult-which, it may have struck the
reader, is constructed upon the same
principle Of centrifugal force active in
mans Oldest projectile, the sling-may,
it is asserted, be made to hurl from sixty
to several hundred balls toward one
point in a minute. 1t is the invention of
a DR.. Steinheil, professor Of natural
philosophy at the university of Munich,
well known in the scientific world for
laid down the first electric tele-
graph after the discovery of the priuci-
pie by Professors Gauss and Weber.
The first specimen of his gun Steinheil
to the inspection Of the Bava-
rian war Office as early as 1882. Sixteen
years later he produced another and
heavier machine Of the same sort, throw
ing grape and requiring a steam engine
to work it. In both instances the Bava-
rian war office passed a favorable opin-
ion upon the cannon, but did not think
it adapted for other purposes than
the defence of fortresses and ships.
The secret Of the invention then
.ranspiring, the machine appears to
have been initiated and perfected
n several quarters, and also got to Amer
ca, whence it reached the Emperor Ma
In Germany the Brothers Eber-
lardt, at Ulm, have just turned out an
offensive weapon, operating, it would
leem, on the same principle, but having
our barrels instead OF one, as is the case
With the French Infantry cannop.U
each barrel is stated to be capable of
ixty discharges in a minute. Should
II this be confirmed by the experiments
ure to be made in more than one place,
t is, perhaps, not too ssnguine too en-
a hope that war will become
nore and more rare, owing to the dread
III perfection of the instruments in
ended to further it. Romantic as it NAV
eem to dream Of such a Utopian age at
time when Europe is bri'tling with
ayonets, it is yet certain that a more
stride towards civilization could
have been made by mankind. En-
Henddnt. l have, however, to report
nat Wurtemburg, preparing for those
-ars that may still be inevitable, and
wing up the petty opposition she has
long offered to this government, has
iOnted the prussian naadIa-Onn