The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1869-07-28

After a long and thorough trial, the
English Special Committee on Breech-
Loading Rifles have concluded TO recon.
mend combination of the Martini aud
Henry breech-loaders for adoption by the
British Government. The Committee state
that from the many experiments they have
made, and from the evidence they have
received, they are confirmed in their opinion
that the Martini system is the best adapted
for military purposes of any that have
been brought before them. 1t is safe,
strong, simple OF construction and of man.
ipnlation, and capable OF great rapldity Of
firing, as is evidenced by the fact that 20
rounds were fired from it IN 48 seconds.
The Committee, having by these trials,
satisfied themselves that the combination
of the Martini breech-mechauism with the
Henry barrel, had not caused any deteri-
Grafton with respect to the efficiency of
either breech or barrel, and having already
reported that the Martini breech-lnechan-
ism and the Henry barrel were each, sep
arately, the best of the several systems
which had been brought under their no.
tice, are of the opinion that the arm COM
bAOoC WV olobNulo 10 bAas OSSo
adapted for the requirements of tue service.
The arm appears to the Committee TO
surpass, in nearly every particular, the
standard fixed by the War Office adver-
tisement, and TO be weapon thoroughly
suitable for all military purposes. In ac-
curacy of shooting hatuess of trajectory,
power OF penetration, strength OF barrel,
safety, simplicity, and rapidlty of manipu-
lation, 1t eXcels the present service arm.
The recoil appears about the same as that
OF the muzzle-loading Enfield. The cost
OF manufacture, with steel barrel and ba-
yonet, Is estimated at u. lSS. cd.
The competitive trial Instituted by the
Committee established the fact that in
the manufacture of breech-loaders, more
attention had been paid to the design and
construction of the breech-mechanism than
had been accorded to the shooting capa-
blhtIes OF the weapon, and that the system
of closing the breech by any kind Of me-
chanlsm did not affect the accuracy of the
arm, provided q metal cartridge of sufficient
dimensions to contain suitable charge
were used. The Committee, therefore,
decided that the question of riiing, diam
eter of bore, weight and description of
bullet and Charge, should be settled inde-
pendently; and having pronounced def
nitely on these points, the selection of
breech-mechanism would be more easily
made. This course was chiefly prompted
by the difficulty experienced in adequately
comparing various systems, when each sys-
TEN was probably fired with cartridge
differing in length from those used with
the remainder.
The question of rihing was determined
by competition, and this was confined to
those systems which had given the best
results as muzzle-loaders, namely, those of
Henry, Rigby, Whitworth, Wesley Rich
ards, Metford. Lancaster, and the Enfield.
From a comparison of the shooting at the
several ranges, it was found that the Henry
barrels were superior TO all the Others in
accuracy, excepting at 300 yards, at which
distance the performance of all the rifles
was nearly equal, the Enfield showing,
perhaps, very slight superiority.
The Henry barrel is rided on the poly
gonal system. A section of the barrel
shows polygon of seven sides, and down
each angle formed by the intersection of
the planes, runs a raised rib. If we i'm
agine circle described from the centre of
the bore with such radius that the planes
shall form tangents to it, these ribs will
also exactly touch this imaginary circum-
ference Thus, the bullet fired from such
barrel will have fourteen bearing surfaces
or points of contact.
The long list of arms put by for further
examination, was ultimately reduced to
two-the Henry and the Martini. The
former had gained the e600 prize in the
previous trials and the latter. though
supplied with very defective ammunition,
had borne an excellent character for stead
iness and endurance throughout. A num-
Der of the observation-disclosures on the bolt
system were selected for trial with sensi-
tive cartridges that is to say, with cases
loaded with coal-dust, and fitted with caps
and anvils SO arranged that they would
explode on very little provocation. These
tests were crucial ones. the whole of the
bolt-guns tried, with the exception Of the
Carter and Edwards, and the Kerr, failing
them. The two last-named guns appeared
to be perfectly safe, but on other grounds
they were put aside. The Martini and
Henry guns were then put on trial. The
pattern weapons we're put through severe
course of rough usage and exposure, to-
gether with a long-continued firing, and
the results were most satisfactory. The
Martini was found to have been so little
injured by a weeks exposure to rain and
damp, coupled with firing of 400 rounds
from it during the same period, that it was
fred twenty rounds in one minute and
three seconds.
1t then remained for the Committee to
decide finally between the two systems.
In arriving at their conclusion, they took
into consideration several points: such as
safety, cost of manufacture, facility of
manipulation, strength and number of
parts. Having due regard to the respective
claims of the two inventors, the Commit
tee finally decided upon recommending
the Martini gun as a substitute for the
Snyder, at present in use.
With regard TO the rifiDg Of the gun
adopted, it has been demonstrated that
continued firing had no appreciable effect
on its durability. A gun was found to
have its accuracy perfectly unimpaired
after firing 1900 rounds, and the breech-
mechanism worked as well at the end of
the firing as it did at the commencement.
After firing 2,l00 rounds, the several parts
were tested by gauges, aud were found not
to show any signs Of wear.-Aynly and
Nary Journal.