New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1870-08-07

| 49, T'5TL-~A
/ -. From the London Globe.T
To destroy your enemy in the shortest
time. in the easiest manner, and at the least
possible expense, is the first maxim OF war
The stone that whistled from David's sling,
the bullet of the acknowledgement, and
| the volley of the ..machine-gun' had all the
same object Since the days of Roger Ba-
| con the aim of all improvements III hre arms
has been to carry the greatest possible num-
Der of deaths to the greatest possible as
| lance Grape canister or case, ana snrap-
mel. all contain bullets and are all means for
multiplying deaths. The field gun mows
down it's hundreds by showers OF case at
close quarters, or at long distances rams
bullets from the bursting shrapnel
| The mitrailleur or machine gun, on the
contrary, sends large number of small
projectiles independently, and with pre-
cision. to considerable distance. We may
| divide arms on the latter principle into two
| cIasses-frst. those which discharge their
bullets from a single barrel. fed by many
chanbered breech: and, secondly, those Ill
which each cartridge has its corresponding
barrel, the charging and dlscharglng OF
| which is direct, and more or less simple. 1t
is obvious that. for rough usage and con-
| tinuous firing. it is better that large num-
| Der of rounds should be fired from a ,Onsid-
| cradle number of barrels SO placed as to
support each other and add strength to the
| Whole machine. The French mitrailleuse.
| as well as the Belgian montigny, belongs to
| the second class, and the following brief
description is equally applicable to both
| arms:
The machine gun consists of cluster of
barrels. either bound together or bored out
of the solid, and mounted on the same
principle as, an ordinary field gun. At a
few hundred yards, indeed, it would be
difficult to distinguish between these weap-
ons. as far as outward appearance goes. 10
the barrel is attached massive breach ac-
ton, capable of being opened and closed by
lever. In the montlgny arm the cart,
ridges are carried in steel plates perforated
with holes corresponding in number and pO-
sition to the holes in the bagrel. This steel
plate. in fact. forms the Event piece OF the
system. The central fire cartridges being
drOpped into the holes in the steel plate stand
out at right angles from it, and the plates,
thus ready charged, are so carried in Timber
and axletree boxes specially fitted for their
reception. When the gun comes into action
the breech is drawn back, a steel plate full
of cartridges is dropped into its correspond
ing slot, and the breech block thurst for
ward and secured.
The gun is now on full cock. and contains
from thirty to forty cartridge, which are
fired by ''barrel organ handle. either one
by one as the handle works round click
clack. or in "a volley by the rapid turn OF the
wrist. When the gun is empty the breech
block is again withdrawn: the steel plate,
carrying the empty cartridge cases, lifted
out and fresh plate dropped in, ii neees-
sary. The advantage possessed by the ma
chine gun over infantry fire is that it is never
in funk. Bullets may rain around, burst
ing shells may ill the air. still the thirty
seven barrels of the mitrailleuse shoot like
one man. and at eight hundred or one thou
sand yards will pour volley after vOlley OF
deadly concentrated fire into circle of from
ten to twelve feet in diameter. No boring
or fixing of fuses is necessary and the whole
operation is performed so rapidly that two
steady. cool men could maintain a fire OF
ten discharges per minute.
On the other hand. the mitrailleuse could
not well compete with the field gun, and it
is with this weapon it will assuredly be met
Its bullets would have comparatively slight
effect at the ranges at which field artillery
prOjectiles are perhaps most effective, while
its size would offer "a very fair mark to the
gunner. The foreign press are welcome to
write .fdnfurONuades bout the sudden death
of wretched horses at incredible distances.
This is. peace practice. The horses came
from the knacker's yard, not from the banks
of the Elbe, and there were no Chlans sit
ting on them We are also tempted on such
occasions to take the square root of the re-
ported distance as the actual range. The
future of the mitrailleuse, however, de-
ponds on coming facts.
The days experiments are over: there
are hundreds of machine guns trundling
toward the Rhine. The drun-like roll of
their volleys may ere long be heard in the
vineyards of Rudesheim, or on the edge of
the Black Forest; and the 'thud" of the
bullet may strike something softer than
wooden target. Yes, the machine gun is
en- route for the Rhine; the experiments
will now be on a gigantic scale; and Mr..
Cardwell may adjourn his special COM
mittee until after Christmas. at any rate.
BY that time the voice of war will have
given tie verdict; by that time the chasse
pot, the acknowledgements the shrapnel, and
the volley gun will each be credited with
CHASTITY account, and we shall know which
engine destroys human life in the shortest
time, the easiest manner, and at the least
possible expense.