The Democratic advocate., 1876-01-01
Ancient and Modern oannOns.


interesting account in relation to great
guns Of ancient and modern times: The
contest between guns and armor continues
TO excite the liveliest interest among Eu-
ropean nations. The great arsenals are
yieing with each other in the production
Of mighty cannon which will be able to
send projectile weighing many hundreds
Of pounds through iron obstacles of almost
Incredible thickness, or of iron targets
which shall be able to resist the heaviest
bolts that can be forged. The English are
now rejoicing over the successful trial of
the new 90-ton gun, which can throw a
projectile l6 inches in diameter distance
of seven or eight miles, and pierce the
sides Of the strongest manof-war aaoat at
closer range. Next we shall probably
hear of the construction Of some unwieldy
floating battery specially designed to carry
armor capable of resisting the tremendous
impetus of shot from this latest engine
Of war; and then the forges will glow with
mountains Of incandescent metal until a
gun Of still greater dimensions and power
is produced As there appears to be no
limit to the size of cannon, it seems pro-
bable that the victory in the struggle be-
tween guns and armor viii finally declare
itself in favor of the former, or that it
will, at all events, be necessary to construct
vessels of the monitor type only, which
present the smallest possible target to the
FIRE Of the enemy. This is question,
however, which must be left to the Arm
strongs and Whitworths Of the future to
answer. In the meantime it is interesting
to remember that the monster cannons
now in existence are simply examples of
the manner in which history repeats itself.
Four centuries ago, in the year 1873, the
Turks erected battery of guns against
Scutari, the largest of which was capable
Of throwing stone shot 32 inches in
diameter, and weighing 1O46 pounds,
whereas the projectile of the English So
ton gun weighs only 1850 pounds. 1t is
evident, moreover, that these enormous
guns were of practical service, for it is re-
corded that 1884 rounds were fired from
them in 80 days. At the castle Of Asia,
on the Dardanelles, there still exists bat.
terry ofbronze cannons, some Of which have
q bore 90 inches in diameter. When the
British Admiral, Sir John Duckworth,
forced the passage of the Straits in March,
1907, one of his ships was struck by a
huge stone bullet thrown from one Of these
guns, and it Is said that the missile made
so large hole in the side of the vessel
that the captain, when he looked over the
side to see the extent of the injury, was
surprised to see two of his sailors thrust
their heads through the aperture at the
same instant. The Royal George, whose
name is familiar to every reader Of Cow
pers poetry, was one of the..ships injured
in this encounter. The great gun Of Bee
japore, with calibre of 2S inches, i:
another instance of what gun founder:
could accomplish more than three centu'
ries ago. This weapon was last discharged
it is said, during the eighteenth century
on the occasion Of visit from the Rajah
Of Sattara. The shot weighed more than
a thousand pounds. The Tzar pooshkar
or great gun of Moscow, has bore of 81
inches in diameter, but has never been
fred with shotted charges, and we think
that few persons would be anxious to make
the experiment now. There are many
other great guns famous in history, bu
those We have mentioned are sufficient t.
prove that, in the matter Of capacity, Al
least, the guns of the present are no mort
remarkable than the guns Of the past.