New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-01-26

reached lie was reliably Informed that
France and Germany have found tlat inc
smokelesS powder. which they adopted as the S'ahu
ard powder. is Objectionable in many respects, anu
have within the last six months changed To u'Ierc,'
standards. He SAYS that switzerland i lle Inf
foreign country that has thus far adopted shohCi
powder and stuck to it bat the latest Nada1 PA
10y the French has given better results iIldh ti
by the Swiss. England. like this country i sl ~
pcrimentng with reduced calibc rifle ana tc
powder before adoptn; any Stahdaiu. .ir,t ~ ennLc
are three important objections to even the best
less powder yet produced a. oiIoWs ie ncst frnn
shell, which affects accuracy OF hie.
The Admiralty and Horse Guards Gazette" says
"Thc Introduction Of smOkclcsS ana comparatively
noiSeless powder both for small arms and artillery
is question which will give food for thought to every
service man. and the answer will require consumer
able expenditure Of time and thought before II mas
hcen he'd out to the satisfaction of all concerned
In the absence Of smoke from the infantry
line the artillery will be able 10 better calculate ana
perceive what is going in their front ana VIII tN
lac enabled 10 shell any closed bodies OF troops III inc
rear of the enemy's position, thins wh'h ioimorN
was looked upon impossible -Npoch'c vi
smoke will aid artillery greatly in more ways than one
1t will be difficult to surprise guns whcI tnei,
view in front is uninterrupted BY smoke al.9 II VIII
a greater advantage than formerly thu' nldhiiit IA
ilcry fire at long ranges more ehectiNe nan II u I
10 be in the days OF black powder 'aNaIiN VIII az"
find that the explosives VIII throw oD,,aucS iI
the of its performance of duiiGS 1t Van m"' T
artillery when the smoke uNed 10 Iaae
around those arms and enable the cavalry to creep
up unObservcd to within striking distance NC"
nerves. fancy, will require more bIacng tah t'N
under the present order Of things, for losses uc@9
we are very much mistaken, Will be far heavier lha'
before"
The recommendations of the Committee on British
Naval Manoeuvrcs to Immediately re-engInc
and re-arm the Minotaur class OF SHIPS
have been approved by the Admiralty
Tie Admiralty has also placed the order
for the four line of battle ships. 10 be Duit
in private dockyardS. There are Omr 0'her' 70 nv
built al the Government dockyard>. Each NcNsel VIII
require al least 1870 tons of compound arnl""'
The defensive preparations of Belgium are being
pushed on with great rapidity with the five sectors
of forts and batteries. together with it, great system
Of inundations its outworl. and the 100 krpp guns
ordered for its defence Antwerp will be position 0i
great strength one of the GrusOn turrctS, for the
northern citadel of Antwerp. has been tested ana
Is armed with two 24-ccntimctrc guns worked through
small cmbTasurcS. Tue 1oftlH'dlloia ~ wv -''"7'
will be strengthened by $50 armorclad turietS
There has been much comment among British Navy
officers relative to the steam trials at the dock OF
seven Of the new waI-vessels in the past few weeks
In every case the engines or boilers have broken
down when urged to their full speed. In some cases
the engines developed several hundred horse power
more than was contracted for. and Yet the required
speed was not obtained ON the other hand inc
c,user Pbaeton the vessel that earned such uncnvE-
HE notorictv in the early days Of her commission by
thr frequent and total collapse of her machinery III
the cndcavor get successful full power trla hiN
recently arrived at Malta. having steamed nearly
=, 600 milo. in abUut seven months. Much OF this
was run At high speed varying from twelve to seven
tppn knots hour.