The Commonwealth. — 1867-06-29 (London, England)

THE NEW BREECH- LOADING COMPETITION.  The sub-committee on breech-loaders has now conchided the first stage of the inquiry. It has gne carefully through the whole of the arms submitted, and has fired, nominally for accuracy and rapidity, but in reality rather with a view to observing the actual working of the guns, all those arms which were not primd facie inadmissible or dangerous. By far the larger proportion of the arms failed to comply in every minute respect with the conditions laid dowii, and to which the committee have very properly closely adhered. Some were submitted too late ; others were too long or too short, or too heavy, or otherwise outside the limits prescribed ; and all the guns which so failed are out of the competition for the prize. But the question of their ultimate adoption is not prejudiced by this failure ; nor are the committee bound to recommend for adoption the arm which may chance to gain the first prize. The course which we understand it is proposed to adopt is this :—From the arms which are within the prize competition a certain number have been selected' for further trial. For the best of these arms, whether adopted for the service or not, £l,OOO will be awarded, and for the arm which, "while attaining a satisfactory degree of excellence in other particulars, is selected for merit in respect to its breech mechanism," £6OO will be the prize. If the best arm appears to the committee to be worthy of adoption, it will be placed in competition with the Snider rifle, which it will be required to beat before its adoption is confirmed. If, on the other band, none of the prize arms should, in the opinion of the committee, satisfy the service requirements, then the best of those arms which from failure to fulfil the conditions laid down are out of the prize competition will be selected on their merits to continue the contest ; and between the two sets of arms we may hope that a satisfactory weapon will at last be found. The interest, therefore, centres for the time upon the arms which have been selected to compete for the prize. These are nine in number ; and it is no longer a- secret that the fortunate competitors are Messrs. Albini and Braendlin, Mr. Remington, Major Fosbery, Mr. Burton (two systems), Mr. Peabody, Mr. Martini, Mr. Joslyn, and. Mr. Henry. With these will probably be tried, although not as a competitor for the prize, a rifle of Mr. Westley Richards's, as the best representative of the self-consuming or partially self-consuming cartridge system ; the whole of the nine prize rifles being adapted for cartridges, either of paper, or coil, or copper, which have to be withdrawn after firing. Each of the accepted competitors will be required within four months of his rereceiving the notice, to furnish for experiment at Woolstich six arms in strict conformity to the specimen arm submitted, with 1,000 rounds of ammunition per arm ; and a sum of £3OO will be paid to each such competitor to cover the expense of the six rifles and of the supply of ammunition. The committee may fairly be complimented on the progress which they have made in this important inquiry. To examine, measure, weigh, and classify 112 arms (for the original 93 have been swelled by late additions to this total) ;to fire-20 rounds from most of these guns, noting the accuracy, rapidity, and every mishap and failure ; and last, but not least, to listen to all that every inventor has to say in praise of his weapon, is a task of no ordinary magnitude ; but it is one which Colonel Fletcher and his associates have succeeded by zealous application in getting through in about two months and s half. —Pall-mall Gazes.  ATTE3IPTED SUICIDE OF A GIRL OF  FIFTEEN  Jane Selfe, a girl of about fifteen years of age, described as a domestic servant, was charged at the Lambeth Police-court on Monday, with attempting to destroy her life by throwing herself from Westminsterbridge. A young man. named Roberts stated that he was passing over Westminster-bridge shortly before two o'clock in the morning, when he noticed the prisoner in conversation with a man; she suddenly rushed towards the parapet and mounted it, and was about to precipitate herself into the river when witness seized hold cf her clothes, and, despite her struggles, managed to drag her back. Two women then took her into the Westminsterroad, but she managed to get away from them, and again ran towards the bridge. Witness succeeded again in seizing hold of her ; she endeavoured to get away, and said she was determined to destroy her life, if not that day, the next: Police-constable 99 L said on taking prisoner into custody she expressed her full determination to destroy herself.  A sister of the prisoner stated that prisoner was in service, and without the slightest reason suddenly left her situation on Sunday night and had not since been heard of.  Prisoner declined to state why she had attempted suicide, and said she had been, since she left her situation, spending her time at Stratford and Mitcham. The magistrate ordered the prisoner to be put back, in order that some further inquiries might be made.