§ MR. MAGUIREsaid, he wished to bring under the consideration of the House certain improvements in the manufacture of breech-loading firearms and the importance of adopting such improvements in the British army. There seemed to be the same prejudice against these improved arms as there was against the introduction of the Minié rifle, but that prejudice he hoped soon to see removed. Within a very short time, he had had an opportunity of testing two or three breech-loading arms, and the weapon he was most anxious to bring to their notice was Sharpe's breech-loading rifle. In 1850, Mr. Sharpe, then a simple mechanic, presented himself before the chief of the United States Board of Ordnance, and laid the result of his ingenuity before him. The weapon was tried, and the result was a recommendation to the War Department to have it tested. The War Department accordingly ordered 500 of the weapons to be made according to the inventor's pattern, and placed them in the hands of the troops engaged in active service on the frontiers, with the view of testing their capabilities. The result was eminently favourable. It was 348 reported that the rifle was a weapon not only easily handled, but that it had great accuracy of range, great power of penetration, and was never foul. The American Congress had since appropriated 100,000 dollars for the purchase of these arms, and Sharpe's breech-loading rifle was now the weapon adopted by the Government of that country. Colonel Burn, Captain Barlow, and Mr. Anderson were sent out to America to test the various improvements in firearms as well as improvements in machinery, and to purchase such machinery as would afford the greatest facility for the manufacture of arms in this country. When Colonel Burn returned he endeavoured to impress upon the Government the superiority of Sharpe's rifle. As early as May last that weapon was shown at Woolwich, and he was confident that if an honest test had been applied to it that weapon would, by this time, have been generally adopted in the British army. A trial was made of the rifle, both officially and non-officially, and a report of the result was sent to the Board of Ordnance, and also to the Horse Guards, but no notice had hitherto been given of the determination of either of those departments to those who were anxious for the success of the weapon. He considered that this rifle possessed great practical advantages over the Minié rifle. With the latter the charge was put in at the muzzle of the barrel; it was then driven down by the ramrod, which had at first to be drawn and afterwards returned to its proper place in the stock; but with Sharpe's breech-loading rifle, an opening at the breech was effected by touching a spring—the charge was then placed in its proper position and the opening instantly closed. He had that day witnessed experiments on the weapon at Lord Ranelagh's with very satisfactory results. He would defy any one to charge and fire a Minié rifle more than two or three times in a minute, whereas he saw to-day one of Sharpe's breech-loading rifles fired twenty-one times in a minute and a half, fourteen times in a minute, and forty times in five minutes and five seconds. Another advantage of Sharpe's weapon was that it did not foul. It could be fired upwards of 200 times without fouling. These were merits which entitled that description of arm to be favourably received by the Government. They had, already, proof that the Minié rifle was not that all-perfect weapon which, in this age of improvement, the British army ought to pos- 349 sess. Much delay arose, for instance, from the sticking of the bullet, as well as from fouling, disadvantages to which Sharpe's rifle was not subject. He also wished to call the attention of the House to another improvement, which consisted of a small magazine, in which could be placed fifty caps, so arranged that they should explode consecutively, but should any miss—an event of rare occurrence—the ordinary cap might be used. He put it to the House what an advantage it would be to have a corps of men armed with a weapon of such enormous power, especially when the troops were opposed, as was the case at the Cape of Good Hope, to a subtle and treacherous enemy. So fully was this recognised by military men, that, when the intelligence arrived in this country that there would probably be another disturbance with the Kafirs, it was suggested to the Horse Guards that this description of weapon should be placed in the hands of the Cape Mounted Rifles; and Colonel Hay, on trying the rifle at Hythe, had said, "Would to God they had them at Sebastopol." He likewise wished to call the attention of the House to Dean and Adams' revolver, which he considered a great improvement on Colt's. The man who had a revolver was trebly armed, and the advantages of that weapon were never more forcibly displayed than in the case of Lieutenant Cross, who, it would be remembered, shot four Russians and saved himself through the fortunate accident of having such a weapon in his possession. He thought the Government would be performing a service to the country by testing these admirable weapons.
COLONEL KNOXsaid, he had assisted with a number of other officers, as well as experienced gunmakers, at the trial of the new weapon at Lord Ranelagh's, to which the hon. Gentleman had just referred; and they had all agreed in considering it a most valuable arm. It was a decided improvement on the Prussian needle gun; it was easily used and easily cleaned; and he had no hesitation in saying that for cavalry it would be the most useful instrument that had ever been invented. He earnestly trusted that the Government would direct their attention to the subject, and give the service the benefit of so valuable a discovery.
§ MR. MONSELLsaid, he really admitted with the hon. Member for Dungarvon that it was extremely important that they should, with the least possible delay, intro- 350 duce the best possible breech-loading carbine into Her Majesty's service. Before Mr. Sharpe, or any one on his behalf, came to this country, his carbine was sent to the Ordnance Office, and it was at once put into the hands of those whose duty it was to test such weapons. The military authorities, and more especially the Commander in Chief, were devoting their best attention to that subject; and it was only in consequence of their extreme desire that the choice of a weapon which they might make should be a good one, that they had not yet resolved what that choice ought to be. Early last year an intimation had been given to the most experienced gun-makers of this country that it was the intention of the Government to introduce a breech-loading carbine into the service, and they had been requested to submit for trial, by the 1st of May last, any weapons of that kind which they might have invented. Some of our most experienced gunmakers had requested that they might be allowed a longer time to prepare their instruments, and that application had been granted. Their weapons, however, as well as that of Mr. Sharpe, had soon afterwards been submitted to trials at Woolwich. A number of carbines selected out of the lot so tried had next been sent for another trial to Colonel Hay at Hythe, and among them a very remarkable one invented by M. Lenoir, a Frenchman. The matter was at present considered to be nearly ripe for decision, and in a very short time the proper authorities would pronounce what they considered was the best of those weapons. As soon as that judgment should be given, the Ordnance Department would lose no time in having a number of the most approved breech-loading carbines manufactured for Her Majesty's service. He had only to add, that from all he had heard he believed the choice would probably lie between Mr. Sharpe's and M. Lenoir's weapons.
§ MR. BELLEWsaid, that having witnessed the experiments at Lord Ranelagh's, he could also bear testimony to the excellence of Sharpe's rifles. He suggested, as they could be purchased in any quantity in America, that it would be much better to send for them to that country than to manufacture them here.
§ MR. MAGUIREsaid, that several gentlemen had expressed their belief that the new instrument would not only be suitable for cavalry, but that it might, if adapted to the Minié rifle, be found of the greatest 351 use for our infantry and our artillery. It would afford a great protection to the latter against their being cut down at their guns.