Like the former, but more meritorious, invention of General Jacob, it is based on an unsound principle, an untenable theory, good only in seeming, which collapses when grasped by the hand of practical experience.
The peculiarity connected with this weapon is the extraordinary circumstances under which it first saw the light:—It was produced by the aid of Plutus, dragging in reputed science to fashion on the instant a weapon superior to the tardy results of three centuries; though during that period numbers of talented individuals had devoted their lives to the study of gunnery.
Wealth is generally believed to be able to remove all obstructions, and even to purchase capacity, if need be; though it can scarcely enable one individual to surpass the experience of ages, however talented that individual may be. The attempt thus to obtain such assistance was a slight by the Government of the day to the improvers of British fire-arms; they were passed over as of no value, and the country’s wealth was thrown into the lap of a talented, but at the same time, not a practical man.
The Government of this country had on all previous occasions exacted from inventors their brains and their money, as an offering in exchange for patronage; on this occasion, however, they departed widely from their usual custom, for the “mountain came to the mouse.” It would have been a grateful compliment if the Government had said to the inventor, “You have done something for the good of your country with your limited means, here are thousands of pounds at your command; do something better, for we need it.” But nothing of the kind was done: a selection was made, justified by no antecedent qualifications. The first thing necessary was the acquirement in a very short time of a practical knowledge of gunnery, in order that a weapon should be produced superior to any other; but whether success has attended these efforts or not is still doubtful, and this is in itself a fit rebuff to the Minister, who expected, like the citizen’s wife, that “gold would purchase capacity.”
The great defect in the hexagonal-bored rifle is the extreme amount of friction, and the consequent useless expenditure of means.
The bullet is produced in the most accurate manner in a lathe, and is composed of an alloy of lead, tin, and manganese, so as to render it hard enough to resist the tendency to squash or swage; which is the case in General Jacob’s principle. The angles on the bullet are cut with the greatest precision, in order to fit the groove of the barrel; constituting, in fact, a female screw of two turns in every thirty-nine inches of length.
As fair play has always been my motto, I am actuated by no other desire than that of enabling the reader to form a true conception of the intricate nature of projectile science; and though the eulogium bestowed on the inventor’s own creation is rather egotistical, I give it entire, dissecting it afterwards in the manner I think most conducive to a correct knowledge of the real science of gunnery.
“THE WHITWORTH AND ENFIELD RIFLES.
“For the last few days a very interesting and important series of experiments has been in progress at the Government School of Musketry, Hythe, in order to test the comparative merits of these two rifles. The trial, which was of the most searching and impartial character, was conducted by Colonel Hay, the able head of the school, and has terminated in establishing beyond all doubt the great and decided superiority of Mr. Whitworth’s invention. The Enfield rifle, which was considered so much better than any other as to justify the formation of a vast Government establishment for its special manufacture, has been completely beaten. In accuracy of fire, in penetration, and in range, its rival excels it to a degree which hardly leaves room for comparison.
“The following table gives the best results that have been obtained from 10 shots of each arm respectively, in the course of the experiments, which have extended over a week in time, and were brought to a close yesterday in the presence of Lord Panmure and of a number of military and scientific spectators:—