MACHINE- AND HAND-MADE GUNS. 467 



articles, they are desirable if a man has the means to gratify his 

 desire for the best. These guns are, however, placed above com- 

 petition with others costing less, irrespective of place of manufac- 

 ture, and must, therefore, be regarded as out of the question, when 

 comparison between American and English guns is made. Guns 

 turned out by either American or English makers of high reputa- 

 tions may be relied upon to be of fine material, sound workman- 

 ship, and high finish, that will shoot well, and with proper care 

 last for years of continual use. We have used many foreign and 

 domestic guns, and have no choice between them, except such as is 

 based upon a desire to patronize home products when of equal 

 quality with the imported. 



MACHINE- AND HAND-MADE GUNS. 



English gun-makers decry American guns because most of them 

 are made by machinery. The conservatism of the English char- 

 acter disinclines them to changes, and prejudices them against 

 articles not produced in the old ways. So far these objections are 

 at least honestly entertained, but beyond this, there is unquestion- 

 ably the bias of national prejudices, the egotism of the English 

 character, which forbids recognition of goodness in American pro- 

 ductions, and the inability of hand-work to compete with machine- 

 work in point of cheapness. The popular idea of cheap English 

 labor is erroneous when applied to certain classes. Skilled labor 

 commands high pay in the best English workshops, and guns 

 turned out in such must bring good prices to be remunerative. 

 In addition to this is the duty on guns sent to this country, and 

 the total cost is great when compared with that of guns made by 

 machinery, so that to maintain a footing in the American market 

 buyers must be taught to consider English guns the best, hence the 

 belittling of American guns to which we refer. 



Greener, from whom we have already quoted, and whose experi- 

 ence in gun matters makes his opinion valuable when it is free 

 from prejudice, has been most unjust in his criticisms of American 

 guns, and his unfounded assertions have been repeatedly contra- 



