20 8 
THE ARMS TRADE OF BELGIUM. 
a contract price of four francs per musket, and now shoot very accu- 
rately at a short range. 
The small arms now in the hands of the infantry are of three 
different modgls, — viz., the musket of 1841, that of 1853, and the stem 
rifle. The first is the old smooth-bore, made after the regulation laid 
down at the introduction of the percussion lock, now rifled and fitted 
with an elevating sight. The second is the present regulation musket 
and varies little from the former except in a slight increase in strength. 
It is loaded with five and a half grammes of powder and a hollow cyiin- 
dro -conical expansive Minie" bullet, with an inner core, which serves to 
preserve the sides of the bullet from being torn by the explosion. 
This bullet, which originated with Peeters, a workman in the royal 
factory, has the advantage over the Minie and Enfield bullets of dis» 
pensing with a plug. The sight is graduated up to a range of 600 paces, 
but the real range of the musket is 1,200 paces. One regiment is armed 
with the stem rifle (" carabine, a tige "), which is shorter than the 
musket, carries a long sword bayonet, and has a steel cylinder or stem 
screwed to the breech inside the barrel, in order to support the bullet 
(which is solid) and allow it to expand into the grooves when struck by 
the ramrod. This is certainly an inferior weapon, being more difficult 
to load and not more accurate in range than the musket. Consequently 
the " tige" is to be removed, and the same hollow bullets will be used 
for all arms. 
The calibre of the Belgian fire-arms, seventeen and a half milli- 
metres, like that of the French, is acknowledged to be excessive when 
applied to the new system. A tire from this bore is certainly more 
murderous, but is inferior in accuracy and range to that of the Enfield 
bore. Another serious consideration is the difference of weight between 
the two systems, especially as to ammunition. 
Belgian 
Enfield 
musket. 
musket. 
Bore in inches 
0-688 
0-577 
Weight of arm with bayonet . lbs. 
10- 
n 
Weight of bullet . . ounces 
1-740 
1-083 
Number of grooves 
4- 
3- 
Both have a uniform twist of one 
turn in inches .... 
79- 
78- 
The Belgian musket is described as equally sound and serviceable, 
but is certainly inferior in finish and style. The view at Enfield is more 
strict. The construction of the Belgian arm, as well as its finish, enables 
it to be made more cheaply than our own. 
The great advantages of the breech-loading system for the musket 
