248 
MINUTES OF PEOCEEDINGS OF 
The conditions enumerated are, to recapitulate:— 
Bullet to weigh 500 grains. 
Powder charge, 7 5 grains. 
Weight of rifle without bayonet, 9 lbs. 
• Calibre, O'5 inch. * 
Length of barrel, as at present, 39 inches. 
Twist, 1 in 35 inches, or 1 in 40 inches. 
There remain for consideration the lock and breech mechanism, and the 
description of cartridge. 
The present Enfield lock is serviceable and durable, but when it is borne 
in mind that this description of lock was first introduced with the old flint 
and steel guns, and that the copper cap was invented partly with a view to 
its applicability to this lock ; there seems no reason for slavishly adhering to 
it when the other parts about the breech of a gun have been so thoroughly 
revolutionized. 
The spiral spring of the needle gun would be equally applicable to many 
other systems using either rim fire or central fire cartridges, and it would be 
very much cheaper to manufacture and to fit to the stock. 
Systems of breech mechanism are so numerous that it is impossible to fix 
upon one which is decidedly superior to all others; indeed, it would be 
unreasonable to expect a faultless construction, when the number of con¬ 
ditions to be fulfilled is considered. Close fitting sliding surfaces are 
objectionable as being easily put out of order by a small quantity of dirt 
or rust. The base of the cartridge must be strongly supported so that there 
is no possibility of the breech being blown open. Escape of gas should be 
entirely prevented. 
The motions necessary to open and close the breech and withdraw the 
cartridge case should be few and simple, and the cartridge should be effectually 
extracted so as to require no after motion to pick it out by hand. 
If a riin fire or central fire cartridge is employed, a method of closing the 
breech is to be preferred, which during the last part of the closing motion 
presses home the cartridge if not pushed well home by hand. 
As regards the cartridge none is so simple as the copper case with rim 
fire, and although no cartridge of this description has yet been made suitable 
for use with a charge of 75 grains of powder and 500 grain bullet, there is 
no reason to say that such a cartridge is an impossibility, and the simple 
metallic case does not necessitate the riin fire principle, but could be made 
available for central fire. 
As before stated, the central fire principle in most general use is that of 
Potet, but seeing that this necessitates a hole in the base of the cartridge 
which has to be luted with beeswax to render it waterproof, it would appear 
preferable to try some plan in which the case does not require to be pierced. 
When the bore of the gun is so small as 0*50" the cartridge necessarily 
becomes rather too long, and to obviate this a plan has been tried in Germany 
and America of using a powder chamber of larger diameter than the bore of 
the gun, and of making the cartridge to fit it, this has the effect of disposing 
the powder in a better form for rapid combustion, and at the same time makes 
