532 WITH THE INTERNATIONAL FIELD FORCE IN CRETE, 1897. 
stance, nor constitution, can they be compared with the Irish mules 
they replaced. I trust, therefore, Irish dealers my be encouraged to 
breed mules in larger numbers than at present, for our home establish¬ 
ment. 
In conclusion, I think it may fairly be stated that we all learnt some¬ 
thing from each other and gained useful experience. The Internation¬ 
al Occupation enabled the European Powers without doubt to initiate 
the present satisfactory form of Government in Crete. Peace was its 
mission, prosperity its goal, and it has enabled the inhabitants of that 
unhappy island to reap in future the beneficient products of the soil, 
rather than has been hitherto mostly the case, the direful harvest of fire 
and sword (applause) 
Discussion. 
The CHAIRMAN : —If there is anybody in the room ready to discuss 
the subject of the lecture we shall be very glad to hear him. As Major 
Simpson has raised some very interesting questions about the Mount¬ 
ain Artillery and I think there are a number of Mountain Artillery 
Officers here to-night it is to be hoped that some of them will give us 
the benefit of their experiences. 
Major J. H. BOR, C.M.G., Royal Marine Artillery :—General 
Maurice, Officers and gentlemen, after the interesting lecture that 
Major Simpson has given us I do not know that there is much 
to add which would be instructive to an audience composed 
chiefly of Artillery officers. I quite agree with Major Simpson 
as to the superiority of the magazine rifle in action of some 
of the Foreign Powers as compared with our own. I think the 
magazine arrangement of the German rifle, of the Italian, the Austrian, 
and the Rrussian is much superior to our own magazine arrangement; 
for this reason, that they carry their cartridges secured in light 
aluminium fitters, as they are called I believe, so that when they open 
the magazine they simply slip in one of these fitters, each carrying five 
cartridges with it, so that they put in five cartridges with the same 
number of motions as are required to put in one with us Our maga¬ 
zine arrangement is very clumsy because we have to slip in one cart¬ 
ridge after another until it is full That was impressed upon me 
very much during one night attack at Izzedin when there was some 
prospect of our being rushed by superior numbers. I sent orders to 
the English detachment there to charge their magazines, and in the 
darkness and confusion several of the men let their rifles off accidental¬ 
ly. I think it is rather important to point that out although it does 
not concern the Artillery generally. 
As regards the Turkish Artillery my experience did not quite agree 
with that of Major Simpson. He said their ammunition was old and 
obsolete, ft may have been so as regards the Mountain Artillery, but 
I certainly found the fortress Artillery very efficient gunners. I had 
two batteries under my command at Fort Izzedin for three months, 
and I was much struck by the way they drilled. The armament in 
Fort Izzedin consisted of 12 16-centimetre guns and one 21 centimetre 
gun ; the officer in executive charge there was a young fellow who had 
