A Special Committee has been ordered to inquire into the
merits and demerits of the new rifle ; but it is possible that before it can report all existing rifles will have been super- seded. The great soldiers of the Continent appear to be con- vincing themselves that the repeating rifle will ultimately super- sede all weapons ; and in spite of the expense, whole divisions in Germany and Austria are to be armed with them. The latter country, for instance, will at once spend 21,500,000. The inquiry, however, is not yet ended ; for although to laymen it appears certain that a repeating rifle must be the more formidable weapon, there are difficulties in the way of adopting it. Rough men like the soldiers of Europe are not easily taught to keep fine mechanism in order, the supply of cartridges must be greatly increased, and, the danger of wasteful firing becomes greater. Still, defeat is too costly to be endured, and the bravest soldiers, as the campaign of 1866 showed, will hardly face a weapon visibly superior to their own. Like every other improvement of recent years, the benefit of the new rifle will fall to the nation which has the coolest—we do not mean the bravest—soldiers, the men who, having the means of pouring out rapid volleys, will pour them out deliberately. That is easily taught on the parade. ground, but the actual advance of an enemy is found to quicken the desire to shoot at him in a quite remarkable way,—and a regiment with its ammunition expended soon becomes a crowd.
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