408
THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE.

17th February, 1875.
COLONEL MOULE,—At the late competition for the
colonial prizes at the Thames, great complaints were
made by nearly every competitor of the quality of
the ammunition supplied to them; it was "Eley's
I saw scores of defective cartridges, some
only half (or three-quarter) full of powder, others
entirely empty. The bullets were in many cases split,
without plugs, and the base cut off at an angle of
about 45°.

The ammunition ordered from this office was
"21,000 rounds muzzle-loading Enfield ammunition,
1870."

FRAS. STEVENS.

Memo. No. 177.

LIEUT.-COLONEL MOULE,—The first ammunition
ordered up for the Prize Firing was that of 1870,
being the then newest in the colony; but in the
meantime, as reported to Defence Office, ammunition
dated 1874 arrived, and was sent instead of 1870, it
being considered desirable that the Volunteers
should have the latest and best ammunition.

The new ammunition was tried before being sent,
and no complaint was made of it. If it is as bad as
Mr. Stevens reports (which I very much doubt), I
can only attribute it to the Agent-General getting it
from Messrs. Bond and James, instead of the War
Department, as formerly.

I have examined some; it appears to me perfectly
good; and as regards weight, equal quantities of
1870 and this ammunition were weighed and com-
pared this morning by Captain Crowe, and I am
informed, if anything, the 1874 was the heavier of the
two.

EDWARD GORTON,
Inspector of Stores.

Wellington, 18th February, 1875.

Memo. for the Hon. Sir D. McLean.

I issued instructions for the ammunition of 1870
to be sent to the Thames, it being then the latest
received in the colony, but shortly after a supply of
1874 ammunition arrived from England, and this
being the newest was sent to the Thames; the object
of the Inspector of Stores and myself being that the
Representatives should have the very latest ammuni-
tion.

It is a well-known fact that the very best shots
occasionally fall off in their shooting, and it is usual
on such occasion to lay the blame on the rifle or
ammunition, and I fancy there was something of this
sort at the Thames, as, in addition to the test men-
tioned by Colonel Gorton, I have carefully compared
the shooting with the Enfield rifle at the Thames
with that at Napier last year, and the result is very
much in favour of the new ammunition, as the follow-
ing table clearly demonstrates. The range and
number of shots were the same both years, and the
rifles have certainly not improved.

1875. 1874. North and South Match. Scores of all
            the competitors ... 1029 998

Total ... ... 2,654 2,582
Points in favour of the new ammunition 72
W. MOULE,
Lieut.-Colonel.

18th February, 1875.

Militia and Volunteer Office,
Auckland, 1st March, 1875.

SIR,—In compliance with your memorandum of
this date, requiring me to report upon the ammuni-
tion used in the recent rifle competition, I beg to
make the following remarks on the subject, and on
the correspondence which is attached to your memo-
randum.

The so-called complaints respecting the ammuni-
tion would appear to have been brought to notice by
Mr. F. Stevens, the clerk of the Militia and Volunteer
Office, who, as regards the arrangements and conduct
of the actual firing, was only a spectator; his specific
duty being to record, in general returns, the various
scores recorded on the field by the squad officers in
their squad-books, after each day's firing was com-
pleted; so that, if it is his duty to report upon
occurrences at these meetings, statements from so
irresponsible a source should be received with some
degree of circumspection.

If the competitors had been compelled to use the
ammunition in question, complaints would, no doubt,
have been numerous; but Colonel Lyon's orders
with respect to it were, that whenever a representa-
tive found himself about to load with a defective
cartridge, he should go at once to the squad officer
stationed at the firing point, and obtain from him a
perfect cartridge, the squad officers being provided
with a reserve supply. Many men did bring to
Colonel Lyon, to myself, and to their squad officers,
cartridges (which were exchanged) in a defective
condition, some only partially filled; and I think I
am within the mark in saying that in the whole
quantity used—many thousand rounds—perhaps
twelve had no powder in them at all. Some bul-
lets were shown to Colonel Lyon, into the cavity
of which the plug had penetrated beyond the base of
the bullet, but this would not, I imagine, interfere
with the accurate flight of the bullet.

The day appointed for the commencement of the
firing was Monday, the 25th January, and on that
day the infantry (while the cavalry were proceeding
with the programme) were provided with ten rounds
per man of the 1874 ammunition, to take to the
range of the Thames Volunteers, in order that they
might discover the peculiarity, if it had any, of this
new and hitherto unused ammunition, and, on their
return, no complaint whatever was made of it.

Notwithstanding the order that every man who
found he had a defective cartridge should go to his
squad officer for a complete one, a few fired with
defective cartridges, and consequently their shots fell
short. In such cases the ammunition was com-
plained of, but no one could well sympathize with so
careless a competitor. The best and most conclusive
test of the good quality of the ammunition in
question is, that the firing at the last annual meeting
was superior to that of previous contests; and I feel
very much inclined to believe that if this 1874
ammunition now remaining in store was opened out,
every cartridge examined, and short-weighted ones
refilled with powder of precisely similar quality, it
would become the ammunition most in request by
the Volunteer force. The favourite ammunition
now, is that of 1870; but in it also there are many
defective cartridges, defective both in quantity and