Ka Leo o ka Lahui, Volume II, Number 349, 21 December 1891 — New Weapons of War. [ARTICLE]

New Weapons of War.

The invention of formidable weapons of war continues to receive so much encouragement in Europe that only the most fearful carnage can be predicted as the result of the various efforts to increase the efficiency of guns and explosives. Whether the theory is valid or not that war itself will be abolished from the excess of means of destruction, it is cer

tain that the European government are not restrained by any theoratical fears, but are vying with each other in the securing of i mportant secrets of advanced methods of war instruments. The Austro-Hungar-iau War-office is now sternly guarding the secret of a new explosive called "ecracite," which has been invented by two Austrian engineers. Its power surpasses that of dynamite by ten to seven, and it is servicable alike for cartridges and cannon. The future of military operations will have an aspect of terror not before known, if this new explosive is put into practice. By experiment it is found that the "ecracite" will cause one bomb-shell to practically demolish a line of five hundred men. With such in operation, the present conditions of the Red Cross or any other hospital service would be entirely inadequate, and the increase of Bands of Mercy would be demanded. Another new invention of war with similar purposes of wholesale destruction, is a gun, the manufacture of which has been, until recently, a profound secret in England. This weapon is pneumatic in principle, and is said to be superior to all guns fired with smokeless powder. The gun is described as "almost noiseless, absolutely smokeless, and having no recoil; and even if fired by night by a moving field battery in a wood with a shell, the only possible means of judging where the shot came from would be by following the projectiles or watching the di rec tion in which they struck the ground. and so following the line from which they came." The formidable character of this weapon is apparent.—Boston Journal.