Cost of “African guns” alias “Park Paling.”

CHAPTER VI.
THE PROOF OF GUN BARRELS.

For a considerable period subsequently to the introduction of the manufacture of gunnery into England, there existed no public proof, or test, for the goodness and safety of barrels; further than that the feeling of the maker induced him to protect the limbs of his customer. Even so early as the seventeenth century, the bias of human nature to evil began to be displayed in the production of materials for guns, the use of which was attended with loss of both life and limb. In consequence of the frequent bursting of inferior guns, the Company of Gunmakers of the City of London instituted a proof-house, to which the barrels of respectable makers were all sent to be proved. The East India Company required all their muskets to undergo the same test; hence it became a custom to have barrels proved there: many also underwent an extra test on the premises of the manufacturer; so jealous were sportsmen, and so necessary was it deemed to provide against any possibility of accident. Thus it was shown clearly that laws are not always required to carry out certain results, but that it is sometimes preferable to allow matters of this kind to be arranged according to the knowledge of the parties interested; for frequently when an individual is aware that there is a law under which, in case of need, he can shelter himself—as many do at this day in case of guns bursting—he becomes careless: he has always a ready answer, “I can assure you the barrel was proved; and there must have been some unfortunate cause for her going: you could not have rammed the wadding home, or you must have put in an extra charge,” and such like excuses. It is never for a moment supposed that there was any insufficiency in the proof.

The great demand for rubbish of a villanous description during the existence of the slave trade, induced some philanthropic gentlemen in Birmingham to found a Company, with suitable premises, for the proof of all gun barrels; and an Act of Parliament was obtained in the year 1813, incorporating the body. The first Act proved insufficient, as the Birmingham makers found easy means of evading it; so they had to obtain a fresh Act in 1815, by which parties receiving any barrel to rib, stock, &c., without its having previously been proved, became liable to a penalty of twenty pounds, and not less than twenty shillings: it also enacted that any person or persons making and selling any gun, the barrels of which had not been proved at either this or the London proof-house, became liable to the same penalty; and it further enacted, that any person or persons forging the stamps or marks of either of the two proof-houses, should be liable to the same penalties, and in default of payment, to a certain term of imprisonment, &c. It also ordered, that all barrels be proved with the quantity of powder in proportion to the various bores enumerated in the table.

The severe, but just, strictures cast upon the lax nature of this Act of Parliament, and the equally lax way in which its provisions were carried out (individual benefit being held to be the most important element in the interpretation), imperatively called for an immediate improvement. The heavy denunciations which I felt bound to visit on the defective working of this “miscalled proof of gun barrels” in my former works, at length opened the eyes, not only of the sportsman and the trade, but also of the Government; and (I believe in 1854) it was intimated to the proof companies of London and Birmingham that the time had arrived “when gun barrels should be proved in reality;” and that if the initiative was not taken by the trade, the Government were prepared to introduce a public Act of Parliament for that purpose. The natural consequence followed, and in 1855 an Act was passed entitled “The Gun Barrel Proof Act 1855,” by which most extensive powers are delegated to the two companies.

The clause of most vital importance enacts that all gun barrels shall be proved twice; first in the rough, which is called provisional proof; and secondly, when the barrels are soldered together, breeched, and percussioned. Thus, in a comparatively finished state, when all the necessary reductions and other operations have been effected, the barrels become properly tested. Not only the metal of the barrels and the soundness of the breeches, but the screwing in of the nipples is proved—a most important check on a very important branch of workmanship, and which if imperfectly done renders the gun dangerous.

The first regulation enacts that “barrels are not to be made up unless proved, and marked as proved.”

2nd. Small arms are not to be sold or exported unless proved, and marked as proved.

3rd. Barrels provisionally proved and reduced in strength are to be deemed unproved.

4th. Barrels reduced so that the mark does not represent the proof are to be deemed unproved.

5th. Barrels with marks defaced are to be deemed unproved.

6th. Barrels with marks removed are to be deemed unproved.

7th. Barrels are to be marked according to scale.

Here follows a list of offences:—

The preceding list of offences against the proper conducting of the gun manufacture have been found, after nearly three years’ experience, to fulfil the intentions of the framers[12] of the bill. Undoubtedly a much more healthy tone has been given to the constitution of the trade; and it is to be fervently hoped that it will entirely eradicate the evil of producing such a vast amount of worthless and dangerous guns. The double-proof has been too much for many of the “sham damns.” No doubt much remains to be done even yet; but the trade is progressing towards convalescence, after this severe purging. With these remarks I shall introduce schedule B of the new Act.

SCHEDULE (B.)

RULES AND REGULATIONS APPLICABLE TO THE PROOF OF SMALL ARMS.

The Scale following shows the Proportions of Gunpowder applicable under the foregoing Rules and Regulations to the Proof of the various Classes of Arms as distinguished by the Trade Numbers indicating the Calibre.