MANUFACTURE OF AMMUNITION IN THE COLONY.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1546, 21 May 1885, Page 2

MANUFACTURE OF AMMUNITION IN THE COLONY.

Auckland, Last Night. Colonel Whitmore has just concluded a contract on behalf of the Government with Captain Whitney for the mannfaoture here of half a million rounds of snider ball ammunition. The price is.but a slight advance on the imported article, and Captain Whitney has men in his em- - ploy acquainted with the manufacture, of cartridges. Captain Whitney is an ex- ; officer in the Army with private means. He is the representative of a number of other Auckland gentlemen, including - Messrs G. Schwartz, Kiasling and W. H. Hazard, who intend.forming a Company, to be called the New Zealand Cartridge Company, for the purpose of carrying out their contract. The contract wjth ... Government is for a space of three year* ; that is the Government bind themselves to purchase rifle ammunition only from the contractors. A portion of the ma« . ohinery for the manufactory will in the Colony, it being the intention, of , the promoters to encourage local industry aa much as possible. The consumption of . Snider ball ammunition in the Colony for Volunteers for practice is 1,000,000 rounds. It is intended to use powder manufactured at the Dnnedin powder mill, and should it prove as good as represented, • the Cartridge Company will use many thousand of pounds’ weight of it yearly. Mr James Hurst, who has for many years past made the scientific manufacture of explosives a special study, to-day forwarded to the Under-Secretary for Defence a sample of gun cotton manu* factored by him alter General von Temps* key’s process.