WAR IS SURE TO COME. Captain Zalinski's Observations in European Countrils. Skillful MangeŒuvres or Glrman Trooos.

Te Aroha News, Volume VII, Issue 430, 21 December 1889, Page 6

WAR IS SURE TO COME. Captain Zalinski's Observations in European Countrils. Skillful MangeŒuvres or Glrman Trooos.

A Ne^w York. c Herald' cable from Paris says : — Captain Zalinski, America's highexplosive celebrity, is studying things more military than otherwise in Paris. He is looking as well a& possible, and says he is enjoying every moment of his European expetience. Ho is travelling under orders to obtain information regarding military question?. He has already visited England, Holland, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, and may go to Italy. Coming to his pet theme Zalinski said : 1 1 am convinced that a European war is inevitable, but not in the immediate future. One consideiation alone is sufficient to maintain peace tor at least two years, viz , the fact that the- continental nations will need that amount of time to equip their armies with a new style of rifle, and po;sibly with modifications of their artillery, to meet the requirements of the smokeless powder in both cases. In this connection I may add that war, instead of being hastened by the frequent improvements in appliances, is actually retarded, because whenever anything of military importance is discovered nations are apt to wait before risking a conflict until they have tested and applied them to their own use. ' As such discoveries are constantly being made, war may thus be postponed indefinitely. But postpone it as they may, a crisis must come. When, war doos come it will be terrible. '

A Suam Battus ix Hanover. '1 ha\e just witnessed the German mameuvres at Hanover, and I assure you that had thoso two army corps done in earnest whab they made a pretence of doingf, of the 50,000 men who went into the ten days* action there would not be 10,000 ready for service to-day. The rest would have been placed /(O/> de combat — dead or wounded. To such a degree have modern improvements in lifedestroying machinery added to the horrors of war.' ' What are apt to be the new features of the coming wars ?' ' One will be that smokeless powder, about which so much ado has been made ; but I am not altogether certain as to the future of this'inventiori. In the first place, it is more than questionable whether the powder will preserveitsqualities long enough to make its adoption warrantable; secondly, supposing that the difficulty is overcome, there is objection to its general uso, in the fact that the mancuuvers of attacking troops would no longer be masked, thus placing them at a sei'ious disadvantage. In consequence, armies might have to carry two kinds of powder and this would be a great incumbrance. '

SmALL-BUKL RII'LES UhKD. ' The small-bore rifle is another new thine:. European armies carry rifles to-day with a bore about half the diameter of those used in our late war. This results in an appreciable saving in size and weight of ammunition, so that a soldier who could formerly carry only 80 rounds, can to-day carry 120 or 140 rounds.' 'Is there a prospect of using high explosive cartridges in rilles ?' * ' What would be the advantage ? A rifle ball kills or disables surely enough as it is. We do not want to blow onemies' bodies into fragments. In fact, we would rather wound their men than kill them, because every wounded man incapacitates at least two others, who look after him, whereas a dead man only needs burial, and even that is sometimes omitted.