THE SILENT RIFLE.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 9158, 4 August 1908, Page 3

THE SILENT RIFLE.

INVENTOR'S DEMONSTRATION 4 OF ITS POWERS. Mr Hiram Percy Maxim created a , profound sensation in New York last j month with his new noiseless rifle. The inventor attended a meeting of managers of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, one of whom had offered a prize for the mbit humane invention fitted to supersede the axe in the slaughtering of animals. Mr Maxim suggested the noiseless rifle. He took the weapon, which resembles an ordinary Winchester rifle of .32 calibre, out"of its case. The spectators immediately proposed that the party should go into the coumry to witness an exhibition of the new i invention. "There is no need to go into the country," replied Mr Maxim, "I will show you in this room what the rifle can do." Heedless of the chorus of protests the inventor placed two City directories against the wall, levelled the rifle at the outer one, an J pulled the trigger. There wa* a slight click and that wa3 all. Mr Maxim dropped the weapon and turned to the spectators smiling. "Well," he said, "what hapoened? Why did not the gun go off?" "Oh, it went off all right," answered the inventor. "Ju3t liok at the outside directory." The sceptics picked it up and found t,he book was penetrated six inches by a soft-nosed bullet. Mr Maxim declined to allow the gun to be examined, as he said it was' insufficiently protected by i__4iaS.ents. He announced, however, that a public demonstration would-be given-next month at Sandy Hook spider Government supervision. "I shall not,", he added, "allow any butcher to use the weapon unless he gives the strictest guarantees that he will never remove it from the slaughterhouse, for I 3hudder to think to what use 3 the invention might be put in the hands of criminals."