Rule of Proof. Rule of Proof.

The Gunpowder used shall be of equal Quality and Strength with that which is now used or from Time to Time shall hereafter be used by F1the Ministry of Defence.

The Bullets used shall be of Lead, and of the Size and Weight prescribed by the respective Scales for Proof; in Shape, except Bullets used for Rifled Arms, they shall be spherical, cylindrical, or conical.

The Wads used, except Wads used for Rifled Arms, shall be of Felt, or Cork, or Paper, and shall not exceed in Thickness the Length of One Diameter of the Bore, one Wad to be placed over the Powder and the other over the Bullet.

As to Rifled Arms of every Description, the Quantity of Powder used for the First Proof shall be Three hundred per Cent. and for the Second Proof Two hundred per Cent. of the Service Charge. The Bullets used shall be flat-ended Projectiles of Lead, and cylindrical, calculated on the Specific Gravity of Lead being 11·352, and for the First and Second Proof they shall be One hundred and thirty-five per Cent. of the Service Weight. The Wads used shall be of solid Felt or Cork, and shall be in Thickness the Length of One Diameter of the Bore, one Wad to be placed over the Powder and the other over the Bullet.

Barrels for Arms of the Second and Fourth Classes shall be proved provisionally and definitively, or, at the Request in Writing of the Person or Persons sending the Barrels for Proof, shall be proved once only, in which Case such Barrels shall be sent in the State for definitive Proof, but shall be proved according to the Scale for provisional Proof, and shall be marked with a special Mark denoting that such Barrels have been proved in the definitive State according to the Scale for provisional Proof; and, subject as herein-after mentioned, Barrels for all other Arms shall be proved once definitively; but nevertheless the Scale used for proving such Barrels for Arms of the Third Class as have the Diameter of the Bore in every Part One Inch and a Quarter or upwards shall be the provisional Scale.

It shall be sufficient from Time to Time to prove all Breech-loading Military Barrels in the same Manner as Breech-loading Military Barrels made for the Use of Her Majesty’s Forces, and with the same Weight of Gunpowder and the same Description of Cartridge as are now used or from Time to Time shall hereafter be used in the Proof of similar Barrels at the Government Factory at Enfield.

As to any Military Barrel made for the Use of Her Majesty’s Forces, or for the late Honourable East India Company, which has ceased to belong to Her Majesty, but which bears, in addition to a Proof Mark authorized by the Ministry of Defence, the Letter O struck (prior to such Cesser) over or upon the Broad Arrow or some Part thereof by the said Ministry, it shall, if it be a Rifled Barrel, be proved with definitive Proof, or if it be a Smooth Bore Barrel with Half the Charge of Powder, but with the same Weight of Bullet which would be applicable to the Proof thereof if such Barrel were an unproved Barrel under this Act, and after either such Proof such Barrel shall be marked as proved definitively; and as to any Military Barrel made for the Use of Her Majesty’s Forces, or for the late Honourable East India Company, which has ceased to belong to Her Majesty, and which does not bear, in addition to a Proof Mark authorized by the Ministry of Defence, the Letter O or the Letter S struck (prior to such Cesser) over or upon the Broad Arrow or some Part thereof by that Ministry, it shall (whether it shall or shall not bear a Proof Mark authorized by that Ministry) be liable to Proof as an unproved Barrel according to its Classification under this Act.