The _matériel_ equipment was again submitted to the consideration of a committee early in 1801; Lieutenant-Colonel MacIntyre was the president, and Major Gordon, Captains Grace, Wittit, and Johnson, members. By this time a muster-carriage for the horse artillery had been made up on the general principle of the Madras pattern, by Major Glass, and in Colonel Greene’s letter of instructions to the committee, he says it is “well adapted for the purpose, and can be used with equal efficacy with a line of infantry;” its particular construction was recommended to the committee’s consideration, “but at the same time, as many field-carriages are wanted immediately, and cannot be delayed so long as required to complete carriages on that pattern,” he advised “the adoption of the 6–pounder as altered by Colonel Duff, in preference to the present field-carriage, for the service in the line of infantry, it being much lighter, and having been found on trial sufficiently strong.” The committee gave the preference to the pattern then in use, that is, apparently, the old one with a few alterations, such as making the axletree equally thick all through, the cheek-bolts through the axle-bed, the elevating screw-box being removed from the centre transom and placed a little in front, and its shoulders working in gudgeons fitted to the cheeks; and their recommendation was adopted by the board, who ordered the 6–pounder carriages then wanted to be made of this construction. An experiment was also made at this time with iron[33] cheeks for a horse artillery gun-carriage; the wooden ones were, however, preferred, but unfortunately no record appears of the reasons on which the iron cheeks were disapproved; it would be interesting, now that the question of iron carriages has been agitated; it is one of the many instances which a research into the history of artillery shews perhaps more than any other science, “the thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done; and there is no new thing under the sun.” Another instance may be given. In 1840, Major Timbrell made a pair of flat twisted chain traces for pole-horses, and being found very convenient, the experiment was tried on a larger scale. Captain Brind’s troop was equipped with them, as also was another on the march to join the Army of Reserve in 1842, but they failed from the difficulty of insuring perfectly good workmanship. In December, 1800, “the commissary of stores is ordered to have a set of flat chains made up in the arsenal as soon as possible, for the traces of the (experimental horse artillery) harness.” At this time then there were two patterns of light field-carriages in use,—one a beam-trail with the galloper-guns; the other a double-cheek with the foot artillery and battalion guns. In the accompanying sketches, Plate No. 3 represents the galloper-carriage, while the foot artillery retained a double-cheek pattern, modified from No. 1.