One great Cause of the Waste and abuse of the public Arms is the want of a Sufficient number of Armourers to attend the Army. If the Smallest matter is amiss in the Lock, the Gun is useless, and if an Armourer is not at hand to repair it, it must be returned into the Store and a New one drawn, or it is thrown aside into a Baggage Waggon and perhaps lost or broken by Carriage. The want of Armourers also gives the Officers a fair Opportunity of attributing many things, which are really owing to their inattention to their Men, to the impossibility of keeping the Arms in order without such persons; And it is no uncommon thing to find Arms returned as defective, upon close inspection, to want only rubbing and cleaning. [More]
ah, the "public arms." your standard tragedy of the commons problem.
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