COMMITTEES ON BEHALF OF THE GOVERNMENT 245 
New York. Early in 1867 General Meigs was obliged to with- 
draw from the committee on account of ill health. He was re- 
placed by L. M. Rutherfurd, who in turn was prevented by sick- 
ness from taking an active part in the work of the committee. The 
labors of 1867 fell, therefore, entirely upon Henry and Hilgard. 
No sooner had the adoption of the Tice spirit meter been 
decided upon than difficulties began to arise regarding it. The 
manufacturer, through sickness and unforeseen mechanical 
difficulties, failed to deliver the meters as promptly as agreed 
upon, and he also claimed that on account of the small number 
ordered the cost of manufacturing them was necessarily greater. 
The Treasury Department thereupon increased the order to 100 
meters. As already mentioned, a number of these instruments 
were attached to distilleries in New York late in 1867 and early 
in 1868. They had scarcely been put into operation than a storm 
of opposition arose from the distillers, and on February 3, 1868, 
a joint resolution of Congress was approved appointing a com- 
mission of five persons who, in connection with the committee 
of the Academy, should again immediately examine all meters 
presented to them for consideration and report to Congress in 
detail the results of their examination, together with such recom- 
mendations as would in their opinion promote the interests of 
the Government. The resolution also directed that all work on 
the construction of meters under direction of the Treasury De- 
partment should be suspended until the report was submitted, 
and that no further contract for such instruments should be made 
under the act of March 2, 1867." 
The introduction of this resolution led to an extended and 
acrimonius discussion in both houses of Congress, a discussion 
which took a wide range and even involved the question of the 
integrity of the highest officers of the Government. Those who 
opposed the measure did so on the ground that no form of meter 
would protect the Government from fraud, or that scientific 
men were not qualified to pronounce on the practical utility of 
* See Stat. at Large, vol. 15, 1869, pp. 246, 247, 40th Congress, 2d Session, Res. no. 9. 
