72 Dr. Moll on the Comparison of 



and Mr. Bate's pound, is so great, that we cannot help think- 

 ing but that there must exist some notable difference between 

 the Mint standard of troy weight and that according to which 

 both Mr. Robinson and Mr. Bate made their copies. 



By an act of the 5th George IV., the standard of 1758, in 

 the custody of the Clerk of the House of Commons, is de- 

 clared standard of the British troy weight. This standard was 

 made or adjusted in 1758 by Mr. Harris, then Assay-master 

 of the Mint. We cannot, therefore, but admit that, since 

 1758, an enormous and unaccountable change took place be- 

 tween the troy weight as used in the Mint of England and 

 that copy which remained unaltered in the custody of one 

 of the principal officers of the House of Commons. 



Although the weights formerly in use in this country have 

 been abolished and replaced by the French kilogramme, it 

 may not perhaps be altogether superfluous to compare these 

 old weights with the British troy and avoirdupois, as esta- 

 blished by the act of 17th June, 1824, 5th George IV. 



Formerly there were three different sorts of Dutch weights 

 in use in Holland. 



1. The Dutch troy weight, differing essentially from the 

 British troy. It was used in the concerns of the Mint, in the 

 weighing of gold and silver, and also for medical, pharma- 

 ceutical, and philosophical purposes. In the province of 

 Friesland it was the general weight for commercial transac- 

 tions, and no other weight was employed there. 



2. The Amsterdam commercial weight, generally used 

 throughout the country for all commercial concerns on a large 

 scale ; it was originally derived from troy weight. 



3. In shops, and for the retail trade, a light weight was 

 almost generally used, except in Amsterdam. It was also 

 employed, in some cases, in the iron trade. It is originally 

 the Antwerp weight. 



The general opinion is that troy weight derives its name from 

 the city of Troyes in Champagne, in which place it appears 

 that very heavy weight was used in old times. It would seem, 

 however, that there is no document in existence at present, in 

 the records of that town, which is calculated to throw any 

 additional light on the history of the introduction of this 



