90 Transactions. — Miscellaneous. 



people were more strict in the matter of standards than the 

 Saxons. They had a practical and scientific system ; their 

 monarchs made it a matter of duty to see that no corruptions 

 or deviations took place, and the British measures have been 

 so closely guarded that after a thousand years the divergence 

 is so slight as only to be detected by very accurate measure- 

 ments. In France, as in England, the foot was divided into 

 twelve inches, and the inch into twelve lines, and the line again 

 into six, and this last subdivision, of J^'i'^ch, was called the 

 " point." Whether the point was also recognised in Britain I 

 do not know ; it is now, and as it is the basis of all printers' 

 measurements it is usually known as the "typographical 

 point." As it is not minute enough for all purposes, the half- 

 point difference is recognised in the smaller types, so that in 

 systematic type-measurement, which is exactly the same in 

 principle (though not in standard) all the world over, the old 

 national measures are retained, in which the duodecimal sub- 

 division is consistently followed throughout :— 



12 half-points = 1 line. 



12 lines = 1 inch. 



12 inches = 1 foot. 



The French standard was larger than the English in the 

 proportion approximately of 555 to 517, and the Continental 

 and British type-standai'ds differ respectively to-day in the 

 same proportion." 



A like agreement in principle with diversity of standard 

 prevailed in regard to weights for ordinary purposes, the 

 pound being divided by the simplest series of all — 2, 4, 8, 16. 

 The larger measures and weights were varying multiples, 

 more or less systematic, some local, others adapted to special 

 purposes only, and many of limited application, obsolete, or 

 nearly so. A uniform principle underlying so much divergence 

 in detail might have suggested a reason, and possibly a good 

 reason, for its retention. Scientific reformers would have 

 inquired if such reason existed ; for with uniformity of prin- 

 ciple already to their hand nothing more was required to 

 establish an international system than the harmonizing and 

 unification of the standards of measure and weight, which 

 could have been accomplished with a minuuum disturbance of 



* Theorelically. The systematization of type was seriously taken in 

 hand in the United States some years ago, and is now in general use. At 

 first the national standard was taken, but the vested interests of large 

 houses working on an inaccurate system prevailed, leading to a departure 

 from the true standard, which, though infinitesimal and ignored in all 

 ordinary reckoning, is greatly to be regretted. The precise divergence 

 between the American type-standard and the British Imperial standard is 

 0005 inch in the foot, the typographical inch as at present defined there- 

 fore equalling 0-999583 of the standard inch. 



