462 THE DECIMAL SYSTEM. 



eliminating- the half-crown and coining a new tickey to the value 

 of 2.4d. (of the present copper coinage) and issuing five to the 

 shilling (or half -florin) the public would be gradually prepared 

 for the complete adoption of a decimal coinage. 



In addition to the countries mentioned by Mr. In.yham at the 

 Johannesburg Conference, Mr. Allcock mentions in his London 

 lecture Canada, Newfoundland, Egypt, the Straits Settle- 

 ments, Ceylon, British East Africa and Uganda. It may, how- 

 ever, be pointed out that the German mark, with its nickel sub- 

 divisions, circulates in the British South West African Protec- 

 torate (late German South-West Africa), while in German East 

 Africa the rupee (15 to the i=:is. 4d.) circulates; the Germans 

 sub-divided the rupee into 100 hellers; the natives, however, ad- 

 hered to the " anna " (penny) of 16 to the rupee, each anna equal 

 to. 4 pice (=: farthing). In Biritish East Africa, Uganda, and 

 Zanzibar 'both Indian and English coins circulate. India would 

 aj^pear to be the difficulty in the way of the adoption of a decimal 

 coinage for the Overseas Dominions. It was not a simple matter 

 for Sir Guilford Molesworth when he introduced the present 

 decimal coinage into Ceylon ; it took the reform party five >'ears 

 to educate the people through a Decimal Association, but when 

 the change was made no difficulty was experienced with the new 

 coinage. In view of the diversity in units of monetary vakte 

 employed by different countries, and of external influences such 

 as fluctuation in the rate of exchange, it is clear that a universal 

 system of coinage for all the countries of the world is unattain- 

 able, since such fluctuations would prevent international coins of 

 the same face value having always the same actual value. Such 

 influences, however, do not afTect 



Weights .^nd Measures. 



The rapid adoption of the metric system in all countries, 

 except Great Britain and the Dominions, has limited the choice 

 to one between the British Imperial system and the International 

 Metric System. The advantages of the metric system is that 

 it is an international language based upon a scientific system 

 which itself has the advantages of a decimal relation between 

 units, a very simple relation between the units of length, area, 

 volume and weight, together with a simple and self -defining 

 series of names for these units. 



It is the change in the unit of length which presents serious 

 difficulty. The change to the kilogram as the unit of weight 

 could be easily effected ; but its adoption alone would not jirovide 

 the very great flexibility and simplicity in calculation which the 

 complete system allows. The greatest trouble and exj^ense 



would occur in the engineering and transportation industries. 

 The American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the firm of 

 Sellars (comparable with Whitworth in England) decided against 

 the adoption of the metric svstem and decided to adhere to the 

 English inch as the unit of length. Sir Archibald Denny 

 suggested that, since the metre is 39.37 inches, it would provide 



