(.ONFHKKNt i; OK St'l I". NTl l-'U S( )(,1 KTIFCS. 523 



a (|uitt.' uiireasi)nal)lc proportion of the time available for educa- 

 tion beinx s])ent on work which is really non-educational in 

 character, and has prevented a proper development of the school 

 cnrriculinii in the direction of mathematics. 



(J) Some relief should be gi\-en from the existin<^ condi- 

 tions wherein the school deals with three systems of wei,<j[hts and 

 measures — the Inijjerial, the Metric, and the Ca])e. 



(3) The International Metric System has now been taught 

 in our schools for a period sufficiently lono- {o render its daily 

 use quite simple to the greater part of the pojjulation. 



The Board therefore desired to draw the attention of the 

 < io\ernment of South Africa to the desirability O'f : 



{a) Making' the weights and measures of the Metric Sys- 

 tem com];u]^"ory for use in internal trade and manufac- 

 ture; and 



( /' ) Introducing a decimal s\stem of coinage at an early 

 date. 



Mr. C. H. Leake, President of the Johannesburg Chamber of 

 Commerce, in seconding the motion, said that the war had taught 

 us that we needed increasetl production, and if a method could be 

 introduced that would save time, as the Metric System would 

 undoubtedly save time, then there is everything in favour of it. 

 The advantages of the Metric System so far outweigh the dis- 

 advantages that it is difficult to eee how anyone could object to it. 



Mr. J. Davidson. Assizer to the Johannesburg Municipality, 

 pointed out that the Union (Government does not possess a single 

 tangible standard of weights and measures to which it can refer 

 as the " standard unit of weights and nu'a>ures '" from which all 

 other units of weights and measures shall be derived; nor has 

 it, notwithstanding the fact that it is now in its se\enth year 

 since Union, defined what standards are to be used throughout 

 the country. The several Provinces which came into the Union 

 have, it is true, some ancient legislation on the subject, but there 

 is no uniformity amongst them. The greatest evil in connection 

 with weights and measures in the Union arises from the fact 

 that up-todate bye-laws are enforced in the Reef Municipalities 

 and in Pretoria, whilst traders in other towns are at liberty to 

 do as they please. The uniformity which would follow from the 

 introduction of the Metric System would remove a great many 

 c-nomalies. 



After some discussion as to the exact wording of the resolu- 

 tion, it was carried without any dissentieiU. 



Dr. R. A. Lehfeldt, Professor of Economics, South .\frican 

 School of Mines and lecluKjlogy. ])roposed Resolution 2: 



That the Govermiient of the Union of Sonth .\frica .shonld co-operate 

 with the Home Government and those of the other .self-.«overning Domi- 

 nions with regard to tlie decinialisation of coinage. 



He said that the only sort of argument that one would have 

 to work against was that the change from the present coinage to 

 decimal coinage would be beyond the capacity of the people. .\s 



