ge5^eral history. 



[121 



sitting of the second chamber on 

 Jan. 4th, the report of the cen- 

 tral section was read, lelative to 

 the mode in whicli the minutes 

 should in future be (hawn «p, 

 and whether the opinions deli- 

 vered by the members should be 

 inserted at length, or in analysis. 

 The report recommended, on tlie 

 ground of an article in the stand- 

 ing orders, that no speech sliould 

 be inserted in the minutes, witli 

 the exception of leading or inci- 

 dental expositions. This occa- 

 sioned a warm debate, and Mr. 

 Pycke, a member from East Flan- 

 ders, delivered a long speech 

 against the recommendation. Ar- 

 guing from an article in the Con- 

 stitutional Code, enacting the 

 publicity of the discussicms in 

 the second chamber, lie contend- 

 ed, that tlie intention of the le- 

 gislature could hardly have been 

 that this pviblicity should be con- 

 fined to the few auditors who 

 daily attended in the galleries at 

 Hague and Brussels ; and tliat it 

 was important that the public, 

 as well as the deputies, shoidd be 

 acquainted with the persons who 

 most promoted the interests of 

 their country, in order to direct 

 them in their future elections of 

 representatives. He replied to 

 the objections urged in the com- 

 mittee, of the slownesh such a 

 practice would occasion in theli- 

 proceedings, and the time it would 

 cost to the secretary and mem- 

 bers, by remarking, that theii' 

 time could not be better expended 

 than by ])romoting the good of 

 the kingdom. 



Mr. Gondebieu, from Hai- 

 nault, in opposition, said, that 

 the meetings of the chamber be- 

 ing public, every one who chose 



it might hear and report their 

 discussions, and that for this rea- 

 son it was imnecessary that the 

 minutes should contain the deli- 

 berations. The question being- 

 put to the vote, INIr. Pycke's mo- 

 tion was negatived by 64 to 23. 



Another member from West 

 Flanders having put the question, 

 whether the minutes might not 

 at least contain an abstract of the 

 opinions of each member, it was 

 negatived by 5'2 to .'io. 



The great improvement in do- 

 mestic policy, of establishing an 

 uniform system of weights and 

 measures founded on stable prin- 

 ciples, which has (<ccui)ied many 

 states in Europe, and it is to be 

 hoped, will in time become uni- 

 versal, has in this year been taken 

 up by the government of the Ne- 

 therlands, and his Majesty on 

 June 4th submitted a plan tor 

 the purpose to the States-general. 

 In the royal message preceding, 

 it is observed, that the plan ap- 

 proved, called the metrical or de- 

 cimal, has already been introduced 

 by law into many provinces of 

 the kingdom, (those, apparently, 

 which had longest been under 

 the dominion of France,) and had 

 'oeen employed in all the transac- 

 tions in which public authority 

 takes a part. As it cannot but 

 be of advantage to ])l;!ce under 

 general consideration every well- 

 weighed proposal fin- bringing 

 into ])iactice a scheme of great 

 national utility, ^^■e shall copy the 

 articles of the law here oifered for 

 enactment. 



Art. 1. As soon as circum- 

 stances shall pei-mit, and at 

 furthest by the 1st of January 

 18'20, the same weights and mea- 

 sures shall be introduced through- 

 out 



