sect. II. THE COUNTY OF FUE. 371 



come so familiar, through practice, that the peo- 

 ple cannot easily mistake or be imposed upon. 

 They know, not only the proportion they hear 

 to one another, but the several kinds of goods 

 to which they are severally applied. 



But though all this may he in a great mea- 

 sure true, it must be confessed, that a more ge- 

 neral uniformity would be very desirable, as it 

 would contribute to remove all suspicion and; 

 uncertainty in commercial transactions, and en- 

 able buyers and sellers to settle prices, with great- 

 er ease and precision. 



Some, who have attended much to this subject, 

 and these, too, men of the greatest abilities^ have 

 pronounced the scheme of reducing the weights 

 and measures to a fixed and uniform standard, 

 to be extremely difficult, if not impracticable. 

 To me, I confess, the difficulty does not appear 

 unsurmountable. This may be owing, perhaps, 

 to my not understanding the matter thoroughly : 

 And confidence, it is well known, is never great- 

 er than when it proceeds from ignorance. But 

 whether my ideas be right or wrong, to men- 

 tion them, as others have done theirs, can do 

 no harm. Might not the Winchester bushel be 

 established by an act of the Legislature, as the 

 measure of capacity for all dry goods ; the Aver- 

 dupoise pound, with its parts and multiples, as 

 the measure by weight ; the English wine gal- 

 lon, containing 462 cubic inches, with its parts 

 and multiples, as the measure for liquids ; and 

 the English yard of 36 inches, for measuring 

 all lines, surfaces, and solids, for the whole 

 kingdom ? Some confusion and uncertainty 

 might, probably, take place at first ; but this 

 3 A 2 



