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giants in strength, with, the bodies of pigmies, the tow boats, 

 moving with impatient snortings like Neptune's sea horses, and 

 carrying by their power immense forms with masts, and spars, and 

 rigging, looming in huge, uncertainly high through the misty glow 

 of this quiet, breezeless, roseate air. It seems almost a pity to 

 destroy so beautiful a scene by the utilitarian appliances of com- 

 merce; but the mariner frets as the sails flap, and invokes the aid 

 of steam to take him from the enchanted port — the sea-breeze 

 rises, the sunlight glows, the illusion vanishes, the ships move, 

 and the beautiful passes into the useful. 



Weights and Measures. 



At a recent meeting the Chamber of Commerce has taken up 

 the subject of weights and measures. As this important matter, 

 striking deep into the interest of society, is now agitated both in 

 the Chamber of Commerce and in the Geographical Society of this 

 city, I would observe, that a great and simple reform would be to 

 insist upon owe weight and one measure — 'to adopt one unit of 

 weight, one unit of length measure, and one unit of capacity 

 measure, for both liquid and dry measures. There can be but 

 little doubt that some day there will be a nearly universal system 

 of weights, measures, and coins in use. The world will not 

 bear the useless labor and waste of time caused by the present 

 diversities, and as communication grows more easy, this burthen 

 will become intolerable. Sinbad, the sailor, will not continue to 

 carry this old man of the land upon his shoulders. 



In view of this, if it is desirable to postpone any radical changes, 

 the least that should be done is to reform our weights and mea- 

 sures, so that we shall use only one unit of weight, the troy or 

 avoirdupois pound; one unit of length measure, the yard or foot; 

 one unit of capacity measure, the gallon or bushel, and that these 

 shall be decimally divided. 



The United States government has, with a view to produce 

 practical uniformity, distributed to all the States actual standards 

 of weights and measures, and has multiplied them by sending also 

 to the custom houses. These, by legislation in most of the States> 

 (twenty-five out of the thirty-one,) are adopted as the only lawful 

 standards of weights and measures. 



