242 MEMOIR OF AUGUSTUS DE MORGAN. 



1856. tained as the unit, the florin one-tenth of the sovereign, 

 the cent, a new silver coin, one-tenth of the florin, and 

 the mil, or old farthing, one-tenth of the cent. There 

 would be no difficulty as to the change of value of the 

 farthing, for, as the copper coin is circulated at a nominal 

 value far beyond its intrinsic worth, its current value 

 might be declared each time by proclamation. 



Among other things it was said that * men with the 

 rare facility of explanation possessed by Professor De 

 Morgan might fix the attention of meetings of the work- 

 ing classes upon the value of the easy road that would be 

 opened to a knowledge of Arithmetic by the proposed 

 change ; but by those who had to legislate for the people 

 the fact was known, and there was no need to withhold 

 the advantage until the masses, becoming informed of its 

 value, should seek it for themselves ; it was, on the con- 

 trary, precisely a case in which the Government, supported 

 by those best informed, should take upon itself the 

 responsibility of conferring a practical boon upon the 

 people in advance of their knowledge.' 



These proceedings of the Decimal Association, of 

 which I have only made a slight mention, were printed 

 with an introduction by Mr. De Morgan, which touches 

 all the most important points of the subject. It concludes 

 with these words : 



c The Chancellor of the Exchequer says that Govern- 

 ment holds an impartial position, and is ready to be guided 

 by the decision of the public. Every one knows that, in his 

 own circle, the opinion in favour of a decimal coinage, 

 based on the pound sterling, is that of a very large 

 majority of all who know what it means. What, then, is 

 leftP Nothing, but that the public should let the Chancellor 

 of the Exchequer know that it has decided, and what the de- 

 cision is. 9 



The writer was over-sanguine as to the adoption of the 

 measure. Delays, unfounded objections, and, more than 

 all, the obstacles created by injudicious reformers of the 



