426 
NATURE 
[Marcu 3, 1904 
de sa cour, un office dont l'objet était d’inviter le Gouverne- 
ment Britannique 4 vouloir bien concourir avec le Gouverne- 
ment de France, a prendre les mésures qui seraient jugées 
respectivement les plus convenables, pour fixer 1’unité 
naturelle des mesures et des poids. Si Monsieur le Duc de 
Leeds avait la bonté de faire connaitre 4 M. de la Luzerne, 
les intentions de Sa Majesté Britannique sur ce point et 
de la mettre en état de satisfaire aux nouveaux ordres qu’il 
recoit de sa cour, M. de la Luzerne lui aura beaucoup 
d’obligations. 
“ Portman Square, Le 30 gbr¢ 1790.” 
The Duke of Leeds to the Marquis de la Luzerne. 
“Le Duc de Leeds fait bien ses Complimens 4 Monsieur 
Le Marquis de la Luzerne, et a 1’Honneur d’informer Son 
Excellence que les Mesures, dont Elle fait mention dans sa 
Note d’Hier, pour fixer 1’Unité des Mesures et des Poids, 
doivent necessairement rester pour la Consideration du 
Parlement. 
““A Whitehall, ce 1 Decre, 1790.”” 
The same to the same. 
“A Whitehall, ce 3 Décembre, 1790. 
“* Monsieur, 
“Je n'ai pas manqué de rendre compte au roi de la note 
dont Votre Excellence m’a honoré du 22 mai, renfermant la 
copie d’un Décrét de l’Assemblée Nationale, concernant 
I’Unité de Mesures et de Poids, qu’on souhaitoit de fixer, 
en concurrence avec le Parlement d’Angleterre; et j'ai 
Vhonneur d’informer Votre Excellence qu’aiant, par ordre 
du Roi, fait faire des perquisitions A ce sujet, it paroit que 
Vaffaire a été agitée dans la Chambre des Communes, 
vers la fin du dernier Parlement, mais qu’aucune proposi- 
tion de la Chambre n’a été faite en consequence. 
““Il a souvent été question d’un tel arrangement parmi 
nos economistes publics, mais le projet a paru exposé a 
tant de difficultés que son accomplissement, tout désirable 
qu'il pourroit étre, a été regardé comme presque 
praticable. 
““Tl est superflu, Monsieur, d’assurer Votre Excellence de 
nouveau de la satisfaction avec laquelle le Roi sera disposé 
en tout tems de coopérer avec Sa Majesté trés Chrétienne a 
tout ce qui pourroit étre utile aux intéréts des deux 
royaumes. 
““J’ai Vhonneur d’étre, avec la considération 
distinguée, 
im- 
la plus 
** Monsieur, 
“De Votre Excellence, 
““le trés humble et 
“trés obéissant serviteur 
“ [Signé] Lreps.”’ 
JA Son Exte Mons. le Marquis De la Luzerne, &c. 
Consequence. On a écrit en marge—‘ Envoyé copie a 
M. Dupont, le 9 janvier, 1791.—‘‘ Envoyé copie au Comité 
des Poids et Mesures, le 25 prairial.” — 
Archives des Affaires Etrangéres. 
d’Angleterre. Supplément,  t. 18, piece 
Original. 
Correspondance 
66, fol. 353. 
The reference to the action taken in the previous Parlia- 
ment is doubtless the motion made on February 5, 1790, 
by Sir John Riggs Miller, 
“ That the clerks of the market of the different cities 
and market towns throughout England and Wales, and the 
town of Berwick upon Tweed, and the clerks of the different 
counties of the same, do forthwith make out and transmit 
to the sherilfs of the respective counties in which the said 
towns are situated, returns. of the different weights and 
measures now in use in their respective cities and market 
towns, as well as specifications and descriptions of any 
particular commodities that are bought and sold by any 
customary denominations or proportions of weight and 
measure, as far as such have come under their observ- 
ation.’’ “* That the said order be sent to the sheriffs of the 
several counties in England and Wales, and be by them 
transmitted to the clerks of the markets in their respective 
counties; and that the said sheriffs do return to the Clerk 
of the House, to be by him laid before the House, the 
returns they shall receive from the clerks of the markets.” 
The speech by Sir John Riggs Miller is of much interest, 
NO. 1792, VOL. 69] 
and describes the confused condition in which the weights 
and measures in use in England were at that time. He said 
“He should not impose upon the House for the present an 
attention to a philosophical discussion, which would better 
suit a more advanced stage of the investigation, but content 
himself with merely acquainting them at that time, that 
the vibration of a pendulum would, he hoped, prove such a 
standard.’’ The resolutions he proposed were unanimously 
agreed to. (Parliamentary Register, vol. xxvii. [marked 
44 on the binding of the British Museum copy], 1790, pp- 
41-48. Parliamentary History, vol. xxviii., 1816, cols. 315— 
323-) 
On April 1, 1790, the House of Commons ordered that 
a committee be appointed to consider the several returns 
which shall have been cr shall be made to the orders of 
the House of the 5th day of February last respecting the 
different weights and measures now in use in the several 
cities and markets throughout England and Wales and the 
town of Berwick upon Tweed, and to examine and report on 
the same, with their observations and opinions thereon, to 
the House. x 
Committee appointed accordingly. 
The list of the members of the committee contains forty- 
three names, as well as all the members for Bristol, Liver- 
pool, Hull, Glasgow, Lynn and Yarmouth, all the Knights 
for Shires, Gentlemen of the Long Robe, and Merchants in 
the House (Commons Journal, vol. xlv. p. 359). 
On April 13, 1790, Sir John Riggs Miller made another 
speech to the House, in which he said that he had received 
a letter from the Bishop of Autun (M. Talleyrand de 
Périgord, afterwards Prince Talleyrand) encouraging him 
in his attempts to improve the weights and measures, and 
saying that ‘‘he tool the hint of making his proposition 
to the National Assembly of France from what had been 
lately submitted to the British Parliament upon the same 
subject.” 
On this occasion Sir John Riggs Miller entered more fully 
into the question of standards, which he thought should be 
obtained from some natural length or some property of 
matter. He suggested that a certain number of drops of 
water or alcohol at a certain temperature might be used 
as a measure of weight, and that the length of the side 
of a cube which would contain the standard weight might 
be taken as a standard of length; as another standard, the 
distance through which a body would fall in one second; 
as another, the length of a degree of a great circle on the 
earth, but he thought that it would not be possible to 
measure this with sufficient accuracy; and lastly, what he 
calls the London pendulum of 39-126 inches. 
Amongst general qualities that a standard should possess 
he stated, ‘‘ It is desirable that its denomination should be 
in tens, to give it the advantage of whole numbers, or 
decimal fractions.”’ 
On the same day the reports of committees made in 1758 
and 1759 on the original standards were ordered to be re- 
ferred to the committee appointed on April 1. (Parlia- 
mentary Register, vol. xxvii. [marked 44 on the binding of 
the British Museum copy] pp. 395-403. Parliamentary 
History, vol. xxviii., 1816, cols. 639-649.) 
This committee did not report; it is doubtful if it ever 
met, for a committee on standards of weights and 
measures which reported on July 1, 1814, states that the 
minutes of the proceedings of the committee of 1790 could 
net be found. 
At the British Museum there is a volume of ‘ Political 
Tracts,’’ 1789-1790, which contains a pamphlet by Sir John 
Riggs Miller giving his speeches in the House of Commons, 
and several documents, amongst which are copies of letters 
from the Bishop of Autun (a copy of the same pamphlet is. 
in the library of the Royal Institution). The letter to which 
he referred in his speech is as follows :— 
The Bishop of Autun to Sir John Riggs Miller. 
‘* Paris, 28 Mars, 1790. 
J'ai appris, Monsieur, que vous avies presenté au Parle- 
ment d’Angleterre un beau travail sur la Reduction des 
Mesures. J’ai cru devoir faire une Proposition sur le méme 
sujet 4 notre Assemblée Nationale; je m’empresse di vous 
laddresser, il me paroit digne de Il’Epoque actuelle que les 
ce 
| deux Nations se concertent pour la fixation d’une mesure 
