UNIFORMITY OF WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. 361 



Joint JRcsolution to enable the Secrcfan/ of the Treasure/ to furnish to each State one 

 set of the Standard Weir/hts and Pleasures of the Metric System. 



Be it resolved by the Senate and House of Hepresentatives of the United States of 

 America in Conyress assembled, That the Secretary of the Treasury be, and he is 

 herebj"^, authorized and directed to furnish to each State to be delivered to the 

 Governor thereof, one set of the standard weights and measures of the metric 

 system, for the use of the States respecti^elj-. 



A Bill to authorize the use in Post-offices of Weiyhts of the denomination of Grains. 



Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of 

 America in Conyress assembled, That the Postmaster-General be, and lie is hereby 

 authorized and directed to furnish to the Post-offices exchanging mails with 

 foreign countries, and to such other offices as he shall think expedient, postal 

 balances denominated in grams of the metric system : and, until otherwise provided 

 by law, one half ounce avoirdupois shall be deemed and taken for postal purposes as 

 the equivalent of fifteen grams of the metric weights, and so adopted in progression • 

 and the rates of postage shall be applied accordingij-. 



Joint Itesolution to authorize the President to appoint a Special Commissioner to facili- 

 tate the adoption of an Uniform.Coinayc between the United States atul Foreiyn 

 Countries. 



Be it resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of 

 America in Conyress assembled, That the President be, and he is hereby, authorized 

 to appoint a Special Commissioner to negotiate with foreign Governments for the 

 establishment of the common unit of money, of identical value in all commercial 

 countries adopting the same ; that all Governments with which the United States 

 liold diplomatic relations be invited to participate in the negotiations. That any 

 plan which may be agreed upon by part of or all the representatives engao-ino- in 

 such negotiations be submitted to Congress for its approval before bein"- "earned 

 into effect in the United States ; and that the compensation allowed to such Com- 

 missioner be the amount necessary for his actual and proper expenses incun-ed in 

 the execution of his duties. 



The above Bills and Resolutions passed the House of Representatives with 

 little or no opposition. They are now before the Senate, which has referred 

 them to a Committee, of which the Hon. Charles Sumner, is Chairman ; and 

 his well-known and enlightened views on the subject encourage the hope 

 that, either in this session or next, the Senate will confirm the action of the 

 House of Representatives*. 



Such is the present position of the metric movement in the United States. 



I may add that the general piiblic in America seems inclined to receive the 

 new system favourably. Several of the leading ncwspai^ers have noticed it 

 in terms of welcome and commendation ; and it is notorious that the know- 

 ledge which all Americans possess of the great advantages of a decimal 

 system of coinage, render them hkely to appreciate all the more fully the 

 merits of the metric system of weights and measures. 



Nor are its promoters careless of advantages likely to result from the 

 spread of instruction on the details of the system in schools. I have already 

 mentioned its adoption as a part of education in the schools of Connecticut. 

 I was assured th.-^t it only needs that the permissive Bill be passed, for many 

 other States to follow the example of Connecticut. 



In February last a large number of Professors, Presidents of Colleges, and 



* Since this Report was put in type, news ha.s arrived that Mr. Sumner's Committee, on 

 the 16th of July, reported favourably the above Bills and Eesolutions, all without amend- 

 ment ; and still more recently we have been informed that the two Bills have passed into 

 law. 



