TRANSACTIONS OF THE SECTIONS. 183 



increase of patents since 1852 he looked upon as afibrding- evidence of the impulse 

 given to the trade and commerce of the country. He objected to the opinion that 

 the inventive faculty was innate in mankind; and likewise to the supposition 

 that we had arrived at a state of improvement in arts and mauufactm-es so emi- 

 nent that we might now safely cast away all expectancy of future benefits from 

 the protection sought through the medium of patent laws. He contended that 

 the inventor was encouraged in his researches and labours, despite all opprobrium 

 to which he might be sulijected, by the expectancy of reaping fame and fortune; 

 and that no process so easily secures these to him as patent law. He cited cases, 

 and gave a table of the progress of the invention of the steam-engine, in support of 

 his statements and arguments ; closing with the observation that the inventor was 

 as useful and important to society now as ever he was, and that advance in inven- 

 tions and improvements was required ; and tlmt purpose could only be promoted 

 by the protection of a patent law. 



On International Coinage. By W. Faek, M.D., D.C.L., F.B.S. 



Starting from the principle that the current coins should be metiic weig-hts of 

 the precious metals, and that the expense of coinage shoidd be taken as a seigniorage 

 from the fine gold in the coin — which would, within limits sufficiently near for all 

 practical purposes, retain its actual value, as its cost of production woidd remain 

 unchanged — the author proceeds to show that the decaf/ram, or ten grams of 

 standard gold, to be called a Victoria, or by any name, would form the most conve- 

 nient coin of account. It would make a well-defined useful international coin. 



A heavy half-sovereign weighs 4 grams ; consequently a fourth part of it is one 

 gram by weight, and one half-crown in value. A heavy sovereign weighs 8 grams ; 

 a decagram is 10 grams, and in gold is worth 10 haK-croAvns, or 25 shillings. 



1. The Ten- ff ram (decagram) of standard </old= the Victorta=the 2o-s7iUb')iff piece. 



The gram is a weight in daily use among the people of France, Italy, Switzer- 

 land, and Belgium ; its multiplies are in aU their shops and houses. A coin of 

 standard gold weighing ten gi-ams coidd be appreciated and be tested by theni at 

 any time. But the Napoleon, weighing 6-4516 grams, or a 25-franc piece, weighing 

 8-0646 gi-ams,is expressed in fractions, not easily comprehensible, while a ten-gram 

 coin of standard gold is perfectly intelligible, and its weight is easily determinable. 

 Under these circumstances no one can be surprised that Cobden's friend, M. Che- 

 valier, one of the highest French economical authorities, should propose a ten-grain 

 gold unit as the basis of the monetary system of the world. The metric system of 

 weights and measures wiU in the end be inevitably adopted, like the Arabic figm-es, 

 by every civilized nation. That system is the real glory of France, which none can 

 contest "or deny, but the glory is incomplete so long a-s the measiuing imit of value 

 is not the gram, or the ten-gram weight of standard gold. 



The ten-gram gold unit of money necessarily ditlers fi-oni anyof the units now 

 in use ; it will be a new international coin ; but its scientific basis commends it to 

 the philosophic minds of Germany. Holland, Scandinavia, and Italy; while it has 

 accidentally strong claims on the three nations which coin the largest quantities of 

 gold. France has in it a kind of paternal interest ; it is the natural develop- 

 ment of her scientific system of weights and measures. The English sovereign 

 weighs almost exactly eight grams ; and the passage to a ten-gram coin is easy, as 

 the new coin decimally divided embraces two of the principal subordinate silver 

 coins in use in England. A ten-gram gold coin is almost the exact equivalent of 

 a six-dollar American gold coin. The new scientific coin is a natural development 

 of the English and the American coinage, corresponding in increase of weight with 

 the increase of the existing quantity of gold and the increase in the values of com- 

 modities to be measured. ■ . 



I will endeavour to show how the new unit is deduced directly from the basis of 

 the metric system, and how readily it can be adjusted by slight variations of fine- 

 ness to our own existing svstem of money. 



All the units of the metric weight's and measures are based on one fundamental 

 unit; the metre. 



