48 TRANSACTIONS. 1 90C-I 



present svstem by the metric svstem ? In the wilderness or 

 conorlornerate of the former, we have, inches, feet, yards, rods, 

 miles, leagnes, srills, pints, qnarts, g-allons, pecks, bushels, 

 grains, pennyweights, ounces (troy and avoirdupois), pounds, 

 hundred-weights, tons (long and short), chaldrons — and ihe 

 rest. The relationship which exists between the above is one 

 toat has fcaused a vast amount of Unnecessary expenditure of 

 human energy in memcrizing "tables." This expenditure is 

 an absolute loss in o.ir youth and is continued through life in 

 our daily vocations. 



By an Act of Congress of July 28, 1866. the metric 

 system of weights and measures has been legalized through- 

 out the United States, and it is the only system whose use is 

 made legal throughout the whole country by Act of Congress. 

 The Act, not being mandatory, has remained practically a 

 dead letter. 



At this moment there is a bill before Congress to make 

 the metric system, after the ist of January, 1903, the only 

 one to be used by the various departments of the government, 

 except in completing the survey of public lands. 



In 1875, an international metric convention was agreed 

 upon by seventeen countries, through which an international 

 bureau of weights and measures was established. From this 

 bureau, at Sevres, near Paris, have been issued the prototype 

 metric standards to the various countries, thereby assuring 

 international uniformity in weights and measures. 



In passing it may be remarked that Canada is sadly in 

 need of a thoroughly equipped aud scientifically maintained 

 standardizing bureau for all the various fundamental units of 

 measures. 



From our commercial relations with the mother country 

 and the United States, we are more or less guided by their 

 action and their system of weights and measures. Conserva- 

 tive England, always slow to move in any matter of reform, 

 is however beginning to awaken and by that most poweful 

 lever, Commerce. Mainufacturers and exporters are finding 



