56 The Week 



induce me to include this amendment also in my proposal. 

 I think it would be a great convenience and advantage to 

 be able to know at once the day of the week by that of the 

 month ; or the day of the month by that of the week. 

 Commercially and privately, the vast simplification of all 

 calculations of interest, wages, &c, by making all the months 

 of a uniform length, would prove of immense advantage. 

 Indeed, at present, in the calculation of interest, the great 

 inconveniences of reckoning by the week or month, are so 

 obvious, as to lead to their abandonment altogether ; and 

 interest tables are always constructed for the number of days 

 alone, which has then to be adapted in each case to the 

 actual period required. The constantly recurring complex 

 computations rendered inevitable by the weeks and months 

 being non-coterminous, and the months being of various 

 lengths, involve an enormous amount of unnecessary labour, 

 which my proposal would entirely obviate. 



I will offer one or two simple illustrations of the advan- 

 tages of the change. Say — on what day of the week will 

 fall the 3rd of next September or October, or the 23rd of 

 those months? It would take some time under present 

 arrangements to ascertain this simple information, without 

 an almanac ; and even with one the easiest plan would be 

 to refer to it for each required day separately. By my plan 

 you would know at once, without reference or calculation, 

 that the 3rd, 8th, 13th, 18th, 23rd, and 28th of every month 

 must always fall on the 3rd day of the week, and the like 

 would be as easily known of every other day of the week or 

 month. Say — next, to what does five shillings a week for 

 nine months amount % or for one month ? You cannot give 

 it at all, until the month or months are specified, and then 

 the amount will vary for other nine months, or another 

 month. Whereas by my system of having six weeks in each 

 month, you would know at once that five shillings a week is 

 thirty shillings a month, and adding one week to the twelve 

 months it is j618 5s. a year. The enormous, saving in 

 trouble, time, and labour, which would thus constantly 

 accrue, must be obvious. Nearly all the ordinary every day 

 calculations of wages, &c, would be saved entirely, and 

 after the first year almanacs would be almost superfluous. 



I think it would furnish also a very good opportunity for 

 discarding the present old pagan names of our days, by 

 substituting others for them, such as " Oneday," " Twoday," 

 " Threeday," " Fourday," for the current heathen names of 



