444 On the Standard Weights of England and India. [Oct. 



those who experimentalize upon water in regard to evaporation, rain, 

 discharge of pipes, and the like, to know that they carry a decimal 

 divisor of the liquid foot in their pocket. But the crown piece of our 

 coinage is already allied to the pound troy, as the coin must always 

 be by the very provision that the " pound troy shall be coined into 

 so many shillings or aliquot parts." The pound troy then is actually 

 the standard unit of weight and coinage, and however plausible a 

 scheme may be brought forward, unless it adheres to some such fixed 

 point of very general prevalence, it may be looked upon as merely 

 speculative, and not likely to gain admittance among practical men. 



The troy pound is coined exactly into sixty-six shillings. The troy 

 ounce therefore weighs 5s. 6d. without any fraction. The weights of 

 every other coin, and the value of all the other systems of weights 

 used in commerce, such as the avoirdupois, the liquid measure, &c. are 

 expressed in terms of the troy grain, which is nothing but a subdivi- 

 sion of the troy pound unit, so that although a multiplicity of stand- 

 ards has been made up for preservation and comparison, this alone 

 is entitled to the name of standard. It was to simplify the con- 

 nection of the avoirdupois weight in relation to the latter that it was 

 changed from 7004^ to 7000 grains ; the latter number however 

 is almost as irrational as the former, and it would have been far 

 better to have expunged the anomalous avoirdupois weight altogether ; 

 or, if it were thought absolutely necessary to preserve a heavy weight, 

 a pakka wazn as the natives of India would call it, it might have 

 been made one-third heavier than the troy pound, or 7680 grs. : — ■ 

 this would have been divisible by 16 into an ounce identical with 

 the troy ounce, and when multiplied by 100, for the hundred weight, 

 would have given a weight (of 7680000 grs.) nearly equal to the 

 present clumsy cwt. of 112 av. Its. or 7840000 grs. and equally 

 applicable to all the wholesale operations of commerce, without neces- 

 sitating any change of the customs charged on the gross weight, or even 

 affecting the price-current of most commodities in the market. 



But it is useless at this time, and at this distance from the scene of 

 its operation, to comment upon a system now irrevocably adopted. It 

 must ever be regretted, that a scheme of such national importance 

 did not chance to fall under review under the ministry so eminent 

 in science as the present Lord Chancellor of England. 



The subject was brought to our notice principally by a measure 

 now in agitation before the Government of British India, for the adop- 

 tion of some law respecting the weights and measures of this country, 

 in which at present so great a confusion prevails that it is almost im« 



