22 A. LIVERSIDGE. 



to 2 pints less 10%, and the hectolitre to about 22 gallons. Any- 

 one with a knowledge of decimals will find no difficulty in using 

 the system ; a few minutes study enables anyone to understand 

 it, and a very small amount of practice suffices for acquiring its 

 use. 



The metric system has now been in daily use in the University 

 Chemical Laboratory for many years, and there has never been 

 any difficulty in getting the students to use it intelligently at 

 once. So great are its advantages, and so simple is the system, 

 that it seems almost unnecessary to urge that its use be made 

 compulsory. The principal reasons why it has not been made 

 compulsory are not theoretical but practical ones, and the inertia, 

 naturally presented by large communities. 



As previously stated this system was introduced into France 

 in 1799 by the First Republican Government, and it has since 

 been made compulsory in the following countries : — 



Netherlands ... 1820 Brazil 1880 



Columbia ... 1853 Argentine Republic 1887 



Spain 1864 Egypt 1892 



Germany ... 1872 Hungary 1892 



Switzerland ... 1873 Chili 



Sweden 1875 Mexico 



Austria ... ... 1887 Servia. 



Norway 1878 



It is also legal, but not compulsory, in Great Britain, the 

 United States, Italy, Greece, Belgium, Hayti, Japan, Turkey, 

 Portugal, New Granada, Roumania, etc., but it has not replaced 

 the local systems in countries where its use is merely permissive. 



Although employed officially in Egypt, Peru, and Venezuela,, 

 it has not come into use commercially. 



It may be urged that it would be useless to employ a metric 

 system of weights and measures with our present currency ; that, 

 however, is not the case, and if it were the case the difficulty 

 could, I think, be easily overcome by making slight changes (i.e. 



