JULY — SEPT. 1857.] 
for India, 
191 
Mr. Prinsep, in his " Useful Tables" gives a list of some 300 
Rupees of Native Mints, mostly of dates prior to any regular coin- 
age of the Indian Government. They average about 175 grains; 
and had the Government adopted 175 grains instead of 180 for the 
rupee, a " Seer" of 80 rupees would have been exactly 2lbs. avoir- 
dupois ; and a " Mun" of 40 seers, exactly 801bs. avoirdupois, and 
25 Muns exactly 2,000lbs.*or the proposed new Ton for Great Bri- 
tain. The rupee of 180 grains is ?wiv so well established in all the 
Presidencies, and there is such an enormous silver circulation in 
India, that it seems impracticat)le to reduce the Rupee to 175 grains ; 
and if the same cJatent of pure silver were retained, (which would 
be necessary for the# credit of the State) the " touch" would be 
raised from -j-i- or -91666, to -942, which may be deemed too high 
for durability. The touch of silver in France (where, as in India, 
it is the legal standard of value) is -900. In England it is -925. 
Another objection may be made to the above Ponderary sys- 
tem, namely, that the multiples are not decimal; but the main 
advantage of this system, is the comparative facility with which it 
might be introduced, and this advantage would be lost if the usual 
multiples were departed from. The only improvement that might 
be effected without materially interfering with the reception of the 
system, would be to subdivide the seer" into 80ths, or single 
rupees, instead of into 16ths, or chittacks. The division by 80 
would be simpler than by 16 ; the commercial minimum weight of 
account would be 180 grains, instead of 900 as at present, and the 
" quarter chittacks" would be unnecessary. The lowest denomina- 
tion of Avoirdupois weight in England, is the " dram,'* or 27*344 
grains ; but this the Parliamentary Committee of 1841 state " does 
not appear to be used at all." The ^ ounce, or 109| grains, is the 
lowest weight in general use. . 
The next plan for a system of Weights, that may be no- 
ticed, is that in which the " tola" of 180 grains, (being the weight 
of the Rupee) is the unit, and its multiples Weights 10, 100, 
and 1000 tolas. It is hardly necessary to urge that such a deci- 
mal arrangement, however desirable for its intrinsic merit, would 
be unacceptable both to the Native and the European community. 
I 
