April — sept. 1859.] On Indian Weights and Measures. 21 



Bayley' s plan of retaining the present tola weight and altering the 

 seer to 77f tolas satisfactorily removes all objection. Firstly, a 

 seer of 77f tolas will not meet with ready acquiescence from the 

 Natives, and therefore will not be found easy of introduction ; and 

 secondly, it is open to minor objections which we think might be 

 avoided by the adoption of another plan. Such for instance as a 

 plan founded upon the traditionary standard of the country and 

 which would enjoy these advantages, viz : that it retained the seer 

 of 80 tolas the best known weight in India, and that the present 

 Government Tables of weights (which are now extensively known) 

 calculated thereupon would readily conform to English weights. 

 Mr. Bayley himself points out some of the objections to which a 

 seer of 77f tolas is open. At page 189, he says " a seer of 80 

 tolas could no doubt be more easily introduced throughout India 

 than any other weight." At page 196 referring to the result of a 

 special enquiry instituted by the Madras Board of Revenue in 1852, 

 he tell us " that as a general rule it was found that the seer weight 

 was that of 80 tolas." Now we know the inveteracy of ancient 

 custom in these kind of things and how difficult it is to introduce 

 a change. People are always ready enough to admit the change 

 to be for the better, and that it is very advisable to put an end to 

 doubts and differences and to have one uniform system through- 

 out, and yet these admissions are never acted upon and never ripen 

 into practice. And, thus, we fear that the idea of a seer of 80 

 tolas has obtained such root in India that one of 77f tolas would 

 have a hard chance of any extensive introduction however desirable 

 on other grounds. 



Some years ago the present Tables of the Goverment of India 

 and of the Madras Government were introduced, and though the 

 latter corresponds, as Mr. Bayley says, with the present Native sys- 

 tems of weights it is not used to any extent except in Government 

 transactions. Even in England there was occasion for the passing 

 of innumerable Acts of Parliament to put an end to the confusion 

 arising from the use of weights of the same name but different 

 magnitude, and till of late years the Acts produced little effect. 

 In India if any change very apparent to the Natives and militating 

 against mamool is attempted, no number of Acts will effect a 



