accumulations of capital, and the constant operation of such a sinking fund, as in the present state of our finances, may, henceforward during the continuance of peace, be regularly appropriated to the reduction of the public debt, your Committee trust that the rate of interest of money, may, in a short time, be so far reduced below the legal maximum, as to make those encumbrances a lighter burthen upon the landed interests of the kingdom. It is an alleviation which former intervals of peace have produced, at periods in many respects less favourable to its attainment; and if, in the present instance, the want of that alleviation is become more urgent, your Committee venture to hope that, from the greater accumulation of capital in the country, cooperating with the effects of a positive and steady reduction of the public debt, this salutary result will also be more speedily brought about. They look for ward to this mode of easing the encumbrances of the landlord with the more anxiety, as, amidst all the injury and injustice which an unsettled currency-an evil they trust never again to be incurred-has in succession cast upon the different ranks of society, the share of that evil which has now fallen upon the landed interest, is the only one which, without inflicting greater injury and greater injustice, admits (now that we are so far advanced in the system of a restored currency) of no other relief. The difficulties, great as they unfor

tunately are, in which it has involved the farming, the manufacturing and trading interests of the country, must diminish in proportion as contracts, prices, and labour, adjust themselves to the present value of money. That this change is now in progress, and has already taken place to a considerable degree, is in evidence before your Committee. They are satisfied that it will continue until that balance is restored, which will afford to labour its due remuneration, and to capital its fair return. And, although they deeply lament the derangement which the fluctuations of the last ten years, in the value of the currency, have occasioned in all the transactions of life, together with the individual loss and suffering unavoidably produced by the return to a fixed standard, they are satisfied that this was the only course which it was in the power of parliament to adopt-as well to prevent the continuance of a derangement, leading, as it must have led, to the aggravation of those losses and sufferings, as to manifest to the world the inflexible determination of this country, rigidly to adhere to that good faith of which the moral character of the people is the sure guardian, and which, with that character, has placed our greatness and our power upon the foundation, hitherto unshaken amidst all our vicissitudes, of public credit and national honour.

18 June, 1821.

The SELECT COMMITTEE, appointed to consider of the several Reports which have been laid before this House relating to Weights and Measures, and of the proceedings which have taken place for determining the length of the pendulum vibrating seconds, and to report their observations and opinion thereupon to the House; have considered the matters referred to them, and have agreed to the following Report:

Your Committee concur entirely in opinion with the Commissioners on Weights and Moasures, as to the inexpediency of changing any standard, either of length, superficies, capacity, or of weight, which already exists in a state of acknowledged accuracy; and where discrepancies are found between models equally authentic, they deem it right that such a selection should be made as will prove most accordant with generally-received usage, and with such analogies as may connect the different quantities in the most simple ratios.

They also concur in recommending, that the sub-divisions of Weights and Measures employed in this country be retained, as being far better adapted

now in the possession of the House of Commons, and made by Bird, in 1760, be henceforth considered as the authentie legal standard of length of the British empire, so that the distance between the centres of the two gold pins inserted in that scale, the brass being at the temperature of sixty-two degrees by Fahrenheit's thermometer, be one yard. And it appears from the experiments made for determining the length of the pendulum vibrating seconds at London in a vacuum, and reduced to the level of the sea, that the distance from the axis of suspension to the centre of oscillation of such a pendulum, is 39.1393 inches of the above standard distance: and that the length of a platina metre at the temperature of thirty-two degrees of Fahrenheit's thermometer, supposed to be the tenmillionth part of the quadrant of the meridian, corresponds with 39.3708 inches of the said distance.

Your Committee recommend, that superficial measures remain as they are now defined by law, namely, that the perch, pole, or rod, be a square of 16 feet, that the acre consist of 160 such perches, and so of the rest.

They further recommend, that the standard brass weight of two pounds, also in the possession of the House of Commons, and made in 1758, be considered as authentic; that one-half thereof, as gravitating in air at the mean

height of the barometer and with the thermometer at 62°, be hence. forth the legal troy pound of the British empire, containing 5,760 grains and that 7,000 grains troy be declared to constitute a pound avoirdupois.

And it appears that a cubic inch of distilled water weighs in a vacuum, opposed to brass weights in a vacuum, also, at the temperature of 62 degrees of Fahrenheit thermometer, 252.72 such grains; and consequently a cubic foot of distilled water, under similar circumstances, will weigh 62.386 pounds avoirdupois.

In proceeding to measures of capacity, which, for convenience, your Committee have postponed to those of weight, they find themselves embarrassed, as the commissioners have been, not only by various measures designated by the same name, but by a discrepance in the multiples and sub-multiples of the same measure. They are, on the whole, however, induced to believe, that the gallon of England was originally identical for all uses; and that the variations have arisen in some cases from accident, and in others from fraud.

The definition of a Winchester bushel, in the act of king William for laying a duty on malt, seems to have been made for the purpose of facilitating the construction of cylindrical measures by a near coincidence, without minute fractions. From this definition, the dry gallon would consist of 268.835 cubic inches.

The gallon measure in the Exchequer contains 270.4 cubic inches; and derived from the pint, quart, &c. the gallon will stand as follows:

The wine gallon is supposed to have continued gradually shrinking in dimensions, till its progress was arrested by a fiscal definition at 231 cubic inches.

This last measure differs so materially from all the rest, that it must either be retained as one quite distinct, and applicable to its peculiar uses, or, as seems most expedient, it must be abolished. But, amidst the variations and uncertainty of the remainder, your Committee agree with the Commissioners, in recommending, that they may be all brought back to an equality, and at the same time made to bear a simple relation to the standard of weight by taking the pint for a basis, which contains 20 ounces of distilled water avoirdupois, at the temperature of 62, as nearly as it is possible to ascertain by experiment, on a vessel of that construction and workmanship.

If then the pint be considered as equal in bulk to 20 ounces of distilled water, at the temperature of 62°, the cubic inch weighing 252.456 grains in air, at the mean height of the barometer, the imperial gallon will contain 277.276 cubic inches weighing exactly ten pounds.

If the proposition now submitted should be sanctioned by the House, your Committee recommend that leave be given to bring in a bill for declaring these standards of length, of capa city, and of weight, to be the imperial standards for Great Britain and Ireland, and for its colonies and dependencies; and they recommend, that several copies of the standards be made with the utmost possible accuracy for the use of the Exchequer, for the three capitals, for the principal foreign possessions, for the government of France, in return for the communication of their standards; and especially for the United States of America, where your Committee have reason to believe that they will be adopted, and thus tend, in no small degree, to facilitate the commercial intercourse, and by so doing, to consolidate a lasting friendship between the two greatest nations of the world most assimilated by their language, their laws, religion, customs, and manners.

Your Committee cannot close their Report, without adverting to the extraordinary knowledge and ingenuity, and to the indefatigable industry displayed by captain Kater, by whom all the experiments have been gratuitously conducted, for ascertaining the various standards, and for determining the length of the pen dulum, by a method peculiarly his own, and by which he has arrived at a degree of accuracy and precision, that, but a few years since, was declared to be utterly unattainable.

This gentleman, in compliance with his majesty's directions, given in pursuance of an address

of this House, has also observed the variations of the pendulum on the principal stations of the trigo. nometrical survey; and from these observations deductions have been made of great importance with respect to the general figure of the earth, its density and internal construction. So that your Committee are decidedly of opinion, that it will be highly proper to extend similar observations over a still larger surface, so as to connect the measurements and astronomical observations made by the different nations of Europe, as much as possible, into one whole.

Your Committee having directed their attention to the best and most practicable method of bringing the imperial measures into general use, beg leave further to recommend a legislative enactment, by which it shall be declared, that all bargains and sales, where nothing appears to the contrary, shall be deemed and taken to be made in conformity with these measures of length, super ficies, capacity, and weight; but that for a time to be limited, it shall be competent for all persons to deal by any other measures, established either by local custom, or founded on special agreement, that they may select; provided always, that the ratio or proportion of such local measures to those established by law, may be a matter of common notoriety; and that in the case of a special agreement, the ratio or proportion be therein expressed.

Your Committee subjoin in an Appendix, some computations and proportions, which they think may be of general use.

APPENDIX.

The pendulum vibrating seconds of mean solar time at London in a vacuum, and reduced to the level of the sea, iş 39.1393 inches, consequently the descent of an heavy body from rest, in a vacuum, will be 193.145 inches in one second of time. The logarithm 2.2858828.

A platina metre at the temperature of 32°, supposed to be the ten-millionth part of the quadrant of the meridian, is 39.3708 inches. The ratio to the imperial measure of three feet as 1.09363 to 1, the logaritam 0.0388717.

The five following standards have been measured as follows :

of 62.3206. p. avoird....l. 1.7946314 And an ounce of water, 1.73298 cubic inch... .1.0.2387924 Cubic inches in the imperial .1. 2.4429124 gallon, 277.276... Diameter of the cylinder containing a gallon at one inch high, 18.78933.... 1.1.2739112 Specific gravity of water at different temperatures, that of 62° being taken as unity:

70°.0.09913 56°.1.00050 44°.1.00107 68°.0.99936 54°.1.00064 42°.1.00111

66°.0.99958 52°.1.00076 40°.1.00113 640.0.99980 50°.1.00087 38°.1.00113 62°.1.

48°.1.00095

58°.1.00035 46°.1.00102

The differences of temperatures between 62° and 39°, where water attains its greatest density, will vary the bulk of a gallon of water, rather less than the third of a cubic inch.

And assuming from the mean of numerous estimates the expansion of brass 0.00001044 for each degree of Fahrenheit's thermometer, the difference of temperatures from 62° to 39o will vary the content of a brass gallon measure just one-fifth of a cubic inch.

It appears, that the specific gravity of clear water from the Thames, exceeds that of distilled water at the mean temperature, in the proportion of 1.0006 to 1, making a difference of about one, sixth of a cubic inch, in a gallon.

Rain water does not differ from distilled water, so as to require any allowance for common purposes.

The SELECT COMMITTEE appointed to take into considera

tion the existing regulations

relative to the Making and the