1814.] Performances of Miss Walstein. mind and qualities of organic fitness for the higher characters of the drama, that justly entitle her to commendation. Her face is peculiarly adapted to bistrionic expression. Her eye is brilliant and piercing-the eye-brow fuli and finely arched the features, when softened to tenderness, bewitchingly seductive -and when animated by indignation, strong and commanding. Her fault is a sententious delivery of the text, more in the style of sonorous recitation than of natural speaking. With a voice truly musical, and capable of the finest modulation, its effect on the ear is weakened by the measured and equal distance at which she brings forth the words, and by which the rhyme and harmony of the verses are affected. This was particularly noticeable in the declamatory passages-but where she had to display the vehement or the tender emotions of the soul, her feelings seemed to break through the restraints which habit had imposed on her tongue, and she gave the passages in the scene of violent in dignation with Horatiò, and of penitent sensibility with her father, in a way to touch the sympathies of the house, and to procure her universal applause.-She has a fine person, and is graceful in her action. This lady appeared on Nov. 22, in the sharacter of Lætitia Hardy, in Mrs. Cowley's Belle's Stratagem. The play is one of the most graceful and various of the modern stage. The chief interest falls on the heroine; and the powers which can sustain Lætitia have little to 453 fear in the future difficulties of genteel She REPORT FROM THE SELECT COMMITTEE ON WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. Ordered by the Ilouse of Commons to be printed, July 1, 1814. YOUR committee, in the first place, proceeded to inquire what measures had been taken to establish uniform weights and measures throughout the kingdom. They found that this subject had engaged the attention of parliament at a very early period. The statute book, from the time of Henry the Third, abounds with acts of parliament enacting and declaring that there should be one uniform weight and measure throughout the realm; and every act complains that the preceding statutes had been ineffectual, and that the laws were disobeyed. The select committee of the house of commons, which was appointed, in the year 1758, to inquire into the original NEW MONTHLY MAG,—No. 11. standards of weights and measures in this kingdom, and to consider the laws relating thereto, made a very elaborate Report on this subject, in which is contained all the information that is necessary with regard to the inquiry into what were the original standards of weights and measures: such parts of that Report as have appeared to your committee to be most important, are inserted in the Appendix to this Report. The committee of 1758 first gave an abridged state of the several statutes which have been enacted relating to weights and measures: 1st, so far as they establish any weights or measures, or standards for the same; and 2d, so far as any means, checks, or sanctions, VOL. II. 30 454 Report on Weights and Measures.¡ are provided to compel the use of the established weights and measures, or to punish disobedience. The committee then point out what appeared to them to be the principal causes which had prevented the attainment of that uniformity, so much and so wisely desired by parliament. These are stated to be the want of skill in the artificers who from time to time made copies of the standards kept in the exchequer; and as these imperfect measures were again copied from, every error was multiplied, till the variety of standards rendered it difficult to know what was the real standard, or to apply any adequate remedy, In the second place, the multiplicity of statutes made on this subject, many of which are at variance with one another, and in many of which there are partial exceptions of particular counties, and particular articles, from the operation of the acts, appeared to the committee to be the principal cause of the various errors which were every where found to prevail. Upon an accurate comparison of the various measures preserved in the exchequer, and which are directed to be used for sizing and adjusting all other measures, they were found to differ materially from each other, and yet (the committee observe) as the law now stands, all these measures must be understood to contain the like quantities, are equally legal, and may be indiscriminately used. Of these various measures, the committee recommend the adoption of the ale gallon of 282 cubical inches, and to abolish the use of all the others. They also recommend that the troy pound should be the only standard of weight. Though your committee agree entirely with the Report of the committee of 1758, that there should be only one gallon for measuring all articles whatsoever, and only one denomination of weight; yet they cannot concur, for reasons which will be hereafter stated, in the selection made by that committee in appointing these standards. This Report was agreed to by the house; and, in the year 1765, two bills were brought in by Lord Carystort, who was chairman of the committee of 1758, for the purpose of carrying into effect the resolutions of that committee. These bills were severally read a first and second tine, and committed; and the bills, as amended, were ordered to be printed on the 8th day of May. Parliament was, however, prorogued in that year on the [Dec. 1, 25th day of May; and these bills, which (as far as can be collected from the Journals) were approved of by the house, were thus unfortunately lost. Since that period, little has been done to accomplish this important object. A committee was, indeed, appointed in the year 1790; but they do not appear to have made any progress, as your c›mmittee have been unable to find any minutes of their proceedings. Two acts were passed in the years 1795 and 1797, the 35 Geo. III. cap. 102, and $7 Geo. III. cap. 143, which empower justices of the peace to search for and destroy false weights, and to punish the person in whose possession they are found; but no mention is made in these acts of deficient measures. Your committee now proceed to state what appear to them to be the principal Causes which have prevented the establishment of uniform weights and measures, and to state the reasons which have induced them to differ from the committee of 1758 in some of their restlutions. It appears to your committee, that the great causes of the inaccuracies which have prevailed, are the want of a fixed standard in nature with which the standards of measure might at all times be easily compared, the want of a simple mode of connecting the measures of length with those of capacity and weight, and also the want of proper tables of equalization, by means of which the old measures might have readily been com verted into the new standards. Some rude attempts scem to have been made to establish a mode of connecting the measures of capacity with weight. In an act of the 51st of Henry the Third, intitled, "Assisa Panis et Cerevisiæ," it is declared "that an English penny called the Sterling, round without clip ping, should weigh 32 grains of wheat, well dried, and gathered out of the middie of the car; and 20 pence to make an ounce, 12 ounces a pound, eight pounds a gallon of wine, and eight galios of wine a bushel of London." Nothing, however, can be more uncer tain and inaccurate than this method of determining the size of a gallon measure by the weight of a certain number of grains of wheat, which must vary ac cording to the season and the nature of the soil and climate where they are produced. In order to obtain some information as to what were the best means of con paring the standards of length, with 1814.] Report on Weights and Measures. some invariable natural standard, your committee proceeded to examine Dr. W. Hyde Wollaston, Secretary to the Royal Society, and Professor Playfair of Edinburgh. From the evidence of these gentlemen it appears that the length of a pendulum making a certain number of vibrations in a given portion of time, will always be the same in the same latitude; and that the English yard has been accurately compared with the length of the pendulum which vibrates sixty times in a minute in the latitude of London. The length of this pendulum is 39.13047 inches, of which the yard contains 36. The French government have adopted as the standard of their measures, a portion of an arc of the meridian, which was accurately measured. The standard metre, which is the 10,000,000th part of the quadrant of the meridian, which is engraved on the platina scale preserved =in the National Institute, has been compared with the English standard yard, by Professor Pictet of Geneva, and was found to exceed it, at the temperature of 32°, by S.3702 inches; and at the temperature of 55°, by 3.3828 inches. The standard yard may, therefore, be at any time ascertained, by a comparison either with an arc of the meridian, or the length of the pendulum, both of which may be considered as invariable. The standard of linear measure being thus established and ascertained, the measures of capacity are easily deduced from it, by determining the number of cubical inches which they should contain. The standard of weight must be derived from the measures of capacity, by ascertaining the weight of a given bulk of some substance of which the specific gravity is invariable. Fortunately, that substance which is most generally diffused over the world answers this condition. The specific gravity of pure water has been found to be invariable at the same temperature; and by a very remarkable coincidence, a cubic foot of pure water (or 1,728 cubical inches) at the temperature of 564 by Fahrenheit's thermometer, has been as'certained to weigh exactly 1,000 ounces avoirdupois, and therefore the weight of 27.648 inches is equal to one pound avoirdupois. This circumstance forms the groundwork of all the succeeding observations of your committee. Although in theory the standard of weight is derived from the measures of 455 capacity, yet in practice it will be found more convenient to reverse this order. The weight of water contained by any vessel affords the best measure of its capacity, and is more easily ascertained than the number of cubical inches by guaging. Your committee, therefore, recommend that the measures of capacity should be ascertained by the weight of pure or distilled water contained by them, rather than the number of cubical inches, as recommended in the fourth resolution of the committee of 1758. Your committee are also of opinion, that the standard gallon, from which all the other measures of capacity should be derived, should be made of such a size as to contain such a weight of pure water of the temperature of 564° as should be expressed in a whole number of pounds avoirdupois, and such also as would admit of the quart and pint containing integer numbers of ounces, without any fractional parts. If the gallon is made to contain 10 pounds of water, the quart will contain' 40 ounces, and the pint 20. This gallon recommended by your committee, will contain 276 48 cubical inches, being nearly 3 per cent. larger than the gallon, or eighth part of the Winchester bushel, as fixed by the act of the 13th and 14th of William and Mary, cap. 5, which contains 268.803 cubical inches, and the bushel will contain 2211.84 cubical inches, instead of 2150.42. Your committee are of opinion, that this departure from the corn measure, which is employed in the collection of the malt tax, and is supposed to be the most generally used throughout the kingdom, is justified by the advantages which they anticipate from the change. General uniformity cannot be expect ed, unless some simple and accurate method of checking the standard measures is adopted; and as the weight of water appears to be the best and most simple method of checking measures of capacity, it is desirable that all minute fractions of weight should be avoided. There will be much less chance of error in weighing the water contained in any measure, if only one or two weights are to be employed, than if a greater number were necessary, which would be the case if fractional parts were required. The difficulty of remembering long fractions is also an important consideration, and would very materially impede 450 Report on Weights and Measures. the attainment of that general uniformity which is so much desired. If this gallon is adopted, the bushel will contain 80 pounds of water, or 2211.84 cubical inches; the quart 69.12 cubical inches, or 40 ounces of water; the pint 34.56 cubical inches or 20 ounces of water: the half pist will contain 17.28 cubical inches (which is exactlyth part of a cubical foot,) or 10 ounces of water. Any smaller measures might with great propriety be described, according to the number of ounces of water they contained. Your committee are of opinion, that the simple connexion which will in this manner be established between the standard of weight and measures of capacity, will greatly tend to preserve the uniformity of those measures which are found to be most liable to error. They have, besides, been induced to select this size of measure as a standard, both because it very nearly coincides with one of the standard corn measures preserved in the Exchequer, namely, the standard pint marked 1602, which contains 34.8 cubical inches; and also because it possesses the advantage of bearing very simple relations to the gallon measures which are employed in measuring ale and wine. The calculations, therefore, which would be necessary for ascertaining the corresponding duties, which must be charged upon exciseable liquors, would be easily made. Your committee will now proceed to state their opinion with regard to the standard weight. Although the troy pound is the only weight established by law, yet the avoirdupois pound is so much more generally known and used, that your committee cannot hesitate to recommend it in preference to the troy pound. Your committee are, however, inclined to recommend two exceptions As the goldsmiths regulate their trathic by the troy weight; and considering the connexion of this branch of trade with the standard of the coin, it appears advisable that gold and silver should be sold by troy weight. Your committee would also recommend that the apothecaries' weight should remain without any alteration, as any change in the weights employed by them in compounding their medicines might be attended with dangerous con sequences. It appears to your committee that the most accurate mode of ascertaining the [Dec. 1, standard pound, is to immerse in water a solid cylinder of brass containing 27.648 cubical inches, and to ascertain the dif ference between its weight in water and its weight in air, by means of the com mon hydrostatic balance. The difference between its weight in water and it weight in air (or the weight of the volume of water occupying the same space) is the pound avoirdupois. This method is recommended, as it has been found to be much more easy to ascertain the solid contents of any body, by taking its external dimensions, than to find the exact contents of any measure by guaging. In this manner, the standard of length is kept invariable, by means of the pen. dulum; the standard of weight, by the standard of length; and the standard of capacity, by that of weight, Your committee have not gone into any detail of the inaccuracies of the present system, as they are very fully stated in the report of the committee of 1756, before alluded to. In order to preserve uniformity in the weights and measures to be used in future, your committee would recommend that no person be allowed to make or sell any weights or measures without having obtained a licence for that purpose, on payment of a certain sum; and that all weights and measures should be marked with the name of the maker, and the initrals of the person who examines them. The person who last examines the weights and measures should not be permitted to alter them; but, if he finds them to be incorrect, should return them to the maker, to be properly sized and adjusted. All new weights and measures will, therefore, in this manner, undergo a double examination. Your committee are of opinion, that the powers given to justices of the peace by the 35 Geo. III. cap. 102, and the 37 Geo. III. cap. 143, to search for and destroy deficient weights, and to punish the persons in whose possession they are found, should be extended, so as to give them the same powers with regard to false or deficient measures. Your committee cannot conclude without stating the opinion of Professor Playfair, with regard to the necessity of adhering strictly to one simple and general view in appointing the standards, without departing from it for the sake of accommodating individuals or particular classes of the community. The advan 1814.] Report on Weights and Measures. tage of the public at large cannot be consulted, unless this rule is rigorously observed. The simplicity and accuracy of the system would be sacrificed by any partial exceptions; and it may be considered as certain, that unless the rules are simple, and the constructions independent of minuteness of division, an opening will be left for fraud, and for all the perplexity in which the standards of the country are at this moment involved. 1. Resolved, That it is the opinion of this committee, that it is necessary, in order effectually to ascertain and enforce uniform weights and measures to be used for the future, that all former statutes relating thereto should be repealed. 2. Resolved, That it is the opinion of this committee, that the distance between the two points in the gold studs in the brass rod, described in the Report of the select committee of 1758, and preserved in the custody of the clerk of this house, ought to be the length called a yard; and that one-third part thereof should be a foot, and the 12th part of the foot one inch. 3. Resolved, That it is the opinion of this committee, that the length of a pendulum vibrating 60 times in a minute of time, in the latitude of London, has been ascertained to be 39.13047 inches, of which the standard yard contains 36. 4. Resolved, That it is the opinion of this committee, that all measures of length whatsoever should be taken in parts, multiples, or certain proportions of the said standard yard. 5. Resolved, That in the opinion of this committee, a cubic foot of pure water at the temperature of 561 has been ascertained to weigh exactly 1000 ounces avoirdupois. 6. Resolved, That it is the opinion of this committee, that all measures of capacity should be ascertained by the weight of water therein contained, as well as by the number of cubical inches. 7. Resolved, That it is the opinion of this committee, that all measures of the same denomination, whether of liquids or of dry goods, ought to contain the same weight of water, or the same number of cubical inches. 8. Resolved, That it is the opinion of this committee, that the gallon ought to contain 10 pounds of pure water, or 276.48 cubical inches; that the quart, or fourth part of the gallon, ought to contain 40 ounces of water, or 69.12 cubical inches; that the pint, or half of the 457 quart, ought to contain 20 ounces of water, or 34.56 cubical inches. 9. Resolved, That it is the opinion of this committee, that the bushel ought to contain eight of the said gallons, or 80 pounds of water, or 2211.84 cubical inches; and that all other measures of capacity ought to be taken in parts, multiples, or proportional parts, of the said gallon. 10. Resolved, That it is the opinion of this committee, that the standard of weight ought to be the pound avoirdupois, which is equal to the weight of 27.648 cubical inches of pure water of the temperature of 5610; that the 16th part of the said pound should be an ounce, and the 16th part of such ounce should be a drachm; that the third part of the drachm should be a scruple, and the tenth part of the scruple one grain; and that all other weights should be taken from parts, multiples, or proportional parts of this pound. 11. Resolved, That it is the opinion of this committee, that all contracts, bargains, sales, and dealings, ought to be taken and adjudged to be according to the standards aforesaid; and that no person should recover the price of goods sold, or the goods themselves, or any damages on account of any contracts, bargains, sales, or dealings, but according to the said standards. 12. Resolved, That it is the opinion of this committee, that it ought to be penal for any person to have in his possession any measure or weight that is not agreeable to the aforesaid standards. 13. Resolved, That it is the opinion of this committee, that it ought to be made highly penal for any person to make or sell any measure or weight that is not agreeable to the aforesaid standards. 14. Resolved, That it is the opinion of this committee, that for enforcing an uniformity in the weights and measures to be used for the future, no person should be permitted to make weights and measures, without having first obtained a proper license for that purpose, on payment of a certain sum. 15. Resolved, That it is the opinion of this committee, that all weights and measures to be hereafter made, ought to be marked with the name of the maker; and, after a proper examination of a weight or measure, the same to be stamped with the initials of the name of the person who has examined it. 16. Resolved, That it is the opinion of this committee, that all weights exceed |