MEA
133
MEA
I
I
“Be
'uajegf 6 1 * ; tbere f° r e enacted, by the king’s most excellenttem b y and with the consent of the lords spiritual andat) d 1) * i an< ^ commons, in this present parliament assembled,^ater • au Biority of the same, that a cubic inch of distilledVa C(J ’ ln a vacuum, weighed by brass weights, also in arnetgj, 11 !’ a “ the temperature of 62° of Fahrenheit’s thermohundr *, S e< l ua l to two hundred and fifty-two grains and seven« « and twenty-four thousandth-parts of a grain.
Ca Pac't *** ^ urt ^ ler enacted, that the standard measure ofheaped &S web ^ 01 Bquid as for dry goods not measured byavojyj m ® asu re, shall be the gallon containing ten poundste^ U ^° 1S we 'ght of distilled water, weighed in air, at thebeing fatur ® °f 62°of Fahrenheit’s thermometer, the barometerspi r jj a at Btirty inches, to be used as well for wine, beer, ale,by ’ aa d all sorts of liquids, as for dry goods not measuredand ej j) measure > and eight such gallons shall be a bushel,Hot r * suc h bushels a quarter—of corn, or other dry goods«^ easui ‘ed by heaped measure,capagjfbe it further enacted, that the standard measure of° l be r ^ * 0r coa H culm, lime, fish, potatoes, or fruit, and allshall ,f°t S an( h things commonly sold by heaped measure,<l\ip 0 i s : lc aforesaid bushel, containing eighty pounds avoir-a pi ai) 1 tvater as aforesaid, the same being made round with*hch es f an< * even bottom, and being nieneteen and a halfa *' 0 tesaid° m outs ^ e to outs *de of such standard measure as
it further enacted, that all contracts, bargains,Part ’of"? palings, which shall be made or had within anyV at) le United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,’“a, or to be done, or for any goods, wares, merchan-
di,
’ ° r othp n,-- ’ J
'y ier saing to be sold, delivered, done, or agreed for,
or measure, where no special agreement shall betQe;
e m a j ” contrary, shall be deemed, taken, and construed,aa Ure e an d had according to the weights and standard8 h e cial p S ascer tained by this act; and in all cases where any° r m e;is : gre « nen t shall be made, with reference to any weightP° r tion ’, e . esta Mished by any local custom, the ratio or pro-° an y of" 01 * ever y suc * 1 local weight or measure shall bearBte said standard weights or measures, shall be” ls e SUc | ae clared and specified in such agreement, or other-. ‘‘ And a ? leement shall be null and void.
*'°Wed to ' v lereas it is expedient, that persons should be% h aVe Use the several weights and measures which they:a sur eg In Bteir possession, although such weights andttieas^^ not be * n conformity with the standard weights
h» e ,
f !| at
- - --- “ ' O "
it T Ules established by this act; be it therefore enacted,
IJ Uy sha 'l and may be lawful for any person or persons to
se H goods and merchandise by any weights or
8 pBoi a i s> Established either by local custom or founded on
dement; provided always, that in order that the
“ear t P r °ponion which all such measures and weights shall
a “t, shall^ 8t andard weights and measures established by thisr»ti„ al1 he nv,a , °
wejerncs ana measures estaonsnea oy tinsr, or an d become a matter of common notoriety, the
t 8 l “afe tionwhich “ ‘
Kted 'r ai be ar to
all such customary measures andtfl " :u or lu the said standard measures, shall be
8lM Slll ' e s r mar ^f^ upon all such customary weights and0 f 1 exte n( ] 6S P ect ' ve ly ; and that nothing herein contained( . v ' V(; ight s ’ or be construed to extend, to permit any makers>H 6r ’ to nia] *" measure ®. or any person or persons wliomso-li s |“ 0r if'or rri i[ e an 7 weight or measure at any time after, exceptUr]h et /.,' vit h the standard weights and measures eatab-le be '/p P rov 'sions of this act.
a tl a * urt her enacted, that accurate tables shall be8 acl' V ^'8'its . P ubb shed, showing the proportions between“ s hl v'^uisit' Ineasures heretofore in use, as mentioned inv * s he(J . l0Ils > and the weights and measures herebyOl ’ and after the publication of such tables, all
2 M
future payments to be made shall be regulated according tosuch tables.
“ And whereas the weights aud measures by which therates and duties of the customs and excise, and other bismajesty’s revenue, have been heretofore collected, are dif-rent from the weights and measures of the same denomina-tions directed by this act to be universally used ; andwhereas the alteration of such weights and measures may,without due care had therein, greatly affect bis majesty’srevenue, and tend to the diminishing of the same; for theprevention thereof, be it therefore enacted, that, so soon asconveniently may be, accurate tables shall be prepared andpublished, in order that the several rates and duties ofcustoms and excise, and other his majesty’s revenue, may beadjusted and made payable according to the respective quan-tities of the legal standards directed by this act to be univer-sally used ; and that from and after the publication of suchtables, the several rates and duties thereafter to be collectedby any of the officers of his majesty’s customs or excise, orother his majesty’s revenue, shall be collected and takenaccording to the calculations in the tables to be prepared asaforesaid.”
Table of the several Standard Measures.—English LongMeasure.
Barleycorns. Inches.
3 = 1 Feet.
36 = 12 = 1
Yards.
108 = 36 = 3
1 Poles.
594 = 198 = 161
51 = 1 Fur.
23,760 = 7,920 = 660 =
220 = 40 = 1 Mile
190,080 = 63,360 = 5,280 =
1,760 = 320 = 8 = 1
4
Also :—
Inches .
6
Feet.
3
Miles .
60
Geographical miles .
69J
360
Degrees, or 25,000 miles, is equal to
the circumference of the
earth,
nearly.
Cloth Measure.
Inches. Nails.
2\ — 1 Quarters.
9=4 =
36 = 16 = 4 =
1 yard
27 = 12 = 3 =
1 ell Flemish
45 = 20 = 5 . =
54 = 24 = 6 =
The French standard was formerly the aune, or ell, con-taining 3 Paris feet, 7 inches, 3 lines, or 1 yard 2-seventhsEnglish ; the Paris foot-royal exceeding the English by 68thousandth-parts. This ell is divided two ways, viz., intohalves, thirds, sixths, and twelfths, and into quarters, half-quarters, and sixteenths.
The standard in Holland, Flanders, Sweden , and a goodpart of Germany —many of which were formerly called theHans-towns, as Dantzic and Hamburg , and at Geneva,Frankfort, &c.—is likewise the ell ; but the ell in all theseplaces differs from the Paris ell. In Holland , it contains oneParis foot eleven lines, or four-sevenths of the Paris ell.The Flanders ell contains two feet one inch five lines andalf a line, or seven-twelfths of the Paris ell. The ell ofGermany, Brabant, &c. is equal to that of Flanders .
The Italian measure is the branchio, brace, or fathom.This obtains in the states of Modena , Venice, Florence,Lucca, Milan, Mantua, Bologna , &c., but is of differentlengths. At Venice, it contains one Paris foot eleven inches