The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1853-12-29 00:00:00

THE DECIMAL SYSTEM OF C01Na4,,-
ACCOUNTS.

PUBLIC MEETING—YEsmittAT.
On Yesterday a town's meeting, convened by the
was held in the sessions-house, to take into eonsiclet
the question of the introduction of decimal coinage'
twelve o'clock the chair was taken by his WorSliiif
MAYOR. Amongst the gentlemen present were--311',t;
fall, M.P. ; Mr. Brown, M.P. ; Mr. , Thornely,
Messrs. J. P. Heywood, W. Earle, W. Rathbone, /t
Booker, Alderman Bennett, G. Grant, John Camp'
Bold, F. A. Clint, R. Benn, W. J. Tomlinson, Cl
Holland, James Aikin, John Aikin, E. Proctor, F. A'
milton, J. R. Jeffery, J. B. Barclay, H. Neill, C. Bober;
John A. Tinney, T. Moore, E. Heath, J. Baron, It 1:1°
T. Bouch, J. A. Picton, James Smith, R. Gill, T. m'
derson, E. Higgin, Dr. Ihne, M. M'llveen, W. As
James King, H. Dowie, W. Smith, &c., &c.
The MAYOR called upon the town clerk to read there
sition under which the meeting was convened.
The TOWN CLERK read the requisition, which bore, 11!1..1
others, the following signatures :—Messrs. F. Sni
president of the chamber of commerce ; Thomas Bend
vice-president ; William Brown, M.P. ; T. B. Horst'
M.P. ; Edward Heath, C. Robertson, Hugh Hornby,
Lister, T. B. Blackburne, George Crosfield, J. R. Jeff
A. H. Wylie, Joseph Malcolmson, T. and H. Littledale
Co., W. Henderson, T. F. Bennett, John Gordon Brown,
C. Tonge, William Moon, Rawlins and Son, W. RathbolA
J. Aikin, J. P. Heywood, Jas. Myers and Co., H. C. char
man, Thomas Bold, Adam S. Gladstone, Walter M'Grerr:
George Holt, John Aikin, T. and J. Brocklebank, PP.
and Boult, Jevons and Co., &c.
The MAYOR said he had received a requisition very nil
rously signed, requesting him to call a meeting of te,
inhabitants to consider the question of decimal coinage. .fre
thought upon that question there could be no doubt that did
decimal system, if introduced, would save time, trouble, all
expense. (Hear, hear.) It was therefore of great import'
ance that a meeting should be held to consider how the!
might advance the question. He understood that the
Chamber of Commerce had circulated throughout the tie,
the report of the committee which sat in parliament 11"',4
session upon decimal coinage, and certainly no commuel'i
could be more competent to consider that question than thelhi
great commercial community. He had therefore mud
pleasure in presiding at this meeting, and he had no dos
that those who would address them would be able to convied
the meeting that if the change took place, it would be:
great advantage to the community at large. He now beg
to call upon Mr. William Brown to move the first resolutios.
(Applause.)
Mr. Baowx, who was loudly applauded, then address,
the meeting. He said the gentlemen who had presented the
,
requisition to his worship the mayor, which had been rt'
kindly complied with, had requested him to move the Of,
resolution. He would read the resolution, but before 06
proceeded to move its adoption, he would read to them 010
~
letters which had been received this morning by him, ft°'
two gentlemen who were desirous of attending the meeting'
but who, not being able to do so, had sent in writing
„ttil
views they entertained on this important question.
Brown then read the resolution,which "was, that as the de
mal system of money and accounts affords great facility, s
„al
is more clear, simple, and correct than that at present in 1",,f
in this country, it is of great importance to the interests
trade and commerce that it should be adopted." The lette,'
which he proposed reading to them were one from the res;
pectel principal of the Collegiate Institution, and the O.
from Lord Stanley. Mr. Brown then read the followil4
letters :

" Knowsley, December 20, 1863.
" DEAR SIR.—I received your circular and accompael
note this morning. I quite agree in your remarks, and sh„
be ready to support you in any step you may think fit
take with a view of popularising the decimal schtme.4i
rather wish, for the sake of avoiding needless change, tuti,
we had retained the old name of farthings, instead of subs.
tuting "mils ;" but with this trifling exception, I coneur
all the recommendations of the committee.
" I should have been glad to attend the Liverpool meetlill
on the 28th, but am engaged to attend another II
ing on that day at some distance.— I remain, yours fa'
fully, " STANLO
"W. Brown, Esq."

" 8, Bedford-square, Brighton, December 26, 185,3'0f
"MY DEAR SIR.—I have to thank you for six cop' to
the letter on decimal coinage, which you have address,ed I
the president of the Liverpool chamber of commercef,';ieli
will place them in the hands of persons who seem to ne.,`,130
to take an interest in the subject. lam very sorry I.":Astis'
attend the meeting which the Mayor has called for W 74 t),
day but I can express to you in writing m strop
the importance of this subject in its coon
tion. It is impossible to examine clish weights and mea-
table, and in tho tables of our various x, g
that much trouble would be savedbothr
master and pupil, and much time would be available for otrA
important subjects of instruction, if the decimal system 1111-
adopted.
acif
I speak of weights and measures al' with the curre
~0
because lam convinced that, if the latter is decimalised, ,
same change in the former will soon follow. I never 7:
more impressed with the advantage of the decimal 81,11:,
than when I saw in the Conservatoire des Arts and lifel7;
at Paris, the whole series of French weights and messu'
in one view. oys in the pence

" I will not say anything about book-keeping and maalne#
tary transactions in general, for my opinions on such raalLs
would be worth nothing; but I may venture to add, rill
the arguments adduced in the parliamentary report, Oa, of
your letter, in favour of making the sovereign the uni_dr'
our decimal system, and against the assimilation of our.
cency with that of either France or the United StP
appear to me conclusive. I have also a strong feeling ro
,a,
favour of retaining our old English words—" pound, P..ia
ling and penny ;" and even as regards the mil piece, I Wok
set set derivation at defiance, and call it a "farthing."—l B'l
my dear sir, with much respect, yours very faithfully,
"J. S. lIowsoll•

'W. Brown, Esq., M.P."
Mr. BROWN then said he should proceed to state to the
meeting what had taken place, which brought them to thell
present position. Many years ago, the father of the preserl
Lord Wrottesley broached the subject in the house of core;
mons. Little was done until Dr. Bowring took it up sor„
time afterwards, and induced the government to issue to:
florin, one-tenth of a pound. Dr. Bowring was desirous tli
it should be called the dime, but from high quarters that O.
overruled, and it was called a florin. The matter was Levi
there after Dr. Bowring went to India, until the LiverP&P.
chamber of commerce took the question up. They appointed
a sub-committee to examine into its merits, and the sub"
committee presented a report in its favour to the chamber,
and accordingly they memorialised government in last No-
vember twelve-months, in favour of the decimal systems
taking the sovereign as the unit. After that nothing Wee
done in the matter, until he (Mr. Brown) went to London,
when he considered that he could not render a better service
to the country, than by moving for a committee of inquiri
in the house of commons. His first notice of motion em'
braced weights and measures, as well as coinage, but some
judicious friends thought that he had better omit the weight.;
and measures in the first instance, and go for the decline
coin :;e only ; because if the coinage were once decimalised'
the adiantages once demonstrated would lead, as a matter &,
course, to the decimalising of the weights and measures'
(Hear, hear.) Prior, however, to this step being taken bi
him, the board of trade had issued a letter to parties wile
they thought could give information upon the question, to
state their views not only regarding the effect of the adqr
tion of the decimal system upon commerce, but also how we,
change would be received among the working and industriP,
classes. The committee, of course, had not to ask for much
evidence, for these letters were put into the hands of the
committe, and this evidence examined. There probably
never was a committee which sat in the house of commove,
which was more completely unanimous than that committee,
in fixing upon the pound sterling, as the unit e`
account. During their frequent sittings there
not a single division, and there was but one evidence bld
which it was suggested that the penny or the farthing should
be the integer, and it was not approved of by the committee;
Although questions were asked whether ten shillings world
be a proper unit, whether one shilling would be a proper,
integer, all that was considered unadvisable, and the pony'
was adopted. It had always appeared very strange to hid
that they in the most commercial country of the world
should be slow in adopting a system which had been fount*
to work well among all other nations who had adopted
Ani‘
(Hear, hear.) At that moment there were probably 47,,
millions of people who used the decimal system of cow.
_Der
and accounts. Russia used the decimal system. A mei"
of the Zollverein took place four or five years ago at Fran,.,4,
fort-on-the-Maiue, at which the question was discussed?
but some occurrence prevented it from being adopted since'
Austria had taken the initiative, and adopted it. France ect
they were aware, had adopted it. The United States 13
adopted it so far as currency went, but, strange as it 4
appear, there was no act of the legislature of that count
which had ever decimalised the weights and measures.
inhabitants, finding from their experience of the deciD"
system in coinage, that it produced so much convenience]
decimalised the weights and measures for themsen
(Hear, hear.) He received a letter the other day frogr
friend who took an interest in the question, in which he on -
that he would bring the subject before the geographical 1700
statistical society, who would memorialise the United Sttif
government to send commissioners to Europe with the lig
of assimilating the weights and measures of England,
_,J,
United States, and other countries, if they could sucevi-0
They were quite as much alive to the advantages se 50,4
were. The whole population of the Chinese empire sj,
the decimal system, and he was told that they were
est.e'.o
ingly expert and clever in calculation, so much pc'
that although Dr. Bowring was a very good,,t,
countant, he would be no match for his Chinese ser:d
or the Chinese boy, in his service, and he never APO
them to make au mistakes. After the revolt of