The Sun.
London, England, 1821-04-21 00:00:00

PARLIAMENTARY PAPERS.

THIRD REPORT of the COMMISSIONERS appointed
by His MAJESTY to consider the Subject of WEIGHTS
and MEASURES.
May it please your Majesty,

.We,. the Commissioners appointed by your Majesty for the
purpose of considering the subject of Weights and Measures,
have now completed the examination of the standards which we
have thought it necessary to compare. The measurements which
we have lately performed upon the apparatus emplOyed by the
late Sir George Shuckburgh Evelyn, have enabled us to deter-
mine with- sufficient precision the weight of a given bulk of
water; with.a view to the fixing the magnitude of the standard
of weight ; • that of length being already determined by the ex-
periments.related in our former reports : aud „we have found,
by the computations which will be detailed in the AppendiX,
that the weight of a cubic inch of distilled water, at 62 deg. of
Fahrenheit, is 252.72 grains of the parliamentary standard
pound of 1758, supposing it to be weighed in a vacuum.
We beg leave, therefore, finally to tecommencl, with all hu-
mility, to your Majesty, the adoption of the regulations anfi.
modifications suggested in our former reports, which, are prig-
cipally these -•- • -

1. That the Parliamentary standard yard, made by Bird in.,
1760, be henceforward considered as the authentic .legal stan-
dard of the British Empire ; and that it be identified by de-
daring that ~39,1393. inches of. this standard, at the tempera-
ture of 62 deg. of Fahrenheit, have been found equal to the
length of a pendulum supposed to:•viVrate 'seconds in 'London,
op the levl,of the ,sea, and in a vacuum.
• 2: :That the parliamentary standard Troy pound, according
to the two-pound weight made in 1758, remain unaltered • and
that 7000 Troy grains be declared to constitute an' Avoidupois
pound ; the cubic inch of distilled water being found to weigh,
at 62 deg. in a vacuum, 252,72 parliamentary grains.
3: That the ale and'corn gallon be restored to their oligiriat
equality, by taking,. for the statutable common gallon of the •
British Empire, a mean' value; such that a gallon of common
water may weigh Itl. pounds avoirdupois in ordinary eircutin7
stances, its contents being nearly 277.3 cubic inehes‘; and that
correct standards of. this unpelial gallon, and of the• bushel,.
peck, quart, and pint, derived from it, and of their partS, be
procured without delay for:the Exchequer, and for such other
offices in your Majesty's dominions as may be judged .most
convenient for the ready use of your Majesty's subjects: •
• '4. Whether any further legislative enactments are required,
for enforcing •a itnifortnity lifted& thrOughout the British
empire, we do not• feel mu-Selves competent tet' determine ; but
it appears to us that nothing would be more conddcive to the
attainment of this end,- than ta.increase', as far as'possible, the
facility of a .ready recurrence •to the legal standards, which we
apprehend to be in a great measure attainable-by the means
that we have recommended. It would also, in all probability,
be of advantage to give a greater dekree of publicity to the ap-,
pendißc.of our last rt.porti containing - a comparison of the cus-
toriihry measures employed throughout' he country. ' '
5. We are not aware that any further services remain for us
to perform, in the execution of tha commands laid upon us by
your Majesty's commission : but it' 'any superintentlente of'the'
regulations to be adopted were thought .neeessa, y, we should-
Still be ready to undertake siteh••insPectioni ; n.l eXainina-,
tions as. might be required for the complete attainment •of •the
objeCti in question. • • ‘. , ;.
(Signed) GEORGE CLERK.
• DAVIES GILBERT. ,
. • • . 'H..WOLLASTO;:.
TIIOIfAS YOUNG.
London, March 31,18`_1. 11ENRY RATER.

TB LO N.DON4 0 URNALS..

• ..,--.....ina..—r- , / ~ . . .
[DAILY EXTRACTS, FROM TII.E•MORNING. PAPERS.
. .

. • ';
LTHE,iiNp.] •
A para,_graph.itt 00 of the .efench Papers 'of
Tuesday,:aentions .that the Russian army,: .now
on its march for Italy, will, traverse Hungary by
the direct' route fi6m ,Lemburg to,..fiaschien,
leading across tli..:;Carpathian Mountains ; apd
that. it Ivill not,.require more; than a month to
effect.i4. junction 'of- the Aloseov. (te army with
the Ausyiatts now in Piedmont. It must never.;
theleat o,st inuch 'larger .sums -of money than a
Hu sia .i'reaiiry can, often fOrnish to convey
100,0,064eV0c0i Volhinia..to.the banks of the
Po. . No.w' , we did notqnarf4'.eitherNvithjlie
cause • for, which, or with the means by wbieb;
•
the successive armies of Austria, and V..ussia were
put in motion during the late wars against Buon-,
,aparte and his-. overgrown power. Still as our
business is to prOlifby experience, we Must.:.recol-
lect.,and place in .'contr4st—the ,twck Inemorable
facts:7-4st, That duriqg the wholel'of the late
20 years' war,- carcely•a sword was lifted or .a
soldier marched, by the- military potentates of
the continent ,in their, v.n defence, or that of.
their nearest neighbours, until lingland had ad-
vanced great Burns of "gold, without. which, as we
were assured,
..the Qoverninents alluded to had
not the means oflocomotion ; and 2.0, That now,
when the causeisone which-England neither par-
ticipates.innor approves of—one, in fact, which j
she condemns as unnecessary or perniciou.§—when
the purpose is (according to.the language of her
,Government) not self-defence, but sheer.aggres-
sion—these same- powers find themselves., in no '
need ofoUr subsidie,s.,:, they find themselves clad
with. full a,hility ..to..march several hundred miles
fro'in borne and ,to undertake operations od a
largd scale, ivithout the assistance c.f one• English
guinea.. •Al{ this, we say, cleserves.to be recorded
and well Weighed, by our statesmen in future
ont
times wh•England may, have' an interest, but
:not an exclnsive interest,• in the furtherance of
any ~given political. object, and when those Go--
vertu-ions which-Ought to feel an equal, or even
'"aeePer stake in its success, plead want of means
Co- b4g,thefr forces into action, without a previ-
ous transfer to their. 'Own pockets of the hard-
earned halts of:l3r"itish industry,

) - [iIORN.INa POST.]
Failure commonly
.produces not merely that
disappointment :which is necessarily consequent
on not obtaining the object in view, but shame
and Morti.gcation from the derision which it calls
forth. The ludicrous situation in whichMl'.
Larnbton was placed_ on
.Wednesday, has sub=
jected him even to the ridicule of his own friends..
,In the Whig Chronicle of yesterday, while pre-
tending to reprove the stridtures' which had is-
sued from another. quarter; it is gravely hinted,
that that 'lon. Gentleman might have carried hiS
motion' if he had made. a short speech. This is
obviously neither more nor less•than a sly hit at
the powers of the Orator. To say that because
the attendance was thin •on the Ministerial
Benches (not the most -remarkable thing in the
world when Mr. Lambton had a motion to make)
the division could...have taken .place the mo,
ment he made a Motion at the end of a short.
speech, is too much
,for folly itself to advance.
Those to whom we allude know that Mr. Lamb-
ton could not- divide the house just when
he,pleaS'ed., Unless he could have gagged the.
Mernbers on both sides, lie could not bring the
matter so easily to a conclusion. The meaning,
therefore, of that which his 6.0 good-natured
frieals" have put forth,, is Clearly this—that, the
less he gives of his eloquence in a debate, the.
greater his chance Hof spccess-7-Ae shorter his
speech, the longer the list of votes' in ,his favour.
To the, .correctness of this maxim, as a general
proposition, we cannot but' snbicribe.
Know-
ledge ,of the individual, and sound taste, we
consider •to have been displayed by those
who broached it ; but, what we object to is,•
the pitiful manner ip which "this is insinuated,'
disguised as. applause. Before they' threw ,out
such a sarcasm, conildent as they must. have,been
that every one would, see through it; they•ought
to, have remembered, that if this young Gentle-
man has made himself. ridiCulous it is. mainly
owing to .them. Their laudatory remarks have
,contrjbuted as . much to the applarlding shouts' of
his own colliers to lead him to..mistake himself
for a highly:gifted orator. However Perfect. his.,
Parliamentavy failure, it is not for those who
,affect, to attach importance to his legislatorial of-.
forts to mock .liim •in his distress by announcing,
to th,e.world that the Gaust Of his misfortune was
the,length of his speech ; „and by, letting out he
melancholy fact, that the less he deals in oratory,.
then more eminently useful lie is likely. to be a a
Member of Parliament.

_ . •
[MOILNIN,G- „CURONICLE.]
The subject which more immediately demands
attention, is the distress of the
,Agriculturists.
The hopes with which the Landholders • long,
amused themselves,, that the artificial state of thinp:
produced ,by the_ war could be continued cm
,peace,are now pretty generally dis'pelled. Prided
cannot be, 4ept up, aid consequently rents catinot,
be kept up,while family arrangements have been
puole and debts contracted•on the suppositiOn,of
the, continuance of. high rents, and the taxation con:.
tinuesundimjnished. Shamefully as the Gentlepicn
of EThgland have neglected the duty. which they
owed to their country, „ and blind as they have
shewn themselves even to the permanent, interest
of.their own families, it is impossible notto feel
for the situation in which they are placed. The
,distiess hasl:beeit called irrricultural
,but. it

Quglit.to xeceive_ another name ;.it is the distresS
of the landholders.. Farmers, indeed,: whoTos...
sets their lands on leases, are up doubt sufferin.g-
severelf at this :moment; but the number of
those in :this ,sjtuation must diminish every day,
while those who hold their lands at will, if they
are now distressed, will take care not to remain
so. The agricultural labOurers must upon
.the
whole b 4 better. of thati they. were.... From ,the
tyranny. of the Poor Laws, they were Amble .to
share in the prosperity of the landlord undfarmer
during t.W.War,tll eir wages Vaving uniforiisly in Eng.
land been unequal to Ole support& themselve's anti
familiesond-part of their support having.been.tlq-
rived from the Parish. While an unmarried labourer
in Scotland vas receiving from 20/.to 24/. and
board, les's- than -the 'half of thatsimi. was 'paid in
England; While the one 'could-save money, the
other could .save.none. But .as wages rose ill
England to their Proper level during 'the was',
'they' will 'na nOw?.-kperience -Much fail,• and the
Variation will chiefly be: in the share derived from
the parish. Tl-se-siugle•tnen will of. course be
.greatly. fsenefited by the low prices. Accortj-
Isio.ly we- noW'llear.' or few cothplaints from la-
hourers in any part 'of the-country: The.prospedt
of.. the. proprietors,of land is therefore the .most
gloomy of all at the p'resent moment. The
terest of
_the National Debt will allow of little
reduction of 'the:taxation.; and even a reduction
of taxationy.: Without a reduction of the amount
of mortgages,, and other would , not
elftictua. lly Telre'e.the class in question: But the
idea of any such reduction cannot be entertained
has:bY anyone who. has: reflected on the numberless
difficulties.which it.. pesents.l

[BRITISu
,ri:ES5.]

Feeling strongly the necessity of ,a Raform- in
Parliament, froth the present. composition of the
House of Cornmons, we therefore were not among
who• anticipated ,airy suceesa from Mr.
Lambton's. motion ; •for if„as we .remarked g,fg;tv
days,since, such a motion had. any chance. of
being carried in the affirmative, it would have
been unnecessary to make it. •The -plan of Par-
liamentary .Reforni proposed, by Mr. Lattibton
we . whoLly, disapprove,, but from a .Committee of
the' Whole Irolise sonic good might have ren.fltetl.
Mr.larribton's 'plan Would,- if carried intoeffeVi.,
be .nothing,lestlhan alte toVerthrow of: the,:pre-
.sent Constitution,, and the . establishment.. pf
a new one in its place. We ,can see Ito
-good reasoil for 'departing'
..from our. Pre-
sent 'territorial kliVisions •of -the, • kingdom,
--tfrorn our:- ..counties. and our . towns,—and
for adopting in . their stead the . neW-fan-
gled system of Departments- and Arrondissise.:
meats. All changes of a sudden •and extensive
nature ought to fie carefully. avoided,and:fur:our
own part we think no roode,of I.Zeform soadvisable,
with reference to its- means anti its, objec_t,:• as:the
plan which has been-airewly in patt....cOnmenced
in the case .of the ,borough of, (;ranipoundof
transferring the elective: franchise
.from corrupt
or impoverished bOroughs,,to. towns and,borous,hs-
possessincr an extensive pepulation;, and,:thOtp.;
portance derived from trade, rtanufac;tures,
commerce. We fear very pinch that:the Gram pound
Disfranihisetnent-Bill-will be rejected in the .11 ouse
Of •Lords, . where the squestio.nstins 4): be
tried at the bar as a questiou,of:property affect-
ing individuals, and.not,as.a,,que.stion ;regarding
the. public good. It is surprising-how any,lnan-in
a public capacity in..the eanpire lean consi4er .the
elective franchise as triable by ,the same rules_ of
.law as apply to cases‘of private property ;: ;10 it, is'
no.less inconsistent that strange that such a prin-
ciple should be urged by men who will justify the
statute'of Henry VI: that deprived .of
tizm franchise. all freeholdemwhose freeholds
not amount ,to 40s. .a y.eaq.a sum at that. time
edinivalent t0.20/.,0r 2'54,a year at the present—.
who will further approve of the statute 1 Geo. 1.
which, by-repealing. the-Triextni4l Act) ,disfran-
chised the wholekingdomforfdur years; and who
found no 'difficulty in passing the Act of Union
with Ireland, which effectually disfranchised two-
thirds of the voters of that.coun.try, Upon the pro-
priety of these several ukeasure4 we. ao not, now
mean.to express .an.opittion-,-,but we notice them
'to sirew. that .in these great ~instances the :rights
of individuals were not treated. with great,-ten-
derness 'when they :are siipposed, to clash with
purposes' of generaladvantage..• The Electors- of
Grampound, and of many, other .such. boroughs,
have been so long in :the: habit of. selling their
votes, that with. theta the question: of transferring.'
the elective -franchise •frout such places to exten-
sive and. populous tow ns,..resolves :itsel f .naturarily
into a 'question of private. property ;
,but it is no
less inconsistent with thth.prlnciples of the.
stitution-than :11egradiug..to the .dignity of, the
House-of-Lords, to suffer the:suhject..to,he pre-
"siinted toitheir:view in Socha light,. :Their: Loyd-
,ships are no with' regard _to
,the Grampound
Bills :to ••try the iinputed.. Criminality of anyjnum-.
'ber of individuals,Amt to:determine :a'matter of
general policy, affecting not ;merely
.tho-141ectors
of Grampound, bat the -universal interests of the
empire. . •- • . •

We have more than once" of latcwitnessed• ac-
counts of thClieiliwtibn.Of .*Poiors'llates in the Provincial
Papers.:. This Words a confirmation of the justice of the -ob-
servation of Mr. Ilitsicissci.tf,, that the labbiairig classes are in
general I'enefited by low prides. The following instance is
given.'by- the Bereford'PaperlL,-..- •1' . .
, 4.‘ RimucTiox POOR RATES —' have satisfaction in
Stating, that it appeared to the -Magiitrates of _the Hundred of
Rroxash,.ii- their Petty Sessions, hekrat_Bromyarl, on Mon-
day' the 9th inst;:that the • Poor Rates .in. thailhindred t were
reduced more then 2O per cent,.on an average within the last
year;—We no '&of-that Asimilar redmrtion will be found
in • oilier. ' This mast-prove some • consb4-
.p.nd a relief. Co,. the•farniers'4nd ocoupiers of land &t the
present period."
• •

GERMAN CONFEDERATION.

REIVICNSTRANCE OF THE DUCHY OF ANHALT
AUAINST THE COURT OF BERLIN.
E.rfrart of a Letter, dated Frankfort,...fpri! 12.
The -German Confederation has now to decide
on a complaint of the Dake of ANIIALT COETHEN
against the Cabinet of Berlin. The matter in
dispute is important. The following is in sub-
s.tance the allegation of the Duke : we shall also
give the answer, which no doubt will soon be
made on the part of Prussia :
" The Ptussian financial adr3inistration has
planned and executed_a system of custom-house
regulations that, :without any previous negocia-
*fon, subjects the DuChy of Anhalt, Which is sur-
rounded by the Prussean territories, to indirect
imposts of the Court of Berlin. The Houses of
Anhalt regard the proceedings as an open attack
on their rights of sovereignty, and as a de facto
meditization. The representations made on this
subject, during two years, by the injured party,
to tl.e Cabinet of Berlin, supported by the rights
of relationship, of mutual obligation, and by the
authority of various treaties, produced no result
whatever.—Under circumstances so urgent, the
Duke of Anhalt Coethen took upon himself in
person the duty of attending to the interests of
his house,- and during the conferences which took
place at Vienna, in the year 1820, repaired thi-
ther for the purpose of procuring new guarantees
for his rights from the different powers,of Ger-
many then assembled in that capital.—Prussia
pretended that she was entitled to exercise an
authority beyond her boundaries, to put in action
a system entirely arbitrary, without the least re-
gard to the rights of the Sovereigns, surrounded by
her territories, even to the extent of cutting them
off at her pleasure from all free communication
with the rest of the world.--A great question has
' thus arisen in what circumstances a European
State is authorized to act within its own bodndaries
without any other restriction than its own will, or
if in its interior organization it is absolved from
any responsibility with regard to its co-estates.—
This difficulty, which now agitates all.the poli-
tical world, has been yet undecided. The Dukes
of Anhalt ought to be convinced in seeing the
relation they have to States in a powerful condi-
tion, that they ought not at once to attack the
system of the customs, however they were hurtful
to them. They ought to betake themselves, as
their only resource in such a case, to treaties.—
The Court of Vienna had declared the naviga-
tion of the Elbe, which traverses the country of
Anhalt, free and independent of any custom
whatever. It was of importance to the Dukes of
Anhalt to preserve a channel of communication
which Heaven, as it were, had granted them. As
. they had succeeded in causing the stipulations of
the Congress at Vienna in favour of the Elbe to
he executed, which, besides, were found firmly
and intimately connected with all the other sti-
pulations of the Congress, and which ought not
to rest on a basis less secure than those which
have been already adopted in relation to territo-
rial right, or the rights of possession in Europe,
the barriers of Prussia, which command any of
the commercial channels of communication with
the German interior ought to be thrown back,
and the country of Anhalt will not then fail of
resuming its proper relation to the rest of Ger-
many-. Weighty considerations impelled the Duke
of Anhalt Coethen to insist upon this important
• object; and in consequence of his great efforts,
the freedom of the river was confirmed is the
most solemn manner, and expressed in the proto-
cols of the conferences at Vienna, in 1820, with
the formal and declared sanction of the govern-
ment of Prussia. Besides, it was Prussia her-
self who, at the time of the congress at Vienna,
in 1814, made the magnanimous proposition re-
garding the freedom of rivers ; and which already,
on six several occasions, has in protocols and
treaties confirmed by her signature the sacred
promise of the several stipulations made at Vienna.
To all these guarantees on the part of Prussia,
nothing is wanting but their execution. It is
very naturally asked, will Prussia stop the first
vessel which afier the publication of the conferen-
ces at Vienna shall descend the Elbe ? Will she
still demand upon this river the indirect taxes
from the subjects of Anhalt ? Six months have in
fact already passed since the first vessel was
stopper', and the reiterated representations of the
government of Anhalt on this open violation of
positive treaties continue to be unsuccessful.
The Duke of Anhalt has found himself obliged
to appeal to the Germanic confederation. All the
-world is curious to see inw hat manner the Germanic'
confederation will perform this first experiment of
its competency ; and if in the year 1821, in the
centre of Europe, a State of small consequence
can maintain against a power of the first rank, a
right which is at once without doubt and beyond
all exception. The wisdom of great Cabinets
will on this occasion be employed to make known
to the world, that in the new order of .Europe
the least estate may consider itself in perfect
security by the side of the greatest. But, more-
over, it is the character, eminently just and ho-
nourable, of his Majesty the King of Prussia,
which- will receive on this occasion the most un-
equivocal homage, when a neighbour, who in his
circumscribed sphere might have to fear in a
thousand circumstmces the vengeance of the.
powerful, can march with a firm step in the way
that its duties to its own subjects point out, and
secure together with the honour of their family
the imprescriptible rights of all the secondary
States in Germany."