§ MR. J. B. SMITHsaid, he wished to ask the Secretary to the Board of Trade, Whether he is prepared to state in what manner the Government intends to deal with the present anomalous state of the Laws relating to Weights and Measures. In 1864 an Act was passed "to render permissive the use of the Metric system of Weights and Measures," but which, in the opinion of the Law Officers of the Crown, was so incorrectly drawn that any person using Metric Weights and Measures, or having them in his possession, is liable to have them seized, and to a Cue and forfeiture. And is it the intention of Her Majesty's Government to bring in a Bill during the present Session of Parliament with a view to remedy the defect in the existing Act, and to establish the Metric system in the place of the existing system of Weights and Measures in the United Kingdom?
§ MR. SHAW-LEFEVREsaid, in reply to the hon. Member, he had to state that the Royal Commissioners for Weights and Measures had, in a recent Report laid before that House, pointed out the anomalous state of the law to which the hon. Member had adverted—namely, that although the use of the Metric system is legalized by the Act of 1864 for contracts, yet the actual use of the weights and measures themselves is illegal, and the weights are liable to seizure and forfeiture. The Commissioners recommended legislation for the purpose of introducing the Metric system, not as a substitute for our present system, but as an addition to it. They recommended, however, that legislation should be postponed until their final Report was presented. He had ascertained that this might be expected before Easter; it would then be for the Government to determine whether to deal at once with this question only, or to wait until they could deal with all the other recommendations of the Commission.