§ MR. BRIGG (Yorkshire, W. R., Keighley)I beg to ask the First Lord of the Treasury if he has noticed the Report of the Consul of La Rochelle, in which it is said that the neglect of the metric system is a great stumbling block to many branches of trade with the United Kingdom, and whether he will assist to bring about such changes in our system 989 of weights and measures as are suggested in the Report referred to.
§ MR. A. J. BALFOURThe Act of 1897 removes the restrictions which formerly existed on trade weights and measures, and the use in trade of the metric system. A number of metric standards have been already approved by an Order in Council of May, 1898, after being verified by the Board of Trade.