IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 ^^ tii m m I.I £f tiS. 12.0 u Wuu lliS£!«i4U4 < 6" ^ ^ Sdences Carporatian ri>^ ;\ V 23 WBT MAIN STRUT WnSTIR.N.Y. H5M ( 71* ) 172-4503 v\ CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHIVI/ICIVIH Collection de microfiches. Canadian Institute for Historical IVIicroraproductions / Institut Canadian de microreproductions historiquas Technical and Bibliographic Notm/Notes tachniquat at bibiiographiquaa Tha inatituta haa attamptad to obtain tha baat original copy availabia for filming. Faaturaa of thia copy which may \f bibliographically uniqua, which may altar any of tha imagaa in tha raproduction, or which may aignificantly changa tha uaual mathod of filming, ara chackad balow. 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Til to Tl P( o1 fil Oi b« th Si( ol fil ail oi Tl al Tl w M di ei b( ri ri n- Thia item ia filmed at the reduction ratio checked below/ Ce document eat fllmA au taux de riduction indiquA ci-deaaoua 10X 14X 18X 22X 2SX 30X X 12X 1«X 20X a«x 28X 32X , The copy filmed here hat been reproduced thanks to the generosity of: UnlvtraM de Montrtel L'exemplaire fiim« f ut reproduit grAce A la gAnArositA de: University de Montreal The images appearing here are the best quality possible considering the condition and legibility of the original copy and in keeping with the filming contract specifications. Original copies in printed paper covers are filmed beginning with the front cover and ending on the last page with a printed or illustrated Impres- sion, or the back cover when appropriate. All other original copies are filmed beginning on the first page with a printed or illustrated impres- sion, and ending on the last page with a printed or illustrated impression. 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Tous les autres exemplaires originaux sont filmte en commenpant par la premiere page qui comporte une empreinte d'Impression ou d'illustration et en terminant par la derniire page qui comporte une telle empreinte. Un dee symboles suivants apparattra sur la dernlAre image de cheque microfiche, seion le cas: le symbols —► signifie "A SUIVRE ", le symbols V signifie "FIN". Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent Atre fiimfo A des taux de reduction diffArents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour Atre reproduit en un ssul clichA, il est film* A partir de I'angle supArieur gauche, de gauche A droite, et de haut en bas, en prenent ie nombre d'images nAcessaire. Les diagrammes suivants iilustrent la mAthode. 1 2 3 32X 1 2 3 4 5 6 EEMA.RK8 UPON SOMIO STRICT [T RES IX RRLATEOX TO INSPECTION OF AVKiauTS AND mi':asl'ri':s which APPEARED IN THE HAMILTON SPECTATOR. Dear Sir, — I have to thank you I'oi- directing my attention to the two editorials which iiave appoured in the Hamilton Spectator, in relation to weights and measures. I regret the political charaoti;rot' these articles as I do the obnox- ious epithets they contain. Not on personal grounds, but because I think the public interests would bo served il' the subject to which they refer were temperately and judiciously discussed, while I am persuaded that no good can come of exaggerated statements or unfair aspersions. I have no difficulty in knowing wlmt (uaMufacturing firm is referred to in the article which appeared in the Sj>ec1ator of the 28(h ultimo. In July, 1871), I had tt long interview with the practical member of that firm, who admitted the cogency of the reasons upon which the regulations, then in force, wore iiased, even to that which related to the balance ball, which ho adir.iUod oould bo used for fraudulent weighing, though he contended that it is a necessary convenience. The regulation as to this appendage to the platform scale has been modified, and in its original form had been allowed to remain in abeyance before I had the interview ai)ove roforrod to, but there is ro diflSculty in defentling that regulation as noco-; would weigh honestly ? To the artisan and others with snuill incomes this is really a very important matter, and the regulation complained of was made in their interest. I may add that tho practical gentlemen with whom 1 discussed tliis matter, and to whom reference is made at the outset of this letter, admitted all that I had to urge against the description of scale in question, and expressed no regret at the prospect of their use being prohibited. A public officer ought not to escape just censure, but when a public journalist, screening himself behind that irresponsible ivc undertakes the business of censor, ho should perform his self- imposed function with equity, and his utterances will have most weight when unaccompanied by exaggerated statements. There is not now, i\or has there over been, as ussorle 1 by tho Spectator, a regulation forbidding the uscol' iron weights of tl e denomination of one pound. That metal is a.lraitted for one pound weights, and brass, bronze or white metal is only insisted upon for lessor denomi- nations, for the following reasons. Iron oxidizes very rapltlly, and when tho oxide pools ort' the weight becomes doticient. This has happened to many thousands of weights which have been submitted foi- inspection. The smaller the weight the greater is the exposed surface in proportion thereto, and therefore the greater is tho percentage of loss. The metals above mentioned as substitutes for iron, oxidize very slowly, and the oxide does not peel off. Again, it is found to be almost impossible to stamp a small iron weight effectually in the iron itself, hence a plug of soft metal is necessary. This can be inserted in a weight of considerable magnitude without much affecting tho cost, in fact it is the readiest mode for effecting their adjustment, but to insert such a plug in a weight of half a, W ].. I ,1 1 I,' III mm miimm ' I pound or Iohs, mukuH its cosl quite equal to that of weights made of the Hoflor motiils rcforrod to. The UHsortion tlmt a sot of brass weights from half a pound down- wards, and which allogother will not woigh quite a pound, will cost five dollaiv, is equivalent to asserting that the makers of them impose upon their customers. 1 will not insult your intelligence, nor waste your time by explaining why brass of (ho quality used for such purposes, and by no moans linely wrought, cannot bo worth more than one dollar per pound. I am not able just now, for lack of time, to discusH the Hecond article on the same subject, but hope to do so in a few days. Meantime, T remain, Yours faithfully, A. BRUNEL. Ottawa, October 16th, 187*7. Dear Sir, — Accept my thanks for the additional cuttings from the Hamilton pajiers, and for your letter of the 13th which accompanied them. Those articles plunge so deeply into politics that I am quite un- able to follow them, and shall therefore attempt no more than a reply to the spccitic objections which they raise to the weights and measures regulations, iXce})t in reply to the Times which uses me as a shield for its friends. I may be permitted to say that while I do not hesitate to accept the fullest responsibility due to my position, it would be most unreasonable to hold me responsible for the inef- ficiency or ignorance of officers in whose appointment I have had no voice, and as to whose fitness for the work I have never been con- sulted nor had any opportunity for forming an opinion. While, therefore, I do not care to waste time in questioning the accuracy of the Times as tothedegi-ee of responsibility that attaches to me. I must contend that tlio Minister of Inland Revenue is responsible for the quality of the otficei's 1 have to work with, and 1 should appre- hend but little dificulty in shewing that nine-tenths of all the dis- satisfaction that has arisen about the inspection had its origin in their indifferent quality. I observe that the Times says I am a Conservative. I trust I shall always desire to conserve what is good, and, according to tho Times itself, I have an ardent desire to reform abuses. Let me say once for all that I am not a partizan. [ am tho servant of tho public. I don't know that thoro in much to say in reply to the second article of the Hpectator lOHpoclini,' woiylitH and meaHures. That article, aw well aH the inoro rocotit ones, irivo, m far as thoy go, a reasonably fair dotiiiition of wliat the CiinctioiiH of iha Governniont nhould be in deaiiiij^ witli tiiiH branch of tiio nervico. But thoro are two or throe other le/^itimato fuiictiouH wiiich the writer has not mentioned, bul which aio of even j^reater moment than some of Ihoso which ho has onumoratod. It ought to bo, and probably is, well known to scale manufactui ere that the " infallible old balance," to quote tho Spectator, can be, and frequently is made so as to bo very fallible indeed, and that the scales which, to quote tho same authority, " it has been proved through long years of experience can bo made to weigh accurately," can also bo made to weigh very inaccurately. As a matter of fact there are makers who have made both for tho purpose of facilitating false weighing. It is tho duty of the (foveriment to prevent as far as possible the use of such /(/////>/t' articles. To that end the regulations have been so framed as to exclude fi'om veritication, scales &c., that whether intentionally or otherwise might become tho instruments of injustice. The Government stamp should bo a guarantee of justice, a voucher of honost construction, but the Spectator would have it attached to whatever weighing machine is ottered so long as it appeared to give conoct results at the moment. The law legalizes both avoinlupois and Troy weights, it therefore becomes necessary to provide that tliei-e shall bo a well defined distinction in the. forms of the two descriptions. Heretofore weights of both kinds have boon in uso of the denominations of 4H)., Tft, and I'tlb, and of exactly the same form and of similar metal and with similar inscription. There is too much reason for believing that in villages, especiall}- in Lower Canada, the Troy weight has been substituted for avoirdupis, the buyer thereby loosing two-sevenths of the weight he pays for. This therefore is another instance in which it becomes necessary to eliminate the means of fraud, and the regulations provide tliat Troy weights shall be of a specified form with their denominations inscribed in ounces, while a variety of other forms are sjiecified for avoirdupois weigl.ts, their value being inscribed in lbs., &c. One more instance ; tho Spectator objects to the regulation which requires that the weights used with platform scales shall be equal to the i^ound or to some multiple, or authorised sub-multiple ot the pound, and that they shall be either in a decimal or binary ratio to (, l-i* 1 '■; r the load. As to the former condition I have to obsorvo that its object is to prevent nn unrensonable multiplii'ily of doiiominations. UnleBH some restriction of this kind wore adopted it would bo Im- possible to know what standards to prnvidiv This niij^ht not be 80 important a matter if all the testing wore done at the Inspectors head office, but when an Inspector is sent on long journeys over bad roads, the load he has to carry is an iniportant consider- ation. So is time. To tost a weight with ordinary dispatch it must be weighed against standard weights to one or more of which it should bo equal. Ninety per cent, of the weights presented for veri- fication comply, or are intended to comply with this condition. But some few have been presented, the products of unskillful makers which do not. On one occasion a scale was presented of which one of the weights intended to " draw " 50lb on the platform, weighed 8 ounces,! dram, 3 scruples and 12 grains, the other weights weie multiples of that complex quantity. It would take even a skilful weigher a good while to verify such a weight, and if the figures were not marked on it, which they were not, its verification would involve the testing of the scale by heavy weights to its full capacity, and entail the cost of cai-ting them through the country. The second condition is demanded in order that the proportion of the weight to the load may be simply stated. If a poise indicates 10, 16, 50 or 100 times its weight on the platform, and if it weighs half a pound, one pound, two pounds and so, on it is a simple matter to test the accuray of the whole apparatus ; but if the poise is a fractional quantity, as in the case above mentioned, and if it is in the proportion of say llf or c9J( to the load the test, although it could be made, becomes a troublesome one and exceedingly apt to lead to error. And why should not we require the simple proportions ? Fair- banks & Go's, agent informed me that all their scales were made in the one ratio or the other, and I am not aware that any of their make have been rejected for violation of this. rule. Mr. Ware, of Gurney & Ware, gave me a similar assurance, and it was on account of his representations that the binary proportion was added to the deci- mal, in order that the division of the beam of the Union scale into ounces might be possible. It is only as to matters of this nature that the regulations in any way interfere with the manufacture. The Spectator, willingly I must suppose, accepts the statements of interested pai'ties to the contrary, and heaps unsparing abuse on the officers of the Govern- ment, and without a shadow of proof or of knowledge on the subject asserts that they are utterly ignorant of the businesB, and ought not to interfere in anything relating to forms or arrangement of partH. We are told that the objection to a particular kind of scale, and tho remedy proposed by the Department for removing the objoo- tion, has caused much merriment among scalo makers. An aitompt is then'made todoscribo tho part objected to, and the proposed Mubsti- tute, but this is done in language which convoys an entirely erroneous idea of both. The person who prompted the writer of the article knew tho reason why the objections, to the kind of scale were taken, but he carefully suppressed it, and I am willing to believe that if ho had stated it to the writer of tho article, that gentleman would have heen that it was taken in the interest of the public. The wrought iron bar is not used as a moans of strength, but as a means of countervailing slovenly work. The adjustment of the scale is effoctod by bending this bar in either direction, which is easily done; but after the scale leaves the maker's hands it can be tampered with so easily, and can bo so readily made to serve fraudu- lent purposes, that it would bo almost criminal to admit it to use under the sanction of a Government stamp, especially when the remedy is so simple. For the ductile bar of iron it is proposed to substitute a blouk of cast metal, either forming one piece with the frame of the scale, or riveted to it so that it cannot be tampered with without tho ues of such u degree of violence as might be readilydeteoted by the Inspector. To do this it becomes necessary to drill a smalt hole about one-tonth of an inch in diameter, for ihe centre pin, in a definite pl!ic«, instead of drilling it at random in the wrought iron bar, and afterwards forcing it into its place by bending the bar. Why tho Spectator should imagine that the metal cast solid with the frame would be less substantial than the small piece of wrought iron loss than | of an inch square, which has heretofore been used J. cannot understand. If we are to bolievo tho Spectator, no trader would on any account knowingly use a false weight, measure or balance, and, if by accident ho did do so, his customers would speedily discover the error. Unhappily, the Department has abundant evidence that all traders are not so accurate in their weights as tho Spectator would have us believe; and, to tho assertions as to the ease with which errors are detected by buyers, tho fact that we have a number of cases whore the platform scales of wholesale dealers have been erroneous to the extent of from five to ton per cent., is a sufficient reply. > ^ / i 'Vi 3 ■ ;.!■ When the writer in tiio Spectator condosconds to Hpecifio Btate- inwiitH AH to what lio objoctH to in the re^'uiations, there is no difficulty in answering him. Lot me rofor you to what ho HayH about moasuiivs of capacity, lie sayw: " Tho roguhition re- quires a peculiar kind of soam in tlio construction of tin measuros of capacity." Of course, ho citrmot point to snch a regulation as he refers to, for there is no such regulation and never was. It is true that one of our otflcers, who professes to possess Bomo knowledge of that branch of mochanism.took a fancy to a particular mode of putting tho work together, and in that way caused some annoyance But tho minute it came to the knowledge of the Department, he was instructed that the regulations gave him no authority to interfere in matters of that kind, and ho has ceased to do so. The whole scope of the regulations in i-oforonco to measures of capacity, is to insure shat they shall be made of n-^atorial of such strength that they cannot bo readily put out of shape, and that their form shall be such as to facilitate vjritication. How necessary the first condition is, may be ascertained by an inspection of tho measures which have been seized ; and as to form, it was believed that as the adop'ion of the Imperial measure would load to the early and general construction of now nioa.sures, a fitting opportunity was atfoixlod for introducing the cylindrical form, which can bo verified by the special guago, constructed for that purpose, thus saving the necessity of carrying tho standard's of capacity through the country, and saving a large share of what the cost of inspection would other- wise be. The sensational story about the manufacturer who sent barrels full of measures to a distant place to have them stamped because they could not pass muster in Hamilton, if true — which I doubt — only proves that one of tho Inspectors is incompetent. I may suggest that if tho manufacturer instead of sending his " barrels full " to tho distant Division hud sent one of the measures here, be might have obtained a final decision, possibly in his favour, at much less cost. What are the alterations in the legulations as to these measures of which complaint is made? Thcro has been but one alteration from the outset; that is in the direction of lestriction. The original regulations required that the denomintion of tho measures should bo stamped on them in legible characters. Availing them- selves of tho vagueness of this juIc many manufacturers stamped them in characters so small that they could only be discerned on rigid examination. This would have been of comparatively small consequence if thoie had been but ono description of measures, but when Parliament by the Act of last Session indefinitely defen'od tho timo nt which tho Wlno ixnd WincheHtor tnoaHiiroH should coiiho to ho tolerated, it Injcamo nocoHHiiry, in view of tho probability of tho UHo of I ho Wino mouHuroM boinj^ lai'goly continued, for the protoction of tho public, to ro(jHiro thut both whould ho ho murkod that tho buyer could without difflcully hoo what measure he was Borvod with ; hence the rule that tho characters used for marking them should be in height o(iuul to one-tenth the height of tho moaHures. I foe! t hut. I have already discussed this matter at too grout a length ond must have woiiriod you. I confess too thnt I nm Homowhut discouraged as regards your city, by tho fact that nothing in connection with the inspection in publicly discussod upon its merits. The opposition papers stick at nothing to make a case against tho Govornment, and care only to stand well with their friends the manufacturers. The Ministerial paper, either because it is not sufficiently well acquainted with tho subject, or because it desires to hit the late Government, are afraid to endorse what its own friends are doing, even though it can bo shown to be in the interest of the public. Of course the few who have a selfish interest in maintaining the old state of things can make a good deal ot noise, just as a dozen claquiers, in a theatre can got up a good deal of applause; but I have reason to know that the general public are beginning to understand their interest in the matter, and if the threat suggested by the Times has any foundation, it will speedily happen that the buyers will resist being again placed at the absolute mercy of the seller. I think in my last I expressed somo surprise that the great mass of the people — the buyers— had no share in the sympathy of the Spectator, who is so anxious for the interests of the seller. On second thoughts I,am not surprised — the seller advertises. The buyer does not. h4 5u Yours truly, A. BRUNBL, Ottawa, October 25th, 1877.