the office, and fills up a printed proposal with his name and profeffion, place, and date of birth, prefent refidence, age, (which must include the current year, that is to fay, he who was twenty on his last birth day, is ftated to be twenty-one) the term and affurance to be effected, and a declaration whether the party has had the small pox, or is afflicted with the gout. It is alfo required that a reference be given to two refpectable perfons, one of whom fhould be a medical man, to afcertain the party's health. A depofit is made, proportioned to the fum to be infured, which is to be forfeited if the policy fails to be completed through neglect of the propofer. The perfon to be affured alfo appears in perfon before a committee of the directors, who for that purpofe, generally, allot a day in every week. The appearance may however be difpenfed with, on paying a certain advance on the premium. Before the policy is delivered, the party, for whofe ufe it is made, by himfelf or his agent, figns a declaration, containing in funftance the allegations in the paper of the proposals, and allowing, that if any untrue averment is contained in the declaration, all monies which fhall have been paid to the fociety, on account of the infurance made in confequence thereof, fhall be forfeited.

INTEREST AND RISK. The fpirit of gaming on lives by means of policies of affurance is reftrained by the ftatute 14 Geo. III. c. 48, which declares all infurances void, where the perfons making them have no intereft. The different infurance companies annex to the contract certain conditions or exceptions. The Royal Exchange Afurance declares every infurance made by a perfon on his own life to be void, if the perfon whofe life is infured, fhall depart the limits of Europe, fhall die upon the feas, or enter into any military or naval fervice whatsoever, without the previous confent of the company, or fhall die by fuicide, duelling, or the hands of justice. When the infurance is made by a perfon, on the life of another, death, "by fuicide, duelling, or the hand of justice" is not excepted. The Weftminfler Society adopts the fame exceptions. The Equitable Affurance, and the Pelican Life Infurance, adopt the fame exceptions, only omitting the word duelling, even where the party infures his own life. Confidering the great multiplicity of infurances, which have of late years been made upon lives, ferjeant Marshall obferves, the litigated cafes that have arifen upon them, are extremely few. One principal reafon is, that the happening of the event' infured against, is always a fact of eafy proof, which can scarcely ever afford any fubject of difpute: another is the great difficulty of practifing any fraud in fuch infurances. But to no cause is this fortunate circumftance more to be afcribed, than to the

known

known integrity and liberality of the feveral companies engaged in this branch of infurance..

TRADE IN GENERAL.

Having detailed thefe particulars, it is now thought proper to notice, in a mifcellaneous way, fome circumftances which affect trade in general, although chiefly objects of domestic regulation.

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES, By the 27th chapter of Magna Charta, the weights and measures ought to be the fame over all England, and thofe to be according to the king's ftandards of weights and measures, kept in the exchequer by a fpecial officer of his houfe, called the clerk or comptroller of the

market.

Of weights there are two forts, ufed at prefent through all England, viz. troy weight and avoirdupois. By troy weight are weighed bread, corn, gold, filver, jewels, and liquors; the apothecaries and goldfmiths have the fame pound, ounce, and grain; but they differ in their intermediate divifions; but although the apodiccaries make up their medicines by troyweight, they buy their drugs by avoirdupois-weight.

Avoirdupois (which in French fignifies to have full weight) exifts by cuttom, but is confirmed by statute; and thereby are weighed all kinds of grocery wares, drugs, butter, cheefe, flesh, wax, pitch, tar, tallow, wool, hemp, flax, iron, fteel, lead, and all other commodities which bear the name of garbel, and from which comes a refufe or wafte; (and alfo bread, by the 31ft Geo. II. c. 29.) and this has to the pound fixteen ounces; and twelve pounds over are allowed to every

hundred.

The troy ounce is more than the avoirdupois ounce; for fifty-one ounces troy, are equal to fifty-fix ounces avourdupois; but the avoirdupois pound is more than the troy pound; for fourteen pounds avoirdupois, are equal to feventeen pounds troy-weight.

Meafures are either applicative or receptive; the smallest applicative meafure is a barley corn, whereof three in length make a finger's breadth, or inch; four inches make an hand; three hands a foot; one foot and a half a cubit; two cubits a yard; in a yard are fixteen nails; one yard and a quarter an ell; a Dutch ell or stick, by which tapestry is measured, is but three quarters of a yard; five feet make a geometrical pace; fix feet a fathom; fixteen feet and a half make a perch, pole,

or

or rod; but there are other customary perches or poles; viz. eighteen feet for fens and woodland; twenty-one for foreft, Lancashire, and Irish measure; and 18 Scotch; forty perches make a furlong; eight furlongs or 320 perches, make an Englifh mile; which, according to the flatute of 11 Henry. VII. ought to be 1760 yards, 5280 feet; that is, 280 feet more than the Italian mile; fixty miles (more exactly, fixty-nine English miles and an half) make a degree; and 360 fuch degrees, or 24,840 miles, compafs the whole globe of the earth. Horfes are measured by the hand. For measuring of land in England, forty perches in length, and four in breadth, make an acre, fo called from the German word acker, and that from the Latin word ager. Thirty acres ordinary, make a yard land; an hundred acres are accounted an hide of land; and fix hundred and forty acres a mile fquare. Of timber forty-three folid fect make a ton; and fifty three feet a load.

Receptive measure is two-fold; of liquid, or moift things; and of dry things.

240

The ordinary smallest receptive meafure is called a pint: two pints make a quart; two quarts make a pottle; two pottles make a gallon, a gallon of beer, or the measure containing 282 folid inches, and holds of rain water 10 lbs. 3 ozs. 788s avoirdupois; eight gallous a firkin of ale; two fuch firkins make a kilderkin; and two kilderkins, or thirty-two gallons, make a barrel of ale; and twelve barrels a laft; nine gallons a firkin of beer; two fuch firkins, or eighteen gallons, make a kilderkin; two fuch kilderkins, or thirty-fix gallons, make a barrel of beer; one barrel and an half, or fifty-four gallons, make an hogfhead; two hogfheads make a pipe or butt; and two pipes a tun, confifting of 1728 pints or pounds; a barrel of butter or foap is the fame with a barrel of ale.

The English wine meafures are fmaller than thofe of ale and beer, and hold proportion as about four to five. So that four gallons of beer measure are almoft five gallons of wine measure; and each gallon of wine is 231 cubical inches, eight pounds, one ounce, and eleven drams avoirdupois of rain water: of thefe gallons a runlet of wine holds eighteen; half an hogfhead thirty-one gallons and an half; a tierce of wine holds fortytwo gallons; an hogfhead fixty-three gallons; a puncheon eighty-four gallons; a pipe or butt holds one hundred and twenty-fix; and a tun two hundred and fifty-two gallons, or 2016 pints

To measure dry things, as corn or grain, there is first the gallon which is bigger than the wine gallon, and less than the ale or beer gallon, containing 2724 cubical inches, and nine pounds, thirteen cunces, twelve drams and an half, avoirdu

pois weight. Two of thefe gallons make a peck, four pecks a bufhel, four bufhels the comb or curnock, two curnocks make a quarter, feam, or ruff, and ten quarters a laft, which contains 5120 pints, and fo many pounds troy-weight; so that a garrifon of five thousand men, allowing each but a pound of bread per diem, will confume near a laft, or eighty bufhels, every day; and two hundred and fifty men in a fhip will drink a tun of beer in two days, allowing each man about a pottle per diem.

Meal is weighed as corn; but the common repute is, that a gallon of wheaten meal weighs feven pounds avoirdupois, and eight pounds fix ounces, four penny-weights troy; so a bushel is fifty-fix pounds avoirdupois, and fixty-eight pounds, one ounce, twele penny-weights troy. All other grain, and fo likewife falt, lime, coals, &c. follow this measure, which is called Winchefter measure. But note, that where fea coal and falt are measured with this buthel, then they are heaped, or elfe there are allowed five ftriked pecks to the bufhel, and this is called water meafure. Thirty-fix bufhels are a chaldron of coals; and on fhip board they allow twenty-one chaldrons to the score.

Notwithstanding the many ftatutes which have been enacted, that there fhall be but one weight and one meafure throughout the realm, the force of cuftom is often too powerful for law, and weights and measures of the fame denomination imply different quantities in different parts of the kingdom. But in legal conAtruction, no weights or meafures can be taken notice of, except thofe recognifed by law. Thus, if a man fhould contract for pounds or yards, in a place where the custom is to fell eighteen ounces for a pound, or thirty-eight inches for a yard, still, in strict law, his contract would be fatisfied if the feller delivered to him at the rate of fixteen ounces and thirty-fix inches.

By 8 Hen. VI. c. 5, and fubfequent ftatutes; In every city, borough, and town, a common balance fhall be, with common weights fealed, and according to the standard of the exchequer, upon the common cofts of such city, borough, or town, in the keeping of the mayor or conftable; on pain of 10 l. for fuch city making default, borough 57. and town, where a conftable is,

405.

At this balance, all the inhabitants may freely weigh, without any thing paying; and juftices of the peace, mayors, bailiffs, and ftewards of franchifes, may inquire of offenders against this ordnance, and do execution of them that be found faulty by inquefts, or by their own examination. The clerk of the market, and where there is none, the mayor or head officer,

or

or other perfon having benefit of the market, fhall caufe to be fealed all measures duly gauged, brought to them for that purpofe; and the mayors and other head officers in market towns, thall twice a year, or oftener, caufe all weights and meafures within the fame, to be brought before them and examined; and fuch as they find defective, to be broken and burnt; and the offender fhall forfeit to the mayor or other officer, for the first time, 65 8d; for the fecond time, 135 4d; and the third time 20s. and be fet on the pillory. Selling by falfe weights and meafures, is also an offence atthe common law, and confequently may be punished on indictment, by fine and imprisonment.

By 35 Geo. III. c. 102. The juftices, at every quarter feflions, were to appoint perfons to examine weights and balances, and to feize and deftroy thofe that were false or unequal, and a penalty was impofed on the perfon in whofe poffeilion the fame were found; which part of the faid act is by 37 Geo. III. c. 143, repealed and it is enacted, that the juftices at their refpective petty feflions within their divifions, districts, and places, may appoint perfons, with power to examine the weights and balances within fuch divifion, district, or place. And these persons (having been first fworn duly and faithfully to execute fuch office) fhall, as often as the faid juftices fhall direct, in the day time enter into shops, mills, or other premises, and into the stalls or ftanding places of perfons felling by retail, and fearch for, view and examine all the weights and balances therein, and feize thofe that are not according to the standard, or any falfe or unequal balance there found, and fhall detain the fame, to be produced at fuch petty feflions upon the hearing of the information hereafter mentioned; and the perfon in whofe cuftody the fame fhall be found, fhall, upon conviction in fuch petty feffions, upon view, confeffion, or oath of one witnefs, forfeit not exceeding 20l. nor less than 55. as fuch feffions fhall think fit, together with the cofts, which may be levied by diftrefs, by warrant of two juftices; who shall cause fuch falfe weights and balances to be broken and rendered uselefs, and the materials thereof to be fold, and the money arifing from fuch fale, together with the amount of fuch forfeitures, fhall be paid to the treasurer of the county, to be applied in carrying thofe acts into execution; and the refidue (if any) fhall go to the county ftock: and fuch juftices fhall figo a return of the fums fo raised, and cause the fame to be transmitted to the clerk of the peace at every quarter feffion. And the juftices fhall purchase, for the ufe of their refpective counties, out of the county rate, proper weights, according to the ftandard in the exchequer, which fhall be depofited for the infpection of all perfons, either with the refpective clerks of