Janus: Papers of the Standards Commission

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RGO 6	Papers of George Airy
RGO 61	Papers of the North American Boundary Commission
RGO 62	Papers of the Standards Commission
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More information

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Papers of the Standards Commission

Title	Papers of the Standards Commission
Reference	GBR/0180/RGO 62
Creator	Standards Commission
Covering Dates	1834–1872
Extent and Medium	2 boxes; paper
Repository	Royal Greenwich Observatory Archives

Content and context

The Standards Commission was responsible for the regulation of standards of weights and measures.

RGO 62 contains papers regarding the establishment and regulation of standards of weights and measures. There are minutes, reports and evidence of the Standards Commission and Select Committees; copies of Acts of Parliament; and letters and documents discussing weights and measures.

The provenance of the papers is not known.

Access and Use

Please cite as Royal Greenwich Observatory Archives, Papers of the Standards Commission, RGO 62

Further information

A handlist is available in the Manuscripts Reading Room. Indexed

This description was created by Robert Steiner, Department of Manuscripts and University Archives.

Index Terms

RGO Archives/RGO 62 contains:

Minutes. Minutes of meetings of the Standards Commission; of a deputation of the Commission appointed to inspect the weights and measures taken from the ruins of the Houses of Parliament; and of the committee for superintending the construction of new parliamentary standards. There is also a memoranda by G.B. Airy regarding topics to be discussed at meetings and a letter from Airy to Richard Sheepshanks notifying him of meetings.
1 envelope.

1838–1854

Minutes of evidence. Minutes of evidence taken before the Select Committee on the Bill to amend the Weights and Measures Acts of 1824 and 1825.
1 bundle.

1834

Evidence on weights and measures. Copies of evidence from Col. Colby, Capt. Dawson, Mr Haggard, P.M. Roget and Granville Sharp regarding weights and measures, undated.
1 envelope.

Papers on weights and measures. Letters and papers regarding weights and measures, comprised of a printed paper by Keating Trenor on English, Asiatic and American Standards; an undated covering letter and questionnaire by G.B. Airy concerning the Weights and Measures Acts; a copy of a letter from P.M. Roget to G.B. Airy, 19 December 1838, regarding the weights used in various countries; a printed copy of two letters from Trenor to the Editor of the 'Mark Lane Express' regarding the false standard of value and false corn averages, 1838; printed remarks by Airy on the proposed decimal systems laid before the Standards Commission, 1841; a printed statement by R. Sheepshanks on obtaining a copy of the lost imperial standard yard, 1848; a copy of a letter from Airy to Sheepshanks, 11 February 1853, enclosing a copy of a memorandum by the Bank of England on the standard Troy weights; a copy of a letter from Airy to Sheepshanks, 16 September 1854, regarding a proposal by J.N. Franklin; a printed report by the Decimal Association on a parliamentary debate of 12 June 1855; a printed memorandum by Airy on the introduction of metric standards, 1867; and printed copies of letters regarding weights and measures written by J.E.D. Bethune, the Revd George Peacock and Sir J.F.W. Herschel.
1 envelope.

1838–1867

Report from the Select Committee. A report from the Select Committee appointed to examine the Weights and Measures Act and to consider possible amendments, including minutes of the evidence of witnesses.
1 bundle.

1835

Report of the Commissioners. 'Report of the Commissioners appointed to consider the steps to be taken for Restoration of the Standards of Weights & Measures', with a printed draft and proof of the report and a memoranda by G.B. Airy regarding its content.
1 bundle.

1841

Report of the Standards Committee. A first draft (1843) and incomplete revision (1854) of the 'Report of the Committee appointed to superintend the Construction of the new Parliamentary Standards of Length and Weight'.
1 bundle.

1843–1854

Letter from G.B. Airy. A copy of a letter from G.B. Airy to Richard Sheepshanks enclosing copies of the first draft of the Report of the Standards Commission (not included) and requesting amendments.
2 pages.

21 Oct. 1853

Report from the Select Committee. 'Report from the Select Committee on Weights and Measures; together with the Proceedings of the Committee, Minutes of Evidence, Appendix, and Index.' The report recommends the introduction of a system which could enlarge foreign trade.
1 volume.

1862

Reports of the Standard Commissioners. Five reports of the commissioners appointed to inquire into the condition of the Exchequer Standards, including the commission reports on the abolition of the Troy weight and on the business of the Standards Department, with appendices.
1 bundle.

1868–1870

Reports of the Warden of the Standards. Yearly reports of the Warden of the Standards on the proceedings and business of the Standards Weights and Measures Department for 1866-1867, 1867-1868, 1869-1870 and 1870-1871.
1 envelope.

1867–1871

Report on the sale of corn. A report from the Select Committee on the sale of corn, including minutes of evidence, diagrams of measuring apparatus and a map of the United Kingdom showing different systems of selling corn.
1 volume.

1834

Acts regarding weights and measures. Acts regarding the standards of weights and measures, 1824-1870, printed 1840-1870, including the establishment of the Troy pound as the standard measure, the abolition of local measures such as the Winchester Bushel and the Scots Ell, the appointment of inspectors of weights and measures and the preservation of the restored standards: . An Act for ascertaining and establishing Uniformity of Weights and Measures, 1824. An Act to prolong the Time of the Commencement of an Act of the last Session of Parliament, for ascertaining and establishing Uniformity of Weights and Measures, and to amend the said Act, 1825. An Act to amend and render more effectual Two Acts of the Fifth and Sixth Years of the Reign of His late Majesty King George the Fourth, relating to Weights and Measures, 1834. An Act to repeal an Act of the Fourth and Fifth Year of His present Majesty relating to Weights and Measures, and to make other Provisions instead thereof, 1835. An Act for regulating the Weights used in Sales of Bullion, 1853. An Act for legalizing and preserving the restored Standards of Weights and Measures, 1855. An Act to amend the Act of the Fifth and Sixth Years of King William the Fourth, Chapter Sixty-three, relating to Weights and Measures, 1859. An Act for regulating Measures used in Sales of Gas, 1859. An Act to amend the Law relating to Weights and Measures in Ireland, 1860. An Act for amending the Municipal Corporations Act, 1861. An Act to amend 'The Weights and Measures (Ireland) Act, 1860', to abolish local and customary Denominations of Weight, and to regulate the Mode of weighing Articles sold, in Ireland, 1862. An Act to render permissive the Use of the Metric System of Weights and Measures, 1864. An Act to allow the charging of the Excise Duty on Malt according to the Weight of the Grain used, 1865. An Act to amend Acts relating to the Standard Weights and Measures and to the Standard Trial Pieces of the Coin of the Realm, 1866. An Act to provide for the Inspection of Weights and Measures, and to regulate the Law relating thereto in certain Parts of the Police District of Dublin Metropolis, 1867. An Act to amend the Act Twenty-fifth and Twenty-sixth Victoria, Chapter Sixty-six, for the safe keeping of Petroleum, 1868. An Act to consolidate and amend the law relating to the Coinage and Her Majesty's Mint, 1870.
1 envelope.

1840–1870

Returns and instructions of inspectors. 'A Return of all Inspectors of Weights and Measures appointed under the Act of last session [1834], and of any other Inspectors of Weights and Measures now holding Office under the Provisions of any former Acts' and 'Copies of all Instructions given by Magistrates at Quarter Sessions for the several Counties of England and Wales to Inspectors of Weights and Measures, appointed under the Provisions of the Act of last Session'.
1 bundle.

1835

Verification of the Imperial Standard. 'Verification at the Standards Department of Copies of the Imperial Standard Weights and Measures presented to the French Government, &c.' and 'Further Regulations and Instructions ... issued by the Standards Commission at Berlin'.
1 envelope.

1872