No. 56

With reference to your despatch of the 3rd July and the
Ordinance No. 14 intituled "An Ordinance to establish a Standard of
Weights and Measures," I have to observe that while fully
acknowledging the utility of such a measure, calculated as it is to
ensure uniformity and fair dealing in commercial transactions, I think
it desirable to call your attention to certain points concerning the
details of that measure which may require amendment, and upon which, at
all events, I wish for information before I can advise Her Majesty to
sanction the Ordinance.

I may observe in the first place that the reference in section 1 to
the "Weights and Measures of Her Majesty's Exchequer" is not
strictly correct, and should be amended. By the Imperial Act of 29
and 30 Vic. C. 82, a copy of which I transmit for your information,
the Imperial Standards were transferred from the Exchequer to the Board of Trade, and the working secondary standards are now called "The Board of Trade Standards."

The reference in sec. 1 of the Ordinance should therefore be
either to the "Imperial Standards for Weights and Measures in Great
Britain" or, if thought better, to the "Board of Trade Standards."

I presume that there is in the Colony an authorized copy or
model of each of the Imperial Standards, but should such not be the
case, provision should be made for the importation into the Colony of
such authorised copies or models, and the Ordinance should further
provide, that these should be kept in the custody of the Treasurer, or
some other high public officer, and should be the authorised
standards from which all weights and measures used in the colony
should be derived.

There is no provision in the Ordinance for making and verifying
copies of such standards, though in the absence of such verified
copies the working of the measure would be hardly practable
[practicable]. Unless therefore such copies are in existence the
Ordinance should require that copies of such standard Weights and
Measures verified by the Treasurer should be provided and kept by each
Inspector of Weights and Measures appointed under the Ordinance, or at
certain places in the colony as may be thought most convenient for the
purpose of comparison in carrying out the provisions of the Ordinance.

It appears to me that it would be better in section 5 to follow
the wording of the 28th section of the Imperial Act 5 and 6 Wm IV, C
63, and to show how proof of the weights is to be made. It would
only be necessary for this purpose to insert after the word "examine"
the words,

and compare and try all weights, in measures, steelyard balances, or
other weighing machines with the copies of the standard weights and
measures required to be provided under this Ordinance.

The power to seize would then follow as it does in the present
section.

A question has been raised in England upon words similar to those at
the beginning of section 5, whether they enable an Inspector to
inspect the weights of a person selling goods in the public street or in
any open place. This question was set at rest by the 3rd section of
the Act of 22 and 23 Vic C. 56, and I transmit a copy of that
section for your information and guidance in case it should be
thought desirable to give the inspectors like powers in British
Columbia.

I have only to add that I concur with the opinion of your
Attorney General that there should be a summary reference to a
Magistrate.