CHAPTER III.
Facility in Calculations Compared.
One question which soon presents itself to the mind of the inquirer is, "which system will prove the most convenient in our daily calculations?" To be in a position to return a confident answer is one not so easily reached as is often assumed. Those who favour the metric system lay great stress upon its simplicity. Admittedly it has much to recommend it in that respect, and the enthusiasm of its supporters ensures that point not being allowed to escape notice. Still, those who contrast the British system with the supposed newer one, may not always be aware of the mass of independent, solid, well-fortified opinions in favour of our own.
Mr. C. F. Howard, an eminent arithmetician, declared before a House of Commons Committee that after studying the whole question for a quarter of a century, during three-fifths of which period he had a preference for the metric system, he had come to the conclusion that "the British system is immeasurably superior in every respect. Any calculation which can be made by the French metric system, we can make with equal ease by the British system, and hundreds of calculations can be made much more easily by the British system than by the metric system itself." To adopt the latter would be, he termed it, "not only a national, but a worldwide calamity."
