Sir Guilford Molesworth "did not agree with me that the English system of currency was the best," but "he considered that a change in our currency was not desirable at present; therefore, as far as Sir Guilford is concerned, the discussion on this subject is purely academical, and of no immediate moment. He says further: "In the measurement of length the millimètre was the practical standard" (surely not for all trades), which was 1-32nd (full) part of an inch, and then he gives a number of values which are mere approximations; and yet further on he, himself, complains that, "under our system workmen use such phrases as 'three thirty-seconds of an inch bare,' which is wanting in exactitude. On the other hand, with the millimètre there was great accuracy." If he were to consent to the creation of the "new inch," he could substitute perfect accuracy for rough approximations, thus instead of his above given value of the millimètre, which is 00812 of an inch short of the truth, he could say: 1 mm. = 04 of a "new inch." I repeat that the whole alteration required is the reduction of the size of our inch by a quantity less than one-sixtieth of the "old inch." Mr. Dowson told us that the late Professor Fitzgerald suggested this identical division in 1896. I wish to thank the speaker for that information, and to assure him, that if I had been aware of the fact I would gladly have quoted the professor in support of my suggestion. The idea was, so far as I know, first mooted by Mr. Gregory, of Manchester, at a discussion on the metric system, held at the Trocadero, in Paris, at the exhibition of 1878. All I did was to work it out more fully. Mr. Dowson desires to "render compulsory the adoption of the metric weights and measures." I anxiously deprecate compulsion being applied to the English people; they will not stand it. Does Mr. Dowson remember that England was the last of the Protestant nations to adopt the Gregorian calendar, and that this innovation was accompanied by wild riots? And yet this did not touch the people's pockets, nor interfere with their daily, ingrained habits. Gently, gently! is the word. "Chi va piano, va lontano," says the Italian proverb. Colonel A. Cunningham wishes to decimalize our money fully, but he is in doubt, whether he is to decimalize from the halfpenny upwards, or from the sovereign downwards. If we decimalize from the halfpenny upwards, we must part company with the sovereign, which, as he himself seems to imply, would be a national loss. This coin enjoys a world-wide recognition, as no other money does. So important is its value in the eyes of foreign nations, that Germany has coined a 20-mark piece, which is very nearly equal to the English pound, and Napoleon III. would also have introduced a 25-franc coin (an "empereur") if the war of 1870 had not put an end to his rule. If we decimalize from the sovereign downwards, we reduce the purchasing-power of the penny by four per cent., which would be a disaster, horrible to contemplate. Fifty times a day the poor man would think himself defrauded; the penny enters into all the arrangements and plans of his life; wages are reckoned at pence per hour; untold numbers of articles are sold at id. or 2d. per piece; railway and omnibus fares are paid in pence and so on. Add to this the loss to the Post-office and to the Inland Revenue on the penny stamp, which would have to be made good by the overburdened taxpayer; and finally the all but total loss of the indispensable binary sub-divisions, and all this is to be endured for the sake of a mere symmetry, which is more apparent than real. In one word, the sovereign we should not, and the penny we must not change. 66 Mr. R. Duppa Lloyd "took the stand, founded upon Blackstone, that Parliament had no right to interfere with the weights and measures," &c. If I may be allowed to substitute "senatus" for 'populus," I can answer him conclusively in the words of Cicero: "male judicavit senatus, at judicavit; non debuit, at potuit." In fact, Parliament can do almost anything, except alter the law of gravitation, or the products of the multiplication table, and the like. A. SONNENSCHEIN. Wandsworth-common, January 24th, 1903. MEANS OF DEFENCE IN THE STRUGGLE FOR LIFE AMONG ANIMALS. Among Lepidoptera, besides members of the Pierida, the Red and Yellow Underwing Moths are the species I have oftenest observed showing mutilation of the hind wings. Taking the enormous wing area possessed in general by Lepidoptera, may we not assume the same to be a means of defence against the attacks of birds. A butterfly or moth suffers the loss of a portion of its posterior wing surface without thereby much affecting its powers of flight; in short, it saves its vital portions at the loss of a little superfluous membrane. G. H. PUDDOCK, F.Z.S. Mill Bank, Wellington, Salop. January 26th, 1903. General Notes. THE IMPERIAL CORONATION DURBAR. — The names of seven gentlemen who, in recent years, have contributed valuable papers to the Society's Indian Section, are included in the list of honours bestowed by His Majesty the King-Emperor upon the occasion of the Coronation Durbar at Delhi, viz. :-Knight Commanderships of the Indian Empire: Charles Lewis Tupper, "Study of Indian History" (1891), "India and Sir Henry Maine " (1898); Herbert Thirkell White, "Upper Burma under British Rule" (1893); Walter Roper Lawrence, Private Secretary to the Viceroy," Kashmir: its People and its Products" (1896). Knight Bachelorship: Dr. George Watt, "The Economic Resources of India" (1887). Companionships of the Indian Empire: Professor Jagadis Chundra Bose, The Promotion of the Advanced Study in Physics in India" (1897); Thomas Jewell Bennett, The Past and Present Connection of England with the Persian Gulf" (1902). Kaisar-iHind Medal (1st class) "for Public Service in India," John Nisbet, "Railways in Burma, and their Proposed Extension across Yunnan" (1899). Of other readers of papers before the Indian Section since 1877, some eighteen or more have either received new decorations or been promoted in the orders of which they were previously members; upon another was conferred the dignity of a baronetcy. Tuesday Afternoons, at 4.30 or 5 o'clock :FEBRUARY 10, at 5 p.m.-" Women in Canada." By the COUNTESS OF ABERDEEN. The RT. HON. LEONARD H. COURTNEY, M.A., LL.D., will preside. MARCH 3, at 4.30 p.m.-"The Uganda of To-day." By HERBERT SAMUEL, M.P. Sir HARRY H. JOHNSTON, G.C.M.G., K.C.B., will preside. MARCH 31, at 4.30 p.m.-" British North Borneo." By HENRY WALKER, Commissioner of Lands, British North Borneo. MAY 5, at 4.30 p m.-" The Lagos Hinterland: its People and its Products." By MAJOR J. H. EWART. APPLIED ART SECTION. Tuesdays, at 4.30 or 8 o'clock. FEBRUARY 3. 4.30 p.m.-"Technical Education in connection with the Book-producing Trades." By DOUGLAS COCKERELL. Prof. WILLIAM GARNETT, M.A., D.C.L., will preside. FEBRUARY 17. 8 p.m.-"Heraldry in Decoration." By GEORGE W. EVE, A.R.E. LEWIS FOREMAN DAY will preside. By MARCH 17. 4.30 p.m.-"Artistic Fans." MISS HANNAH FALCKE. SIR GEORGE BIRDWOOD, K.C.I.E., C.S.I., will preside. MAY 19. 4.30 p.m.-" The Mounting of a Play" (Stage Costumes and Accessories). By PERCY MACQUOID, R.I. Messrs. James Powell and Sons have kindly invited the Applied Art Section to visit the Whitefriars Glass Works, Tudor-street, E.C., on Tuesday evening, April 28th, from 7.30 to 10.30 p.m. A short paper on "Mode:n Table Glass" will be read by Mr. MEETING FOR THE ENSUING WEEK. MONDAY, FEB. 2...SOCIETY OF ARTS, John-street, Adelphi, W.C., 8 p.m. (Cantor Lectures.) Mr. Julius Hübner, "Paper Manufacture." (Lecture I.) Farmers' Club, Salisbury-square Hotel, Fleet-street, Royal Institution, Albemarle-street, W., 5 p.m. Engineers, in the Theatre of the United Service Victoria Institute, 8, Adelphi-terrace, W.C., 4 p.m. p.m. British Architects, 9, Conduit-street, W., 8 Anglo-Russian Literary Institute, Imperial Insti- London Institution, Finsbury-circus, E.C., 5 p.m. TUESDAY, FEB. 3...SOCIETY OF ARTS, John-street, I. Civil Engineers, 25, Great George-street, S.W., 8 p.m. Discussion on papers by Mr. Maurice Fitzmaurice, "The Nile Reservoir, Assuan," and Mr. Frederick Wilfrid Scott Stokes, "Sluices and Lock-Gates of the Nile Reservoir, Assuan." Pathological, 20, Hanover-square, W., 8 p.m. Zoological, 3, Hanover-square, W., 8 p.m. Dr. W. Kidd, "The Hair-slope of four Typical Animals." 2. Capt. F. Wall, "A Prodomus of the Snakes hitherto recorded from China, Japan, and the Loochoo Islands." 3. Mr. H. J. Elwes, "The Variation of the Elk." 4. Mr. R. Lydekker, "Note on the Wild Sheep of the Kopet Dagh." WEDNESDAY, FEB. 4...SOCIETY OF ARTS, John-street, Adelphi, W.C., 8 p.m. Mr. W. L. H. Hamilton, "Methods of Mosaic Construction." Geological, Burlington-house, W., 8 p.m. Archæological Association, 32, Sackville-street, W., 8 p.m. Obstetrical, 20, Hanover-square, W., 8 p.m. Annual Royal Archæological Institution, 20, Hanover- THURSDAY, FEB. 5.... Royal, Burlington-house, W., 43 p.m. Chemical, Burlington-house, W., 8 p.m. 1. Mr. Electrical Engineers, 25, Great George-street, S. W., Civil and Mechanical Engineers, Caxton-hall, Westminster, S. W., 8 p.m. Mr. Alphonse Steiger, "A Description of a few of the most recent Water Turbine plants in Great Britain and Abroad." FRIDAY, FEB. 6...SOCIETY OF ARTS, John-street, Adelphi, W.C., 8 p.m. (Extra Ordinary Meeting.) Adjourned discussion on Mr. Dixon Davies' paper, "The Cost of Municipal Trading." Royal Institution, Albemarle-street, W., 8 p.m. George Romney and his Works." Art Workers' Guild, Clifford's-inn Hall, Fleet- Philological, University College, W.C., 8 p.m. Architectural Association, 9, Conduit-street, W. 73 p.m. Prof. G. B. Brown, "What is the Real Value of Greek Work to the Modern Artist ? "" SATURDAY, FEB. 7... Royal Institution, Albemarle - street, W., 3 p.m. Mr. A. B. Walkley, "Dramatic Criticism." (Lecture I.) Journal of the Society of Arts, Proceedings of the Society. DOMESTIC LIFE IN INDIA. BY JOHN DAVID REES, C.I.E. It was the often-quoted Marcus Aurelius who said, "Improve things a little, and do not consider such a result of small importance," and it is only with some such maxim in his mind that anyone more or less familiar with Indian manners, customs, and languages can venture to address an audience like this on such a subject as domestic life in India. It is so vast a theme, and admits of so many aspects, that nothing but a conviction that the aspect most perseveringly offered to the English public is unjustified of the facts would support an individual in his endeavour. That India is a continent occupied by many races speaking many languages is a fact only imperfectly appreciated in England, and it may easily be imagined that women within its borders differ in different parts of the Empire as much as the hardy and laborious housewife in Finland differs from the ease-loving and lazy daughter of Southern Italy, and that their homes exhibit no less variations from what may be considered the standard type. But as a common Christianity imposes standards possessing some similarity in their ideals, if not in practice, upon all the inhabitants of Europe, so does the Hindu, the caste or the Brahminic system conduce to the acceptance right throughout the wide extent of the Indian empire of common standards of life and conversation. It would be extremely easy to show the wide variations from this caste Hindu standard which obtain among many tribes, races, classes, and sects, but throughout all these variations, even where certain customs absolutely repugnant to Hindu ideals exist, the scheme of life upon the whole will be found to be fashioned upon that of the caste Hindu or Brahminic system. It is as well at the outset to realise that Hinduism is caste, and caste is Hinduism. The terms are, in fact, of equal value and significance. The 1901 census, reports of various provinces, which have just been received, are the latest and most authoritative accounts of the present condition of different parts of the Empire. The superintendents, able men selected for this duty on account of their 'special' qualifications, when they have to define Hinduism in the interesting chapters relating to religion, agree in saying that so long as a man observes caste rules, he may not only do pretty much as he pleases, but may actually offer his individual worship to any god or Hero, 'any 'stick, stone, river, hill, or natural feature, which his own inclination, or the animistic traditions of his village have endowed with supernatural attributes of a protective 'or destructive character a ty "This is no discovery; but it is probable that even in this hall the audience which recently heard a distinguished Indian gentleman describing caste, which he had abandoned, as the root of all evil, hardly realised that caste is Hinduism, that to condemn it is to condemn our Indian fellow subjects, to actively work for its destruction is to run counter to. Queen Victoria's proclamation of 1858, and the solemn pledge it contained to guarantee to the natives of India their own customs and their own religion. An accomplished Bengali author, Mr. Ghose, recently published the life of Maharaja Nabkissen, a friend of Clive, who helped us in our early days in India, more, perhaps, than we have ever acknowledged. Mr. Ghose sees" in the English conquest of India, more than in any other event of equal importance, a divine dispensation." The founder of the Brahmo Samaj, Keshab Chunder Sen, whose new religion was a revolt against caste, the most binding law of which he none the less observed in his family life, used much the same language, but without adding, as Mr. Ghose does, that there is no fear of our rule going wrong, if we remember the principle of Queen Victoria's charter, and if in carrying out innovations we follow the English method, not of revolution, but of evolution. Our legislatures in India have none the less, since the precedent of the abolition of Sati, with which no other Indian customs can compare, passed Acts which are revolutionary in character, and might have tended in some measure to produce discontent, but that they have fallen stillborn from the legislative womb, like the untimely fruit of those premature marriages, against which reformers, not indeed without reason, if without measure, rail, but which, as a rule, they practise in their own family circles. These remarks are merely introduced for the purpose of showing that the Hindu domestic life is a caste life, of which indeed we are all entitled to hold and express our opinions, but from endeavouring to destroy which, we are precluded by a sacred engagement. An anticaste attitude is an anti-Hindu attitude, and if it provokes discontent and reprisals, we have no_more_right_to_resent_such manifestations, indeed we have far less right, than we have to complain of criticisms and condemnations of ourselves and of our methods, which we do not altogether appreciate, and indeed do not deserve, on the part of our European neighbours. i It is necessary then, in looking at a representative Hindu - family,- to look at its caste aspect, remembering that, while domestic life differs in many parts of India from these standards, they are the ideals to which all respectable and self- respecting families approximate, or which they will consciously or unconsciously aspire to imitate. The South of India and the Deccan is that portion of the continent in which Hinduism may be studied with the greatest advantage. Mohammedan rule and customs herein never took. root. Even in Hyderabad the people are Hindus, and the Mussulman lords and their followers a mere handful, while on the south-west. coast there are Native States, which are completely unaffected by the Mohammedan conquest, cut off as they are by the sea and the mountains from all invasion, and from all foreign influences. The extent, however, to which Mohammedan customs have affected other parts of India is habitually over-estimated to an enormous and unpardonable extent. It is as easy to overrate this effect as it is difficult to exaggerate the influence Hinduism has had upon Islam in India. To take a Hindu home in a village in Southern India, the anglicized Hindu's house in the Presidency city being hardly more representative than that of the foreign immigrant. In the first place, the site must be chosen and the house built according to caste rules and the science of domestic architecture; and there are auspicious months in which to build in India, just as in England in which to marry. In rich houses the chief entrance is called the lion gate-like one of the gates of Kew Gardens-and it is sometimes elaborately carved. The beams and posts are apostrophised, |