From the moral thermometer to money: Metrological reform in pre-confederation Canada

Social Studies of Science

Volumn 28, Issue 4, 1998, Pages 547-570

  Curtis, Bruce ^a  

^a CARLETON UNIVERSITY   (Canada)

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[No Author keywords available]

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EID: 0032355006     PISSN: 03063127     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1177/030631298028004002     Document Type: Article

References (89)

1. Witold Kula. Measures and Men (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1986).
2. See Julian Hoppit, 'Reforming Britain's Weights and Measures, 1660-1824', English Historical Review, Vol. 108 (1993), 82-104, at 83.
3. Kula, op. cit. note 1, 47-48.
4. Ibid., 77-78.
5. Alain Desrosières, 'Comment Faire des Choses qui Tiennent: Histoire Sociale et Statistique', Histoire et Mesure, Vol. 4, Nos 3/4 (Summer/Fall 1989), 225-42, at 239.
6. Bruno Latour, Science in Action: How to Follow Scientists and Engineers through Society (Milton Keynes, Bucks.: Open University Press, 1987), 252-54.
7. See also John Law, 'On the Methods of Long-Distance Control: Vessels, Navigation and the Portuguese Route to India', in Law (ed.), Power, Action and Belief: A New Sociology of Knowledge? (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1986), 234-63, at 247-50; Geoffrey Bowker, Science on the Run: Information Management and Industrial Geophysics at Schlumberger, 1920-1940 (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1994), 52-54, 167; Andrew Pickering, The Mangle of Practice: Time, Agency and Science (Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 1995), 195.
8. See also John Law, 'On the Methods of Long-Distance Control: Vessels, Navigation and the Portuguese Route to India', in Law (ed.), Power, Action and Belief: A New Sociology of Knowledge? (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1986), 234-63, at 247-50; Geoffrey Bowker, Science on the Run: Information Management and Industrial Geophysics at Schlumberger, 1920-1940 (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1994), 52-54, 167; Andrew Pickering, The Mangle of Practice: Time, Agency and Science (Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 1995), 195.
9. See also John Law, 'On the Methods of Long-Distance Control: Vessels, Navigation and the Portuguese Route to India', in Law (ed.), Power, Action and Belief: A New Sociology of Knowledge? (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1986), 234-63, at 247-50; Geoffrey Bowker, Science on the Run: Information Management and Industrial Geophysics at Schlumberger, 1920-1940 (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1994), 52-54, 167; Andrew Pickering, The Mangle of Practice: Time, Agency and Science (Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 1995), 195.
10. Philip Mirowski, 'Looking for Those Natural Numbers: Dimensionless Constants and the Idea of Natural Measurement', Science in Context, Vol. 5, No. 1 (Winter 1992), 165-88.
11. Kathleen Jordan and Michael Lynch, 'The Sociology of a Genetic Engineering Technique: Ritual and Rationality in the Performance of the "Plasmid Prep"', in Adele E. Clarke and Joan H. Fujimura (eds), The Right Tools for the Job: At Work in Twentieth-Century Life Sciences (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1992), 77-114.
12. David Turnbull, 'The Ad Hoc Collective Work of Building Gothic Cathedrals with Templates, String, and Geometry', Science, Technology, & Human Values, Vol. 18, No. 3 (Summer 1993), 315-40.
13. Bernard Cohn, Colonialism and its Forms of Knowledge: The British in India (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1996), 3.
14. Pierre Bourdieu, Raisons Pratiques: Sur la Théorie de l'Action (Paris: Seuil, 1994), 108-09. In a similar vein, see Philip Corrigan and Derek Sayer, The Great Arch: English State Formation as Cultural Revolution (Oxford: Blackwell, 1985), passim.
15. Pierre Bourdieu, Raisons Pratiques: Sur la Théorie de l'Action (Paris: Seuil, 1994), 108-09. In a similar vein, see Philip Corrigan and Derek Sayer, The Great Arch: English State Formation as Cultural Revolution (Oxford: Blackwell, 1985), passim.
16. Eric Brian, La Mesure de l'Etat: Administrateurs et géomètres au XVIIIième siècle (Paris: Albin Michel, 1994).
17. Desrosières, op. cit. note 5.
18. Simon Szreter, Fertility, Class and Gender in Britain, 1860-1940 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996). On ways in which different views from the centre configure the object 'population', see B. Curtis, 'Expert Knowledge and the Social Imaginary: the Case of the Montreal Check Census', Histoire Sociale/Social History, Vol. 27, No. 56 (November 1995), 313-32; and Curtis, 'On the Local Construction of Statistical Knowledge: Making up the Census of the Canadas, 1861', Journal of Historical Sociology, Vol. 7, No. 4 (December 1994), 416-34.
19. Simon Szreter, Fertility, Class and Gender in Britain, 1860-1940 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996). On ways in which different views from the centre configure the object 'population', see B. Curtis, 'Expert Knowledge and the Social Imaginary: the Case of the Montreal Check Census', Histoire Sociale/Social History, Vol. 27, No. 56 (November 1995), 313-32; and Curtis, 'On the Local Construction of Statistical Knowledge: Making up the Census of the Canadas, 1861', Journal of Historical Sociology, Vol. 7, No. 4 (December 1994), 416-34.
20. Simon Szreter, Fertility, Class and Gender in Britain, 1860-1940 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996). On ways in which different views from the centre configure the object 'population', see B. Curtis, 'Expert Knowledge and the Social Imaginary: the Case of the Montreal Check Census', Histoire Sociale/Social History, Vol. 27, No. 56 (November 1995), 313-32; and Curtis, 'On the Local Construction of Statistical Knowledge: Making up the Census of the Canadas, 1861', Journal of Historical Sociology, Vol. 7, No. 4 (December 1994), 416-34.
21. Hoppit, op. cit. note 2; Kula, op. cit. note 1; Ronald Zupko, Revolution in Measurement: Western European Weights and Measures Since the Age of Science (Philadelphia, PA: The American Philosophical Society, 1990).
22. Hoppit, op. cit. note 2; Kula, op. cit. note 1; Ronald Zupko, Revolution in Measurement: Western European Weights and Measures Since the Age of Science (Philadelphia, PA: The American Philosophical Society, 1990).
23. Hoppit, op. cit. note 2; Kula, op. cit. note 1; Ronald Zupko, Revolution in Measurement: Western European Weights and Measures Since the Age of Science (Philadelphia, PA: The American Philosophical Society, 1990).
24. Samuel Finer, The Life and Times of Sir Edwin Chadwick [1952] (New York: Barnes & Noble, 1970), 309.
25. Jeremy Bentham, The Theory of Legislation (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1950), 102; see also Richard Harrison's 'Introduction' to A Fragment on Government (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991); and Graham Wallas, 'Jeremy Bentham', Political Science Quarterly, Vol. 38, No. 1 (Winter 1928), 45-56.
26. Jeremy Bentham, The Theory of Legislation (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1950), 102; see also Richard Harrison's 'Introduction' to A Fragment on Government (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991); and Graham Wallas, 'Jeremy Bentham', Political Science Quarterly, Vol. 38, No. 1 (Winter 1928), 45-56.
27. Jeremy Bentham, The Theory of Legislation (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1950), 102; see also Richard Harrison's 'Introduction' to A Fragment on Government (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991); and Graham Wallas, 'Jeremy Bentham', Political Science Quarterly, Vol. 38, No. 1 (Winter 1928), 45-56.
28. Hoppit, op. cit. note 2.
29. See Thomas Jefferson, The Complete Jefferson, arranged by Saul Padover (New York: Tudor Publishing Company, 1971); the 'mulatto' reference is on 1022-23.
30. See Eric Neufeld (ed.), Money and Banking in Canada (Ottawa: Carleton University Press, 1967); Ronald Rudin, Money and Banking en français: The French Banks of Quebec, 1835-1925 (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1985); Adam Shortt, Adam Shortt's History of Canadian Currency and Banking, 1600-1800 (Toronto: Canadian Bankers' Association, 1986).
31. See Eric Neufeld (ed.), Money and Banking in Canada (Ottawa: Carleton University Press, 1967); Ronald Rudin, Money and Banking en français: The French Banks of Quebec, 1835-1925 (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1985); Adam Shortt, Adam Shortt's History of Canadian Currency and Banking, 1600-1800 (Toronto: Canadian Bankers' Association, 1986).
32. See Eric Neufeld (ed.), Money and Banking in Canada (Ottawa: Carleton University Press, 1967); Ronald Rudin, Money and Banking en français: The French Banks of Quebec, 1835-1925 (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1985); Adam Shortt, Adam Shortt's History of Canadian Currency and Banking, 1600-1800 (Toronto: Canadian Bankers' Association, 1986).
33. The bulk of the material in the following sections is drawn from various annual numbers of the Report of the Archives of Canada (Ottawa: Queen's & King's Printer, 1892-), and from Canadian legislation. I will cite material from the Report as 'RAC', followed by the year of publication and the page reference. Thus, for the present reference: RAC (1918), 3-4. Legislation will be cited in parentheses in the text.
34. The bulk of the material in the following sections is drawn from various annual numbers of the Report of the Archives of Canada (Ottawa: Queen's & King's Printer, 1892-), and from Canadian legislation. I will cite material from the Report as 'RAC', followed by the year of publication and the page reference. Thus, for the present reference: RAC (1918), 3-4. Legislation will be cited in parentheses in the text.
35. The bulk of the material in the following sections is drawn from various annual numbers of the Report of the Archives of Canada (Ottawa: Queen's & King's Printer, 1892-), and from Canadian legislation. I will cite material from the Report as 'RAC', followed by the year of publication and the page reference. Thus, for the present reference: RAC (1918), 3-4. Legislation will be cited in parentheses in the text.
36. RAC (1918), 39, 58, 88.
37. RAC (1913), 18-19; RAC (1918), 150-51.
38. RAC (1913), 18-19; RAC (1918), 150-51.
39. RAC (1913), 45-46.
40. Ibid., 69-70; also RAC (1921), 294-95.
41. Ibid., 69-70; also RAC (1921), 294-95.
42. See, for instance, Douglas McCalla, The Upper Canada Trade 1834-1872: A Study of the Buchanans' Business (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1979), 18-25; Susan Woods, Jr, The Molson Saga, 1763-1983 (Toronto: Doubleday, 1983), 54-55.
43. See, for instance, Douglas McCalla, The Upper Canada Trade 1834-1872: A Study of the Buchanans' Business (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1979), 18-25; Susan Woods, Jr, The Molson Saga, 1763-1983 (Toronto: Doubleday, 1983), 54-55.
44. Province of Upper Canada, Statutes 2 Geo.IV c.13 (1832) contains a list of legislation; see also Gerald Glazebrook, Life in Ontario (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1968), 48-50.
45. Province of Upper Canada, Statutes 2 Geo.IV c.13 (1832) contains a list of legislation; see also Gerald Glazebrook, Life in Ontario (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1968), 48-50.
46. See Legislative Assembly of Canada, Debates (6 August 1851).
47. Michael Piva, The Borrowing Process: Public Finance in the Province of Canada, 1840-1867 (Ottawa: University of Ottawa Press, 1992), 129; also Legislative Assembly of Canada, Journals (26 March 1856).
48. Michael Piva, The Borrowing Process: Public Finance in the Province of Canada, 1840-1867 (Ottawa: University of Ottawa Press, 1992), 129; also Legislative Assembly of Canada, Journals (26 March 1856).
49. In this regard, see National Archives of Canada, RG1 E1 Canada State Book E (1849), 515-19; and 'Report of M. Cameron, Esquire, Commissioner appointed to inquire into the State and Management of Customs, in Upper Canada', Legislative Assembly of Canada, Sessional Papers (1843); B. Curtis, 'The Canada Blue Books and the Administrative Capacity of the Canadian State, 1822-1867', Canadian Historical Review, Vol. 74, No. 4 (December 1993), 535-65.
50. In this regard, see National Archives of Canada, RG1 E1 Canada State Book E (1849), 515-19; and 'Report of M. Cameron, Esquire, Commissioner appointed to inquire into the State and Management of Customs, in Upper Canada', Legislative Assembly of Canada, Sessional Papers (1843); B. Curtis, 'The Canada Blue Books and the Administrative Capacity of the Canadian State, 1822-1867', Canadian Historical Review, Vol. 74, No. 4 (December 1993), 535-65.
51. In this regard, see National Archives of Canada, RG1 E1 Canada State Book E (1849), 515-19; and 'Report of M. Cameron, Esquire, Commissioner appointed to inquire into the State and Management of Customs, in Upper Canada', Legislative Assembly of Canada, Sessional Papers (1843); B. Curtis, 'The Canada Blue Books and the Administrative Capacity of the Canadian State, 1822-1867', Canadian Historical Review, Vol. 74, No. 4 (December 1993), 535-65.
52. For instance, in the 1850s, the mysteries of educational finance, including the failure of officials to separate public money from their private funds, made it difficult to determine the consequences of educational policy in the two sections of the country: see William Langton (ed.), Early Days in Upper Canada: Letters of John Langton from the Backwoods of Upper Canada and the Audit Office of the Province of Canada (Toronto: Macmillan, 1926), 221-40.
53. RAC (1918), 5-7.
54. Ibid., 61-62, 77-78.
55. Ibid., 39-42, 152-53; also RAC (1921), 317.
56. Ibid., 39-42, 152-53; also RAC (1921), 317.
57. Hilda Neatby, Quebec: The Revolutionary Age, 1760-1791 (Toronto: McLelland & Stewart, 1966), 180-81; RAC (1913), 59-60; RAC (1918), 40, 111, 117-18; RAC (1921), 314.
58. Hilda Neatby, Quebec: The Revolutionary Age, 1760-1791 (Toronto: McLelland & Stewart, 1966), 180-81; RAC (1913), 59-60; RAC (1918), 40, 111, 117-18; RAC (1921), 314.
59. Hilda Neatby, Quebec: The Revolutionary Age, 1760-1791 (Toronto: McLelland & Stewart, 1966), 180-81; RAC (1913), 59-60; RAC (1918), 40, 111, 117-18; RAC (1921), 314.
60. Hilda Neatby, Quebec: The Revolutionary Age, 1760-1791 (Toronto: McLelland & Stewart, 1966), 180-81; RAC (1913), 59-60; RAC (1918), 40, 111, 117-18; RAC (1921), 314.
61. Donald Fyson, Criminal Justice, Civil Society and the Local State: The Justices of the Peace in the District of Montreal. 1764-1830 (unpublished PhD dissertation, Department of History, University of Montreal, 1995). On the other hand, Governor Craig complained of the defective state of the police in Montreal in the first decade of the 19th century, where the Quarter Sessions were frequently not held for lack of a quorum: RAC (1892), 38-39.
62. Donald Fyson, Criminal Justice, Civil Society and the Local State: The Justices of the Peace in the District of Montreal. 1764-1830 (unpublished PhD dissertation, Department of History, University of Montreal, 1995). On the other hand, Governor Craig complained of the defective state of the police in Montreal in the first decade of the 19th century, where the Quarter Sessions were frequently not held for lack of a quorum: RAC (1892), 38-39.
63. Glazebrook, op. cit. note 28, 96-98.
64. RAC (1913), 50-51.
65. Ibid., 74-75.
66. For example, 4 & 5Vic. c.88 & c.89; 6 Vic. c.6 & c.7; 7 Vic. c.25; 8 Vic. c.49; 11 Vic. c.6 & c.7; 13 Vic. c.43; 29-30 Vic. c.24.
67. Parliament of Canada, Sessional Papers No. 3, Department of Inland Revenue (1876), xxxvi-x1vii.
68. William Patterson, Statistical Contributions Relating to the Trade, Commerce and Navigation of the Dominion of Canada (Montreal: J. Starke & Co., 1875), 109. He did not hesitate to give 'concise' statements of butter export in both pounds and kegs.
69. See Philip Lawson, 'A Perspective on British History and the Treatment of the Conquest of Quebec', Journal of Historical Sociology, Vol. 3, No. 3 (September 1990), 253-71.
70. See Hoppit, op. cit. note 2, 88.
71. RAC (1918), 59-60; see also Michel Brunet, Les Canadiens Après la Conquête, 1759-1775 (Montréal: Fides, 1971), 107-08.
72. RAC (1918), 59-60; see also Michel Brunet, Les Canadiens Après la Conquête, 1759-1775 (Montréal: Fides, 1971), 107-08.
73. RAC (1913), 50-51.
74. See Joseph O'Connell, 'Metrology: The Creation of Universality by the Circulation of Particulars', Social Studies of Science, Vol. 23, No. 1 (February 1993), 129-73. My point would be idle if people carried their scales to inspectors. It seems very unlikely that this was usual practice, before 1840 at least, in either of the Canadas.
75. Such practices create difficulties for historians and fuel debate. See the measurement translations in Thomas LeGoff, 'The Agricultural Crisis in Lower Canada, 1802-1812: A Review of a Controversy', Canadian Historical Review, Vol. 55, No. 1 (January 1974), 1-31; Françoise Noël, 'Chambly Mills, 1784-1815', Canadian Historical Association Historical Papers (1985), 102-16; Marvin McInnis, 'A Reconsideration of the State of Agriculture in Lower Canada in the First Half of the Nineteenth Century', Canadian Papers in Rural History, Vol. 3 (Gananoque, Ontario: Langdale Press, Winter 1982), 9-49.
76. Such practices create difficulties for historians and fuel debate. See the measurement translations in Thomas LeGoff, 'The Agricultural Crisis in Lower Canada, 1802-1812: A Review of a Controversy', Canadian Historical Review, Vol. 55, No. 1 (January 1974), 1-31; Françoise Noël, 'Chambly Mills, 1784-1815', Canadian Historical Association Historical Papers (1985), 102-16; Marvin McInnis, 'A Reconsideration of the State of Agriculture in Lower Canada in the First Half of the Nineteenth Century', Canadian Papers in Rural History, Vol. 3 (Gananoque, Ontario: Langdale Press, Winter 1982), 9-49.
77. Such practices create difficulties for historians and fuel debate. See the measurement translations in Thomas LeGoff, 'The Agricultural Crisis in Lower Canada, 1802-1812: A Review of a Controversy', Canadian Historical Review, Vol. 55, No. 1 (January 1974), 1-31; Françoise Noël, 'Chambly Mills, 1784-1815', Canadian Historical Association Historical Papers (1985), 102-16; Marvin McInnis, 'A Reconsideration of the State of Agriculture in Lower Canada in the First Half of the Nineteenth Century', Canadian Papers in Rural History, Vol. 3 (Gananoque, Ontario: Langdale Press, Winter 1982), 9-49.
78. See Allan Greer, Peasant, Lord and Merchant: Rural Society in Three Quebec Parishes, 1740-1840 (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1985).
79. Province of Upper Canada, 'Report on Government Departments', Vol. 1, Inspector General's Department, Sessional Papers (1839-40). The authors of the report stressed that no inspection of weights and measures was taking place.
80. National Archives of Canada, Record Group 1, Section E17, the Canada Blue Book (1841, 1846).
81. For the petitions, see Andrew Todd, General Index to the Journals of the Legislative Assembly of Canada (Ottawa: Hunter, Rose & Co., 1867), 258, 313. The Boards of Agriculture publicized the new measures in the press and by means of circular letters addressed to county agricultural societies. See, for instance, the circular from Thomas Chagnon, sécretaire, Chambre d'Agriculture du Bas-Canada, La Minerve (7 December 1860).
82. For the petitions, see Andrew Todd, General Index to the Journals of the Legislative Assembly of Canada (Ottawa: Hunter, Rose & Co., 1867), 258, 313. The Boards of Agriculture publicized the new measures in the press and by means of circular letters addressed to county agricultural societies. See, for instance, the circular from Thomas Chagnon, sécretaire, Chambre d'Agriculture du Bas-Canada, La Minerve (7 December 1860).
83. Robert S.M. Bouchette, 'Weights and Measures: A Paper Read to the Quebec Literary and Historical Society, 18 March 1863', Canadian Institute for Historical Microfilms (Ottawa, n.d.); National Archives of Canada, Record Group 17, Vol. 14, Minister of Agriculture to Bouchette (22 January 1867); Vol. 16, Bouchette to McGee (6 May 1867); see also William Farr (ed.), Proceedings of the Fourth International Statistical Congress (London: Queen's Printer, 1860).
84. Robert S.M. Bouchette, 'Weights and Measures: A Paper Read to the Quebec Literary and Historical Society, 18 March 1863', Canadian Institute for Historical Microfilms (Ottawa, n.d.); National Archives of Canada, Record Group 17, Vol. 14, Minister of Agriculture to Bouchette (22 January 1867); Vol. 16, Bouchette to McGee (6 May 1867); see also William Farr (ed.), Proceedings of the Fourth International Statistical Congress (London: Queen's Printer, 1860).
85. Bouchette, 'Weights and Measures', op. cit. note 54, 29-30.
86. Dominion of Canada, Parliamentary Debates (6 April 1867; 4 May 1870).
87. Dominion of Canada, Parliamentary Debates (11 April 1871).
88. Toronto Globe, 'The Metric System of Weights and Measures' (24 April 1871).
89. For example, Pierre Bourdieu, In Other Words: Essays Towards a Reflexive Sociology (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1990), 79-80.