The House of Lords

The House of Lords, sometimes lauded for its moderating influence on some of the more daffy stuff sent up by the Commons, has also, from time to time, been a redoubtable bastion of reaction. Think, for example, of the Reform Bill and independence for Ireland and India. So I was interested to come across another example of the latter.

The occasion being a dip into the collection of titbits of French history first noticed at reference 1, a dip which turned up a titbit about measurement filed under 1875.

It seems that the metric system of measurement was given a big push by the French revolution, with the revolutionaries being keen to sweep away all the measurement junk left over from the Middle Ages. But Napoleon, keen in principle, saw that forcing the pace on suspicious country people was not worth the candle and backed off. Getting their young men to join his armies was much more important.

The metric system was eventually adopted in France in the 1830's.

There was a big push to go international in the 1860's, but the UK law to this effect, passed by the House of Commons, was rejected by the House of Lords.

But then, after the French were smashed in the Franco-Prussian war, it was thought best to give the French a harmless consolation prize and what became the BIPM of reference 2 came into being at Sèvres, in what is now in the south western suburbs of Paris. The same place as the posh pots of reference 3. Metric went on to rule much of the world, but the UK remained on the side lines with its inches, feet, yards, poles, chains, furlongs and so on.

We finally got on board as part of joining the European Union in the 1970's. But perhaps now we will be able to get out from under this particular bit of offensive, continental tutelage. Rees-Moggers, notate bene.

Reference 1: https://psmv3.blogspot.com/2018/05/metermorphosen.html. Readers are left to work out why this post is called what it is for themselves.

Reference 2: https://www.bipm.org/en/about-us/.

Reference 3: https://www.sevresciteceramique.fr/. The source of the snap above, a pot made in 1810 to celebrate the first Napoleon; the Théière Miniature.