South American governments insist on the metrical system of weights and measures for Customs purposes: the British manufacturer persists in a firm refusal to contemplate anything but British Tons and Feet. This may seem a trifling matter to anyone not engaged in the Import trade of a metrical-system country, but in practice the rendering of British weights and measures into their metrical equivalents involves not only a large amount of clerical labour, but is also a frequent source of error in the results. A most actively patriotic Briton who is the head of a large Importing firm in Montevideo told the present writer not long ago that in spite of his patriotism he had been driven to deal with German firms because, for one reason, of the constant inflictions on him of $80 fines by the Customs Authorities, that sum being the statutory fine in Uruguay for any misstatement of weight or bulk on a declaration. He, in common with the generality of Importers in Argentina or Uruguay, had found himself confronted by several very weighty reasons for necessarily transferring the bulk of his orders from British to German firms, the chief of which was that above summed up; namely, that British manufacturers would not adapt themselves to his customers’ requirements. “We are making this, that, or the other pattern” of whatever the article in question may be, and “if you don’t like that you must go elsewhere” is the gist of the average British manufacturer’s last word in the discussion. And, as the Importer is not running a Commercial Museum of articles of the highest quality or best British taste, but has to sell what he imports to customers who have lamentably independent ideas of what they want, he does go elsewhere, that is to say he did, and, most frequently, to Germany. To Germany, where most things were at all events cheaper, and where, if qualities were not so good as in the United Kingdom, manufacturers were adaptable, and their travelling representatives spoke Spanish and understood the ways and wishes and even the foibles of South American customers. As a rule, commercial travellers from either Great Britain or the United States do not speak anything like fluent Spanish. Therefore, they are obliged to engage interpreters to accompany them on their business calls, while they were quite unable to take advantage of the opportunities sought for by their Spanish-speaking German competitors of mingling in the semi-social life of their customers. In the bar or restaurant the German traveller was a jolly good fellow always ready to pay his share of the wine bill and with his pockets filled with more than passable cigars and he could enjoy and respond to the local humour and generally take part in all the fun of a jovial evening-out; for which the Argentine, especially, is always ready and willing to find an excuse.