[PW] ? Size of a pork-barrel

[Graeme Rymill]

The various states had, in the 18th century, passed laws to try and
regulate trade in a wide variety of goods. This included the dimensions
of pork barrels.

For example http://www.vagenweb.org/hening/vol03-16.htm  LAWS OF
VIRGINIA, OCTOBER 1705

"An act for ascertaining the gauge of barrels for pork, beef, tar, and
pitch.  

      I. FOR prevention of frauds and abuses frequently practised by
greedy and avaricious traders in pork, beef, tar and pitch, who, for
their own private lucre and gain, not only make and set up, or cause to
be made and set up, small barrels, but also slightly pack, and
deceitfully fill the same, to the great prejudice of the trade of this
her majestys colony and dominion, in the said commodities and
merchandizes,  
      II. Be it enacted, by the Governor, Council and Burgesses, of this
present General Assembly, and it is hereby enacted, by the authority of
the same, That from and after the nine and twentieth day of September
next, all and every barrel or barrels, which shall be made and set up,
to put pork, beef, tar, or pitch into; and also all and every barrel or
barrels, wherein pork or beef shall be packed, or wherein tar or pitch
shall be filled, either for exportation out of, or for sale within, this
her majesty's colony and dominion, shall be of a size, gauge and
dimension, large enough to hold and contain, at least, the quantity of
thirty-one gallons and an half of Winchester measure; and that the
contents of every pork barrel, at exportation or sale, shall be at least
two hundred and twenty pounds of neat pork, and of every beef barrel the
like quantity of neat beef; and that every tar barrel shall be filled
with clear tar, and every pitch barrel with true made pitch, without the
least mixture of any sort of trash whatsoever. " 

For other States' laws covering the dimensions of pork barrels see the
footnotes to
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=107&invol=
38  TURNER v. STATE OF MARYLAND, 107 U.S. 38 (1883)

Graeme Rymill
University of Western Australia Library