Such  are  the  fees  current  in  the  medical  and
other  professions,  which  are  quoted  in  guineas
or  half  guineas  ;  such  also  are  the  legal  fees  of
68.  8d.  and  13s.  4d.,  corresponding  respectively
to  the  **  noble  "  and  the  "mark."  In  all  these
cases  the  rate  of  payment  was  prescribed  by  a
denomination  of  money  formerly  in  use,  and
the  price  has  survived  while  the  coin  has  dis-
appeared. Another  instance  is  to  be  found  in
the  parliamentary  railway  fare  of  one  penny
per  mile.  At  the  time  that  this  rate  was  fixed
there  was  no  experience  as  to  the  cost  of  carry-
ing passengers,  nor  was  any  pretence  made  of
apportioning  the  rate  to  the  cost  or  value  of
the  service  performed.  The  selection  was
purely  arbitrary,  and  was  suggested  by  the
existence  of  the  coin.     It  would  undoubtedly

have  been  20  or  30  per  cent  more — or  less had

the  subdivisions  of  the  shilling  been  less  or  more
numerous.  So  also  with  the  penny  post.
This  point  is  further  illustrated  by  the  diflferent
rates  charged  in  diflferent  countries  for  interna-
tional postage,  where  charges  would  be  uniform
but  for  the  diflference  in  the  divisions  of  money.
In  five  countries  of  the  Postal  Union,  as  shown
below,  the  rates  differ  by  as  much  as  12  per  cent
among  themselves,  ranging  from  6  per  cent  above
the  English  rate  of  2^d.  to  6  per  cent  below  it.
Equivalent.
Rate

2id.=

of2^d.
Charged.
1000.
Germany

pfgs.  21-281

pfgs.  20

=   939

France

cents  26-272

cents  25

=   952

Holland

cents  12-595

cents  12i

=   993

Sweden

ore     18*916

ore     20

=  1057

Portugal

reis    46-918

reLs     50

=  1066

Again,  increase  or  reduction  in  small  charges
will  necessarily  follow  the  subdivisions  of  money.
