Various - International Conference Held at Washington for the Purpose of Fixing a Prime Meridian and a Universal Day. October, 1884.

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INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

HELD AT WASHINGTON

FOR THE PURPOSE OF FIXING

A PRIME MERIDIAN

AND

A UNIVERSAL DAY.

OCTOBER, 1884.

PROTOCOLS OF THE PROCEEDINGS.

WASHINGTON, D. C.

GIBSON BROS., PRINTERS AND BOOKBINDERS.

1884.

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

Page

I. Protocol, October 1, 1884 1

II. Protocol, October 2, 1884 13

III. Protocol, October 6, 1884 35

IV. Protocol, October 13, 1884 73

V. Protocol, October 14, 1884 113

VI. Protocol, October 20, 1884 151

VII. Protocol, October 22, 1884 195

VIII. Protocol, November 1, 1884 205

Final Act 199

Act of Congress authorizing the President of the
United States to invite the Conference (ANNEX I) 209

Act of Congress making appropriation for expenses
(ANNEX II) 209

Circular to United States representatives abroad
bringing the subject to the attention of foreign
governments (ANNEX III) 210

Circular to United States ministers extending
invitation to foreign governments (ANNEX IV) 211

International Meridian Conference

HELD IN THE

CITY OF WASHINGTON.

I.

SESSION OF OCTOBER 1, 1884.

The Delegates to the International Meridian Conference, who assembled
in Washington upon invitation addressed by the Government of the
United States to all nations holding diplomatic relations with it,
"for the purpose of fixing upon a meridian proper to be employed as a
common zero of longitude and standard of time-reckoning throughout the
globe," held their first conference to-day, October 1, 1884, in the
Diplomatic Hall of the Department of State.

The following delegates were present:

On behalf of Austria-Hungary--

Baron IGNATZ VON SCHAEFFER,
_Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary_.

On behalf of Brazil--

Dr. LUIZ CRULS,
_Director of the Imperial Observatory of Rio Janeiro_.

On behalf of Colombia--

Commodore S. R. FRANKLIN, _U. S. Navy_,
_Superintendent U. S. Naval Observatory_.

On behalf of Costa Rica--

Mr. JUAN FRANCISCO ECHEVERRIA,
_Civil Engineer_.

On behalf of France--

Mr. A. LEFAIVRE,
_Minister Plenipotentiary and Consul-General_.
Mr. JANSSEN, _of the Institute_,
_Director of the Physical Observatory of Paris_.

On behalf of Germany--

Baron H. VON ALVENSLEBEN,
_Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary_.

On behalf of Great Britain--

Captain Sir F. J. O. EVANS,
_Royal Navy_.

Prof. J. C. ADAMS,
_Director of the Cambridge Observatory_.

Lieut.-General STRACHEY,
_Member of the Council of India_.

Mr. SANDFORD FLEMING,
_Representing the Dominion of Canada_.

On behalf of Guatemala--

M. MILES ROCK,
_President of the Boundary Commission_.

On behalf of Hawaii--

Hon. W. D. ALEXANDER,
_Surveyor-General_.

Hon. LUTHER AHOLO,
_Privy Counsellor_.

On behalf of Italy--

Count ALBERT DE FORESTA,
_First Secretary of Legation_.

On behalf of Japan--

Professor KIKUCHI,
_Dean of the Scientific Dep't of the University of Tokio_.

On behalf of Mexico--

Mr. LEANDRO FERNANDEZ,
_Civil Engineer_.
Mr. ANGEL ANGUIANO,
_Director of the National Observatory of Mexico_.

On behalf of Paraguay--

Captain JOHN STEWART,
_Consul-General_.

On behalf of Russia--

Mr. C. DE STRUVE,
_Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary_.
Major-General STEBNITZKI,
_Imperial Russian Staff_.
Mr. J. DE KOLOGRIVOFF,
_Conseiller d'Etat actuel_.

On behalf of San Domingo--

Mr. M. DE J. GALVAN,
_Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary_.

On behalf of Salvador--

Mr. ANTONIO BATRES,
_Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary_.

On behalf of Spain,

Mr. JUAN VALERA,
_Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary_.
Mr. EMILIO RUIZ DEL ARBOL,
_Naval Attache to the Spanish Legation_.
Mr. JUAN PASTORIN,
_Officer of the Navy_.

On behalf of Sweden--

Count CARL LEWENHAUPT,
_Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary_.

On behalf of Switzerland--

Colonel EMILE FREY,
_Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary_.

On behalf of the United States--

Rear-Admiral C. R. P. RODGERS,
_U. S. Navy_.

Mr. LEWIS M. RUTHERFURD.

Mr. W. F. ALLEN,
_Secretary Railway Time Conventions_.

Commander W. T. SAMPSON,
_U. S. Navy_.

Professor CLEVELAND ABBE,
_U. S. Signal Office_.

On behalf of Venezuela--

Senor Dr. A. M. SOTELDO,
_Charge d'Affaires_.

The following delegates were not present:

On behalf of Chili--

Mr. FRANCISCO VIDAL GORMAS,
_Director of the Hydrographic Office_.

Mr. ALVARO BIANCHI TUPPER,
_Assistant Director_.

On behalf of Denmark--

Mr. CARL STEEN ANDERSEN DE BILLE,
_Minister Resident and Consul-General_.

On behalf of Germany--

Mr. HINCKELDEYN,
_Attache of the German Legation_.

On behalf of Liberia--

Mr. WILLIAM COPPINGER,
_Consul-General_.

On behalf of the Netherlands--

Mr. G. DE WECKHERLIN,
_Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary_.

On behalf of Turkey--

RUSTEM EFFENDI,
_Secretary of Legation_.

The delegates were formally presented to the Secretary of State of the
United States, the Honorable FREDERICK T. FRELINGHUYSEN, in his office
at 12 o'clock. Upon assembling in the Diplomatic Hall, he called the
Conference to order, and spoke as follows:

GENTLEMEN: It gives me pleasure, in the name of the
President of the United States, to welcome you to this
Congress, where most of the nations of the earth are
represented. You have met to discuss and consider the
important question of a prime meridian for all nations. It
will rest with you to give a definite result to the
preparatory labors of other scientific associations and
special congresses, and thus make those labors available.

Wishing you all success in your important deliberations, and
not doubting that you will reach a conclusion satisfactory
to the civilized world, I, before leaving you, take the
liberty to nominate, for the purpose of a temporary
organization, Count Lewenhaupt.

It will afford this Department pleasure to do all in its
power to promote the convenience of the Congress and to
facilitate its proceedings.

By the unanimous voice of the Conference the Delegate of Sweden, Count
LEWENHAUPT, took the chair, and said that, for the purpose of
proceeding to a permanent organization, it was necessary to elect a
President, and that he had the honor to propose for that office the
chairman of the delegation of the United States of America, Admiral C.
R. P. Rodgers.

The Conference agreed unanimously to the proposition thus made,
whereupon Admiral RODGERS took the chair as President of the
Conference, and made the following address:

GENTLEMEN: I beg you to receive my thanks for the high honor
you have conferred upon me in calling me, as the chairman of
the delegation from the United States, to preside at this
Congress. To it have come from widely-separated portions of
the globe, delegates renowned in diplomacy and science,
seeking to create a new accord among the nations by agreeing
upon a meridian proper to be employed as a common zero of
longitude and standard of time reckoning throughout the
world. Happy shall we be, if, throwing aside national
preferences and inclinations, we seek only the common good
of mankind, and gain for science and for commerce a prime
meridian acceptable to all countries, and secured with the
least possible inconvenience.

Having this object at heart, the Government of the United
States has invited all nations with which it has diplomatic
relations to send delegates to a Congress to assemble at
Washington to-day, to discuss the question I have indicated.
The invitation has been graciously received, and we are here
this morning to enter upon the agreeable duty assigned to us
by our respective governments.

Broad as is the area of the United States, covering a
hundred degrees of longitude, extending from 66 deg. 52' west
from Greenwich to 166 deg. 13' at our extreme limit in Alaska,
not including the Aleutian Islands; traversed, as it is, by
railway and telegraph lines, and dotted with observatories;
long as is its sea coast, of more than twelve thousand
miles; vast as must be its foreign and domestic commerce,
its delegation to this Congress has no desire to urge that a
prime meridian shall be found within its confines.

In my own profession, that of a seaman, the embarrassment
arising from the many prime meridians now in use is very
conspicuous, and in the valuable interchange of longitudes
by passing ships at sea, often difficult and hurried,
sometimes only possible by figures written on a black-board,
much confusion arises, and at times grave danger. In the use
of charts, too, this trouble is also annoying, and to us who
live upon the sea a common prime meridian will be a great
advantage.

Within the last two years we have been given reason to hope
that this great desideratum may be obtained, and within a
year a learned Conference, in which many nations were
represented, expressed opinions upon it with singular
unanimity, and in a very broad and catholic spirit.

I need not trespass further upon your attention, except to
lay before you the subject we are invited to discuss: the
choice of "a meridian to be employed as a common zero of
longitude and standard of time reckoning throughout the
world;" and I shall beg you to complete our organization by
the election of a Vice-President, and the proper Secretaries
necessary to the verification of our proceedings.

Mr. LEFAIVRE, Delegate from France, stated that on behalf of his
colleague he would suggest that all motions and addresses made in
English should be translated into French.

The PRESIDENT inquired whether the proposition made by the Delegate
for France met with the approval of the Conference, when it was
unanimously agreed to.

The PRESIDENT thereupon said that he was ready to lay before the
Conference the subject of the election of Vice-President.

Count LEWENHAUPT, the Delegate of Sweden, stated that elections in
such large bodies were always difficult, and inquired whether it was
necessary to have a Vice-President. He further said that for his part
he had every reason to hope and to expect that the services of a
Vice-President would not be required.

It was thereupon agreed that a Vice-President should be dispensed
with.

The PRESIDENT then stated that the next business was the election of
Secretaries; but suggested, in view of the proceedings already had,
and of the necessity of some consultation in regard to the matter,
that the election might be postponed till to-morrow.

Mr. VALERA, Delegate of Spain, stated that he saw no reason why the
nomination of Secretaries could not be made just as well at present as
at any future time.

Mr. LEFAIVRE, Delegate of France, inquired what would be the functions
of the Secretaries.

The PRESIDENT in reply said that an acting Secretary had been
appointed by the Secretary of State, who was at the same time a
stenographer, and that the principal labor of keeping the records of
the Conference would devolve upon him; that nevertheless regular
Secretaries of the Conference had to be appointed, for the purpose of
examining and verifying the protocols from day to day, which would be
the more important in the event of the records of the Conference being
made in two or three different languages, and that these Secretaries
ought no doubt to be members of the Conference, in order to give the
requisite authenticity to the acts thereof, and, in view of the
character of the proceedings, should be specialists and informed as to
the subjects under discussion.

Mr. SOTELDO, Delegate of Venezuela, said that he thought the
Conference should adjourn until to-morrow, as they had done already
enough to-day in settling its organization; that by adjourning over it
would give an opportunity to the delegates to consult as to the
functions of the Secretaries, and who would be most likely to be
qualified for those functions; that there were gentlemen from
different countries who were not familiar with the English language,
and by to-morrow the Conference could determine as to the languages in
which the proceedings should be had, although, as it seemed to him,
that the proceedings should be recorded in French and English. He then
moved that the Conference adjourn until to-morrow.

Mr. LEFAIVRE, Delegate of France, stated that he agreed with what had
been said by the President, that the Conference should have
Secretaries who were specialists, and that the proceedings should be
recorded in two languages. By adjourning till to-morrow he thought
that the delegates would have an opportunity to reflect upon the
subject, and to come back prepared to vote upon it.

The PRESIDENT then stated that if any delegates wished to make
propositions in regard to the proceedings to-morrow it would be in the
power of the Conference to proceed to the consideration of those
subjects after the election of the Secretaries, and he suggested to
the Delegate of Venezuela (Mr. Soteldo) that the motion to adjourn be
withdrawn for the present.

The Delegate of Venezuela thereupon withdrew his motion.

Mr. FREY, Delegate of Switzerland, said that, in his opinion, the
order of proceedings to-morrow should be first a general discussion.

Mr. VALERA, Delegate of Spain, stated that he thought the proceedings
should be recorded in two languages at least, and that Secretaries
conversant with these languages and specially acquainted with the
subject matter pending before the Conference should be selected; that,
in order to have the record of the proceedings accurate, officers
qualified in this way were requisite, and that it would be preferable
to elect these officers after consultation among the members of the
Conference, which could be had between now and the meeting to-morrow.

Count LEWENHAUPT, Delegate of Sweden, said that he saw no difficulty
in deciding now that the order of proceedings to-morrow would be first
the election of the Secretaries and then a general discussion, and he
moved that this proposition be adopted.

The Conference then unanimously agreed to the proposition.

Professor ABBE, Delegate of the United States, inquired whether it
would not facilitate the action of the Conference to-morrow if the
President appointed a committee now who could nominate the
Secretaries.

The PRESIDENT replied by asking whether it would not be better to
select this committee at a subsequent meeting, rather than at the
first meeting, which was held to-day.

Commander SAMPSON, Delegate of the United States, then gave notice
that at the session to-morrow he would bring before the Conference the
question whether the meetings shall be open to the public or not, and
that he would, at the proper time, also make a motion for the purpose
of determining the sense of the Conference as to the propriety of
inviting distinguished scientists, some of whom are now in Washington,
and who may desire to be present at the meetings of this Conference,
to take part in the discussion of the questions pending.

Mr. LEFAIVRE, Delegate of France, stated that in regard to the first
proposition--that is, as to making the proceedings public, he would
object, inasmuch as he thought that by opening the doors of this
Conference to the public nothing could be gained, while the
proceedings might be embarrassed or delayed by such a course.

Professor ADAMS, Delegate of England, stated that he did not favor the
first proposition to make the proceedings of this Conference public,
but he did agree with the second proposition, and thought it was a
very important and valuable one.

The PRESIDENT remarked that the propositions made by the Delegate of
the United States of America were merely in the nature of a notice,
and that they were not before the Conference at the present time, and,
consequently, were not the subject of discussion; still he thought
that much good could be elicited from this interchange of opinions in
a preliminary way.

Captain STEWART, Delegate of Paraguay, said that he thought that it
would be a very good thing, in view of the proposition to make the
meetings public, to invite all the world to the Capitol for the
discussion of these subjects.

Professor ABBE, Delegate of the United States, stated that it would be
perfectly practicable to have the discussions of the Conference
printed in full from day to day for our own official use, and that the
public might thereby be made familiar with the proceedings if it were
necessary.

The PRESIDENT announced that arrangements had been made by the State
Department whereby the proceedings of each day would be printed and
furnished in time for the examination of the members of the Conference
before the next meeting, and that they would be printed in two
languages, French and English; but that these records or protocols
could not be regularly verified until the Conference shall have
appointed duly authorized Secretaries.

Baron VON SCHAEFFER, Delegate of Austro-Hungary, asked that a list of
the delegates be presented to each of the members of the Conference.

The PRESIDENT replied that he would instruct the acting Secretary (Mr.
Peddrick) to have the list prepared.

Upon the motion of Mr. DE STRUVE, Delegate of Russia, the Conference
then adjourned until to-morrow, (Thursday,) the second instant, at one
o'clock p. m.

II.

SESSION OF OCTOBER 2, 1884.

The Conference met pursuant to adjournment in the Diplomatic Hall of
the Department of State, at one o'clock p. m.

Present:

Austria-Hungary: Baron IGNATZ VON SCHAEFFER.
Brazil: Dr. LUIZ CRULS.
Colombia: Commodore S. R. FRANKLIN.
Costa Rica: Mr. JUAN FRANCISCO ECHEVERRIA.
France: Mr. A. LEFAIVRE, Mr. JANSSEN.
Germany: Baron H. VON ALVENSLEBEN, Mr. HINCKELDEYN.
Great Britain: Sir F. J. O. EVANS, Prof. J. C. ADAMS,
Lieut.-General STRACHEY, Mr. SANDFORD FLEMING.
Guatemala: Mr. MILES ROCK.
Hawaii: Hon. W. D. ALEXANDER, Hon. LUTHER AHOLO.
Italy: Count ALBERT DE FORESTA.
Japan: Professor KIKUCHI.
Mexico: Mr. LEANDRO FERNANDEZ, Mr. ANSEL ANGUIANO.
Paraguay: Capt. JOHN STEWART.
Russia: Mr. C. DE STRUVE, Major-General STEBNITZKI, Mr.
KOLOGRIVOFF.
San Domingo: Mr. DE J. GALVAN.
Salvador: Mr. ANTONIO BATRES.
Spain: Mr. JUAN VALERA, Mr. EMILIO RUIZ DEL ARBOL,
and Mr. JUAN PASTORIN.
Sweden: Count CARL LEWENHAUPT.
Switzerland: Col. EMILE FREY, Professor HIRSCH.
United States: Rear-Admiral C. R. P. RODGERS, Mr. LEWIS
M. RUTHERFORD, Mr. W. F. ALLEN, Commander W. T.
SAMPSON, Professor CLEVELAND ABBE.
Venezuela: Senor Dr. A. M. SOTELDO.

Absent:

Chili: Mr. F. V. GORMAS and Mr. A. B. TUPPER.
Denmark: Mr. O. S. A. DE BILLE.
Liberia: Mr. WM. COPPINGER.
Netherlands: Mr. G. DE WECKHERLIN.
Turkey: RUSTEM EFFENDI.

The PRESIDENT stated that the first business before the Conference was
the election of Secretaries.

Mr. DE STRUVE, Delegate of Russia, stated that it was his opinion that
it would be very difficult to elect Secretaries by a direct vote, and
he proposed that the selection of the Secretaries be left to a
Committee to be appointed by the President; that the Committee present
the names of the officers selected to the Conference, and that these
Secretaries be four in number.

Count LEWENHAUPT, Delegate of Sweden, stated that it was generally
understood among the delegates that Mr. Hirsch, one of the delegates
from Switzerland, should be elected a Secretary, as he was a Secretary
of the Conference held at Rome, but as he has not yet arrived, he
proposed that the Conference elect only three Secretaries to-day.

Mr. DE STRUVE, Delegate of Russia, stated that he believed that Mr.
Hirsch would soon arrive, and he accepted the amendment just offered.

The original motion, as modified by the amendment, was thereupon
unanimously agreed to.

The Chair appointed the Delegate of Russia, Mr. de Struve, the
Delegate from Spain, Mr. Valera, the Delegate from France, Mr.
Lefaivre, and the Delegate from Sweden, Count Lewenhaupt, as the
Committee to select the Secretaries.

The Conference thereupon took a recess, to enable the Committee to
consult and report.

Upon the reassembling of the Conference, the Delegate of Sweden, Count
Lewenhaupt, announced that the Committee had selected for Secretaries
the Delegate from Great Britain, Lieut.-General Strachey, the Delegate
of France, Mr. Janssen, and the Delegate from Brazil, Dr. Cruls.

The report of the Committee was then unanimously adopted by the
Conference, and the Delegates named as Secretaries signified their
acceptance of the office.

Mr. DE STRUVE, Delegate of Russia, moved that the President direct the
Acting Secretary to arrange the seats of the Delegates according to
the alphabetical order of the countries represented. He added that it
would be a great convenience to the members to have their seats
permanently fixed.

The motion was unanimously agreed to.

Commander SAMPSON, Delegate of the United States, then presented the
following resolution:

_Resolved_, That the Congress invite Prof. Newcomb,
Superintendent of the United States Nautical Almanac; Prof.
Hildgard, Superintendent of the United States Coast and
Geodetic Surveys; Professor A. Hall; Professor De
Valentiner, Director of the Observatory at Karlsruhe; and
Sir William Thomson, to attend the meetings of this
Congress.

General STRACHEY, Delegate of England, stated that, as he understood
this resolution, it would not necessarily authorize the parties
invited to take any part in the discussions.

The PRESIDENT stated that the resolution seems merely to invite the
gentlemen to be present.

General STRACHEY, Delegate of Great Britain, stated that he thought it
necessary to clear up this matter a little; that if the gentlemen
invited could not address the Conference, it seemed very little use to
have them invited; that it was not for their own advantage but for
that of the Conference that the invitations were extended to those
scientific gentlemen, and therefore he thought it was the intention in
inviting them to have the benefit of any information which they might
desire from time to time to express on the subjects before the
Congress. He thought that if any remarks on the part of these
gentlemen were presented to the Conference, with the assent of the
Congress, through the President, that would doubtless meet all the
requirements of the case.

The PRESIDENT inquired whether the Delegate of Great Britain meant
that the remarks should be presented in writing.

General STRACHEY, Delegate of Great Britain, replied that that would
not necessarily be the case.

Prof. ABBE, Delegate of the United States, inquired whether the
persons named in the resolution were the only ones to be invited.

The PRESIDENT replied that it was so, so far as the Chair was
informed, but that it would be in order at any time to add new names
in the same way.

Prof. ABBE, Delegate of the United States, stated that this was a
matter which he had very much at heart, and he would like to observe
that some of the nations which were invited to send Delegates to this
Conference had failed to do so, and that it would be a courtesy to
invite persons of those nations to be present.

Commander SAMPSON, Delegate of the United States, stated that after
consulting with a number of the delegates he drew the resolution, and
that it was suggested to him this very morning that possibly there
might be a difference of opinion as to whether these gentlemen should
take part in the discussion, and that that was the reason why the
first resolution merely proposed to invite them to be present. He
stated that he proposed subsequently to submit another resolution
authorizing these gentlemen to take part in the discussion; that he
thought that the original intention was to confer an honor on certain
distinguished scientists, and that it would be well for the Conference
to limit the invitation to gentlemen of that character.

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