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

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

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WEST OF GREENWICH.

1st Meridian, Spain.
3d " Portugal.

It is, however, not at all necessary that each country
should adopt a single civil time for the whole of its
territory. If several normal times should be adopted, it is
still possible to use the system, provided only the several
times differ from Greenwich time by 10 minutes, 20 minutes,
&c.; but it would be necessary that the clocks should
indicate the times adopted with great precision, and that
the difference did not amount to even a few seconds, because
otherwise the advantages of the adoption of the system would
be materially reduced.

This circumstance, that it is possible for each country to
adopt the system, and at the same time to maintain a certain
independence with regard to the adoption of the most
convenient normal times, is of considerable importance with
regard to the possibility of introducing a system of this
kind. In fact, it is possible to arrive at the application
of the system in such a way that the transition would hardly
be observed by the great majority of the population. As
regards railroads and telegraphs, the advantages would be
the same as if the local times were everywhere identical,
because it is easy to remember the multiple of 10 minutes
which ought to be added to the time of a given country for
translation into the time of another country. The difference
of time between Sweden and Denmark would, for instance, be
10 minutes--a circumstance which everybody would soon learn
to remember. A traveller leaving Sweden would then know that
his watch, if correct, shows exactly 10 minutes more than
the clocks of the Danish railroad stations, and if he
continued his voyage to Paris, he would know that the clocks
of Paris are exactly 50 minutes behind the clocks in Sweden.

I have tried to explain the advantages of this system for
the countries in Europe. I am not able to judge if similar
systems can be considered necessary in America and Asia. It
is possible that North America could be satisfied with one
single normal time, which, if America connects this time
with the European system, ought to be fixed exactly 6 hours
behind Greenwich. While starting from this normal meridian,
it is possible to establish a more or less elaborate system
of equidistant times analogous to the system which has been
proposed for Europe. The same can be said of the civil times
of Asia, which ought to be connected with a normal time 6
hours in advance of the time of Greenwich.

Africa ought to belong to the European system. The French
civil time could be adopted for Algeria and Tunis; the time
of Denmark, Germany, and Italy for Tripoli; for Egypt the
time of Russia; the Spanish time for Morocco; at the mouth
of the Congo where, no doubt, sooner or later, an important
centre of civilization will rise, the meridian of Sweden and
Austria could be used; the meridian of Hungary could be
adopted for the Cape of Good Hope.

It will not be possible to connect South America and
Australia with any of the four cardinal times mentioned, but
some other combination, into which it is not necessary to
enter on this occasion, can easily be found.

The PRESIDENT. If the Chair hears no objection, the pamphlet referred
by the Delegate of Sweden will be printed as proposed.

Mr. LEFAIVRE, Delegate of France. Mr. President, I move that the
Conference adjourn until Wednesday, at one o'clock p. m.

The motion was put and agreed to, and the Conference thereupon
adjourned at 4:30 p. m. until Wednesday, the 22d inst., at one o'clock
p. m.

VII.

SESSION OF OCTOBER 22, 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.
Chili: Mr. F. Y. GORMAS and Mr. A. B. TUPPER.
Colombia: Commodore S. E. 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 BOOK.
Hawaii: Hon. W. D. ALEXANDER, Hon. LUTHER AHOLO.
Italy: Count ALBERT DE FORESTA.
Japan: Professor KIKUCHI.
Liberia: Mr. WM. COPPINGER.
Mexico: Mr. LEANDRO FERNANDEZ, Mr. ANGEL ANGUIANO.
Netherlands: Mr. G. DE WECKHERLIN.
Paraguay: Capt. JOHN STEWART.
Russia: Mr. C. DE STRUVE, Major-General STEBNITZKI, Mr.
J. DE KOLOGRIVOFF.
San Domingo: Mr. DE J. GALVAN.
Spain: Mr. JUAN VALERA, Mr. EMILIO RUIZ DEL ARBOL,
and Mr. JUAN PASTORIN.
Sweden: Count CARL LEWENHAUPT.
Switzerland: Col. EMILE FREY.
Turkey: RUSTEM EFFENDI.
United States: Rear-Admiral C. R. P. RODGERS, Mr. LEWIS
M. RUTHERFURD, Mr. W. F. ALLEN, Commander W. T.
SAMPSON, Professor CLEVELAND ABBE.
Venezuela: Dr. A. M. SOTELDO.

Absent:

Denmark: Mr. C. S. A. DE BILLE.
Salvador: Mr. ANTONIO BATRES.

The PRESIDENT. The first business before the Conference to-day is the
resolutions offered by the Delegate of Great Britain, General
STRACHEY; but before we proceed the Delegate of San Domingo, Mr.
GALVAN, asks permission, as a matter of privilege, to read a
communication to the Conference.

Mr. GALVAN, the Delegate of San Domingo. Before the sessions of the
Conference come to a close, I feel compelled to make a declaration
which will be a tribute to the illustrious scientists who have
directed the decisions of the majority of the Conference, and at the
same time a reservation of future freedom of action to the country
which I have the honor to represent.

The negative vote of San Domingo on the principal question was
entirely in consequence of the proposal by the Delegates of France of
a neutral International Meridian, which was rejected by the
Conference.

San Domingo, which had no part in the various important interests
connected with the meridian of Greenwich, was bound to regard equity
alone on the occurrence of the disagreement produced by the proposal
of the Delegates of France, a nation renowned for being one of the
first in intellectual progress.

At the last session I was glad that another proposal of the Delegates
of France was accepted almost unanimously by the Conference. That fact
should be considered as a good omen of a more complete and unanimous
agreement at some future time in behalf of the general interest of
science.

That day will be saluted with a cordial _hosanna_ by the Republic of
San Domingo, which is always ready freely to give its assent to the
progress of civilization.

The PRESIDENT. The resolutions offered by the Delegate of Great
Britain, General STRACHEY, are now before the Conference, and will be
read.

The resolutions were then read, as follows:

"1. The Conference adopts the opinion that, for the purposes
of civil life, it will be convenient to reckon time
according to the local civil time at successive meridians
distributed round the earth, at time-intervals of either ten
minutes, or some integral multiple of ten minutes, from the
prime meridian; but that the application of this principle
be left to the various nations or communities concerned by
it."

"2. The arrangements for the use of the universal day in
international telegraphy should be left for the
consideration of the International Telegraph Congress."

General STRACHEY, Delegate of Great Britain. In consequence of the
opinions I have heard expressed regarding the resolutions which I
brought forward at our last meeting, I feel constrained to say that I
am not disposed to ask the Congress to proceed to a vote upon them. I
find that, although I had reason to think that those resolutions, in
substance, that is in their main features, would be acceptable, still
there is extreme difficulty in finding precise expressions that shall
meet the views of everybody, and there are divisions of opinion as to
the exact manner in which these resolutions should be modified.

My object in bringing forward the resolutions was mainly to obtain a
decided expression of opinion on the part of the Congress, that the
method of counting local time, so as to harmonize as far as possible
with universal time, should be left for settlement locally; and that,
at the utmost, all the Congress could do would be to suggest some
general principle such as that embodied in my resolution. There was,
of course, never any intention of employing the universal day so as to
interfere with the use of local standard time; and as I shall, no
doubt, elicit a further clear expression of opinion on the part of the
delegates, that there is no intention of bringing about this
interference, I will now, with the permission of the Conference,
withdraw the resolutions.

Mr. RUTHERFURD, Delegate of the United States. Mr. President, I think
that all of us appreciate the desire which moved the Delegate of Great
Britain to present these resolutions. There is a wish on his part that
we should not seem, in any way, by our action here, to interfere with
the convenience of the world in the use of its present civil time, or
any other time which it may be found convenient to adopt, while he
recognizes that some of the proposals made as to local time are such
as could not be objected to. Still, I cannot refrain from expressing
my satisfaction that he has come to the conclusion that these
resolutions are not necessary.

I think the whole question is covered by the resolutions already
adopted by this Congress; that our universal day is for those purposes
only for which it may be found convenient, and that it is not to
interfere in any way with the use of civil or other standard time
where that may be found convenient. This seems to me to be so fully
embodied in our resolutions that it is unnecessary to enunciate again
in a negative form the same idea, and I therefore express my
satisfaction that the resolutions are withdrawn.

Mr. SANDFORD FLEMING, Delegate of Great Britain. Mr. President, I have
a few words bearing on the subject before the Conference which I wish
to express before any action is taken.

The PRESIDENT. There will be no subject before the Congress if the
resolutions of General STRACHEY are withdrawn, and the Chair
understands that the object of General STRACHEY in withdrawing these
resolutions was to avoid a discussion upon a subject that could hardly
lead to any satisfactory conclusion.

If, however, Mr. FLEMING desires to address the Conference, he will be
at liberty to do so.

Mr. FLEMING, Delegate of Great Britain. I do not wish to intrude any
new matter upon the Conference. What I had to say had a bearing upon
the subject, but, if the resolutions are withdrawn and the Conference
desires to end the matter, I shall not insist upon speaking.

No objection being made, the resolutions offered by General STRACHEY
at the last session of the Conference were then withdrawn.

Count LEWENHAUPT, Delegate for Sweden, then proposed that the
resolutions passed by the Conference should be formally recorded in a
Final Act, stating the votes on each resolution that was adopted.

The Conference took a recess, in order to allow the Delegates to
examine the draft of the Final Act.

After the recess the Final Act was unanimously adopted, as follows:

FINAL ACT.

The President of the United States of America, in pursuance
of a special provision of Congress, having extended to the
Governments of all nations in diplomatic relations with his
own, an invitation to send Delegates to meet Delegates from
the United States in the city of Washington on the first of
October, 1884, for the purpose of discussing, and, if
possible, fixing upon a meridian proper to be employed as a
common zero of longitude and standard of time-reckoning
throughout the whole world, this International Meridian
Conference assembled at the time and place designated; and,
after careful and patient discussion, has passed the
following resolutions:

I.

"That it is the opinion of this Congress that it is
desirable to adopt a single prime meridian for all nations,
in place of the multiplicity of initial meridians which now
exist."

This resolution was unanimously adopted.

II.

"That the Conference proposes to the Governments here
represented the adoption of the meridian passing through the
centre of the transit instrument at the Observatory of
Greenwich as the initial meridian for longitude."

The above resolution was adopted by the following vote:

In the affirmative:

Austria-Hungary, Mexico,
Chili, Netherlands,
Colombia, Paraguay,
Costa Rica, Russia,
Germany, Salvador,
Great Britain, Spain,
Guatemala, Sweden,
Hawaii, Switzerland,
Italy, Turkey,
Japan, United States,
Liberia, Venezuela.

In the negative:

San Domingo.

Abstaining from voting:

Brazil, France.

Ayes, 22; noes, 1; abstaining, 2.

III.

"That from this meridian longitude shall be counted in two
directions up to 180 degrees, east longitude being plus and
west longitude minus."

This resolution was adopted by the following vote:

In the affirmative:

Chili, Liberia,
Colombia, Mexico,
Costa Rica, Paraguay,
Great Britain, Russia,
Guatemala, Salvador,
Hawaii, United States,
Japan, Venezuela.

In the negative:

Italy, Sweden,
Netherlands, Switzerland.
Spain,

Abstaining from voting:

Austria-Hungary, Germany,
Brazil, San Domingo,
France, Turkey.

Ayes, 14; noes, 5; abstaining, 6.

IV.

"That the Conference proposes the adoption of a universal
day for all purposes for which it may be found convenient,
and which shall not interfere with the use of local or other
standard time where desirable."

This resolution was adopted by the following vote:

In the affirmative:

Austria-Hungary, Mexico,
Brazil, Netherlands,
Chili, Paraguay,
Colombia, Russia,
Costa Rica, Salvador,
France, Spain,
Great Britain, Sweden,
Guatemala, Switzerland,
Hawaii, Turkey,
Italy, United States,
Japan, Venezuela.
Liberia,

Abstaining from voting:

Germany, San Domingo.

Ayes, 23; abstaining, 2.

V.

"That this universal day is to be a mean solar day; is to
begin for all the world at the moment of mean midnight of
the initial meridian, coinciding with the beginning of the
civil day and date of that meridian; and is to be counted
from zero up to twenty-four hours."

This resolution was adopted by the following vote:

In the affirmative:

Brazil, Liberia,
Chili, Mexico,
Colombia, Paraguay,
Costa Rica, Russia,
Great Britain, Turkey,
Guatemala, United States,
Hawaii, Venezuela.
Japan,

In the negative:

Austria-Hungary, Spain.

Abstaining from voting:

France, San Domingo,
Germany, Sweden,
Italy, Switzerland.
Netherlands,

Ayes, 15; noes, 2; abstaining, 7.

VI.

"That the Conference expresses the hope that as soon as may
be practicable the astronomical and nautical days will be
arranged everywhere to begin at mean midnight."

This resolution was carried without division.

VII.

"That the Conference expresses the hope that the technical
studies designed to regulate and extend the application of
the decimal system to the division of angular space and of
time shall be resumed, so as to permit the extension of this
application to all cases in which it presents real
advantages."

The motion was adopted by the following vote:

In the affirmative:

Austria-Hungary, Mexico
Brazil, Netherlands,
Chili, Paraguay,
Colombia, Russia,
Costa Rica, San Domingo,
France, Spain,
Great Britain, Turkey,
Hawaii, United States,
Italy, Venezuela.
Japan,

Abstaining from voting:

Germany, Sweden.
Guatemala,

Ayes, 21; abstaining, 3.

Done at Washington, the 22d of October, 1884.

C. R. P. RODGERS,
_President_.

R. STRACHEY, J. JANSSEN, L. CRULS,
_Secretaries._

The following resolution was then adopted unanimously:

"That a copy of the resolutions passed by this Conference
shall be communicated to the Government of the United States
of America, at whose instance and within whose territory the
Conference has been convened."

Mr. RUTHERFURD, Delegate of the United States, then presented the
following resolution:

"_Resolved_, That the Conference adjourn, to meet upon the
call of the President, for the purpose of verifying the
protocols."

This resolution was then unanimously carried, and the Conference
adjourned at half past three, to meet upon the call of the President.

VIII.

SESSION OF NOVEMBER 1, 1884.

The Conference met at the call of the President for the approval of
the protocols, as arranged at the last meeting, in the Diplomatic Hall
of the Department of State, at 1 o'clock p. m.

The PRESIDENT having called the Conference to order, said: The
protocols in French and English, having been examined by the
Secretaries of the Conference, have been submitted to all of the
delegates for perusal. If any delegate should desire to make any
observation on them the opportunity is now given for his doing so.

RUSTEM EFFENDI, Delegate of Turkey, stated that he desired to change
his vote on the fifth resolution of the Final Act, providing for the
commencement of the universal day, from the affirmative to the
negative.

No objection being made, the change was ordered to be made.

The PRESIDENT then said: No further observations having been made on
the protocols, they will now be signed by the Secretaries and the
President.

Mr. DE STRUVE, Delegate of Russia. Before the Conference terminates, I
beg to express, in the name of my colleagues, our sincere gratitude
for the hospitality extended to the Conference by the Government of
the United States, and I beg to express our heartiest thanks to you,
Mr. President, for the able and impartial manner in which you have
presided over our deliberations. When we elected you, we unanimously
elected the first Delegate of the United States. If we had to begin
again, the personal feelings of all the delegates would supply
powerful additional reasons for making the election equally
unanimous.

Mr. DE STRUVE'S observation met with the unanimous approval of the
Delegates.

The PRESIDENT. Gentlemen, I am greatly honored by the kind expression
of your good feeling towards me as the President of this Conference,
and I thank you very heartily for it. The duty assigned to us all has
not been free from difficulty, but our meetings and discussions have
been characterized by great courtesy and kindness, and by a
conciliatory spirit.

With patience and devotion the Delegates to this Congress have sought
to discharge the trust committed to them, and, as your Chairman, I beg
you to receive my most cordial thanks for the courteous consideration
I have received at your hands. The President of the United States and
the Secretary of State desire me to renew to you their thanks for your
presence here, and their best wishes for your safe and happy return
each to his own home.

I shall esteem myself very happy hereafter whenever I shall have the
good fortune to meet any of my colleagues of the International
Meridian Conference.

Mr. RUTHERFURD, the Delegate of the United States. Mr. President and
gentlemen, I am sure that you will all unite with me in passing the
resolution which I now propose to read:

"_Resolved_, That the thanks of the Conference be presented
to the Secretaries for the able manner in which they have
discharged their arduous duties."

The resolution was unanimously adopted.

General STRACHEY, Delegate of Great Britain. I wish, sir, as one of
the Secretaries, to express my thanks for the manner in which my
labors have been esteemed by the delegates present. All that I can say
on the subject is, that however troublesome the duties of the
Secretaries have been, I have not the least doubt that anybody else
named instead of myself would equally have bestowed his best attention
on the discharge of those duties.

Mr. JANSSEN, Delegate of France, then said: Before the dissolution of
the Conference, Mr. CRULS and I desire specially to thank our
colleagues for the honor they have done us by entrusting to us the
revision of the French version of the protocols. In order that we
might fully respond to that honor, we have examined with all possible
care the French translations of the remarks of our colleagues. Our
only regret is that, in consequence of the desire of several of them
to quit Washington, we have been obliged to leave portions of the
translations, particularly of the last protocols, much in the state in
which we received them from the official translators, not having had
the time to correct these translations as we would have desired.

Upon motion of Mr. JANSSEN, Delegate of France, the Conference passed
a vote of thanks to the delegate of Turkey for the aid he has rendered
the Secretaries in the revision of the protocols.

The PRESIDENT then said: Before our final adjournment I desire to
express a very high appreciation of the ability, fidelity, and zeal
with which Mr. W. F. PEDDRICK, the Secretary attached by the
Department of State to this Conference, has performed his difficult
duties, and to thank him for his services.

The Conference expressed its cordial assent to these observations.

The PRESIDENT then declared that the business of the Conference having
been concluded, it would adjourn _sine die_.

C. R. P. RODGERS,
_President._

R. STRACHEY, J. JANSSEN, L. CRULS,
_Secretaries._

ANNEX I.

AN ACT to authorize the President of the United States to
call an International Conference to fix on and recommend for
universal adoption a common prime meridian, to be used in
the reckoning of longitude and in the regulation of time
throughout the world.

_Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled_, That the President of
the United States be authorized and requested to extend to the
governments of all nations in diplomatic relations with our own an
invitation to appoint delegates to meet delegates from the United
States in the city of Washington, at such time as he may see fit to
designate, 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, and that the President be authorized to appoint
delegates, not exceeding three in number, to represent the United
States in such International Conference.

Approved August 3, 1882.

* * * * *

ANNEX II.

AN ACT making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of
the Government for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth,
eighteen hundred and eighty-five, and for other purposes.

_Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled_, That the following
sums be, and the same are hereby, appropriated for the objects
hereinafter expressed for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth,
eighteen hundred and eighty-five, namely:

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