ASTRONOMY. 399 



"Fourthly, that the conference recognizes for certain scientific needs 

 and for the service for the great administrations of the means of com- 

 munication, such as railways, steamship lines, telegraphs, and posts, 

 the utility of adopting a universal hour, side by side with the local 

 or national hours, which will necessarily continue to be employed in 

 civil life. 



"Fifthly, that the conference recommends, as the point of departure 

 of the universal hour and of cosmopolitan dates, the mean noon of 

 Greenwich, which coincides with the instant of midnight, or with the 

 beginning of the civil day, situated at the twelfth hour or at 180° from 

 Greenwich. It follows that the universal time will correspond every- 

 where with the mean local time reckoned from midnight, less twelve 

 hours and the longitude of the place, and that the dates change at the 

 antipodes of Greenwich. 



" Sixthly, that it is desirable that those states which, in order to adhere 

 to the unification of longitudes and of hours, will have to change their 

 meridians, should adopt the new system of longitudes as quickly as pos- 

 sible in their observations and official almanacs, in their geodetical, 

 topographical, and hydrographical works, and in their new charts. As 

 a means of transition it would be well that in new editions of old charts, 

 on which it would be difficult to change the squares, the indications ac- 

 cording to the new system should at least be inscribed alongside the 

 enumeration of the old meridians. 



"Seventhly, that these resolutions should be laid before the Govern- 

 ments and recommended to their friendly consideration, with the ex- 

 pression of the hope that an international convention confirming the 

 unification of longitudes and of hours may be concluded as quickly as 

 possible by a special conference." 



The report of the special committee on the above resolutions was read 

 on the 22d before the general meeting of the conference, and accepted 

 after a very animated debate. 



Eeferring to the resolutions, it is only requisite to state briefly that, 

 according to the Times's report, as sent back to the conference by the 

 special committee, they now stand as follows : Numbers 1, 2, 4, 6, and 

 7 were adopted by the committee without alteration ; the other two 

 were modified, or rather abbreviated, and now read thus: 



'Thirdly, that the longitude should be reckoned from the meridian 

 of Greenwich in the sole direction of from west to east." 



" Fifthly, that the conference recommends, as the point of departure 

 of the universal hour and of cosmopolitan dates, the mean noon of 

 Greenwich, which coincides with the instant of midnight, or with the 

 beginning of the civil day, under the meridian situated at 12 hours or 

 180° from Greenwich ; the universal hour to be counted from zero to 

 24." 



To these seven resolutions the speeial committee have added two 

 others. 



