1899.] 071 the introduction of a standard time for India. 65 



standard, and adopting Greenwich time in its place. In this way civil 

 time in India would be brought into direct relation with civil time in 

 Europe, in the United States of America, and. in the British Colonies in 

 America, Africa and Australia ; the difference in time would be always 

 a number of whole hours, or half hours, instead of, as at present, a 

 number of hours and minutes which varies from place to place. 



10. So far as inland towns are concerned the Council of the 

 Asiatic Society does not anticipate that there would be any difficulty in 

 introducing the use of whatever standard time may be decided on. 

 The cessation of the publication of the difference between local and 

 standard time, and the use of standard time in all Governmeut offices 

 and on public clocks controlled by Govei^nment, would probably be 

 sufficient, but the principal sea port towns are differently situated and 

 the necessity for considering their special needs will probably be the 

 controlling factor in the decision finally arrived at. 



11. At Calcutta, Bombay and Madras there are at present astro- 

 nomical observatories part of whose duties is to control a daily time 

 signal, established primarily for the use of the shipmasters in the port, 

 to enable them to determine the error of and to rate, their chronometers. 

 Incidentally this time signal controls and determines the civil time in 

 use in each of these towns and it seems improbable that a standard 

 time, different to that given by the daily time signal, will ever come 

 into general use in those ports. Any proposal to alter the time signals 

 at other ports to Madras time would probably meet with strenuous 

 opposition, and would be accompanied by no advantage to masters of 

 ships lying in the port. A proposal to alter the time signals to an 

 integral number of hours fast of Greenwich time would probably meet 

 with much less opposition and would, in the opinion of the Council of 

 the Society, be to the advantage of the shipmasters for whose benefit 

 these time signals are primarily intended. 



12. Wliile unanimously of opinion that the general adoption of 

 a standard time is desirable both on the grounds of public convenience 

 and for the purposes of all scientific investigations involving a compari- 

 son of observed times at different places, the Council of the Society has 

 no desire to express a decided opinion as to the standard to be adopted. 

 While favouring Greenwich time for the reasons given in this letter, 

 and because it appears likely to become the .standard for the whole, as 

 it already is for the larger part, of the civilised world, they recognise 

 that such a change should only be introduced after careful inquiry 

 and consideration of all the interests involved in the change. It is with 

 a full trust in the enlightenment of the Government of India, in its 

 wulliugness to undertake the necessary enquiries and its ability to adopt 



