PROCEEDINGS FOR 1903 XVII 



that quaint old building, they may be told that within its walls the 

 destiny of Canada was fixed, in those far off days of trial, when their 

 forefathers threw in, once for all, their lot with. the British Crown and 

 pledged a loyal faith which endures to this day. 



14. Time Beckoning. 



The completion of the Pacific cable is bringing appreciably nearer 

 the adoption of one system of world time; or universal time referred 

 to one meridian. Such a change is too subversive of all our habits of 

 thought and forms of speech to be adopted, excepting very gi-adually. 

 A very important step towards simplification, however, was taken by 

 the Intercolonial Eailway on its completion in 1876, by introducing 

 the twenty-four hour day. That system was adopted by the Canadian 

 I'acific Railway, from its opening in 1886, for all points west of Lake 

 Superior. It has become familiar to us; for the railways introduced 

 the system into all the provinces of the Dominion, and it has extended 

 to all the great transcontinental lines of this continent. 



In the same way five meridians of even hours have displaced the 

 innumerable local times across this continent. That was a most im- 

 portant step and it is now accepted as a matter of course. The 

 transactions of this Society for 1886 contain a paper by Sir Sandford 

 Ileming, setting forth, in detail, the advantages of reckoning by cosmic 

 time and his presidential address in 1890, before the third section, con- 

 tinued to advocate that great change. He had thought it out long pre- 

 viously and had prepared a paper for the meeting of the British Associ- 

 ation as early as 1878, but could not obtain a hearing for his proposal; 

 so visionary and utopian did it appear to the officers of that influential 

 scientific body. Change is rapid now, and the world cable brings us 

 face to face with world time. Our thoughts, and of necessity our 

 speech, have been moulded upon the isolation consequent upon distance 

 in space. Eapid transit brought the reduction of all local meridians to 

 five on this continent, but now a merchant in telegraphic communica- 

 tion with Australia, will have to think not only of the time of the day 

 from which his transaction is dating, but of the day itself. Gradually 

 then, but with increasing rapidity, the change will probably come, mov- 

 ing from five mieridians to one continental meridian, and at last to one 

 prime meridian, from which all great transactions shall be dated. One 

 such meridian has recently been adopted for that part of South Africa 

 under British infiuence and, on the 28th of February last, the clocks in 

 the Tran&yaal were advanced from 11.30 to midnight, to correspond 

 with the meridian of 30 degrees East. That is very nearly the meridian 



Proc, 1903. 2. 



