46 TRANSACTIONS OF THE [JAN. 4, 
letters were read upon the same topic from Count HEssE-W ARTEGG, 
Dr. Ropert ScuramM, of Vienna, and Mr. ALLEN. 
From the latter the following communication was obtained :— 
Weare informed by Prof. Pasquier, of the University of Louvain, 
that M. Vandenpeereboom, Minister of the Department of Railway, 
Postal and Telegraph Lines of Belgium, has decided to introduce 
the use of the Standard Time of the Greenwich Meridian on May 
1, 1892, in all services in his department. He also recommends its 
adoption by the other departments in their relations to the public. 
This is a great step in advance toward the unification of time 
throughout all- the world. 
The situation in other countries, as briefly set forth by Prof. 
Pasquier, has been published in the ‘‘ Annales de la Sociéié Scien- 
tifique,” of Brussels, from which we extract the following :— 
In Holland the government has authorized the use of Standard 
Time of the Greenwich Meridian for the operation of railways 
from May 1, 1892, the same date as for Belgium. On the time 
tables for the use of the public, for the present, local time will be 
used. 
In Prussia ‘‘ Middle European Time,” one hour faster than 
Greenwich time, was adopted on June 1, 1891, for employés’ time- 
tables. At the meeting of the German Railway Union, held last 
year, the Prussian delegates opposed the adoption of this standard 
for public time-tables, but they have now themselves proposed its 
adoption for the use of the public also. A speech made by Field- 
Marshal Von Moltke in the Reichstag shortly before his death 
appears to have been a moving cause of this change of opinion. 
At the meeting of the ‘‘Union” in July, 1892, the general adoption 
of Standard Time for all railway tim-etables in Germany is likely 
to be accomplished, and its use in civil life will probably follow. 
The governments of the South German States (Bavaria, Wur- 
tembere, and Baden) have decided to adopt the ‘ Middle European 
Time” for all railway time-tables on April 1, 1892. Its introduc- 
tion in Alsace-Lorraine will be effected on the same date. 
Since October 1, 1891, the same standard time has been in use in 
all railway, postal, and-telegraph service in Austria-Hungary, and 
many Austrian cities have also adopted it. Dr. Peez, a member of 
the Chamber, presented, at the meeting of May 11, 1891, in the 
name of twenty- -nine of his colleagues, a petition asking legislation 
authorizing the extension of the use of the new time for civil life 
throughout the entire empire. 
It appears quite probable that by the winter of 1892, or not later 
than the summer of 1893, the unification of time in all the countries 
mentioned, on the same principle of standard time now in use in 
this country, will have been completed. 
