316 TRANSACTIONS OF THE CANADIAN INSTITUTE. [Vou II. 
bring the whole subject prominently and successfully before the world, it would be well 
for us to ask their co-operation with us in this matter. As an illustration of some of the 
inconveniences which result from the present want of accord between the astronomical 
and nautical day and the civil day, I may refer to a case within my own experience. In 
1873 a sudden and very violent storm caused great destruction along the south-eastern 
coast of Nova Scotia. I had occasion to investigate that storm, and, for the purpose, 
obtained the logs of vessels which were caught in it. I was assisted in this by the late 
Sir Henry Lefroy, then Governor of the Bermudas, who procured the logs, or copies 
of the logs, of the ships which put into the islands for repairs. The satisfactory 
examination of these logs was attended by great difficulty owing to a want of uniformity 
among the sea captains in making entries. For instance, many of the captains wrote 
up their logs at noon for the twenty-four hours. Some of them were accustomed to 
enter up the events occurring between, say, noon of the 2oth of the month and noon of 
the 21st, under the date of the 20th; that is, the astronomical and nautical day during 
which they happened, while others entered the same events under date of the 21st, or 
that upon which the entries were made, so that, in the absence of specific information, 
it was impossible to tell to which set of twenty-four hours any given event should be 
referred. Had the captains been in the habit of changing their dates at midnight, no 
such inconvenience would probably have resulted. For my part I am decidedly in 
favour of bringing Astronomical Time into harmony with civil reckoning at the change 
of the century. After considering all that can be said against any alteration in the 
present dual system, I am satisfied that any inconvenience which would result to indi~ 
viduals from the change would be limited in duration and would not be felt by a large 
number of persons. If it be determined once for all to abandon the double notation of 
dates at the beginning of the new century, ample time would be allowed for any neces- 
sary preparation for the change, and when the period of transition arrived any incon- 
venience which might temporarily be felt could not be compared with the advantages 
which would follow in all future years from uniformity of reckoning.—Remarks to the 
Astronomical and Physical Society of Toronto, by Charles Carpmael, Esg., Superinten- 
dent of the Meteorological Service of Canada, February 11th, 1593. 
VII. The Canadian Institute, which took the initiative in bringing before the 
Scientific world, in 1879, the principle of Universal Time Reckoning, heartily co-oper- 
ates with its sister society in the endeavor to bring the Astronomical day within the 
sphere of uniformity it has continuously advocated. The Council of the Institute 
approves of the terms of the Circular Letter prepared by the Joint Committee under 
the Chairmanship of Mr. Sandford Fleming, long identified with this subject, and an 
honourary member of both societies. It is not easy for me to conceive any reason for 
beginning the day at noon, other than the convenience of having all the hours of dark- 
ness brought within one astronomical day. Stellar observations for the purpose of 
practical astronomy no longer requiring darkness, this reason no longer exists, and I 
trust we are now warranted in expecting the abolition of a double notation of date as 
the result of our efforts. —Arthur Harvey, Esg., President of the Canadian Institutes 
Toronto, April, 1593. 
