UNIVERSAL OR COSMIC TIME. 13 
of Science in Montreal, in July, 1882, the subject was brought for- 
ward, and all the documents were submitted and discussed. It was 
agreed that the Association should co-operate with other bodies in 
furtherance of the movement. 
On two occasions the Royal Society of Canada has had its atten- 
tion directed to the matter, and this body has assisted in furthering 
the determination of the problem by its co-operation and by cor- 
respondence with the Government. 
While some delay took place in summoning the International Con- 
ference by the President, in consequence of diplomatic correspondence 
on the subject, the question was ripening on both sides of the Atlantic 
for concertel action. Indeed, a decision with respect to the regula- 
tion of local Time was anticipated by the Railway authorities in 
North America, who adopted the system of tiour-standards which 
had been prominently brought forward as described. 
On November 1th of last year (1883) the new system of regulat- 
ing railway Time on this continent came into operation. There had 
been several preliminary meetings of railway managers; the last 
meeting was a Convention held in Chicago the previous October, 
and it was then determined immediately to carry out the change. 
Mr. W. F. Allen, the secretary of this Convention, who also took a 
prominent part in effecting the adoption of the change, has given a 
history of the events leading to it. Upon this gentleman mainly 
fell the labour of arranging details, and he executed the difficult 
duties assigned to him with consummate ability. In the words of 
the historian, the transition from the old to the new system “ was 
put into effect without any appreciable jar, and without a single 
” 
accident occurring.” According to this authority the first newspaper 
to advocate some change was the Railroad Gazette for April 2, 1870, 
and it is claimed that as early as 1869 Prof. Charles F. Dowd, 
Principal of Temple Grove Ladies’ Seminary, Saratoga Springs, pro- 
posed a system of meridiaus based on the meridian of Washington at 
intervals of one hour, by which railways should be operated, and 
that an expression of his views was placed in the hands of the Presi- 
dent of the New York and Canada Railroad. The proposition ap- 
pears to have attracted attention in the 7’ravellers’ Official Guide of 
1872. In 1873 it was brought before the Railway Association of 
America, not now in existence. A committee was appointed to ex- 
amine into its merits; they failed to recognize its necessity, and 
