SUPPLEMENTARY PAPERS. 39 
THE SECRETARY OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY, LONDON, TO THE 
COLONIAL OFFICE. 
Tue Royat Socrery, BurLtineron Houst, November 6th, 1879. 
Sir,—In reply to your letter dated 28th August, 1879, enclosing 
copy of a letter from the Secretary of the Canadian Institute, To- 
ronto, with copies of a pamphlet relative to the establishment of a 
Prime Meridian that shall be common to all nations, I am directed 
‘to offer the following observations :— 
The President and Council of the Royal Society have taken into 
consideration the proposals of Mr. Sandford Fleming relative to 
‘Time-reckoning and to the establishment of a Prime Meridian, which 
were forwarded by the Council of the Canadian Institute, with a 
Memorial, to His Excellency the Governor-General of Vanada. 
The proposal consists of two parts—(1) The establishment of a 
system of Cosmopolitan Time, with plans for the ready passage from 
this to approximate local Time. (2) The choice of a Prime Meri- 
dian which should be common to all nations. 
The convenience of a system of Time-reckoning which should be 
‘common to all the earth is easily seen ; while at the same time it is 
obvious that if such a reckoning be at all generally used, there must 
be means of readily passing from it to local Time, or at least approxi- 
mate local Time, which is intimately bound up with the daily busi- 
ness of life. 
The means recommended by the author are simple and seem well 
‘devised. The difficulty is, of course, to induce the different civilized 
nations of the world to concur in this or any similar scheme. 
With regard to the second point, the establishment of a Prime 
Meridian common to all nations, the author has adduced strong 
reasons, founded on convenience, why a Meridian passing through 
Behring Strait, or nearly so, should be chosen. It happens that a 
Meridian 180° from that of Greenwich fulfils the condition, and if 
this were adopted, the change in existing maps, &c., which refer to 
the Meridian of Greenwich as the Prime Meridian, would not be 
very serious. The choice, however, of a Prime Meridian, even to 
the extent of adopting one exactly 180° from a Meridian at present 
in use as a Prime Meridian, is one upon which the susceptibilities of 
individual nations might make it more difficult to obtain concurrence 
than upon the mere adoption of a common system of cosmopolitan 
Time-reckoning in the abstract. 
While disposed to look favourably on the proposed scheme, the 
President and Council feel that no scheme of the kind would have 
much chance of success unless there were a general readiness on the 
part of civilized nations seriously to entertain the question. 
I have, &e., 
G. G. STOKES, Secretary R. 8. 
To Edward Wingfield, Hsq., Asst. Under-Sec. of State for the Colonies. 
