46 UNIVERSAL OR COSMIC TIME. 
thorities of different countries a response to the two following ques- 
tions :— 
Ist. Does the Time zero, or Prime Meridian, proposed in the me- 
moir, appear suitable and of a nature to be adopted by all 
civilized n&tions ? 
2nd. If the Prime Meridian proposed give rise to serious objec- 
tions, would there be any other Meridian better qualitied, 
and which would have more chance of being adopted by all 
the world? 
Particular circumstances have singularly enabled the writer of this 
report 1o offer an answer to the first of these questions. Nearly ten 
years ago, at the desire of our illustrious President, the question of a 
Prime Meridian was made my special study; the results of which 
were given in a discourse, delivered on the 4th February, 1870, at 
the Geographical Society of Russia. On this occasion I discussed 
the question solely from a geographical point of view, specially con- 
sidering the interests of hydrography and navigation, 
On this point the simplest solution seemed to me to adopt as Prime: 
Meridian that of Greenwich, which in this case would unite the ma- 
jority of voices. The preference ¢ given to this Meridian was based, 
on one side, on the historical right of the Royal Observatory of Eng- 
land, acquired by eminent services rendered by this establishment 
during the course of two centuries to mathematical geography and 
navigation, on the other hand, considering that the great majority of 
charts now in use upon all the seas are made according to this Meri- 
dian, and about 90 per cent. of the navigators of long-standing are 
accustomed to take their longitudes from this Meridian. However, 
an objection against this proposition is that the Meridian of Green- 
wich passes through two countries of Europe, and thus the longitudes 
would be reckoned by different signs in different portions of our own 
continent, and also of Africa. Moreover, the close proximity of the 
Meridian of Paris, to which, perhaps, some French geographers and 
navigators of other nations would still hold, from custom, from a 
spirit of contradiction or from national rivalry, and which might 
easily cause sad disasters. To obviate these inconveniences I have 
proposed to choose as Prime Meridian another Meridian situated at 
an integral number of hours east or west of Greenwich, and among 
the Meridians meeting this condition I have indicated in the first 
place the Meridian proposed to-day by scientific Americans as that 
which would combine the most favourable conditions for its adoption. 
Thus the Meridian, situated 180° from Greenwich, presents the 
following advantages :— 
1. It does not cross any continent but the eastern extremity of 
the North of Asia, inhabited by people very few in num- 
ber, and little civilized, called Tschouktschies. 
