44.8 



NATURE 



{Sept. 6, 1883 



" It is therefore of opinion that it is necessary to continue 

 investigations in relation to this question." 



Second Resolution. — "The Conference expresses the wish that 

 the French Government should take the necessary measures for 

 placing one or several standard resistances at the disposal of 

 those men of science who are devoting themselves to the investi- 

 gation of absolute units, in order to facilitate the comparison of 

 results." 



Third Resolution. — "The Conference is of opinion that so 

 soon as the results of the various investigations shall be so far 

 accordant that it is possible to guarantee an accuracy of one part 

 in a thousand, it will be proper to accept this degree of approxi- 

 mation for the purpose of fixing the value of the practical stan- 

 dard of resistance." 



Fourth Resolution. — " The Conference expresses the wish 

 that the French Government may be pleased to communicate to 

 the Governments represented at the Conference a desire to the 

 effect that each of ihem, in view of the importance and urgency 

 of arriving at a practical solution, should take the necessary 

 steps to encourage investigations, on the part of its own nation, 

 in relation to the determination of the electrical units." 



Upon these resolutions your Committee have to observe that 

 experiments made in the Cavendish laboratory of the University 

 of Cambridge by Lord Kayleigh and other experimenters work- 

 ing in conjunction with him, confirmed by independent experi- 

 ments by different methods also made in the Cavendish labora- 

 tory, appear to have attained a greater degree of accuracy than 

 that agreed upon by the Conference as sufficient for present 

 requirements. 



Your Committee are therefore of opinion thnt, so far as the 

 determination of the standard of electrical resistance is con- 

 cerned, it is unnece-sary to advise the Government to take any 

 steps in the matter until fur her researches raise fre h questions 

 relating thereto, as the results obtained at Cambridge seem to 

 possess all the accuracy obtainable at present. 



In the Second Commission, which dealt with earth currents 

 and lightning protectors, various resolutions were carried, which 

 it "ill be convenient to deal with separately. 



The first re-olution proposed that the different Governments 

 should organise regular observations upon the behaviour of 

 atmospheric electricity. In reference to this your Committee 

 understand that regular and continuous observations have been 

 made for some years at Greenwich and at Kew, and without 

 further and more detailed recommendations on the part of the 

 Congress as to the special observations they propose, your Com- 

 mittee are not in a position to recommend any further steps to 

 be taken by the Government. 



The second resolution expressed the wish that a detailed study 

 should be made of the effects of thunderstorms upon telegraphic 

 lines and telephonic lines, and upon buildings connected with 

 wires. 



In regard to this your Committee have nothing to advise until 

 the Commission have formulated their requirements in more 

 detail ; when this has been done, it is under tood from the dele- 

 gates of the Post Office that the fullest consideration will be 

 given to the matter, with a view to afford every assistance in the 

 power of that department. 



The third resolution dealt with the question of the observation 

 of earth currents. Your Committee would observe that con- 

 tinuous records are made by photography at Greenwich of all 

 earth currents occurring upon two telegraphic lines proceeding 

 from the Observatory nearly at right angles to each other ; and 

 careful returns are collected from all the principal Post Offices 

 in the United Kingdom of every unusual and disturbing mag- 

 netic storm ; and they recommend that a description of the 

 methods employed in this country, which, with notes bearing on 

 the subject, is appended, be submitted to the Congress, with the 

 view to their universal adoption, if approved, in order that 

 similar observations may be carried out throughout the world. 

 Your Committee at the same ti" e are of opinion that, with a 

 view to meet the wishes of the Congress, some effort might he 

 made to secure observations on Sundays on those telegraphic 

 lines where the staff is necessarily present, but where the number 

 of messages sent is very small. 



The fourth resolution suggests the establishment of an 

 international network of telegraph wires for the purpose of 

 automatically registering at a central station meteorological 

 changes. 



In view of the great expense that would be incurred in 

 establishing a system of wires for automatically recording tele- 

 meteoro^raphical observations, your Committee concur with the 



Congress in considering the time has not arrived for adopting 

 that proposal. 



The fifth resolution expresses the view that lightning pro- 

 tectors and conductors should everywhere be submitted to a 

 periodical inspection. 



This recommendation is at present carried out by the War 

 Office in connection with the buildings under its charge, and the 

 subject has been considered by a Committee of Delegates from 

 the Society of Telegraph Engineers, the Physical and Meteoro 

 logical Societies, and the Institute of British Architects. There 

 is not in England any authority legally competent to discharge 

 the duty as far as the general public is concerned, and it is 

 therefore impossible in England to carry out this proposal in its 

 entirety ; but the Committee concur in the advisability of 

 adopting that course where it is found possible to do so. 



The sixth resolution implies that the returns of storms and 

 their effects upon buildings and telegraphic lines should be sub- 

 ject to statistical examination. 



Your Committee consider that the observations necessary for 

 ascertaining the effects of lightning other than on telegraph 

 wires cannot be carried out" by the Government, owing to the 

 non-existence of a competent staff throughout the Kingdom and 

 that such observations must of necessity be left to private ob- 

 servers. Yonr Committee recommend, however, that the 

 Meteorological Office be supplied with forms of questions such 

 as may be finally adopted by the Congress for distribution to 

 meteorological observers throughout the United Kingdom. The 

 information desired by the Congress would, it is hoped, thus be 

 obtained. 



With reference to the effect of lightning on telegraph lines, 

 the delegates of the Post Office who attended the meeting of the 

 Committee stated that their department would be able to adopt 

 any form of questions, on which returns could be made, finally 

 proposed by the Congress. 



Your Committee recommend that the Government should 

 procure such adoption by the Post Office in the United King- 

 dom, and should also use its influence to cau-e the same form to 

 be adopted by the Indian and Colonial Administrations and by 

 the various submarine and other telegraphic and telephonic 

 companies at home and abroad. 



Third Commission. — -This Commission dealt with the esta- 

 blishment of a standard of li'ht by reference to which various 

 electric and other lights could be measured. At the present 

 moment there are two in existence : the one is the French Carcel 

 Lamp, and the other is the English Standard Candle, the former 

 being nearly ten times the latter. No better standaid was pro- 

 proposed at the Conference. This question remains in abeyance 

 for further investigation. 



Your Committee fully recgnise the importance of the re- 

 commendation to adopt a uniform standard of light. 



A Committee appointed by the British Association are now 

 considering the question, and pending their Report your Com- 

 mittee have at present no recommendations to make. 



It h ill be seen from this Report that there are matters of high 

 scientific and practical importance which will be brought before 

 the approaching Congress, and your Committee are of opinion 

 that England should be represented, to bring the views above 

 expressed before it, and to assist at its deliberation-. The value 

 of the decisions at which the Congress may arrive depends 

 mainly on its international character, and the non-representation 

 of this country would be a serious blow to the authority of its 

 utterance , and perhaps cause the same confusion in electrical 

 science which now exists in others where international accord 

 has not been established. 



(Signed) 



W. G. Adams. 



R. Y. Armstrong, Maj. R.E. 



W. H. M. Christie. 



G. C. 1-oster. 



j. f. moulton. 



Kayleigh. 



C. W. Siemens. 



G. G. Stokes. 



W. Thomson. 



August 8, 1S83 



E. Graves 

 W. H. Preece 



J.F. D.Donnelly, 



Col. R.E. 

 W.de \V. Abney, 



Capt. R.E. 



representing 

 the Post 

 Office. 

 ' representing 

 I the Science 

 I and Art 

 Departmen*. 



