SUPPLEMENTARY PAPERS. 89 



directed their efforts towards the accomplishment of an international 

 convention of this character which, at the same time, shonkl form 

 some determination with regard to the First Meridian generally to 

 be accepted. A point which, if with regard to the immediate object of 

 the congress is not indispensably necessary, has, from its near connec- 

 tion with it, become included in its consideration. Among such as 

 these, pre-eminent mention must be made of Mr. Sandford Fleming, 

 sometime Chief Engineer of the main lines of railway in Canada, at 

 present Chancellor of Queen's University, Kingston. It is through 

 lais indefatigable personal efforts and writings that influential 

 individuals and scientific and practical societies and institutes in 

 America as in Europe have been gained to the cause. Especially 

 the Canadian Institute in Toronto, the American Society of Civil 

 Engineers, and the American Metrological Society of New York, 

 who in common busied themselves with the question and appointed 

 special commissions to consider the subject, and passed resolutions 

 for the further prosecution of the business. The result of these 

 efforts was that the Government of the United States of North 

 America in August, 1882, was induced through their diplomatic 

 representatives at the Governments of all civilized countries to invite 

 the latter to send delegates to an international conference to be held 

 at Washington to consider the question. 



It must be regarded as an important preparation to this confer- 

 ence, that scientific men in Europe had had an opportunity before- 

 hand of exchanging their views on the subject under consideration, 

 and were enabled from their own standpoint authoritatively to 

 recommend certain resolutions which could count upon the support 

 of their respective Governments. The initiative was taken by the 

 Senate of the free city of Hamburg which proposed that the subject 

 should be brought up at the Congress, summoned to meet in Rome 

 in September, 1883, of European Astronomers and of men interested 

 in Geodesy and in the division of measurement of the degree. The 

 permanent Committee of the latter Society willingly accepted the 

 proposition, and convened for this object a meeting of prominent 

 scientific men, who, beside the immediate matter ot the measurement 

 of the degree, issued an invitation to other learned men to take 

 part in the deliberations, from which a satisfactory opinion with 

 regard to the Unification of Longitude and Time could be expected. 



It was seen from the beginning that with regard to the important 

 matter, the choice of a First Meridan, a marked majority would declai-e 

 itself in favour of Greenwich, which, apart from all other considerations, 

 sufHciently satisfactorily commended itself upon the ground that 

 approximately nine-tenths of all the Sea Charts in use on sea voyages 

 are constructed according to this Meridian, so that the common 

 acceptance would be effected in the easiest manner, and would call 



