However deserving of consideration these proposals may be, in the abstract, your Committee are clearly of the opinion that they do not fall within the limits indicated by the instructions which we have received from our respective governments, and that, therefore, any discussion of them would only be of a purely academical character, and could lead to no practical result. Such a discussion would be sure to elicit great differences of opinion, and would, therefore, occupy a considerable time. Hence, your Committee think that it would be very undesirable for the Conference to enter upon it. No. 4 is a letter from Mr. Spofford, Librarian of Congress, including a communication of Mr. J. W. Stolting, Dobbs' Ferry, N. Y. The author recommends the adoption of the meridian 162 deg. W. from Greenwich as the prime meridian; he proposes further, not to say east or west, but first or second half, and also recommends the adoption of a universal time, not to interfere with local or other standard time, and to reckon from "1 to 24." He expresses no opinion as to whether the day should begin at noon or midnight. There seems to be nothing in the communication to influence the decisions of the Conference. No. 5. See report as to letter No. 1. No. 6 suggests that the prime meridian should be 180 deg. from Greenwich, and that longitude should be reckoned from 0 deg. to 360 deg.. This proposition has been already considered and rejected by the Conference. No. 7. This communication proposes "to adopt as the prime meridian the frontier line between Russia and the United States, as defined in the treaty of March 30, 1867." As the initial meridian has already been agreed to by the Conference, this proposition needs no further notice. No. 8. This communication refers to an invention which has no bearing on the question before the Conference. The committee therefore abstain from expressing an opinion as to its merits. No. 9. Two letters from Mr. E. R. Knorr, of Washington, D.C., advocating the advisability of reckoning longitude "westward from 0 deg. to 359 deg.," and marking them on charts by time instead of by degrees. The Conference has already taken action on the question involved. No. 10. A letter from Prof. Hilgard, enclosing a pamphlet by Lt. C. A. S. Totten on the metrology of the great pyramid, a subject which does not fall within the scope of the subjects presented for the consideration of this Conference. In the enclosing letter Prof. Hilgard says: "I am purely and squarely for Greenwich midnight as the beginning of the universal day, and an east and west count of longitude; that is, 180 deg. each way."