International Conference Held at Washington for the Purpose of Fixing a Prime Meridian and a Universal Day. October, 1884.: Protocols of the ProceedingsInternational Meridian Conference (1884 : Washington, D.C.)
History
International Conference Held at Washington for the Purpose of Fixing a Prime Meridian and a Universal Day. October, 1884.: Protocols of the Proceedings
International Meridian Conference (1884 : Washington, D.C.)
Prime Meridian -- Congresses; Time -- Systems and standards -- Congresses
Professor ADAMS, Delegate of Great Britain, said that the Conference
should be very cautious in admitting the devices and schemes of people
who have no connection with this body; that there are, no doubt, many
inventors and many people who have plans and schemes which they wish
to press upon the Conference, and that it was probable that the
Conference would be subjected to very great inconvenience if they took
upon themselves even the burden of acknowledging the receipt of these
communications.
The PRESIDENT stated that he had received several Communions of this
character, one proposing that Jerusalem should be taken as the prime
meridian.
Mr. LEFAIVRE, Delegate of France, proposed that the Conference should
appoint a committee to examine the different papers submitted by
outside parties, and to make such suggestions as they might deem
proper after examining the papers.
Mr. VALERA, Delegate of Spain, said that it seemed to him the proper
course of proceeding for the Conference was to take up the subject
article by article, and treat it in that order; that there were
presented to the Conference certain well-defined propositions, and
that besides these there were the resolutions which had been adopted
by the Conference at Rome, which could be used as a basis for the
discussions of this Conference; that in that way the Delegates would
have before them some precise subject-matter, and after discussion, if
any proposition needed to be altered or amended it would be in the
power of the Conference to do so, but that unless some regular method
of proceeding were adopted the sessions would be prolonged
indefinitely, and the Conference would be confused by a multitude of
irrelevant propositions that might be presented to them.
Mr. RUTHERFURD, Delegate of the United States, stated that it seemed
to him that to invite a general discussion upon the subject, which has
undoubtedly a great many heads, the best method would be the one just
suggested; that by having a well-defined course much time would be
saved, and there would be a precision in the proceedings, which
undoubtedly is always valuable; that in this way the discussion could
be kept within bounds, but unless there is some proposition pending
before the Conference it is impossible to say whether any discussion
is in order or out of order; that it seemed to him there should be
some well-defined propositions laid before the Conference, and those
propositions could easily be gathered, not only from what has gone
before, not only from the Conference which has been held in Rome, but
from the acts of Congress and the circulars of the Secretary of
State, under which this body has been organized.
The PRESIDENT stated that if these communications from outside parties
were brought before the Conference it would entail a great deal of
labor.
The resolution of the Delegate of the United States, Prof. ABBE, was
then put to the vote, and was negatived.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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