The President of the United States of America, in pursuance of a special provision of Congress, having extended to the Governments of all nations in diplomatic relations with his own, an invitation to send Delegates to meet Delegates from the United States in the city of Washington on the first of October, 1884, for the purpose of discussing, and, if possible, fixing upon a meridian proper to be employed as a common zero of longitude and standard of time-reckoning throughout the whole world, this International Meridian Conference assembled at the time and place designated; and, after careful and patient discussion, has passed the following resolutions: I. "That it is the opinion of this Congress that it is desirable to adopt a single prime meridian for all nations, in place of the multiplicity of initial meridians which now exist." This resolution was unanimously adopted. II. "That the Conference proposes to the Governments here represented the adoption of the meridian passing through the centre of the transit instrument at the Observatory of Greenwich as the initial meridian for longitude." The above resolution was adopted by the following vote: In the affirmative: Austria-Hungary, Mexico, Chili, Netherlands, Colombia, Paraguay, Costa Rica, Russia, Germany, Salvador, Great Britain, Spain, Guatemala, Sweden, Hawaii, Switzerland, Italy, Turkey, Japan, United States, Liberia, Venezuela. In the negative: San Domingo. Abstaining from voting: Brazil, France. Ayes, 22; noes, 1; abstaining, 2. III. "That from this meridian longitude shall be counted in two directions up to 180 degrees, east longitude being plus and west longitude minus." This resolution was adopted by the following vote: In the affirmative: Chili, Liberia, Colombia, Mexico, Costa Rica, Paraguay, Great Britain, Russia, Guatemala, Salvador, Hawaii, United States, Japan, Venezuela. In the negative: Italy, Sweden, Netherlands, Switzerland. Spain, Abstaining from voting: Austria-Hungary, Germany, Brazil, San Domingo, France, Turkey. Ayes, 14; noes, 5; abstaining, 6. IV.