The PRESIDENT stated that as something had been said about the Conference at Rome, he desired to say that he had carefully abstained from any allusion to it, and that the delegation of the United States found no allusions to it in their instructions; that, so far as the Chair understood the resolution offered by the Delegate of the United States, it was simply to bring before the Conference the consideration of the subject of a prime meridian; that he did not understand that even the Delegate who presented the motion offered it as an expression of his own opinion on the subject, but that he had carefully stated, when he had brought the resolution before the Conference, that it was for the purpose of enabling the Delegates to proceed to an immediate discussion. He added, further, that the resolution was quite open to amendment in case the Delegates from France desired to amend it. Commander SAMPSON, Delegate of the United States, stated that he wished to offer the following as a substitute for the resolution already pending: "_Resolved_, 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." Mr. RUTHERFURD, Delegate of the United States, then announced that he accepted this substitution in place of the first resolution. General STRACHEY, Delegate of England, stated that if he rightly understood the remarks made by the Delegate of France, Mr. LEFAIVRE, he thought that it was intended to call attention to the ultimate form in which the resolutions of this Congress should be recorded. He referred to the address which the Secretary of State of the United States (Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN) made to the Delegates on their assembling, in which he said: "You have met to discuss and consider the important question of a prime meridian for all nations. It will rest with you to give a definite result to the preparatory labors of other scientific associations and special congresses, and thus make those labors available."