  Circular.] Department Of State, Sir: By a circular instruction of October 23, 1882, you were made acquainted with (the language of) an act of Congress, approved August 3, 1882, authorizing and requesting the President to extend to other Governments an invitation to appoint delegates to meet in the city of Washington for the purpose of fixing upon a meridian proper to be employed as a common zero of longitude and standard of time-reckoning throughout the world; and you were instructed to bring the matter to the attention of the Government to which you are accredited and to inform it that the President deemed it advisable to abstain from the issuance of the formal invitation contemplated, until through preliminary consultation the views of the leading governments of the world as to the desirability of holding such an International Conference could be ascertained. In the year that has since elapsed this Government has received from most of those in diplomatic relations with the United States the approval of the project, while many have in terms signified their acceptance and even named their delegates. Besides this generally favorable reception of the suggestion so put forth, interest in the proposed reform has been shown by the Geographical Conference held at Rome in October last, which very decisively expressed its opinion in favor of the adoption of the meridian of Greenwich as the common zero of time longitude, and adjourned, leaving the discussion and final adoption of this or other equivalent unit, and the framing of practical rules for such adoption, to the International Conference to be held at Washington. The President therefore thinks the time has come to call the Convention referred to in my instruction of October 23, 1882. I am accordingly directed by the President to instruct you to tender to the Government of ——, through its Minister for Foreign Affairs, an invitation to be represented by one or more delegates (not exceeding three) to meet delegates from the United States and other nations in an international Conference to be held in the city of Washington on the first day of October next, 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 globe. You will seek the earliest convenient occasion to bring this invitation to the attention of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of —— by handing him a copy hereof and requesting that the answer of his Government may be made known to you. I am, sir, your obedient servant, |
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