Mr. Galvan, the Delegate of San Domingo. Before the sessions of the Conference come to a close, I feel compelled to make a declaration which will be a tribute to the illustrious scientists who have directed the decisions of the majority of the Conference, and at the same time a reservation of future freedom of action to the country which I have the honor to represent.
The negative vote of San Domingo on the principal question was entirely in consequence of the proposal by the Delegates of France of a neutral International Meridian, which was rejected by the Conference.
San Domingo, which had no part in the various important interests connected with the meridian of Greenwich, was bound to regard equity alone on the occurrence of the disagreement produced by the proposal of the Delegates of France, a nation renowned for being one of the first in intellectual progress.
At the last session I was glad that another proposal of the Delegates of France was accepted almost unanimously by the Conference. That fact should be considered as a good omen of a more complete and unanimous agreement at some future time in behalf of the general interest of science.
That day will be saluted with a cordial hosanna by the Republic of San Domingo, which is always ready freely to give its assent to the progress of civilization.
The President. The resolutions offered by the Delegate of Great Britain, General Strachey, are now before the Conference, and will be read.
The resolutions were then read, as follows:
"1. The Conference adopts the opinion that, for the purposes of civil life, it will be convenient to reckon time according to the local civil time at successive meridians distributed round the earth, at time-intervals of either ten minutes, or some integral multiple of ten minutes, from the prime meridian; but that the application of this principle be left to the various nations or communities concerned by it."
"2. The arrangements for the use of the universal day in international telegraphy should be left for the consideration of the International Telegraph Congress."
General Strachey, Delegate of Great Britain. In consequence of the opinions I have heard expressed regarding the resolutions which I brought forward at our last meeting, I feel constrained to say that I am not disposed to ask the Congress to proceed to a vote upon them. I find that, although I had reason to think that those resolutions, in substance, that is in their main features, would be acceptable, still there is extreme difficulty in finding precise expressions that shall meet the views of everybody, and there are divisions of opinion as to the exact manner in which these resolutions should be modified.
My object in bringing forward the resolutions was mainly to obtain a decided expression of opinion on the part of the Congress, that the method of counting local time, so as to harmonize as far as possible with universal time, should be left for settlement locally; and that, at the utmost, all the Congress could do would be to suggest some general principle such as that embodied in my resolution. There was, of course, never any intention of employing the universal day so as to interfere with the use of local standard time; and as I shall, no doubt, elicit a further clear expression of opinion on the part of the delegates, that there is no intention of bringing about this interference, I will now, with the permission of the Conference, withdraw the resolutions.