ht forward by one of our
delegates, that the remaining delegates of Great Britain are by no
means of the opinion expressed in that amendment, and that it is their
intention, if it should come to a vote, to vote against it.

The proposition to count longitude from a point 180 degrees from the
meridian of Greenwich appears to them not to be accompanied by any
advantage whatever. On the contrary, it must lead to inconvenience.
You do not, by adopting the meridian opposite Greenwich, get rid of
the nationality of the meridian. If there is objection to the meridian
of Greenwich on account of its nationality, the meridian of 180
degrees from Greenwich is subject to the same objection. The one half
is just as national as the other half.

The PRESIDENT. The chair would say that no specific meridian is
mentioned in the amendment.

Prof. ADAMS, Delegate of Great Britain. That is true, but, at the same
time, it should be said that the meridian described is ambiguous. It
is the meridian that passes through the poles and the centre of the
transit instrument of the Observatory of Greenwich. That is the
language of the amendment. But it is intended to apply to only
one-half of the great circle passing through the poles, that is to the
distant half of the meridian rather than to the nearer half. Unless it
defines which half it is intended to take, the amendment is ambiguous,
and it is not proper to be voted on.

Mr. MILES ROCK, Delegate of Guatemala. Mr. President, It may be well
to hear the words of the original resolution, in order that we can
clearly see the relation of the amendment to that resolution.

The original resolution of the Delegate of the United States was then
read.

Baron VON ALVENSLEBEN, Delegate of Germany. Mr. President, I think
that in this amendment offered by the Delegate of Great Britain two
questions are mixed up together. The first thing for us to do is to
fix upon a prime meridian; the second thing to settle is the question
whether the adoption of a universal day is desirable or not. If we
adopt this amendment, these two questions are involved in one vote.
Therefore, I think that they should be divided, for they are not
appropriate in the form in which they are presented.

Mr. VALERA, Delegate of Spain. I ask permission to speak, in order to
explain my vote. The Government which I represent here has told me to
accept the Greenwich meridian as the international meridian for
longitudes, but I think it