e this principle
to certain subjects, and that it is adopted for the purpose of
avoiding dangers in communications, in navigation, in railways, and in
transmitting telegrams, &c.; but this is purely an administrative
matter, and can be left for settlement to other bodies.

The PRESIDENT. The Chair would remind the Delegate of Spain, Mr. RUIZ
DEL ARBOL, that at its last session the Conference resolved, with
singular unanimity, that it was expedient to adopt "a universal day
for all purposes for which it may be found convenient, and which shall
not interfere with the local or other standard time where desirable."
The Chair would politely suggest that the subject now under
consideration is the adoption of the proposition recommended by the
Conference at Rome, and which has been presented here by the Delegate
of Sweden, Count LEWENHAUPT.

Mr. RUIZ DEL ARBOL, Delegate of Spain. My proposition is to abstain
from the adoption of any one meridian, and that we leave the matter to
some other Congress, organized with the special object of regulating
this question.

Commander SAMPSON, Delegate of the United States. Mr. President, as
near as I can follow the Delegate of Spain, he seems to be under the
apprehension that by the adoption of the universal day, which has been
proposed here, we should either gain or lose time in our chronology;
that we should skip 12 hours, more or less. But, of course, that is
not the case. Any event which has occurred, or which will occur, at
the time of the adoption of the universal day will be expressed just
as exactly with reference to time as if the time had been calculated
from the beginning of the Christian era. There will not only be no
confusion, but it seems to me the adoption of the universal day will
tend to avoid confusion hereafter, because confusion must exist where
we have so many standards of time. Now, if any event which is taking
place, or has taken place at any past time in the history of the
world, is referred to the prime meridian, or is expressed in the time
of any locality or of several localities, these times will all be
different. The adoption of the universal day is to avoid any
difficulty of that sort, and any event which has transpired will, when
expressed in the time of the universal day--that is, according to the
universal method--represent exactly the interval of time which has
elapsed since the beginning of the Christian era. Nothing is gained or
lost.

General STRA