her than one of these meridians,
or a meridian directly dependent upon one of them, and defined simply
by its angular distance from one of these national meridians, would be
to introduce endless confusion into all charts and maps now in use.

To select as a prime meridian one which shall be a defined angular
distance from one of the national meridians, must have for its object
either to remove some inconvenience which results from the use of the
national meridian itself, or it must be to satisfy a desire to deprive
the selected meridian of any nationality.

The inconvenience of east and west longitudes, which results from
having the prime meridian pass through a thickly populated portion of
the world, will be removed by reckoning the longitude continuously
from O deg. to 360 deg.. At the same time an important advantage is secured by
having the prime meridian occupy a central position with regard to the
most densely populated part of the earth; because the distances which
will then separate the various points from the central observatory
marking the initial meridian will be a minimum, and consequently less
liable to error in determination. The selection of a meridian by
calculation, defined as a certain number of degrees east or west of
one of the national meridians, would not thereby deprive the meridian
thus selected of a national character; for though we may reckon
longitude from a meridian passing through the Atlantic or Pacific
Ocean, yet the initial point from which all measurements of longitude
must be made would still remain one of the national meridians. Again,
if any other than one of the national meridians were selected, or a
meridian dependent upon one of them, as, for example, a neutral
meridian in the Atlantic or Pacific Ocean, it would necessitate a
change in all charts and maps.

It is hardly necessary to say that no scientific or practical
advantage is to be secured by adopting the meridian of the great
pyramid, or by attempting to establish permanent meridian marks over a
great length of the selected meridian, for even in the present
advanced condition of astronomical and geodetic science it is not
practicable to establish two points on the same meridian at a
considerable distance from each other with such a degree of accuracy
as would warrant the use of them indifferently as the initial point.

As a matter of economy as well as convenience that meridian should be
selected which is now in most gene