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 "'?-^..7Ftf ■ 
 
 TIME— RECKONING 
 
 3rcs^ "ri-rrE 
 
 "^ I ue n^hth (Bcntii tt^ 
 
 B-r 
 
 SAiSlFORD FLEMING, 
 
 c. M. 4m hh. d,, c. !•;.. i-:tc. 
 
 II* ■ f- " I H IIIII M ^IIII*»P> 
 
 From the SMITHSONIAN REPORT Far i88^. 
 
 WASHIN(^,TON. 
 
 1889. 
 
 mMH ». AtlAMI^ MiMTga 
 
 
TIME— RECKONING 
 
 S-OIR XII3B 
 
 ^ I uc M UetPi/ (B^vitiitijj 
 
 SANFORD FLEMING, 
 
 C. M. G., LL. I)., C. K., Etc. 
 
 From the SMITHSONIAN REPORT For 1886. 
 
 WASHINGTON, 
 1889. 
 
 •VRON «. MIAMI, raiNTSa 
 
 > 
 
 1 
 
■ 
 
 C5J 
 
 (■'^, 
 
 1/36 
 
TIME RECKONING FOR THE TWENTIETH CENTURY. 
 
 By Sanford Fleming, C. M. 0., LL. D., C. E., etc. 
 
 During the early historical ages much chronological coufusiou i)re- 
 vailed, and it is largely owing to this cause that the annals of the ceu- 
 turics which preceded the Christian era are involved in obscurity. The 
 attempt to end this general disorder was made by Julius Caesar, who 
 established regulations with respect to the divisions of time and the 
 mode of reckoning to be followed. The Julian Calendar was introduced 
 forty-six years before Christ. It continued uiu^hanged until the six- 
 teenth century. In 1582 recognition was obtained of the errors and 
 defects which the circumstances of the period had made manifest and 
 which demanded correction. Pope Gregory XIII accordingly directed 
 the reformation of the calendar and established new rules of intercala- 
 tion. These two epochs are certainly the most important iu the history 
 of our chronology. 
 
 Three centuries have passed since the reform of Pope Gregory. New 
 continents have been opened to civilization and immense regions then 
 wholly unknown to Europe have been peopled by races busied in com- 
 merce and skilled in the arts, and characterized by unwearied energy and 
 determination. In these three hundred years a marvellous succession 
 of inventions bearing upon human activity and progress has been intro- 
 duced, and the character of nearly every requirement of life has under- 
 gone change. The discoveries and inventions which have marked this 
 period have produced new conditions of society; and our minds have 
 received an impulse which leads to investigation wherever need of im- 
 provement appears to be demanded. It is within the last half century 
 more especially that the bounds of human knowledge have been so 
 wonderfully extended ; perhaps in the whole world's annals no fifty 
 years have witnessed such a marvellous revolution. The triumi>hs of 
 applied science in facilitating intercourse between men and nations 
 have given an extraordinary impulse to general progress, but in so do- 
 ing they have developed imperfections in our system of time-notation 
 which previously were unknown, and it is no longer possible to escape 
 the conviction that we have reached a stage when further reform is de- 
 manded as a requirement of our condition. The necessity for a reform 
 in time-reckoning is recognized by the highest authority, and has ob- 
 tained a hold of public opinion. The President of the United States, 
 General Arthur, at the request of Congress, autfcoritatively took pro- 
 ceedings to bring the subject prominently to the attention of the world. 
 After prolonged diplomatic oorrespoudeuce with the Goverumeuts of 
 
 345 
 
346 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS PAPERS. 
 
 foreign powers, he invited delegates from all nations to a scientific con- 
 ference at Washington in which the subject should be fully considered. 
 
 The conference met in the autumn of 1884. Twenty-five nationalities 
 were represented. The proceedings extended over the month of Octo- 
 ber, and they resulted in the almost unanimous adoption of seven reso- 
 lutions bearing upon time-reckoning. 
 
 As no records can be in accord unless a common starting point be 
 agreed upon from which computations are to be made, the first resolu- 
 tions had reference to the determination of an initial meridian. The 
 meridian passing through Greenwich was selected. 
 
 In the fourth and fifth resolutions the conference laid down the follow- 
 ing important principles : 
 
 IV. " That the conference proposes the adoption of a universal day 
 for all purposes for which it may be found convenient and which shall 
 not interfere with the use of local or other standard time where desira- 
 ble." 
 
 V. " That the universal day is to be a mean solar day ; is to begin for 
 all the world at the moment of mean midnight of the initial meridian, 
 coinciding with the civil day and date of that meridian, and is to be 
 counted from zero to twenty-four hours." 
 
 The opening of the national Congress at Washington shortly followed 
 the international conference. The President regarded the importance 
 of the proceedings to be such as to call for special mention of them in 
 his annual message. General Arthur thus expressed himself on the 
 subject: "The conference concluded its labors on the 1st of November, 
 having with substantial unanimity agreed upon the meridian of Green- 
 wich as the starting point whence longitude is to be computed through 
 one hundred and eighty degrees eastward and westward, and upon the 
 adoption, for all purposes for which it may be found convenient, of a 
 universal day, which shall begin at midnight on the initial meridian 
 and whose hours shall be counted from zero up to twenty-four." 
 
 There was no exaggerated importance in these allusions, for the con- 
 clusions of the conference are productive of most important results. 
 They make provision for terminating all ambiguity in hours and dates 
 and for establishing t^jroughout the world, free from national suscepti- 
 bility and caprice, perfect uniformity in reckoning time. Some years 
 may elapse before the new notation becomes the one recognized mode 
 of reckoning; but when it shall have been generally accepted in the 
 practice of daily life, it is calculated to sweep away the difficulties now 
 experienced, and it will add greatly to the general convenience of civil- 
 ized man. 
 
 One of the first practical efforts to direct public attention to the rap- 
 idly growing necessity for a comprehensive reform in time-reckoning 
 can be found in a paper published in the Transactions of the Canadian 
 Institute, Toronto, for the session of 1878-'79.* This paper adduces in 
 
 * Time-reckonin i and the MleotioD of s prime meridian to be common to all nations. 
 By Sandford Fleming. 
 
NEW TIME-RECKONINO. 
 
 347 
 
 support of its arpfuineut many pertit\eut facts, and points out tbat the 
 gigautic syHteais of railways and telcgrapliH which in modern times 
 have been established in both continents have developed social and 
 cominerciat conditions which never previously existed. Tliese condi- 
 tions h 70 so aflected the relations of time and distance aa to establish 
 the fact that our inherited system of notation is defective; that it is 
 inconvenient to men of business; I hat it produces confusion and fre- 
 quently results in loss of life, and leads to other difliculties; that under 
 the circumstances which have followed the substitution of steam for 
 animals as a motive power, the ancient usages as retained in our nota- 
 tion of hours and dates are generally inappropriate. Moreover, the use 
 of the telegraph in our daily lives practically subjects the whole surface 
 of the globe to the observation of civilized communities in each individ- 
 ual locality. It leaves no interval of time between widely separated 
 places proportionate to their distances apart. It practically brings 
 into close contact the opposite sides of the earth where daylight and 
 darkness prevail at the same period. By this agency noon, midnight, 
 sunrise, sunset, and the whole range of intermediate gradations of the 
 day, are all observed and recognized at the same moment. Thus in 
 matters out of the domain of local importance confusion is developed 
 and all count of time is thrown into multiplied disorder. 
 
 Again, under the usages now observed, a day !*< assumed to begin 
 twelve hours before — and end twelve hours after — the sun passes the 
 meridian of any place. As the globe is constantly revolving on its axis, 
 afresh meridian is every moment coming under the sun; as a conse- 
 quence a day is always beginning somewhere and always ending some- 
 where. Each meridian around the circumference of the sphere, has its 
 own day, and therefore it results that there are, during every diurnal 
 revolution of the earth, an infinite number of local days all beginning 
 within a space of twenty-four hours and each continuing twenty-four 
 hours. These days overlap each ot her, but they are as perfecOy distinct 
 as they are infinite in number. While a day is nominally twenty-four 
 hours in length, as a matter of fact forty-eight hours elapse between the 
 first beginning and the last ending ot every week day. Taking the 
 whole globe into our view, Sunday actually commences in the middle of 
 Saturday and lasts until the middle of Monday. Again, Saturday runs 
 into the middle of Sunday, while Monday begins twenty four hours be- 
 fore Sunday comes to an end and continues twenty-four hours after 
 Tuesday commences. Similarly for all the days of the week, as time is 
 now reckoned. Except those on the same meridian, there are no simul- 
 taneous days on the earth's surface, and as the dift'erent days are always 
 in .the various stages of ailvancemeut, discrepancies and errors must 
 necessarily result in assigning the precise period when an event takes 
 place. The telegraph may give the exact local time of an occurrence, 
 but the time so given must be in disagreement with local time on every 
 other meridian around the globe. An event occurring on any one day 
 
348 
 
 MI8CFXLANEOU8 PAPERS. 
 
 may on the instant be announced in a locality whore the time is that of 
 the previous day, and in anotliur locality where the time is that of the 
 following day. A bont the period when the month or year passes into 
 another month or year an occurrence may actually take place, accord- 
 ing to our present system of reckoning, in two dilferent months or in 
 two dift'erent years; indeed, there can bo no certainty whatever with 
 regard to time, uidess the precise geographical position be speciUed as 
 an essential fact in connection with the event descriljed. Under these 
 circumstances it must be conceded tha^ our present system of notation 
 is most defective, certainly it is unscientific, and i^ossesses every ele- 
 ment of confusion; it produces a degree of ambiguity which, as railways 
 and telegraphs become greatly multiplied, will lead to complications in 
 social and commercial aflairs, to errors in chronology, to litigation in 
 connection with succession to property, insurance, contracts, and other 
 matters; and, in view of individual and general rt'lationships, it will 
 undoubtedly act as a clog to the business of life and prove an iuc '3* 
 ing hindrance to human inte '^urse. 
 
 The problem to be mastered is to put an end to this confusion, lu 
 order to do so, it is imjjortant that we should endeavor to form correct 
 ideas of time and its attributes. 
 
 According to the ordiiuuy usages which we follow, the time of any 
 particular locality depends upon its position on the earth's surface ; in 
 other words, upon its longitude. The principle followed is that there 
 is a separate time on every meridian around the circumference of the 
 globe. Let us carry this theory to its logical conclusion. Take, by way 
 of example, a hundre<l or a thousand meridians, each with a distinct and 
 separate time. It will be conceded that what is true of one point on a 
 meridian must be true of every i>oint. A meridian line runs due north 
 and south on the earth's surface from pole to pole; hence it follows 
 that at the point where every meridian must converge we have the time 
 of every meridian. That is to say, at the earth's pole, a point common 
 to every n)eridian, there are a ndred or a thousand different nota- 
 tions of time, each distinct and separate. The extreme absurdity of 
 this hypothesis establishes beyond question that the preniisesare false; 
 and it is in no way 8uri>rising that confusion and ditliculty result from 
 a system such as we possess, based on principles so erroneous. 
 
 We may here ask the question: " Why should time vary with every 
 mile of longitude?" The answer comes. It is not possible to conceive 
 more than a single unity of time in the whole universe. Time, which is 
 **an inHnite continuity in infinite space," re.sera\)les a mighty river, 
 whoso unvarying Htream passes before us. Such a river is unchangea- 
 ble, yet continually changing; volumes of water always advancing are 
 replaced by new volumes in perpetual succession, and yet the river coii- 
 tinues one and the same ever flowing unity. The passing stream of time 
 is much the same, and the problem presente<l to us is to keep a proper 
 record of its flow. It is perfectly obvious that the principles which 
 
NEW TIME-BECKONINO. 349 
 
 should govern slionld he Rnch ns to secure complete accord in the detail 
 of its udmeastireuiont iiulepetutuiitly of locality. All peoples are cou- 
 cerned in the attainment of Imrnionious results, and therefore it is im- 
 portant that they should acquiesce in the employment of the same unit 
 of computation and in counting the measurements from one common 
 zero. 
 
 We have not to look in vain for a convenient unit and the most per- 
 fect instrument for measuring the passage of time. The rotation of 
 the earth on its axis is marked by complete uniformity of movement, 
 and nothing is more certain than the recurrenceof this diurnal phenom- 
 enon. Accordingly the earth itself supplies all our wants as a time- 
 keeper; in it we have at our command a i)erpetual standard for the use 
 and guidance of the entire family of man. 
 
 Before, however, we can attain this end it is essential that mankind 
 should come to an agreement on the following points: 
 
 1. With resi)ect to a zero from which the revolutions are to be counted. 
 
 2. The acceptiUice of a common subdivision and a common notation 
 by which parts of revolutions will be known by all and receive univer- 
 sal recognition. 
 
 The importance of a definite understanding on these points is self- 
 evident, for if each individual or group of individuals adheres to the 
 pre' ee of observing time from difierent zeros and each maintains sep- 
 arji reckonings of it, the outcome must be general confusion, such as, 
 we now experience. 
 
 If in imagination we place ourselves at oneiextremity of Uie earth's 
 axis, we shall tind ourselves in a peci arly favorable position, free from 
 all local influences, for observing the revolutions of the globe. At no 
 other point in the northern hemisphere are the conditions the same. A 
 spectator standing at the north pole would have neither east ucr west; 
 in whatever direction he might cast his eyes he would look towards the 
 south ; he would no longer see the daily return of sunrise and sunset; 
 the sun when visible would move, or seem to move, in a horizontal line, 
 and its path would encircle the earth parallel to and not far distant 
 from the horizon. Under such circumstances it would not be possible 
 to note the diurnal revolutions of the earth by the rising or setting of 
 the sun, or by the sun's greatest altitude at midday, or by his southern 
 position in the heavens. As the passage of time can only be marked 
 by events, what course could be followed! Obviously it would be nec- 
 essary to take special means to observe the earth's diurnal rotation, and 
 the method most readily to suggest itself would be to select a conspic- 
 uous object near the horizon and according to this object observe the 
 sun's passage over it. The object so selected would become the zero of 
 time, and the interval between two successive solar passag«^R would be 
 the period occupied by a revolution of the earth. If from zero the hori- 
 zon be divided into a series of arcs of 15° each the whole circle around 
 will consist of twenty-four divisions. If each of the division points be 
 
350 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS PAPERS. 
 
 Dumbered from zero in tbe direction contrary to the motion of the earth 
 or towards the right, and in imagination the numbers be placed in a 
 conspicuous manner against the sky, the spectator will have within his 
 range of vision a great dial-plate on which as it revolves the vertical 
 sun will continually point to the passing hours. With the twenty four 
 division points so numbered around the circle of the horizon, it is obvi- 
 ous that every hour in the day, and equally the smaller divisions of 
 time, will invariably be manifested by the solar passage. 
 
 As the imaginary point of observation, the north pole, is common to 
 every meridian, the hours and minutes indicated by the great polar 
 chronometer will be equally common to every locality on the surface of 
 the globe. Whatever the longitude, the solar passage will be the index 
 of time. Two successive passages at zero will complete an interval of 
 twenty-four hours ; but it will not be a day in the ordinarj' sense, as an 
 ordinary d>'y is a local phenomenon in no two longitudes identical.* To 
 distinguish this new interval of time common to the whole world from 
 the infinite number of local days at present recognize<l it has been sug- 
 gested to term it the " Cosmic Day," or some distinctive appellation by 
 which it may be known. 
 
 Necessarily the zero point mnst be arbitrarily selected according to 
 convenience, and any zero whatever, other things being equal, would 
 serve the purpose which we have in view. We have only to assume the 
 zero so selected to coincide with the Antiprime Meridian determined by 
 the^Vashington Conference, and the Cosmic Day will be identical with 
 the Universal Day, established under the same authority. A Universal 
 or Cosmic Day may therefore be defined as the interval of time between 
 two succeeding solar passages at the Antiprime Meridian common to all 
 nations. 
 
 In his recent discourse on the subject at the Eoyal Institution, Lon- 
 don, the astronomer royal for Great Britain, Mr. Christie, expressed a 
 preference for the term "World Time" to designate this new measure of 
 duration. It has been termed " Cosmic Time" by various societies and 
 individuals; but the name is of secondary importance, if it be under- 
 stood that the new measure of time is equjilly related to every locality. 
 By its very nature. Cosmic Time, or by M'hatever name it may be known, 
 must coincide with some one of the multiplicity of existing times. The 
 decision of the Washington Conference caused it to correspond with 
 Greenwich Civil Time. Greenwich time is the local time of Gieenwich. 
 Cosmic Time is a new and an entirely diflferent conception; itisiho time 
 of the world common to every nation. "Cosmic" and "Greenwich" tinio 
 are identical fortuitously, but the expressions imply two totally differ- 
 ent ideas, and a proper deference to national sensitiveness suggests the 
 good taste and expediency of distinguishing the two ideas by different 
 terms. Some distinctive name is undoubtedly called for, until the 
 
 * The Nantioal Alinanao deAn«H an ordinal^ Holnr (l»y to be the interval of time be- 
 tween tbe departure otantf meridian from tbe sua aud its Buccoodin^ return to it. 
 
 
NEW TIME-BECKONWO. 
 
 351 
 
 period arrives when the unification of time will be complete. In the not 
 far distant future it may become equally as unnecessary to speak of 
 "Solar," "Lunar," "Astronomical," "Civil," "Nautical," "Local," "Cos- 
 mic," or " World" time, as at present it is unnecessary to attach these or 
 otherdistiuctive appellations to "Space." The simple expression "Time" 
 may then become sufficient for all purposes. 
 
 1 
 
 Lonj^itiulo east aiul west 
 from Greenwich. 
 
 2 
 
 Longitndo 
 west from 
 time zero. 
 
 3 
 
 Lonp;itude 
 
 by hour 
 meridians. 
 
 4 
 
 Cosmic Time at 
 
 mean solar 
 
 passage. 
 
 o 
 
 180 anUprime meridian.. 
 I(i5 east 
 
 o 
 
 » 
 
 15 
 
 30 
 
 45 
 
 60 
 
 75 
 
 90 
 
 105 
 
 120 
 
 135 
 
 Number. 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 7 
 
 8 
 
 9 
 
 10 
 
 11 
 
 12 
 
 13 
 
 14 
 
 15 
 
 16 
 
 17 
 
 18 
 
 19 
 
 20 
 
 21 
 
 22 
 
 23 
 
 and 24 
 
 ITour. 
 Change of the day. 
 
 2 
 3 
 4 
 
 'S 
 
 6 
 
 7 
 
 8 
 
 9 
 10 
 11 
 12 
 13 
 14 
 15 
 16 
 17 
 18 
 19 
 20 
 21 
 22 
 23 
 24 and chanf^e. 
 
 150 east 
 
 1 35 oast .. 
 
 120 oast 
 
 105 east 
 
 DO east 
 
 75 east ............. 
 
 (K) east 
 
 45 east 
 
 30 ojist 
 
 150 
 165 
 180 
 195 
 210 
 225 
 240 
 255 
 270 
 285 
 300 
 315 
 330 
 
 15 east 
 
 the prime moridiuu .. 
 1.5 west 
 
 30 west 
 
 45 west ...... 
 
 60 west 
 
 7.5 west 
 
 <M) west 
 
 105 west 
 
 120 west 
 
 i;]r. west 
 
 1.50 west 
 
 1().5 west 
 
 345 
 
 360 and 
 
 180 antiprime meridian .. 
 
 • Zero of Cosmic Time and of Longitude. 
 
 The relation between time and longitude is important. If longitude 
 be reckoned by hour meridians, as in the second and third columns of 
 the table, that is to say, numbered continually westward from the Anti- 
 prime Meridian, which is the true time zero, the inhabitants of every 
 individual locality in whatever longitude will daily have an opportunity 
 of regulating time by the great natural standard of measurenient. 
 The longitude of the locality being known, at mean solar passage the 
 time will invariably and precisely agree with the longitude. Con- 
 versely, the time being known, the longitude of the place will be in 
 Hirict agreeuient with time at th<^ moment of mean solar passage. 
 
 A reference to the following plate will make it clear that the solar 
 passage will be the invariable index of Cosmic Time. 
 
 Fig. 1 shows the relative position of sun and earth at the initial in- 
 stant of the Cosmic Day, that is, at the moment of mean solar passage 
 on the Antiprime Meridian adopted by the Washington Conference. 
 
352 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS PAPERS. 
 
 Fig. 2 gives the position when ^he earth has made a sixth of a revo- 
 Intion and four hours have elapsed. The solar passage at this stage is 
 OD the fourbour meridian. 
 
 'O^'^^ ^ 
 
 
 <^\ wm ,\ 
 
 V rL It ^ 
 
 !2 Ql ^ 
 
 ^ W ^ ZJ / 
 
 oo 
 
 I w CI 
 
 Fig. 3. When the earth haw made a ihird of a revolution und occupied 
 a period of eight hours, the solar pws>age occurs on the eight-hour mo* 
 
 ridian. 
 
 mmmm 
 
 ■■ ;V -' . ' ^. ' , ' >" ' t '- . 'f 
 
d 
 
NEW TIME-BECKONING. 
 
 353 
 
 Fig. 4. When the earth has made half a revolntion and twelve hours 
 have elapsed, the solar passage is at this stage on twelve-hour or Prime 
 Moriuiun. 
 
 Similarly for every other meridian, and thus the precise relation be- 
 tween Co8mic Time and longitude is definitely established. 
 
 It may be said that Cosmic or Universal Time is accepted in science, 
 but its adoption in ordinary life can only be gradually and perhaps with 
 c.ifficulry eftected. It is i.ot to be looked for that a change so marked, 
 involving a revolution of thought in some of our social customs, can be 
 speedily introduced, however desirable it may be in the public interest. 
 There is a class of men who habitually express their cortempt for what 
 they designate as " newfangled notions," and who refuse to go out of 
 siglU of old land marks. The usages which we desire to supersede are 
 certainly old, for they took their origin when our civilization was young. 
 In those jlays it was a dogma that the earth had a flat surface, but as 
 the belief that the earth is a plane is no longer invested with the au- 
 thority of a truth, we may venture to call in question the theory that 
 each locality on its surface possesses an independent stream of time and 
 is called upon to defend and maintain it. The human race is no longer 
 eonfinod within a narrow area. It has overspread the surface of the 
 earth ; in the Old and New Worlds it has grown, in some portions of their 
 extent it is still growing, from an infantile condition to a state of man- 
 hood. Are we not yet able to look beyond one individual horizon and 
 enlarge our range of vision so as to include a system which will satisfy 
 the requirements, not of a locality, but ot the whole globe? 
 
 We are living in an age of intellectual and social progress, jirhen 
 men are less fettered than our fathers were by the restraints of custom. 
 On tUe continent of North America extraordinary progress has already 
 been made by an essentially practical people towards the adoption of 
 a complete reform in tMue-reckoning. What is known as the Stand- 
 ard-hour system, in itself in complete harmony with the principles of 
 Co»mic Time, has been in common use for nearly three years, and it is 
 generally recognized as an incalculable benefit to the whole community, 
 
 Througliont the United States and Canada we have outgrown the no- 
 tion of isolating each locality by compelling it to observe a separate time 
 notation. The Continent is divided into zones, each zone having the 
 same time throughout its extent, based on a meridian which is a multi- 
 ple of fliteen degrees from the Prime Meridian. Consequently the time 
 of each zone varies exactly one hour from that of the adjoining zones. 
 Thus all the variations of time which formerly were limited only by the 
 number of towns and cities and localities which observed their own lo- 
 cal time are reduced to the five zones. Only at points where the zones 
 come in contact is there any exception to the common satisfaction which 
 has resulted from the change. These are the only localities where we 
 find the old tinje difficulties, now so happily removed from every other 
 section of the Continent. At such localities the difficulties must con- 
 H. Mis. 170 23 
 
864 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS PAPERS. 
 
 tinne to be felt until Cosmic Time comes into general use, for it is the 
 only one remedy which can satisfy every requirement. 
 
 The Btuudard-hour system is an effective preliminary means for the 
 introduction of unisersal time, and it is not confined to North America. 
 In Sweden, as well ay Great Britain, the principle is in common use. 
 The Standard Time of Swedea is based en the meridian fifteen degrees 
 east of the prime meridian ; consequently an hour in advance of the Prime 
 Meridian time. The time of Great Britain is that of the prime meridiaL 
 itself. 
 
 The scheme of hour meridians can only be regarded as a provisional 
 arrangement. It greatly lessens the diflBculties experienced, but it does 
 not wholly remove them. It is, however, an important practical step 
 towards the general unification of time, as it brings the minutes and sec- 
 onds into complete agreement with the world's time wherever the sys- 
 tem is adopted. The Astronomer Koyal of Great Britain calls particular 
 attention to the breadth of view evidenced by the managers of the Am- 
 erican railways who were so largely instrumental in having this impor- 
 tant step taken. " By adopting a national meridian as the basis of their 
 time-system they might have rendered impracticable the idea of a uni- 
 versal time to be used by Europe as well as America. But they rose 
 above national jealousies and decided to have their time-reckoning based 
 on the meridian which was likely to suit the convenience of the great- 
 est number, thus doing their utmost to promote uniformity of time 
 throughout the world by setting an example of the sacrifice of human 
 susceptibilities to general expediency." 
 
 There is one feature of time-reform alluded to by President Arthur in 
 his message to Congress which promises before long to be accepted by 
 the community. I refer to the proposal to count the hours from zero 
 to twenty-four. The recent report ot the special committee on Standard 
 Time of the American Society of Civil Engineers (January, 1886) thus 
 alludes to this branch of the subject : 
 
 " This feature has the authority of the International Conference for 
 its introduction. In intelligent circles in Europe, particularly in Eng- 
 land and in Russia, also at the antipodes in Australia, the proposal is 
 reported to have been greeted with enthusiasm. The Astronomer Boyal 
 of England, Mr. Christie, has established at Greenwich Observatory a 
 division of the great dial into twenty-four hours. In London and in 
 other cities, public clocks have been also changed to accustom the 
 English public to this division of the day. Some newspapers in all 
 their announcements adopt the change, and scientific societies give 
 notce of the.- meetings in the same manner as this Society, according 
 to the twenty-four-hour system. 
 
 "On this Continent there has been no uncertain sound. In the last 
 annual report of the Committee it was stated that one hundred and sev- 
 enty-one managers of railways in the Unitod States and Canada had de- 
 clared their readiness to abandon the division of the day into half-days, 
 
LiEW TIME-BECKONING. 366 
 
 known as ante and post meridian, and to accept tne nnmeration of the 
 hours in one series, from midni^i^ht to midnight, these managers having 
 under their control some 60,000 miles of railway. 
 
 " During the past year the seed sown has been fructifying, and many 
 who held back have been won over and have given their adhesion to 
 the movement. Among the many important railways ready to co-oper- 
 at«, some appear to sec no necessity for further delay, and desire to se- 
 cure at once the advantages which will result from the change. At this 
 date it is publicly announced that the Canadian Pacific Railway Com- 
 pany have determined to adopt the 24-hour system, and are actually 
 l)rei>aring to make the change at an ea.ly day.* Such proceedings can 
 be accepted as indicating a proper appreciation of the reform which the 
 American Society of Civil Engineers has advocated, and equally shows 
 the discernment of those who direct the management of the youngest 
 of the transcontinental railways. This practical commencement will, 
 without a doubt, be speedily followed by other railway companies, and 
 before long we may look for the 24-hour system coming into general use.t 
 
 There is undoubtedly a growing feeling in many quarters in favor of 
 the 24-hour system. It is reported to be used with great advantage on 
 the whole of the cables and other lines of the Eastern Telegraph Com- 
 pany, and its connections extending from England through Europe and 
 the Mediterranean to Egypt, and from Egypt to South Africa, India, 
 China, and Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. 
 
 It is a pertinent question to ask, what influence these various changes 
 will have in preparing the public mind for another, and it may be said 
 a final, change—the adoption of one uniform time in every longitude t 
 For it must be evident to the thoughtful observer that the movement 
 
 • At miilsuratner, 1S86, the Canadian PaciAc Railway waa opened from the Atl&IItio 
 to the Pacific and the 24-hour system went into force in running " through" trains. 
 The example set by the railway company has been followed in the towns and villages 
 along the line, and the inhabitants generally having experienced the advantages of 
 the cVango, no desire is expressed in any quarter to return to the old usage. 
 
 tThe fuUowiug fuot-nott<i is added: " It is proposed to adapt clocks and watcaea 
 DOW in use to the change, by having inscribed on the existing dials the new numbers 
 of the afternoon hours— thirteen to twenty-four (13 to 24) inclusive. The only prac- 
 tical difiBculty to be overcome is met by the simple expedient of placing on the face 
 of the watch or clock a supplementary dial, showing the new afternoon hours in 
 Arabic numerals within the present Roman figures. The supplementary dial must 
 be of thin material, and it has been found that, by being made simply of paper and 
 secured to its position by any gum which will adhere to an enammeled surface, the ob- 
 ject is attained withoutanyfnrther alteration of the watch or clock. The committee is 
 aware that these seem trifling matters to bring under the notice of the convention, 
 but questions of great moment not seldom hinge on small details. It la evident, from 
 what has been set forth, that every person in the community may, at the cost of a few 
 cents in each case, adapt his watch to the 24-hour system. The committee accord- 
 ingly repeat their conviction that, with the disappearance of the only practical diffi- 
 cnlty at an insigniflcant cost, there is nothing to prevent the railway authorities and 
 the community at large adopting the change as soon as they becomo alive to its ad- 
 vantages." — Report of the Bafi'alo Coavention of th« American Society of Civil En- 
 gineers. 
 
'' 
 
 356 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS PAPERS. 
 
 for reforming oar time-Bystem will not have attained its object until 
 this end be accomplished. 
 
 Those persons who have been in the habit of finishing their daily work 
 at C p. m. under the 24-hour system will end it at 18. Those who re- 
 tired to rest at 10 or 11 p. m. will seek their beds at 22 or 23. The idea 
 that solar noon and 12 o'clock are one and inseparable has already been 
 set aside throughout the United States and Canada ; only on five me- 
 ridians—the GOth, 75th, 90th, 105th, and 120th— is it held to be 12 o'clock 
 at the mean solar passage. In all other longitudes throughout North 
 America the identity between solar noon and 12 o'clock has practically 
 been swept away. 
 
 These modifications in the time reckoning must tend to remove the 
 idea that there is some necessary connection between the numbers of 
 the hours and the position of the sun in each local firmament. The 
 force ot habit has heretofore associated noon with 12 o'clock, but in due 
 time it will become obvious to every one that the hour of the sun's pas- 
 sage at any one locality may with as much propriety be distinguished 
 by any one of the twenty-four numbers as by the now generally 
 received number 12. So soon as this new idea comes generally to be ac- 
 cepted, so soon as it is understood that the numbersof the hours are arbi- 
 trary and conventional, it will not be difficult to take the final step in 
 time reform and entirely supersede the present system by a notation 
 which will give to mankind throughout the world simultaneous dates 
 and hours and minutes. 
 
 The final step may appear to involve serious changes in much which 
 concerns every individual, but it is not to be supposed that it will in 
 any way interfere with the periods for labor, sleep, meals, or any ordi- 
 nary usage. The one chauge will be in the numbers of the hours. In 
 social affairs the regulating influence of daylight and darkness will 
 always, as now, be paramount. The terms "noon "and "midnight" 
 willcoutiuuo to preserve their present meaning, although the numbers 
 of the hours at which these periods occur will vary in each case accord- 
 ing to longitude. Each separate meridian will have its own midnight 
 hour disiinguished from the midnight hours of other meridians by a 
 distinctive number. So also with the noon hour, which, as alreatly 
 stated, will invariably agree with the longitude of the j)laee. It is the 
 midnight hour in each locality which will consf tute the initial time- 
 point to regulate the legal hours for opening and closing banks, registry, 
 and other public offices. The midnight hour may be arbitrarily chosen 
 and be established by statute as circumstances may demand. It will be 
 held to be the local zero to govern the hours of business, working hours, 
 the hours for attendance at church, at school, and at places of amuse- 
 ment, and generally to regulate all the social affairs of life. While the 
 seven week days will practically remain unchanged in every longitude, 
 the simple expedient of numbering the hours so that everywhere they 
 will correspond with Cosmic Time will result in securing the general 
 Qciformity to be desired. Thus it will be obvious that in all matters 
 
 
NEW TIME-RECKONING. 
 
 357 
 
 relating to time, whether local or noD-Iocal, the same hours, rainates, 
 aud seconds will universally be observed at the Maine instant. In cases 
 whei business men separated by long distances make contracts by tel- 
 egraph, the engagements will be free from all ambiguity as lo time. 
 Both parties will be bound absolutely by the same notation. 
 
 The Cosmic Day is a new measure of time entirely non-local. It will 
 be held to bo the date of the world, and the change of date will occur 
 at the same instant in all longitudes. On the prime meridian the change 
 of date will be at midnight; to the east it will occur after midnight; 
 and to the west of the prime meridian it will come before midnight. 
 It will be one hour before or after midnight for every fifteen degrees of 
 west or east longitude. Fortunately, in nearly all the important coun- 
 tries on the surface of the globe, the change of date will occur out of 
 ordinary business hours. 
 
 It will thus be seei* that while the contemplated reform will interfere 
 as little as i)0S8ible with existing customs, it will result in giving to 
 the human family around the globe concurrent dates and in making 
 every division of time uniform the world over. 
 
 In Sao adoption of the new system, temporary inconvenience may 
 arise, but ii will be trifling in extent and not of long duration ; and any 
 momentary disadvantage should not be allowed to weigh against the 
 benefits to be secured to mankind for all future ages. 
 
 On the night of November 18, 1883, a noiseless revolution was ef- 
 fected throughout the United States and Canada. The hands of the 
 clocks of some fifty millions of people were for the most part moved 
 forward or backward in order to indicate the time of one of the five 
 hour zones. The time now observed from the Atlantic coast to the 
 Pacific varies with Cosmic Time, according to situation, from four to 
 eight whole hours. In North America, therefore, the portion of the prob- 
 lem yet to be a<lju8ted is easy of solution. As the minutes and seconds 
 are already everywhere in agreement, the transition to universal uni- 
 formity of reckoning can be effected simplyand with ease. Itwill only be 
 necessary to move forward the dial hands of the clocks an even nuujber 
 of hours, varying from four to eight, as each case may require, to bring 
 the Continent into complete accord with the time of the world. 
 
 When eventually it may become necessary to bring the time through- 
 out all parts of North America to the world's standard, the transition 
 may be effected by adjusting the clocks as follows: 
 
 I. Clocka in the hour zone»,of the west meridians. 
 Meridiau west. Hours. 
 
 60° ■) ; 4 
 
 750 5 
 
 90° > will have to be mow aA forward}. 6 
 
 1050 I I 7 
 
 12003 [8 
 
 Similaily wherever the scheme of hour meridians be adopted the 
 common reckoning may with equal ease be secured. To the west of the 
 
358 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS PAPERS. 
 
 prime meridian tlie clocks will require to be moved forward, to the east 
 backward. In Europe, Asia, and Africa the change would thus be 
 eftected : 
 
 II. Clocks in the hour zones of the east meridians. 
 
 Meridian east. 
 150") 
 300 
 450 
 6OO 
 750 
 9003 
 
 Hours. 
 
 CI 
 2 
 
 will have to be moved backward 
 
 3 
 
 14 
 
 5 
 
 C6 
 
 Thus, for example. New Orleans, in the hour zone of the 90th meridian 
 west, would have its clocks advanced six hours, while Calcutta, in the 
 90th meridian east, would have its clocks retardeU six hours. By the 
 same simple process of transition, every city and district on the sur- 
 face of the globe may be brought to the one common time-reckoning. 
 
 It is a significant fact that at the Washington Conference the prin- 
 ciple of Universal Time obtained unanimous recognition from the dele- 
 gates of so many nationalities. It is a presage that the peoples whom 
 they represent will before long be fully impressed with the belief that 
 a system of reckoning time uniformly throughout the globe is really 
 the one rational system by which it can be noted, and the only system 
 which will meet the demands of the human family in coming years. It 
 is only step by step that a reform so great can be carried out. More- 
 over, although the difficulties to be overcome are undoubtedly serious, 
 this much may be said with confidence, that they are less formidable 
 than those which have already been conquered. A few years back the 
 very question of a universal time for all nations was a theor,'^ not only 
 new in itself but it was held by many to be wild and Utopian, and so 
 impracticable as to be unworthy of consideration. In 187S the subject 
 could not command a hearing at the British Association I Since 1S78 
 the arguments advanced to point out the necessity of change have, 
 however, obtained attention, and a general movement for reform has 
 been inaugurated. Scientific and practical men and learned societies 
 in both hemispheres have taken part in the consideration of the ques- 
 tion. It has formed the subject of discussion at International Con- 
 gresses at Venice and Rome. The President and Congress of the United 
 States have been induced to take decisive action in connection with it. 
 The governments of twenty-five civilized nations have aided in its devel- 
 opment. The International Washington Conference itself has greatly 
 promoted the solution of the problem by coming to an unanimous de- 
 termination on the essential principles to be observed. In several coun- 
 tries the recommendations of the conference have already in part been 
 acted on, and changes have been effected which a few years back were 
 not even dreamed of. 
 
NEW TIME-RECKONING. 
 
 859 
 
 If BO mucb bas been accomplisbed within tbo oigbt years siuce tbe 
 scheme of reform was first promulgated, is it too mucb to expect that 
 the public mind will be prepared in tbe more advanced communities to 
 accept the final step in a like period f 
 
 In about a dozen years we pass in^ another century. Is it tak- 
 ing too sanguine a view to suggest that by that time all nations will 
 be willing to accept tbe change, and that tbe first day of January in 
 the Twentieth Century may appropriately be inaugurated by tbe adop- 
 tion of one uniform system of reckoning time throughout the world T 
 
 I learn from the recent lecture of the Astronomer Boy al that tbe Board 
 of Visitors of Greenwich Observatory have unanimously recommended 
 that, in accordance with the resolutions of the Washington Conference, 
 the Astronomical day should in the English Nautical Almanac be ar- 
 ranged from the year 1891 (the earliest practicable date) to begin at 
 Greenwich midnight, so as to agree with the civil reckoning, and further 
 that steps have been taken to give effect to this recommendation ; thus 
 in a few years this source of confusion to sailors navigating ships using 
 the Nautical Almanac — embracing at least 70 per cent, of the tonnage of 
 the world — will be removed. The distinguished Russian Astronomer, 
 Struve, has suggested that all astronomers throughout the world should 
 simultaneously abandon Astronomical Time and bring their notation 
 into harmony with the civil reckoning. He further suggests that this 
 reform should be introduced into tbe publications of observatories at 
 the initial day of tbe century. In reference to this the Astronomer 
 Soyal, Greenwich, says (October, 1885) "it would be intolerable to have 
 a fundamental question of time-reckoning left open for fifteen years," 
 and urges that tbe step be taken ten years earlier. Be that as it may 
 with regard to the assimJation of the astronomical and civil notations 
 no one can question that tbe change of the century is an appropriate 
 period for effecting the complete unification of time, and doing away 
 with all the errors of our present mode of reckoning. E\ery auxiliary 
 circumstance points to the possibility of that result being attained. The 
 proceedings of the Washington Conference have given the movement 
 an immense impulse. Its members have authoritatively recognized the 
 principles on which the now notation may be established. So unim- 
 peachable and simple are thege principles as to be within the grasp of 
 the most limited comprehension. In their application we may have to 
 contend against the prejudices engendered by habit and custom, but 
 the principles of reckoning tin;e adopted by the conference are based 
 on truth and they commend themselves to every one of intelligence, aa 
 the proper means to meet the admitted emergency. The unanimity 
 with which the standard hour system was brought into common use in 
 North America is an evidence that the age is sufiSciently intelligent to 
 adopt a reform when its advantages are understood. It will doubtless 
 require the lapse of some years to win over those who feel it to be a 
 bounden duty to cling to old institutions and existing customs. Grad- 
 
360 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS PAPERS. 
 
 onlly, however, the minds of the great mass of men mil become famil- 
 iarized with the new ideas and in the end the new system of notation 
 can not fail to prevail. The main obstacles to be overcome are the 
 restraints which tradition imposes and the usages which our ancestors 
 have transmitted to us. But prejudices of this character can lie gradu- 
 ally and certainly surmounted, if the true principlea of time-rtickoning 
 bo taught iu schools and colleges. Iti a few years the youth of to-day 
 will be moving actors in life, to iutlucnco public opinion and so effect 
 an easy escape from the thraldom of custom. We have therefore good 
 grounds for the belief that, by the dawn of the coming century, the 
 civilized nations may enjoy a system of notation limited to no locality; 
 when the record of the events of history will be unmarked by doubt; 
 when ambiguity iu hours and dates will be at an end; whoa every 
 division of time will be concurrent in all longitudes. 
 
 These expectations realized, tho Washington Conference will have 
 rendered a great service to mankind. If the reforms of B. C. 46 and 
 A. D. 1582 owed their origin to the dominant necessity of removing 
 confusion in connection with tho notations which existed in the then 
 conditions of the human race, in no less degree is another reform de- 
 manded by the new conditions which are presented in this age. Ob- 
 viously the needed change could not be consummated at a more suitable 
 period than at tho beginning of tho new century, but whether effected 
 at that or an earlier date, a provision is made for the change in the 
 conclusions and recommendations of the Washington Conference — a 
 conference which, representing all civilized nations and having estab- 
 lished the fundamental principles of the new notation, must be held by 
 future generations to mark an epoch in the annals of the world not 
 less important than those of the reforms of Julius Csesar and Pope 
 Gregory XIII. 
 
 SUPPLEMENTARY NOTE. 
 
 TIMB RECKONING FROM THE PROCEEDIKOS OF THE CANADIAN INSTTTUTE ISTS-"™. 
 
 (Extract.) 
 
 Porsons wlio iuliabit different sections of th^ eartli differ from each other in their 
 reckouing of the day. At one place it is noon, at another it ie midnight; at a third 
 It is snnrise, at a fourth it is sunset. In consequence we have the elements of con« 
 fusion, which involve in some cases the mistake of a whole day. 
 
 People even living in the same meridian may differ a day in their nsnal reckoning 
 of time, according as the countries they inhabit have been colonized from the one 
 side or the other of the globe. Thero are instances iu the Pacific Ocean where islands 
 almost adjacent reckon by different days of the month and week ; a circumstance 
 calculated to produce mnch confusion when intercourse becomes frequent. 
 
 In Alaska the days of the week and month were one day in advance of those in the 
 adjacent olony of British Columbiu, iudecd of the whole of America On the ad- 
 vent of citizens of the United States a few years ago, whe;:. that territory was trana- 
 ferroil by Eassia, the Saturday was found tu be the Sunday of t* '> old residents. For 
 ordiuary business purposes a change became necessary, and k dispensation waa 
 granted in 1871 by the diguitarics of the Greek Church in Basaia, anthorLcing their 
 
mm 
 
NEW TIME-RECKONING. 361 
 
 missionaries and adherents in Alaska to celt brato Sunday a day later, or on Monday, 
 according to the old reckoning. 
 
 The reverse has bein mot in another quarter of the globe. The Philippine Islands, 
 lying between Australia and AHia, and about 100 degrees of longitude to the west of 
 Alaska, '.vero discovered in 1521 by the illustrious Magellan in his memorable first cir- 
 cumnavigation of the globe. That navigator followed the sun in his path around the 
 world. Legfispi sncceeded him aud took possession of these important islands in the 
 name of Philip II, King of Spain. The Philippine Islands extend for a thousand milea 
 from north to south, they embrace Mauillii, one of the oldest cities of the Indies, aud they 
 contain a population of 5,000,000. They were colonized, as well as discovered, by 
 Spaniards coming from the East, and ns a consequence the reckoning of the inhab- 
 itants has for more than throe centuries remained a day behind the day in Britibh 
 India and the neighboring countries in Asia. 
 
 Travelers who arrive at New Zealand or the Australian colonies by the San Fran- 
 cisco route meet the same diflFerer.ce, owing to the fact that the countries in the South 
 Pacific were colonized from the West. The day ol the week aud of the month carried 
 from San Francisco never agrees with the day and date reckoned by the inhabitants 
 at the destination of the steamer. 
 
 All travelers who have made the voyage between America and Asia have expe- 
 rienced the difficulty in reckoning referred to. Those who have procee<led westward 
 have lost, while those who have traveled eastward have gained a day. In Mrs. 
 Brassey's Around the World in the Yacht Sunbeam, this experience is recorded. The 
 journal of that lady passes from Wednesday, January 10, directly to Friday, January 
 12— Thursday, January 11, having no existence with the travelers. 
 
 In sailing across the Pacific from west to east, one day has to be repeated before 
 lauding on the American coast. If, for example, the correction be made on Wednes- 
 day, Ist July, there will be two Wednesdays in the one week, and two days of the 
 month dated July 1. 
 
 A journey round the world is now an everyday undertaking, and is accomplished 
 with comparative ease. Suppose two travelers set out from a given place, one going 
 eastwardly, the other westwardly. A singular circumstance will result when they 
 both return to the common starting point, and the reason is obvious. One man will 
 arrive, accouling to his reckoning, say on Tuesday, December 31, when in fact at 
 that locality it is Wednesday, Janr " 1. The other traveler, assuming that he has 
 kept accurately a daily journal, will enter in his diary on precisely the same day, 
 Thursday, January 2. This consequence has been brought out by Edgar Allen Poe, 
 in his amusing story of "Three Sundays in one Wee»," but it no longer can be held 
 to be an imaginary contingency, since steam communication by land and water is 
 now alfording extraordinary facilities for making the tour of the globe. 
 
 To illustrate the difficulty more particularly. First, let us select points in four 
 quarters of the globe, each about 90 degrees apart, say in Japan, Arabia, Newfound- 
 a nd, and Alaska. If we assume it to be Sunday midnight at the first-mentioned 
 place, it must be noon at the opposite point, Newfoundland, but on what day is it 
 nount Arabia being to the west of Japan, the local time there will be 6 p. m., on 
 Sunday, and Alaska, lying to the east of Japan, the time there will beG a. m. on Mon- 
 day. Again, when the clock indicates G p. m. on Sunday in Arabia, it must be Sunday 
 noou at a point 90 degrees farther west, or at Newfoundland ; when it is G a. m. on Mou- 
 day in AIa.ska, it must be noou on Monday 90 degrees farther east, also at Newfound- 
 land. Thus, by tracing local time eaMt and west from a given point to its antipodes, 
 the clock on the one hand becomes twelve hours slower, on the other hand twelve 
 hours faster. In the case in point, while it is midnight on Sunday in Japan, at pre- 
 cisely the same moment it la noon at Newfoundland on two distiuot days, viz, on Sun- 
 day and on Monday. 
 
 Secondly, let as trace local time only in one directiou around the earth. The day 
 does not begin everywhere at the same moment. Its commencement travels flrom 
 
362 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS PAPERS. 
 
 eaat to west with the snn, as the eartH revolves in the opposite direction, and it 
 takes an entire revolution of the globe on its axis for the day everywhere to be en- 
 tered on. Immediately on the completion of one revolution the inception of any one 
 day ends, and at this moment the end of the day begins; and the globe must make 
 another complete revolution before the end ot the day entirely finishes. The globe 
 must in fact make two entire revolutions before any one week day runs out, conae- 
 qiiently each aud every day of the week runs over forty -eight hours; and, taking 
 the whole globe into account, two civil days always co-exist. The first twenty-fonr 
 hours of one day co-exist with the last twenty-four hours of its predecessor, while 
 the remaining twenty-four hours co-oxist with the first twenty-four hours of the day 
 which follows. 
 
 It is difficult to accept the fact that any one day lasts more than t*^enty-four hours; 
 but it uan be demonstrated that it is the case. Let us place together several maps of 
 the world on Mercator's " Projection," so as to represent, in consecutive order, each 
 part of the earth's surface as it passes the sun during several diurnal revolutions. 
 (See plate). 
 
 AA^, A^A^, are intended to represent eacl. u complete map of the world. Within 
 each of these limits every place on the earth's surface is brought under the sun during 
 a daily revolution. 
 
 The vertical lines E IN B F represent meridians, for the sake of simplicity selected 
 60 degrees apart, and the stars or dots at their intersection denote the beginning and 
 end of a day on each of the six meridians. As the earth revolves, the sun passes suc- 
 cessively the meridians of those localities, with an interval of four hours elapsing be- 
 tween each. 
 
 Let us assume it to be 12 o'clock midnight on Thursday at meridian A. At that 
 moment anil at that place Friday begins and ruus for twenty-four hoars, or on the 
 diagram frora A to AK 
 
 Four bopi-s later Friday begins on meridian E, and runs four hours on the second 
 map, or into the second revolution of the earth. Four hours still later Friday begins 
 on meridian /and runs eight on the ^econd map or into the second revolution. This 
 goes on from spot to spot, nntil at last the commencement of Friday reaches the last 
 meridian, and at that point Friday ruus entirely across the second map to A*. Thus 
 Friday begins at^, runs during two complete revolutions of the earth, as shown on 
 the map from A to A*. 
 
 The diagram will thus illustrate the duration of every day in the week, and it be- 
 comes obvious, when wo take a general view of the whole globe on any given day, 
 say Saturday, that day begins in the nuddlo of Friday aud docs not end until tiie 
 middle of Sunday. Friday, on the other hand, beginning in the middle of Thursday, 
 runs into the middle of Saturday, while Sunday commences at the moment Friday 
 ends. To state the case difl'erently : the same montent of absolute time which is part 
 of Saturday in one place, is equally part of Friday and of Sunday in some other 
 places east and west. 
 
 It is a preconceived idea with many that there is a simultaneons Sunday over the 
 earth, and that Christians in every meridian keep the Lord's day at oneand the same 
 time. Facts, howevur, establish that this is a mistake. From its first commence- 
 ment to its final ending, the Sunday extends over forty-eight hours. Indeed, if we 
 take into account the remarkable circumstance mentioned with regard to Alaska aud 
 the Philippine Islands, Sunday has been discovered to lun over some fifty- five hours. 
 The same may be said of any day in the week ; and as a consequence we have, taking 
 the whole globe into view, Saturday and Monday running over the intervening Sun 
 day to overlax) each other about seven hours. We have, in fact as a constant occui 
 rence, ^yortions of three consecutive days co-existont. 
 
 From the fact that not only are the hours of the day different in every meridian, 
 but that different days are constantly in progress on the face of the globe, it is a diflQ- 
 onlt matter under our present system of reckoning to assign relatively the hour and 
 
NEW TIME-RECKONING. 
 
 863 
 
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 364 MISCELLANEOUS PAPERS. 
 
 day when events take place. We may learn of an occnrrence, and the time assigned 
 will be correct in the meridian of the locality. Everywhere else it will bo inaccurate. 
 Indeed, if the fact of the occurrence be transmitted over the world by telegraph, it 
 may, in sore places, be recorded on different days.* If the incident occurs at the 
 close of a r h, or a year, it may actually take place in t .vo different months, or two 
 distinct ye 
 
 Under ou ^ jseut system it is quite possible for two events to take place several 
 hours apart, the first and older occurring in the new year in one locality ; the second, 
 although the more recent in absolute time, falling, in another locality, within the 
 <il<l year. The same may be said of events that occur during the per' jQ which elapses 
 when one century merges into another. In one part of the globe the same event may 
 tr.iuspire in the nineteenth century, while in another it falls within the twentieth 
 century. 
 fir. Another diflBcnlty, forced on the attention by the science of the century, is maiuly 
 
 due to the agency of electricity, emi»loyed as a means of telegraphy, and to steam 
 applied to locomotives. These extraordinary sister agencies having revolutionized 
 the relation of distance and time, having bridged space, and diawn into closer affin- 
 ity portions of the earth's surface previously separated by long and, in some cases, 
 inaccessible distances. 
 
 Let us take the case of a traveler in North America. lie lands at Halifax in Nova 
 Scotia, and starts by a railway to Chicago through the eastern portions of Canada. 
 His route is over the Intercolonial, the Grand Trunk, and other lines. He stops at 
 St. John, Quebec, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Hamilton, and Detroit. At the begin- 
 ning of the journey ho sets his watch by Halifax lime. As he reaches each place in 
 succession, he finds a considerable variation in the clocks by which the trains are 
 run, and he discovers that at ro two [daces is the same time osed. Between Halifax 
 and Chicago he finds the railways oba^rving no less than seven dilfcrent standards of 
 time. If the traveller remains at any one «,f the cities referred to, be must alter his 
 watch to avoid inconvenience, and perhaps not a few disappointments and annoy- 
 ances to himself and others. If, however, he should not alter his watch, ho would 
 discover on reaching Chicago that it was an hour and thirty-five minutes faster than 
 the clucks and watches in that city. 
 
 If his journey be made by one of the routes through the United States, the varia- 
 tion in time and its inconveniences will not be less. If he extends his journey west 
 of Chicago, traveling from place to place until he reaches San Francisco, he will meet 
 continual change, and finally discovers a loss in time of nearly four hours (3h. 5flm.). 
 Between the extieme points tbei;e are many standards of time, each city or place of 
 importance generally being governed by its own meridian. Hence the discrepancies 
 which perplex the traveler in moving from place to place. 
 
 On the continent of Europe, and indeed wherever lines of communication extend 
 between points differing to any considerable extent in longitude, the same difficulty 
 is experienced. On a journey from Paris to Vienna or to St. Petersburg, the stand- 
 ard time employed by the railways changes fn quently, and the extieme difference in 
 time between the first and last city is nearly two hours. As railways and ttjlegraphs 
 •re extended in Russia, the inconveniences will become of serious importance in that 
 country. Within the limits of Russia in Europe and Asia, the extreme variations of 
 time is about twelve hours. 
 
 Snppose wo take'tho case of a person traveling from London to India. He starts 
 with Greenwich time, but ho scarcely leaves the hhores i>t England when he finds his 
 Wfttoh no longer right. Paris time is used for the journey until that of Rome be- 
 coraos the standard. At Brindisl there is another change. Up the Mediterranean 
 •hips' lime is used. At Alexandria Egyptian time is the standard. At Suez, Bhipa' 
 
 • TiMB AND TFIK Tki.eoRAPII.- A message dated Simla, l.Tn'S a. m. Wednesday, was 
 received in London at 11. 47 p. m on Tuesday. As the clerk said, with pardonable 
 oonfu»iou, " Why, this message was sent off to-morrow."— Timet. 
 
 J. 
 
^ 
 
 .L 
 
NEW TIME-KECKONING. 365 
 
 time IN reBumcd, and continnea, with daily changes, until India is reached. Arriving 
 at Bombay, the traveler will find two standards employed, local time and railway 
 time, the latter bein^ that of Madras. If he has not altered his watch since be left 
 England, he will find it soino five hours slow. Should he continue ^is Journey to 
 China, it will have fallen eight hours behind. 
 
 In the United Kingdom the difficulties due to longitude are only felt in a modified 
 form. The greater island, embracing England and Scotland, is comparatively limited 
 in width ; oue standard of time is therefore used. It is only in respect to the sister 
 island, Ireland, Ihut th« difference iu longitude calls for a difference in time. In tlie 
 whole United Kingdom, consequently, there are practically only two standards, viz, 
 Greenwich time and Irish time, the difference being twenty-fiv- minutes. No one, 
 therefore, whone experience bus been confined to the United Kingdom, can form an 
 adequate idea of the extent of the inconvenience arising from the causes alluded to, 
 where geographical circumstances render necessary the use of a multiplicity of stand- 
 •rds. 
 
 The railway system in the principal agent in the developing of the difficulties re- 
 ferred to, and the still further extension of steam communications in great continental 
 lines is forcing the subject on public attention. Canada supplies a good illustration 
 of what is occurring. The lailways built and projected will extend from the eastern 
 coast of Newfoundland on the Atlantic to the western coast of British Columbia on 
 the Pacific, eml)racing about 75° of longitude. Every Canadian city has its own 
 lime. Innumerable settlements are now being formed throughout the country 
 ultimately to be traversed by railways; and in a few years scores of populous towns 
 and cities \vill spring up in the now uninhabited territories between the two oceans. 
 Each «)f these places will have its own local time, and the difference between the 
 clocks ut the two extremes of Canada will be full j tl>» hours. The difficulties which 
 will ultimately arise from this state of things are apparent. They are already in 
 some degree felt, they are year by year increasing, and will at no distant day be- 
 come seriously inconvenient. Thin is the case not in Canada alone, but all the world 
 
 over. 
 
 • •••••• 
 
 The division of the day into two halves, each containing twelve hours, and each 
 ^MmbcTcd from 1 to 1-', is also a fertile source of error and inconvenience. 
 
 I'ravelcrs who have had occasion to consult railway guides and steam-boat time- 
 tables will be familiar with the inconvenience resulting from this caustt; none know 
 better l)y experience how much the divisions ante meridiati and post meridian have 
 batiled their inquiries, and how often these arbitrary divisions have led to mistakes. 
 Were it necessary, innuroerable instances could be given. The evil, however, is one 
 HO familiar that it has come to be looked upon as unavoidable, and is, as a matter of 
 course, silently endured. 
 
 The halving of the day has doubtless long been in use, but beyond its claim to 
 antiquity, is a custom that confers not a single benefit, and is marked by nothing to 
 recommend it. 
 
 SCHEMB OF COSMIC OR UNIVKU8AL TIMK. 
 
 1. That a system of universal time be established, with the view of facilitating 
 aynchronous scientific observations, for chronological reckoningK, for the puri)08eof 
 trade and commerce by sea and land, and for all such uses to which it is applicable. 
 
 2. That the system be established for the common obserA oe of all peoples, an«l 
 of such a character that it may be adopted by each separate community, as may be 
 found expedient. 
 
 3. Tliat the system be based on the principle that for all terrebtrial time-reckonings 
 there be one recognized unit of measurement only, and that all measured intervals 
 of time be directly related to the one-unit measure. 
 
 4. That the unit measure be the period occupied by the diurnal revolution of the 
 earth, defined by the mean solar passage at the meridian twelve hours firom the prim« 
 meridian established through Qreenwioh. 
 
366 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS PAPEBS. 
 
 5. That the unit measare deflaed as above be held to be a day abaolnte, and desig- 
 nated a coHmio day. 
 
 6. Thai snch cosmic day be held aa the chronological date of the earth, changing 
 with the mean solar passage at the anti-meridian of Qreen'wicb. 
 
 7. That all diviKions and multiples of the cosmic day be known as cosmic time. 
 
 8. That the cosmic day be divided into hours, numbered in a single series, one to 
 twenty-four (1 to 24), and that the hours be subdivided, as ordinary honrs, into min- 
 utes and seconds. 
 
 Note.— Aa an alternative means of distinguishing the cosmic honrs from the hours 
 in local reckonings, they may be denoted by the letters of the alphabet, which, omit- 
 ting I and V, are twenty-four in number. 
 
 9. That until cosmic time be accepted as the recognized means of reckoning in the 
 ordinary affairs of life, it is advisable to assimilate the system to present usages, and 
 to provide for the easy translation of local reckonings into cosmic time, and vice vena; 
 that, therefore, in theory, and as closely as possible in practice, local reckonings be 
 based on a known interval in advance or behind cosmic time. 
 
 10. That the snrface of the globe be divided by twenty-four eqni-distant hour-merid- 
 ians, corresponding with the honrs of the cosmic day. 
 
 11. That, as far as practicable, the several hour-meridians be taken according to 
 the longitude of the locality, to regulate local reckonings, in a manner similar to the 
 system in use throughout North America. 
 
 12. That in all cases where an honr-meridian is adopted as the standard for regulat- 
 ing local reckonings in a particular section or district, the civil day shall be held to 
 commence twelve hours before, and end twelve honrs after, the mean solar passage 
 of such hour meridian. 
 
 13. That the civil day, based on the prime meridian of Greenwich, shall coincide 
 and be one with the cosmic day. That civil days on meridians east of Greenwich 
 shall be (according to the longitude) a known number of hours, or hours and min- 
 utes, in advance of cosmic time, and to the west of Greenwich the contrary. 
 
 14. That the surface of the globe being divided by twenty-four eqni-distant merid- 
 ians (fifteen degrees apart) corresponding with the hours of the cosmic day, it is 
 advisable that longitude be reckoned according to these hour-meridians. 
 
 15. That divisions of longitude less than an hour (fifteen degrees) be reckoned in 
 minutes and seconds and parts of seconds. 
 
 16. That longitude be reckoned continuously towards the west, beginning with zero 
 at the anti-prime meridian, twelve hours from Greenwich. 
 
 17. That longitude generally be denoted by the same terms as those applied to cos- 
 mic time.