permit of it.

Prof. ABBE, Delegate of the United States, said that he was quite
interested in the determination, if possible, of what is a neutral
meridian. We are precisely in the condition in which we were years
ago, when the French Institute determined that the basis of the metric
system should be the one ten-millionth of the quadrant of the globe.
Having settled upon that ideal basis, they spent years of labor, and
finally legalized a standard metre, which is still preserved at Paris.
We have now the same problem to solve. We have before us the idea of a
neutral meridian, and, if it be adopted, we must see that there be
embodied in the system the distance of certain other important places
with reference to it. The only suggestion given as to the location of
this neutral meridian is Behring's Strait. This is said to be a
neutral meridian, because it lies between Russia and America; but how
long will it remain so? Perhaps a year or two, or perhaps fifty years.
Who knows when Russia will step over and reconquer the country on this
side of Behring's Strait? Who knows when America will step over and
purchase half of Siberia? At any rate, that point is not cosmopolitan;
something must be found which is fixed, either within the sphere of
the earth or in the stars above the earth--something that is above all
human considerations--otherwise we shall fail in securing a neutral
meridian.

Commander SAMPSON, Delegate of the United States, said that he would
like to ask the Delegate from France, Mr. JANSSEN, where he would
place the neutral meridian.

The PRESIDENT said that the Delegate of the United States, Commander
SAMPSON, puts a question which seems to be somewhat categorical.