of miles of railroad tracts covering this continent, facilitating the intercourse between distant places, necessitate a uniform system to avoid confusion.  It was, therefore, natural that the United States and Canada should have taken the lead in proposing such a reform, which would likewise benefit other countries, as, for instance, the British Empire, Russia, and Germany.  But there are, at the same time, other countries, like France, Spain, Italy, Scandinavia, etc., that may content themselves with a national hour, owing to the small difference in time within their dominion.  For them, the adoption of a universal hour would only be of secondary importance, because it would only affect their international relations.

I hope I may be permitted to remind you of the conclusions arrived at by a commission consisting of scientists, railroad and telegraph officials, &c., appointed by the French Government to express their opinion upon this subject.  If I am not mistaken, they recommended a universal hour, stating, however, at the same time, that the benefit to be derived from such an hour would be only of secondary importance for their country.  The learned Delegate from France, Professor JANSSEN, will probably be kind enough to inform us whether I am right or not.

The few remarks I have made bring me to the point I wanted to consider more specially.  I mean that the originators of the pending proposition, and those directly interested in it, should be induced to modify their proposition somewhat if they wish it to be adopted by other countries.  In other words, to leave to each country the greatest latitude possible in adopting a universal hour.

With regard to the Ottoman Empire, I must state that it is placed in a somewhat exceptional position in this respect, and is, therefore, obliged to ask for more latitude even than the other countries concerned.

In our country we have two modes of reckoning time:  one from noon to noon, or from midnight to midnight, as everywhere else, (heure a la franque), the other (heure a la turque) from sundown to sundown.  In this latter case the hours count from the moment when the disk of the sun is bisected by the horizon, and we count twice from 0h. to 12h., instead of counting without any interruption from 0h. to 24h. We are well aware of the inconveniences this system of counting produces, because 0h. necessarily varies from day to day, for the interval of time between one sunset and the one following is not exactly 24 hours.  According to the season the sun will set earlier or later, and our watches and clocks at Constantinople will be at most about three minutes fast or slow from day to day, according to the season.

Reasons of a national and religious character prevent us, however, from abandoning this mode of counting our time.  The majority of our population is agricultural, working in the fields, and prefer to count to sunset; besides, the hours for the Moslem prayers are counted from sundown to sundown.