If, on the contrary, any conclusion is to be drawn from the instructive debate at which we have assisted, it is that the principal, I will say more, the only merit of the Greenwich meridian—­and our colleague from Great Britain just now reminded us of it by enumerating with complacency the tonnage of British and American shipping—­is that there are grouped around it, interests to be respected, I will acknowledge it willingly, by their magnitude, their energy, and their power of increasing, but entirely devoid of any claim on the impartial solicitude of science.  To strengthen my assertion, gentlemen, I fall back upon the arguments brought forward by Mr. Hirsch in his remarkable report to the Geodetic Conference at Rome, arguments that evidently carried the vote of that assembly.

The Greenwich meridian, says that report, corresponds to an empire that embraces twenty million square kilometres and a population of two hundred and fifty millions.  Her merchant marine, which counts 40,000 ships of a tonnage from six to nine million tons, and crews of 370,000 men, surpasses in importance all the other marines put together.  Other States, equally important by their merchant marine, especially the United States, make use of the Greenwich meridian.  Well, gentlemen, if we weigh these reasons—­the only ones that have been set forth, the only ones that at present militate for the Greenwich meridian—­is it not evident that these are material superiorities, commercial preponderances that are going to influence your choice?  Science appears here only as the humble vassal of the powers of the day to consecrate and crown their success.  But, gentlemen, nothing is so transitory and fugitive as power and riches.  All the great empires of the world, all financial, industrial, and commercial prosperities of the world, have given us a proof of it, each in turn.

So long as there are not in polities or commerce any scientific means by which to fix, to enchain fortune, I see no reason to fix, to enchain, to subordinate, so to say, science to their fate.

The character of the proposed determination of the initial meridian is so evident, that the reporter of the Conference at Rome, Mr. Hirsch, admits it implicitly, for recognizing that the adoption of the meridian of Greenwich is a sacrifice for France, he asks that England should respond by a similar concession, by favoring the definitive adoption of the metric system, and by acceding to the Convention of the metre which furnishes to all States metric standards rigorously compared.  Thus, Mr. Hirsch, in a spirit of justice, wished to make for each a balance of profit and loss—­evident proof that the question was of a commercial, and of no scientific advantage.  I am not aware, and my mission is not to discover, whether the bargain might have been accepted by France.  However, it is with great pleasure that I heard our colleague from England declare that his Government was ready to join the international metric convention, but I notice, with sorrow, that our situation in this Congress is not as favorable as that of Rome, since the total abandonment of our meridian is proposed without any compensation.