21. Association Climatologique Internationale.
22. Association Internationale contre la Tuberculose.
23. Union Internationale des Stations Electriques.
24. Bureau International des Administrations Tel6graphiques.
25. Association Internationale Permanente des Congres de Navigation.
26. Association Scientifique Internationale d'Agronomie Colo- niale.
27. Union Internationale des Stations de Recherches Forestieres.
28. Union Internationale de Photographic.
29. Institut International de Photographic.
30. Association Internationale des Explorateurs Polaires.
31. Institut Polaire International.
32. Laboratoire International de Physiologie du Mont Rose.
With regard to the origin and aims of some of the most impor- tant of these organizations, the following notes may be added.
GROUP I.
1. The "Bureau International des Poids et Mesures " was estab- lished in 1873 at Sevres as the outcome of an international com- mission constituted in 1869 for the construction of metric standards. The existing convention was agreed upon in 1875. Great Britain joined the convention in 1884; the annual contribution now ranges between 200 and 300.
2. The International Conference on Electrical Units and Standards which was held in London in 1908 recommended that the various Governments interested should establish a Permanent International Commission for Electrical Standards. The conference requested Lord Rayleigh, then president, to nominate a Scientific Committee of 15 members to formulate a plan of such commission and, in the meantime, to direct such work as would be necessary in connexion with the maintenance and inter-comparison of standards. This committee has done much valuable work, but the intended Perma- nent Commission never came into being.
3. The International Electrotechnical Commission was formed for the purpose of carrying out a resolution of government delegates who met at the International Electrical Congress of St. Louis in 1904. This resolution was to the effect: "That steps should be taken to secure the cooperation of the technical societies of the world by the appointment of a representative commission to con- sider the question of the standardization of the nomenclature and ratings of electrical apparatus and machinery." The statutes of this commission were finally adopted at a meeting held in London on Oct. 22 1908. They provide for the formation by the Sec- tional Societies of each country of committees who shall represent that country on the International Commission. The central office is in London. Each Electrotechnical Committee provides funds for its own expenses, and contributes its share to the expenses of the central office. At the last meeting of the commission in Berlin before the war (1913) 24 countries were represented.
4. International Association for Testing Material. Six inter- national congresses were held between 1884 and 1912 with the view of introducing greater uniformity in the methods of testing materials adopted in different countries. At the last two pre-war congresses (Copenhagen, 1909, and New York, 1912) England was represented. The resolutions of the congresses ar not binding on anyone, and merely serve to express the opinion of the majority. Nevertheless, the work of this organization has become of considerable importance. After the congress of 1912 a report of the British delegates advocating that the British Government should continue its official support was laid on the table of the House of Commons. 1
5. Joint International Committee on Atomic Weights. This com- mittee grew out of an organization formed by the leading chemical societies in Europe and America. It was finally constituted in 1901-2, when the business of the committee was entrusted to four men, being representatives of the chemical societies of America, England, France and Germany respectively. The object of this committee was to draw up annual reports on work connected with the determination of atomic weights, to consider the results, and to recommend any changes in the Tables of Atomic Weights which might seem desirable for promoting uniformity in teaching and in the literature of the subject. These reports were published each year until the beginning of the war.
6. Annual Publication of Tables of Physical and Chemical Con- stants. This is an undertaking with its headquarters at Paris, man- aged by an International Committee. Special committees have also been instituted in different countries (France, England, Germany, Holland, United States) to assist the work.
7. International Commission of Illumination. The object of this organization, formed by scientific societies in different countries, was " to study and advance by congress and publications ; the knowledge and practice of the art of illumination, and to secure international agreement on matters of general concern to the science and art of illumination."
8. There were two important " Conferences Internationales des Ephemerides Astronomiques," one in 1896, which established greater
1 Cf. Sir James Wolfe-Barry, " Forrest " Lecture of the Institu- tion of Civil Engineers. Appendix v. (1917).
uniformity in the adopted constants, such as that of the solar parallax and aberration, and one in 1912, which arranged for collabo- ration in different countries.
9. The International Meteorological Conference and Committee. Beginning with 1891, the directors of the meteorological institutes and observatories of different countries met periodically in "con- ference," normally every ten years. The functions of the conference are to propose measures of cooperation likely to prove helpful to the development of meteorology, to bring about uniformity of ideas, and to foster good relations between the workers of different coun- tries. The conference appoints, when it deems necessary, commis- sions with independent powers to promote the study of special sub- jects. In addition to the purely meteorological commissions ap-
Eointed by the conference, there were, at the outbreak of the war, ve others concerned respectively with (a) Scientific Aeronautics, (b) Terrestrial Magnetism, (c) Radiations, (d) Solar Physics, and (e) the Application of Meteorology to Agriculture.
10. The International Solar Union was an association of scientific bodies. Of these, three were domiciled in the United States, three in France, two each in Great Britain, Italy, Spain and Germany, one each in Austria, Canada, Holland, Russia, Sweden and Swit- zerland. Meetings were held every three years, and the business in the meantime was carried out by an Executive Committee of three members only. So far as fundamental measurements are concerned, the Solar Union has, by means of its members working independently in different countries, determined secondary standards of wave- length spread over different parts of the spectrum. It has also, through a number of committees, investigated questions relating to sunspot spectra and solar radiation. In 1913 the union decided to extend its range so as to include the whole of stellar physics.
11. The " International Telegraphic Union," an institution having its " bureau " at Berne, and maintained by subscriptions from the States adhering to the union. Occasional conferences were held which led to " conventions," of which a number are in force. The bureau issues a monthly bulletin " Le Journal Telegraphique." The union was an official rather than a scientific body, the delegates of the conferences being selected from the clerical staff of the Tele- graph Office for Great- Britain and its colonies.
13. Bureau International de I'Heure. At an International Con- ference summoned by the " Bureau des Longitudes" of Paris in 1912, the following resolutions were passed:
" I. II est utile de chercher a realiser I'unification de 1'heure.
" 2. L'heure universelle sera celle de Greenwich.
" 3. II sera utile de creer une Commission Internationale de
I'Heure."
A provisional committee was formed to give effect to the last of these resolutions, and statutes were prepared in which the objects of the International Commission were defined as follows: To unify the ' hour ' by radio-telegraphic signals or otherwise, whether for the purpose of scientific objects of high precision, or to supply the ordinary needs of navigation, meteorology, seismology, railway traffic, the postal and telegraphic services, public administration, watch-makers, private individuals, etc." An International Bureau was to be established providing for scientific assistants charged with the conduct of special researches. The cost was to be divided between the States forming the union either through their govern- ments or some scientific body. The proposed statutes were sub- mitted to the meeting of the International Association of Academies held in 1913 at St. Petersburg and received their unanimous sup- port. The outbreak of the war prevented further action.
GROUP II.
1. The International Geodetic Association was formed by 21 con- tributing States and has an annual income of nearly 3,000, the subscription for the larger States being 300. According to its con- vention, which held for 12 years at a time, and was renewable, the Prussian Geodetic Institute at Potsdam was its Central Bureau. Its president, vice-president, and secretary belonged to different countries, and retained their position for the duration of the con- vention, which lapsed in 1916. Its most useful work dealt with the standardization and comparison of pendulums for gravity measure- ments. In later years it devoted itself almost entirely to investiga- tions on changes of latitude.
2. The International Seismological Association was formed in 1903 on the pattern of the Geodetic Convention, the Imperial Seis- mological Station at Strassburg being selected as the Central Bureau. France, the United States and Great Britain at first refused to join this association, and the International Association of Academies appointed a committee to suggest such alterations in the proposed convention as would enable these countries to take part in the work. The principal changes proposed and ultimately accepted were: (l) that Strassburg should not necessarily remain the Central Bureau, the selection of its domicile being left to the triennial meetings, (2) that the president should only hold office for three years, (3) that a State may join through one of its scientific societies, and not necessarily through its Government, and (4) that the correspondence between the president and the organizations in each State be carried out through the secretary of the association and not through diplomatic channels as originally provided. The United States joined as soon as these changes were accepted ; France
