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In faith whereof, the undersigned commissaries have drawn up the present project of additional articles and have apposed thereunto the seals of their arms.

Done at Geneva, the twentieth day of the month of October, of the year one thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight.

VON ROEDER.
F. LOEFFLER.
KÖHLER.

DR. MUNDY.

STEINER.

DR. DOMPIERRE.
VISSCHERS.

J. B. G. GALIFFE.

D. FELICE BARROFIO.
PAOLO COTTRAU.

H. A. VAN KARNEBEEK.
WESTENBERG.

F. N. STAAFF.

G. H. DUFOUR.

G. MOYNIER.

A. COUPVENT DES BOIS.
H. DE PRÉVAL.

JOHN SAVILLE LUMLEY.

H. R. YELVERTON.
DR. S. LEHMANN.
HUSNY.

DR. C. HAHN.

DR. FICHTE.

1875.

INTERNATIONAL BUREAU OF WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.

Concluded at Paris May 20, 1875; ratification advised by the Senate May 15, 1878; ratified by the President May 28, 1878; ratifications exchanged August 2, 1878; proclaimed September 27, 1878. (Treaties and Conventions, 1889, p. 1157.)

(The treaty submitted to the Senate and attached to the proclamation is in the French language. The text here printed is from a translation made in the Department of State.)

ARTICLES.

I. International Bureau of Weights | VIII. Prototypes of meter and kilogram. and Measures established.

II. Special building.

III. International committee.

IV. General conferences.

V. Regulations.

VI. Duties of the bureau.

VII. Bureau officials.

IX. Expenses.

X. Contributions.

XI. Contributions

countries.

from acceding

XII. Future modifications.
XIII. Duration.

XIV. Ratification.

[Translation.]

His Excellency the President of the United States of America, His Majesty the Emperor of Germany, His Majesty the Emperor of AustriaHungary, His Majesty the King of the Belgians, His Majesty the Emperor of Brazil, His Excellency the President of the Argentine Confederation, His Majesty the King of Denmark, His Majesty the King of Spain, His Excellency the President of the French Republic, His Majesty the King of Italy, His Excellency the President of the Republic of Peru, His Majesty the King of Portugal and the Algarves, His Majesty the Emperor of all the Russias, His Majesty the King of Sweden and Norway, His Excellency the President of the Swiss Confederation, His Majesty the Emperor of the Ottomans, and His Excellency the President of the Republic of Venezuela, desiring international uniformity and precision in standards of weight and measure, 7468-43

have resolved to conclude a convention to this effect, and have named as their plenipotentiaries the following:

His Excellency the President of the United States of America: Mr. Elihu Benjamin Washburne, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of the United States at Paris;

His Majesty the Emperor of Germany: His Highness Prince Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst, Grand Cross of the Order of the Red Eagle of Prussia, and of the Order of St. Hubert of Bavaria, &c., &c., &c., his Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary at Paris;

His Majesty the Emperor of Austria-Hungary: His Excellency Count Apponyi, his Actual Chamberlain and Privy Counselor, Knight of the Golden Fleece, Grand Cross of the Royal Order of St. Stephen of Hungary, and of the Imperial Order of Leopold, &c., &c., &c., his Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary at Paris;

His Majesty the King of the Belgians: Baron Beyens, Grand Officer of his Order of Leopold, Grand Officer of the Legion of Honor, &c., &c., &c., his Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary at Paris;

His Majesty the Emperor of Brazil: Mr. Marcus Antonio d'Araujo, Viscount d'Itajuba, Grandee of the Empire, member of His Majesty's Council, Commander of his Order of Christ, Grand Officer of the Legion of Honor, &c., &c., &c., his Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary at Paris;

His Excellency the President of the Argentine Confederation: Mr. Balcarce, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of the Argentine Confederation at Paris;

His Majesty the King of Denmark: Count de Moltke-Hvitfeldt, Grand Cross of the Order of Dannebrog, and decorated with the Cross of Honor of the same order, Grand Officer of the Legion of Honor, &c., &c., &c., his Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary at Paris;

His Majesty the King of Spain: His Excellency Don Mariano Roca de Togores, Marquis de Molins, Viscount de Rocamora, Grandee of Spain of the First Class, Knight of the Renowned Order of the Golden Fleece, Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor, &c., &c., &c., Director of the Royal Spanish Academy, his Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary at Paris; and General Ibañez, Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic, &c., &c., Director General of the Geographical and Statistical Institute of Spain, Member of the Academy of Sciences; His Excellency the President of the French Republic: The Duke Decazes, deputy to the National Assembly, Commander of the Order of the Legion of Honor, &c., &c., &c., Minister of Foreign Affairs; the Viscount de Meaux, deputy to the National Assembly, Minister of Agriculture and of Commerce; and Mr. Dumas, Perpetual Secretary to the Academy of Sciences, Grand Cross of the Order of the Legion of Honor;

His Majesty the King of Italy: The Chevalier Constantino Nigra, Knight of the Grand Cross of his Orders of St. Maurice and St. Lazarus, and of the Crown of Italy, Grand Officer of the Legion of Honor, &c., &c., &c., his Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary at Paris;

His Excellency the President of the republic of Peru: Mr. Pedro Galvez, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of Peru at Paris; and Mr. Francisco de Rivero, formerly Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of Peru;

His Majesty the King of Portugal and of the Algarves: Mr. José da Silva Mendes Leal, Peer of the Realm, Grand Cross of the Order of

Saint James, Knight of the Order of the Tower, and Sword of Portugal, &c., &c., &c., his Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary at Paris;

His Majesty the Emperor of all the Russias: Mr. Gregory Okouneff, Knight of the Russian Orders of St. Anne of the first class, of St. Stanislaus of the first class, of St. Vladimir of the third class, Commander of the Legion of Honor, Actual Counselor of State, Counselor of the Embassy of Russia at Paris;

His Majesty the King of Sweden and Norway: Baron Adelswärd, Grand Cross of the Order of the Polar Star of Sweden, and of St. Olaf of Norway, Grand Officer of the Legion of Honor, &c., &c., &c., hist Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary at Paris;

His Excellency the President of the Swiss Confederation: Mr. Jean Conrad Kern, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of the Swiss Confederation at Paris;

His Majesty the Emperor of the Ottomans: Husny Bey, LieutenantColonel of Staff, wearer of a fourth-class decoration of the Imperial Order of Osmania, of a fifth-class decoration of the Order of Medjidie, Officer of the Legion of Honor, &c., &c., &c.;

His Excellency the President of the Republic of Venezuela: Doctor Eliseo Acosta,

Who, after having exhibited their full powers, which were found to be in good and due form, have agreed upon the following articles:

ARTICLE 1.

The high contracting parties engage to establish and maintain, at their common expense, a scientific and permanent international bureau of weights and measures, the location of which shall be at Paris.

ARTICLE 2.

The French Government shall take all the necessary measures to facilitate the purchase, or, if expedient, the construction, of a building which shall be especially devoted to this purpose, subject to the conditions stated in the regulations which are subjoined to this convention.

ARTICLE 3.

The operation of the international bureau shall be under the exclusive direction and supervision of an international committee of weights and measures, which latter shall be under the control of a general conference for weights and measures, to be composed of the delegates of all the contracting governments.

ARTICLE 4.

The general conference for weights and measures shall be presided over by the president for the time being of the Paris Academy of Sciences.

ARTICLE 5.

The organization of the bureau, as well as the formation and the powers of the international committee, and of the general conference for weights and measures, are established by the regulations subjoined to this convention.

ARTICLE 6.

The international bureau of weights and measures shall be charged with the following duties:

1st. All comparisons and verifications of the new prototypes of the meter and kilogram.

2d. The custody of the international prototypes.

3d. The periodical comparison of the national standards with the international prototypes and with their test copies, as well as comparisons of the standard thermometers.

4th. The comparison of the prototypes with the fundamental standards of non-metrical weights and measures used in different countries for scientific purposes.

5th. The sealing and comparison of geodesic measuring-bars.

6th. The comparison of standards and scales of precision, the verification of which may be requested by governments or by scientific societies, or even by constructors or men of science.

ARTICLE 7.

The persons composing the bureau shall be a director, two assistants, and the necessary number of employés. When the comparisons of the new prototypes shall have been finished, and when these prototypes shall have been distributed among the different states, the number of persons composing the bureau shall be reduced so far as may be deemed expedient.

The governments of the high contracting parties will be informed by the international committee of the appointment of the persons composing this bureau.

ARTICLE S.

The international prototypes of the meter and of the kilogram, together with the test copies of the same, shall be deposited in the bureau, and access to them shall be allowed to the international committee only.

ARTICLE 9.

The entire expense of the construction and outfit of the international bureau of weights and measures, together with the annual cost of its maintenance and the expenses of the committee, shall be defrayed by contributions from the contracting states, the amount of which shall be computed in proportion to the actual population of each.

ARTICLE 10.

The amounts representing the contributions of each of the contracting states shall be paid at the beginning of each year, through the ministry of foreign affairs of France, into the Caisse de dépôts et consignations at Paris, whence they may be drawn as occasion may require, upon the order of the director of the bureau.

ARTICLE 11.

Those governments which may take advantage of the privilege, open to every state, of acceding to this convention, shall be required to pay a contribution, the amount of which shall be fixed by the committee on the basis established in article 9, and which shall be devoted to the improvement of the scientific apparatus of the bureau.

ARTICLE 12.

The high contracting parties reserve to themselves the power of introducing into the present convention, by common consent, any modifications the propriety of which may have been shown by experience.

ARTICLE 13.

At the expiration of twelve years this convention may be abrogated by any one of the high contracting parties, so far as it is concerned. Any government which may avail itself of the right of terminating this convention, so far as it is concerned, shall be required to give notice of its intentions one year in advance, and by so doing shall renounce all rights of joint ownership in the international prototypes and in the bureau.

ARTICLE 14.

This Convention shall be ratified according to the constitutional laws of each state, and the ratifications shall be exchanged in Paris within six months, or sooner, if possible.

It shall take effect on the first day of January, 1876.

In testimony whereof the respective plenipotentiaries have attached their signatures and have hereunto affixed their seals of arms.

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The international bureau of weights and measures shall be established in a special building, possessing all the necessary safeguards of stillness and stability.

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