Hitt to By the President: Wm. M. Evarts, November 14, 1879

No. 225. Mr. Hitt to Mr. Evarts.

Sir: I have the honor to transmit herewith a lithographed report of the Committee of Weights and Measures, showing what amount of money is required for the year 1880.

The president and secretary of the committee state that, experience having demonstrated the insufficiency of the sum allowed heretofore for the working of the Bureau, the committee has unanimously decided to avail itself of the privilege given by Article 6 of the regulations, and to raise the annual budget for the year 1880 to 100,000 francs.

A tabular statement on page 5 shows how this amount is to be used.

The committee states further that numerous expenses, which cannot be comprised either in the current expenses or in the expenses allowed for establishing the Bureau, have been rendered necessary by long and costly researches, chemical or mechanical, for the construction of the international prototypes, and that such expenses are, according to Article 21 of the regulations, to be paid by the parties to the convention.

The committee asked, therefore, for the reimbursement of these expenses, which extend in all to 56,725 francs.

According to the scale fixed by the convention (Article 20), the amount to be paid by the United States for the year 1880 would be 15,224 francs, of which 9,714 francs are for the current expenses, and 5,510 francs for the extraordinary expenses.

I have, &c.,

Table of the quotas of the contracting States for the International Bureau of Weights and Measures for the year 1880.