Among charting and mapping agencies in the United States, standardization of methods and uniformity in conventional symbols and nomenclature have been attained by means of continuing committees on which each agency has representation. A similar need became apparent for the international standardization of nautical charts and other hydrographic documents and resulted in the formation of the International Hydrographic Bureau.
The International Hydrographic Bureau had its inception in an International Hydrographic Conference held in London in 1919 at the invitation of the British Admiralty, extended to all maritime nations to appoint delegates to discuss hydrographic subjects and to consider the establishment of a permanent Hydrographic Bureau. Because of his interest in oceanography, the late Prince Albert I, the father of the present reigning Prince of Monaco, was specially included in the invitation.
Under date of June 4, 1919, the Department of State was advised by the British Embassy that the object of the conference was:
To consider the advisability of all maritime nations adopting similar methods in the preparation, construction and production of their charts and all hydrographic publications; of rendering the results in the most convenient form to enable them to be readily used; of instituting a prompt system of mutual exchange of hydrographic information between all countries; and of providing an opportunity for consultations and discussions to be carried out on hydrographic subjects generally by the hydrographic experts of the world.
The 1919 Hydrographic Conference was actually an outcome of the International Maritime Conference held at St. Petersburg in 1912 under the auspices of the Imperial Russian Government. While the conference of 1912 covered broadly all matters of interest to the mariner, it was so noticeably hydrographic in character as to suggest the Hydrographic Conference of 1919. Before the signing of the Armistice of World War I, the heads of the British and of the French Hydrographic Offices had discussed the desirability of holding an International Hydrographic Conference. London was selected as the most suitable place for the first conference. The Lord Commissioners of the British Admiralty thereupon invited delegates from the various maritime states. The general concurrence of the maritime powers in the proposal for such a conference is indicated in the acceptance by 27 countries.
The conference opened on June 24, 1919, and was in session until July 16. In addition to detailed discussions by committees of hydrographic and charting matters, the conference decided unanimously on the creation of an International Hydrographic Bureau and a committee was appointed to draw up an organization of the proposed bureau and to select a seat. This committee consisted of the heads of the delegations of the United States of America, France, and Great Britain.
Captain Rude is known to navigators on the sea and in the air as the inventor of the Rude Star Finder and Identifier. Not only has he performed distinguished work in his field, but he has invented several devices that are used in hydrographic work, and has written numerous technical and scientific articles on the subjects of hydrography, navigation, nautical astronomy, surveying instruments, tides and currents.
This article is his tenth to be published in the Proceedings.
Some of the delegates in plenary sessions of the conference expressed a preference for London as the seat, with the idea that the proximity of a great center of hydrographic activity, such as the Hydrographic Department of the British Admiralty, would be advantageous to the proposed bureau. Other delegates opposed London, or other places near the hydrographic office of any great power, with the argument that such proximity might infringe on the independence of an international bureau. The late Admiral Sir John Parry, Hydrographer of the British Admiralty and President of the conference, was among those who favored the location of a seat at a distance from the hydrographic office of any nation.
Serious consideration of a seat was not given, however, until a draft of the statutes for governing the proposed bureau was undertaken. It was finally decided that the bureau should be located in Europe since a majority of the participants at the conference were European, and further, that a “neutral” country should be chosen. A happy choice was made in selecting the Principality of Monaco, renowned for its climate and its beautiful surroundings at the foot of the mountains on the Mediterranean Sea.
Prince Albert, the Prince of Monaco, gave his permission for the establishment of the Bureau at Monte Carlo, and gave the organization his full support until his death in June, 1922. For the first few years the Bureau occupied rented quarters in a hotel in Monte Carlo. At the conference of 1926, however, the Delegate of the Spanish Government offered the Bureau free quarters in the building of the Institute of Oceanography and Marine Biology which was planned for erection in Malaga.
The Principality of Monaco, desiring to continue as host to the International Hydrographic Bureau, made a counterproposal to construct a building for the gratuitous use of the Bureau on the Quai de Plaisance facing the harbor, provided implicit assurance would be given that the seat would remain in the Principality for a minimum period of 25 years.
In addition to the cost of moving equipment and personnel to Malaga and to the fact that Monte Carlo had been selected because of its “neutrality,” there were other reasons in favor of Monte Carlo. The Government of Monaco, by an Ordonnance Souveraine, had conferred on the Statutes of the International Hydrographic Bureau judicial efficacy and had given them the force of law in the Principality. The economic advantages to the Directors and staff of living in Monaco were also taken into consideration ln that the Principality has no property taxes nor income taxes, all cost of the government being borne by the revenue from the Casino and the Baths.
In March, 1928, the matter of selecting either Monaco or Malaga was submitted to the States Members for secret ballot, but before the voting by mail could be accomplished the Spanish Government in May, 1928, withdrew its offer and expressed pleasure in having the seat of the Bureau remain at Monaco “in honor of the memory of Prince Albert as an eminent oceanographer.”
The cornerstone of the new building in Monte Carlo was laid at the time of the 1929 Supplementary Hydrographic Conference, and it was formally dedicated by the present reigning Prince of Monaco on January 14, 1931.
The Principality of Monaco is situated on the Riviera only 10 miles from the Italian frontier. It is surrounded on three sides by the French Department of the Alpes-Mari- time; to the southeastward it faces the Mediterranean Sea. The Principality comprises three communes—Monaco, the Condamine, and Monte Carlo. Monaco, the old town, is built on a precipitous, rocky peninsula (Rock of Monaco) and contains the Prince’s Palace, Government offices, law courts, and public buildings. The Condamine, in the low land between the western frontier and the Ravine of St. Devote, is the business part. Monte Carlo extends from St. Devote Ravine to the eastern frontier and contains the Casino, the larger hotels and many fine villas. The small harbor, with an area of about 40 acres and sheltered by two breakwaters, is enclosed in the bight between the Rock of Monaco and Monte Carlo.
By rail Monaco is served by the Paris, Lyon and Mediterranée Railway, on the main line from Marseilles and Toulon to Ventimiglia (Italy). The Principality may be reached by sea to Marseilles or Toulon and thence by train. By road Monaco is reached from Paris either by way of Lyons and Avignon or by a shorter route, more difficult but more scenic, via Grenoble. The two roads meet at Nice, thence by the coast road (Corniche inférieure) to Monaco.
The Principality of Monaco, only 2½ miles long and a maximum of ½ mile wide, has had an interesting history. Before the dawn of history the ancient Ligurians occupied strongholds along the coast,1 now known as the Riviera, and one of these, still in existence, has given the name “Castelleretto” to the area just above Monaco railway station. The Ligurians received, as traders, the Phoenicians from the east, and the natural harbor of Monaco was a regular port of call for these adventurous Phoenician navigators who carried the commerce not only of their own country but of the then-known world, the perfumes and spices of Arabia, the amber of the Baltic countries, the copper of Cyprus, and the precious metals of Spain; from the Tigris and the Euphrates their trade routes carried to the western Mediterranean the wares of Egypt and Babylonia. Legend would have a temple built at Monaco by the Phoenicians to the God Melkarth. More certain, however, is the history of a temple to Herakles built at Monaco by the Greeks from the Massillian Colony (Marseille).
Monaco, known to the Romans as Portus Herculis or Monoeci Portus, was a stopping place in the later days of the empire for traders between Norbo (Narbonne) and Emporiae (Rosas Bay).
During the Roman Empire the walled town of Turbia (La Turbie near Monte Carlo) was the frontier town on the main road between the Roman Provinces and Gaul. Monte Carlo is now connected with La Turbie by a funicular railway.
1 In part from a brief history contained in a brochure presented to each delegate to the 1932 International Hydrographic Conference.
In the tenth century the Genoese Republic began to extend its power to the westward along the coast of the present Riviera and by a.d. 985 had reached Antibes, though they were not strongly entrenched for some years. The Genoese actually took possession of Monaco in 1191 and by 1215 had built the fortress and town on the Rock of Monaco. In 1297 the Genoese Grimaldi family became the Sovereign Princes of Monaco; they have reigned ever since, at times under the protectorate of France, Spain, Kingdom of Sardinia, and finally as an enclave of France. Prince Louis II, Sovereign Prince of Monaco, succeeded on June 26, 1922. He is the son of Prince Albert I by his first wife, Lady Mary Douglass-Hamilton. Charlotte, Duchess of Valentinois, is the Hereditary Princess; in 1920 she married a Frenchman, Pierre, Comte de Polignac, who was created Duke of Valentinois the following day, and Prince of Monaco in 1922. They were legally separated in 1930. Two children were born of this union—Princess Antoinette (1920) and Prince Rainier (1923).
Each State Member contributes to the expenses of the International Hydrographic Bureau according to its total merchant-ship and naval tonnage. As an example of the income available, the contributions in 1932 amounted to 288,000 gold francs (about $55,570). The total tonnage of each Member State also fixes the number of votes each is entitled to in the election of the three Directors and the Secretary-General of the Directing Committee, all for 5-year terms.
The Bureau is a consultative body only and has no authority whatsoever over the Hydrographic Services of the States Members. It never deals with any subject which involves international policy. The objects of the International Hydrographic Bureau are, general, to encourage all Hydrographic Offices to adopt the resolutions made by the International Hydrographic Conferences held at 5-year intervals; to co-ordinate the work of the Hydrographic Services and to endeavor to obtain uniformity as far as possible in hydrographic documents; to obtain data on and to suggest the best methods for carrying on hydrographic surveys, and to encourage surveying operations in those Parts of the world lacking accurate charts.
The broad policies of the Bureau are controlled by the directives and the agenda approved at the 5-year conferences at which each member nation is represented by two or more delegates. In the interim between conferences the Bureau is administered by a Directing Committee composed of three Directors, elected at the periodic conferences, and a Secretary-General, chosen by the Directing Committee from among the candidates selected for the post by the delegates to the conference. The technical and the minor employees are appointed as necessary by the Directing Committee.
The Bureau issues semiannually, in English and in French, The Hydrographic Review for the purpose of keeping the Hydrographic Offices of the Member States informed of its researches and general work; of new methods and techniques in surveying and charting developed by other States Members, and all matters affecting the interests of the Bureau and its Member States.
Twelve months before a periodic conference the States Members and the Directing Committee propose subjects and questions to be discussed at the forthcoming conference. The Bureau from these proposals prepares the agenda and submits it to the States Members six months before the proposed conference for study by the various Hydrographic Offices.
The Hydrographic Conferences are held for nine days at 5-year intervals in Monte Carlo. The following committees, which indicate the scope of the conference, are formed:
- Committee on Work of the Bureau
- Finance Committee
- Charts Committee
- Technical Documents Committee
- Statutes Committee
- Committee on Eligibility of Candidates (for Directors)
- Tides Committee
All discussions in committees and plenary sessions are in English or French and reports are written in both languages, requiring a staff of interpreters and translators who are supplied by the Kybourg Bureau of Geneva.
Upon completion of the discussions and actions of a committee on the various proposals submitted, its chairman reports to a plenary session for action by the full conference. Seven plenary sessions are held during the nine days, on the last of which new directors are elected for the succeeding 5-year interim to the next conference.
Under the present Statutes of the International Hydrographic Bureau the members of the Directing Committee are eligible for re-election. There is evidence that this practice has caused some dissatisfaction in the past, especially among the smaller States Members, and, in order to have the Bureau continue functioning efficiently as a healthy organization, it may be desirable that the Statutes be amended to preclude “repeating” on the Directing Committee.
The International Hydrographic Bureau and the periodic Hydrographic Conferences undoubtedly have accomplished a great deal in bringing about uniformity in the charts and other hydrographic publications of the States Members. Naturally, for economic reasons, any changes which are advocated and recommended by these conferences must take some time for accomplishment and be gradually accepted by charting agencies of the various nations.
The last conference was held in 1937 and the next should have been held in 1942, but the war, of course, prevented. At the time the war started the Directing Committee was composed of an Englishman, an American, and a Frenchman. Each of the English and American Directors soon afterwards returned to his own country; the French Director remained and the business of the Bureau was transacted by mail. Since the fall of France, all outside communication with the Bureau has ceased.