AvraovcH less than half a year as elapsed since the Monetary Conference at Paris adjourned to the 12th of April, 1882, its discussions and their fruitless terusinution lad almost passed out of mind and had certainly indisposed people to give muck: present cousideration to the future of silver. IE the conference bad any result at all, it was to make the public suppose that silver was to be left alone; that the doctrine aires could do nothing for it, and that it would have to take ils chance like any other commodity, its value being regulated by the Inws of supply and demand. There were of course some who still clang to the hope that during the time of adjournment some of those governments who gave n luke-warm side support at Paris to hi-metalliom, would take courage and range themselves on the side of France and the United States: others even thought that, for the sake of India, Great Britain might find herself compelled to desert the single standard. The exact authorization given to Sir A Malet and Lord Reuy was clearly stated in the House of Cousmons by Lord Hartington. The only engagement, he said, that the representatives of the Government of Indin were authorized to make was, that for n termn of years the existing practice of coining silver freely in the Indian mints would not be departed from.
But that was to be conditional on the acceptance by a number of the principal States, of an agreement binding them to open their mints for a similar term for the coinage of silver, as fall legal tender, in the proportion of 154 tol. The engagement for India was to be obligatory only so long as that agreement was adhered to. The Bank of Buglaud also offered to hold a certain portion of its reserve in silver bullion, These, and the concessions offered by Germany, were considered insufficient by the American and French representatives. There was an eminently unpractical air about the whole proceedings of the Conference. Speeches were made, papers read, and the members were civilly contemptuous of the opinions from which they differed. Butall seemed to avoid coming to actual business. Forinstance, the Cunfereuce never attempted to consider what the ratly should be for the coinage of Gold and Silver. The French clang to the old 15}, while America suggested 16. It was
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.