A speech on the Silver Question delivered in Congress Inst Spring by the Hon, J, Wheeler, of Alnbamn, has lately been lent to The gentleman in a strong ist nud has used in support of his opinions large masses of useful and interesting tables of Sgures. These seem to be more trustworthy than hia arguments which are sometimes unfairly partisan he misstates the well known Greeham's law in this way—"two metals of un. equal value cannot circulate side by side, for the more valuable will be hoarded or carried elsewhere by the operation of that inexorable law which draws every commodity to the market in which it lina the greatest purchasing power." Now Gresham's law ao not refer to metals bat to evi as concisely stated by Br. Stanley Tovoney that inferior coin, say " worn, under-weight sovereign, will drive out of circulation 8 superior coin—sany a new fall-weight sovereign, It does thie because it will pay workers in gold to use the heavier vin in their trade, also because there being more weight of the metal in the good ovin it becomes bourded nnd ig chosen for export, It muy be seen in oper in Hongkong, where undefuced fallewoight dollars are solected to be sent to the Straits, and are rare, if not altogether absent, from the local currency. Th different from silver, when value, driving gold out of oirculatio the Honourable Member of save, The first table given in the speech shows that for forly yours, from 1884 to 1873 the prices of silver mensured by gold scarcely varied ranged from 1:15.78 to 1:15.19, being moatly 1:15.70 and thereabouts. The years in which silver was lowest were Uose immediately after the increased supplies of gold were obtniued from California and Australin, Gold was then somewhat depreciated in rnlue, 8 mensured by ts purchasing power, an silver like other articles rose in value, or in other words ils ratio to gold decreased, Since 1873 the comparative ratio of gold and silver has risen ne Previous to the Mexican and South American mines the ratio was fixed at 1:10, and it was not until about 1700 that it rose to 1:15 and upwards.
Tt appears from other tables, taken from the Report of the Silver Com-yn, that the countries which have gold ani population of 187 millions or principal among them being the United States, France, Italy, Belgiam, Spain and many of the lesser Earopean Kingdoms, and Japan in the East. The countries which have only the silver standard are Raseia and Austria in Europe, British Indin, Chinn, Eyypt and some of the South Amerionn States, the aggregate population of them all being close on 769 ious, in which China is oonuted for. 400 millions," Now, China hus not that population, probably two-thirds, or 260 to 270 millions is about the mark, and it isn question: which may fairly be debated whether she ie a silver standard country, Most of the large trangrotions are curried on in 6 but copper cush,' and bank presenting cush? wre the ci of the country. A recent Peking Gazette showed the officials representing to the Throne the complaints of the bankers and people that silver had so greatly rise in value; iv former times 1,000 cash bought ® fuel of silver but of Into yours thos suid that it tock 1,500 to 1,800 cush to do #0. These complaints fare rather common in the Empire. Passing to the production of gold in the United States, the following figures .65 millions of dollare, Another ruble strikingly shows the increase of gold production try from the Qnlifornia mines. he figures nre:—
1845 8 1,008,327 1846 1,189,857 1847. 889,085 1848. 10,000,000 1849.. 40,000,000 1850. 50,000,000 1851.. 55, 000, 000 1852. 60,000,000
There seems to have been no silver produced in the ret four of these yenra and only $50,000 worth in the othe Pho amount of gold in the United States tins been inerensing, notwith the decline in production over which the speaker mourned, the Con. troller of the Currency reporting it to have beon—
Tanuary 1879 November 1882 1883.
278 millions of dollare, 585
586 and it is estimated that the United States has 609 millions in gold coin and bullion, and "therefore has more than any gold etaudard country, and more than any country in the world except France." The gold store of the United States is increased by importations, for instance in 1885 the total importa were 29 millions and the total exports 20 millions, and in the same year over 334 millions value of silver were exported and only 16} millions imported. One of the most interesting tables, especially in view of the possibility of a return to a one pound note circulation in England and of the abolition of the half sovereign, is that which gives the gold, and silver, and paper, circulations of several countries. It is unfortunately too lengthy
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.