June 5.
Faced with disaster to trade and ruin in other quarters owing to the drop in exchange, it high time that people in this country, both Chinese and foreigners, should endeavour to instill into their own minds and the minds of others a reasonably sane view as to the position of silver. While it is true that civil warfare, which has curtailed trade, and bad harvests, which have led to the necessity of purchasing food stocks from abroad, have operated towards a lower rate of exchange, we have no hesitation in asserting that to the greatest extent the present position of silver is due to psychological causes. Coming together as they have all the factors in the case have led to a lack of confidence in the future of the metal, and hence the present deplorable position, It is further open to belief that there may be something in the nature of a "ramp" in the matter. For some time past persistent rumours have been afoot that the Chinese Government has had the intention of placing an import duty on silver, and although this has been denied time and again, the fact remains that the story persists. For instance no later
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.