ment wil ith India The committee of silver ex-London, Nov, 9. perts appointed by the Interna-Fionat Chamber of Commerce—to} consider the practicability of im-Mediate international action with a view to improving the position] of silver issued its report to-day. 'The committee consisted of Mr. Ernest L, Franklin, of Messrs 'Samuel Montagu &'Co, London; 'Mynheer Van Walree, a banker of 'Amsterdam; and Mr.' Marshall W. Tuthill, of New York.
The report in full reads:
Having been appointed by yon! to report on the practicability of immediate international action with a view to influencing the production, sale or price of silver, we have pleasure in submitting' to you the following conclusions avfived at by us unanimously at our} meeting held in London on September 24, 1931.
We note that national governments Ihave made no move towards convening the' international conference' On silver recommended by the International Chamber 02} Commerce during the course the present year, We are given to understand that such a course of action is not likely to commend itself to the governments concerned in this problem, unless it be, that silver is dealt with as a side i ina new world economic conference, the convocation of which has been suggested.
From many sources, also, pro: posals are now being made for the lishment of bimetallic systems: currency, oF the remonetisation of fare unanimously agreed that such plans, whatever their merit, stand)
chance of early application in practice, Considerable time must} Qlapss. before governments can possibly come to any decision garding the utility and reasonability of these theories, and during that time it is tobe hoped that the silver problem will have solved itself in a general adjust ment of commodity prices. That} England, France and other countries should increase the standard fave informed, most unlikely' to their subsidiary currency fs, we happen, In our, view, time presses and! we axe of the opinion that it would. be advisable to concentrate in the first place on endeavouring to formulate a simple scheme which] 'Would achieve its object and which would not call for any, concerted action on the part of the various national governments. We have, however, divided our' recommendations into four parts, The first could, if approved, be tried immediately, while the second and third can be studied at leis The fourth isa. recommendation to those parties which are inter-the sale of silver at aa 1 product.
Your Committee therefore considers' that the of silver should be reviewed by us Independently of any ulterior con-carted international action, and only in 80 far as remedial measures can be devised which can be carried into effect within a reasonable time. We consider that the best results in this direction may be achieved by friendly co-opera tion' and careful observation of prices, with a view to establishing what higher. although not:
igh, level, compatible wit', ers as well og of holders. In this Tespect, we think it should be Yorne in mind that both the production and the absorption of silver are largely inelastic, so that only "such excess product and/or under consumption as may temporarily exist require to be considered. "As regards excess Production it, should be remember ed that about 65 per cent. of the world output of silver isa by-product of ores chiefly valuable for copper, lead and zine; this will be produced and' will be evitably put on the market. parently the new fields which are open to the exploitation of ores do not promise any consider~ able by-production of silver. The eduction in consumption on the other hand has been created by the increasing disuse of silver for monetary purposes, but the use for tthe industrial arts continues much as before. And, finally, it should be remembered that, Whilst the Production and offering of silver on the market are fairly constant, the demand is erratic and unreallable at all times, and violent fluctuations are caused. thereby.
Tt can hardly be disputed that the wide and constant fluctuations jin the price of silver are a serious obstacle to international trade as a whole and that a rise is much to be desired. The country which is most concerned with the course be lof silver prices is naturally China. China has guffered much of recent! years, but we do not believe that the fall in silver has been more! than contributory cause. Indeed, China is the one countts where prices in daily life have! varied least. It is true that the Chinese farmer has not always been able to sell his produce for} xport at such higher prices silver as would compensate the higher prices in silver which must be' charged for imported goods, on account "of the lower rates of exchange. Rural China is essential-still self-supporting commun-which, with few exceptions, an dispense with imported goods necessary.
There can be no doubt, however, that a relative stability' of the silver price would materially contribute towards a gradual opening, Of the interior of China to" trade. Notwithstanding the desire of the
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.