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March 6, 1895.]
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT!
the matter and that the parties must argue a simple matter to have prevented the rup out the appeal afresh after his departure, ture of the bimetallic tic; to restore it is This means, in addition to the delay and quite a different thing. The old question of inconvenience, that the losing party will the ratio, which bimetallists usually slur have to pay a double set of costs, for untur- over, will be found a very difficult one to ally counsel and solicitors will not go solve. If the creditor class are asked to through the case again for nothing. Now accept teu shillings worth of silver in pav. it appears to us that the proper time for the mout of a debt of a sovereign the movement Acting Chief Justice to have raised his will not command their support, and the objections was on the 20th January when new born zeal of the Lancashire operatives the appeal came before the Full Court. would soon evaporate if they were asked to He must have known then of his early de-acrept their wages on that bisis. But that Farure, probally he had even fixed upon the actual date, but nothing was said about the matter then. It is apparently only at the last moment that he informs the bar and the pullic that his many and multifarions duties have prevented him considering his judgment, which m common justice to the litigants i was his duty to give, If his other duties were so numerous
We
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the bonds which may be issued to replenish our gold less useful for that purpose. The industrial and agricultural distress in the States is now as acute as in Europe, tens of thousands of mortgages have been foreclosed, and instead of there being a stream of emigration flowing into the country there is an outflow of the labouring popula- tion. Such a state of affairs is not sur- prising when industry has to bear the burden of the enormous gold withdrawals referred to in the President's message. what the immediate restoration of the old ratio Every dollar so withdrawn represents the of 153 to I would mean. If, on the other result of labour improperly transferred hand, the market rate be adopted as the from the man who earned it to others. ratio things would remain much as they are
The example of the United States, then, is except that we would have the assurance.
one to be avoided. There is no logical that they would not get worse, and it would standing place between bimetallism and be something to be thankful for if we could monometallism, and any attempt to com feel sure there was no further fear of the promise between the two must necessarily. dollar falling to one-and-six pence a sinl result in failure, Now it has been clearly think he might Πάνο put some liur, or perhaps even ninepence. But the proved by the xperience of the last twenty of them aside as possibly not being so adoption of the market rate would not
years that gold does not exist in sufficient important-his presiding at school prize dis-sutists the silver party, and on this rock is quantity to carry on the business of the tributions for instance, or the preparation is to be feared the proposal international world unless on the basis of_lower_prices of the paper her cently read before the confer new will either break up altogether than formerly prevailed. A JOHN STUART Old Volumes Society and applied him- or be diverted into trying some ineffectual MILL puts it, Every decrease of quantity self to the consideration of his judgment in expliout to bolster up silver without frankly
of money lowers the value of property the above case; r he might even have de-accepting it as money and according to it
every increase raises it in it layed his departure for a week or a fort-qually with gold the privileges of frejcoinage
rafia exactly equivalent." The de. night in order to clear up the work he had in and unlimited legal tender. Any expedient monetisation of silver, by decreasing the band. His reference to the advantage of of that kind wild asawa disastrous and add quantity of money, has lowered values in haying the case heard before judges neither of to our troubles. No good lus een done by all the gold using countries and disorganised who had previously had it before them is be- the experiment tried in India and time will business throughout the world. It is prob side the question because both litigants were probably show great evils resulting from fable that the process of diminishing values presumably satisfied with the court as as they have from the currency tinkering in constituted at the time the appeal was Amorisi, The state of the arguel, and although in the abstract Ameren, with its groenbacks, its silver ver-. it may be desirable that a Judge, should not hear and decide an appeal against his own judgment that principle has not yet been embodied in our local law. If It Was necessary to raise that point at all, it ought to have been raised at the time the appeal vas entered instead of at the time judguient was expected.
tificates, and so forth, may be judged from the following passage in the President's message of the 28th January :
were
has about reache 1 its completion, but that opinion was held long ago, before silver had fallen to anything like its present level, and while monometallism prevails there can be no certainty in the matter. But if the de- crease in values of the last twenty years The only way open to the Government for procuring has been an evil, a sudden increase by en- gold is by the issue and sale of its boods. The only books | karging the volume of currency would be and are not wel: calculate to meet our prent nee that can be so issued were authorised nearly 3 years ago
"go | scarcely less no. What, for instance, would Among other disadvantages they are unde payable in
be the effect on the China trade if the juston of specifically in gold, which in existing claditi dis
price of tea and silk in Europe we detracts largely and in an bucreasing ratio fjol their de, [doubled, and the silver price in China of sir.bility a, b.resimpuis. It is by no means e rtain that bun is of this description can much longer be disand of
Europ an gools requed by one half?. If at a price coditable to the financial character of our Glos b.metallisui be adopted the ratio of the two metals should in the first instance be estab- the sitnation, however, remains to be mention d. It is
lishe pa the basis of their relative values at the time, subject to readjustment, at stated intervals. In the course of time the old ratio of 15 to 1 might be recovered, but, it is in every sense desirable that the process should be gradual and not sudden. It would no doubt be very agreeable for those who have a silver capital to wake up some morning to find its sterling value doubled, but the effect on trade would be disastrous.
find
THE BIMETALLIC MOVEMENT, The bimetallic cause appears for the gent. The most dangerous and irritatung frata nof time being to be making headway. A found in thems by which the Treasy is despite of motion has been passed by the House the old this btained without cancelling a single Govern of Commons in favour of a bimetallic ohi zaion, and solely for the benefit of this who conference, a similar motion has been them to hard it at home.
part in shipping it abroad, or whose fears induce We have outstanding about passed by the Reichstag, and the United of currency notes of the Government for States are in the throes of a convincing cur-
which gldu ay be demanded, and, curi susly enough, The, law requires that when presented, and, in fact, rei emed rency crisis induced by the unwise action and paid in gold, they shall e reissued, thast esamo no es taken in the demonetisation of silver. In may do duty muny times in drawing gold from the Tron- all the gold countries industries, particularly ry, nor can the press, be arrested asialg as private partis the prolit or otherwise see an advantage in lepot agriculture, are feeling the pinch of the con- lag the operation. More than 30 these notes tracted currency, a pinch which is approach have already been reesial in gold, and notwithstand- ing the point of strangulation. As an Ameri-ing such redemption, they are stili qutstanding.
Si ce the 17th day of January. 18, our son id dah paper puts it," Gold is now the unit of int rest bearing debt has been increased şey o obs alue, the only money of final redemption. for the purpose of obtaining gold to repicalsh ur cus Is there a sufficient supply of gold? In 2000 ach, ons in January and the other in reserve. Two issues were made, amounting to other words, is there enough to maintain November. As a result of the first issue there was prices ?
Prices were established on a realised something more thai Sas,000,0) in gold. basis of about $7,000,000,000 of money of r, emprising a period of about 10 months, nearly Between that issue and the succeeding one in Novem. redemption, of which but a little more $1,000,000 in gold was drawn from the Treasury, than one-half was gold. Taking out his made the second issue necessary aid upon that Silver, the total is reduced by about one-
more than 855;000,#9 in gold was again realised. Between the date of this second issue and the press alf-nearly to $3,500,000,000. Prices time, covering a period of only about two months, established on the $7,000,000,000 coin basis more than $80,000, 0) in gold have been drawn fram "cannot be maintained on a $3,500,000,000 the Treasury. These large sums of gold were ex- ponlel without any cincel ation of Gloverumqut coin basis. The real question for states-obligations or in a permanent way benefiting dur "men to determine is whether prices shall people or inproving our pecuniary situation.
The financial events of the last year suggest facts Continue to fall until the $3,500,000,000 and conditions which should certainly arrest attention. "basis is reached, or whether by common More than $172,000,000 in gold have been drawn on "action among commercial nations the old of the Treasury during the year for the purpose, of "basis of $7,000,000,000 shall be restored." s163,500,000 of this amount were drawn out during shipment abroad or hoarding at home. While nearly This seems a very fair statement of the case. the first ten months of the year, a enm aggregating But is there any probability of common, was drawn out during the flowing xo more than two-thirds of that aim unt, being about action being taken among the commercial months, thus indicating a marked accelegation of the nations to restore the old basis? On this depleting process with the lapse of time. The phi- point an attitude of scepticism may well begations on which this gold has been drawn from the Treasury are still outstanding and are available excused, on the part even of the most ardent of far use in repeating the exhausting portion within theoretical bimetallists. It would have been shorter intervals as our perplexities accumulate. Conditions are certainly supervening tending to make
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SINGAPORE AND THE MILITARY CONTRIBUTION.
·
Singapore is about to present a petition to the House of Commons with reference to its grievance in respect of the military con- tribution. The committee of the local branch of the Straits Settlements Association was to meet on the 22nd ult. for the purpose of considering the draft of the petition and it may be assumed that the movement will be duly carried through. We have heard nothing more of the petition sent - from Hongkong with reference to th constitution of the Legislative Council, and hardly expect to lo so, but the petition from Singapore will probably be mrore fortunate in commanding attention, for several reasons. In the first place, the Hongkong petition, if the truth must be. e-niissed, was somewha
too vague and general in its character to excite very lively attention at home, whereas the Singapore petition deals with a concrete grievance, the importance of which, from a colonial. point of view, has been emphasised
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