New-York tribune., 1876-08-08

| an accidental value given TO the silver eoiu ~
governmental act which makes it exehanseao1o i0r
the value OF Ave francs IN gold piece o' ti
! bullion containing the same amount of pure no'''
| as the i've frame piece would nave so1" !"
! that day only for the smaller sum
Again il is one Of the axions Of political economy
that tina market value of any commodity ANA tS 10
tina only value with which 1t is possible lor us 10
dean is governed by the supply OF ana ueinahu LOT
that norton Of It which Is sent TO market gram
! prodscing country may raise oVoVoVVo OF
700 600 600 bushels Of wheat without affecting the
yce Of that commodity in the markets OF the world
80 long - the increased product is consumed ny the
PEOPLE who raise It, Reports OF crop prospects ailect
m. markets simply because they indicate the
amount Of surplus wheat that may be expected To
20 TO market. The surplus furnished by all the
at.producing countries in the world may remain
stable in which case the value of wheat would not
change while at the same time local causes may
produce great fluctuations in single country or IN
remote and inaccessible regions of the same country.
But in order to determine whether wheat - really
worth more or less during given year lhah durls
another il is necessary to compare Its prices al az
feront times not on the farms in our Western States
or on the shores of the Black Sea- but III Liverpool
! or in some other recognized market upon which the
supply and demand of the whole world IS free 10 act
Now, to apply these principles 20 the silver ques-
| ton: If VIC wish TO ascertain whether silver mas
actually risen or fallen in value, We must compare us
purchasing power with that Of other commodities IN
the recognized market for itand that is GreaBritaih.
If any one in any part of the world has silver bul-
lion to sell he takes ii to London, what is equiv
alent 10 the same thing. he fixes his price At small
pcrceptage above or below the London price, accord
ing 70 the course of exchange On the other hand any
one who desires to buy silver bullion purchases II IN
London or. if he finds a stock for sale anywhere
else he asccrans the price he ought to pay for by
! consulting the London quotations. In word the
value of silver in London governs its value ii the
remotest corner of the world in those countries
where silver is the sole standard and the exclusive
currency ~ well as in those which have a double
single gold standard. Nor does the silver coin that
| is in actual circulation in any country affect the
! real value of silver in the markets of the world
! so long as il iT,ulatcs in that country; but wren
the course cf trade or legislation takes part OF tnat
coin ont of the country and throws il into the mar
! kes Of the world then the part which Is thus trans
ferred does exert an influence the real value, not
only of the silver in the market but Of AT the silver
! in the world The worlds stock of silver was not
increased one ounce by the adoption of ucw policy
by Germany but ;he amount Of silver in the market
was incr.ased and we have the effect Of II not
only in this country and Europe, br- III India and
the East Local natural causes like the habits OF an
| ignorant people, difficulty Of.conmunlcatlon wHh
foreign countries or with the commercial ccntoIs o
| the same country, may cause the nominal local
! value of the silver used currency to remain IN
changed willie it's real value may have greatly de
creased. But if the real value is permanently
diminished IT viii gradually bring down tn" local
nominal value to a level with itself unless this is
prevented by legislative interference as in the case
of France already cited. This process may require
many years IN remote and half-Ciyilzcd countries,
bp the decline is sure to at last. u took sew
eral years for the increased production of gold,
caused by the discovery of the Californian aud Aus
tralian mines, to have its full effect even III Luiope
and thi, country.
have 20 doubt that " G' is right in suppcsng
that the purchasing power OF silver III ihr domestic
transactions between the people who lniahit those
vast areas of the East" has not materially diHin-
! isbed but as have attempted to show, that does
not prove that silver has not declined even IN India
and China the way to determine that > to ascrr-
tain whether an ounce Of silver shipped FROM ehel
of those countries will purchase as large quantities
of the leading staple commodities as II would before
the chance in the relation of It's value 10 that Of
rold took place. have before mc Mr.. Ncwmarch-
table. published in 7Ec L0rcJa Economist in March
last showing the wholesale price of - standard
articles in Manchester England Oh the Isl oi Jani-
ary Of each year since 1860 and q comparison
of these with the average prices OF the
same articles for the six years loi5-5n, IN
elusive The chief articles OF British produce cN-
parted 10 India are cotton goods and iGou thno" two
in 1874 amounting 10 mora than oue-laf. n money
value Of The aggregate imports of merchandise rio
India from all countries. Now, compar'u" the price
| Of cotton cloth on the lst Of January 1870, win
the price of the same article ON The Isl o January OF
each year since 1s7O find that the decline com
: ii ly,T
ILL., per cent; since 1913, 1870 per cent; since
1874 Ilj per cent; and sine, 1910, %i5 par cent
confess that these figures lave astoui.bad ne, rs
supposed the decline in the price Of cotton cloth had
been much greater. Comparing thc prca Of iron on
the lst of January, 1876, with that OF The same
metal at the opening of any year between so aud
1873 We find an actual advance instead OF decline
OF from % TO 80 per cent. by years II is a.
follows: Since 1871, the advance has been
1886 per cent since 1872, 2Gl5 per cent advance
since 1873 1870 per cent decline; since 1871, 1885
per cent decline and since 1875, 1925 per cen; de-
cline The cause of the high price OF iron N En-
gland IN 1873 and 1871 is well known; il did not
show change in the value OF either oi lie precious
metals. Taking the average prices 81 The - articles
Of which the values given IN the tables referred
TO- and we fad that there has been an actual adj
vance of 4l5 per cent since 1871, bat decline Of
per cent since 1878, when the average reached its
highest point since 1867. The prices here given
are. Of course, geld prices, and tie variations
show one of three things: /. That the purchasing
. power Of gold has increased. 2. That the actual
yaluc of commodities has decreased since 1873; or
i.l That both of these propositions true. think
there is no doubt that the last OF these explanations
ls the true one The value OF gold has slightly adj
vanced on account Of IN increased demand
! coupled with a decreased production; and the