The weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1878-1881, 1881-04-19
THE BI.METAI.I.AC CONFERENCE.
Preamble ANA Resolutions 10 he Sub
united.

The following is the official text of the res
olutions to be submitted to the international
monetary conference to be held at Paris on
the 10th inst. :
PREAMBLE.
l. Whereas bi.metallism, or the monetary
system which consists IL simultaneously coin
ing any quantity of gold and silver on the
footing of a legal ration between the weight
of the monetary unit in gold and the weight
of the same unit in silver, had always been
practiced, and that only since a few years has
it ceased to operate in any part Of the known
world.
=. Whereas, during nearly a century the
principal continental minis had coined at The
legal ratio of Is. all the quantities OF gold
and silver presented Tor coinage, whereby
alone, whatever the vicissitudes in the pro-
duction of gold and the production of silver,
the relative value of the two metals was nee
essarily fixed in the entire world at the par of
l5., nobody in any country agreeing to part
with either gold or silver at a less advantage
GUS ratio than that which it was known
could be realized in Eurcpe at the minis,
which were bound at the rare OF l3a to con-
vert into coin having legal currency without
limit of amount all the metal they were asked
to coin.
=. Whereas, by This universal par Of value
uctNccl gun anu SllNtl VIC llohCtdi l
al of the entire world formed a single mass as
homogeneous as if it had been composed Of u
single metal, but with this evident and very
important superiority, that its paying power
was much more stable than would have been
the paying power of gold disioined from sill
yer, or of silver d~isjoined from gold and this
because the greater or less stability OF that
paying power depends on the greater Or less
regularity of monetary production, because
tho ,rOhuctioD Of DnIO is very jripODlar. also
that Of silver, willie the joint production of
the two methods valued at the legal laCio is
quite sufficiently regular.
4. Whereas, the above mentioned universal
par between the value Of the two metals was
OF the greatest service to the countries SUBJ
iect to recommendation, such as gold mono
metallic England and silver m~onO-netallic
India. which countries, owing to that par,
could mutually settle their pecuniary deal
ings with almost as much facility and certain
ty as if they had one and the same metal as
common money.
). Whereas, AS soon as silver was no longer
freely admitted to coinage by the states which
had previously been i.metallicthe universal
par value between the two metals necessarily
disappeared; and inasmuch as through that
disappearance the BIZ metallic aud hOnlOgene-
ncous material possessed by the world was
decompoSed into two mOno-metallic materials
Heterogeneous to each Other-the material
gold, the Soic metal admitted to free coinage
in Europe and America, and the material sill
yer, the sole monetary metal in Asia, a two
fold moilo-metalisnl, which has rendered the
commercial and financial relations between
the two halves of the world almost as compll-
Gated and hazardous as if the exchanges be-
tween them were made by barter.
q. Whereas, moreover, the states of the
continent of Europe and the United States of
America, while admitting gold alone to free
coinage, are encountered with coined silver,
and the silver coins Of one country cannot be
converted into money in other countries, un-
less in Asia, but then undergoing all the loss
resulting from the difference etween the
ratio at which such silver has been coined
with regard to gold and the much small er
ratio of gold realized IN disposing of silver
for an Asiatic destination now that the uni
versal par no longer exists, a ratio which
would become smaller and smaller ii the
oilers for sale of silver happened to be resllm-
ed and continued.
7. Whereas, it is, in fact, impossible to with
draw from circulation and get rid Of the coin
ed silver, not only because of the terrible
fall which the Aslatlc exchanges would expe-
rience and of the enormous losses which
would have to be borne, but also because of
the immense void such withdrawal would
leave behind it-a monetary void which could
nos be filed either with the present gold,
which has already its use, or with the future
gold, which has not Yet issued from the mines
in general-and thai chaos extremely preju-
dicial to the interests of all ~I..t.ons, without
a single exception, is solely attributable to
monetary laws now in toice in Europe and
The United States, and cannot be put an end
to except by reverting to bi-metallism.
s. And, whereas, such reversion to bi-met-
aliism and the adoption of the ratio l5a by a
preponderating group of nations would have
| IA, 1Gf,oi -E 80 s,- -, -
very solid basis the old universal par of value
between the two metal, Of enabling Europe
without any loss to employ its old silver
crowns in paying America, and reciprocally
Of enabling the United States, when their
balance of trade allows it, to pay Europe with
silver from their mines: and lastly, of max
ing silver a universal money while retaining
gold Oh the footing of 49, as European and
American money.
RESOLUTIONS.
Now, therefore, actuated by all these con-
siderations, the American, French, ETC., dele
gates have resolved by common accord to sub
nit to the ratification of our respective gov
ernment the following convention:
Article |. The United States of America,
2 the French republic, &C., form themselves
into a Bl-metallic uuion on the terms and
conditions hereinafter stipulated.
Art. 2. The members of the union shall
a admit gold and silver to mintage without any
b limitation of quantity and shall adopt the
ratio of / to 15a between the weight of pure
$ metal containedin the monetary unit in gold
t aud the weight of pure metal contained il
the same unit in silver.
Art. ). On condition of this ratio OF ! t.
15a being always observed, each state shall
= remain free to preserve its monetary types
. dollar, franc, pound sterling, mark, or t.
change them.
Art. 4. Any person shall be entitled to taxi
D any quantity of gold or silver, either in ingot
= or in foreign coins, to the minis of any mem
Der Of the Union for the purpose of getting /
back in the shape of coin bearing the stat