The weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1878-1881, 1881-05-17
England and the Conference.

ence, which was held in 1867, was regarded
at the time as a great English triumph. For
John Bull it was a glori' us spectacle to see
France, his ancient enemy, call the nations
together for the purpose Of formally adopting
one of the twin doctrines of England-the
single gold standard. The adoption of the
other twin gospel--free trade-was expected
to follow as a matter of course, and with the
world then governed by the Manchester and
Brummagem ideas, the British trade millen-
mum would at length be firmly established.
The wonderful growth of British
and increase in British wealth, when not as
cribed to the free institutions of the country,
were too often on the continent as the out
come of her trade regulations. of which the
gold standard and free uade were in 1867 the
two leading features. Long before the rise
of the Manchester school, and the long series
OF political and trade reforms which it forced
upon the government, England was, at least
in her own estimation, the pride aud envy as
well as the exemplar of surrounding nations.
But conculrently with these reforms, al
though springing chiefly from other and
more direct causes, an expansion of trade
took place which ultimately led England to
a dizzy height of prosperity, and adding fur
ther cciut to her institutions made them more
than ever a subject for imitation by other
European countries.
But the greatest triumph Of John Bull in
that line was to see his vigorous but way
ward offspring, the Great Republic, the lead
ing spirit of the new world. enthusiastically
indorse his gold policy at the conference If
1867. Brother J%ohnatlan was then gorgiTg
himself with British merchandise in TIE true
colonial style, and sending in exchange there
for, in addition to his raw material, the en-
tire product of his gold and silver mines.
This pleasant experience of England cODtln-
ued for several pears, and it, effect was great
ly heightened by the breaking out of the
Franco-German wa, which further enlarged
her trade and made her more the workshop
of the world. 1t was only when this gigantic
war was over. and England had reached her
highest industrial development. that the
agreement Of 1867 was attempted to be
given effect to on Il large scale. But when
Germany. following in the wake of the Scan.
dinavian nations, began to change her silver
into gold it was soon discovered that the su,
premacy of the latter metal, however correct
and beautiful in theory, was Wild and vision.
airy in practice, and that a universal change
from silver to GOLD was almost equivalent tc
turning the world upside down.
How far the German experiment, wlicl
was decided on in 1871 and attempted in The
following year, was the cause of the hare
times Of 1870 is an open question, as lher.
were other causes i'll operation which shouit
of themselves be sufficient to bring about
severe and long continued depression. Thu
more direct and immediate result was to re
duce the value Of silver, and, strangel.
enough, it was this result which should hav'
=, been seen hy everyone that discredited tn
English gospel of the gold standard, even il
. the ewes Of England herself. With a deciin'
of 20 per cent. in the value Of silver, wlicl
-, correspondent with 4 subsequent decline inth'
value Of British merchandise export, JOIN
:, Bull suddenly discovered that he was himsel
in reality a bi-metalist, usirg as a tall lega
, tender gold in one.half Of his empire and sill
vel in the other, and that, after all, bi-mctal
ism, when practised in that way, is the Hnl.
true doctrine. Hence, at the second Inter
national Monetary Conference, held in 1875
which was designed to correct the error G
the first, England took strong grounds agains
, the further decentralization of silver,dnd was
l. full sympathy with the United States in he
!, efforts to restore that metal to its former pos
ton.
The necessity for this change of opinion o
the part of England was a great blow to he
: ..n,4inn n,d no1nlull u,itL tho ranarallu III