New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-04-05
ENGLAND AND THE SILVER QUESTION.

ENGLAND AND THE SILVER QUESTION.
The cable has made mention of an important
meeting, held by the international Monetary
Association, at London, March s, but its brief
report gave little idea of the significance OF the
proceedings. The Association, it should be
understood, has for its object the promotion of
stability of values, by establishing the free
"coinage of silver, and its free use as money
"under the same conditions as gold" through an
international agreement, whereby a fixed
"relative value between gold and silver may be
established" The president Henry Hucks
Gibbs was formerly Governor of the Bank OF
England, and among the officers are many men
of distinction in British affairs. At the meet
ing on the Sth ultimo, the Lord Mayor pre-
sided, and speeches were made by Mr.. II. r.
Grenfell, Governor of the Bank of England
Mr.. Stephen Williamson, NJ. F., and others
10 the people and legislators of this country
the most important feature of the proceedings
is the full recognition, by men of great ability
and distinction in British finance, of the extra
ordinary power which this country may cxer-
else, if it chooses, in the settlement of the
monetary problem.
For example, in the ablest speech of the
meeting, that of Mr.. Williamson, it was
bluntly asked:
should like TO know what will happen il the United
States Disguised with her tentative but till now frutless
efforts were to resolve, alone alternately with the
Bank OF France to send s25OOOO weekly Of silver
money for sale in London without limit price, and
with instructions transmit gold for the proceeds
over and this the London market would have to
bear the whole weight of those additional supplies from
the mines which retained every month in the
United States coinage purposes In obedience to the
fin0c Oinap VIII UOul
repealed The first effect would be the utter collapse Of
our Indian exchanges and need not depict the conster
nation this would engender.
Mr.. Williamson had previously pointed out
that the disuse of silver by many commercial
countries had caused excessive embarrassment
and loss in the operations of British merchants
and bankers with silver-uSing countries that
it curtailed shipments of British manufactured
goods; that it deferred investment of British
capital in railways, commercial credits and
public works, in such countries that it tended
to produce such spasms of stringency as have
recently been witnessed in connection with
failures in France that it presented an insuper-
able obstacle to the resumption of specie pay
ments by nations now using an enforced paper
currency and that it operated to cause high
import duties in all silyer-using countries, thus
impeding the sale of British goods. How true
these statements are the merchants and
bankers of Great Britain well know, and it is
easy to understand that a speech so clear, so
well-reasoned and so forcible must have pro-
duced an effect upon public opinion.
The situation in England is substantially
this Commercial and financial opinion is NOV
ing steadily, though with the slowness charac-
teristic of British conservatism, toward the
adoption of different policy. But the inertia
of such a Government is enormous; the pride
of opinion is almost irresistible; and it is prob
able that nothing less than dire necessity will
ever bring about change of policy. So long
as the United States will kindly consent TO
stand in the gap, to waste $4,000, 900 each
month in buying silver for which it has no use,
and in bearing all the loss involved in keeping
the product of American mines from reach
ing the worlds markets. so long Great
Britain will stick to its position, right or wrong,
ard hope for some change for the better. But
at the first announcement OF a change by the
United States Great Britain would be compelled
20 defend its OWE commerce by asking an in
ternational agreement on the subject of coinage.
In other significant speeches made at this
meeting, it was urged that the time had come
for action. Nj. A. j. Balfour, NJ. T., observed
that "mcre than one country i'll Europe, and
" the United States of America, will have to de-
{" eide soon what system to adopt. If we obsti
"nately hold ourselves aloof, it may be that
they will adopt system which Will dislocate
I" the whole commerce of the world, and pro-
duce commercial disaster" The fact was not
overlooked by him, nor by the meeting, that
the disaster would fall mainly upon Great
Britain. In fact, the moving cause of the
organization and effort in England is the fear
that. actuated by u clear view Of their own in