The advocate., 1892-07-06

4
vored by sll the advantages Of free and
stable governments, well administered
laws, unlimited access to capital, healthy
and invfgorating climates, together with
facilities for attracting great supplies Of
labor. Such a combination Of circum-
stances, never before known, may never
occur again; and, as 1t Is now certain
that the California and Australian pro-
ductlon of gold has distinctly passed the
eliminating point, all sound reasoning
sdmonlshes mankind to prepare for q
steadily decreasing yield Of that metal.
And 1t Is never to be forgotten that in
view Of the rapid increase Of the populs-
ton, commerce, and money wants Of the
world, a stationary supply of the money
metals would have all the paralyzing ef-
fects which q diminishing supply would
have, IL population, commerce, and
money wants remained stationary. The
steadiness of general prices can only be
maintained when money and population
increase in equal relative proportions.
General prosperity and general fall in
prices never did and never can co-exist.
ORIGIN OF THE SCHEME OF DEM0NETI-
zATIoN.
The scheme Of demOnetizlng one of
the metals throughout the western world
originated soon after the discovery of
gold In California and Australia, at a
time when the yield was at what has
since proved to have been Its maximum,
but whic hwas then expected by many to
continue on an ascending scale for an in
definite period. An eminent English
writer de Quincey) published at that
time an elaborate collation. of current &C
counts, from which he arrived at the con-
clusIon that the annual out-turn Of gold
would soon reach seventy millions ster-
ling, or $35OOOO,OOO. On the basis of
such expectations, the governments OF
Europe were invoked by Chevalier and
others to prevent the anticipated depre-
citation in the value of money, or, in other
words, the anticipated rise in general
prices, by the demonetlzation, not of sill
yer, but Of gold.
Chevaller FRll of Gold, 1S565D said
The quantity Of gold annually thrown on the
general market approaches, In round numbers
q milliard Of francs (s2OO, 100000.
Those two countries California and Australia
must, for yet long series Of years, produce
gold In such quantities and on such conditions
as to render a marked decline In its value In
evitable.
1t is absolutely certain that so vast produc
tion should be accompanied with Q great reduc
ton In value.
In no direction can new outlet be seen suffl
clently large to absorb the extraordinary pro
ductiOn Of gold which We are now witnessing, &c
as to prevent fall in its value.
Unless, then, we possess very robust faith II
the immObllity OF human affairs, we must re
gard the fall In the value Of gold as an event fol
which we should prepare without loss Of time.
Under these appeals of Chevalier anC
others, several nations in Europe, notably
Germany and Austria in 1857, demone
tized gold. 1t is probable that the move
ment In that direction would have be-
come universal In Europe but for The
resistance of France. 1t was changed, al
least as early as 1866, into movement
for the demonstration Of silver. In thu
convention 'of 1866, In which the Latir
Union was formed, Belgium, Italy ,,ant
Switzerland insisted strenuously upon thu
adoption Of the gold standard, but were
..l.l L.. N...na D..A Ala nhnn 90