The record-union., 1895-04-04
THE MONEY PROBLEM.
MEETING AT LONDON OF THE
BIMETALLIC LEAGUE.
Right Hon. BaIfour Makes a Strong
Speech in Favor of a Double
Standard.
SnecfnI 10 the REcoRn-IINrnr-

Special to the RECoRD-UNIox.
LONDON, April 3.-The annual meeting
of the Bimetallic League was held to-day
at the Mansion House, the official resi-
dence of the Lord Mayor of London. Sir
Joseph Dimsdale presided. Among those
present were Lord George Hamilton, the
Earl Of Fife and Sir Donald McFarlane
and Charles II. Vincent, members of the
House Of Commons.
The Right Hon. A. J. Balfour. Con-
servative leader of the House of Com
mons, made strong speech in favor of
the double standard. He said that the
belief in bimetallism was, growing, not
only in London and elsewhere in Great
Britain, but throughout the civilized
world. One great change was noticeable,
1t was seldom now asserted that bimetaI-
ism is lntrinsically impossible. For
merly blmeIallist was regarded as
dangerous faddist. economists who
placed value on the lessons of experience
had before them the irrefutable fact that
" hile the Latin nations maintained the
blmetalHc system, the parity OF gold
and silver was preserved for the whole
world, despite wars, industrial revolu-
tlons and discovery OF the precious
metals.
Some persons admitted that mono
metallIsm III large portion of the world
mad deprecated prices and put q bond on
imports. Thus, for instance, Great Brit
ain bought from India and other coun-
tries wheat at price below its legitimate
values, ana these persons figured that
this was an advantage to the consumers,
and therefore benefited the mass of the
community.
Mr., Baliour declared. however, that he
was convinced that nobody in the city
was so foolish as to suppose that the in
terests of Great Britain were benefited
generally by an unlimited fall in prices.
Not any large body of city men was so
INSCRIPTIONS as TO desire that the debts
owed by foreign nations should be arti-
hclally augmented by a change in the
value OF the currency in which they were
PAID. LCheers. Another argument was
tnat the banking supremacy Of London
would be threatened by a currency
change, but no mOnometallist was ever
able TO explain how.
he contended that London, as the
financial center of the world, would gain
rather than lose by anything placing the
currency OF the world on a sOunder basis
The third argument was very absurd.
Ihls was, that change would deDreCiate
gold, and therefore persons having de-
posts In banks payable in gold would
Withdraw them instantly. The change
threatened thus to cause commercial
crisis as the world had never seen. This
argument was supported by Gladstone
and Sir William Vernon Harcourt.
Though panic was probably unreason-
able, there appeared to him no grounds
10 suppose that the people would do any
thing SO Inoruinately silly as to withdraw
their deposits because the worlds cur
rency was going to be put on a stable
basis, which, except in particular inter
national transactions, they would never
&1av
the great movement, this, of course,
would have no effect on private indiyid-
ual convenience.
The fourth and strongest argument was,
Let we'll enough alone" But bi-met-
tallists asked, VI as it well enough? Peo-
pie talked of the excellency of the British
system, but they find, although the gold
standard obtained in Great Britain, that
silver is the currency OF HOngkong and
the Straits settlement, while in India
debts are paid in something which is
neither silver nor gold. But the strongest
product of moDometalIic ingenuity the
world has ever seen, and as arbitrary as
any forced paper currency, and as ex-
pensive as any metallic currency the
world ever heard OF, Is a standard vary
Ing according TO the arbitrary will OF the
Finance Minister OF India.
1nls triple system was manifestly ri
dlcuIous. some alteration of this system
AohANSly Ii DIllOiS
wouId turn to the world at large, they
would find the case much stronger. To
consider nome interests, and in framing
currency while Great Britain was con-
nected with foreign countries by every
commercial tie, was violation of the COM
nonsense OF every practical business
man. When the country depended for
It's very bread on foreign nations, and if
IL were cut of could not live day, and !
"ouIa nave ruin staring 1t III the face, 1t
was the hight OF folly TO practice isolation
respecting the currency medium. lie
dld not believe that the common sense of
the nation would long tolerate such a
state OF things. In view OF what was pro-
ceedlug in Germany, America and
france, and even in Great Britain he
was convinced that men of all classes
would soon combine to end the re-
proach to our civilization.