New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-09-17
london BANKERS ANGRY.
n,syLEAsED AT AN ANNouNCEMhNi
from THE BANK OF ENGLAND
,>.sr,r,-r1oN.s DIRECTORS DECLARE THEIR
>,cSrss TO HOLD SILVER BULLION
AGAINST PART OF ITS NOTE ISSUE
on CERTAIN CoNDITIoNs-BIT-
rvp PRESS COMMENTS.

TER PRESS COMMENTS
,,,cn Sept l6-At the semi mi-annual N- lnee ,y,nh
49,. rank OF England to-day Inc
r Smith. said: .> r-oposals laid /.
~ 80 are probably aware OF the proPo'" 90,
iou o. Adjournment In the summer oy 'he
p. c,o.es and France. wherepy this Co"'"'
-, Increase its Use of silver as CON-
' International agreement WHICH VIM
.o,,,e our gold standard, might enaoie 'i'e nm
al" m 1ranca and America to resume frec coriaee
.,o the proposals was one asking 'he D"
any. o-,oun. Of silver permissible uhder 'he
Az, OF ls44 against Its notes 49,, ,, %
Acu " coy.rnor then read letter, dated July ~
,ara.sed 10 the Chancellor OF the Excheque'' ."
sTohaal Hicks-Beach. 1t was as follows:
.ps,erring 70 our conversation. we Deg 10 90,
,orL "a nreDared TO carry out what Is Iaio
AVN as permissible IN the bank char'er' VIZ ~
ho,d one-Hfth Of the bullion held against its "o
,ssus IN silver provided always thaN 'he ie ~
,,nt. are again open TO the free coinage OF siIver
and that the prices at which silver Is
md salable are satisfactory 81, 49,
porlv,ne 20 questions. the Governor salu ,"e
Rank had no negotiations with the O"i'eu '
Monetary Commissioners. adding;
"ve have bought no silver. All we have zone Is
N agree under certain circumstances 10 carry 0"'
80 ,s nermissibe under the Act Of 1874
The letter read the Bank of England mee!'ne
to-day excited surprisingly little comment III '.e
c,,v and did not affect silver stocks Great sa''s
faction however. is expressed AT the he'uq""''''
of the Bimetallic League.
The Governor Of the Bank of England decined 10
discuss the matter. saying the letter spoke or ise
The secretary of the Bank OF England, George r
Gsnnie when asked II the action OF the panK de-
pended upon the reopenng OF the Ihaia "'i"'S' IT,
Piled: -
THAT is political question, and does not concern
US" 81,
The bankers OF the city are surprised and dis
nleased Manager Ross. Of Glyn. Mills Currle q
70 ardent supporters Of the Gold Standard De-
.t,n ,it1i Of =.
He said: -
The letter. with such qualifications. does ho'
pledee the bank to anything, and Its only eHect
Will be to encourage the bimeiallists asitdUoh' l!
the plan was carried out II might raise the price oi
silver temporarily which would be followed D! d
reopening Of the American mines oVerprooucuoh
and another fall in the price Of silver
"I do not comprehend why the bank wishes 10
establish silver reserves when there Is p'en'S VI
gold obtainable."
The officials Of the Foreign Office declined 10 COM
ment upon the letter. but high official OF 'he
treasury DEPARTMENT Is quoted in an Interview as
6ecrvng the work Of the United States Monetary
Commission
The Times" commenting edtorially on the let
"As the same Influences have been at work IN
France here in relation TO he cGfTen{ With
in the limits of possibility tn3usn oand WE ca0 he
1S eass she aGtSn nj ins
The s second condition which the bank II mP0Ser
- ne obyonsy more important An immense respon
sbility would rest upon the bank oaicss ,,,d VINO no
Issslded ssi Safssss as price
The eoH S ie bs in 70
nit Itself though even thus limited ana an ,oSaSr
sqrlss sqarqlsa rRe RePffihnnS Pfimas says; arsane"''
%HSa no, hs' from 9s
a5TOad d, IL vi TPpa Gs by very e Of
Ministry with the American Commissioners and 'ne
fTehcn uOreiHn d fnr having practically killed the
plan the editorial concludes with The warning that
ss,esme sne are NOT Wholly dsnced the
mnts; while vigorous attempt Is DeiT3 T, boud
induce India to adopt the same Gonrse hs shou8 sn8
case free coinage by France l1dl4 ana iespd me IN
regarding silver as good gold for reserve mere
9Te i6pes the ard the soonr It is allowed lapse into
oblivion the better FOR all concerned" 100
row vi Will Da saw AS II is obvious that the French will
never agree to open the mnis !, S a. pg ngkng fg
an ureauyocai declaration We DO not like to be
ungenerous but there is ~ideIpeaGp r aGo BanR has
really attached any mporiance TO Sne that
'sf The sN standards leading editorial deals With the
he .e Chancellor Of the Exchequer. and SAYS: 80,
"A more absurd and mischievous letter mas ,h SSi
SSesnonsIhy. SSn II may be assumed that the ques-
ton was Put as & one eoTfuSrs means nj OF the Mckinley
Administration. for sir Michael, Hicks-Bcach Is
he3er n such request whatever It's motive, there
can he but straightf3rward mani! ans"eI; ans er;
rs notes in gold it could admit silver into It's
Instead Of gying gra sIfn fro am prrnicos
aga the governor M aPpsGn5y %HD Wgoe the the
knovledge and consept 0 ms bs tbe bank was pre-
pared 10 hold one-hfth OF the buihon. hed asaihTt
minis were rcopened the free coinage Of silver
and that the prices at which siVer Is pfocTsoe anu
az Gs no excuse 10 say that the Governors let
, Involves no 2raScai o6nja dans ARE 10 unable to dis
nguh between the shades 1Gs 2f nfE aRa w Pfh1h
The bank Converted to bmetallism; ana me dey-
Of The cu5 ndynaOn E h0 Ss Sea1s sSW
the 0Sei action Of the overpo is argSy mixed Nth Win
aa aaSsaeS Hs s"ads Of eIs2 S
4 could be adopted M WY ny Snr on earn orrencS dem
at the expense Of our own & GTeGa s IN anyfhne?
shown the least desire ne 20 s ne and dS pa n endless
Distractions in the way OF our trade as Il the TWO
'G'5n' From all Me1 points Wow he action 2; the Goy
ernOr Of the bank is ErevGnSS, s oi;ed in sI
port of the policy. but India has the remedy for
monetary scarcity in her eTn nand None g narkr, me
viii find immedaie relief. II would be interesting Ing
Chancellor Of the Exchequer, and. bette stu, 70
have the whole correspondenG~ snana sn NE meet "
Ing the episode looks rs II there might ne soHic-
'rf "The 'fnny Dsilg News" says:
The bare proposition that we should mGerii or
the
the bidding Of France and the United states Is
sngulary suggestive OF the fable OF the fox which
lost Its tail With the best wishes for the welfare
o. neighbors 4, would be senseless 70 join IN
furtherng experiments which have hitherto 50 dis-
sstrOusy failed on the whole, however. there is
no serious ground for alarm. The reservations
made TO preclude any idea OF tampering with
the gold reserves as they involve conditions not
likely TO be fulfilled. There may be diplomatic rea,
sons for showing polite attention TO France ana
The United States. but from business viewpoint
s highly undosir able that any concession IN
volvng the credit OF our note issue should be even
Entertained"
Lord Farrer writes 10 THE Times in part
kOllows.