The Relative Stability of Gold and Silver. 18 r 



on " The Probable Fall in the Value of Gold," was published 

 in 1859. In the introduction to his translation, Mr. Cobden 

 approvingly referred to a suggestion for the establishment 

 of life insurance companies on the basis of a silver standard, 

 and the fixing of leases and rents in terms of farm produce. 

 Let us examine the exact figures of the case put b}- 

 Mr. Gladstone. According to Soetbeer's " Materialicn," the 

 production of gold sprang from an average of 54,759 kilos. 

 per annum in the ten years 1841-50, to an average of 

 195,305 kilos, per annum in the twenty years 1851-70. This 

 was the "agony of trial" for gold to which Mr. Gladstone 

 referred. During the period from 1875 to 1893 the pro- 

 duction of silver has increased from an average of 1,654,000 

 kilos, for the ten years 1866-75, to an average of 2,930,000 

 kilos, per annum. 1 his has been the time of the "agony of 

 trial " for silver. Mr. Gladstone's contention is, that during 

 the former period gold was depreciated only 3 per cent., 

 while, during the latter, silver has been depreciated 40 per 

 cent. 



In dealing with this argument, it must first be pointed 

 out that Mr. Gladstone's statement that "the supply of 

 silver appears to be subjected to more extraordinary 

 variations than any ever known in the case of gold " is not 

 justified by the figures. In the "agony" time of gold the 

 average out-put of that metal was suddenly increased 257 

 per cent., maintained that increase for twenty years, and 

 then fell off, the average decrease during the subsequent 

 period, 1871-1892, being 17 percent. During the "agony" 

 time of silver the production of the white metal has 

 increased gradually, and the average increase for the 

 last 17 years, compared wath the previous ten years, has 

 been only ']'] per cent. 



Turning now to the variations in the values of the two 

 metals, the fallacy in Mr. Gladstone's argument lies in the 

 fact that, in both periods, he compares the values of the 



