240 



CURRENCY. 



The scheme of demonetization originated 

 after the discovery of the Californian and 

 Australian gold fields. It was gold which 

 Chevalier and others of his school called upon 

 the nations of Europe then to demonetize. 

 The reason given for the demonetization of 

 gold at that time was the same as that now 

 advanced for the single gold standard, viz., the 

 protection of the creditor and income-receiv- 

 ing classes against a depreciation of money. 

 Germany and Austria adopted the single silver 

 standard in 1857, and, except for the opposi- 

 tion of France, the other Continental countries 

 would have followed. The Netherlands, in 

 changing to a single silver currency, did so to 

 escape from becoming involved in the frequent 

 financial convulsions which occur in England 

 a motive which should prevent the United 

 States now from adopting a simple gold cur- 

 rency. Facts do not confirm the fears of the 

 mono-metalists, that there is, or is likely to be, 

 a production of silver sufficiently abundant to 

 decrease the purchasing power of money ; the 

 contrary is more to be dreaded that is, that 

 the aggregate production of the precious met- 

 als will decline, or remain stationary, when a 

 gradually-increased production is necessary to 

 maintain values on their present footing. The 

 world's production of silver has been, during 

 the 24 years from 1852 to 1875, inclusive: 

 in Mexico, 30 millions per annum for the 

 first 16 years, and 25f millions on an aver- 

 age in the last 8 years of the period, while 

 that of 1874 and 1875 was only 25 millions ; 

 in the world outside of America, 10 million 

 dollars without variation ; in the United States, 

 during the 5 years ending 1875, the annual 

 product of the silver mines was 23 millions. 

 The 5 years ending 1875 show a mean in- 

 crease in the world's annual yield of silver 

 over the 5 years ending 1856 of $19,446,870. 

 There are capacities for an increased silver 

 production in Mexico and in other regions 

 along the great American cordillera. The sil- 

 ver production of Mexico decreased from 35 

 millions, before the revolt from the Spanish 

 rule, to 15 millions, and then advanced to an 

 annual average of 30 millions, and now stands 

 at 25 millions. It is not likely that more effi- 

 cient methods of mining will be introduced in 

 that country. The production of the United 

 States is more likely to slowly decrease than 

 to increase. More than half the silver product 

 comes from the Comstock lode, in which an 

 average depth of 1,800 feet has been reached ; 

 a smaller yield in those mines may reasonably 

 be expected in the future, and it is not to be 

 expected that the working of the difficult 

 lower-grade argentiferous veins, which are 

 abundant in the Rocky Mountains, and west- 

 ward to the Sierra Nevada, will advance as 

 fast as the Comstock yield diminishes. Ex- 

 travagant speculations as^tothe capacity of the 

 Nevada bonanza have had a great deal to do 

 with the recent demonetization agitation in 

 Europe. The estimates of the ore in sight in 



the new mines varied from 300 to 1,500 

 million dollars. The German Seichsanseiger 

 stated confidently that the products of the 

 Nevada mines for 1876 were valued at 500 

 million francs. The yield of this Big Bonanza 

 for the 4 years in which it has been worked has 

 aggregated altogether 52 million dollars, 45 

 per cent, of which was gold, having an annual 

 silver product from that body of ore of a little 

 over 7 million dollars ; the total yield of the 

 12 or 13 ore-bodies of the Comstock lode has 

 aggregated in 16 years 240 million dollars, 

 47i per cent, being gold, giving an average 

 annual production of $7,875,000 in silver, and 

 $7,125,000 in gold. The silver product of the 

 United States has been $155,600,000 in the 6 

 years from 1871 to 1876, giving an average of 

 26 millions, the product for 1876 amounting to 

 $38,200,000. The average annual silver prod- 

 uct of the State of Nevada has been, for the 

 same period, 19 million dollars; that for 1876 

 was 28 millions. 



The estimates of Chevalier of the world's 

 production of the precious metals, from 1492 

 to 1848, were: Gold, $2,626,000,000 ($1,928,- 

 000,000 from America) ; silver, $5,705,000,000 

 ($5,261,000,000 from America). The world's 

 production from 1849 to 1876, inclusive, has 

 been, according to the calculation of Sir Hector 

 Hay: Gold, $3,215,000,000 ; silver, $1,367,000,- 

 000. Before 1849 the proportion of silver to 

 gold in the existing stock of the world is sup- 

 posed to have been 3 to 1, and in the stock of 

 the Western world, 2 to 1. In the Western 

 world gold has since then been in excess ; 

 Chevalier computed the proportion in 1866 as 

 44 of gold to 30 of silver ; Xeller estimated it 

 as 37 to 28 ; the excess of gold is now greater 

 than at that date. Gold formed 31 per cent, 

 of the aggregate supply down to 1849. In the 

 beginning of the century the gold supply was 

 only 25 per cent, of the whole. From 1809 

 to 1829 the product of gold was 30 per cent, of 

 the aggregate supply; in 1846, in consequence 

 of a large out-turn from the Russian gold-fields, 

 its proportion increased to from 50 to 52 per 

 cent. After the opening of the Californian 

 mines the proportion of the gold supply was 

 vastly higher, being, in the 5 years ending 

 with 1866, 79 per cent. ; in the succeeding lus- 

 trum, 75 per cent. ; and in the 2 following, 

 71 per cent. In the 4 years ending with 

 1876 the silver yield of the Washoe mines re- 

 duced the ratio of the gold product to 60 per 

 cent., and in the year 1876 it was 57 per cent 



The relation between the bullion value of 

 equal weights of gold and silver, which fluc- 

 tuated in the first century after the discovery 

 of America between 1 : 10^ and 1 : 12, has 

 varied since the middle of the seventeenth cen- 

 tury from 1 : 15 to 1:16, and during the enor- 

 mous accessions of gold in the present century 

 was held firm by the bi-metallic policy of 

 France at about 1 : 15^, until the demonetization 

 law of Germany was enacted. The resumption 

 of specie payments by England, in 1821, caused 



