TBANSACTIONS OF SECTION F. 849 



4. Expenditure of Wages. Bij D. Chadwick. 



5. History of the Cotton Trade. By W. Andrews. 



TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6. 



The following Papers were read : — 



1. Gold and Siluer; their Geological Distribution and their prohahle Future 

 Production. By W. Toplet, F.G.S. — See Reports, p. 510. 



2. An Attempt to bring the Issue between those tvho are called ' Moiio-metallists ' 

 and those who are called ' Bi-metallists ' into such Terms that an Intel- 

 ligent Public Opinion may be formed thereon. By Edwakd Atkinson. 



Bi-metallisa\ exists de facto everywhere. 



SUver coin lias not been demonetised anywhere. 



Modern commerce cannot be conducted without the use of both metals in the 

 form of coin. 



The real issue has been obscured by a misuse of terms. 



It is simply this, Shall coin made only of gold be a full legal tender from a 

 debtor to a creditor, or shall coin made of either metal at a certain ratio of weight 

 be such full tender at the option of the debtor ? 



Is not the enactment of any statute of legal tender a question of convenience or 

 economy rather than one of necessity ? 



Can coins made of silver and of gold at the ratio of fifteen and a half parts of 

 the one to one part of the other, or at any other stipulated proportion, be made 

 universally convertible or interchangeable by an international act of legal tender ? 



Would such an act do away with the existing variations in the rate of exchange, 

 and bring all coins of gold or silver to par, due regard being given to the cost of 

 moviny: coin or bullion, all mints being open to free coinage ? 



What would be the probable effect of such a statute on the future production 

 of gold and silver bullion ? 



In the investigation of this question I have been impressed by the want of 

 precision in the case. The issue is not fairly joined and is very indefinite. 



3. On the Solution of the Anglo-Indian Monetary Problem. 

 By Professor L. Walkas. 



The problem of the organisation of the monetary relations of England and 

 India upon a rational footing would be determined in the foUowiug way, according 

 to the system of ffold standard inoney xoith a regulating silver token ciirrenci/ 

 \7n0nnaie dJor avec billon d\irgent regulateur.'] 



Neglecting, for the sake of simplicity, the fractional currency [la monnaie 

 divisionn aire] , 



Let Qj, be the quantity of gold money existing in England ; 

 Qs the quantity of silver money existing in India ; 

 w the market ratio [rapport actuel de la valeur] between gold and silver. 



Then if, after having first of all suspended the free mintage of silver in India, 

 we were, on the one hand, to take a quantity x of silver in India to carry it to 

 England and make it discharge the function of a regulating token currency, 

 alongside the gold standard currency, on the basis of the legal ratio w' of the value 

 of gold to the value of silver ; and if, on the other hand, we were to take a quantity 

 y of gold in England to carry it to India, and make it discharge the function of 

 1887. 3 I 



