ON VARIATIONS IN THE VALUE OF THE MONETARY STANDARD. 487 
measuring for various practical purposes. And, although the idea is get- 
ting more about than was the case ten or twenty years ago, and is 
admitted theoretically, it is not yet so well understood generally among 
our leading public men that practical action can be considered immedi- 
ately possible. 
With a view still further to stimulate discussion and prepare public 
opinion, we propose to append to this report a draft of an Act of Parlia- 
ment, which was originally submitted to us by the Chairman, and on 
which various amendments have since been made at the suggestion of 
members of the Committee. This draft, Mr. Giffen informs us, is modelled 
on the provisions of the Corn Returns Acts. It will be understood that 
it is merely the sketch of an Act which may become possible when opinion 
has further ripened. The method of a weighted index-number is not ex- 
pressly referred to in it, neither is a first list of articles included such as 
would not improbably be specified in any such Act when legislation be- 
comes actually possible. But it must be understood that the principle of 
a weighted index-number is adhered to by the Committee as expressed in 
their previous reports, although it is not explicitly given effect to in the 
appended sketch. 
In conclusion, the Committee would summarise the results they have 
arrived at in their present report as follows :— 
1. That our work as to the theoretical issues raised is now fairly 
complete. 
2. That a further inquiry is needed as to the best way of obtaining 
the requisite statistics, and that it is beyond our power to conduct such 
an inquiry. 
3. That it would be expedient, when public opinion has further ripened, 
that a Royal Commission or a Departmental Committee be appointed to 
undertake this task and report on it. 
4 That meanwhile Government should be stimulated to obtain and 
publish more official prices than they do. 
5. That the statistics which are ultimately collected should be used in 
the formation of several official index-numbers, each of which should be 
specially adapted for some particular purpose, and that they should be 
published in detail so as to be available for use by private persons in the 
affairs of business and in statistical inquiry. 
6. That the general method to be adopted should be that of ‘the 
weighted mean,’ but that we have not at present sufficient information as 
to the number and accuracy of the statistics of prices, and volumes of 
production and consumption, that will be procurable for the purpose of 
enabling us to make a more detailed report. Our views as to the aims to 
be pursued, the practical importance of those aims, the difficulties to be 
encountered, and the best methods of dealing with those difficulties—so 
far as they are of a theoretical nature—have been sufficiently indicated in 
our earlier reports. 
7. In case it should be found impracticable to get approximate 
‘weights,’ a reasonably good makeshift would be found by selecting 
_ twenty important representative commodities and averaging their varia- 
tions without weighting them. 
By way of suggesting the direction which legislation might take on 
this last supposition, the Committee append to their report a proposal for 
an official index-number originally drawn up by Mr. Giffen, and on which 
various amendments have since been made. 
