TRANSACTIONS OP SECTION P. 585 



I. Direct Effect of the War on Credit in Great Britain. 

 How has the money market been affected by : 1. Hoardings ? 2. Changes 

 in demand for commercial purposes? 3. Government demands? 4. Foreign 

 demands? 5. Stock Exchange demands? 



II. Public Borroiving as Affecting Credit. 



(1) Effects of the regulations as to the issue of new Capital. 



(2) Effects as judged by public and other deposits at the Bank of England and 



by the Bank Rate. 



(3) Extent to which Capital is withdrawn from enterprise. 



(4) Effect of borrowing in Great Britain by Allied Governments. 



(5) What proportion should be maintained between the amount borrowed for 



the War and the amount raised by taxation ? 



III. War Measures and Currency. 



(1) The Effect of Government Assistance to the Banks and Financial Houses in 



August 1914. 



(2) Was there hoarding owing to the War by (a) Banks? (b) the public? 



What was the effect on the Stock of Gold ? 



(3) Emergency Measures : — 



(a) Treasury Notes. 



{b) Provision for the suspension of the Bank Act (4 and 5 Geo. 5, 



c. 14, § 3). 

 (c) The Moratorium. 

 {d) Postal Notes made legal tender. 



(4) How far were these measures (a) Necessary? {b) Effective? (c) Desirable? 



What provision, if any, should be made for the withdrawal of Treasury 

 Notes ? 



(5) What was the effect of the increased paper currency on prices ? 



IV. War Taxation. 



V. War and the Mechanism of the Foreign Exchiingrs. 



(1) Whnt was the effect of the outbreak of War on the Rate of Exchange? 



(2) What have been the principal fluctuations since and their causes? 



(3) How far were these fluctuations due to causes inseparable from the War, 



and how far were they preventable? 



(4) How far are the reasons generally assigned the true reasons? 



These questions were circulated amongst those who were judged to be able 

 to supply first-hand information upon special points, and replies have been 

 received from the following : — ■ , 



Mr. A. W. Kiddy, 

 Professor Oldham, 

 Sir George Paish, 

 Mr. W. Favill Tuke, 

 Mr. Sidney Webb. 



Professor W. Boyd Dawkins, 



F.B.S., 

 Mr. Barnard Ellingrr, 

 Lord Eversley, 

 Mr. J. A. HoBsoN, 



Several meetings of the Conference were held in order to define the scope 

 and character of the inquiry and to determine the best methods of procedure ; 

 also to discuss the Memoranda, replies to questions, and the comments upon 

 these. The members feel strongly that the time is not ripe for the presenta- 

 tion of a final Report, and that which follows is to be regarded as an interim 

 one. Though necessarily incomplete, it has the advantage of attempting to 

 present a picture of momentous events while most of them were fresh in the 

 minds of those who had special opportunities for observation. Thus while 

 the present Report is wanting in finality, it will aim at focussing a body of 

 reasoned opinion upon the causes and proximate effects of credit movements 

 during the first year of the War. However much present judgments may be 

 shown by subsequent events to have been in error, in the opinion of the 

 Conference it was essential that they should be recorded. 



