♦ Manchester Memoirs, Vol. xlii. {\Z<^%'), No.\^. J 



The United States in 1897 likewise retained their own 

 production (11 miUions sterling), and continued to draw 

 on the rest of the world. Their net export in trade in 

 1897 amounted to about 70 millions sterling. During 

 recent years a certain amount of American railway 

 securities seems to have returned homewards, thus 

 narrowing one of the channels by which Europe received 

 American gold. 



Besides these variable contingencies, and besides the 

 hoarding of gold treasure by Austria-Hungary and Japan, 

 there appear a great number of exigencies which are not 

 temporary but are constantly increasing. I first mention 

 the consumption of gold in the arts and industries, which 

 for the world (excepting the said four countries), is 

 estimated at about 9 millions sterling per annum. Then 

 comes the increasing demand for circulation in the very 

 few parts of Europe which possess a gold currency. 

 Everybody feels the necessity of reinforced metallic 

 reserves for banking institutions to face the quite incal- 

 culable quantity of paper values and the manifold kinds 

 of liabilities. Let me call to your mind that the increase 

 of business of the Deutsche Reichsbank in 1897 alone 

 amounted to 500 millions sterling, that the demands 

 for new capital at London were 49'! millions sterling in 

 1893 ^"d rose to 9r8, 1047, 152-8 in the three succeeding 

 years respectively, and in 1897 to I57'2. I do not add 

 more figures, as we all live in the midst of the bee-hive 

 ourselves. 



The effect of all this is that, although the world's pro- 

 duction of gold is more than tzvice as great as it was te7i 

 years ago, still the struggle for gold is, to say the least, quite 

 as sharp as it was then. 



But all this is only one side of this disastrous affair. 

 Now come the consequences of the yearly increasing 

 difference in the relative values of gold and silver. I do 



