493 
influence its market price in this country, 
jt would of course influence also, and 
indeed in the first instance, its price in 
the continental markets; and it was to be 
expected that those who ascribed the 
high price here to a, great demand 
abroad, would have been prepared to 
state that there was a corresponding high 
price abroad. Your committee did not 
find that they grounded their inférence 
upon any such information; and so far 
as your committee have been enabled to 
ascertaii, it does not appear that during 
the period when the price of gold bullion 
was rising here, .as valued in our paper, 
there was any corresponding rise in the 
price of gold bullion in the market of the 
continent, as valued in their respective 
currencies. 
With respect to the alleged demand 
for gold upon the continent for the sup- 
ply of the French armies, your committee 
must further observe, that, if the wants 
of the military chest have been latterly 
much increased, the general supply of 
Europe with gold has been augmented by 
all that quantity which this great com- 
mercial country has spared in conse- 
quence of the substitution of another me- 
dium of circulation, And your com- 
mittee cannot omic remarking, that 
though the circumstances which might 
oceasion such an increased demand may 
yecently have existed in greater force 
than at former periods, y@t in the former 
wars and convulsions of the continent, 
they must have existed in such a degree 
as to produce some effect. 
The two most remarkable periods 
prior to the present, when the market 
price of gold in this country has exceeded 
our mint price, were in the reign of king 
William, when the silver coin was very 
much worn below its standard, and in the 
early part of his preseut Majesty’s reign, 
when the gold coin was very much worn 
below its standard. In both those pe- 
riods, the excess of the market price of 
gold above its mipt price was found to be 
owing to the bad state of the currency ; 
and in both instances, the reformation 
of the currency effectually lowered the 
market price of gold to the level of the 
mint price. During the whole of the 
years 1796 and 1797, in which there was 
such a scarcity of gold, occasioned by the 
great demands of the country-bankers in 
order to encrease their deposits, the mar- 
ket price of gold never rose above the 
MAL price. 
-Your committee have still further to 
Report of the Seleet Commitiee, 
(Janet, 
remark upon this point, that the evidence 
Jaid before them ‘has Jed-them to enter-* 
tain much doubt of the alleged fact, 
that a scarcity of gold bullion has been 
recently experienced in this country. 
That guineas have disappeared from the 
circulation, there can be no question ; 
but that does not prove a scarcity of bul- | 
lion, any more than the high pnce proves 
that scarcity. If goid is rendered dear 
by any other cause than scarcity, those 
who cannot purchase it without paying 
the high price, will be very apt to cof+ 
clude that it is scarce. A very extelsive 
home dealer who was examined, and 
who spoke very much of the scarcity of 
gold, acknowledged that he found no 
difficulty in getting any quantity he want 
ed, if he was willing to pay the price for 
it. And it appears to your committee, 
that, though in the course of the last year 
there have been large exportations of - 
gold to the continent, there.have bee 
also very considerable importations of it 
into this country from South America, 
chiefly through the West Indies. 
It is important also to observe, that the 
rise in the market price of silver in thig- 
country, which bas nearly corresponded 
to that of the market price of gold, cans 
not in any degree be ascribed to a scara 
city of silver. The importations of sil- 
ver have of late years been unusually 
large, while the usual drain for India and 
China has been stopped. intl 
Since the suspension of cash payments 
in 1797, itis certain, that, even if gold is 
still our measure of value and standard 
of prices, it has been exposed to a new 
cause of variation, from the possible ex- 
cess of that paper which is not convert-= 
ible into gold. at will; and the limit of 
this new variation is as indefinite as the - 
excess to which that paper will be issued. 
It may indeed be doubted, whether, since 
the new system of Bank of England pay- 
ments has been fully established, gold 
has in trath continued to be our measure 
of value; and whether we have any other 
standard of prices than that circulating 
medium, issued primarily by the Bank of* 
England and in a secondary manner by 
the country banks, the variations of 
which in relative value may be as inde-. 
finite as the possible excess of that circus 
lating medium. But whether our pre- 
sent measure of yalue, and staudard of 
prices, be this paper currency thus. varia- 
ble im its relative value, or continues still 
to be gold, but gold rendered more vai ia- 
ble than it was before in consequence of 
being 
