THE DEPRECIATION OF BULLION.

Auckland Star, Volume XLI, Issue 70, 23 March 1910, Page 9

THE DEPRECIATION OF BULLION.

(To the Editor.) Sir.—Not being a speculator in gold mining, or interested in the production of bullion, I did not know that the "price" of gold had conic down, but I suppose it is correct. I would like Mr. H. Johnson to explain in what way the decline in the silver and gold production of the mines of Spain and Greece affected the Roman Empire or brought about its fall. I think, in all humility, that Mr. Johnson has mistaken cause for effect. T can understand that when the Plebeians got control of the political machine and taxed land values until all rental "value" was confiscated, or, in other words, "blotted out of existence," the only remaining wealth would be the "values" of labour products. There would then be only labour products available for "exchange," and the "fund"— formed from the "prices" of labour productswould be the only private wealth, were it not for the "values" created by monopoly in the holding and distribution of labour products. I say that, owing to the blotting out of spurious values by taxation, the wealthy and middle-classes were so impoverished that no capital or money, or spare value, or whatever we like to call it, was available to work the mines of Spain or Greece, In any case, the products of the mines -would lower in "price" owing to the wealthy people having been ruined by the ignorance of the Plebeians blotting out riches. If we followed the teachings of Henry George, and confiscated all "rent" by taxation in all civilised countries, thereby blotting out land values, the world would be so impoverished that civilisation would cease for the want of "spare" value to stimulate the production of the necessaries of life. "Prices" of products can never remain long at a point which covers the cost of production, unless there is spare value coming into circulation as a stimulant to production.—l am, etc., A. SAXFORD.