REMAIN ON GOLD.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 76, 30 March 1935, Page 9

REMAIN ON GOLD.

BELGIUM'S DECISION. Efforts to Get World Back on Standard. BELGA DEVALUED 25 PER CENT (United P.A.—Electric Telegraph -Copyright) (Received 10 a.m.) BRUSSELS, March 29. 11l the Chamber of Deputies, Dr. van Zeeland, the Prime Minister, announced that Belgium was remaining on the gold standard but proposed to devalue the belga to a degree not below 30 per cent. The obligation of the National Bank to exchange gold for banknotes will be suspended. The Government proposes to use all means in its power to hasten international agreement by which the principal currencies of the world will again be stabilised on gold-. Pending such agreement and the reattachment of the belga to gold, the Government will fix the external value of the belga and maintain it by means of an equalisation fund.

A later message states that the gold reserves of the National Bank will be devalued provisionally at 25 per cent below the present gold parity. The closing of the Bourses yesterday caused something like a panic. Everyone with ready cash sought to turn it into goods to avoid the consequences of the expected fall of the belga. Purchases included houses, jewels and clothing, and shopkeepers did a roaring trade. The newspapers were forbidden to refer to devaluation or to abandonment of the gold standard. The Finance Committee passed by 18 votes to 0 a bill embodying the monetary decisions announced by the Prime Minister.