FEARS OF FALL IN BELGA

Press, Volume LXXI, Issue 21436, 30 March 1935, Page 13

FEARS OF FALL IN BELGA

Turning Money Into Goods PANIC FOLLOWS CLOSING OF BOURSES (UNITED PRESS A3SOCIA*IOH —ST ELBCTS.IO TELEGRAPH—COPYRIGHT.) . (Received March 29, 7 p.m.) BRUSSELS, March 28. The closing of the bourses has caused something like a panic, every person with ready cash seeking to turn it into goods to avoid the consequences of the expected fall of the beiga. The purchases included houses, jewels and clothing, and the shops are doing a roaring trade. The newspapers are forbidden to refer to the devaluation or to the abandonment ol: the gold standard. REMAINING ON GOLD EXTENT O'- DEVALUATION (Received March 30, 1.45 a.m.) .BRUSSELS, March 29. In the Chamber of Deputies M. Paul van Zeeland (Premier of Belgium) announced that Belgium was remaining on the gold standard, but it was proposed to devalue the belgu to a gree not. below 30 per cent. the obligations of the national bank to exchange gold for bank notes will be suspended. The Government proposes to ~se all means in its power to hasten on an international agreement by which the principal currencies of the world will again be stabilised on a gold basis. Pending Mich aii agreement and the reattachment. of the helga to gold, the Government will fix the external value of the beiga. and will maintain it by means of the equalisation fund. A later message stales, that, tin; gold reserves of the national bank will be devalued provisionally at 25 per cent, below the present gold parity.