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Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 5404, 18 December 1888, Page 2

Our cablegrams on Saturday convoyed the following:—" The Bimetallism Conferenco has unanimously adopted a resolution urging the Imperial. Government to introduce bimetallic system of British coinage." It is not every one who would bo able to explain the meaning of that information, seeing that gold and silver are coined and aro legal tenders at the present time. HazeU's Cyoloptedia explains it as follows : —"Bimetallism is a term currently employed for denoting a double standard of value. Tho standard of a country is said to be bimetallic when two metals can bo used indiscriminately as legal tendor for tho payment of dabts up to any amount, the ratio of value between these two metals being arbitrarily fixed by law. Thus, in Franco tho ratio of value between gold and silver is fixed at 1 to 15 J, in weight; that is to say, a dobtor may offer his creditor either one ounce or one pound, as the case may be, in gold, or 16| ounces or 15% pounds in silver. The essence of bimetallism is, firstly, that tho ratio of value between the two metals selected as standards is fixed by law ; secondly, that the mints of the country are open for tho coinage of both metals to any extent required by tho public ; and thirdly, that cither metal can be used by a debtor in discharge of liabilities, however great. As a matter of fact, the only two metals that have been selected for the purposo of establishing a double standard have been gold and silver, and the following remarks, consequently, apply solely to thoso metals. In England, gold and silver circulate together, and are interchangeable at a fixed rato; but silver is legal tender up to only forty shillings, and the coinage of the metal is limited by the mint. Gold, on the other hand, can bo coined to any extent, and can be offered iv payment for all debts. England, therefore, is a goldmonomotallic country, silver being used solely ac token curroncy."