MR H. S. FOXWELL Off THE MONETARY Question.

Otago Witness, Issue 2102, 7 June 1894, Page 44

MR H. S. FOXWELL Off THE MONETARY Question.

The second of course of lectures upon " The Monetary Question " was delivered by Mr H. B S. Foxwell in the Hall of the Drapers' Company, s London, on March 8. The course of four lee- £ tures, which are being given on four successive * Thursdays, has been promoted by a committee r of gentlemen connected with banking and t finance. Their object is to interest City men in t the abstract economic principles underlying the 1 recent financial crisis. The Bight Hon. W. t Lidderdale (late Governor of the Bank of Eng- c land) presided, and was supported on the plat- t form by Messrs Hubbard, H. H. Qibbs, A. li Prevost, R. E. Johnston, S, Gladstone, and H. t R. Grenfell (all directors of the Bank of Eng- a land), Mr T. Salt, Mr H. Mathieson, and a s number of others. The large hall of the Drapers' f Company was crowded with gentlemen, mostly 1 from the neighbouring Stock Exchange, banks, & and other financial houses. The chairman, in s briefly introducing the lecturer, said that the question of the currency had become grave and , urgent. The gravity of the question had been J declared by two great statesmen of opposing politics — the new Premier (Lord Rosebery) and Mr A. J. Balfour. The speaker proceeded to fc quote from past speeches of these gentle- g men, Mr Balfour's name being received with cheers. J Mr Foxwell Baid that the special subject of I that afternoon's lecture was " The Appreciation c of Gold : It Causes and Consequence?." He 1 exhibited and explained two charts. The first 0 showed that since 1873 the prices of silver and £ commodities as measured in gold had been f practically identical. The second showed t that silver as measured in commodities o had remained practically stable in value I during the same period, whilst gold, measured i in the same way, had considerably appreciated, t This appreciation of gold was a tax on industry, p because all fixed charges were paid in gold, o whilst the value of the produce of the industry 1 as measured in gold diminished as gold appre- i ciated. The lecturer explained this in detail, £ especially referring to the charges of interest on I borrowed capital and mortgages, export duties, i when specific and not ad valorem, and railway c rates. Wages must also be included, because, t although not theoretically a fixed charge, it 'J was found almost impossible in practice to t reduce them as the price of commodities fell, t He thought the point had now been reached 1 at which wages would have to give way — i (hear, hear), — but a general reduction could r not be secured without social disturbance. Agriculture had felt the effects of the apprecia- c tion of gold more than manufacturing industry c because the fixed charges were heavier and were c more difficult to reduce. Agricultural depres- § sion was not peculiar te England. It was felt c throughout Europe and America. It was not t due to Freetrade, for agriculture prospered for « 25 years after Freetrade was established. The ! i depression was felt keenly in America, where t there was certaialy not Freetrade now. The t American farmers had recognised that the < currency question was the real cause of their i trouble, and people made a great mistake who i imagined that the American feeling was created ] by a few silver mine owners. It was the ( American farmers who demanded a change. \ i It was the pressure of appreciating gold which i had led to the universal outcry for the false i remedy of Protection. The yeais 1815 apd < 1875, which had been the beginning of the rise < in gold, had also inaugurated two great i epochs of protective tariffs throughout Europe ! and America. As M. de Lavi?leye eaid, ] "Monometallism had killed Freetxade. — (Ap- i plause.) The argument that Great Britain was i after all a creditor country, and then rfore gained i

by the present condition of the currency, was not only Contemptible but shortsighted. A creditor's real interest was in the prosperity and solvency of his debtors. — (Applause.) The appreciation of the currency accounted for the steady depreciation of real property at Homo and in the colonies. The collapse of great building societies in London and of banks in Australia was probably due to in a great measure to this cause, and individuals were not to be severely blamed. Bank directors in Australia knew probably just about as much or as little of what v was going on as some other bankers. — (This remark was taken by the audience as personal to some of the gentlemen on the platform, and was received with great laughter and cheers.) In conclusion tho lecturer argued that various influences suggested as explaining the fall in price of commodities, such as inventions in machinery, reduced freights, increase of education, competitive keenness, application of science to industry, &c, were but brakes on the wheel, which bad served to modify the acuteness of the crisis.