NOT ENOUGH GOLD.

Timaru Herald, Volume XC, Issue 13237, 18 March 1907, Page 6

NOT ENOUGH GOLD.

At the meeting of the London Citv and Midland Bank on Janu.uv 25th, Ml Aithui Keen sud the past yeai had been niaiked bj xi veiy Luge mciease m the tiade of tuis and of er countries, and tin had caused aixietj lest the mcieasing ciediti lccjuiied should bicome too laige foi the comp natively <-in.il/ basis of gold Incieatecl puces, incieased wages,/ the fouDdmg Qt ne« cities, and the giunth ot old ones following on the" vas ein lecenc ii..i« -aud eailhciuakes all leipjned moie cieJit <ind coiiseqiienth nloie gold JS'ot onlj vieie neu contending stieuu osusly foi geld, but old coui tnes vho weie feeling the mceased piospenty weie demanding their fan shaie Ihe leat banks of Luiope, including the Bank of England lield m 1905 gold to the amount of £368.000,000 stei'mg, dnd last the\ Leld £390.000,000, an JiKie.u e of £22,000.000 This nciease ijjs not a laige sum to cany tLe gie.jt amouiit of incieased buM ness, and theie might bs <ome justification tor thinking that cicdit was giuwing moie lapidly than the pioducVion of gold Of all the gold passing thiough London, Imd onlv tet..ned £3,500.000 last 3e.11 as compaied with £7 750.000 in'l9os* II did not 1 eem that tins (.ouutij m.i* < -uffi ciently eneigetic 111 this dnection J-ie hoped" lecent discussions would bung to gethei Ue Chancelloi of the I'Xchequer and the bankers, and that some ctai bmed action might lesult 3li J iSpencei Phillips, iffesiding at .1 meeting of Llo\ds Bank at Blimingham s-aid had been .1 lemaikable, foi it» commercial piospenty. activity of tiade, and achance in pnue of commodities Ihej- had seen nothing like it foi ne 113 ihiiiy veais With the actn e tiade- wage* had been highei and emplojment ji'enbfu' and tLey might congidtuldte themselves on the geneial soundness of tiade Theie had beea many clevei ond ingenious sug gestions made with a view to mciea'-ing the national ie«-er\6' of gold of the conn tij ; but his own idea wa«. that the '■nn plest and most practical way was that all the bank', in the counlij >-hould them selves keep such a le'-eive as ceitainly would be sufficient foi anv- of then le quiiementi But if the bmks gereially lecogni'-ed t en lesponsibihty by niciea'invv and keejmig adequate le'-eives, it M l no less incumbent on the Government that tlisv ihould maintain a icsene of gold m 1 expect of the £200,000,000 c'epciMt-, vrhich the Savirgi* Bank hokU He asked -nlia, 1 the lesult of a Euiopean vv.u in which vvc weie o.c of the conibitanU would be Puces would all use, p.uticulaily biead, ths 1101 king classes would probablj want to withdraw then '•avirg'-, and of com c it would be com which would be leijuncd