MONETARY CONFERENCE, IN TERNATIONAL : Paris, Aug.,1878. The profound interest awakened in the United States and Europe from 1807 to 1878 by the legislation of various countries to demonetize and remonetize silver, and to restrict and to expand the coinage; the discussions on the subject of a single metal, or of two metals, as the wiser and safer basis of value of the world's money,—induced the United States con gress, in the net which remonetized silver, Feb. 28, 1618, to insert the following: "See. 2. That immediately after the passage of this act, the president shall invite the mews of the countries composing the Latin uaton, so-called, and of such other European nations as he may deem advisable, to join the United States in a to adopt a com mon ratio between gold and silver, for the purpose of establishing, internationally, the use of iti-metallie money, and securing fixity of relative value between those metals; such con ference to be held at such place in Europe or the United States, at such time within six months, as may be mutually agreed upon by the executives of the governments joining in the same, whenever the governments so invited, or any three of them, shall signify their willingness to unite in the same." The section further provides that the president .hall appoint three commissioners to the conference. Ex-Governor Reuben E. Fenton of N. Y., Wm. S. Groesbeck of Ohio, and prof. Francis A. Walker of New Haven, 'were appointed. Subsequently the president was authorized to add to the list of dele gates Mr. S. Dana Horton, of Ohio, an accomplished monetary student and author. Paris was chosen as the place of conference. Austria-Hungary, Belgium, France, Great Britain, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Russia, Sweden-Norway, and Switzerland sent their ablest representatives. The German government alone declined to participate in the conference, though a second time invited.
The conference opened its session Aug. 10, 1878, at the office of the ministry of for eign affairs. Leon Say, minister of finance in France under the presidencies of Tillers and McMahon, son and grandson of the most eminent of French writers on political economy, was made 11.-sident of the conference, and Mr. Fenton vice-president. In his opening address to toe conference Mr. Say stated the reasons which had induced the five states cinimosing the Latin littioitsil,while• pre*rvin,g to. Sill* its legal tender quality, to restrict its coinage within limits, aud, within the past year, to suspend it entirely." These reasons were the adoption by Germany of the single standard of gold, and the great production of the American silver wines. While Germany continued to gather and sell her silver he thought it would be difficult to determine the value at which silver might be rated when that distur;fing element in its present value was out of the way. The Latin union, therefore, while glad to join in the American efforts to fix a ratio of value between silver and gold, "as a measure of prudence has remained in an expectant attitude." Mr. Fenton then presented the object of the call fur the conference in the language of the act of congress. Count Buseoni of the Italian delegation sug gested as more logical to first decide whether such a fixed ratio was possible. Mr. Say observed that as questions of fact should precede those of theory he would favor an avoidance of theoretical discussion et present, and first study facts and their relations. The first session closed with the understanding that the delegations should come to the next meeting prepared with full statistics of the monetary condition of their respective states. At the second session—Aug. 16—all the required documents were submitted. A brief summary of the position taken by the delegates at the subsequent sessions will best exhibit the animus of the conference. Mr. Broch. representative front Norway,
observed that as Sweden and Norway had the gold standard they could participate in the conference only on the supposition that the United States desired to 'treat of more gen eral questions; as of a coin for universal circulation. On that Aupposition only, and with the understanding that England was present on the same condition, his government bad authorized participation in the conference. Mr. Groesbeck was called upon to state the position of the United States. It was, he said, simply " to restore silver to its former position; to equalize gold and silver upon a ratio to be fixed by agreement." The United tunes delegation could not commit their country to any agreement, hut, like the dele gates from Norway and Sweden, were interested to discuss the question of the establish ment of coin for universal circulation. Hecorrected the supposition that the United States desired the full restoration of silver beeffuse it was the great silver producing coun try. He denied that in its legislation to preserve silver as money the United States had been influenced by the value of its present product of silver; the government having no direct interest, even by taxes, in the product; stating that the mines are owned indis criminately by Americans and foreigners; and that London is so much the greater mar ket for silver that the Unites States treasury had found itself compelled to buy as much silver in London as in America. He stated that within 25 years the yield of gold in the United States had been four times as great as that of silver, and that the falling off in production at the present time was more in silver than in gold. The remonetization of silver lie showed to be on the part M. the United States simply a return to a traditional policy with which the interests of the people are interwoven, and from which it was through careless legislation, rather titan by design, that they had departed; and that there fore the United States could not be charged with it new motive of selfishness in its main tenance.] Mr. Groesbeck submitted the following propositions to the conference: "1. It is the opinion of this assembly that it is not to be desired that silver should be excluded from free coinage in Europe and the United States of America. On the contrary, the assem bly believe that it is desirable that the unrestricted coinage of silver and its use as money of unlimited legal tender should be retained where they exist, and, as far as practicable, restored where they have ceased to exist. 2. The use of both gold and silver as unlim ited legal tender money may- be safely adopted. First, by equalizing them at a relation to be fixed by international agreement; and secondly, by granting to each metal at the relation fixed, equal terms of coinage, making no discrimination between them." Mr. Pirmez of Belgium rejected the American propositions on behalf of his delegation. Count Rusconi of Italy desired first to discuss and vote on the principle, Is it possible to establish a fixed relation between silver and gold? He desired to vote affirmatively on that proposition first, and then proceed with the practical examination of a ratio. Mr. Brock of Norway, which has the gold standard, maintained that the history of silver showed a constantly decreasing value relatively to gold, and that during the enormous influx of gold front California and Australia after 1849 gold had dropped but 2 per cent below the French silver standard. Mr. Herzog of Switzerland opposed the American proposition; not that he desired silver demonetized, but that lie thought it better for one nation to have the gold, and another the silver unit as now; and did not believe in the practicability of an international unit.