MONETARY CONFERENCES, Inter national. In addition to the monetary conven tions (q.v.) held among European nations, four great International Monetary Conferences have been held, three at Paris 1867, 1878 and 1881, and one at Brussels in 1892. Encouraged by the success of the Latin Union (q.v.), France invited all the powers to participate in a gen eral conference for the purpose of relieving the problems of international exchange. The con ference was attended by 18 European nations and the United States, and was presided over by the French Minister of Foreign Affairs. Eight sessions were held, the principal topics of discussion being the uniformity of coinage and the larger problems attendant upon such proposed uniformity. Two important decisions were reached: (1) that it would be more ex pedient and less expensive to the several nations to adopt as a uniform standard some already existing monetary system than to invent a new standard; and (2) that gold was the only standard which was adapted to international money. The standard of fineness was set at nine-tenths, and the five-franc piece was recom mended as the common denominator. It was likewise agreed that all gold coins having this common denominator should have legal cir culation in the states mutually bound by the conference. Since no treaties were contracted to bind the members of the conference to their decisions, little was really accomplished. The principal value of the first conference lay in the fact that it opened the way to further discus sion.
The second conference was called by the United States by Act of Congress, 28 Feb. 1878, under which the President was directed to in vite the nations of Europe to join in a °con ference to adopt a common ratio between gold and silver for the purpose of establishing inter nationally the use of bimetallic money, and securing fixity of relative value between those two metals.° This determination was occa sioned by the fact that the silver production of the United States had assumed immense pro portions. Also Germany's use of the -gold standard threatened the value of silver money, and it was deemed advisable to establish the ratio between gold and silver before serious depreciation of the value of silver might set in. Twelve countries participated, Germany alone of the great powers refusing to enter into the conference. The United States submitted two propositions, one covering the desirability of the unrestricted coinage of silver and its use as money of unlimited legal tender; and the sec ond, advocating a double standard of gold and silver on the basis of the establishment of a fixed ratio between them. The European
powers with the exception of Italy, after much discussion, made answer as follows: °That it is necessary to maintain in the world the monetary functions of silver as well as those of gold, hut that the selection for use of one or the other of the two metals, or of both simultaneously, should be•governed. lor the special position of each state or group of states." They agreed also that bi-metalliram must be determined by the •discretion of . the individual states chiefly in relation to the country's relation to the silver market; and that, in lieu of the fact that a mutual, agree. went on the question of ratio between the two metals could not be reached, the question had better be dropped for the time being. The con ference therefore produced no effective results.
The French and United States governments joined in calling the third conference. The decline of gold production again brought up the problem of bimetallism. England and France met with seriously diminished gold re serves, and the United States was forced to import gold, which upset the European market.. Germany was unable to find a satisfactory means of disposing of her stock of silver.. Nineteen countries attended the conference. It recommended the establishment of the 15% to 1 ratio, and then adjourned for the purpose of giving the various nations, time to consider the proposition, with, the intention of, ream vening on 12 April 1882. However, the con ference was not reassembled on that date, and was therefore fruitless.
The fourth conference was called by the United States "for the purpose of conferring as to what measure, if any, can be taken. to. increase the use of silver as money in the cur-, rency system of Twenty countries were represented. A delay was caused by the fear of a cholera epidemic, and, in November 1892, the sessions were finally held. England and the United States were the most enthusias tic members of the group. Political , factors began to play also on the interests of these two countries, and the discussion, though• lengthy, was altogether unprofitable. Various. schemes for a bimetallic standard and for the wider circulation of silver through some co operative system were brought forward. There, was no unanimity and the conference finally adjourned; 30 May 1893, was the date set for its reconvention, but this never took place. MONEY). Consult the various official reports of the conferences; and also (Coinage Laws of. the United States' (1792-1894) ; Muhleman, M. L., 'Monetary Systems of The (New. York 1895) ; and Russell, H. B., 'International. Monetary Conferences' (New York 1898).