Word: silver
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Dates: during 1890-1899
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...fourth lecture of his series on Bimetallism. His subject for the evening was: "France and the United States from the Close of the Eighteenth Century to the Gold Discoveries of 1848-1851." The lecturer first outlined the history of the relative changes in the value of gold and silver in France, showing that the act of 1808, which provided for the free coinage of silver at a ratio of 15.5 to 1, was successful in maintaining a stable monetary basis in Europe...
...America bimetallism has never had a fair trial, partly because of the small amount of specie in existence. The act of 1789, in making the ratio 15 to 1 enabled us to get cheap silver from Mexico and the Indies, but threw gold aside. It was underbidding the ratio which should have been upheld. Again the act of 1834, the "Gold Bill," as it was called, making the ratio 16 to 1, went to the other extreme and drove all the silver out of the country. The United States acting merely for itself, instead of joining forces with France, made...
...enriched by the writings of such men as Somers, Montague, Locke, and Newton. In 1666 and act of Charles II opened the mint to coinage of both metals gratuitously. This law continued in force till 1798. It was the policy of the government to treat gold as subsidiary to silver, and leave the guinea to find its own value in silver money...
...last in 1696 a general recoinage had to be resorted to at the public expense. The expense to this great work was three millions sterling. This recoinage of silver in 1696 removed what had been the chief obstacle to a fair trial of national bimetallism in England, namely, the general corruption of the circulating coin. But still gold was distinctly overvalued in the circulation, while Holland and France were less favorable to gold, more favorable to silver. Consequently these two countries drew away England's new silver coin, replacing it with gold. Finally England tried to check this flow...
...conclusion President Walker said that in his opinion the law, and the law alone, drove silver out. Proper mint regulations might have retained it. The assumption that England's monometallic system made her more prosperous is weak. The reason for the great prosperity of England is to be found rather in her stupendous and never-ceasing exports...