difference, to be also charged in France and other countries, though perfectly just in principle, was not deemed a satisfactory mode of overcoming the difficulty. Unfavourable, however, as the report was to the special scheme, the Commissioners said, 'We entertain no doubt that an uniform system of coins bringing into harmony the various standards of value and moneys of account, alike in the higher denominations and their lower subdivisions, as well as an uniform system of weights and measures, would be productive of great commercial advantage.' Germany, which had an excellent opportunity in the introduction of a new system of coinage in 1871,2 adopted a gold coin fine gold and alloy; but introduced no unit in relation to the French system, and though it has approached to the English, it is by no means identical with it. Thus The expediency of issuing in all countries a gold coin of the value of 25 francs, and of adopting gold as the sole standard of value, was submitted to a searching inquiry in France. In 1870, the High Council of Commerce discussed the questions-1. Would the coinage of a 25 franc gold piece be useful? 2. Would the adoption of a single gold standard be preferable to the existing double or alternate standard of gold and silver? and, 3. In case of affirmative in favour of the single standard, what measures should be taken with regard to the 5 franc piece? The Council, by a majority, decided in favour of the 25 franc piece being coined to a limited extent. Also, in favour of the single gold standard, and the discontinuance of the coinage of the silver 5 franc piece. But no action was taken on those resolutions. But the Convention of December 23, 1865, for fifteen years, being about to expire, another conference was held in Paris, in October 1878, of delegates from France, Belgium, Switzerland, 2 The Coinage law passed by the Imperial Parliament of Germany on December 4, 1871, provided for the coinage of an Imperial gold coin, of which 139 pieces shall contain a pound of fine gold; that the tenth part of this gold coin be named a mark and be divided into one hundred pfennings. That there be struck also Imperial gold coins of 20 marks, 693 pieces of which shall contain a pound of fine gold. That the mixture of alloy in the gold coin be in the proportion of 900 parts of gold to 100 parts of copper. That all payments which by existing law are made in silver money may be effected in Imperial gold coins. Silver coins were not demonetised by this law, but by a law of July 9, 1873, the Imperial gold currency was made to take the place of the various currencies then legal in Germany belonging to the separate states. From the passing of this law in 1871 to the end of 1878 the total amount of Imperial gold coin struck was 101,305,2917., including 17,662,3017. coined on private account. The total amount of silver coin struck was 21,355,5447., and of nickel and bronze pieces 2,237,8134 The sale of silver bars produced from old silver coin withdrawn from circulation reached 108,138,956 ounces troy. and Italy, the parties to the Latin Union, when certain changes in the arrangements of 1865 were agreed to, and a new convention was signed to remain in force till January 1, 1886, and, unless denounced before that date, to be considered as renewed from year to year by tacit agreement. A monetary conference was held at Vienna in 1873, at which resolutions were passed in favour of a single gold standard, and of an international piece of 7 grammes of fine gold, with an international unit of a metric dollar of 1 grammes, divided into 100 cents. In Holland the proposal to adopt a single gold standard is still under consideration. In Sweden, Denmark, and Norway a single gold standard has been adopted. In the Duchy of Finland (Russia) by decree of August 9, 1877, the unit of coinage was fixed to be a gold 10 mark piece identical in weight, fineness, and value with the French gold 10 franc piece, the silver mark being decimalised. In Spain, in addition to the 25 peseta or 25 franc gold piece, a gold 10 peseta piece has been coined. A gold piece of 310 to a kilogram andths fine has already been coined or made legal tender in France, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, Greece, Austria, Hungary, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Roumania, and Spain. The United States of America, after having adopted in 1873 the gold one dollar piece as the unit of value, omitting all mention of the silver dollar, in February 1877, adopted practically the double standard by allowing silver dollars to be coined weighing 412 grains of Troy standard, and to be legal tender at their nominal value for all debts, public and private, the amount invested in silver bullion not to exceed 5,000,000 dollars per month. And further, requested the President to invite the Latin Union and such other European countries as he may deem advisable to join the United States in a Conference to settle the common rates between gold and silver, to establish internationally the use of bi-metallic money, and secure fixity in the relative value of these metals.' The Conference was accordingly held in Paris in August 1878, and was attended by delegates of the United States, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, the United Kingdom, and other states, under the presidency of M. Léon Say. At the Conference the delegates from the United States submitted the following propositions: 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 Assembly believes 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 unlimited legal tender money may be safely adopted. First. By equalising them at a relation to be fixed by international agreement. 6 Secondly. By granting to each metal, at the relation fixed, equal terms of coinage, making no discrimination between them." To these propositions the following amendment was proposed:'The Conference wish to express their sincere thanks to the Government of the United States of America for having procured an international exchange of opinion upon a subject of so much importance as the monetary question. Having maturely considered the proposals of the delegates of the United States, the Conference recognises : 1. That it is necessary to maintain in the world the monetary functions of silver, as well as those of gold, but that the selection for use of one or the other of these two metals, or of both simultaneously, should be governed by the special situation of each state or group of states. 2. That the question of the restriction of the mintage of silver should equally be left to the discretion of each state or group of states, according to the particular position in which they may be placed; and the more, in that the disturbance which in recent years has been produced in the silver market has variously affected the monetary situation of the several countries. 3. That the differences of opinion which have appeared, and the fact that even the states in which the double standard exists find it impossible to enter into any engagement with regard to the unlimited coinage of silver, preclude the discussion of the question of establishing an international relation of value between the two metals.' These resolutions were agreed to by all the representatives except those from Italy and the United States, and may be said to represent the general views on the subject. The countries using gold and silver respectively and gold and silver conjointly as a double standard may be ranged as follows: * The coinage of silver is suspended or restricted within narrow limits. Whatever difficulty may yet exist to the full realisation of a uniform system of weights, measures, and coins, it must be allowed that much has already been accomplished in that direction. The metric system of weights and measures is in compulsory use in countries with an aggregate population of 186,000,000, comprising France, Holland, Belgium, Greece, Spain, Cuba, Porto Rico, Portugal and her colonies, Italy, Roumania, Switzerland, Chili, Ecuador, Uruguay, Brazil, Mexico, the Argentine Confederation, New Granada, and Peru. And, in addition, other countries with about 200,000,000 more people, including the whole of our possessions in India and in the United States of America, and the United Kingdom, have partially, or in a permissive manner, adopted the same metric system. In respect to the coinage also considerable advance has been made towards unification. Whilst France, Belgium, Italy, and Switzerland have, by the monetary convention of 1865, agreed upon one uniform system, Austria, Spain, and Portugal have to some extent adapted their coinage to that of the convention. It is no exaggeration to say that at this moment 400,000,000 persons have come to an agreement upon one system of weights and measures and 100,000,000 as to one system of coinage also. Viewed from the light of social and commercial requirements we may lament the slow progress of these economic reforms, yet when we compare periods sufficiently distant there is reason to be thankful that so much has been achieved, and that the barbarism of so many conflicting customs is gradually giving place to a scientific and uniform system.3 3 Among the works on International Coinage, the question of Seignorage and Double Standard, are a collection of Speeches, Letters, Articles, &c., on the Gold Coinage Controversy of 1869, published for private circulation only by the Bank of England-L'Or et l'Argent, Question monétaire, Memoire, par M. Wolowski; La Monnaie bimetallique, par M. Henry Cernuschi; M. Michel Chevalier in the Revue des Deux-Mondes, April 1876; and M. Cernuschi on Bimetallisme, 1876. Also Professor Jevons On the Condition of the Metallic Currency of the United Kingdom,' Journal of the Statistical Society, vol. xxxi., 426; Mr. Nicholson's Observations on Coinage and on Our present Monetary System; Mr. Ernest Seyd's Bullion and Foreign Exchanges; the Reports on the International Monetary Conferences; the Papers and Reports of the International Association for promoting a uniform Decimal System of Weights, Measures, and Coins; and Mr. Frederick Hendrik's Evidence before the High Council of Commerce of France (Journal of the Statistical Society, vol. xxxiii. p. 392), and Report of the Royal Commissioners on International Coinage. CHAPTER VII. THE SUEZ CANAL. Communication with India. The Peninsular and Oriental Company.-Proposal of the Suez Canal.-Objections and Opposition to the same.-Constitution of the Company.-Its relation to the Khedive.-Sale of Shares to the British Government. THE introduction of steam power greatly facilitated communication with India, and quite a new era was opened when the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company established their line of large and powerful steamers, and organised the well-known Overland Route, which is to this day a perfect marvel of order and luxury. By a sailing-ship, round the Cape of Good Hope, a traveller took about four months to go from London to Calcutta. By a steamer, all the way, the journey could be performed in ninetyfour days, still a long journey, much time being wasted at the coaling stations. By the Overland Route, a mixture of land and sea, the time occupied was only forty days; and what a contrast was there between the old and new method of communication in all that constitutes economy, despatch, and certainty, the most essential elements of commercial success! But what hindered the establishment of a direct sea route by the Red Sea, without going round all the continent of Africa? Just a slip of land dividing the Mediterranean from the Red Sea. Cut it, or pierce it, and the way is clear to make an enormous saving in the communication between the East and the West. Now, this is what M. Lesseps did by the construction of the Suez Canal. A canal facilitating the traffic between Egypt and Arabia existed from the remotest times, as attested by Strabo and other writers, uniting, not the Mediterranean, but the Nile valley, with the Red Sea, but it had long ago fallen into disuse. The idea of constructing such a canal first came into M. Lessep's mind when residing in Egypt, and from that time he studied the question in all its aspects. To cut a canal through the isthmus of Suez, to unite the Mediterranean with the Red Sea, seemed a simple and feasible idea; but there are always, when new undertakings proposed, not a few ready to find all manner of difficulties, and to exaggerate the smallest obstacle. The Canal, they said, will be a are |