GENERAL WALKER'S LECTURE.

General Walker in his lecture last evening traced the history of bimetallism from the discovery of America to the close of the eighteenth century, paying especial attention to the conditions in England. He said in part:

At the time of the discovery of America gold stood to silver at the ratio of 1 to 11. But as the mining industry of New Mexico and Peru assumed importance, there was a vast preponderance of silver among the metallic supplies. Not till after 1660 did the proportion of silver to gold by weight fall below 40 to 1. The reason why so great an increase of silver did not diminish its value in terms of gold was because silver was a metal which the world greatly needed. It was in an overwhelming degree the world's money. The expansion of the Oriental trade which resulted would have been impossible, or would have been long delayed but for the great monetary revolution through which the world was then passing.

The effect which was actually produced, however, disturbed every mint in Europe. We have to read the accounts of the scarcity of this or that metal with a certain degree of incredulity; because the people of that time believed the overflow of one metal was an actual loss to the country, although it really had beneficent effects.

Near the close of the seventeenth century the turmoil which the rapid fluctuation in the relative value of gold and silver had created, had greatly subsided. Silver had by that time reached the place which it was to occupy for a long time to come. The ratio had been changed from 11 to 1 to about 15 to 1.

General Walker now directed his attention to England at this period. Before the close of the seventeenth century her monetary literature was 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.

The numerous counterfeiters, however, made any fair trial of the system impossible. A sort of madness fell upon people; men, women and children joined in counterfeiting, clipping, and sweating the coin. The severest punishments proved ineffective. Macaulay says that the country passed no measure of the value of commodities. Everyone suspected his neighbor of cheating.

At 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 of silver by reducing the value of the guinea to meet the demands of foreign markets. But it was too late; twenty years of the outgo of silver had taken away her power to exercise this check. The discovery of the mines of Brazil still further reduced the value of gold in relation to silver, and facilitated the progress of England toward a predominant gold-circulation. In 1816 an act was passed making gold the sole legal tender for large payments.

In 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.