GENERAL WALKER'S LECTURE.

President Walker of the Institute of Technology delivered last evening, in the Fogg Art Museum, the fifth of his series of lectures on bimetallism. He began with the financial conditions of France in the middle of the century, and described the gold discoveries of that period and their after effect.

In 1851, France found her silver imports, under the bimetallic system, amounting, since 1822, to 2,680 million francs. Gold, on the other hand, had moved but slightly during this period, and was kept by law at the ratio of 15.5 times its weight in silver. The supply of gold was nevertheless continually wasting away (1) by wear and tear, (2) by the use of gold in manufacture, and (3) on account of hoarding.

As a result of this steady change in the proportion of the metals in circulation, it was even said, with partial truth, that there was no gold in circulation in France. However, France did succeed in preserving her bimetallic system in full virtue, until the period of gold production.

In 1848 occurred the gold discovery on the Pacific coast. In Australia three years later came the discovery of gold in enormous amounts. The effect produced by the output of these mines threatened to be overwhelming. The average production of gold in the world was increased five fold. It is estimated that within the next ten years the stock of gold in the hands of civilized man had literally doubled.

A veritable gold panic set in. The nations of Europe were prompt to take alarm at the menace to industry, and even to the social structure. Holland, Portugal and England demonetized gold and Russia prohibited the export of silver. One English financier is quoted as saying that soon gold would only be "fit for the dustpan."

In the panic France alone stood firm. Freely she gave of her silver to all; freely took gold from all, without fear of its becoming worthless. Thus against the action of those nations which demonetized gold, and without an ally, France maintained through this crisis the ratio of 15.5 to 1.

By 1860 the benefits of the increased amount of specie in circulation began to be felt everywhere, and France was greatly relieved from the strain.

In 1865 the Latin Union, composed of France, Italy, Belgium and Switzerland, secured mutual credit and circulation to the uniform coins of the consenting nations. Here again the cause of bimetalism in France was greatly strengthened.

General Walker then went on to show by quotations from prominent monometalists that the whole story of this gold deluge has proved the validity of the bimetallic principle.

The first main advantage to be gained by bimetallism is the establishment of an approximate par of exchange between the gold-using and the silver-using nations. The group of nations which stand midway between these two, bind them together by the so-called "bimetallic link," which is invaluable in steadying trade.

A second advantage of great importance is a higher degree of stability gained for the compounded mass of money thus formed, than could possibly exist with the two metals separate. The principle is the same as that by which two reservoirs of water, when connected, moderate each other's change of level by the increase of surface.