GOLD STANDARD

Evening Star, Issue 23375, 19 September 1939, Page 6

GOLD STANDARD

VARIATIONS IN PRICE NOW AT RECORD LEVEL OF £B/8/DIP INTO THE PAST The recent sharp rise in the price of gold, which has been steady for a fortnight at £B,Bs an ounce, should have a marked effect in stimulating gold production in this dominion. Particularly will it benefit the big dredging enterprises which are now in oj>eration on the West Coast and Otago, while it may also bring into the payable area large quantities of ore at the Martha mine which in recent years have not provided profitable working. The present valuation of gold at £8 8s an ounce gives interest to an address delivered as- far back as April 4, 1919, by Mr A. A. Adams, A.1.M.M., to a crold mining conference of local bodies held at the Thames. At that time Mr Adams advocated raising the gold stan-

dard from £4 4s to £8 Bs. “This,” continued the speaker, “ would stimulate mining and give the miner a chance to make his low grade ore pay. There would be millions of ounces of gold extracted from the alluvial gravels of the South Island and from the quartz lodes of the Coromandel Peninsula, and the deep mines of the Rand that are closed tfould reopen and become heavy producers.” Replying to the suggestion that tin; gold standard could not be interfered with, Air Adams quoted many alterations made before that date. BRITAIN’S EARLY GOLD COINAGE. “ The first British gold coinage,” lie said, “ was in the year 1257, when the coin weighed 2 pence and passed for 20 pence, and was called! the gold penny. In 1345 one part by weight of gold was equal to 124 parts of silver. During the next 256 years there were nine debasements of the silver coinage, accompanied by changes in the gold coinage. In the year 1601 a pound troy of gold was coined into 33J sovereigns of 7dwt 4gr each. In 1666 the value of gold hadi again risen, and it was necessary .to alter the standard when 44Jgr were minted from lib troy. “ In 1694 the Bank of England was founded, and the first issues of notes began, and.in 1717 Lord Liverpool said a marked preference was shown by the people for gold on account of its convenience for making large payments. By Act of Parliament the mint must coin 1,869 sovereigns out of 40 troy pounds, or 46.3 per pound troy, each weighing odwt 3.623 gr of 22 carat fineness. When a sovereign ?fter wear weighs less than sdwt 2sgr it is not a legal tender. It will thus be seen that the standard ot gold has been altered and can bo altered again to advantage, seeing that gold has again risen in price in foreign countries. “ Now, my idea is to drop the carat of the sovereign from 22 carat to 11 carat. This will double the gold standard. and the sovereign at 11 carat would bo a better wearing coin than at 22 carat. There would not be such a large loss due to wear, and then, what difference would it make to the man in the street whether the sovereign in his pocket was 22 carat or 11 carat —it would still be worth 20s. “ There is another important reason why the. gold standard should be raised. Eighty-five per cent, of the world’s output of gold is controlled by the British flag. Now, in addition to raising the gold standard, let our Government give a substantial bonus for new finds, new developments at deeper levels to be classed as new finds. If this is done, and a little financial help towards development in deserving cases, there need he no fear of a shortage of gold.” PUBLIC TRUST OFFICE STATEMENT FOR AUGUST Estates of a value of £648.584 were reported mid accepted for administration by the Public Trustee during the month of August, 1939. The total value of the estates and funds under administration by the Public Trustee on March 31, 1939, was £61,715,713, and the new business for the five months ■ended August 31 was £2,468,807. Grants of administration made by the court in favour ot the Public Trustee numbered 221 for the month. During the month 542 new wills appointing the Public Trustee executor were prepared on behalf of testators and lodged for safe custody, and 394 existing wills were revised to provide for changes desired by testators. The total number of wills now held in the Public Trust Office on behalf of living persons is 94,538.