THE WORLD'S GOLD.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 9557, 2 August 1909, Page 3

THE WORLD'S GOLD.

According to a series of tables just published under the authority of the United States Statistical Department, the United States has a greater supply of gold currency than any other country Australia coming eighth on the list. 1 The figures given converted into sterling are as fol-lows:-United States 322 millions sterling; Germany 209 millions; France 185 millions; Russia 183 millions; United Kingdom 113 millions; Austria-Hungary 60 millions; Italy 51 millions; Australia 32 millions; Egypt 29 millions; Argentina 29 millions; Turkey 26 millions; India 23 millions; Japan 18 millions; Canada 13 millions; and Brazil 10 millions. The world's stock of gold has increased about one-half in the last decade, and doubled in the last quarter of a century. The stock of gold money as meantime grown in even greater proportions, being practicaily 75 per cnt. mor«. than a decado ago. A careful study of the tables above referred to show a very rapid increase in gold production in recent years.' Prior to the year 1700 the world's gold production averaged about £1,000,000 a year; from 1750 to 1850 it averaged about £2,000,000 a year; from 1700 to 1750 it averaged about £2,400,000 a year. Fully one fourth of the two thousand million pounds' worth of gold produced in the world since the discovery of America has come from tin mines of the United States. The production I of gold in the United States since j 1792, the earliest record available, is I a little over GOO million sterling in j value, or nearly one-forth of the total J of the world's product since 1492. \ During the last ten years the pro- j duction in the United States has j aggregated between £16,00?,000 | and £13,00,000, or about one-fourth of the total world product of about £70,000,000 during the period. The United states occupies second place in th<- list of the world's gold-pro-ducer?, South Africa stands first with a little over !30 millions sterling the United Stale slightly iess than 20 millions Australasia about 10 millions, Russia about five millions, and Mexico a little less than four millions.