Gold and the Gold Standard.pdf

GOLD AND THE GOLD STANDARD
was still in existence, although during the war the
committee had refrained from making any recommendations.
The war having ended with the battle
of Waterloo in June, 1815, the committee was
asked for a report, which it made in May, 1816,
and in which it adopted Lord Liverpool's original
proposals. It recommended a monometallic gold
standard, continuing 'the existing weights and denominations
of gold coins, with the' coinage of gold
free and gratuitous. Silver coins, it recommended,
should thereafter be made subsidiary, slightly underweight,
and with their legal-tender quality limited to
2 guineas.
Parliament promptly adopted the committee's
recommendations in the Gold Standard Act of 1816
(Act 56, George III, chap. 68). The preamble of
this act declared: '
Whereas the silver coins of the realm have, by long use and
other circumstances, become greatly diminished in number and
deteriorated in value, so as not to be sufficient for the payments
required in dealings under the value of the current gold
coins, by reason whereof a great quantity of light and counterfeit
silver coin and foreign coin has been introduced into
circulation within this realm, and the evils resulting,therefrom
can only be remedied by a new coinage of silver money, . . .
And whereas at various times heretofore the coins of this realm
of gold and silver have been usually a legal tender for payments
to any amount, and great inconvenience has arisen from both
these precious metals being concurrently the standard measure
of value and equivalent of property, it is expedient that the
gold coin made according to the indentures of the Mint should
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