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• Preface
• Studies In the Theory of International Trade
• Chapter I: English Theories of Foreign Trade, Before Adam Smith: I
• I. Introduction
• II. “ Mercantilism” and “bullionism”
• III. the Balance-of-trade Doctrine
• IV. Reasons For Wanting More Bullion
• V. Employment and the Balance of Trade
• Chapter II: English Theories of Foreign Trade, Before Adam Smith: Ii
• I. Legislative Proposals of Mercantilists
• II. the Collapse of Mercantilist Doctrine
• III. Some Modern Interpretations of English Mercantilism
• Chapter III: The Bullionist Controversies: I. The Inflation Phase
• I. the Participants In the Controversy
• II. the Factual Background
• III. Premium On Bullion As Evidence of Excess Issue: the Bullionist Position
• IV. Qualifications Conceded By the Bullionists
• V. Possible Objections to the Bullionist Position
• VI. the Anti-bullionist Position
• VII. the Balance of Payments Argument
• VIII. the Possibility of Excess Issue By Banks
• IX. Responsibility For the Excess Issue: Bank of England Vs. Country Banks
• X. Responsibility For Excess Issue: the Credit Policy of the Bank of England
• Chapter IV: The Bullionist Controversies: II. The Deflation Phase
• I. the Resumption of Cash Payments
• II. Responsibility of Resumption For the Fall In Prices
• III. the Economic Effect of Changing Price Levels
• IV. Ricardo's Position On the Gold Standard
• V. Reform Without Departure From the Metallic Standard
• VI. Paper Standard Currencies
• Chapter V: English Currency Controversies, 1825–1865
• I. Introduction
• II. the “currency School” -“banking School” Controversy
• III. the “palmer Rule ”
• IV. the Bank Act of 1844
• V. the Possibility of Overissue of Convertible Bank Notes
• VI. the Role of Deposits, Bills of Exchange, and “credit” In the Currency System
• VII. the Technique of Credit Control
• VIII. the Relation Between Bank of England Operations and Specie Movements
• IX. Currency Reform Proposals
• Chapter VI: The International Mechanism Under a Simple Specie Currency
• I. Introductory
• II. the Mechanism According to Hume
• III. an Omitted Factor? Relative Changes In Demand As an Equilibrating Force
• IV. Prices In the Mechanism: the Concept of “price Levels ”
• V. the “terms-of-trade” Concept
• VI. the Prices of “domestic” Commodities
• VII. the Mechanism of Transfer of Unilateral Payments In Some Recent Literature
• VIII. a Graphical Examination of Pigou's Analysis 1
• IX. Some Elaborations On the Basis of Pigou's Analysis
• X. an Alternative Solution
• XI. Types of Disturbance In International Equilibrium
• XII. Specie Movements and Velocity of Money
• XIII. Commodity Flows and Relative Price Levels
• XIV. Exchange Rates
• XV. A Criticism of the Purchasing-power Parity Theory 1
• Chapter VII: The International Mechanism In Relation to Modern Banking Processes
• I. Automatic Vs. Managed Currencies
• II. Primary and Secondary Expansion of Means of Payments
• III. Short-term Loans In the International Mechanism
• IV. Primary and Secondary Expansion In Canada , 1900–13
• V. the International Mechanism and Business Cycles
• Chapter VIII: Gains From Trade: the Doctrine of Comparative Costs
• I. the Nature and Origin of the Doctrine
• II. the Division of the Gain From Trade
• III. Trade In More Than Two Commodities
• IV. Trade Between More Than Two Countries
• V. Transportation Costs
• VI. Increasing and Decreasing Costs
• VII. Prices, Money Costs, and Real Costs
• VIII. Dependence of Comparative Cost Doctrine On a Real-cost Theory of Value
• IX. Differences In Wage Rates In Different Occupations
• X. Variable Proportions of the Factors and International Specialization
• XI. Variable Proportions of the Factor and Comparative Real Costs
• XII. “ Opportunity Cost” Analysis As a Substitute For Real Cost Analysis
• Chapter IX: Gains From Trade: the Maximization of Real Income
• I. “ Mass of Commodities” and “sum of Enjoyments”: Ricardo and Malthus
• II. Reciprocal Demand and the Terms of Trade
• III. Terms of Trade and the Amount of Gain From Trade
• IV. “ Net Benefit” In International Trade: Marshall
• V. Total Net Utility Derived From International Trade: Edgeworth
• VI. the Gain From Trade Measured In Money
• Appendix: a Note On the Scope and Method of the Theory of International Trade

IV. Qualifications Conceded by the Bullionists

The bullionists were prepared to make several qualifications to this reasoning and therefore to concede that the existence of a premium on bullion over paper, or of a discount of sterling exchange from metallic parity, was not an absolute proof of excess issue, and was strong presumptive evidence of excess issue only if it was substantial and prevailed for a considerable period of time.

There was first the question as to whether the price of gold or the price of silver bullion should be taken as the test. Since the bullionist comparison was always with the amount of circulation possible under the metallic standard prevailing in 1797, and since it was generally, though not universally, agreed that England had then been in fact on a gold standard basis, the bullionists preferred to use the price of gold as their test. There were fairly substantial variations in the relative prices of gold and silver on the English market, and therefore also in the extent of the premiums over paper which they respectively commanded. But as during this period a substantial premium on the one was always accompanied by a substantial premium on the other, it did not matter for practical purposes which was taken as the test of the existence of excess currency, although it would have mattered if what were in question was the degree of excess.

Secondly, when the bullionists used the exchange rates as an alternative or supplementary test of the existence of depreciation, they conceded that since even under a metallic standard the exchanges could fall below the mint parity to the limit of the cost of shipping bullion, a fall in the exchanges which did not go beyond this limit was not proof that there was excess of currency under inconvertibility.1 Moreover, whereas England had been on a gold standard basis prior to the Restriction, Hamburg, Amsterdam, and Paris, the most important quotation points for the exchanges during the Restriction, were on a silver standard basis. Ricardo and other bullionists pointed out that since the relative values of gold and silver were not constant, the exchange parties between gold and silver currencies also were not constant, and that in computing the deviation of, say, the London-Hamburg exchange from parity it was necessary to make allowance for any alteration in the relative market values of the two metals. But the general trend of the price of silver as compared to gold was downward during the later stage of the controversy, and Ricardo pointed out that comparisons of the trend of the Hamburg exchange during the Restriction period which used the prevailing rate before the Restriction as the base therefore underestimated the extent of the real fall in the exchange value of English paper currency in terms of gold bullion abroad.2

Thirdly, even before 1797, English gold coin, or bullion derived therefrom, was not legally exportable, and at a time when the exchanges were against England exportable bullion would command a premium over its mint price in coin or in paper. Ricardo and other bullionists insisted, however, that the prohibition of export of English coin or bullion could not be successfully enforced and that a small premium would in practice suffice to compensate for the risks involved in melting and false swearing, or in smuggling English bullion out of the country. They conceded that a premium on gold not exceeding this risk-premium was not necessarily indicative of excess. Bullion also could command a premium over coin and paper even under convertibility if the coinage was generally underweight as compared to its nominal standard, and for this also the bullionists were willing to make allowances. But the gold coinage was in good condition in 1797, and only a minor allowance was called for on this account.3 The bullionists tended to agree that 5 per cent premium on gold was ample allowance for both these factors, and it seems that in the years prior to 1797 the premium on gold at no time exceeded this except in isolated and special transactions.4

Fourthly, the bullionists recognized that the substitution in England of paper for gold and the export of the displaced gold would tend to result in a rise of prices in other countries in terms of gold, and that England could share in this rise of prices, and could therefore circulate a greater quantity of currency than before, other things remaining the same, without suffering a premium on gold or fall in the exchanges.5 They did not attach any importance to this factor, however, presumably on the ground that any such release of gold would be negligible in comparison to the world supply.6 Since to the extent that this consideration had weight it would tend to make the bullionists' tests of excess as they defined it too generous rather than too exacting, the anti-bullionists also made no use of it, although it became an important element in the controversy of the deflation period.

[1]Ricardo, it is true, maintained that the foreign exchanges could fall under the mint parities even under a fully convertible currency only if the currency was “redundant” (i.e., was in excess of what could circulate consistently with the maintenance of the exchanges at mint parity), but he apparently meant by “excess” of currency under inconvertibility only the extra excess over and above that “redundancy” which was possible under convertibility.

[2]Reply to Mr. Bosanquet's observations, Works, pp. 321–22.

[3]According to Mushet, a mint test of the weight of the gold coin still in circulation, made in 1807, showed on the average slightly under 1.5 per cent of underweight. (An inquiry into the effects produced on the national currency ... by the Bank restriction bill, 3d ed., 1811, p. 30.) Since the lighter coins would tend to remain longest in circulation, this would indicate that little allowance on this account would be called for prior to 1797.

[4]The Bullion Committee estimated the maximum premium on gold bullion over paper and coin which could prevail before 1797 at about 5½ per cent. Report, pp. 14–15.

[5]Cf. Wheatley, Remarks on currency and commerce, 1803, p. 187; Ricardo, High price of bullion, Works, p. 266, note.

[6]Cf. James Mill, Review of Thomas Smith's Essay on the theory of money and exchange, 1807, in Edinburgh review, XIII (1808), 54. But while James Mill was critical of the Restriction, at this stage he accepted many of the anti-bullionist arguments, and cannot be considered as an unqualified bullionist.