ABSTRACT
The greatly increased mass of gold in use, the extended area of production, and the greater variety of nations which share in its production, will finally render it far more steady in value even than it has been. Gold will form the mass of the currency as regards value, even if it do not furnish the standard, and the inconveniences are very great of using coins varying in denomination, as was the case in England in the early part of the last century. The consequence of any attempt would be to increase greatly the public burdens, which otherwise are being decreased by the depreciation of gold. Gold has not lost its character of a standard by the late gold discoveries. These must be regarded as one of those runs of luck, one of those events of extreme improbability, which will in all likelihood not recur in the course of ages.
