Chapter 256 The First Step to Seize Power - Reform of the Gold Standard

After entering 1855, the Austrian government had more economic meetings. In addition to dealing with non-performing assets, the more important thing was currency reform.

Unlike at the beginning of the succession, Austria's gold and silver reserves were insufficient, and the focus of the government's economic work was to stabilize the currency value.

During the war in the Near East, a large amount of gold and silver flowed into Austria through trade with Russia, the embarrassing situation of insufficient gold and silver reserves has been improved, and the necessary conditions for the reform of the gold standard have been met.

The scope of currency reform is too broad, and Franz can't make a decision with a slap of his head. The cabinet government has conducted many arguments and still has not been able to reach a consensus.

Most countries now adopt the gold and silver reset system, or they directly use gold and silver as currency, and there are still very few countries on the gold standard.

In the government building, those who support the reform of the gold standard system are debating with those who advocate the reset system of gold and silver. This is the last debate in Austria.

If the viewpoint of that side can win, then what standard system will be realized in Austria in the next period of time.

Which is better and which is worse, is not actually a matter of the system itself. The most suitable is the best, and different standard systems are used in different time periods, which is the best choice.

In order to avoid becoming a martyr too far ahead, Franz left the final decision to the elites of this era. The judgment of these professionals is always much stronger than that of a layman.

Franz instructed: "This meeting is only to discuss the currency standard system, and it is forbidden to involve any irrelevant topics and personal attacks.

Please think carefully before expressing your opinions. Your opinions will determine the future destiny of the New Holy Roman Empire. All factors must be considered comprehensively.

Prime Minister, you are here to preside over the meeting. "

The matter of the quarrel, let the younger brothers take it!

If it is to persuade cabinet ministers, Franz doesn't mind the occasional presence in person. In such a public occasion now, it would be too impersonal for the emperor to debate in person.

Xiang Zhuang's sword dance is aimed at Peigong. Naturally, this currency reform will not be so simple, otherwise Franz would not have proposed the gold standard reform so early.

The deeper purpose of the currency reform is to unify the currency of the new Holy Roman Empire and consolidate the coinage rights of various states.

The time to seize power has come. Franz, who has always been cautious, will naturally pay attention to his appearance, and respect for face must be given first.

It is obviously not advisable to directly and bluntly turn Austrian currency into imperial legal tender. What Franz wanted was a united empire, not an empire full of contradictions.

Now, taking the opportunity of the reform of the standard system to issue new currencies to replace the original currencies of various countries, it is to take care of everyone's feelings.

Regardless of the final result, the coinage will be taken away by the central government.

Prime Minister Felix replied: "Yes, Your Majesty!"

After listening for a while, he said: "The currency standard meeting of the New Holy Roman Empire, the last extended meeting is now starting, all representatives will speak in order."

There were many people attending the meeting, but not many people qualified to speak. Except for the ministers of the cabinet, only representatives of various states were qualified to speak.

One each from Württemberg, Saxony, Frankfurt, Hesse, Lombardy, Bavaria, and four from Austria.

This is based on the principle of one representative for every 10 million people (rounding off), and each state is not less than one representative, and representatives are appointed by the governments of each state.

This is a system designed by Franz himself. The main purpose is to avoid people talking too much and delaying the meeting time.

The final result of the meeting is decided by a joint vote of representatives of the states and five cabinet ministers. Well, this is a political show, a total of fifteen people can vote, eleven of whom were appointed by Franz himself.

Hans, the representative of Frankfurt, said: "Everyone, the gold standard system is not bad, the problem is that our domestic gold production cannot keep up with the growth rate of commodities.

According to the current growth rate of domestic industry and commerce, we need to increase at least ten or twenty tons of gold reserves every year to be able to issue enough currency to ensure the normal operation of the economy.

At present, the annual gold output of the New Holy Roman Empire can only meet a quarter, how to make up the remaining gap?

Do you rely on foreign trade to acquire gold from the international market?

The war in the Near East is over, and the opportunity for such war wealth is gone forever. It is almost impossible to obtain such a large surplus in international trade.

In order to ensure the development of the domestic economy, it is the most suitable for us to continue to implement the current system of resetting the standard. "

According to the current value of Austria's currency, this means that the annual trade surplus will reach 14 million dong, which is obviously only an ideal figure.

In fact, it will be more difficult to convert it into gold and transport it back to the homeland to be used as a reserve for issuing currency.

Jungler, the representative of Bavaria, objected: "Mr. Hans, you are worrying too much. There is not enough gold production, but it is not impossible to solve it.

Now that the gold-silver mixed standard is abolished, we do not need to reserve a large amount of silver, and we can take this silver to the international market to buy gold.

At present, many countries in the world are resetting the standard system, and there is almost no obstacle to exchanging silver for gold.

We can also increase the leverage ratio. As long as the credibility of the government can be guaranteed, there will be no deficit in international trade, resulting in the outflow of gold, and inflation will not occur.

Whether it is the gold standard or the reset standard, in the final analysis, it depends on credibility, the government

If you don't have enough credit, unless you use gold and silver directly as currency.

Moreover, the reset standard system is not so good. On the surface, with more silver as reserves, we can print more banknotes.

But in fact, we all know that the price of gold and silver is changing at any time. The discovery of a new gold and silver mine is enough to change the price of gold and silver in the market, thus bringing strong volatility to the currency market.

Under the reset standard system, the currency market often fluctuates, and changes in currency value that may occur at any time have seriously affected the development of domestic commercial trade. "

The two of them almost said the advantages and disadvantages of the two standard systems. If there are enough gold reserves, the gold standard will naturally prevail.

On the contrary, it can only make do with the use of gold and silver to reset the standard. There is no need to consider the credit standard test, this era simply won't work.

When international trade settlement, the gold and silver settlement method is not used, who will recognize "credit"?

Can't use a pure silver standard, can it? Everyone knows that the world's silver production is increasing year by year, and the gold-silver exchange ratio is declining.

If the silver standard system is adopted, the currency market is stable, but it is stable in a long-term depreciation state.

Now this speed is not very fast. By the end of the 19th century, more and more silver mines have been discovered, and the currency will not collapse by then?

Frank, the representative of Saxony, asked: "Before you discuss this issue, do we need to find out how much gold and silver reserves the government has in hand now?"

"The central government of the New Holy Roman Empire plus local governments, the total gold reserves are 382.6 tons, and the total silver reserves are 8728.9 tons." Chancellor Carl replied.

This number is somewhat unexpected. Many people do not know that the New Holy Roman Empire already has so many gold reserves.

This is not surprising, since Franz succeeded to the throne, the Austrian government has subconsciously started to increase its gold reserves.

Specifically, when making external settlements, reduce gold expenditures as much as possible and use silver instead. Anyway, under the gold and silver reset standard system, the attitudes of governments around the world towards gold and silver are the same.

During the Near Eastern War, the Russians contributed a large amount of gold and silver to Austria, which increased the gold and silver reserves of the Austrian government.

In the gold and silver reserves of the New Holy Roman Empire, the Austrian government accounted for 90% of the share, which naturally increased the domestic gold reserves.

This gold seems to be a lot, but in fact, after the gold standard reform, it is only enough for early use. With the continuous development of the economy, this reserve needs to continue to increase.

The total amount of gold in this era was limited. Before countries implemented the gold standard reform, most of the gold was kept privately in the form of luxury goods.

Hearing this good news, Jurgen, Austria's representative who advocated the reform of the gold standard, said: "Our gold reserves are already quite large. If the reform of the gold standard is carried out now, gold can be purchased from the private sector.

At present, most countries implement the gold and silver standard system. We will carry out the gold standard reform in advance, and we can also take the opportunity to exchange silver for a batch of gold.

Once all countries start the reform of the currency standard, the price of silver, which has lost its currency status, is bound to fall sharply, and it is finally estimated that even one-third of its current value cannot be preserved.

From the perspective of long-term development, stable currency value is very important. The British took the first step. If we do not keep up, we will suffer later. "

The gold standard system was originally proposed by the British. The British began to implement the gold standard as early as 1823. They had enough overseas colonies, and the gold mined from the colonies was enough to support them to implement the gold standard.

Most countries in Europe cannot do this. Although everyone knows the benefits of the gold standard, they dare not follow suit without sufficient gold reserves.

The gold and silver reset standard system is a substitute for the shortage of gold reserves. If the New Holy Roman Empire enters the gold standard era, then this topic cannot be avoided.

Hans, the representative of Frankfurt, shook his head and said: "The currency reform is of great importance. If you step out and then want to take it back, the price you pay is not a single star.

Even if we are scanning goods in the international market now, the amount of gold we can obtain is limited, and it is very difficult to exchange one hundred and eighty tons.

The gold standard system has been established, and we can support it in the early stage. But in ten years, twenty years, or even longer, when we find that gold reserves are insufficient, what will we do? "

After listening to Hans' explanation, Franz finally understood why they would firmly oppose the reform of the gold standard. In the final analysis, the gold reserves were insufficient.

The development of the New Holy Roman Empire is very fast. Since the economy has developed, the currency circulation required in the market will naturally increase.

In this era, increasing the circulation of money is not just about printing bills, but there must also be enough reserves, or enough gold and silver to be placed there, so that the people can be assured of the credibility of the government.

Once the idea of ​​getting gold from the colony appeared in Franz's mind, it became lingering.

This is the most effective and reliable method. South Africa has the most gold mines. Unfortunately, the British have occupied the coastal areas. Unless they can go around from the inland, they can only see it from afar.

This kind of unreliable method, Franz dismissed after thinking about it. The African interior is not easy to mess with, it is a real wild land.

Even if the traffic is opened up, the gold mines are finally developed, and there will be competition from European countries. Austria is not the British Empire, but not

Have the ability to cut everyone from the sea to join the spoils.

Franz didn't want to make wedding dresses for others. He spent a lot of money and invested a lot of money. In the end, everyone came together to divide it up. Maybe the Austrian cost could not be recovered.

Thinking about other regions again...