MOUSTIER, President of the Conference to Clavery , Secretary of the Conference. Roux , Secretary Adjunct, June 17, 1867

Official reports of the proceedings of the International Monetary Conference.

His excellency Marquis de Moustier presiding.

Were present—

For Austria His excellency Baron de Hock, privy councillor, member of the House of Lords.

For the Grand Duchy of Baden: Baron Schweizer, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of the Grand Duchy at Paris; Dietz, privy councillor, commissioner general of the Grand Duchy to the Universal Exposition.

For Bavaria: Messrs. De Hermann, councillor of State; Le Haindl, director of the mint.

For Belgium: MM. de Fortamps, senator, director of the Bank of Belgium; Stas, member of the Royal Academy, commissioner of coinage.

For Denmark: Count Moltke Hvifeldt, envoy extraordináy and minister plenipotentiary from Denmark at Paris.

For the United States: Mr. Samuel B. Ruggles, commissioner to the Universal Exposition.

For France: His excellency Marquis de Moustier, minister for foreign affairs, president of the conference; MM. de Parieu, vice-president of the council of state, member of the institute, vice president of the conference: De Layenay, president of the section of finance in the council of state; Herbert, minister plenipotentiary, director in the department of foreign affairs; Dutilleul, director in the department of finances.

For Great Britain: Mr. Thomas Graham, director of the royal mint; Mr. Rivers Wilson, attached to the treasury.

For Greece: M. Delyannis, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary at Paris.

For Italy: MM. the Chevalier Artom, councillor of the legation of Italy at Paris; F. Giordono, inspector of the royal corps of mines, and commissioner to the Universal Exposition.

For the Netherlands: MM. Vrolik, former minister of finance; Mees, president of the Netherlands Bank.

For Portugal: MM. the Count d’Avila, peer of the realm, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of his Most Faithful Majesty at the court of Madrid, commissioner general to the Universal Exposition; the Viscount de Villa Major, peer of the realm, member of the jury for the Universal Exposition.

For Prussia: MM. Meinecke, superior privy councillor of finance; Herzog, privy councillor of the department of commerce, commissioner to the Universal Exposition.

For Russia: M. de Jacobi, privy councillor, member of the Imperial Academy of Sciences at St. Petersburg.

For Sweden and Norway: MM. Wallenberg, member of the first chamber of the Swedish Diet, director of the Bank of Stockholm; Broch, member of the Storthing of Norway, president of the central commission of Norway for the Universal Exposition.

For Switzerland: MM. Kern, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary at Paris; Escher, director of the federal mint.

For Turkey: His excellency Djemil Pacha, ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary from the Sublime Porte.

For Wurtemberg: MM. Baron de Soden, privy councillor of legation.

M. Clavery, “redacteur” of department for foreign affairs, was charged with the functions of, secretary, associated with M. Roux, attached to the vice-presidency of the council of state, as assistant secretary.

The international monetary conference met for the first time on Monday, 17th June, 1867, at half-past 9 o’clock, at the hotel of the department of foreign affairs, under the presidency of his excellency the minister for foreign affairs.

His excellency the Marquis de Moustier expressed to Messrs. the delegates the regrets of his excellency M. Rouher, who being obliged to preside at that very time in the imperial commission of the Universal Exposition, could not assist at this sitting. He then opened the labors of the conference by pronouncing the following allocution:

“The approximations which the late commercial reforms have wrought between the economic interests of nations ought to result in causing to be appreciated more earnestly than in past time the advantages which would be derived from the unification of coinages. To substitute instead of the variety of monetary types actually in use, metallic coins struck in accordance with uniform regulations, and placed beyond any variations of exchange, would, in effect, be to remove one of the most serious obstacles to the development of international relations. Thus, when in 1865 the delegates of France; Belgium, Italy, and Switzerland had succeeded in forming between these four a real monetary union, the thought of a more extended association naturally presented itself to their intelligence; thence came the right of accession opened to other countries by a special clause in the convention of December 25, 1865; thence the wish put forth by the commissioners, that studies should be undertaken, in concert, among all civilized states on the question of uniformity of coinage.

“No period could be more favorable to the realization of this wish than that of the Universal Exposition; the government of the Emperor hastened to avail of it, and the acceptance which various governments have pleased to extend to these overtures have shown that the importance of the problem to be solved was universally recognized.

“The dispositions thus manifested from the outset are so much the more precious, as it was impossible to dissemble the difficulties of the task which the members of the conference have to accomplish. Those difficulties are of diverse nature, and to remove them it is important, beyond all, that each state, in view of the great interest it seeks to satisfy, should seek, without exclusive opinions, the best solution.

“The French government is, moreover pleased, gentlemen, to recognize in the choice of yourselves, on the part of your government, a fresh pledge of the solicitude which, abroad as well as in France, is entertained upon the question submitted to the conference. À study of such delicacy and so complex could not be confided to an assemblage which could present a more complete combination of knowledge required either in the conduct of great affairs, in the management of important financial institutions, or in technical operations.

“The sittings, therefore, of the international convention open under the happiest auspices, and we may look to the result with confidence.

“I could have desired,” added the minister of foreign affairs, in closing his remarks, “to have been able to participate with assiduity in your deliberations, but I have reason to fear, as also has the minister of state, that our many occupations will not permit us.

“In our absence M. de Parieu, vice-president of the council of state, will cheerfully direct the labors of the conference. I need not, sirs, attest to you the pre-eminent competeney of M de Parieu; you are aware that he has made the monetary question the object of the profoundest study, and you are acquainted with the remarkable writings in which he has published the results of his researches. The skilful direction which he has already given to the preliminary discussions of the convention of 1865 is the guarantee of a like ability in this new conference.”

M. de Parieu, expressing his thanks to the minister of foreign affairs, invoked the kind co-operation of the members of the conference to second him in the task which might be, devolved upon him.

He then proposed to confide to a sub-committee the charge of preparing heads of inquiry, which would serve as the basis of deliberations. The sub-committee might be composed of seven persons, and should represent the three groups into which the different states are divided, in a monetary point of view, as having respectively adopted the gold standard, the silver standard, or the two standards.

His excellency Djemih, Pacha, suggesting that on the occasion of the last telegraphic conference, held at Paris, a sub-committee had been charged with preparing not merely heads of inquiry, but a complete plan for settlement, asked if it were not possible to proceed in that way on the present occasion.

M. Herbet remarked that at the time of the telegraphic conference all the states were represented by their diplomatic agents, assisted by special agents, principally heads of the administration of the telegraphs of their respective countries, and in some sort clothed with the power to elucidate numerous questions of detail and the technical difficulties connected with the reform which it was proposed to accomplish. The present commission is not com-posed of like-elements, and the members who compose it are present by virtue of delegations which do not establish similar distinctions. M. Herbet, moreover, approved the combination proposed by M. Parieu, adding only that the conference could, if it should think proper, increase the number of members of the sub-committee, perhaps, to nine.

M. Fortamps also assented to the proposition under consideration, as the best way of settling without loss of time the programme of questions to be solved.

Baron de Hock and M. Kern expressed the opinion that it would be convenient ta. devolve on M. de Parieu and M. Herbet the duty of designating the members of the sub-committee, the number of which might, in case of need, be raised to nine.

On the motion of M. de Moustier, the formation of such sub-committee was directed.

The sitting being suspended for some minutes, was resumed, and M. de Parieu submitted to the conference the names which follow:

To represent the countries which have adopted the gold standard—M. Graham, delegate from England, and M. the Count d’Avila, delegate from Portugal. To represent the countries which have the silver standard—the Baron de Hock, delegate from Austria, and M. Meinecke, delegate from Prussia. To represent the countries of the double standards M. de Jacobi, delegate from Russia, and M. de Parieu, delegate from France; finally, as the seventh member, Mr. Samuel B. Ruggles, delegate from the United States, and sole, representative of the transatlantic countries.

The sub-committee, thus composed, would furnish all the guarantees of impartiality that were desirable.

M. de Jacobi observed that Russia has only one standard, that of silver.

M. de Parieu answered that this empire finds itself in this respect in the same situation as. France. For. both countries there is a kind of pre-eminence of the silver standard, but gold is equally a legal tender as silver, and the two metals are received without distinction in payments.

The conference decided that the sub-committee should meet to-morrow at ten o’clock at the council of state, and shall lay before it as soon as possible the proposed heads of inquiry (questionnaire.)

The sitting rose at 11 o’clock.