The explanation we have endeavoured to give appears to become clearer as we investigate further into the subject. Let us first examine the facts relating to the scarcity of silver. England, the principal market of Europe for the precious metals, witnessed, in 1850, a reduction of about [30]27,000,000 francs in the ordinary import. This applied principally to silver. Remittances from India, generally about [31]20,000,000 fr., were almost completely stopped; those from Turkey and Spain were materially diminished. At the same time about £1,000,000 sterling was required to be shipped to India, and remittances were made by Messrs. Baring to St. Petersburg of [32]8,000,000 to [33]10,000,000 francs more, in silver. Germany and Holland required more than their usual supply. The Société Maritime of Berlin had imported silver to the extent of [34]3,000,000 or [35]4,000,000 thalers; so that, altogether, the import into England, having diminished in 1850 to the extent of about £1,000,000 sterling, the export had been in excess by about double that amount; reducing the metallic reserve by about [36]75,000,000 francs. In addition to which, Spain and Russia, having prohibited the export of silver, the exchanges with those countries could hardly be operated upon effectively by the transmission of this kind of specie. It is easy, then, to conceive, that where no modification of the monetary laws had taken place, the premium on gold passed to a premium on silver. This will explain the reason for at least a temporary abundance and depression in the price of gold, especially on the gold market of Paris. There is no ground for imputing the change to California, from whence the supplies were of little moment, until the end of December, 1850. England so far had only received silver from the United States, and the Californian gold, which had found its way by Panama, during the year, did not exceed, according to official returns, £682,000, or 17,050,000 francs. The Mint in London did not coin gold to a greater extent in 1850 than £1,492,000, or 37,300,000 francs, which is conclusive against any very large importation. The market of Paris might have experienced a superabundance of gold, in consequence of the demonetization of gold coin in Spain and Portugal, and by the influx of Belgian and other foreign gold coin which had been circulating in Belgium; and it should be added, that England imported into France, for the payment of railway shares, probably to the extent of £1,000,000 sterling; but the predominating cause of the depreciation was undoubtedly the demonetization of gold in Holland, for that step had the immediate effect of cancelling at once the value of the gold coin there in circulation, and of throwing simultaneously an amount of gold on the commercial market, almost equal to the whole of the annual quantity of gold produced in California.