From 1816 to 1847 Holland had followed the example of France in admitting a double monetary standard. Gold and silver were both received in legal payment. The law of November 26th, 1847, altered this state of things; one standard only was allowed, and the silver florin of 3 grammes 450 milligrammes fineness, became the monetary unit: this simplification of the national coin, however, was adopted in theory only; the application of the system was postponed. The article 23 of the law decreed, that before December 31st, 1850, other legislative arrangements should be enacted concerning the gold coins of five and ten florins, but that till these new arrangements were carried out, the gold coin should continue in legal circulation. The Dutch government might, therefore, retain the legal circulation of the gold coin, by applying to the States-General to prolong the period of the law of November 26th, 1847; but it preferred to carry out the system to its fullest extent. On August 6th, 1849, the government laid before the Assembly, the scheme of a law to “demonetize” the pieces of five and ten florins, and leaving to the administration the moment for its execution. At the same time the government demanded authority for the issue of notes to the amount of [37]30,000,000 florins, to buy in the gold coin, which although not in legal circulation, might yet continue to serve as payment at its conventional value. In the “_Exposé des Motifs_,” the Minister of Finance, M. Van Hall, acknowledged that the depreciation of gold would not be immediate. “We must examine the question,” he said, “in order to know whether the proportionate value of gold and silver has undergone much variation in consequence of the discovery of the Californian mines. The government is of opinion that as yet this is not the case. In fact, a document communicated to the Assembly proves that the proportion between gold and silver of 1 to 15·60 has been found to exist but once. Sixty-eight quotations of the Exchange of Paris mark the price of gold higher, and only four lower than this proportion; at the Exchange at Amsterdam, we find fifty-five quotations above, and fifteen only below. For the present there is no fear of too much gold being imported for the purpose of exporting silver. It should also be observed, that the high price of gold in France has latterly been occasioned by political events.