CAUSES OF THE FALL.
It soon became apparent, -however,. that other influences than those I have just mentioned were also operating. If the reader recalls for a moment the events of the late summer of last year he will remember that the heavy drain of gold from this country was caused, in large measure, by anxiety oil the part of the foreigners with regard to financial and social conditions here. The Budget was unbalanced and the dole was taxing the resources of the Exchequer so severely as to make a further big deficit in the Balance Sheet probable. Accordingly, foreign balances were withdrawn from this country in the shape of gold, and in addition foreign speculators hammered the sterling exchange by persistent selling, with the result that the change of Government and the economies in National Expenditure came too late to prevent our departure from the gold standard.
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