The Recovery of the Guilder The gold standard countries continue
to experience much difficulty in view, of the persistent tendency of gold to appreciate—a tendency with which they can only keep pace by giving fresh and painful turns of the screw of deflation. It is only a few months since Belgium decided that the pain was too much for her, and resorted to devaluation instead. . Then came the French crisis, only with difficulty exorcised by M. Laval, and now the Dutch crisis, which Dr. Colijn can scarcely yet be said to have exorcised, though he seems to have regained the upper hand over it. A week ago, following his Parliamentary defeat and resignation, there was an approach to financial panic in Holland ; and in a few days about £20 millions of gold flowed out of the country. But the guilder was well supported by foreign Govern- ments ; and the return or Dr. Colijn to office after the .failure of his . adVersaries to form a Government has quite stopped the rot for the time being. Owing to her geographical position and. wealth, Holland holds one of the key bastion's in the gold fortress. Like Switzer- land she has never devalued. What would be the inter- national effect of her doing so, no one can with certainty foretell ; but it is obvious that every time the gold standard proves untenable without devaluation, it comes nearer ceasing to be a standard at all.
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