Belgium's Devaluation Scheme The devaluation of the belga has been
a curious busi- ness. When M. van Zeeland took office at Brussels with his Ministry drawn from all the main parties, the first idea was that he would maintain both the gold standard and the old parity. But it was soon seen that the pro- gramme of public works, which he had accepted so as to bring in the Socialists, rendered that well-nigh impos- sible. Hence the sudden devaluation scheme, which only passed the Chamber by Socialist votes, no more than 31 out of 71 Catholics supporting it, and only 10 out of 22 Liberals. On M. van Zeeland letting it be known, however, that if the Senate voted similarly he would resign, both Catholics and Liberals in the _Second Chamber came to heel. . The weight of argument in debate went against the scheme, which was especially criticized as tying the country's hands for the future, since a third devaluation might seem fatal to its remaining credit. An interesting point is that the change was not precipitated (as in England in 1931) by any run on the country's gold. Belgas had plenty of cover at the old parity, and small risk of losing it. Devaluation was Solely justified by the amount of unemployment, which Maintenance of the old parity was thought to entail.
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