Start 1861: I Just Inherited the Dutch Throne

Privy Council Meeting, Melbourne, Kingdom of the Netherlands, October 7, 1881.

Gerrit de Vries has been confirmed to be the Dutch government and royal Dutch envoy to win over the Persian Empire to become the Dutch government against the British. He will begin crossing the north Indian Ocean to the Persian Gulf in mid-October, and is confirmed to arrive in Germany before early November. Helan paid a secret friendly visit.

Diplomatic issues and military deployment were discussed in an orderly manner in the Privy Council. Finally, this topic came to an end in the morning. At two o'clock in the afternoon, another topic started.

William IV asked Finance Minister Jules Danetang (also the leader of the Socialist Party), who was standing in front of the members of the Privy Council and the Deputy Prime Minister: "Your Excellency Sackem, how is the Dutch Federal Reserve doing now?"

Since the establishment of the Dutch central bank, the Dutch Central Bank, was secretly announced in Wellington, New Zealand, in January 1880, William IV would ask about the construction of the Dutch Federal Reserve every once in a while.

As the director of the Dutch Financial Commission and the first chairman of the Dutch Federal Reserve Bank, I was already prepared for this.

"Since the establishment of the Dutch Federal Reserve Bank in Wellington, New Zealand, in January 1880 (last year), with the support of Finance Minister Jules Danetang, there have been Andrew, Assistant Secretary of the Ministry of Finance and Special Assistant to the National Financial Commission, and National Bank of East India. President Frank, President of Far Eastern Bank of Commerce Vanderlip, President of United Private Bank Davidson, Senior Partner of Royal Dutch Investment Company Sir Henry (also commonly known as Royal Investment Company's personal emissary) and First National Bank of Sydney controlled by Royal Investment Company With the support of President Norton and a series of top figures in the Dutch financial industry, everything is currently moving towards our plan."

After the establishment of the Dutch Federal Reserve was established in January 1881, the cabinet government and both houses of the Dutch Parliament gave full support starting in February. The Dutch Federal Reserve Bank is now controlled by Parliament, accountable to the government, and supervised by His Majesty. "

According to His Majesty's plan, half (5, 10 in total) of the directors of the Dutch Federal Reserve are directly or indirectly elected by the Bank Federation, and the remainder are held by cabinet members and the royal family. According to William IV's plan, the final Board of Directors of the Dutch Federal Reserve is elected The Dutch Prime Minister is appointed, but the real functions of the committee are led by the Advisory Committee of the Reserve Bank of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, controlled by the Dutch royal family represented by William IV. At the same time, in order to relieve the power of the Prime Minister, the Dutch Prime Minister can only appoint half of the committee members, and the remaining members Representatives need to be selected from the chairman of the board of directors of the 10 Federal Reserve Banks of the Netherlands. According to the established rules, all committee members are kept confidential from the public.

Currently, of the 20 members of the Privy Council present, only 5 are members of the mysterious institution of the Dutch Federal Reserve Bank. The other five are elites in the banking industry and are not here.

William IV is not counted, each current prime minister counts as one, and there are a total of 5 cabinet ministers, finance ministers, chairman of the Dutch Federal Reserve, Speaker of the House of Lords, and Speaker of the House of Commons.

These five people are also fixed members of each Privy Council.

As for the other members of the Privy Council who were not members of the Dutch Federal Reserve, it could be said that they were not qualified. Naturally, they were curious about this top financial institution in the Netherlands, so when William IV and Sackham asked and answered questions, they all chose to be quiet. of observation.

Judging from Sackham's answer, it seems that not much was revealed.

William IV was naturally not satisfied with Sackham's statement. So he asked in a critical tone: "Last year I asked to improve the international status of the Dutch guilder. How is it now?"

Sackem, director of the Dutch Financial Commission and chairman of the Dutch Federal Reserve Bank, said: “Over the past few months, we have made great progress in improving the international status of the Dutch guilder. For example, the foreign currency currently used on a large scale by the Dutch allies in Latin America is The Dutch guilder has better credit than the British pound.

Even in the Commonwealth of the United States and Brazil, the Dutch guilder now has almost the same status as the pound; in Europe, the pound's trade has declined, and the Netherlands' trade with them has increased, and the Dutch guilder has also risen. In the Russian Empire, Greece and Spain, the Dutch guilder also became the first foreign currency. "

William IV: "More details on the use of foreign currency, the Dutch guilder"

Sackham: "Since the beginning of last year, the exchange rate of the pound has been falling. About a year ago in January 1880, the exchange price of one pound was still 1:25; by the beginning of this year in January, the exchange rate of 1 pound to 1 Dutch guilder became 1:15; by the end of September last month, the exchange rate between the pound and the Dutch guilder became 1:10."

William IV said with satisfaction: "The exchange rate has more than doubled?"

Sackham nodded: "Currently the value of the British pound is falling rapidly. On the contrary, the Dutch guilder is due to the increase in the number of countries using the Dutch guilder in our global trade, and as the value of the imported Dutch guilder increases, the value of the British pound depreciates in disguise. The Dutch guilder The storage value of

William IV saw the Minister of Industry next to him, Joseph Lanka, frowning and saying nothing, so he asked: "What is the Ministry of Industry worried about?"

Seeing William IV's questioning look, Joseph Lanka said: "At present, due to the increase in the exchange rate of the Dutch guilder compared to the pound, it has devalued the British pound. Increasing the competitiveness of exporting British products has actually led to the appreciation of the Dutch guilder. The Netherlands The competitiveness of industrial products has decreased.”

William IV nuzzled at Sackham, and then said: "If you have any questions, should I contact him?"

Senator Sackham smiled bitterly upon hearing this.

However, facing Joseph Ranka's look of help, Sackham could only speak out, "Has the current trend of increasing exports of Dutch industrial products weakened?"

Joseph Ranka paused, shook his head and said, "No."

Senator Sackham: "Can the UK reverse the competition between us and the UK in exporting industrial products?"

Joseph Lanka said seriously: "No."

Senator Sackham: "Do Germany and the United States have an advantage over us in exporting industrial products?"

Joseph Lanka: "The Netherlands remains the largest exporting country"

Sackham said with a smile: "This is the result of the efforts of all our colleagues at the Dutch Federal Reserve and the Dutch Financial Commission."

He turned to William IV and said: "Your Majesty, every time the Dutch Federal Reserve and the Financial Committee promote an increase in the Dutch guilder exchange rate, we will refer to the Dutch industrial product export data for a gradual increase. The entire process is approved by all members of the Dutch Federal Reserve Advisory Committee, and in the financial This was done with the support of the committee.”

Hearing this, Industry Minister Joseph Lanka breathed a sigh of relief, "If the Dutch Federal Reserve does this, it will increase the value of Dutch industrial products. It will not affect export competitiveness, and it will be more beneficial to exporters."

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Jourda Netang nodded: "The current information obtained by the Ministry of Finance shows that importers are also very satisfied with the increase in the Dutch guilder, because the increase in the exchange rate against other currencies has made importers more profitable."