MONEY 
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is taken as readily as standard money, and 
the proportions of each in use are settled 
merely by the habits and customs of the people, 
which, generally speaking, give expression to 
what is convenient. A person in England 
will make certain payments with cheque, 
certain payments with notes, and others with 
sovereigns and small change : whenever he 
has to hand over money for goods, he will 
select the form of payment which best suits 
his convenience. Hence the proportion of 
credit money to commodity money in use 
tends to settle at a figure which reflects 
public convenience. When the amount of 
credit money outstanding is in excess with 
reference to this criterion, it is essential that 
sufficient bullion should be held in reserve 
against its redemption. And, inasmuch as 
the demand for credit money fluctuates, 
which means that for a time less than the 
normal volume of it may be wanted, bullion 
reserves should be at least adequate to allow 
of as large a shrinkage of paper money as is 
thinkable in the light of experience. More 
over, in calculating what is needful we must 
reckon the demands for bullion for the pur 
poses of international trade. Gold is required 
from time to time to make foreign payments, 
as we shall learn in the next chapter. At