The Washington union. [volume] (City of Washington [D.C.]) 1857-1859, 1857-07-11
From tho London Examiner, June IL.
THE INDIAN DRAIN OF GOLD AND SILVER

country !.
From tho London Examiner, June 10,
THE INDIAN DRAIN OF GOLD AND SILVER.
India has been charged with draining Europe of its
gold and silver for the fourteen centuries between the
time of Plny and that of Columbus 1t plundered Eu
rope when Europe had America to replenish its Golfers
II plundered il in the way when it had, and is
plunderg il worse than ever although the gold of Cali
ona and Australia have been added to the gold and sill
III az potos Foo The kent6 ~ etlpHglt'es Me stall
give short explanation whiet hope mas tend 70 AS
abuse thep of avery foolish laeloseaei1p or such be-
ynnd ea aoa,t b tie alleged dran 60 precious nets
Cold aa silver 30 more eonstltdte tho wealth ot nation
lau N on, eoppm, 81 Mi bat thn3 ao ike These forin
port ~ N welith like htse, ma Ike indeed every
appreciated ammodty thcs have tEeig epeeifc lIsee
Thel are laed o plate and ipr orpAnents but thcis
"a III nso is Az 3aq,lia ~ ysaegHsfal excfangGA paf
ose Tor WHICH their high value durability and diYsib
III pstaliav suit hsn Bcr shis last purpa thei ulc
h " snilar nature ~ shm of the writing aad gutes
With which ws keap orr accounts we could not with
out great Inconvenience 10 without theni but We could
certainly tisFeisse with them wh r lSss incnngeiieasg
tian pS aotld ail isss O. cespf n ~ perhaps even
With tin Il natpn lad not tanisif thelg b us NJ
should certainly 10 put b awkward shifts bnt that
would be all In order to understand what is to follow
premise that the different metals which may be used
money depend the social state of the community
concerned Our ancestors in the time of Julius Caesar
use1 iron rings. The Romans began with copper and
then they advanced used silver and finally both gold
and silver Our standard, the wealthiest people In
the world, is gold while silver and copper with
mere counters Such is also the case with the
Anglo -Saxons of America The French, who have
double standard of gold and silver and strug
Cling against its Inconvenience, will be driven to
follow example, for their silver is rapidly draining
off to India The universal standard of the poorer
people of Asia from the Black to the Yellow sea- is silver
The gold and silver which beyond orr wants at
home send abroad, and during the last year have
to India and China probably not less than fourteen
millions worth, consisting almost wholly of silver and
this certainly equal in value to the whole prod
of the gold Of Australia within the same time. This
the drain which is supposed to rob of wealth. but
is clear that it is drain than export Of
iron, copper, tin, any other commodity Of which
have surplus to dispose Of Silver goes to India and
China because it is present by ten per cent
valuable in those countries than in England and it flows
from America to England because it is valuable in
England than in America There is robbery loss of
wealth to any party concerned but, the contrary
fair and profitable exchange To keep at home if that
possible all the gold and silver import would be
to maintain not only useless but perncious hoard 1t
would be like examining warehouses with textile fab
RIGS and metals which did not want and refusing to
Adam Smiths smile of keeping pots and pans than
had food to cook. Indeed it would be absurd.
Suppose, for example, had it possible kept all
the gold and silver have imported since the California
AMI Australian discoveries, the amount would by this
time have probably been fourfold and above
wants Independent of the cost of maintaining the
monster hoard the result would be rfold price of
every commodity that gold and silver represented The
loaf of bread instead Of Cd, would cost 3s and our
exorbitan prices would cut off from all foreign inter-
Our present exports OF f20 900 900 would cease
and So Of course would Imports since foreigner
would take goods. No gold and silver would
assuredy into country where they at de-
probation of rs per cent The only advantage should
derive would consist in cheaper trinkcts and cheaper
plate. silver teapot which costs f1O might be
had for perhaps Sos, and marriage ring for which
pay los would be had for half CROWN precious com
pensation for folly But to return to India and Chi
Our principal export of silver at present is to these
countries, and why it is is readily explained. As
have already stated it is, with the exception Of small
change in copper, zinc shells, the sole currency of
every country of Asia They have no paper money to
substitute for it. and few bills of exchange and the
sequence il that their consumption Of silver Is large
proportional their small wealth. Hindostan and all
the countries in its neighborhood which have been rep
resented for eighteen centuries the special sink Of
the precious metals have silver mines of their own
and must Of necessity receive silver from abroad, and
they do receive il at present chiefly through us ex
actly in the manner in which they receive cop
per and tin, which they largely consume, but of which
they destitute of the two precious metals
India then, is no more sink of silver than il
is of copper and tin indeed, IL is hardly greater
sinker of the precious metals than England herself
which produces very little and imports vast deal
But besides India is at present exporting great deal Of
its produce, and importing much less Of ours. We
export to IL about ell 900 600 worth and in indigo
cotton, corn, sugar and some thirty minor products We
import at least fla0Oo 900 worth The balance must be
paid in silver Again the construction Of railways is