, 1879-06-16

wtso action"
FIAT MONEY FOB INDIA.
Tho shylock attempt to make gold tho only
coin Of full legal-tendor power throughout
tho world must fail, for tho reaaon that long
before that point wsre reached tho ahrinkage
Of values and stngnation Of industry result
ing from tho effort to adjust prices to tho
now level Of volumo of coin only half rs
large rs that which existed when tho process
Of silver characterization began wonld boz.
come so intolorablo that reaction would aot
in and ro1ief bo sought In this general uss of
inconvertibie paper. In other words, the At
tempted enforcement Of universal gold
standard iB tho shortcst road to triumph OF
fiat money and the general instability OF
val1los.
This point is we'll presented IN Afr. JAoK-
soH's recent pamphlet, ''The Present and
Future of Silvas," wllosa motto is, " Ri-mat-
nsism or iuconvortiblo paper money the
worlds ALTERNATIVE"
A singular confirmation Of this theory ap-
pears in recent speech Of Mr.. LOVE-, 1ato
Chancellor Of the Exchequer, in tho British
Pnrliament, when the question OF tho hnanoes
Of 1ndia was ,,ndor discussion.
It in we'll known that tho praaant doprecia-
ton OF silver has brought tho Government Of
India to tho verge Of bankruptcy. MIR.
Lowe soea tho breakers ahead, as wcll M
Lord DEAcoNsr1E1p, but, unlike tho Premier,
ho does not yot zee that ssfoty lies only In n
return to the Use of both metals ss money OF
full power, 1Ie olinga to the gold standard
ot England "a au irravocahle fact, aud from
that standpoint caats about for some moaauro
| Of roiiaf for 1nan. Following the lead Of
aome of tho Continental mono.motaliete, ho
has hit upon IN issno Of paper money to fill
tho place Of q gold currency for which 1t IL
impossible to obtain tho gold. He forcsoes
TINT tho people caunot stand tho pressure,
and, like Capt. ScorT's coon, he otFora to
como down before they got ready to shoot,
To show the drift Of this curious spseoh Of
Mr.. LOWE, wo quote from an editori nj Of the
1.onlou zIm<. Of May 90:
"Na doubt Ms. LowE felt hs WAS ssyipg something
| par1du1cA|. OF ho would not have talked Of car
ryng his 1fe In his hands, but still thnto Ia a
difficulty In thinking that ho proposed,
IN oosution Of Tho exchange difficulties
Of india, tho Institution Of paper cur-
| rcncy based on m imaginary tssue Of
! gold, Yot tts seems TO haxo bcon his yrcomp,cn.
dat,on: Copvpst the present snpco coinage into a
tokun cotnsgc, and for this purpose restrict It's eu-
ployment as 1ccaltender In dischArgc Of dcbta to
certain ltmited amount, 1nAt we tcatriet silver
10 thu limit Of forty Ahlings. st,rcr being Thus
discarded, what is to take its placer 1t IL hers that
| Mr.. Lowe becomes somewhat ehseu1c.
| Tho legal.tcndcr OF tho future ia to
DO pnper,, and this paper Ia 10 b
h,,th ho.,
to be Issued, and where the geld is to bs found in
which It is bu redeemed, does not clearly appeas.
| Mr. LowE's language, inlend. points 10 tho con-
clns!on thnt gold need not he provided - h. was
Understood to lake credit for avoiding tho ncceas.
" Of this costly operation. But whist would bo
the RESULT The paper wooid bo issued by the Gov
| crnmcnt In payment OF ita debts md curront cx-
ponies, but nnleas Il could bo exchanged for gold
on demand, It would surely become doprectatcd.
| Al Lord QEoRoE HAMILTON put It no one
| would bGllavo In notes forrcsoptinE gold
unless tho Government had gold corresponding
TO tho noea In soma satisfactory proportion.
il Mr. Lowe does NOT moan to land l,s In world OF
tnconSsstibls AMI deprecated papar. hs must In
tend 10 provide \ gold currency Auhlcftnt to kcap
his notes At par and this would sccm to bo hts real
notion, a. b" talked Of establishing 4 standard ot
! value identical with that prevailing In this cuun-
try. Tho operation thus describsd would, how.
ever, bo exceedingly large In IT. dlmensons. ~ 1t
mss" 'ss's ~ s"ssns 10 sno es.ansva.ef , vs. ~ se
tic Indian oyerumcnt from thsir dlf1eutl., r. Il
did not adj, to them. Silver. being dsn,oussised,
non'a n.tural', become mora dspfselatsd than
sses ana Zoe fsuo Of value OF sivor to gold would
T's - .4 .tar''a .';'.'a ~ '.''...1'
~ 'es'i'o''nBo1 u 5us"f y. 'oxon coinage
"oa'"' " ''u'so' ,nsoi'e 'u' 0ua''eoa,us lug os
as.,. eo se"aso az s"o A4u'au A',u1". ~ oa'e.
4
a1aske'' ana tue present aepfeo'osioh would
10 but q mero bagatollo compared with what
" oul1 certainly follow upon the adoption oi
LowE'y pauer.our1euoy sohomo, The condi,