The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1890-12-24
SILVER IN INDIA.

Before the recent great increase in the
supply of silver from the great silver mines
of the world and previous also to the de-
creased demand occasioned by the demone-
tization of silver by the leading nations OF
the world, India, which has constantly used
silver as money, absorbed more silver than
was annually produced. This occurred 1of
several years, India drawing on the silver
currency of France and other countries
The supply of silver is now so much in
creased and the demand for 1t SO much
diminished that India at present takes only
about one fourth of the annual product.
India takes less silver than formerly, by
the substitution of government bills, which
are now largely sent from England to India
IN place of much of the silver bullion that
was formerly sent.
The exports from India each year are con-
siderably in excess of the imports, yet only
a small amount of the difference is hqul-
dated in silver, because India is In turn
largely indebted to England for the ex-
penses of the government.
Now, the debts owed in India for goods
are paid in silver, while those owed in
England are paid in gold. Though debts
in India can thus be paid in cheaper metal
than those in England, it is somewhat re-
markable that there has occurred no rise
in prices in India corresponding with the
fall in the price of silver.
For this reason it is profitable to buy
goods in India and pay for them in silver,
and will be profitable until the purchasing
power of silver in India falls to the same
level as in other countries. If that time
arrives, and it is slowly coming, India will
finally have stock of deprecated silver
money on hand as the reward for selling
her goods for that metal as if it were full
value.
If the revenue of India were spent il
India, this depreciation in the value of silver
when compared with gold would be of little
consequence to that country, so long as the
purchasing power of silver remained IN
altered there. But no country is worlC
unto itself, much less India. and not ever
the United States. as some protectionist
would have US believe. Each countr,
must pay some debts abroad, must bu!
goods abroad in exchange for its own.
it must buy foreign goods at gold price:
and sells its own at silver prices
it will be subjected to a contlnu
Gus loss, until the silver in tn
silver using country falls TO the level o
silver in other countries. India is in tn
especially unfortunate position that almos
the third part of her revenue is spent il
England, and is thus paid in gold. TIL
final fall in the price Of silver in India vii
=, embarrass the government of that country
while the present status subjects the wealt
of the country to continuous loss.
1t will be seen, therefore, what the pres
ent drift toward the silver standard in thi
country signifies to the nation. If Their
shall be enough silver made into money, o
enough notes based on silver, to supply tn
whole currency of this nation. then tn
gold will surely be exported, unless, in
deed, this increased use of silver sha
cause its price to rise to parity with golt
Were silver to be made legal tender th
world over at a certain ratio with gold, sa
fifteen and one half to one; that is, if th
law decreed that debtor might extinguis
an obligation by paying either gold or 81
yer, any fiuctua ton in the relative price
the metal s would remedy itself. For
either metal, say silver, became relativel
cheaper, all deb tors would seek to pay the
debts in the cheaper metal, and this IN
versal demand for silver would cause i
price to rise TO level with gold.