The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1893-09-29
SILVER HOARDS IN INDIA.
Many Millions OF Dollars Withheld
from Circulation.
A Very Large Fer Cent. Of the native
MiBfase Ia tho HAnas Of Psrsous
Who Are Holding 1t for Rise
in TAfae.

The extent TO which the natives Of
India have boarded silver is matter
or great Importance in the considers
ton OF the whole silver question. SAYS
the New York sun. Earl Northbrooa.
one Of the Earrings of London. at
one time viccroy of India. and there
fore reputed authority on the sab-
ject. estimates the silver boards in tie
hands OF the people of India a, about
one hundred ard fifty millions of
pounds sterling. J. E xO'Counor. a
weil-known Anglo-lndian Official, says
that there are 40 very large boards Of
silver IN India outside the vaults OF
the India currency department. and
that the bullion stored in those vaults
only waits its turn TO pass into the
minis. as does the greSt bulk Of silver
imported into India.
Anyone who viii turn TO the finance
ami revenue accounts issued bv the
British government in India can see
for himself what IS done with t.ls.
great quantities of silver which India
imports In the half eentury-isss-4s
to ls9l-9s the aggregate net imports
of silver into India amounted to S,a4l.-
SIS, 500 rupees
IN the same Fifty years the silver 70
ccived in the minis amounted to s.lS9.-
529.Ss0 rupees From this latter sum
should be deducted l79. ass. 40 rupees.
being the value of old rupees recoinei,
and then we have the sum OF, say.
1890, 0oo.00o rupees. representing the
silver received at the minis ia this
period OF fifty years The difference
between this sum and the net imports
amount to only 3o6,ais.5oo rupees
That is, the annual average of silver
passing into the minis has been abou.
sos lecs. and the annual average of sill
yer not passing into the minis has been
only about 81 laos. In fact. more than
92 per cent. of the aggregate imports
has been coined in the minis of India
But 1t must not be supposed that even
the relatively small sum mentioned as
not having gone into the minis has not
been coined, IL is not assuming too
much to say that the whole of the 50
crores which did not pass through the
mints of the British government passed
through the minis of the native states
L. c. Harrison, another Anglo-lndian
official of position in the finance de-
partment, surmises that the native
Inintage of silver since 1885 exceeds 20
crores. But whether the native com
age Is so crores or 20 crores, what Is
clear is that practically all the silver
received in India is coined in the minis
of the government and of the native
states. That there are vast boards OF
silver in the country is certain, though
it is permissible to dout. whether they
are quite so vast as some people think,
or very widely distributed among tho
people. These boards, however. con-
sist not of aneoined metal. but of
coined and current rupees, and their
value viii certainly not be diminished
by change in the monetary standard
which does not deprive the rupee of rs
character of full legal tender On the
contrary, any effect which mag be pro-
duced by the change just made will be
in the direction of reducing the prices
of commodities. and so far as tha. e.
feet is produced the possessor Of hoard
cd rupees viii find that his hoard has
increased in value