The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1893-10-21
SILVER HOARDS IN INDIA.
Many Millions Of Dollars Withheld
ftom Circulation.
A Very Large Per Cent. Of the Native
Mintage In tho Hands OF Persons
Who Are Holding 1t for Rise
In Value.

The extent to which the natives OF
India have boarded silver is matter
OF great Importance in the considers
ton of the whole silver question, says
the New York Sun. Earl Northbrook,
one of the Darings OF London, at
one time viceroy of India, and there
fore q reputed authority on the sub
ject, estimates the silver boards in the
hands of the people of India at about
one hundred and fifty millions of
pounds sterling. J. E. O'Connor, .
well-known Anglo-Indian official, says
that there are no very large hoards 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
mints, as does the great bulk OF silver
imported into India.
Anyone who will turn to the finance
and revenue accounts issued by the
British government in India can see
for himself what is done with the
great quantities of silver which India
imports. In the half century-1o42-43
to 1922 the aggregate net imports
of silver into India amounted to 3,241,
SIS, 800 rupees.
In the same fifty years the silver re-
ceived in the min is amounted to $780,
$40 $50 rupees. From this latter sum
should be deducted It's, 433, 40 rupees,
being the value Of old rupees recoined,
and then we have the sum of, say,
1890, 900, 900 rupees. representing the
silver received at the mints in this
period of fifty years. The difference
between this sum and the net imports
amount to only 306,2l4,5O0 rupees.
That is, the annual average OF silver
passing into the mints has been about
598 lacs, and the annual average of sill
yer not passing into the mints has been
only about 81 lacs In fact, more than
80 per cent of the aggregate imports
has been coined in the mints OF India.
But it must not be supposed that even
the relatively small sum mentioned as
not having gone into the mints has not
been coined. 1t is not assuming too
much to say that the whole of the 80
crores which did not pass through the
mints of the British government passed
through the mints of the native states
F. c. Harrison, another Anglo-Indian
official of position in the finance de-
partment, surmises that the native
mintage of silver since 1885 exceeds 70
crores. But whether the native coin
age is 80 crores or 20 crores, what is
clear is that practically all the silver
received in India is coined in the mints
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 doubt whether they
are quite SO vast as some people think,
or very widely distributed among the
people. These boards, however, con-
sist not of uncoined metal, but of
coined and current rupees. and their
value will certainly not be diminished
by change in the monetary standard
which does not deprive the rupee OF its
character of full legal tender. On the
contrary. any effect which may be pro-
duced by the change just made will be
in the direction of reducing the prices
of commodities, and so far as that eff
feet is produced the possessor of hoard
ed rupees will find that his hoard hos
increased in value.