The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1893-08-02
midas PROGRAMME.

Gold the Standard and a Legal Tender
Silver Legal Tender at the New Ratio.
AS we receive fragments of news con-
corning India's recent action, we grad
ually arrive at an understanding of it's
full import.
Gold is to be India's STANDARD of
value" and a full legal tender, while
silver is to be legal tender, at a new
ratio to be arbitrarily affixed. The
rupee is to continue to contain some
fiat, but not so much as formerly.
This is plainly stated in a detailed
report signed by Lord Fairer and Sir
R. E. Welby, of the Herschell commit
tee. After saying that the closing of
the mint against coinage of rupees on
private account is ''only the first step
in process which will not be complete
until gold is made full legal TENDER"
the report proceeds: ''It is not expect
ed that gold will become the circulat-
ing medium of India. The Indian cur
rency will consist Of rupees, each of
which is to circulate, not at the value
of the silver contained in it, but at the
value of the gold contained in the frac-
ton of the sovereign which the rupee
represents"
That is to say that while the market
value of the silver in rupee is, to-day,
only about 25 cents, the coinage value,
given the rupee by fat of law is to be
32. a. cents, For the present the coin
age value of an ounce of silver is fixed
at "a cents.
This policy is not only admirably de-
vised' to give the government of India
a good seignorage upon all silver
bought and coined by it, but it will
give the government such seignorage
in gold and will prove potent factor
in the way of the acquir ement of gold
by India.
The Indian government will buy silver
for coinage, so long as it's market price
is less than "a cents an ounce, and coin
such silver into rupees having an ex-
change value of "a cents an ounce, pay
ing such rupees out upon all legal, cur
rent appropriations and, until such
time as gold becomes a legal tender,
selling them for gold to all who may
desire rupees to use as money in pay
ment for Indian products.
The rupee is expected to remain the
common circulating medium, but to
circulate at value higher than that of
the contained silver, just as the five franc
piece in France and the silver dollar in
this country circulate at valuation
far above the value of the contained
silver.
If silver should rise in price to more
than "a cents an ounce, the Indian gov
eminent will cease buying silver for the
time being until the accumulation of
silver bullion for sale, consequent upon
increased production, again lowers the
price, when it will again commence
buying. Should the price of silver rise
much above "a cents per fine ounce and
be likely to remain above that figure,
| the ratio will again be changed and the
coinage value of the rupee be increased.
1t was to guard against the contingency
of having to again change the ratio
that the arbitrary value of 3D. "A cents
was placed upon the rupee, such value
being considerably above the market
price of silver, as averaged the past
year The average price for the year
1889 was 93.5 cents per fine ounce. For
the year 1890 it averaged $1.O4I per
ounce, while in 1891 it averaged So. s
cents. For the first six months in 1892
it averaged 93.7 cents per ounce, while
the average for the last six months in
1892 was $50 cents. Since the close of
1892, up to the recent action of the In
dian government, it averaged about 81
cents an ounce.
The expectation evidently is that sill
yer will remain steadily somewhere be-
tween IS and "a cents an ounce and ex-
change will remain at the same rate
continuously, 90 that the Indian gov.