The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1897-09-29
ENGLAND's INDIAN PROBLEM.

The cable brings news Of renewed upris-
ings in India, and the mastering Of the
hostile tribes in force for renewed attacks
upon the British forts. The recent claims
that the rebellion was virtually subdued
were evidently not justified by the facts.
The truth is, that the revolt in India
against the British rule is more wide
spread than the British authorities are
willing to admit. There has always been
more or less dissatisfaction, but never
since the Sepoy rebellion SO widespread
a discomfort as at the present time. Re-
ligiOus fanatacism is unquestiOnably at the
bottom of a good deal of the present
trouble. but there is reason to believe that
a deeper couse of unrest is the disastrous
result of the demonetiZatiOn Of silver at
the Indian mints. The famine has en-
phasiZed the evil effects of that policy,
and. indeed, has been largely produced by
It, It is well known that the larger por-
ton of the savings Of the East Indians
are and always have been in silver. When
ever family had surplus of coins-silver
rupees-they usually melted them down
and converted them into 1ngots or orna-
! nents, knowing that when the money was
| required again the silver could be taken
to the mints and recoined. In this way
millions Of people had enough saw
ings to carry them through period
Of high prices for food, provided they
| could dispose of their silver for as much as
! it cost them. But when the mints were
| shut down, although the silver rupee re-
| tanned it's former purchasing power the
| uncoined silver dropped to half it's former
| value. When these natives felt the pinch
! Of famine they dug up their boarded silver,
! but when they tried to purchase food with
! it they were astonished to find that 1t
would only be accepted for less than half
of what it cost them in labor and products.
1t can readily be seen how such shrink
age in the means of the people intensified
the famine suffering. And not only that,
but it has reduced their ability to plant
and grow crops to relieve the famine
| writer in the Philadelphia American says:
, The Indian people are awakening to the ;oi rae,
that the closing of the Indian mnts defrauded q
to e this 8 fact s they they Became indignant resentfu
especially so as many awakened to the fact
inability to realize on their savings meant for
them suffering and starvation: How a,is many my
| famine stricken Indians could have converted
their boards of silver into coined rupees, weight
| crises and as they counted upon doing in this
last can never be eo summed up: . int Of silver
possessed by many family, would have en-
off Off famine min ifAt # that hoard could have been
| converted into 30 rupees as the Indian believed
could GpS be for but 3 the
family that put confident reliance on IT o was
der the Indian had laid his suferngs at the
door of the Indian government, no wonder that
his hatred for his alien ruler has doubled since
he has found that ruler has defrauded him out
9f half Of ia his rrs no 70 wGhasn hs Is IN
News navels slowly in India and it is
stated that even now only comparatively
small portion of the natives know that sill
yer has been demonetized. Sir Morton
Frewen estimates that only about 100000
out of India's 300 O00 900 population ye
aware that the Indian mnts have been
closed to all: and he cites instance
which occurred only few months ago
where a land owner who had realized
35 600 rupees for his crop of jute melted
down one-half of it for family ornaments
and household utensils. When the loss that
he had thereby unwittingly incurred was
pointed out to him, he was simply astound-
ed Mr. Frewen adds: IF England would
keep India, let her do justice to the people
she rules. Let her protect their savings
by reopening the mints to free silver coin
age"
II it is true that so small proportion OF
the Indian people are yet aware of how
they have been wronged by the closing
Of the Indian mints, and SO much trouble
has al1eady grown out Of the knowledge
so ia as 1t has extended, what may be ex
, pected when the fact Is brought home tt
: the whcle body Of the people? England may
we'll dread the consequences, and he1
statesmen who are advising the reopen
ing Of the Indian mints, in conjunction
with an international bimetallic agreemen
; proposed by the United States and France
may yet be listened to by the British gov
ernment It may, indeed, become choic
| between restoring bimetallism in India an
the loss Of the British empire in India.