The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-08-15
COMING RUPEES IN INDIA.
NATIVES GOING FROM PLACE TO
PLACE DOISG 4 MINIS WORK.

vcr Turned Into Money and tho GoveFn-
ment CoaniVes nt the CountsrreitinE-Ex
Qucea Natalie or scrvia Publishes q Beck.
LONDON. Aug. CA British army ofioer, Just
returned from India, told mo to-day q curious
story which should he ~edifying to all currency
rcformers. lilo had accumulated during his SER
vice there n considerable quantity Of old silver
which possessed only an ordinary bar value.
He did not want to encounter the bother and
expense of bringing tho metal to England, and
no. as he expressed It, he sent II to a native
10 I've coined into rupees"
but the Indian mints have been shut down
for years, - ] interrupted In some surprise.
"Oh yes" no assented, with q peculiar look.
"but you know tho rupee Is coined just as
freely in India to-day as It was before the Gov.
ernment closed tho minis"
Seeing that l was still puzzled. he gave me
without the slightest embarrassment this cx-
traordinary explanation:
Even when tho minis were open more rupees
were coined by private coiners than by tho Gov
eminent. The savings OF tho natives are made
in silver bracelets, rings, and other ornam ents.
When IL became necessary for them to turn q
part Of tholr resources into money they did 1t by
employing a native coinor to turn the metal into
rupees. 1t is a country Of vast distances, and
the natives could not send their to q
Government mint perhaps 900 miles away.
The native coiner travelled from place to place
and hut to hut Just like a country tinker. He
was glad to work all day turning silver bangles
into rupees. weight for weight. for perhaps ono
rupee as his reward. And very good rupees
they turned out. too. They are current every
where, and nobody questions them. OF course.
the practice is illegitimate. and when the mints
were first closed the Government tried to put n
stop to II, but not with much success. Now tits
winked at by the authorities. for the situation
In India to-day is too threatening for any inter
ference which is not absolutely necessary"
So it seems that the tree coinage OF silver in
India. which Senator wolcott's commission is
striving to induce Lord Salisbury to re-establish.
exists already. 1t is probably the first case on
record where counterfciting has been tacitly
sanctioned by a Government, but my informant
assured me that the practice was so common
that no disgrace attached to it. He was by no
means the only European who took advantage
OFF Many Of his brother officers did the same.
When his silver was returned to him in coin by
the native who undertook tho job he simply
changed the rupees into English gold at the local
rate of exchange and brought the money homo
with him, realizing Q considerable profit by the
transaction. for rupees command q somewhat
higher price than bar silver In India.
l will not attempt to argue out the moral of
;he story from a bimetallic or monometalllo
point of view, but 1t contains one dangerous sug-
Gestion. The expert uattve coiners of India
could turn out French francs or English shil-
lings or American quarters as easily as Indian
rupees. They may learn pres emily that there Is
a profit Of moro than so per cent. in making
these coins under ths virtual protection of .
beucvoNn. English Government. Thus would
arise a new evil OF cheap foreign labor, which
might be difficult to deal with when the product
had been sent TO the countries whose coinage
was represented.
1t announced to-day that the Grown 10 in
negotiation for a location OF a proposed royal
residence in Ireland aUar Killarney. Tho news
may seem 1T :lrst sight To 90 Of trifiing inn
portance. but it has been pointed out very
iorcibly of late that one VI tho natural causes Of
Irish dis!oyalty, or rather Of lack OF loyalty, In
the fact that during tho entire reign of the
Queen she has visited ner Irish subjects only
three times, and that the neglect by other mem
"ers of the royal family has been even more
marked. The Queen visited Ireland In ls49 for
thirteen days, in 1853 for seven days and in
1861 for eight days, q total of twenty-eight days
In sixty years. The Prince of Wales has made
but two trips, total twenty-seven days, to Irish
coil.
1t is probably more true Of the Irish than Of
any other class of British subjects that loyalty
Is stimulated more by personal interest than
by merely hearsay knowledge. Lord Charles
Beresford, himself q loyal Irishman, has put
the matter forcibly and frankly before the pub
lie In q recent letter in which he says:
I'm my humble opinion it IL impossible to
overrate the harm that this apparent neglect
has done to the cause of loyalty in Ireland. 1
am convinced that many misfortunes and mis-.
Understandings would never have taken place
II the royal family had been permitted by Gov.
ernments and c%ourtiers to make moro frequent
visits to Ireland. and to render such visits posi-.
Bile by the establishment of q royal residence in
that country. / know for q fact that her Majesty
has on one occasion, and 1 believe moro, made
strenuous efforts to obtain a royal residence in
Ireland. Her Majesty's generous wish was
never fulfilled owing to opposition on the part
OF her advisers, who have invariably entertained
an ungenerous and unworthy doubt Of the Irish
character. Tho Irish have always been chival'
rous on those occasions when their generosity
has been appealed to and when the naughty
superiority Of the conqueror was not visible
This is exemplifed by the fact that Mr.. BalfouI
and Miss Balfour traversed alone, without bayo
nets. bullets, or police. in the most disturbed
parts OF ireland and met with nothing but kind
ness. welcome. and hospitality.
1T cannot DO wondered that the seeming dis
trust of Ireland, which has prevented hel
Majesty from carrying out her wishes as to ar
Irish residence. and the consequent neglect Of
ireland which has made the visits OF royalty
Of the Saturday to Monday" character. has
on the other hand. helped to breed those feel
ings which q conquered race feel for conaueror,
who are ~tactless In their art OF managing thu
people. The Vioeregal rule from the Castle q
Dublin Is hated with all the passionate resent
ment OF a gonerous-mindod but impulsive PEG
pie, who possibly regard 1t % placing them OIL
the same footing as the conquered and coloreC
races under British domination. 1t must not b.
Inferred that ] In any way intend TO say o wore
against the present or preceding vioeroys o
Ireland. I only wonder that men could eve
have been found with patriotism enough to al
tho ofice; but, In common with patriotic Irish
mon Of all parties. I object to tho sham cour
and tho rule Of mon who. 30 far from really rep
resentinG the sovereign. represent merely tn,
political party which has the upper hand II
England at the time of their holding office
unlike the Viceroy of India, who holds ONCE 70
a term Of years independent of the politica
marty that anoot,k.x a.