The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-09-06
.ur aoLD STANDARD IN INDIA.

. . % the extent OF the participationin 1t OF other
IN professional operators. many observers
-.In,nlning that the public generally are so oc-
"'Hlod with their OWL business, that they have
s.;,bcr the inclination nor the timo to attend TO
.,hor matters. Moreover, II is urged that the
s.,,nes of the past four years have not been so
10 "a TO ovcrburdcn the majority OF men with
49,. money, and therefore, that the market is in
,he hands OF large capitalists almost exclusively.
n, these. however. there seems to be enough to
s.,n nrices we'll sustained, and IL they hold their
.urchsses long enough they will probably DO
-slI maid for their enterprise.
Ths most important financial event Of the
-.st has been the announcement that tho Brit
,,h Government, pressed by tho famine and
.,.,i,ence disbursements In India, will, for
,,n weeks to como, discontinue the sale
A India Council bills. These bills are
a,.,ts drawn In London on tho India
treasury for the contribution. amounting to
10000 900, or $4,000, 600, annually, which
S,aIa IA Obliged to make to the Imperial Gov
srpment for interest on Its debt, and FOR It's
.A,ro Of the current expenses of the Empire.
Fhey have been usually purchased by bankers
and nv merchants for remittance to India in
..1mept for imports into Great Britain from
f,di,. and latterly they have been selling at q
anal fraction less than l shilling and 4 pence
,.r rupee. The temporary withdrawal OF them
trom the market will. therefore. conn el the re-
nittapce to India OF something else in their
,lsce. and the probability at present Is that
thI. ,omething else will be gold, especially II tho
,,,ort DO true that tho Government itself is in
A, market as q remitter. Rupees are not to DO
t,A In London, and the India import duty Of
mar cent. on silver bullion prevents tho
,rohtable use Of that commodity.
Thu standard Of value in India, since 1885.
has been silver exclusively, and prior to the fall
IN the value OF the metal in 1873 it required but
tan rupees to purchase 81 Of exchange on Lon
don. The India mints being open to the unlim-
it'd coinage Of silver. the value of India money
gradually fell as silver fell. until In 1893. as
now. the rupees were worth about l shilling
and 4 pence each, or Is to the pound sterling.
The remittances required from the country by
the British Government Of ~2l6.O00,0o0 annu-
Ally were thus Increased from 100, 900. 900
rupees to a40, 900. 900 rupees, and 1t looked es
though It might soon be 92o,o oo, 900 rupees.
TO prevent this threatened doubling OF the
harden upon the country, the India Council in
1898, with the expectation that the fall in the
rupee would thereby be arrested and Its value
kept at is to the 81. or l shilling and 4 pence.
closed the minis, and they have been kept
closed ever since.
Coupled with the closing Of the minis, and In
tho belief that the measure would fix the value
Of the rupee at not less than Is. 4d., the Council
enacted that gold would be received for all pub
Lie dues on that basis. That Is to say. q debtor
10 tho India Government might, ct his option,
pay his debt in gold at its market value, reckon
Ing the rupee at Is. 4d., or in British gold coin
Of the rate OF Is rupees to tho sovereign. In
......t 49, ,,-o. In,t o. fal1t.- ,,-t;1 -
one time. 1t was worth only Is. Cd, though
latterly. as has been said. 1t has risen very
nearly to Is. I'd. again. Consequently. no gold
has yet been offered to the India Government
In payment Of dues and taxes. and its receipts
have been exclusively rupees or rupee notes.
This action Of the India Council was received
Of first with almost unanimous disapproval by
the London financial world. Even the defenders
Of tho gold standard condemned it as an I'M
necessary and q harmful Interference by legis-
htion with the natural course OF events, and
the bimetallists raved against it as a wanton
blow at silver and a robbery Of the India hold
es OF silver bullion, especially the peasants,
who have. for ages. been accustomed to put
their savings into silver in reliance
upon their right to have these ornaments, when
they needed money, coined into rupees In I'M
limited quantities. The supposition that the
withdrawal OF this privilege would check the
demand for silver among the peasants lod to
speculative sales Of the metal which Temporal
rly carried its price down from 80 pence per
ounce TO 80 pence, with a subsequent recovery,
10 tho course OF a few weeks. to "a pence.
The India Council, however, were not dis.
mayed by the opposition to their measure, and,
supported by the Home Government, adhered to
1t in spite Of the denuneiation to which they
Nere subjected. The course of events ultimately
indicated their judgment. The rupee. after
falling 10 Is. 3D., rose again. and has, for a long
time, stood ct over Is. Sd. If, as now seems
probable. 1t should rise to Is. 4d.. and stay there,
and gold should be exported to India at the rate
d los. per FL, the success OF their policy will
b complete. The ten weeks supply Of bills now
withdrawn from the market will require tho
Substitution Of other forms of remittance to the
amount OF over $1,000. 900. or S15. 900. ZOO, and
that come, II not all OF 1t, will be gold, is
not to be doubted. India will thus formally
adopt gold as the standard of her currency
value, as she practically did when her minis
were closed.
~Nispremature to conclude that when at the
aspiration OF the present ten weeks suspension
the sale OF India Council bills is resumed, tho
Price Of the rupee will remain fully up to the
H. I'd. level liked by the act OF 1893. That qucs-
uon will be settled only by the event. and tho
Iesuitdepends upon various complicated causes.
feVertheless, it must be considered that, when
ence the holder Of rupees has received for them
Inc equivalent of Is. 4d. in gold, he Is likely to
resist Efforts to make him accept less, and. Just
We have kept our dollar at par with gold ever
elhee the resumption OF Jan. /, 1879, in the face
dhsayy gold exports and Of the Injection into
our currency Of $500. 900. 900 OF silver at an
eioitrary valuation, SO may the people OF India,
Win no such disadvantage to contend with,
much more easily keep their rupees at the price
a1ed BY the Government.
whether. however. the rupee remains at Is.
sa'o or whether 1t drops to a fraction below that
toht II Will still be far above its value as bull
l0a At the present price of silver the bullion
eHh worth less than 10 pence, 80 that even at
- 90. the saving to the holder of 1t by the con-
1Aasd closing Of the minis is 5 pence, or so per
~nL At Is. 4d. his saving Is o pence, or 90 per
~nl' and II silver falls still lower 1t will be pro-
vruohsteiy greater. In any event its value
sui DC steadier relatively to that OF gold than
vac value OF silver, and indeed the stable par
" eAehange' which tho British bimetallists
eon'ehd Tor as the result at which they princi-
pAny aim, will be secured without the interna-
spnaI agreement for which they ciamor. In
ssed. during the whole OF this year, notwitb-