The San Francisco call., 1899-08-11
STRONG PLEA FOR
GOLD STANDARD
Report of Indian Cur
renCy Commission.
ADVISES OPENING OF MINTS
WOULD NOT CAUSE PERMANENT
FINANCIAL INJURY.
establishment of a Gold Standard the
Simplest and Most Effective
Way Of Attracting
Capital.
Special Dispatch to The Call.

WASHINGTON, Aug. 1O.-In diplomatic
circles copies of the report just present
ed to the houses of Parliament by the
committee which investigated the cur
rency of India have been received. 1t IS
on this report that Lord George Hamil-
ton, Secretary of State for India, mas
based his announcement within the last
few days that India will be on a gold
standard. This announcement has attract
ed much attention in the United states,
and the conclusions are, moreover, 10
some extent connected with the negotld-
tions carried on some months ago by
Senator Wolcott and others representing
this country as to international bimet-
allism. This committee was made up or
the most influential statesmen and imam
cierS of Engand.
The report first sets forth the origin
and present condition of the monetary
system of India and then says:
I'VE proceed to consider the question
whether, in the light of the six years
experience gained since 1898, it is deSir-
able to reverse the policy initiated in that
year and to reopen the Indian mints to
the unrestricted coinage Of silver. In our
opinion any measures for gradual reopen
discounted as to defeat the precise OBJ
jects for which they are suggested. 1t
is obvious. moreover, that the certain
prospect of a heavy fall in coinage would
at once drive capital from India.
The policy of opening the mints at
some future date to silver stands on a diff
look forward to the international agree
ment within a limited period. Such per
sons aim directly at staple exchange
between India and the United Kingdom
and advocate delay only in order that an
international agreement may be reached.
with regard to this anticipation We
confine ourselves here TO stating that the
negotiations Of 1897 with France and the
United States of America having proved
fruitless no fresh prospects, so far as we
are aware, have been or are being made
by any of the governments concerned.
I'VE come next to the suggestion that
the present system of closed mintS ham
dicaps India in her industrial competition
with countries on a silver standard. This
aspect of the question was considered by
Lord HerschellS committee, who eX-
pressed the opinion that even if we as
sumo the argument as to stimulus or
check to production to be sound, the
effect of each successive fall in exchange
must be transitory and could be con-
tinued when circumstances have brought
about the inevitable adjustment
In this opinion we concur and evi-
shows that prices and wages have risen
in China since silver has fallen in price
and the local currency has appreciated in
terms of silver. To reopen the Indian
mints to silver without an international
agreement would unnecessarily result. ac-
cording to all past experience, in renew
ing the instability of exchanges between
India and gold standard countries 1t is
generally recognized that fluctuations of
exchange constitute an obstacle to inter
are to be sought in a stable monetary
power of exchange.
The report then discusses the principle
of gold standard and says: AT the
present time the practical alternative to
silver monometallism is a gold standard
that is to say, gold as the measure of
value in India either with gold currency
or a gold reserve.
"Four-fifths of the foreign trade of
India is with gold standard countries. and
for this, reason it is desirable that India
should have the same measure of value
as those countries. The change to a gold
basis has been presented to us by Pro-
fessor Marshall of Cambridge as like
movement toward bringing the railway
gauge on the side branches of the worlds
railways into unison with the main line
"A further and not certainly a less i'm
portant consideration for a country like
India is that the establishment of a gold
standard is the simplest and most effec-
tive means of attracting capital"
In conclusion the report says: For
these reasons we conclude that steps
should be taken to avoid all possibility of
doubt as to the determination now to re-
vert to a silver standard, but to proceed
with measures for the effective estab-
lishment of a gold standard"