The record-union., 1899-08-10
Director of the Mint Roberts Com
msntS
On the Report Issued by the Committee on
Indian Currency.
Says the Policy of India May Now
be Assumed to be Settled, and
That the Determination is I'm
doubtedly Not to Open the
Minis to the Coinage Of Silver.

WASHINGTON, Aug. 9.-Comment-
ing on the Associated Press cable of
the report of the committee on the In
dian currency, placing India on the gold
basis, Director of the Mint Roberts
said to-day:
THE report does little more than re-
affirm and declare the permanency of
the policy made in 1893, when the
minis were closed to the free coinage
of silver. The minis were closed orig
inally because the decline in silver had
become so great as to embarrass the
Indian Government which received it's
revenues in silver, and had to make d
large share of the disbursements in
gold.
There was considerable agitation in
favor of reopening the mints and the
business world was in no little uncer-
tainty about the future. 1t was con-
sidered highly desirable that the Gov
ernments future policy should be de-
finitely assured and accordingly, some
thing over year ago, committee of
eleven was appointed by the Indian
offices in London to investigate the
whole subject. The committee has
published two volumes of testimony.
and now gives it's own conclusions.
1T is unanimous in finding that the
minis should not be reopened to silver.
The committee says: Even apart from
considerations affecting the Govern
ment of India, it is not in the interest
Of India that her foreign commerce.
over so per cent. of which is with gold
standard countries, should be tempered
with by the restoration of silver mono
metallism.
THE committee pronounces the eff
forts of the Government to hold the
value of the rupee at 16 pence a sue
cess, and holds the sale of consols at
that figure to be a proof that India al
ready has the gold standard. 1 hes
itate, however, to recommend the final
step, viz. that the Indian Government
shall give gold in exchange for the sill
yer rupees current. They say that in
their opinion it is not necessary for the
Government to bind itself to do this. It
would impose on the Government a LA
biIity TO find gold at a moments notice
to an amount which cannot be defined
beforehand, and the liability is one
which in our opinion ought to be ac
copied
101S mas Deen the puZZilHS QUESTION
in the Indian situation. The Govern
ment has no gold reserve, nor has it
the means to obtain a stock of gold at
once. 1t could only be done by the is
sue of bonds or in installments through
taxation and it is not practicable to in
crease taxes of India to any cOnSidera-
BILE degree. The committee concludes
that the requirement of a reserve may
be left to the future, and that the pres
ent silver currency of India may be
maintained at a fixed value of gold by
supplying such quantities of gold at Il
fixed value of gold by supplying such
quantities of gold as are needed for
foreign remittance. That, they say,
they regard as the principal use of a
natural reserve
I'm fact, that is precisely the service
performed by the gold reserve of the
United States. The Indian commit
tee refers to the example of the United
States. 1t is recommended that the
Indian minis be opened to the unre-
stricted coinage of gold, and that the
British sovereign may be made legal
tender upon the theory that gold will
flow in as more money is needed, and
that eventually considerable shade of
the currency will thus come to be of
in the determination not to open the
minis. The policy of India may now
be assumed to be settled"