New-York tribune., 1899-07-24
THE RUPEE REPORT.
WITH A FEW PRACTICAL MOhaLS roh
AMERICAN FINANCIERS AND
POLITICIANS.
London. July II.


nails print abstracts Of IT. with leaders com
mending the thoroughness OF the investigation
and the conservatism Of the conclusions arrived
at by the committee. Financiers in the City
have looked into the matter far enough to dis
cover that they are not asked to provide gold
reserves for India when they do not know where
TO find them Reassured on that point they
are Indifferent to other details and are conh-
dent that a slow drifting policy Will be followed
in what they consider to be the right direction.
The subject is unreasonable one In period
Of nclement heat and Is avoided Dy common
consent in the press. cubhouses ana craving
rooms. 1t may be the largest and most I'M
portant question with which the British Empire
is concerned, but it is dull and dry. and only
few faddists and bores affect to know anything
about It.
The Woman's International Council In the
course Of its recent nine days stroll over the
field of human knowledge placed one Limitation
upon its energies II did not discuss the Indian
currency question. Possibly would be equally
discreet in avoiding It as an unsuitable midsum-
mer topic; but there are few points which
have practical bearing upon American policies
and some stress ought to be laid upon them
whatever may be the height OF the mercury
when this letter is written or read.
sion Of this committee of experts that steps
should be taken to avoid all possibility Of doubt
as TO the determination not to revert TO silver
standard but to proceed with measures for the
effective establishment OF gold standard The
text OF this report is a convincing proof that the
Indian mints will never be reopened for the free
coinage of silver and that the only practical al
Tentative to silver mOnometaism is gold as
measure OF value either with a gold currency
or a gold reserve. Silver monometaliists IN
America and everywhere else are warned that
they cannot fall back upon India Tor eHecti'e
support. They only depend upon moriouho
China to help them out, IL Organism In its orig
inal form be revived and carried TO temporary
triumph Europe and India will be unequiVocai-
" opposed to anything like single silver stand
ard. .,-.,,,o,,
Another of these points is the impracticaoiiity
of international bimetallism. The committee
does indeed assert that the effective estaoiish-
ment of single gold standard will mot pre-
clude India hereafter from considering RESPONSE
BILE proposals for an international agreement II
circumstances should arise to render such ne
gotiations practicable" but this Is only
worthless SOD TO the bmetallists whose sigma
lures were required for unanimous report The
committee refers to the failure Of the Wocott
negotiations of 1897 and adds that no fresh
proposals have been made by any OF the govern
ments concerned in them. The theory OF the
London bankers at that time. that lndiah cur
rency was purely British problem 10 De
worked out without reference TO the hnanciai
policies of France. the United states or any
other foreign country. has been virtually ADOPT
ed bv the committee A gold standard Is 10
be introduced in India by independent British
action and a stable basis Of exchange estaD-
lished for the rupee circulation, WHICH since
the closure OF the mnts six years ago mas
ranged in value somewhere between gold and
silver The possibility of any international
agreement on a new ratio between gold and Sill
yer which would lead 10 a rational system OF
bimetallism is evidently regarded as extremely
small Without India there can be no future
compromise of this monetary question. with
the single gold standard in successful operation
there the cause of bimetallism will be doomed
throughout the world
A third point is Of even greater practlcal I'M
portance than those which have mentioned
II Is the fact that. while the committee mas
turned about and faced in the direction or the
gold standard, il is in no haste to advance. IL
sympathzes with the Indian Government IN the
desire to shorten the transition period, but does
not recommend the adoption of the officlal pro-
the rupee currency should be contracted. and
that a large reserve of gold should be accumu-
lated by means of sterling loans in London. This
meant that the gold should be found in England
for securing a stable rate of exchange for the
runee. The bare suggestion of indefinite gold
remlttances to India when the reserves OF the
Bank of England were already inadequate for
home requirements was fraught with monetary
disturbance and had alarmed the London hnan-
ciers They approved of the general principe,
for they believed In the pound sterling as the
final standard of value and the chief source OF
the financial supremacy Of England; but prac-
tically they were not in favor of carrying out
the policy unless the gold could be drawn from
America or some other source of supply. The
committees chief recommendation. which will
be found below might easily have been drawn
up by the wary financiers OF the City:
We are in favor OF making the British sover-
eign a legal tender and current coin IN lndla.
We also consider that at the same time the
Indian mints should be thrown open 10 the un-
restricted coinage of gold on terms and condi-
tions such as govern the three Australian
branches OF the Royal Mint. The result would
be that under identical conditions. the sover-
eign would he coined and would circulate both
at home and In India.
Looking forward as we do to the effective es-
tabshment in India of gold standard ana
currency based on the principle OF the free IN
flow and outflow of gold We recommend these
measures for adoption.
GOVERNMENT METHODS DIsAPPRovED.
The committee fayors these measures, but does
not urge their immediate adoption. 1t considers
a gold standard necessary, and looks upon
gold currency the only sound basis for II, but
it dsapproves Of the methods proposed by the
Indian Government for contracting the currency
and creating a large gold reserve. IL would
have that Government pledge itself never to
go back to free coinage OF silver and look for
ward to a gold standard and a gold currency
as the goals to be reached in the future; but
4 counses the officials TO make haste slowly
and not 10 attempt prematurely to obtain re-
,,i,,onoeo ~ gold from England III the gold