The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-11-19
GOLD boarded AWAY IN INDIA.
Immense Amount of the Precious
Metal Owned Among HindOOs.
From The Courier des Etas-Ur

Metal Owned Among HindOOs.
From the Courier des Etas-Unis.
About fifty milIiards Of francs is said to
be the total amount Of the gold product Of
the two WORLDS since the discovery OF
America. And, strange to say, OF this out
pouring Of gold which during four cen
turtles has been scattered all over the
world an immense portion remains Idle in
India. where IT has been embedded. In
india the gold returns TO the earth and
remains there more completely hidden than
il was In It's original state.
The amount Of god brought into India
during the past sixty years-that Is to say,
from 1897 10 1S9S-is greater by three mil
lizards nine hundred and forty-three mil
Ions of francs than the amount exported.
The soil Of India absorbs the floods Of gold
just as the sands of the desert ewailow
the overflow of the great rivers When II
s. remembered that this work Of abSorp-
ton has been going on with little inter-
ruption for ten centuries and still con-
tinues under our eyes 1t is easy TO form
an idea of the fmemnse treasures that are
hidden IN that country. All this gold re-
mains sterile, and, consequently, is lost
1t Is absurd to say that IL Is brought into
monetary circulation or that IT passes
through the hands of the native gold
smiths II is disseminated in innumer-
able hiding places from which il never
emerEes.
In ancient times and up TO the period Of
the conquest and occupation by the Eng
Nsh individual property was not protected.
The country, from one end to the other,
was the prey of rival factions. VINO raw
aged it ceaselessly and without mercy.
Princes and potentates, as well as the
small fry, We're squeezed and Ehorn con-
stantly To escape from the general
robbery the natives, great and small, care
fully concealed their money and their
valuables under ground. This inveterate
habit became hereditary among them, so
that to-day the natives do just what their
ancestors did IN past ages. 1t is esu-
mated that milllards upon milliards OF
francs in gold he buried In the hiding
places of India, and it is known that this
colossal treasure is in coin that dates back
several centuries.
To the suffering and wretchedness that
poverty ordinarily creates the natives OF
India add the tortures equally painful OF
an incurable avarice That is the thing
which puzzles the observer and throws him
off the right track. In that country all
the poor and INDECENT have little hiding
places, where they put away their little
treasures and guard them, watching their
growth and never drawing from them,
even in the face of famine or dishonor,
danger or death All around them and
above them are the proud and the rich,
who do just as their ancestors did, and
remains exactly the same as they were
that is to say Unsuitable hoarders, susp-
cious and cruel misers. They hide their
gold In the vaults of old forts and In cita-
dels. and add 20 It from generation TO
generation, from century to century. Like
that of Harpagnon, their beloved treasures
possess for them charms far more fasci-
ffyf . han # raf INN
and of their enchanting perls.
The persistence of the Maharajah of Sin
dbl in petitioning the British government
TO give back to him the fortress of Gwa-
lior Is perhaps remembered-a persistence
that seemed strange indeed, not to say
suspicious, because Gwalior was not one
Of the holy places like so Nany others
In India. After numerous petitions ana in
trigues the maharajah at last won his
case The fortress of Gwalior was given
back 20 him. And now quite recently the
secret of his persistent effort has become
clear to everybody who reads. He had
concealed in the fortress of Gwallor an
immense treasure in coined gold, and this
gold had been put away with such care
near the corner stone of the fort to which
a subterranean passage led, and closed up
with such skin and cunning that nobody
I'm ignorance of the secret could possibly
discover the treasure.
In the presidency or province of Bonn
bay it is estimated that there are 300 600, 900
francs in gold sovereigns which are pre-
served with extreme care. not only on ac-
count of their intrinsic value, but on ac-
count Of the fact, without counting the
image of St George, there Is stamped upon
them the effigy Of dragon In India, as
in China, the dragon is holy creature OF
celestial origin. an lnducement to the faith
ful TO become enrolled among the beatifed,
= Ii
and prosperity.
But fortunately the gods themselves and
especially the gods of India. are very fond
of gold. They whistle for It through the
lips OF their priests. Obedient 10 the di-
vine call, Il comes. ripping from all points
until 1t reaches the sacred parvis. It nc
cumulates In the subterranean passages of
the temples TO which the priests alone
have access. Thence It overflows and
takes its place, where 1t shares with the
gods the incense and the homage of the
men whom 1t has bewitched.