438 



INDIA. 



and all of the influential class who have stated 

 incomes, complain because the purchasing pow- 

 er of their incomes has declined. The Indian 

 officials are for these reasons usually bimet- 

 allists, and have for years urged the British 

 Government to seek an international arrange- 

 ment of the silver question that would relieve 

 India from the fiscal derangement and uncer- 

 tainty consequent on the continued deprecia- 

 tion of silver. The English officials have as a 

 rule held to the theory that it is an interference 

 with a natural law of demand and supply to 

 attempt to fix the relative values of gold and 

 silver by law, and that such an attempt will 

 prove futile. Some economists argue that the 

 loss by exchange, or additional sum required 

 to meet the gold obligations, is only an appar- 

 ent loss, and imposes no burden on the tax- 

 payers of India. This loss is over five crores 

 of rupees, or $5,000,000 a year, and increases as 

 the price of silver declines. Others hold the 

 opinion that, while the Government may be 

 embarrassed, some of the tax-payers suffer, and 

 people with fixed incomes be made poorer, the 

 depreciation of the currency has been on the 

 whole a great benefit to the people of India, be- 

 cause it has stimulated production and exports. 

 Indian financiers, on the other hand, attribute 

 the increased exports of wheat, cotton, and oth- 

 er commodities to the extension of railroads 

 and the lowering of freight tariffs. The remit- 

 tances to India during the five years from 1868 

 to 1873 consisted of 40,000,000 in treasure 

 and 29,500,000 in Government bills. In 1881 

 -'85 the remittances in treasure were 46,- 

 500,000, but the Exchequer drafts rose to the 

 amount of 79,500,000. Notwithstanding the 

 increasing loss by exchange, the Indian Gov- 

 ernment is adding to its gold liabilities in order to 

 construct defensive works and strategic rail- 

 ways on the frontier and extend the system of 

 commercial railways. Formerly the outlay 

 on railroads was limited to 2,500,000 a year, 

 but in 1885-'86 over 6,000,000 were spent, 

 and in 1886-'8T the expenditure was fixed at 

 5,000,000, to be raised in England on a loan, 

 while 4,000,000 was to be spent by guaran- 

 teed companies. The railroads, however bene- 

 ficial to the commerce of India, have entailed 

 losses on the treasury. In 1885-'86 the net 

 loss was 1,158,880, and for 1886-'87 it was 

 estimated at 1,721, TOO. The total sum of the 

 deficits of the railroads up to 1885 was 44,- 

 000,000. The new lines are expected to be 

 immediately profitable. 



On Jan. 26, 1886, Lord Randolph Churchill 

 urged on the treasury the importance of secur- 

 ing an international agreement that would in- 

 sure the stability of the relative values of gold 

 and silver and revive the free coinage of silver. 

 On February 2 the Government of India sent a 

 dispatch urging the establishment of a fixed 

 ratio between gold and silver. In the reply to 

 these appeals, dated May 31, the proposition 

 to establish a ratio by treaty was treated as 

 impracticable, and the numerous former decis- 



ions to the same effect were reviewed. When 

 the Conservatives returned to power, a com- 

 mission was appointed to inquire anew into the 

 currency question. 



Political Convention in Bombay. A national 

 congress, composed of delegates from the prin- 

 cipal political societies of India, met at Bombay 

 in the latter part of December, 1885. There 

 were seventy-two members, representing twen- 

 ty-nine great districts. The Mohammedans 

 only were not represented. The delegates 

 were mostly lawyers, newspaper editors, and 

 teachers. The resolutions adopted recommend- 

 ed: 1. A royal commission of inquiry into the 

 working of the Indian administration, in which 

 the Indian people should be adequately repre- 

 sented. 2. The abolition of the Indian Coun- 

 cil. 3. The expansion of the Supreme Legisla- 

 tive Council and the Provincial Legislative 

 Councils by the admission of a considerable 

 proportion of elected members, the reference to 

 them of financial questions, and the extension 

 to them of the right to interpellate the Execu- 

 tive in regard to all branches of the adminis- 

 tration; also the constitution of a standing 

 committee of the British House of Commons 

 to consider their appeals from the decisions of 

 the Executive. 4. That a civil-service exami- 

 nation be held in India simultaneously with 

 the one in England, the successful candidates 

 in India to be sent to England for further 

 study ; also that the maximum age for candi- 

 dates be raised to twenty-three years. 5. That 

 the proposed increase in the military expendi- 

 ture is unnecessary, and, regard being had to 

 the revenue, excessive. 6. That if the increased 

 military expenditures are not to be met, ss 

 they should be, by retrenchments, they ought 

 to be met by the reimposition of the customs 

 duties and the extension of the license- tax to 

 classes previously exempt. 7. That the Con- 

 gress deprecates the annexation of Upper Bur- 

 mah, and considers that, if the Government 

 unfortunately decides on annexation, the en- 

 tire conntry of Burmah should be separated 

 from India, and constituted a Crown colony. 



Religions Riots. The Mohammedan feasts do 

 not recur at the same days of the year accord- 

 ing to the ordinary chronology, because their 

 year consists of only 354 days. In 1866 th( 

 Mussulman Mohurrum fell on the same daj 

 with the Hindoo feast of the Dasara. Thi 

 coincidence was the occasion of riots in vi 

 ous parts of the Northwest Provinces and 

 the Presidency of Bombay. At Etaw.ih the 

 district magistrate directed the two proces- 

 sions to take different routes, but the Moham- 

 medans were bent on forcing a fight, and the 

 Hindoos, who were numerically stronger, and 

 were exasperated at the interruption of their 

 procession, were ready to accept the challenj 

 A serious collision was prevented by a detach- 

 ment of troops on their way to Burmah, who 

 quelled the riot, and arrested 150 of the par- 

 ticipants. At Delhi different routes were like- 

 wise assigned for the two processions, but the 



