76 



In 1881 the rate of freight from India to London was 6O5. 

 per ton, and 30^. in 1886, a difference of 30^. per ton or 6s. 6d 

 per quarter. Between 1879 and 1886 the charge for the 

 transport of grain by railway from Cawnpore to Calcutta 

 was reduced to the extent of about 25, a quarter which was 

 equivalent to a saving to the producer in the cost of production 

 of the same amount. There was a further reduction of about 

 Qd. a quarter in the price of gunny bags, the total saving 

 to the producer being thus 95. The freights for rice exported 

 from Rangoon to England have been reduced from 725. 6^. per 

 ton in 1873 to 325. Qd. per ton in 1891 ; and coal freights from 

 England to Bombay from 2Z5. Gd. to 125. Qd. per ton in the 

 case of steamers and from 245. to I65. in the case of sailing 

 vessels. The Indian producer has thus doubly benefited ; Jirst 

 by the higher value realised by him for his productions ; and 

 secondly, by the lower value paid by him for the imported com- 

 modities which he obtains a^ar less coat measured not merely by 

 money values *^ but by actlji sacrifice of time and labour than 

 would have been incurred if he had produced them himself. 



33. It has, however, been represented by a certain class 



How far the rapid ^f persons, both iu India and England, that 



expansion of foreign the rapid cxpausion of foreign trade in 



trade iB" enforced." j^^-^^ ^j^-^j^ ^^^ ^^^^ ^^ ^^^^^ ^^^^ ^.^_ 



nessed, far from being a blessing is a matter for the gravest 

 anxiety; that much of it, instead of being brought about by 

 the development of the resources of the country in directions 

 which will conduce to its prosperity, is really "enforced" 

 or in other words is the outcome of the necessity which its 

 political relation with England imposes on it for finding 

 the wherewithal to meet the remittances to be made to England, 

 in payment of services of a non-commercial character rendered 



*' It is hardly necessary to say that in comparing prices at different periods, the 

 purchasing power of money at those periods should be taken into account. For all rough 

 calculations, the purchasing power of money in this Presidency may, I think, he measured 

 by the average prices of food grains given in paragraph 27 of this memorandum, as 

 the bulk of the income of the country is expended on food, the secondary wants of the 

 population being very few. As already stated, these prices can be relied on only as 

 showing the general direction of the movement as regards purchasing power and not as 

 accurately defining its amount. An increase in prices, when caused by the increased 

 production of the precious metals throughout the world, would not mean an increase of 

 wealth or of exchange value, nor would decrease of prices due to diminution in the cost of 

 production owing to the adoption of labour-saving processes in the manufacture of 

 commodities mean diminution of wealth. On the contrary, in the latter case the decrease 

 of prices would really mean increased power of production. The demonetization of certain 

 kinds of precious metals, e.g., silver, in favour of other metals, e.g., gold, would, by 

 decreasing the demand for the former and increasing the demand for the latter, depreciate 

 the first and give increased value to the second. The demand for precious metals again 

 for currency purposes is affected by the extension of the use of instruments of credit. It 

 would be impossible to assign correct values to all these factors, and their relative values 

 can be inferred only from general considerations. This accounts for the divergence of 

 yiewB among the members of the Koyal Commissioix on the value of the precious metals, 



