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Coin and Currency in [No. 9, new series. 



from a very early period been against the West and in favor of the 

 East. Time will not permit me to enter into a full examination 

 of the causes which have led to this result. I shall simply touch 

 upon one or two. 



The inexhaustible fertility of the soil of many Eastern countries 

 and the variety of its useful products have been one f cause. 

 € Densely peopled as the East is, its soil has ever produced far 

 greater quantities both of food and of other articles of commerce 

 than are sufficient for the requirements of its population. While 

 exportation of this surplus produce was the necessary consequence 

 of its existence, climate and a low state of civilisation combined 

 to restrict the wants of the people. There was little demand for 

 the productions either raw or manufactured of other countries 

 where among all classes, tastes were simple, comforts little known, 

 and the conservative principle strong, the poor required little 

 clothing and little shelter. Even the magnificence of the rich 

 was simple and demanded little beyond gold, silver and gems. 

 What I have said will account for the preference of the precious 

 metals to other articles of import ; but other circumstances pro- 

 duced a positive demand. For example, the love of ornament of 

 semi-civilised peoples. Again, the insecurity of property in a coun- 

 try like India, divided into numerous petty states independent of 

 each other and often hostile ; while the moral principle, according 

 to our ideas, is not very strong — gave a tendency not only to hoard- 

 ing but to keeping property as much as possible in a portable and 

 easily concealable form. For this purpose gold and silver rank 

 next to precious stones. Again, an extensive internal trade de- 

 mands large supplies of a precious metal for a circulating medium. 

 This refers more especially to China, whose internal traffic is enor - 

 mous. But she has never drawn such quantities of the precious 

 metals from Europe as India. Her own internal supplies of silver 

 are very large, so much so that for about twenty years previous to 

 1851, she not only absorbed no silver but exported nearly 

 £2,000,000 annually. 



I must content myself with thus briefly adverting to a few of 

 the causes of the Drain. 



I have spoken of the precious metals generally but silver has 

 always been preferred to gold. The former is the great material 



