usting a
Commission on the Mysoreans, and then making them pay for part of the
expenses of the inquiry. The progress of India may be checked by the
ignorant or unprincipled action of a party in the House of Commons (and
certainly will be checked if the opium faddists are allowed to have their
way), but Mysore is free from the only danger that threatens India--the
sacrifice of its interests in order to serve party ends in the House of
Commons.

CHAPTER XIX.

THE INDIAN SILVER QUESTION.

Since the preceding chapters were written a great and most momentous step
has been taken by the Indian Government. On the 26th of June, 1893, the
Finance Minister in India announced that a gold standard was to be
established, and that the mints were to be closed to the free coinage of
silver. This measure, which so profoundly affects the prospects of the
producers and manufacturers of India, I am compelled to notice. To do so,
however, in an exhaustive manner would be quite beyond the scope of this
book, and I shall confine my remarks as much as possible to the points of
the subject which bear upon the welfare of those who produce or
manufacture anything in India. The reports[61] and papers enumerated at
the foot of the page supply me with a large amount of information and
opinion, but I must warn those interested in the subject that a complete
view of the whole situation, as far as India is concerned, cannot be
obtained from them. For some, and in my opinion the most important, points
connected with the question, have either not been alluded to at all, or
quite inadequately investigated. These defects I hope in some degree to
be able to supply from my long experience of the effects of the
expenditure of capital in developing the resources of India--and I say in
some degree, because I feel sure that a much fuller investigation is
required before all the far-reaching effects of this momentous measure can
be adequately weighed. I trust, however, that, even in the short space I
am devoting to the subject, I shall be able sufficiently to elucidate
those points which dominate the situation, and a consideration of which
will show that if the Government succeeds in forcing up the gold value of
the rupee in the manner proposed, the prosperity of the people, the
popularity of our rule, and the state of our trade in the East will be
most seriously prejudiced. And now let me begin at the beginning, so that
the uninformed reader may have a