of this description who interpose an efficient
check upon the Government." Unfortunately for India there is no such
body, and the final decision on this great question has rested with a
Cabinet composed of men who know nothing of Indian interests, and who,
indeed, have no time to attend to them, seeing that their thoughts require
to be almost exclusively devoted to a consideration of those
vote-catching, parochial politics with the aid of which alone the
Government can hope to maintain its balance on the political tight-rope.

I may observe, in conclusion, that, as regards the effects of the
depreciation of silver on a silver-using country, we have, in the case of
Mexico, circumstances exactly parallel to those in India, and in the
"Times" of October 21st, 1893, a most interesting analysis is given of the
report of our consul at Mexico--Mr. Lionel Carden--as regards the effects
on that country of a further serious depreciation of silver. Mr. Carden
sums up his conclusions on the hypothesis that the present value of the
dollar, which is 3s. 1d., falls to 2s. 6d., and proceeds then to
examine into the effects of such a fall on the country considered as a
whole. He estimates the losses to the Government and the railways which
would arise from the sums they have to pay in gold, and then puts against
them the advantages that the fall in silver would confer on miners,
agriculturists, and manufacturers. His final conclusions are as follows:

"In striking a balance between the advantages and disadvantages arising to
different interests in Mexico from a depreciation of silver, it must be
borne in mind that the losses which would be sustained by the Government
and the railway companies are essentially limited in their amount, whereas
the benefits that would accrue to certain of the productive industries are
susceptible of indefinite extension. Moreover, an increase in the
productiveness of the country would make itself felt at once in an
increase of the revenue of the Government, as well as of the railways.
The only conclusion, then, at which it is possible to arrive is that a low
price of silver, if permanent, would not only not be prejudicial to Mexico
as a whole, but would conduce to its ultimate benefit by the stimulus it
would afford to the development of its immense agricultural resources."

Yes. The losses from the payments that have to be made in gold are a
comparatively speaking fixed quantity, while the gain to the peop