CO882-(1-2) — Page 296

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

Reference -

C.O. 882

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ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH—NOT TO

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

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in fact, would be paid with the bills drawn against the crop. And thus things would be all right so long as nothing occurred to disturb the exchanges. But suppose a bad crop to happen, or two very short crops together, as was the case in 1842 and 1843; a very different state of things will arise. The crop, or the bills drawn against it, are not then sufficient to pay for the goods from Europe, the rice from India, the provisions from Madagascar, and the silver carried away as part of the wages of the Coolies.

A great

demand for bills arises, for which the supply is utterly insufficient, the exchanges set in strongly against the island, bills rise to a high premium, and an export of coin is inevitable. The same is the case in this country when a large balance of foreign payments is caused by a bad harvest. In such a dilemma, and such has often existed in Mau- ritius, and especially in 1843, what must happen? 'The produce of the island is all shipped to England, and very generally to the very agents who have sent out the supplies of goods for which payment must be made in Europe. The sugar produced, there- fore, goes in the first place generally to pay the debts due to Europe. Those due to India and other countries to which the produce is not shipped, but which are usually paid by bills on London for a portion of the crop, must, when the crop is deficient, be last attended to, and be furnished from other sources. In the case of the supply of rice from India, the food of the island, the necessity is imperative; and for that purpose and other similar purposes, coin must be exported at such a time, to a great extent, as it was in 1843. Native Indian traders come with carapes of rice, for which they receive coin, which they take with them. If there were a sufficient quantity of bills on London representing the crop, the rice- merchants would either take them and sell them on their return to India, or even if they insisted upon taking coin, it would again soon be returned for those bills; but when there are not such bills in sufficiency, coin must go.

But if the trader from Madras or Madagascar, takes coin, he will only take it at its intrinsic value; he will take it as so many shillings, or as so many pounds; but the price of his rice will be regulated not by the nominal value of the coin, but by its intrinsic value to him at home. He will be governed entirely by the number of rupees into

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which the silver will coin, or for which it will exchange in India; just as the English merchant, in selling goods to Austria, is governed, not by the number of florins which he receives, but by the pounds sterling into which hè can convert them.

44. Under such circumstances, the coin, which could only be. bought at an appreciation of 6 per tent. of its real value, must be parted with at its real intrinsic value only, and even somewhat' below it; for as the Mint in Indis charges 2 per cent. for the coinage of silver into rupees, British silver sent to India as bullion would, in comparison with rupees,

be subject to that deduction in value. It is there- fore peculiarity connected with the trade and currency of Mauritius, well worth being borne in mind, that whereas all the produce, to the annual value of about 1,200,0007., goes to Europe, while goods only to the amount of about 580,000l. are received from Europe, the imports from that quarter will at least always be paid by produce, especially as

the receivers of the produce and the shippers of the goods are generally the same persona. But that, on the contrary, while the exports to India from Mauritius average only 5,8601. a-year, the imports average no less than 509,0004; so that a balance of 'more than 500,0001, has annually to be paid with the surplus exported to England, and when that surplus fails, then to be made up by ooin. It is obvious then, that whatever shipments of coin are made, it must be to India, in the natural course of events; or, if coin be exported elsewhere, under such circumstances, then bills must be drawn against it and remitted to India.i

45. And therefone: to this it may be replied, that British silver, under such circumstances, may be shipped to landon and bills drawn against it and remitted to India, tha: same as bills drawn against sugar are remitted, "thither; but the slightest con- sideration: will: drow :that this would not mend the matter. A merchant ́reveiving -a- consignment of British silver in London to the amount of 100,0001., - where itrinam lagali tender only to the amount of `03., would find that he could belynaljaponif it only at the market-qurictonf silver; ow that he must keep ›ie før suelea timu,di take sooh trouble to get rid of sit”in an albumudita "artwould absorb more than the

• dbference.\^ And besitles this; the greater distance and expense of sending silver to England would G