“We have,” he wrote, “gold pieces representing fifteen, ten and five rupees respectively; and believed to represent these several sums very correctly, as regards the relative value of gold and silver … that … we should take the first opportunity to declare the gold coins legal tender to unlimited amount; that gold pieces should continue to bear the fixed relation to the rupee; that for a time it might be necessary to permit the rupee to remain legal [pg 120] tender to an unlimited amount, which would involve temporarily the difficulty of a double standard; that the transition period of double standard should be as short as possible, silver being reduced to a token coinage, and being made legal tender up to a small amount only; and that gold should be ultimately the one legal standard.” He proposed the ratio of 10 rupees tor 120 grs. of standard i.e. 110 grs. of fine gold,¹⁹⁹ but he did not share the temerity of Sir Charles Trevelyan.²⁰⁰ So intent was he on the project of a gold currency that he was prepared to alter the ratio so as to make it favourable to gold. The question of ratio, he observed, was one which ¹⁹⁹ This was a ratio of 15: 1, which was a slight undervaluation of gold. ²⁰⁰ _Supra_, Chap. I. “the Government of India ought to be able to determine. These are questions which have been determined by every nation that has adopted a gold currency. No doubt it is a difficult and important problem, but it cannot be insoluble, and it ought to be solved.” Such in outline was the first proposal for a gold currency. It was projected before the fall in the value of silver had commenced, and was therefore more a culmination of the past policy than a remedy against the ensuing depreciation of silver. In that consisted, probably, the chief strength of the proposal. It was in good time to avoid the cost of hauling up the currency which later on proved so very deterrent and caused the defeat of so many other projects. Besides, it cannot be said that at the time the memorandum was presented the Government was not warned of the impending crisis; for the wave of demonetizing silver had already commenced two years before.²⁰¹ But, for some reason not known to the public, no action was taken on the proposal. [pg 121] ²⁰¹ Lord Northbrook, who was the Viceroy of India when this proposal was made, in his evidence before the I.C.C. of 1898, Q. 8,447, suggested that the reason for his not adopting it then was that “that was a time when gold was appreciating, and it was impossible to do.” This is, of course, historically untrue except on the hypothesis that the proposal came for consideration long after it was submitted.