“notwithstanding such large importations [to quote from the same authority], the demand for money has so far exceeded … that serious embarrassment has ensued, and business has almost come to a stand from the scarcity of circulating medium. As fast as rupees have been coined they have been taken into the interior and have there disappeared from circulation, either in the Indian substitute for stocking-foot or in the smelting-pot for conversion into bangles.”⁶⁹ ⁶⁹ Minute on Gold Currency for India, dated December 1, 1863. Report, op. cit., p. 184. The one way open was to have caused such additional imports of silver as would have sufficed both for the monetary [pg 35] as well as the non-monetary needs of the country. But the imports of silver were probably already at their highest. For, as was argued by Mr. Cassels, “the annual production of silver of the whole world does not exceed ten million sterling. During the last few years, therefore, India alone has annually taken, and to a great extent absorbed, more of the metal than has been produced by the whole world. It is clear that this cannot long continue without producing serious embarrassment. Either the European markets will be unable or unwilling to supply us, or the value of silver will rise to an extravagant extent. Under such circumstances it is not difficult to foresee that the present crisis must continually recur, and the commerce in this country must be periodically, if not permanently, crippled by the scarcity of the circulating medium.”⁷⁰ ⁷⁰ Report, op. cit. p. 189. Had there been any credit media the contraction of currency might not have been felt as severely as it was. But there was no credit money worth the name. The Government issued interest-bearing Treasury notes, which formed a part of the circulating medium of the country. But, apart from being insignificant in amount,⁷¹ these Treasury notes had ⁷¹ Amount of Indian Treasury notes outstanding:— ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── On April 30, 1850 £804,988 On April 30, 1851 £802,036 Extracted from Table No. 2 of On April 30, 1852 £770,301 the Return relating to East On April 30, 1853 £850,432 India Revenues, etc., On April 30, 1854 £850,627 Parliamentary Paper 201, VIII, On April 30, 1855 £889,875 1858. On April 30, 1856 £967,711 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────