ADVANCE, INDIA !
Advance, India! By M. de F. Webb, C.I.E. (P. S. King and Son. 5s. net.)—It would be unfair to take either the merits or defects of Mr. Webb's little book too seriously. He tells us frankly that it is a pamphlet writ large, put together with a view of influencing the deliberations of the Royal Commission on Indian Currency now sitting, half of it consisting of a reprint of articles contributed to various Anglo-Indian newspapers, while the other half is a note submitted to the Royal Commission itself. Mr. Webb is not satisfied with the successful establish- ment of the Gold-Exchange standard, which has been the somewhat unexpected result of the closing of the Indian
mints to the free coining of silver on private account since 1893. He does not deny that the present system gives India stability of exchange with countries which use gold as part of their medium of exchange, nor that the present token currency of rupees has established gold prices in India cheaply and efficaciously. His main objection is that the system puts undue financial power, and consequent temptation to misuse it, in the hands of the expert financial advisers of the India Office. This leads him to disclose his hope that the economical independence which he thinks would be the result of a free gold mint at Bombay might lead the Government of India to join in a scheme of Imperial Preference. In short, Mr. Webb's theoretical ideas are obviously coloured by his political preferences. It does not, of course, follow that his views as to Indian currency are mistaken. But his positive and partisan method of stating his case suggests caution in the mind of an impartial reader. The arguments in favour of an open gold mint at Bombay are not so conclusive as Mr. Webb believes.
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