The fall in silver has received a slight check. The
Indian Home Government, on Tuesday, sold £700,000 worth of bills on India at 1s. 6id., a slight rise upon the rate obtained at the previous fortnightly sale. Silver, in consequence, has risen to 48d. an ounce, though still 20 per cent. below its normal value. It is right, as we take a pessimist view of the fall, to state that high Indian authorities attribute part of the fall to mere panic, and believe it will prove temporary. They think they have evidence that the value of silver in India, so far from declining, is appre- ciating, the great reduction of import having intensified the demand. If that is the case—a point upon which we are with- out direct evidence—it ought shortly to be profitable to export silver largely. It must be observed, however, that the Calcutta Chamber of Commerce knows nothing of this appreciation, and is extremely alarmed.