FROM A DOUBLE STANDARD TO A SILVER STANDARD 345
suitable from this point of view, but had also in its favour the added convenience of assimilating the Indian with the English units of weight.‡
While these were the reasons in favour§ of fixing the weight of the principal unit of currency at 180 grs. troy, the project of making it 165 grs. fine was not without its justification. The ruling consideration in selecting 165 grs. as the standard of fineness was, as in the matter of selecting the standard weight, to cause the least possible disturbance in existing arrangements. That this standard of fineness was not very different from those of the silver coins, recognized by the different Governments in India as the principal units of their currency, may be seen from the following comparative statement.
TABLE II
D EVIATIONS OF THE P ROPOSED S TANDARD OF F INENESS FROM
| THAT OF THE | Col2 | PRINCIPAL | L RECOGNIZED RU | Col5 | UPEES | Col7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Silver Coins recognized as Principal Units and their Fineness | Standard Fineness of the Propose Silver Rupee Troy Grs. | More valuable than the Pro- posed Rupee | Less valuable than the Pro- posed Rupee | |||
| Name of the Coin | Its Pure Contents Troy Grs. | In Grs. | By p.c. | In Grs. | By p.c. | |
| Surat Rupee Arcot Rupee Sicca Rupee Farrukabad R. Benares Rupee | 164.74 166.477 175.927 166.135 169.251 | 165 165 165 165 165 | … 1.477 10.927 1.135 4.251 | ... .887 6.211 .683 2.511 | .26 … … … … | .157 … … … … |
‡ Ibid. para. 28. How the English and the Indian systems of weights were made to correspond to each other may be seen from the following :—
Indian English
8 ruttees = 1 massa = 15 troy grs.
12 massas = 1 tola (or sicca) = 180 troy grs.
80 tolas = 1 seer = 2½ troy pounds.
40 seers = 1 maund (or mun) = 100 troy pounds.
§ Attention may be drawn in this connection to the dissenting opinion of Captain Jervis on the project of 180 grs. troy as the unit of weight for the rupee. Cf. his most exhaustive treatise called The Expediency and Facility of establishing the Metrological and Monetary Systems throughout India on a Scientific and Permanent Basis, grounded on an Analytical Review of the Weights, Measures and Coins of India …… Bombay, 1836, pp. 49-64.