536 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
silver on private account into India was prohibited on September
3, 1917. This measure, however, removed only a few of the smaller competitors for the world’s diminished supply of silver, and the world-demand remained so heavy that the Secretary of State was unable to obtain sufficient supply notwithstanding the great conservation effected in the use of silver by substituting nickel coinage for silver coins of subsidiary order,* and by the isue of notes of denominations as low as that of R. 1† and of R. 2-8.‡ The Government of the United States was therefore approached on the subject of releasing a portion of the silver dollars held in their reserve. The American Government consented and passed the Pittman Act, under which the Government of India acquired a substantial volume at 101½ cents per fine ounce. The total silver purchased during this period was as follows :—
TABLE XLIV
R UPEE C OINAGE, 1915—20
| Year | Silver purchased in Open Market, Standard Ounces. | Silver purchased from U. S. A., Standard Ounces. | Total Standard Ounces. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1915-16 ... ... 1916-17 ... ... 1917-18 ... ... 1918-19 ... ... 1919-20 ... ... Total | 8,636,000 124,535,000 70,923,000 106,410,000 14,108,000 | ... ... ... 152,518,000 60,875,000 | ... ... ... ... ... |
| 324,612,000 | 213,393,000 | 538,005,000 |
Now, recalling the fact that from 1900 to 1914 the Government had coined about 532 million standard ounces of silver,§ it means that the coinage of silver by Government during these five years exceeded the amount coined in the fourteen preceding years by five million ounces.
- Act IV of 1918 and XXI of 1919.
† First issued on December 1, 1917.
‡ First put into circulation on January 2, 1918.
§ Cf. the figures given by L. Abrahms in his evidence to the Currency Committee of 1919.—Mit. of Evid., Q. 37-41.