§ 15 and 16. Mr. STEWARTasked the Secretary of State for India (1) whether he will state the amount of paper money now issued by the Indian Government; if he will say how much of the issue is in notes under the denomination of Rs. 10;whether there is any considerable circulation of rupee notes outside of India owing to military operations in Africa, Mesopotamia, and elsewhere; (2) whether he will state the amount of specie held by the Indian Government against its note issue; and will he state the amount of gold and of silver imported into India from 4th August, 1914, to the present time?
§ The SECRETARY of STATE for INDIA (Mr. Montagu)I will circulate in the Official Report the figures for which my hon. Friend asks.
§ The figures referred to are as follow:—
§ No. 15.—The gross circulation of currency notes was 15,372 lakhs on 30th April last. On 31st March last the value of notes under the denomination of Rs. 10 was as follows:—
| lakhs. | |
| Rs. 5 notes | 929½ |
| Rs. 2½ notes | 184½ |
| Rs. 1 notes | l,050½ |
| Total | 2,164½ |
§ Question 16.—Gold and silver held in the Paper Currency Reserve on the 30th April last was as follows:—
| lakhs. | |
| Silver coin | 1,801 |
| Silver bullion in India | 1,673 |
| Silver bullion in transit | 285 |
| Silver total | 3,759 |
| Gold coin and bullion in India | 1,455 |
| Gold coin and bullion in transit | 300 |
| Gold total | 1,755 |
§ 2. The net amount of gold and silver imported during the period named, was:—
| Gold | £21,400,000 |
| Silver | 516,202,000 st. oz. |
§ Mr. STEWARTIf the balance of trade during the coming season is in favour of India, how does the right hon. Gentleman propose to meet that balance?
§ Mr. MONTAGUThat would require a dissertation on currency, which I am not prepared to give in answer to a question.