Page:Indian Journal of Economics Volume 2.djvu/532

 o. D. THOMPSON in commerce and industry, for famines and buildings, and for the armies of education and sanitation, The second of these two truths, whi,h follows, is really-the heart of the mater. probably needs more actual gold and silver in proper- i8 8,8 unfavorable. (Or the statement may be to apply to the balance of accounts in the England's continuo, s excess of imports),. less, the Mercantilists were successful in gold by a favorable balance o! trade before or ever will again. substituted for payments Credit instruments and into' general use. credit she would With need same conditions held true in the countries of Europe in the 16th century. Another truth, generally overlooked or denied, lies in the Mercantilist idea of of trade to obtain treasure. text-books that the. balance favorable, but mus be alternately maintaining the balance It is usually stated in of trade cannot remain favorable and years, and India has had flow ot gold, the years against her for the year as an almost permanent in- when the balance went a whole being very rare indeed. have obtained their even without the But, in my opinion, the Mercantilists would balances of gold as India has, carrying out of their policies. Spain controlled the supplies of gold and silver. prices were always relatively other nations relatively low. with gold until its utility became high and It paid a8 as it world's production the world until its was in Spain. So to-day with India. of gold must be (marginal) utility The distributed over is about equal Her those of the her to part low elsewhere corrected light of Neverthe- obtaining for many Cash payments have been in kind on a large scale. bank deposits have no come more barer or wih more less metallic money. The tion to the volume of her trade than she