Page:Indian Journal of Economics Volume 2.djvu/190

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178 $. Is. YE NKA ? $ there to accommodate him by honoring his bill. Thirdly, there were the promissory .notes and receipts in advance given by the state employees whose pay was in arrears so often. Soldiers assign. ed their pay for a small fraction of 20 or 25/?er cent ? of the amonnt, which was actually paid by the village shylock. Fonrthly, there were the transactions by barter of ?vhich there are numerous instances in all the books. One of the greatest difficulties of the early European merchants in India related to their ignorance of the kind of commodities Indians would take in exchange for those that they had for sale. In 1676, for ins- tance, Streynsham Master paid Indians 'half in mone? and half in goods'. But in 1680 the merchants would not take the East India Cmnpany's broad cloth and lead and had to be paid 'in current money or in treasnre' ? Economic ideas of ?he t.im.e There is eidence of a great ,deal bnllion being wealth was hoarded by the people. bnxied nndergronnd and now and of money and This hoarded was nnearthed the crown. then to become the property At least one traveller has left on record that Indians were nnder the sway of the mercantilist doctrine which possessed the minds of Europe in this period. "It is lawful for any nation. to bring in silver and fetch commodities, but a crime not less than capital, to carry any great sum thence." But Terry a who

made this remark does not tell ns whether any occa- sion arose for the export of silver frmn India. There is no doubt the balance and had to be restored by .actual that throughout the period of our study of trade was always favorable to India' imports of specie Hawkins In Purehas III. 42. Seir Mutaquerin III. 35. Master II. 22S. Purehas IX. 23. Menueel Storia I[. 4t8.