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Hokitika Guardian, 28 January 1933, Page 4

A powerful ally of the pound sterling “in its struggle with the franc and tli© dollar,” says Sir Robert Johnson, Deputy Master of the Royal Mint, in his annual report, has been the heavy export of gold from India. The movement began immediately after Great Britain went off the gold standard on September 21, 1931. By the end of that yean* the amount of gold exported from India had reached £25,000,000, and by the end of last November tlie total had increased to nearly £74,000,000. “Ais for ' many years British India has been known to i © a veritable sink for gold,' with accumulations variously estimated at from £500,000,000' to £600,000,000 between. 1873 and 1931 alone, the inn porta rice cf ‘his new outward movement and of the consequent decrease in her unprofitable metallic hoards is at once significant and encouraging,” Sir Robert Johnson remarks. It means that .since September, 1931, India has male available lor use an amount of new gold produced annually, which is about £80,000,000. At the same time, the exports have made no serious inroad into India’s hoards of gold ornaments. “jT'he- women cf Ind : a apparently still cling to their bracelets and bangleand there is no sign of any consicle:*able 'melting down of native jewellery.” The importance of India’s expert of 074.000,000 worth of gold may be judged from the fact

that down to the end of last September, flic whole of the “gold rush" in England had yielded, it is estimated, €7,000,390 in gold coin and about the same amount from jewellery and scrap. Yet so widespread-was the l'tVipjnse LA b'm “d.iish” that “the once-loved gold pieces remaining in the hand's of the public in this country must by now ho few indeed.”