In the issue of the Calcutta newspaper pital," on March 1, we find a memorial to the Viceroy's Government on this important project signed by the representatives of all British banks doing business in India as well as by the Comptoit National d'Escompte of Paris and the Deutsch Asiatische Bank of Berlin. We hope the Government will give duo ght to the moderate and calmly reasonments put forward by the memorial ists, and not rush into this scheme in the rash manner to which many of its proceedings have accustomed us. Ax the bankers in India point out, the existing Presidency banks are not allowed to take a share in exchange business between India and England, but are obliged to confine their energies to the internal commerce of the country. No such restriction is to be imposed, so far ax can be gathered, upon the projected Stute hank into which the three Presidency banks are to be merged, should the scheme he carried out. On the contrary, the new bank would have powers to borrow in st erling, aul to buy and sell bills of axel or Europe, just it had no State position whatever.
means unfair competition and pro-ably serious injury to the banks, whose capital is already invested in this Business important extent. The memorialists, therefore, respectfully insist that it would be proper to restrict the new junk in all its sterling transuetions to the shipment and re-shipment of gold, and that it should be prohibited from selling or buying sterling bills or selling or buying telegraphic transfers save through the existing channels, the ngo banks, This is a fair stipulation we, if a preponderating Government institution is launched upon the Indian community, with power to come here and raise money and make advances, or other= wise to take part in ordinary international banking, it cannot fail to produce mis chievous results. to the banks already abying the field. The old capital found uvate enterprise, in other words, will oatened with serious depreciation if the project out on the lines sug: xested by Mr. Clinton Dawkins, The memorialists, therefore, do well to point that the proposed legislation in itk irety will tend to an absolute reversal of the policy of 1876, when the Government retired as much as possible from all connection with the affairs of the Presi dency banks, except so far ax to keep a on of their balances with such banks.
No objection is raised to the mere consolidation of the three Presidency banks into one institution, and it would have perhaps been beyond the province of these ers to raise that: but the mem-al is weig! +h without that, and we hope its significance will by understood ud appreciated by thea wha are dream= of buttressing a hard-pressed Government by means of credit raised through a State banking institution.—* Investors'
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.