CHAP. XXVII.

IN ASIA.

341

usual current money, it could easily be exchangedfor it, and its compendious nature, which was fa-vourable to concealment, or facilitated its removalfrom one fortress to another, must have made itone of the best preparatives for their defensive ormarauding operations. Gold was of use to themas an object of luxury, for the ornaments of theirpersons and their palaces, and the change that hastaken place by curtailing their power has deprivedmany of the means of their most luxurious grati-fications.

The security which has been given to the pro-perty of individuals, and the power of suppressingwarlike operations between the native princes,which have both been the consequence of the Bri-tish power, have rendered it unnecessary to formsuch large deposits of the precious metals as wereknown to be hoarded in former times by the severalcourts in India . That treasure which used to beinactive in the depositories of princes has beendispersed among their subjects, and thus withoutany increased production from the mines, and witha diminished importation from other countries,the inhabitants of India have from the greaterdiffusion of that which was formerly stationary, asufficiency of metallic money to prevent any greatdecline in the prices of the various commoditiesthey exchange for silver.

From the state of society in Asia , a much smallerquantity of the precious metals is necessary than