Correspondence respecting the issue of One Dollar Notes.
Presented to the Legislative Council by command of His Excellency
The Governor.
(1.)
Governor Sir A. E. Kennedy to the Earl of Kimberley.
GOVERNMENT HOUSE, HONGKONG, 2nd July, 1872.
MY LORD,
On the 13th ultimo, I received an application (a copy of which I enclose) from the Chief Manager of the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation for leave to issue notes of the value of one dollar each, and having referred the applica- tion to the Un-official Members of the Legislative Council, and finding that the proposal met with their support, I laid the matter before my Executive Council.
2. The power of allowing the issue of Notes of other amounts than Five Dollars or the multiple of such sum is vested in the Governor by Section XII of Ordinance No. 5 of 1866. The only question, therefore, was as to the expediency of granting the request of the Corporation.
3. There is no doubt that, owing to the practice of "chopping" dollars which is in vogue here, and in parts of China, the coins become, after being a short time in circulation, much deteriorated, and lose a portion of their value. It was hoped that the establishment of a Mint in Hongkong would have caused such a supply of new coins-not liable to defacement--to be thrown on the Market that "chopped" dollars would in due course have disappeared.
4. Unfortunately the closing of that building, and the paucity of the dollars which it coined, leaves matters in statu quo, and the Community suffers materially from being compelled to use coins of a value different from that they represent.
5. This difficulty seemed incurable, and indeed was likely to be increased in course of time, as it is reported that in Mexico the coining of dollars has stopped. Thus, the supply now in circulation will become more and more defaced, and consequently of less and less value.