330
THE SUBSIDIARY COINAGE QUESTION.
(Daily Press, October 11th.) Opinion in Hongkong is as divided as it has ever been regarding the most desirable policy to adopt in order to rehabilitate the subsidiary coinage of the Colony. Discussion on the subject is revived by the Budget State- ment in which His EXCELLENCY repelled the charge that the Government is apathetic in the matter and devoid of a definite policy. In the present state of public feeling it is clear that whatever line of action the Government might take would not command anything like unanimous support. Having regard to the divergent opinions of members of the Committee appoint- ed by the Government two years ago, th Government, supported by the Chamber of Commerce and the China Association, decided for the present to defer putting into operation the recommendation passed by a narrow majority to restrict the circulation of Chinese currency in the Colony, and His Ex-
us
ficulty.
If the
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
the rehabilitation of our small currency, would also probably result in a great influx of that currency from China, and compel to large measures of demonetisation, which at the present time dur That is the point finances can ill afford. to which the critics of the Government should address themselves. The position is that between forty and fifty millions dollars' worth of Hongkong's subsidiary coinage has been drained from the Colony into China. How much of it is still in circulation, and how much has been melted down are questions which cannot possibly That is the main dif. be answered.
Government prohibits the circulation of Chinese currency in the Colony it means, as the GOVERNOR says, the influx of Hongkong currency from China. The question we should like to see answered is: Would this necessarily compel the Gov- ernment to large measures of demonetisa tion ? What does Mr. SHEWAN say to this? Would he consider it sufficient for the Government to go on demonetising just so much as it annually receives into the Imperial diet a ray of hope that the prob- Treasury as Government revenue? Obvious lem will presently be solved by a reformly that would not be a satisfactory solution of the currency in China, the Edict
of the problem, for it might take a genera- tion at that rate to rehabilitate the enjoining that all coins now current
If only tenth
a
of the of whatever. value shall be minted of currency. one standard of fineness and one authoi ised coins which have left the Colony were re- pattern. HIS EXCELLENCY added that turned, the subsidiary coinage evil, it seems to us, would be as bad as ever it was, unless during the coming year the Government
demonetisation would be able to judge whether events large measures of
adopted. We doubt if the community justified them in continuing the policy of waiting, or in adopting some alternative would welcome any additional taxation for
this purpose,
however ge:erally the evils As regards the possibility of any change
incident to the depreciation of the
CELLENCY derives from the issue of a recent
#r
[October 16, 1909.
FREE TRADE.
(Daily Press, October 12th.)
It is to be regretted that in their zealto counteract the damage done to British interests by the (falsely, so-called) Free Trade of their opponents the leaders of the Unionist Party in England should hav- pledged themselves to return to what prae- tically can scarcely be distinguished from rank Protectionism. The complaint of the country has been that under the title of Free Trade the rump of the Cobden Club has really been supporting a policy of Protection under its very worst form, that of bounties, and in so doing has been protecting the foreign producer against our Home industries; which to a considerable extent it has succeeded in rendering unpro- fitable, and in some cases has practically extinguished. It was with no intention of inviting a return to Protection that Mr. CHAMBERLAIN first drew the attention of the country to the injury being inflicted by this insidious attack on British industries, As the ablest Minister who had ever presided over the Colonial Office he had experience of the evils resulting from want of harmony in the past between Downing Street and the Colonies, more especially in financial matters; and this probably it was that directed his attention to the attempts being made on the Continent, and more especially, in Germany, to exploit, contrary to the interests of the nation at large, and for their own benefit, the trade with our Colonies. So far had this been, under the pretence of Free Trade, permitted to proceed that on one occasion Germany actually conceived herself entitled between Canada and the Home country, which fortunately was promptly repressed by the Government of the day. In the West Indies again the system of bounties on the Home production of sugar had been raised to such a pitch that it became a matter of life or death for several of the islands; and it actually became necessary for the Home Government to make a temporary money grant to restore the damaged finances of these Colonies. In many of our Home in- dustries it was found that by bounties direct or indirect, or by reduced railway or steam packet rates paid for by the Government, Germany was engaged in an attempt to undersell the British manufacturer, with the object of transferring the industry to her own territory. Now, while it is quite true that in doing this Germany many was per- fectly justified according to the accepted rules of mercantile morality, still, the pro- cess was not one of Free Trade, but was essentially one of Protection in its most objectionable form, that of direct stimulation by money grants. of Free Trade is the removal of all unneces
The essential principle
ary charges on the circulation of commerce, so that the goods of any country or have a fair chance of district shall
in China of the nature indicated by Hcoinage are recognised and deplored. If to interfere in a matter of private tariffs
EXCELLENCY the following extract from the chapter on Currency in Mr. MORSE's book on the "The Trade and Administration of the Chinese Empire is much to the pomt :-
The Government of China will welcome any measure that will set a limit to the amount
which it must take from its revenues to pay the
indemnities due to the Foreign Powers; and, as a corporate entity, may be willing to have a uniform currency in which the revenue may be paid and received. No other element of support can be brought in by any flight of the imagina-
tion. All the vested interests in China will be
against the change. The members of the Government as individuals, from the highest Minister of State in Peking to the humblest assistant-deputy sub-district magistrate, will give it their facit, if not openly-expressed, opposition. The tax-collector, with his
assistants and his servants, and backed by his family to the third and fourth generation, will fight strenuously against any obligation to pay into the Treasury the exact coin which he has received from the taxpayer. The powerful body of Chinese bankers, organised as such when Europe did not yet know the science, will accept the change only if they are shown the possibility of greater profits than under existing conditions. The compradore and shroffs may be trusted to do their best to resist any attempt to curtail their privileges and profits. Even the native merchants and tradesmen who will
benefit enormously by simplification of the currency, will also oppose a change from the present system, in which each mau counts confidently on getting the better in the encounter of wits. Ordinarily the proletariat remains neutral in such a question: but in
China the merest coolie, earning sixpence by a long day of hard work, will spend an hour of his time to gain on exchange the equivalent of ten minutes' work.
This being the case, we can have no con- fident hope of seeing a national currency in China in our time, and the Govern- ment of Hongkong, therefore, may as well put their alternative policy into force at
once.
But what is the alternative to this policy of waiting on China? HIS EXCEL- LENCY says the vigorous repression of Chinese currency, while it would no doubt result in
|
the Colony's subsidiary coinage Can be rehabilitated by the repression of the Chinese currency without additional cost to the taxpayers, then an effort in that direction would command wide, though evidently not unanimous, support. The case for action by the Government is that cheapness is essential to the prosperity of the port.
A depreciated currency results in the increased cost of commo.lities, often to an extent which more than covers the discount on the coinage. Wages are forced up as a consequence of the increased cost of living, and in the result a depre- ciated coinage becomes a serious tax on the trade of the Colony. Many there are who doubt whether there would be a return to former prices and rates of labour, if the cur- reary were rehabilitated. It is said that, of course, the Steamboat Company and a few other large concerns which have put up their prices to cover the present would reduce them again; but would prices generally, of labour and commodities, respond? Prices of commodities, it seems to us, must respond to the extent of the appreciation in the value of the currenc but wages when once they go up take a much longer time to go down again, and it would probably be long before the full competing with others all round in the mar- benefit of the rehabilitation of the subsi-barriers. In this sense all tariffs are, of kets of the world, unhampered by artificial diary coinage would be obtained. But in time it would surely come. The effort is certainly worth making, and we hope the Government may soon find the right path to the goal.
ing
on
loss
The Y.M.C.A. had a successful social meet
An Saturday night. excellent programme was sustained by Mrs. Goldsmith, R. E White, W. Miss Pearce, Messrs. Anderson, J. W. White, A. A. Claxton, A. S Kempthorne, and E. B. Ayris. A feature of the evening was sinelling competition. participants having to guess the contents of thirteen bottles by smelling them, The prize was awarded to Miss Nicholson, who guessed ten out of the thirteen correctly.
a
course, a burden on commerce, it may be a
necessary burden; but in this case the nearest approach we can make to ideally perfect Free Trade is that there shall be no
unfair nor discriminative duties. The one exception which the
common-sense. of humanity has made practically universal, is that no country (except perhaps China) levies duties on goods in transport within its own territory, which would, of course, be merely robbing Peter i pay Paul.
As the requirements of government and good order in alt-countries require the ex- penditure of large sums of money revenue is absolutely necessary, and by long experience all countries have found that up to a certain
7