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The only legal tender in Hong Kong are Mexican dollars, which are quoted in London at present at 5s 7d per ounce of bar silver, but the price is 5/1/8. Which at this price Mexican dollars bear a premium of about 13% beyond their intrinsic value, even in this country, and they bear a still higher premium in China; and the heavy loss which, in consequence of the outflow of this coin, falls not only upon the trade of China, but also upon the Imperial Exchequer, makes it desirable to push forward the project of a Mint at Hong Kong with the utmost dispatch.
I recommend therefore that this draft Ordinance, with a copy of the correspondence which has passed on the subject, be forwarded by the next mail to the Officer administering the Government of the Colony to be laid before the Legislative Council.
I would advise also, in view of the heavy loss which the Imperial Exchequer is at present falling - a loss which I roughly estimate at between £30,000 and £40,000 per annum, - that a Master be appointed at once.