51
such a charge
6.
what I would propose, therefore,
is that the Colony, in consideration of sum advanced for the Establishment of the mint, should be considered to have paid the Military Contribution up to June 1867, and that all the profits of the Establishment over, and above, the actual working Expenses be remitted half yearly to the Imperial Government until £50,000 be paid up. The payment may be spread over a longer period than two and a half years; or, on the other hand, it may be made in less than that time. In either case, however, unless the mint should prove a failure, the payment would be secure; and if the mint should prove a failure, it would be only just, for the reasons explained in my letter of the 9th Instant, that the loss should fall on the Imperial Government.
Simply put, my proposal amounts to this, that the Colony should pay in advance the Military Contribution demanded of it for 2½ years, namely £50,000, and that the Imperial Government should advance the £50,000 necessary for the Establishment of the Mint, and be repaid this advance eventually out of the profits.
8.
I think that this proposal is