My Lords apprehend that these regulations, taken as a whole, are simply Rules issued by this Board, in accordance with the requirements of the 1st Clause of the Ordinance, No 2 of 1864, for the guidance of the Mint at Hong Kong, and that the currency of the coins, and the extent to which they shall be legal tender, are in no way affected by them as far as the Public are concerned.
The Master of the Mint, however, states that the 8th and 9th Regulations are not of the same character, or of the same immediate application, as they are intended to provide for a contingency which may not arise for a considerable time, and which can be provided for when it does arise.
My Lords are therefore of opinion that, in order to avoid any further delay in the transmission to the Colony of the Regulations required by the Ordinance, the best course will be to omit the two last regulations and have the question of the wear and tear of the coins to be dealt with by Order in Council, or otherwise, when occasion may require it.
I am therefore to transmit to you the enclosed amended copy of the "Regulations for the Issue of a Silver Dollar and Half Dollar from the Mint of Hong Kong in pursuance of the Mint Ordinance, No = 2 of 1864," signed by two of the Lords Commissioners. In this copy the 8th and 9th Regulations, relating to the wear and tear of the coins, are entirely omitted.