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exercised over them.
I may here mention that I saw at the Hong Kong Mint a French Press Monetary substituted for one of the English presses. It performs, I was assured, its work admirably turning out at slow speed 45 coins per minute. In a short day's work of 7 hours it could coin with ease $20,000. I can vouch for the beauty of the dollars coined by it; and were similar presses substituted for the remaining English presses (4 in number) $100,000 to 150,000 might be daily coined. The Coinage of 5-, 10-, and 20-cent pieces yields a considerable profit to the Mint, and are eagerly taken by the Chinese.
Many more arguments favourable to its commercial success might be urged, did time permit; and I cannot but consider any proposal to close or limit the action of, the Mint perfectly suicidal. Let the Government of Hong Kong but do its part in providing