524
the Stamp Ordinance would have
M?
ᎠᏤᎸ;
the
issue of notes by that Bank. Not the four
informed
me that the Bank would have
greatly preferred not contending
with
any
issue but that the
Corporation
was
quite
willing to contribute its share to assist the
colony
and that, most unquestionably, there was no intention whatever of retiring any of their notes.
12.
As I had heard it stated that the
returns of the
Hongkong and
Shanghai
Bank made no allowance for notes paid into the Bank and
thereby withdrawn
from circulation, and that such returns
were
consequently so far fallacious, I took
the liberty of questioning Mr. Tresper
on the subject, because
in the event of
any
other Bank
or
Bank's
retiring
their notes,
it became important to know
exactly
how far the colony might rely
on the remaining
Banks for the maintenance by the
their note circulation. Mr. Tresper
informed
me that there is a
daily statement
made up at the Bank of the notes in
general circulation, and those
paid into the Bank; and that the monthly average
returned to Government is bona fide made up from the former
- a statement which
the Auditor of the Bank has since
corroborated.
13. Under these circumstances Your Lordship
perceives how little
ground there really is for any apprehension of inconvenience to the Community, whatever course
the
--t?