what they were and the finances of the Colony are not at present, I regret to say, in a condition to justify any outlay for experimental enterprises. In this connection I do not think it will be out of place to say a word about subsidiary coins. The Government of this Colony for a time issued these very profitably, to the great convenience of all classes of the community whether European or Chinese, but for some reason which may be capable of explanation, but which is not at once evident, this supply has not been kept up, or has not been sufficient, and the Colony is now flooded with coins from the Canton Mint of the value of which there is no guarantee whatever, and I hope the Government may see the advisability of taking steps to discourage their circulation in the colony. Matters would be entirely different if the Imperial Government of China issued dollars and subsidiary coins of guaranteed weights and fineness; were such the fact it would be of inestimable value to us and we would be indifferent in a great degree to the action of Mexico, as nothing could be more natural than that at the gates of this great Empire we should have its money for our trading purposes, instead of having to introduce the Japanese yen as an auxiliary to the Mexican dollar. I would express the hope that this meeting may pass a resolution recommending the adoption of the Japanese yen as a legal tender, at least as a tentative and precautionary measure, and I am sure such a step will be favourably viewed by all interested in this colony. As to urging on the Government the coining of British dollars, that is a matter requiring further consideration before I would venture to make a recommendation. It may be that a British dollar would furnish the best permanent protection against a scarcity of our old friend the Mexican, but so far as I can ascertain we do not know what profit can be made out of it for this colony, or its precise cost of production and transport, and all these points and many others must be removed from the region of doubt before we commit ourselves in regard to it. In resuming my seat, gentlemen, I must express my regret for detaining you so long, but the grave importance of the subject must be my apology, and I am sure this Chamber will, with me, realize the responsibility it assumes in this weighty matter.
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Mr. T. JACKSON - Gentlemen, I was one of the members of the Committee of the Chamber of Commerce in the 70's which the Chairman has alluded to when the question of the introduction of the Japanese yen was advocated, and I do not know now any more than I know then why it was not legalised. We had abundant evidence then of the purity and honesty of the yen, of the very excellent administration of the Japanese mint, and we knew not only the quality and character of the mint but also the men who conducted it, because they were the men who had been employed by the Government in the Hongkong mint. Since that time our experience of the Japanese yen has been uniformly good, and I do not believe that there is any place in the world where there is a better and truer coin than the yen. It is almost universally used by the Japanese themselves although the legal tender in that country is the Mexican dollar according to treaty. It has been received with great favour in the Straits Settlements, and here, although not a legal tender, we would have no difficulty in paying it away to the only people we have to pay hard cash to—the Cantonese. Under these circumstances I think that it is highly desirable that the yen should be placed on a proper footing in this colony, legalised, and allowed to circulate concurrently with the Mexican dollar. Referring to the Mexican dollar I may say that I do not think that there is the slightest fear of the closing of the Mexican mint. I think that there is at present no evidence to justify anybody in coming to that conclusion, but what we might fear is that the Mexican Government, seeing their opportunity, might put an export duty of, say, 3 or 5 per cent. on the export of the Mexican dollar. That being the case it would handicap us to that extent in our dealings and commerce with other nations. That, I think, is all the more reason why we should have a second string to our bow by adopting the yen, and if the Japanese Government, as I hope they will, carry out their original intention of making the yen the universal coin for this part of the world, I think that there is a splendid opportunity of doing so. But, on the other hand, if they should seize the opportunity of making a profit and say that their mint is too small to undertake the work, it would be extremely unsatisfactory. Therefore I think that it would be still better if we had a British dollar to go concurrently with the other two. (Hear, hear) I would point out that the circumstances are not what they were when we previously discussed this question. When we discussed the question in the 70's I opposed the introduction of the British dollar because I could not see how it would pay. At that time for nine months out of the twelve we could always buy the Mexican dollars at their proper weight and fineness, and I therefore asked who was going to pay for the minting of the British dollar. You must deal with practical politics, and what I said then is equally true to-day. There is, however, another thing to be seriously borne in mind, and that is that the recent action of the Indian Government in protecting the rupee and leaving the dollar and all other silver unprotected will have a vast influence on the trade of the Far East. I believe that the trade of the Far East might increase at the expense of the Indian trade, and instead of being exporters of silver we might be importers in China. I am convinced that before long the trade of China will have increased in the same proportion as the trade of India has increased. The trade of India has increased between 1872 and 1892 from £54,000,000 to £108,000,000, and how people legislating for a country like England could in the face of figures of this kind adopt measures like this passes my comprehension. I very heartily propose that we recommend to the Government that the Japanese yen be made a legal tender in this colony.
Mr. GRANVILLE SHARP - I am sure that we are much indebted to Mr. Keswick for the very interesting account he has given us of the history of this movement and the present position of affairs. You will all of you know that this matter has not been new ground by any means. It has been before the Chamber for the last 20 years within a few months. It has been frequently proposed since 1873 that the Japanese yen should be made legal tender in Hongkong and on every occasion upon which it has been discussed in this room the discussion has resulted in a stronger emphasising and a more general expression of the desire for a British dollar, in which I am sure every Briton in this colony will sympathise and which will also be felt by other nationals who are here. The first discussion took place in December, 1873. There were two meetings held and the adjourned meeting which was held resulted in a resolution, proposed by Mr. Whittall, of Messrs. Jardine, Matheson and Co. and seconded by Mr. Kay, the Manager of the Chartered Bank, that every effort should be made to obtain by all practicable means a British dollar for Hongkong. On February 16th, 1877, the banks in the colony united in a memorial to the Government, which was supported by the Chamber of Commerce, that the home Government should be induced to take steps for the provision of a British dollar for Hongkong with a view to the ultimate re-establishment of the Hongkong Mint. On March 7th, 1878, at another meeting of the Chamber of Commerce the subject was again brought forward and Mr. Ryrie, who was then Chairman, proposed a resolution, which was supported by Mr. Jackson, that the Hongkong Mint be re-established and every step possible and practicable should be taken with that end in view. From 1878 to 1886 the matter remained very quiet, when we were awakened by an application from Singapore begging and praying the Chamber of Commerce to unite with them in obtaining a British dollar for Hongkong, Singapore, and the Straits Settlements. On May 31st, 1887, a new event happened in the offer which the Government received from the Japanese Government to coin a yen for Hongkong, Singapore, and the Straits at 1 per cent. This was declined by the Chamber for a variety of reasons—it was thought undesirable at that time to enter into the arrangement. I think that we shall all agree that our present currency is inadequate and unsuitable. We have the currency of 1843 in 1893. We are still burning the rushlight in the days of electric currents. (Laughter.) It may be deemed economical to use a dollar which is made and sent already for use to us here, but I think it is...