OPY
No.13.
sir,
198
C.0.
8707
ENCLOSURE,
RECO &
Treasury.
Rear 10 APR 19
24th. February,
1899.
for His Excellen-
I have the honour to state 1
cy's information, that I have conferred with the Chief Manager of the Hong-Kong and Shanghai Bank on the subject of next sea- son's supply of subsidiary coin and to enclose for considera-
tion the programme advised hy us.
The present stock amounts to $875,000 which however Mr. Jackson confidently anticipates will be exhausted by the time of arrival of the first shipment and I need hardly state that in this matter it is of the utmost importance to have a regular supply on hand to meet usual as well as unfore-
seen demands.
The Chief Manager is of opinion that a much
larger sum could have been disposed of last year, had the sup- ply been adequate at the proper times and that the place of our subsidiary coin was taken to a considerable extent by im- ported Japanese Silver Yen which would not have otherwise been
required by the Chinese.
From these considerations we have come to the
conclusion that a sum larger than ordinary should he ordered,
The Honourable
it
The Colonial Secretary.