bills will disaffect under the boycott : but surely there will be brokerage under a system:
rates from Hong Kong to Calcutta.
4. If the P.& O. freight term for taking goods via Calcutta, could they not reduce it proportionately for direct times from England to H.K?
silver
uninsured
These points should be cleared up before offering the proposal. Have you any observations to make?
C.W.
(AF)87/1 [Under the Hong Kong Coinage Ordinance of 2 Feb. 75, there could be made a city mint.]
Im Jobuson.
We should be very glad of this double-eagle business for which the infinitesimal Commission we have recently charged is to remuneration, but I fear that the proposal could not be approved without further information - as between London & Calcutta roughly is only 1.75 per $100 and this is only arrived at by assuming that the Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank is doing this business for nothing and that the funds necessary to pay for the purchase of silver in London can be transferred from Hong Kong, free of cost.
I doubt that the Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank buys by far the greater part, if not the whole, of its silver in London through Brokers and on the spot terms, and that the money may first be laid down here. Moreover, you have better terms than we have reason to suppose that the Bank can purchase silver on any condition than we can, if as good, and a difference in the price would cause the assumed profit to disaffect.
But I hope that the Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank will be able to answer these criticisms.
15781.
Draft that in terms of above