291
Mackintosh, Manager of the Tientsin branch, (2) of
a memorandum by the Agent at Peking, Mr. E. G. Hil-
lier (3) extracts from a letter of Mr. J. G. Peter,
sub-manager at Hongkong, to Mr. Hillier; (4) & let-
ter dated July 7th 1903 from the Hongkong Managers
of the Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China
and the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation
to the Colonial Secretary.
Both Mr. Mackintosh and Mr. Hillier confirm
the observations contained in the memorandum as to
the high premium commanded by the British dollar,
and they agree that its extended use as currency in
China helps to strengthen the prestige of Great Brit-
-ain. As Mr. Hillier well says, the thorough work-
manship and solid qualities of the British coin
would symbolise to the Chinese the principles on
which our national reputation has been built up in
China, its extensive circulation would impress them
with a sense of the dimensions of British trade,
and it would furnish a standard of excellence from
Mr. Mackintosh's suggestion is that the Indian
Mints should reduce their seignorage charge. The
letter of the Secretary of State in Council for In-
dia, quoted in enclosure 4 in this despatch, shows
that the rate of seignorage is not the only diffi-
culty, and that the Indian Mints for several years to
come must give precedence to their own needs in the
way of coining rupees, and to satisfying the re-
quirements of the Straits Settlements before any
Eritish dollars could be coined for Hongkong.
The Managers of the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank-
ing Corporation and the Chartered Mercantile Bank of
India, Australia and China ended their letter of
July 1903, to the Colonial Secretary of Hongkong with
the suggestion that, if the Indian Government did
not see their way to modifying their proposal to
double the selgnorage and to reconsidering their in-
tention of giving priority to both India and the
Straits, the only alternative would be to re-establish
the
which China, in the currency reforms to come, would
find it difficult to retrograde.
Mr.