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other coinage except that of the Colony.
The Board have instructed their Manager to try and
arrange with some of the largest recipients to act as His
Excellency suggests, but they fear that not only is there
likely to be delay in such a course, whereas the matter is
pressing, but also that such a movement may be unsuccessful
owing to the difficulty of obtaining united action.
The Board, therefore, respectfully submit to your
Lordship that it would be possible
(a). For the Hongkong Government to make such coinage
illegal and to abolish it in a similar way to that
which the British Government adopted some years ago
in getting rid of the Continental copper coinage
which was tendered to so great an extent in the
United Kingdom,
and
(b).
In any case for the Hongkong Government to give
instructions to their officials not to tender
Chinese money in change for Hongkong coinage.
In conclusion, the Board venture to trouble your
Lordship further by showing how hardly the matter operates on
this Company.
For the year ended the 31st December, 1905, the
Company's total receipts in Hongkong amounted to £25,931, and
of that amount it lost £486 through being obliged to sell the
silver coins at a discount, a loss of nearly 2%.
For the four months ended 30th April, 1906,
the
The Rt. Hon. The Earl of Elgin.