desires me to offer the following ob-
servations. No weight need be attached,
in his opinion, to the distinction
drawn by the Chartered Bank between
the positions of the Governments of
that the bott
you Hong Kong and the Straits Settlements
He don not faite fullout
resument contained in
бъ
the letter from the Chartered to
Bank
for these sead destandigh
Some myun
at the
whim
was established
at Singapore.
As their Lordships are aware, the
latter Government issued currency
ག༽
noter imme
A
notes before the value of the dollar
was fixed in relation to gold and
before any steps towards that end were
even contemplated.
3.
But Lord Crewe feels that
the Government of Hong Kong espec-
-
ially at a time when the financial
situation is far from satisfactory -
would hardly be justified in under-
taking to issue notes either in place
1
of or as subsidiary to the notes is
to,
sued by the Chartered Bank and the
Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank.
The
price
And since investment fnd souvriting & local investments are
to
38
price of silver at the present is so
low that it seems probable that any
future change will have an upward
tendency. If, as proposed by
the Governor, 50 % of the fund held
against the notes is held in gold or
in gold securities, the Government may
witi be exposed to a heavy liability
which the investments will not cover.
Lord Crewe is unable to accept the
proposal put forward by Sir Paul
Chater that 50 % of the Reserve
fund
Fard should be invested in mortgages
in the Colony: the objections to such
a course are obvious, since at the
time when confidence is shaken and
a run on the notes occurs, local
investments would be almost unrealiz-
olysction, the issue 7 hoves by the bout would
catly & un progitabl costly undertaking
be
A h
able.
4. If, hereafter the currency
of China should be placed on a gold
standard, Hong Kong would no doubt
follow