Hongkong & Thanghui Pkg. Corpon : London:
Copy of letter from the Chief Manager, Hongkong Bank, Hongkong, to Sir Charles Addie. September 19th, 1918,
69
:
My dear Addis,
I enclose copy of your telegram of 14th inst., also of my reply of date on the subject of exporting Silver dollars from Hongkong to Shanghai.
Personally I should refuse to consider such a suggestion well realising the disaster to which it would lead and I am glad to say my views are very strongly backed up by the Hongkong Govern- ment.
As an instance of Chinese sensitiveness I would mention
that a couple of years ago when we shipped a fair amount of coin to India, it was rumoured amongst Chinese that the British Govt. were hard up and had to take the funds of the H. & S. B. C., the
result being withdrawal of deposits in Bangkok and an uneasy feel- ing re Bank notes in Swatow and South China generally. Our Note
issue is the sheet anchor of the H. & S. B. C. and of the whole of
the South China trade and any tampering with the cash reserve
would be nothing short of criminal folly. The consequence of any
loss of confidence in Hongkong currency would reach far beyond the
confines of this Colony and be a real disaster to British interests
in the Far East. In any case the stock of dollars here is by no
means excessive and I consider that we should not have too much if
the balance was $ 50 lace higher. I am quite certain that anyone
fully acquainted with conditione in these parts would strongly
endorse my opinion.
Apart from the above considerations there
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