Zou ik

the price will

remain statte

That being

J

dors not advance.

we clearly be

undesirable & proud

forced

ar present

though it might concinally be worth considering

ů

for years

time

گران

if we have their same

prounds for thinking the juice will fall

and (2)

Are

dan get

over

The Weasury Rejection

121/19.

ей рома

the fans & off the Wellen.

that objection, the fremut

to regards

is not quite

A

fan with cares

Where the

Goth one - but there in

with issues a

B

(pr×

(8124)

go into that with casme now.

Sent 11.10 ou

9.8.3

26. Febig? Zl. for. Whoug

undisquise

by hit 1026 Shirking ton conversion

ليد

Bise

ased

After consulting treasury spot canest athirve prodrank dermulish

Purporal Desfetch followm

Milner

and confirin Gy desk. Sending out

of To Wellin

Kpr 25/2/19.

and At once A&P

and copy of this letter and

our tel. to C. A. L.F.

25.2

Ay

ה

Any reply to this letter should be addressed tum

THE SECRETARY,

TREASURY,

WHITEBALL, LONDON, S. W. 1. and the following number quoted.

6817

19

Sir,

RECE

287

TREASURY CHAMBERS

C.O

2 February 1919.

11702

(RES: FLB 19 3 So

I have laid before the Lords Commissioners of

His Majesty's Treasury the correspondence forwarded in Sir G.V.Fiddes' letter of the 12th instant (8121/19), on the subject of the proposed conversion of the Hong Kong 3% Sterling Loan into a silver loan.

In reply i am to request you to inform Viscount Milner that from the point of view of the London market and exchange My Lords would naturally welcome a substantial remittance from Hong Kong.

Whether the Colonial Government would be well advised from their point of view to carry out the proposed conversion is of course not primarily a matter for this Board. The proposal is however in effect a speculation which dependa for its success on the fall in the near future of the price of silver and the maintenance of the dollar exchange over a period of twenty four years at a mean rate not higher than 2/8 which corresponds to a

8.d

silver price of about 38d an ounce. considerable doubt (so far as They can form an opinion)

My Lords feel whether the price of silver is likely for some considerable period to fall to this figure.

In Their opinion the Colonial Government should weigh very carefully the observations of the Crown Agents

in their letter of the 4th instant.

I am to add with reference to paragraph 3 of

Mr. Severn's despatch (No.308) of the 2nd November last

Under Secretary of State,

Colonial Office.

that

डी

:

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