23 CA
4.8
8
Have released £₤165-000 47% Funding
Loan Bonds 1960.90
and £130.
000
5% Conversion Loan Bonde 1944-64 to the Bank
£300
من میشه
ми
et change for
ove 47% Funding Loan Bonds
1960-90
(The exchange in 23 is curious)
?
Wok Putty 22
Duft 23 to Treas? LFM/18
17 Martin 6.8.31
1.07
74 To Juas. (Me 23) - Bish —
J.A. Calder
6.8.31
Four
Page
Page
Thissh?
· so on
82703/X.K.
25. Treasury (0/0)
when available.
Sir Campbell.
Hong Kong Currency.
age 9
x 9
15 July 31
The Chartered Bank of China, India and
Australia wrote to the Treasury propo sing an
increase in the amount of their note currency
which is at present limited to $30,000,000.
Mr. Waley arranged for a conference with the
Chairman of the Bank, Mr. Bruce, and askedme to
be present. Mr. Clauson and I went to the
Treasury accordingly but, unfortunately, Mr. Waley
had been called away and therefore I had to take
charge of the discussion.
The Chartered Bank have put in a draft
of a revised Charter which has been under
We
consideration by the Treasury and ourselves for
a long time. We have gone on the principle that
it is to be regarded as a consolidating Charter
(their present Charter and supplemental Charters
constitute an almost inextricable muddle).
have agreed to alterations which merely represent
eliminating provisions which have actually become
obsolete, but we have told the Bank that we think
it better not to introduce any amendments which
would constitute a change of practice. I therefore
told Mr. Bruce that we were disposed to keep to
this point of view and that we should not like to
introduce into the new consolidating Charter an
alteration in the limiting figure of the Bank's
note issue. The Bank quite appreciate this and
accordingly suggest that there should be a short
supplemental Charter altering the figure for the
note issue, and that the consolidating Charter
should be proceeded with later on.
A
age 9
Page
Page
10
A new Charter or a supplemental,
Charter has to go before the Privy Council. I cannot remember exactly what the procedure
is, but there is undoubtedly a document which
must pass the Great Seal, and this cannot be
done without a Council Meeting. There will be
a Council Meeting on July 28th, and the date of
the next one is quite uncertain. I think,
therefore, and I told Mr. Bruce, that it is
absolutely impossible to get through a
supplemental Charter, should we decide in favour
of one,in time. Mr. Bruce suggested that the
Bank might be authorised to exceed their issue
limit and that the matter might be put right
later on by a supplemental Charter. So far as
I can make out, if we let them exceed their
limit, they would merely be transgressing the
terms of their Charter and rendering themselves
liable to its forfeiture. Of course if they
did it with the concurrence of the Treasury and
ourselves, there would be no question of
forfeiture, and I do not think that they would be
committing any breach of the law of Hong Kong
or would be liable to any penalty in that
Colony. Therefore I think that in the last
resort we could, if the Treasury agreed, tell
the Bank that they might exceed their Charter
limit and that no ill results should follow.
But I do not like playing tricks with such
things as Royal Charters, and would certainly
not advise such action except in a grave
emergency.
I therefore pressed Mr. Bruce to
say
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