228
I have made no allowance for the cost of shipment, freight, and insurance t the country where the silver is required nor for brokerage or Crown Agents' com mission on the sale..
The Peninsular and Oriental rates (freight and insurance) to Bombay or The British India rate to Calcutta are per cent., against 10s. 9d. to London. Calcutta is per cent. freight insurance being 5 cents per cent.
If the $12,500,000 cold dollars) were sold at 27d., the difference to be made good to the vault from the gold standard reserve will be £272,522, thus leaving In the Reserve C52.013, or if the charges for shipment (say to India at per cent.) be included, a further deduction of per cent, on the bullion value of $17,250,000 at 27d
viz. £1,636,418 should be deducted from the balance of £52,043. deduction will amount to £5,454 odd
This
The price of 27d per oz was arrived at in accordance with the instructions given me by His Excellency the Governor to prepare an estimate which would leave us about half a million dollars for our gold standard reserve.
229
ment with Messrs. Aird was not that it should be used as a medium of remittance, but to assist the Currency Commissioners in repaying the advances which have been made to them here.
2. It appeared to us that as the amounts involved in the transfers were not large and were, moreover, required to meet a special demand, they could probably be carried through by the Currency Commissioners without seriously affecting the local circulation of currency, while at the same time we were able to obtain for them a peculiarly satisfactory rate of exchange.
I have, &c.,
7939
No. 281.
E. E. BLAKE.
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
TTC.O. 882
9
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH—NOT TO
12 January, 1909
+
6497
No. 280.
J. O. ANTHONISZ,
Treasurer
CROWN AGENTS to COLONIAL OFFICE. (Received 23 February, 1909.)
Whiteball Gardens, London, S.W., 22 February, 1909.
Straits Settlements.
SIR,
WITH reference to our letter of the 4th of December,* I have the honour to enclose, for the information of the Secretary of State, a copy of a letter which we have since received from the Government of the Straits Settlements, together with a copy of our reply.
I have, &c.,
GENTLEMEN,
Enclosure 1 in No. 280.
E. E. BLAKE.
Colonial Secretary's Office, Singapore, 8th January, 1909. WITH reference to paragraph 5 of your letter, 376 A, Straits and Federated Malay States, of the 4th ultimo, I am directed to inform you that the course suggested has already been adopted in the case of the last remittance to Sir John Aird & Co., which took place on the 31st December.
2. At the time that your proposal was first put forward this Government was not remitting to England and could not take advantage of your offer. The Currency Commissioners also were not in a position to make remittances for investments, as it was considered advisable to suspend such operations until the reminting was finished. It appeared to me that it would be a mistake to lose the opportunity of effecting such transfers independently of the banks, and the Federated Malay States Government, who were remitting largely, were accordingly asked to consider your offer, which they accepted.
I have, &c.,
SIR,
CROWN AGENTS to COLONIAL OFFICE. (Received 6 March, 1909.)
has
Whitehall Gardens, London, S.W., 5 March, 1909. I HAVE the honour to report that the recoinage into dollar and half-dollar pieces of the Straits dollars which were sent to this country for that purpose been completed. The following shows the nominal value of the dollars received and returned :—
Total number of old dollars received
Nominal value of dollars and half-dollars shipped
in return
$14,255,000
$19,007,372
As four of the new dollars (of 312 grains each) are equal in weight to three of the old (of 416 grains each) the number of standard weight new dollars and half- dollars receivable in exchange for the $14,255,000 shipped home should bo $19,006,666.66. As shown above, however, coins to the nominal value of $19,007,372 were actually shipped to the Colony, showing a surplus in favour of the Government of $705, which would be accounted for by the variation from the standard weight.
2. Coins to the nominal value of $13,674,038.50 (new dollars) were struck at the Royal Mint, but these include a number of blanks supplied to that Department by the Birmingham Mint. The balance were wholly manufactured by the Birmingham Mint.
3. We have asked the Colonial Government to inform us what number of dollars it is proposed to ship to this country and when they may be expected here.
I have, &c.,
P. EZECHIEL,
for Crown Agents.
ARTHUR YOUNG,
Colonial Secretary,
Straits Settlements.
SIR,
Enclosure 2 in No. 280.
Whitehall Gardens, S. W., 18 February, 1909.
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 8th January, No. 8111/1908, and to state that reference to paragraph 5 of our letter of the 4th December, No. 876 A, will show that our object in suggesting the arrange-
• No. 275.
$1104
د