CO882-(1-2) — Page 308

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

Reference :-

C.O. 882

1

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

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be -as that which would, in every way, most consonant with the views of the colonists, and

most consistent with the convenience of all parties.

102. I have now shown that these plans are A Gold or Silver equally practicable, equally in accordance with the standard equally

practicable.

strictest principles, and each capable of being adopted with strict justice to all existing interests.

most desirable ?

I will now shortly consider which is the most Which plan is desirable, which would be most easily accomplished, and which would be attended with the greatest present and future convenience to the island, and attended with least loss.

103. The only possible advantage that I can dis- cover in adopting the gold standard, if real advàn- tage it is, would be, that we should establish a uni- formity between the monetary system of Mauritius and the United Kingdom. But this uniformity between two parts of the Empire distant from each other by many thousand miles, and so far as the Government is concerned, having monetary trans- actions so small as not to deserve to be mentioned, would be at the cost of a want of uniformity be- tween the plan adopted by the Government of Mauritius and the entire community of the island.

104. This uniformity between England and the Mauritius is moreover a mere matter of fancy, even so far as the monetary transactions of the Government are concerned. These are chiefly confined to the drawing of bills by the Commissariat Department on the Treasury, for the payment of troops. If the cur- rency be in standard gold, the Commissary-General will receive 1001, in gold for his draft of 1001, at par; if the exchange gave him a premium, of course he would receive more. If, on the other hand, the he would receive for his currency were in rupees, 1007. bill 1076 rupees at par, and any premium it might be worth at the moment in addition, the same as if in gold; and the 1076 rupees would be of precisely the same value to him in paying the troops, as the 1001. would have been. I know of no other advantage than this imaginary one, which would attend the introduction of the gold standard and a reformed sterling currency. The experience of ludia shows how little it in.

105. But the inconveniences would be very great and numerous in adjusting existing obligations cutered into and expressed in a diver standard tó'a

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gold standard; though, as I have pointed out, it is perfectly practicable to do so.

106. The advantages of adhering to the present system of a Silver standard and a Rupee circu- lation, as established for years past, are very nuiner- ous and cogent.

107. (1.) There is nothing more desirable in any country, but especially in a small community, than that there should be one uniform system of keeping accounts, of coin in circalation, and of money in account. If it were attempted to persevere in introducing a gold standard and English money in sccount, half a century might elapse before it was accomplished. The Government introduced the English system of accounts in 1825; to this day it has not been imitated, as far as I know, by a single person. It is true that the absence of the sovereign from the circulation may have partly led to this re- sult; but we all know how difficult it is to change the custom of a people in this respect. Whereas if the Government adopt the plan actually now in exist- ence, with proper adjustments the Mauritius eur- rency could he rendered as perfect as that of Great Britain; and that uniformity so much desired could be obtained in three months, without any difficulty or even temporary inconvenience to any one. The inconvenience of adopting the gold standard would be greatly aggravated by the fact that the present money in account, the Dollar, in which all obligations are expressed, and the present coin in circulation,

the Rupan, do not form aliquot parts of a pound, and

never can do so until it can be shown that 165 and 330 gus. of silver are aliquot parts of 1774 grs. of silver.

108. (2.) The system actually in existence in Magrition is of itmelf, all other considerations apart, unqusationally the most perfect and convenient of the twn. No one will deny the advantages of a decimal or mother continimal currency over our most troublesome and primimous system of £a. d., and rape- cially in a country whose it had been used from time orish, and where the people generally under- Thole possunt currency in amoonutris mony in circndation in

nly 10 sents or half-undellar,

› coin'in circulatio