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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

Reference :-

TLC.O. 882

9

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON:

ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH NOT TO

4227

No. 197.

THE GOVERNOR to THE SECRETARY OF STATE.

(Received 2nd February, 1907.)

[Copy to Crown Agents, 19th February, 1907. L.F.] [Answered by Nos. 199 and 200.]

(No. 6.) MY LORD,

Government House, Singapore, 8th January, 1907. I HAVE the honour to inform your Lordship that in a letter of the 29th November last to the address of the Colonial Secretary, Straits Settlements, the Crown Agents have suggested that Section 8 of the Currency Note Ordinance, 1899 (copies of which are annexed for convenience of reference),* might well be amended so as to allow the investment of a portion of the Note Guarantee Fund in the securities of this Government.

2. The fund (including the Depreciation Fund) now holds sterling securities of the nominal value of £915,416, of which the sum of £532,717 is in consols and Imperial guaranteed securities, and is thus in a very strong position.

3. In their letter the Crown Agents point out that the new loan, being a large one, will require all the support that it may be possible to give to it, and it would be greatly to the interest of the Colonial Government if some portion of it could be taken up as suggested, even if such holding should eventually be disposed of.

4. This Government is in favour of the suggestion and it is proposed, with your Lordship's concurrence, to amend the Ordinance so as to enable a portion of the fund, not exceeding one-quarter, to be invested in securities of the Straits Settlements Government.

4233

(No. 12.) MY LORD,

No. 198.

I have, &c.,

JOHN ANDERSON.

THE GOVERNOR to THE SECRETARY OF STATE.

(Received 2nd February, 1907.)

[Copy to Treasury, 12th March, 1907. L.F.]

[Answered by No. 207.]

Government House, Singapore, 10th January, 1907. I HAVE the honour to request that your Lordship will be good enough to formally approve of the withdrawal, when deemed expedient, of the Order in Council which prohibited the importation into this Colony of British and Mexican dollars. Copies of this Order in Council were forwarded to the Colonial Office under cover of Sir F. A. Swettenham's despatch, No. 431, of the 7th October, 1903,† and approval was conveyed by telegram from the Secretary of State on the 13th [? 20th] November, 1903.‡

2. It has been pointed out that some hardship may be experienced by ignorant coolies who are returning to China with their savings when the new dollar becomes current. At present, when a coolie takes a Straits dollar to China, he receives for it at least the value of a dollar current in China since, the Straits dollar being of the same weight and fineness as a dollar which is current in China, the coolie, however much he may be cheated over exchange, cannot be forced to exchange it for less than such a dollar.

3. As, however, the new dollar will be intrinsically worth considerably less than the dollar current in China, the coolie who takes Straits dollars there will be at the mercy of money-changers. It is advisable, therefore, that there should be facilities in the Straits Settlements for the exchange of Straits dollars for other dollars current in Hongkong and China. I propose that the prohibition should be withdrawn in about six or eight months' time.

• See Enclosure in No. 213.

† No. 45.

41229: not printed.

4.

In this connection I would refer your Lordship to paragraph 63 of the report of the Straits Settlements Currency Committee, 1903.

4227

No. 199.

I have, &c..

JOHN ANDERSON.

THE SECRETARY OF STATE to THE GOVERNOR. (Sent 2.50 p.m., 12th February, 1907.)

TELEGRAM.

Referring to your despatch, No. 6, 8th January,* regret cannot approve pro- posal. Despatch follows by mail.-ELGIN.

4227

No. 200.

THE SECRETARY OF STATE to THE GOVERNOR. [Copy to Crown Agents, 19th February, 1907. L.F.]

(No. 58.)

SIR,

Downing Street, 15th February, 1907.

I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your despatch, No. 6, of the 8th _ultimo,* proposing that the Currency Note Ordinance, 1899, should be amended so as to allow the investment of a portion of the Note Guarantee Fund in the securities of the Colony.

As I have informed you in my telegram of the 12th instant, I regret to be unable to sanction the proposal. The notes are already secured by the general revenue of the Colony, under Section 4 (2) of the Ordinance, but in addition to this security the Ordinance properly requires the whole of the money received in If exchange for notes to be held in coin or invested as a special note reserve. investments were to be made in Straits Settlements stock, it would, be just as well (so far as security in concerned) to spend the sum in question without investing it at all, since Straits Settlements stock is only secured by the general revenue of the Colony, on which the notes are already a prior charge.

5912

No. 201.

I have, &c.,

ELGIN.

THE GOVERNOR to THE SECRETARY OF STATE. (Received 16th February, 1907.)

[Answered by No. 209.]

(Confidential.)

MY LORD,

Government House, Singapore, 24th January, 1907. WITH reference to your Lordship's confidential despatch of the 13th of December ultimo,§ regarding the re-coinage of the Straits dollar and subsidiary coins, I have the honour to forward, for your Lordship's information, a copy of a letter addressed to the Treasurer by the agent of the Netherlands Trading Society regarding the redundancy of subsidiary coins.

2. I hope that the re-coining of the subsidiary coin will not be long delayed, as there can be no doubt that the complaint as to the redundancy is well founded.

I have, &c.,

JOHN ANDERSON.

• No. 197.

↑ No. 200.

No. 199.

í No. 184.