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Enclosure in No..213.

ORDINANCE No. IV. OF 1899.

(As amended by Ordinance XIII. of 1903, IV. of 1904, III.* of 1905, and I., V., XXIII., and XXVI. of 1906.)

An Ordinance to provide for the Issue of Government Paper Currency.

[28th February, 1899.]

(L.S.) C. B. H. MITCHELL,

Governor and Commander-in-Chief.

Whereas it is desirable that there should be an issue of Government Paper Currency to supplement the issue of Notes by the Banks:

It is hereby enacted by the Governor of the Straits Settlements with the advice

and consent of the Legislative Council thereof as follows:-

This Ordinance may be cited as "The Currency Note Ordinance, 1899."

1.

2

In this Ordinance-

The expression "Secretary of State" means one of Her Majesty's Principal

Secretaries of State.

The expression "current coin" means coin which is for the time being legal

tender in the Straits Settlements.

Note Issue.

10.

3.-(1) A Board of Commissioners of Currency (in this Ordinance referred to as "the Commissioners ") shall be established for the purpose of this Ordinance and Currency, shall consist of the persons for the time being lawfully discharging the duties of Colonial Secretary and Treasurer and of one other person nominated by the Governor.

Power to

(2) The Commissioners shall have an office at Singapore and may employ such officers and persons as may be from time to time authorised by the Governor,

(3) Any act of the Commissioners may be signified in writing under the handa of the Commissioners.

(4) If any Commissioner is for the time being unable to act the Governor may appoint a fit person to act in his place during such inability.

†4.--(1) Subject to the provisions of this Ordinance the Commissioners may lesne notes. from time to time provide and issue and re-issue in exchange either for current coin or for notes previously issued under this Ordinance notes (in this Ordinance referred to as" currency notes ").

Denomina-

tion and form of - notes.

(2) A currency note shall be a promise on the part of the Government of the Straits Settlements to pay to the bearer on demand the amount named therein; and the amount required for such payment shall be a charge on the moneys and securities in the hands of the Commissioners under this Ordinance and on the general revenue of the Colony; and if a sum is required to meet any such note and the said moneys are insufficient to meet it the sum shall forthwith on the demand of the Commissioners be issued under the order of the Governor out of that general revenue in priority to all other charges except those charged thereon by any Ordi- nance passed before this Ordinance and for the time being payable.

(3) The holder of a currency note shall be entitled to obtain on demand during the usual banking hours at the office of the Commissioners payment in current coin of the amount expressed in the note; but it shall be lawful for the Commissioners to require a person when presenting notes to accept such current coin as the Com- missioners may tender provided that nothing in this Section shall entitle the Com- missioners to require such person to accept subsidiary silver coin in excess of the sum for which such subsidiary silver coin is legal tender.

(4) Notwithstanding anything in this Section contained it shall be lawful for the Commissioners from such date as shall be notified by Order of the Governor in Council published in the Gazette to require a person when presenting notes to accept the equivalent in gold of the notes so presented at the rate fixed under the provisions of this Ordinance.

5. (1) Currency notes may be for the following denominations namely one dollar five dollars ten dollars twenty dollars fifty dollars one hundred dollars and

• The amendment made by this Ordinance was repealed by Ordinance I of 1906.

† As amended by Ordinance XXVI of 1906.

A.

133

any multiple of one hundred dollars and the amount of notes of each denomination shall be such as may be fixed by the Commissioners with the approval of a Secretary of State.

(2) Currency notes shall be in such form and of such design and printed from such plate and on such paper and be authenticated in such manner (whether by the signatures of the Commissioners for the time being or facsimiles of those signatures or otherwise) as may be approved by the Secretary of State.

(3) The plate shall be prepared and kept and the notes printed issued and cancelled under such regulations as a Secretary of State may make for the purpose of preventing fraud and improper issue.

6.

A currency note shall be a legal tender in the Straits Settlements of the Notts to he amount expressed therein except a tender by the Commissioners at their office or a legal tender by any bank lawfully authorised to issue notes in redemption of its own tender.

notes.

7.-(1) Subject as hereinafter mentioned the current coin received in exchange Appl for currency notes shall form the Note Guarantee fund and be held in the Colony by tion of the Commissioners for meeting the payment of the notes and shall not be applied for resel any other purpose.

(3) of the Note Guarantee fund a portion (in this Ordinance referred to as the coin portion of the fund) not being less than the fixed proportion hereinafter men- tioned shall be in coin and shall be kept in the custody of the Commissioners but the balance may be invested as hereinafter mentioned and the portion so invested is in this Ordinance referred to as the investment portion of the fund.

(8) The coin portion of the fund shall not be less than the fixed proportion of the notes for the time being in circulation and if necessary the securities forming the investment portion of the fund shall be sold so as to prevent the coin portion falling below the fixed proportion;

Provided that if the deficiency of the coin portion below the fixed proportion does not exceed one-fourth of that proportion the sale of securities may with the consent of the Governor be temporarily postponed for a period not exceeding three months; but until the coin portion amounts to that fixed proportion no further investment of securities shall be made and the whole income of the investment portion of the fund shall be carried to and form part of the coin portion of the fund

(4) The fixed proportion shall in the first instance be two-thirds but if the Governor satisfies a Secretary of State that having regard to the amount of notes which are always outstanding the fixed proportion may be diminished without danger to the convertibility of the currency notes and obtains the authority of a Secretary of State for the purpose he may by Proclamation fix another proportion so that it be not less in any case than one-half.

(5) Any such Proclamation may be revoked by an order of a Secretary of State without prejudice to the issue of a new Proclamation.

for notes.

7A-1) Notwithstanding anything in the last preceding Section contained it shall be lawful for the Commissioners of Currency with the approval of a Secretary of sein.

of State to use any part of the coin portion of the Note Guarantee Fund for the pur- poriler, af pose of having it reminted and coined into such coins as may be approved by His Not Majesty's Government as legal tender in the Colony. Provided always that where Fund. such approval has been given the Commissioners of Currency shall not be bound to any of the securities forming the investment portion of the Fund by reason of the coin portion of the Fund falling below the fixed proportion of the Fund in conse quence of the reminting of any part thereof.

sell

(2) All coins the result of the reminting of any part of the coin portion of the Fund shall on being received from His Majesty's Mint be forthwith placed in the Coin Reserve for the ordinary purposes of the Currency Note Issue. Provided always that the Commissioners may exchange them or any part of them for an equivalent value of other coins which for the time being are legal tender in the Colony, and it shall be lawful for the Commissioners for this purpose to hold in any part of the Colony such amount of coin as reminted as aforesaid as to them shall seem fit.

(3) The cost of such reminting as aforesaid and all charges in connection there- Cost of re with including any loss of silver caused by the said reminting and any difference in minding to the way of loss between the nominal value of coin originally taken from the coin be made

* Inserted by Ordinance XIII of 1908, and amended by Ordinance IV of 1904 and XXV1 of 1906.

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