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No. 5.
Further Observations by Sir C. Trevelyan.
MY Memorandum has, as I expected, elicited an able and extended expo- sition of the subject from Mr. Arbuthnot, whose conclusions are supported by the high authority of Mr. Pennington.
To promote the circulation of the sovereign at Hong Kong in preference to the dollar or any other coin, formed no part of the object of my Memorandum. The point to which I considered it my duty to direct attention, in the rapidly increasing state of our connection with China, was the serious public loss arising from the difference between the rate at which the dollar could be obtained in China, either by the sale of bills of exchange on the spot, or by remittance from this country, and that at which it was issued to the Military, Naval, and Civil Establishments under the Proclamation of 1844. The remedy which I suggested was a revision of the Proclamation, while Mr. Arbuthnot is of opinion that the Proclamation should be entirely revoked, and that the rate at which the dollar is to be issued to the public establishments should be fixed by specific regu- lation, and Mr. Pennington appears to agree in this view. Any measures which may be practicable for preventing or mitigating loss from incorrect valuation of coins in the case of Government payments may, no doubt, be effected as well by official regulation as by Order in Council and Proclamation; but, instead of discussing the subject further at present, it may be advisable to obtain the opinion of the Governor, the Commander of the forces, and the Commissariat officer at Hong Kong, who will be able to furnish useful practical information, which will perhaps place the matter in new points of view.
C. E. TREVELYAN. Treasury, September 27, 1858.
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