reformed whether then Ledbefe
6
Mo
en
obpilsen
Cat
Conteer with the hat
གན་ལས་
pine athi Porlam chroin of 20. Apul
a 2 May st be offroved -
Wher
< the Marlin the muit
saying hit balfamanon will thank him to pin this left. the benefit of
र्ट
Zu derrations
in the several questions
amatters raised in the defalit x 10
accompanying enclosures.
So prouid at
But what of the Cails Props ?
If I remember Eisse lift England.
11/9.:
90
it has
Evening Mail
7
You May.
AN event, the importance of which to the Colony of Hongkong cau scarcely be over- rated by the Community took place this morning. The Hongkong mint was for- mally opened for the public service by His Excellency the Governor; though the de- sirability of avoiding the great disturb- ance to work which would have necessari- ly ensued, had the general public been ad- mitted rendered it advisable that His Ex- cellency's visit should be rather of a priv- ate than a public nature,
By the courtesy of Sir R. Macdonnell we are in a position to describe the semi- official ceremony of ushering into light the first legal Hongkong dollar. His Ex- cellency and Lady McDonnell, Mr Mercer and Lieut. Stewart arrived at the mint about 1 A.M. Captain Kinder the Super- intendent of the Mint then proceeded to show the Governor and party the details of the various processes by which the white metal recoived in the shape of ingots, used up dollars, and, in one case at least a service of plate, became fashioned into that as yet rare and coveted article a Hongkong dollar.
They were first of all taken to the bul- lion room were apoplectic jute bags were piled in layers each filled with a certain amount of the old and ill used Spanish currency. In pigeon holes made to re-
up
ceive them, were large and heavy ingots, some of pure metal and some of melted Mexican or Spanish dollars. The total value of bullion and dollars received for récoining up to the present date amounts to $2,000,000 (Two million of dollars) so the energetic master of the mint is not likely have his hands empty for some little time.
From the bullion room Captain Kinder led his visitors to the smelting room, where in some dozen furnaces each at an intense heat, but so ingeniously built that the temperature was anything but as warm as might have been expected, silver shoes of sycee were being melted. From this they proceeded to the rolling room where the large and unsightly masses of silver are reduced by being passed through three powerful machines, into ribbons of the necessary thickness for punching there- from the round silver counters which ultimately form dollars. It
was in
1866.
this room that the accident occurred a short time since, which threatened to se- riously cripple the mechanical powers of the establishment; a large cast iron cog wheel some nine feet in diameter having fractured at its periphery into three pieces Fortunately no one was hurt on this oc- casion, but while admitting and cordially admiring the beautiful machinery fitted for the purposes of the establishment, wa may be permitted to point out one or two defects of detail, which if not amended may someday result in serious accident to the employés if not in a total and length- ened stoppage of the coining machi- nery. In the first place duplicates of ail parts of the machinery are urgently want- ed. The enormous cogwheels used to transmit motive power to the heavy rol- ling machines are all cast with iron cogs ; he fracture of a single cog may not only damage the machine most seriously, but also endanger human life, and we cannot see what reason there is for neglecting to adopt the hard wood cogs in use for the multiplying gear of screw steamers, as for rolling presses regularity of action is not of such supreme importance as for other machines. Secoudly some means ought to be adopted for stopping the engine in less time than it now takes; at present the only means of checking the revolution of the immense and massive flywheel is to reverse the steam; but any one acquainted with locomotive machinery is aware how long a time it takes to overcome the mo- mentum of a heavy moving mass travel- ling at a speed of something like 60 miles an hour. Breaks might easily be applied which would effect the desired object. With this slight degression we return to His Excellency's visit,
Sir
After leaving the rolling room Richard and Lady Macdonnell proceeded to the stamping room where the round dumps of silver receive the obverse and reverse impression which creates them into dollars. A dump having been handed to Lady McDonnell she placed it in one of the stamping machines and the FIRST LEGAL DOLLAR was coined in Hongkong. The dies cannot be considered Master- pieces of the die sinkers art. In beauty of appearance the New Hongkong dollar is considerably inferior to the floris or even the old half crown. It is thought
84
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.