CO129-301 - Governor Sir Blake - 1900 [9-12] — Page 444

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chang.

risks. At present bar silver is 11% premium, and recat-

ly owing to political troubles it was 11.40% premium but it

is frequently well below 10.89 premium.

With regard. to British Dollars the silver would

be provided by the Banks, who pay the Bombay Mint 1% for mint-

ing.The charge, we believe, leaves little or no profit, but if

the coinage of small coins should not be sufficient to keep

the Mint constantly working it might be found that the coin-

ing of British Dollars would be an advantage, and tend to

reduce the percentage of cost of coining. It may interest the

Government to know that from commencement of coining British

in

Dollars 1895 up to 5th.May last the following amounts have

been coined on account of;-

Chartered Bank Of India,▲.& C. $56,013,696.

Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Corpor: 24,222,794.

Mercantile Bank of India Ltd.,

37,248

Imperial Bank of Persia.

$2,058,780

National Bank of India.Ltd.

$264,876.

Comptoir National D'Escompte de

Paris.

Total

$261.641.

$83.559,035.

Of course by far the greater part of these coins have been

absorbed by the Straits, but as "HongKong Currency consists

of chopped Mexican Dollars (old type) which are now nearly

extinct and at any time command a good premium, there can be

no