CO129-331 - Public Offices - 1905 — Page 294

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regarding the need for a British Dollar for trade

purposes in China.

As a result of correspondence during 1894 and

earlier years, with regard to the need for a Trade

Dollar to circulate in the Straits Settlements and

China, an agreement was entered into on the 14th De-

cember 1894 between the Secretary of State of the one

part and the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corpora-

tion and the Chartered Bank of India, Australia and

China of the other part, for the coinage of a British

Dollar at the Bombay Mint.

Under this agreement British Dollars were coined

to the number of 156,166,427, the charge for seignior-

age being 1%

Besides circulating in the Straits Settlements,

Hongkong and the Colony of Labuan, where the coin had

been declared legal tender, it was also accepted by

the State of North Borneo. It further found great

favour