CO129-333 - Governor Nathan - 1906 [1-4] — Page 341

CVER.

Enclosure 2.

338

Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation,

Hongkong, 5th. March, 1908.

Dear Sir Matthew Nathen,

I bave been thinking over the question of the

Bank quaranteeing the coinage of a certain amount of British Dollar per annum, to induce the Indian Miots to revert to the former chares of 14 seigniorage.

The amount must be large to have any effect

and considering the currency changes in adjoining countries since the British Dollar was first introduced, and the efforts now beine

made to get the Chinese Goverduent to adopt a new coin to cir-

-culate es legal tender throughout that empire, together with the

uncertainty as to what conditions kexico will finally naxe for the

coinage of an export dollar, I regret that I do not see my way

just now to commit the Bank to a quarantee.

heferring to the copy letters sent you, it

seems to me they can hardly be used in support of a request for

reduction in the seigniorage as they rather bear out the stand

taken by the Indian Mints as to actual cost.

Mexico is so largely interested in the

export of silver that I cannot help thinking she will make her

mint charges for a dollar in demand for China as low as possible

and may therefore modify the present proposals.

I am advising our San Francisco Agent that as

a Eritish Bank it is for us in the interests of British trade and

crestige in China to push the British Dollar and to see that it

is not handicapped in cost of minting as compared with its rivei

the