OP Y.
sir,
Hongkong General Chamber of Commerce,
Hongkong, 11th.December, 1907.
C.0.
12004
ADD 08
I am directed to acknowledge the receipt of
your letter of the 7th, ultimo (No. 7746/1907) inquiring whether this Chamber has any objection to the introduction of legislation prohibiting the circulation of all Bank Notes other than those already authorised.
My Committee have given this matter their consideration and would point out that under the Order of 30th. March, 1895, legal tender in this Colony is confined to the Mexican, British and Hongkong Dollars and that persons accept- -ing Bank Notes whether forming part of the authorised issues of local banks, or of others not so authorised, do so at their own risk.
It appears that under Section 3 of the Bank Note Ordinance No. 2 of 1895 no Bank can make, issue, or circulate within the Colony bank notes payable to bearer on demand except with the previous sanction of His Majesty's Principal Secretary of State and the local banks which have such permission are taxed at the rate of 1 per centum per annum on their average daily circulation under the Stamp Ordinance of 1901, whereas bank notes issued by Banks having no local habitation obtain circulation of their notes free of tax, which is an apparent hardship on the banks who have authorised issues, and a loss of revenue to the Hongkong Government.
The Committee of this Chamber note that
section 7 of the 1901 Stamp Ordinance reads as follows:- *All documents whatever executed out of the Colony shall, before being used, brought into force, or registered within the Colony,
be stamped according to the rate of duty which they would have
n. F. H. May, C.M.G.,
Colonial Secretary,
been
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