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Enclosure 2.
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(AP)
Hon. Colonial Secretary,
Practically all that is relevant to this
Secretary of
matter is contained in the two Despatches
State's No. 25 of 1899 and Governor's No. 92 of 1899.
In the former the Secretary of State was
disposed to allow issue by the Mercantile Bank in case of
insufficiency of notes on same terms as the Hongkong Bank.
The Governor replied that there was no
objection in case of scarcity to the issue by the Bank but that
it would be preferable to walt the result of some years!
working of the issue in the Straits before taking action.
He also stated that there was no scarcity
at date of Despatch and that the Hongkong Bank was prepared to
issue any amount that might be required, (under the Ordinance
extending their issue on the dollar for dollar system I
presume). No further action was taken.
This illustrates two mistakes to my mind
riz.:- (1). The Governor was content with the assurance of the
Manager of the Hongkong Bank (presumably given him personally)
and (2) no precaution was taken to sea that the matter was
brought up again.
The Assistant Colonial Secretary, Colonial
Secretary, and Governor had left by 1903 and the Treasury was
never informed of the matter as termorarily decided: my own
impression all these years being that Government had decided
to shelve the question of a Government issue ingefinitely.
The notes now being at a premium shows
that the Hongkong Bank has not kept its promise and that being the case I see no objection to the issue by the Mercantile Bank as its position now is, I believe well assured. The Bank has made out an excellent case for the privilege if no Govern-
-ment issue is undertaken.
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