CO129-382 - Public Offices - 1911 — Page 277

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interests of the already depreciated silver coinage of the province which will be further depreciated by any fresh issues of coin.

2. The financial crisis at present existing is, as your Excellency is no doubt aware, largely due to the issue of bank notes by private Chinese banks without proper security for their redemption, in defiance of the regulations issued by the Ministry of Finance with the sanction of the Chinese Government on the 29th July, 1909. The following private Chinese banks have to my knowledge failed recently owing to their being unable to cash their own notes issued by them without proper security:

The Tek Boan Cheang Bank, Swatow;

The Ewo Bank, Swatow;

and it is possible that other banks in other parts of China have failed for the same reason, Chinese and foreigners alike are affected by the financial crisis thus created, and in the interests of the trade of the colony I would ask you to draw the most serious attention of the Chinese Government to the disastrous consequences of the blind disregard of regulations the observance of which prudence, if nothing else, should have dictated.

I have, &c.

F. H. MAY,

Officer administering the Government.

Enclosure 2 in No. 1.

Extract from "South China Morning Post" of October 19, 1910.

Commencement of the Minting of Subsidiary Coinage.

THE Canton mint or currency factory has since the 5th moon stopped minting all coins, and the expenditure for its upkeep has run short, all the surplus fund and odds and ends of metal left on the ground of the mint having all been exhausted during the last two months.

At present, on account of the tightness of the money market, the chief and assistant directors of the currency factory have telegraphed to the Board of Finance to ask for instructions whether or not the minting of the 20-cent subsidiary coins should be forthwith commenced for use and circulation to meet the demand of the market. Now, the Board of Finance has sent them a telegram in reply allowing the minting to be commenced forthwith. All the officers, workmen, and coolies belonging to this currency factory have, according to the board's directions, proceeded this day to the factory to start work for coining the 20-cent silver pieces.

Bank Guild's Circular on Kwangtung Notes.

The public is hereby notified that owing to the tightness of the money market, caused by the Canton Yuen Fung Yun Bank being implicated by the failure of the Shanghai Yuen Fung Yun, this guild yesterday received instructions from high authorities that large sums of money have been advanced from the Government fund and deposited with the different banks of this guild in order to effect a free circulation in the market. This guild has passed a resolution that for all exchanges, receipts, and payments in the banks of this guild Canton Government notes shall be used for the convenience of all concerned. At present the Canton market is as peaceful as ever. Anyone who wishes to obtain any cash money for his use may apply to any one of the banks of this guild for exchange of same at his own choice. This is a special notice for general information.

Notified by the Chung Shun Tong, guild of native banks, at Kwongehow. Dated 13th day, 9th moon, 2nd year of Suen Tung.

Official Notification.

Chan, provincial treasurer of Kwangtung province, in the matter of issuing a notification for general information.

Whereas the notes of the three denominations, viz., 10 dollars, 5 dollars, and 1 dollar, at 7 maces and 2 candareens to a dollar, or at par with the subsidiary coins

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on exchange, which are issued by the Canton Government Bank, and on the back of which are printed all the conditions under which they are to be used as a currency, have been hitherto accepted and used with confidence by all people; whereas owing to the Yuen Fung Yun Bank having suspended payments, some law-defying bad characters have recently invented stories saying that the Government bank has been affected by the Yuen Fung Yun's failure, thus befooling the ignorant people and making profits out of them by collecting the Canton Government notes at a discount of 10 or 20 per cent. from them and obtaining the full value on exchanging them from the Government bank, and some of these bad characters even refuse to accept these notes on purpose; whereas these people do not know that the Government bank is a public establishment [sic], is quite different from the Yuen Fung Yun, which is a merchant's firm and which has no connection whatever with the Government; and whereas all cunning traders and wily merchants who for the sake of seeking their own profits spoil the interests of the whole community by fabricating rumours and unfounded stories to deceive them should be arrested, prosecuted, and punished, so as to remove the doubts of all people; it is proper that a notification be issued for general information besides giving instructions to all local officials for their arrest.

Wherefore by virtue of this notification, all classes of people in the whole province are enjoined to take notice that all these Government notes in dollars of 7 maces and 2 candareens each, for which there is a sufficient amount of hard money kept in reserve, are just as good as cash money and are allowed to be used in payments of all Government funds, and if anyone dare make a discount on them or refuse to accept them when presented for payment he is liable to be prosecuted and severely punished.

Enclosure 3 in No. 1.

Mr. Max Müller to Acting Governor Sir F. May.

Sir,

Peking, November 9, 1910. I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your despatch of the 24th ultimo, in which you ask me to move the Chinese Government to suspend at the earliest possible moment the permission accorded to the Canton mint to resume temporarily the coinage of 20-cent pieces.

Whilst I fully appreciate the arguments adduced in your despatch I feel that the Chinese Government might, with some justice, resent my interference in a matter of this kind, and I regret that I do not see my way to intervene in the sense desired by you without instructions from Sir Edward Grey, to whom I shall forward copies of this correspondence.

I have, &c.

W. G. MAX MÜLLER.

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