CO129-400 - Governor Sir May - 1913 [3-4] — Page 377

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in 1912 is due to the recent action of that mint in again resuming the issue of coin, a fact which was reported to you in my Despatch Confidential of the 5th. April, 1913. It will be observed that the 10 cent pieces are the least affected. This is due to the fact that the largest issues made by the Hongkong Government wof

this denomination.

In explanation of the fact that Cantonese subsidiary coin appears in 1912 and 1913 at a discount less than that shown in respect of the Hongkong 10 cent piece alone,it may be stated that the former is composed mostly of 20 cent pieces which are more popular than the 10 cent piece for general purposes of currency other than subsidiary, inasmuch as they are more easi- -ly packed in rolls for ready handling.

It can be gathered from the table that re-

-habilitation of our coinage by means of demonetization alone is an exceedingly slow process and that final success is by no means

assured by that process alone.

I have the honour to be,

sir.

Your most obedient,

humble servant,

Domay

Governor,&c..