CO129-402 - Governor Sir May - 1913 [7-8] — Page 189

182

1/-

This

Report on An Ordinance

entitled An Ordinance to prohibit the importation

and circulation of Foreign Coins.

Ordinance was introduced with the 'concurrence

of the secretary of State for the colonies, and has for its

object the prohibition of the Importation into and circula-

Foreign tion in the Colony of any/Silver or Nickel coins which do not form part of the legal currency of the Colony. 2/- Section 1 of the Ordinance is formal.

3/- Under Section 2 are given the definitions of "Foreign Silver Coin" and "Nickel Coin"; the former being defined as any coin composed wholly or partly of silver other than those specified in Her Majesty's Order-in-Council of 2nd February 1895 entitled the Hongkong (Coinage) Order, 1895;

as

the latter of any doin composed wholly or partly of Nickel

or other white metal not including silver.

4/- Section 3 prohibits the importation and circulation in

the Colony of any Foreign silver or Nickel coin.

5/- Section 4 provides a penalty of a fine not exceeding

,000 in respect of illegal importation or attempt at im- $1,0

portation into the Colony of any Foreign Silver or Nickel

coin without a special licence in writing under the hand of

the Colonial Secretary, a breach of any of the conditions

upon which such licence may be granted being followed by

liability to a penalty the same as if no licence had been

granted.

6/- Section 5 prescribes the penalty for circulating or attempt to circulate any Foreign Silver or Mickel coin inta

1

the Colony and imposes a liability to a fine not exceeding

$50.

77/- Under Section 6 the illegal possession of any Foreign silver or Nickel coin aggregating in face value the sun of Fifty dollars is constituted an offence with liability to a fine not exceeding the face value of the aggregate of the coin so unlawfully held in possession.

6/- Under Section 7 confiscation and forfeiture to the Treasury

of all Foreign silver or nickel coin in respect of which a successful prosecution has been brought is to be ordered by the Tagistrate except in cases of offence against the provisions prohibiting importation in which the Hagistrate is satisfied that no user of coin so lawfully imported was/intended the Colony.

in

9/- By Section & importation is defined as the bringing or causing to be brought into the Colony any foreign silver or nickel coin exceeding in face value an aggregate of Ten dollars; in the same Section circulation is defined in the usual formal

manner.

10/- By Section 9 it is provided that the provisions of the Ordinance relative to circulation or unlawful possession

money

are not to apply to any bona fide bankers or changers.

licensed

11/- By Section 10 Revenue Officers are given certain powers of arrest without a warrant in certain cases of offences against the provisions of the Ordinance; these powers are similar to

the those possessed by these officers in the case of Foreign Copper Coin Ordinance 1912.

12/- By Section 11 the date of the coming into operation of the Ordinance is fixed as the 1st day of March 1914. This date gives a lengthy tempus morae enabling local persons to get rid of their Foreign silver coin and also encluding the Chinese New Year a period when much petty traffic takes place between the residents in the Colony and persons from China proper.