CO129-449 - Governor Sir May & Acting Governor Claud Severn - 1918 [7-9] — Page 479

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(1) She will Begure a large supply of silver

immediately at a near source of supply.

(2) It will be possible at once to count the

silver as part of India's reserve.

(3) It is not suggested that interest should

be paid on the loan,

(4) The silver will not necessarily have to

be returned en bloc,

(5) The silver can be held in the reserve in the

form of dollars for eventual return, though they can, if necessary, be turned into rupees. (The silver is 900 fine and there- fore convenient for coinage into rupees).

Whether the movement of the 7 million dollars

from Hong Kong to India could be kept secret is doubt- ul. Ordinarily it could not, but with the supplies assing through Hong Kong from America it might be

bssible. addis proposes to consult dong Kong on this oint eventually.

I am sending a similar letter to Ramsay.

1 Yours sincerely,

(Sa). A. Dechett

for

at Gollins

Since I wrote the above Beckett makes the suggestion that the lver should be lent to India as in my scheme, but left in the stody of the Hong Kong Goverment at the disposal of the Government

India. This would presumably enable it to be included in the gures of the Indian reserve and save freight and insurance.

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