CO129-523-12 Currency situation 17-2-1930 - 9-7-1930 — Page 19

charged with the problem, the only course seems to

its

be to await the result of their deliberations.

19

It is not of good augury that Mr: Messer has summ-

arily rejected what seems to be a sound and

generally hopeful scheme. To get back to a sound

basis, and in existing conditions, more dollars must

be coined. Nobody wants dollars; they lie uselessly

in store; and probably quite a small quantity would

be enough for the encashment of any notes presented,

or likely to be presented. Silver certificates

seem the obvious solution. And that solution Mr:

Messer summarily rejects,without-apparently-

any consideration. He certainly gives no reasons.

(e) I agree with Mr: Ezechiel that we should avoid

any attempt to settle the matter, from here, on

theoretical and doctrinaire lines. The local problem

is much too complex to render any such solution safe.

The probable course of events would seem to be that

the local committee will be unable to produce any-

thing of value; we here-out of touch with all the

evident complexities of the situation-will be unable

to put forward with confidence a solution; and we

shall have, in the end, to resort to the plan of

sending someone to Hong Kong,who has wide currency

experience, and who can, taking all the local factors

into consideration, evolve a satisfactory plan.

If Sir Basil Blackett's services were available,

he would doubtless do the work very well indeed.

Sir Hilton Young would probably be disinclined to

visit Hong Kong after six weeks in 'Iraq. The only

other name which occurs to me at the moment is

Sir Henry Strakosch's. But, when the time arrives,

we can doubtless find a suitable person. A committee

seems hardly appropriate,considering the magnitude

of the interests involved.