CO129-523-13 Currency situation 16-6-1930 - 16-6-1930 — Page 8

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j

Provinces are

are concimes

conarmed,

on

the

service which

an adequate HK

Carency

is required to perform

21-

is

in present conditions not merely

the Colony itself which has to be

legiclated for

if the full

regumiement of

HR trade is to

be met.

The Bank Nove

does it: the

зарни

dollar coin does not.

with the

the fuel"

step suppected by R. Caine

Mant.

The Secretary of State has now

appointed a standing Currency Committee with

ch Sir John Campbell as

Chairman, Mr. Ezekiel,

Mr. Caulcott (Barclay's Dominions and Overseas

Bank), myself, a Treasury representative and the

Head of the Department here concerned as members,

and Mr. Clauson as Secretary.

I think it is clear that this question

should be referred to the Committee.

ch

Mr.

Ezekiel is away at present and I am going away

next week until the end of the month.

Clauson is also away until the 20th.

Mr.

In these

circumstances I think that consideration by

the

Pa

Pa

9

11/50

the Committee might stand over till October.

I have looked through the Report

of the Currency Committee, but find it very

hard to make much of it, and it is tiresome

finding one's way about the accompanying

refract

memoranda. The Kemmerer strikes me as

exceedingly good and most valuable in the

information that it gives. I think we should

ask the Foreign Office to get more copies for

us and that there should be one for each

member of the Currency Committee as well as

extra copies for the Colony and the Colonial

Office.

So far the thing which strikes me

most about this subject is that everybody repeats "Hong Kong must have a silver standard

as long as China has", although it is perfectly clear that for years Hong Kong has

really not been living on a silver standard at

all, and that the Hong Kong rate of exchange

has not been constant with the price of silver

or the Shanghai rate, and consequently has

not secured what everybody speaks of as

essential, namely a close correspondence with

China. It is too early to try to form more

definite opinions than this on the subject.

R.V.V. 1/4

e9

e 9

Pag

Pag

Pressure of other important work has prevented me

from doing more than read the report itself, and glance through the appendices, and the Kemmerer

report.

2.

I agree to the action propàsed. We should have a meeting of the Comm: as soon as practicable;

of the report meantime, the members hould have copies to study

at leisure.fxxxport

3. I think we shall have to send out an expert,

or experts, as suggested in the minutes above--

Meantime, and as previously contemplated.

it looks as if the conclusions of the Comm: are

pretty much the conclusions to which we came here.

The 14th: September 1930.

Mes.

any. hell 14/9/30

let the matter be considered. by the Otten.

y

އ

گی

Pond the member a copy of the Hong Hory refint : and ath F. O. frivalily where printed eftes of B.

Huurefat will be available : & one y by fewritten inda do with a dozen. Then let pf aunt. M. Clauson's return_

we could.

Waller 17 Ellin

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