The-Hong-Kong-Weekly-Press-1897-03-11 — Page 15

Hongkong Weekly Press AND China Overland Trade Report All

CHINA

In Hong

and

сал

REPORT

alloyed

short

China

far distant when the permit-much-

ying

to reach the Straits

ay to

before

those who feel justified in

|

rival, converted to make the which are universally

India were more often made now, and embraced, not only our llar currency, but bar silver, bar shoes, and gold leaf. Indian buyers rere suspicious of Chinese gold bars and of silver. In consequence the silver Bhoes were cut deeply towards their middle with a chisel and hammer, in search of old iron nails and horse-shoe pieces, which were occasionally embedded in thêm: And the enor- mous labour of melting and casting into flat pieces and then beating out into books of fine

£1000.

3

is no

courge of exchange wil

hes of the new

and China.

these matters best

mending the Gov

Conly

can be

oter ola the

and it stances, wha

portance. It is,

we

dard rein

Idollar Ahe tender in Hongkong. In currency matt we are distinctly behind our neighbours. Legislation cannot permanently be dispensed with for Sir Thomas Gresham emphatically bo any laid down the law three centuries ago, that permitted. bad money ›› drives out, good money, but monometallic that good money cannot drive out bad a composi money. At first sight there seems some-secondary thing paradoxical in the fact that when dispensable the beautiful new coins, of full weight, are issued coins of exact and fixed meta from the Mint, the people still continue to we can determine and circulate, in, preference, the old depreciated future payments, Dou coinage. This is owing to the fact that, whilst delightful thing to the public generally do not discriminate rencies, to recall the leaf was entailed by suspicion attaching to between coins, and coins, provided there is an and silver of 1 to l gold bars also. The beating into leaves was not apparent similarity, a small class in Europe have the dollar again for the purpose of adapting the gold to the pur- and a much larger class in China of bankers, two, and dresses and bonnets and i poses of art or for convenient subdivision, but bullion dealers, and money changers make it gloves all at half price! and what a ro that the buyer, by turning over the leaves of the their business to be acquainted with such dif- Indian Government, with its enormous volume with his fingerand thumb, might convince ferences, and know how to derive a profit from tions. But this must be done himself that no heavy material was concealed. them. These people uncoin money either by able means, All debts

been duly At this time considerable remittances were melting or by exportation. Hence also the contracted by the state,

ften with too much received from San Francisco in gold bars, practice, especially where currency passes by cheerful light heartedness, must be duly paid. hich, having the assay marks stamped upon tale, of picking and onlling or garbling the If this cannot be done by the poor it must be them, were regarded with confidence. The coinage, devoting the good new coins to the done by the rich. The burden must be placed Central Bank of Western India was in the habit melting pot and passing the old worn coins upon the broad back When God's judgments of receiving these, which were sometimes sold, again into circulation. It causes much trouble are in the earth; as they have lately and sometimes forwarded to Bombay, the gold if every person receiving currency has to soru. Hongkong and in India, it becomes maining in the Bank's treasury until the mail's tinize, weigh, and test it. If it requires any habitants s of the world to learn rig departure. Attention had been called to a new skill to discriminate good money from bad, and wherein we have deviated t plan of the Chinese thieves who had obtained poor ignorant people are sure to be impossed may well track back to first princip Bocess to Messrs D. Sassoon, Sons & Co.'s opium upon. Hence coin should have certain godown by burrowing from the sewer in Ice distinct marks which nobody can mistake. House Lane, The Banks at once took the The ignorance of the Chinese as to the funda- alarm and several ordered half inch boiler plate mentals of a coinage and the extreme im- floors for their treasuries. Some thought the portance of its ready cognizance is proved by stone floor sufficient. The Manager of the Cen- the fact that in the schools or classes which are tral Bank, which occupied the site of the present established for teaching shroffs to detect Connaught House, was disturbed in the early counterfeits they make use of every kind of morning of the 5th February, 1865, by a false dollars as object lessons to their pupils, knocking at the front door, and looking from but no such thing as a real bright, true, new his window above saw a policeman holding a dollar is to be found! As well might one hope bright oblong substance in his hand, from which to learn virtue by the contemplation of vice. În he read out by the light of the street lamp the old days the shroff class was very numerous Central Bank of Western India-does this and influential, but the growth of deposit and belong to you P He hastily donned his dress currents accounts, the circulation in Hongkong ing gown and came down, key box in hand, of nine millions in bank notes, the introduc let in the policeman and proceeded to unlock ion of the clean Japanese yen, and the gradual the treasury, from which an unpleasant odour advent of the British dollar, with the extensive at once escaped. A dark object upon the use of subsidiary coins, have enabled us, in a floor proved to be an opening from which a flag- very great measure, to dispense with their stone had been removed, and scattered about assistance. We are almost as well off for paper the broken pieces of some small chests. in currency as the people are in London, the only gold bars had arrived a few days before. difference between Hongkong and Shanghai ened that these small cases had not Bank notes and those of the Bank of England

in the Chubb's

Chubb's safe was not dis- being that they are not always quite so clean and ears that the thieves had car crisp. But in our coinage there is still much bars up the hill towards the to be desired. Professor Jevons writes, "A in na gunny bag, which had world wide system of international money, were picked up. The loss though it may seem impracticable at the $30,000 or £40,000.. Large moment, is an object at which all those should but no discovery was made, aim who wish to leave the world better than Central Bank shortly after ceased they found it Towards the attainment of teater this end our own and the Japanese Government has now almost entirely superseded the have made most important contributions by the

and the

weighing of the coinage of the British dollar and the yen of yments, which was equivalent weight and fineness to the Mexican told that Abraham Of the real objects and intentions of China of silver, cur- we know little or nothing. She has doubtless hant" and in done well, so far, in the coining of a few dollars enthat", "wis-upon the same lines; but it would seem that go neither the real inducement for the establishment of price

the Chinesertimi sis_the_profit from the ised subsidia

silver currency This

offere

an to

rmoi osses

All the plans of bimetallists and the closing of the Indian Mints, though it may raise interest to 12 per cent., will never accomplish the payment of a debt of a sovereign with 10s. worth of silver and such schemes are far more creditable to the skill their judicial impartiality which have been sustained in recen very many of the monied serious depreciation in the of land, seem to be chosen as a means of adjustment tions between the rich and

alue of

The German, Emperor restraint of speculative trade, popular with many, may have a But we are diverging into To come back to our subjec

The practice of c cho the drilling, boring, and part of the coins by

cases one or both:

the middle

with inferior meta The rim being repla of the value of 40 cent would thus make a g manipula to spend

Char

of a sing ty of tin

ways the

a claim for successfull able to point upon those hongs who

bleve

the most

reme

me

tend heaton

Ifor

work

whic

10

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