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until practically the whole coin reserve is con- verted into new dollars. If it was found that this was a slower process than was desirable - the Government could consider the expediency
of purchasing silver for coining purposes.
58. Simultaneously with the arrival of the Brst supply of the new dollars and with the making of them legal tender, the import of Mexican and British dollars should be tem porarily prohibited and the export of the new dollars should also be prohibited. As there is ordinarily a large import of Mexican and British dollars into the Straits, and anbsequent export of them, we think it likely that when their import is prohibited there would be a tendency towards a considerable drain of these coins from the Straits Settlements and if the new dollars are freely supplied, the change of cur rency might be completed without any great delay.
58. When the currency is so largely com- posed of the new dollars as to justify the measure, the Mexican and British dollars should be finally domonetised and the Straits Settlements would then be in the position in which India was when the change of standard was undertaken in that country with, however, the very important advantage that there would not be an enormous proportion of the new coins either hoarded or circulating in foreign countries, which might, by being thrown into circulation, indefinitely delay the establishment of the gold standard.
60. After the Straits Settlements had arrived at this stage, the procedure might be exactly the same as it was in the case of India, i e, after sufficient Straits dollars had been coined to meet the requirements of business in the Colony and the adjoining tates, the coinage of dollars would cesse until the exchange value of the dollar had resobed whatever value in relation to the sovereign might be decided ou by the Government as the future value of the Straits dollar. After this a age is reached the Straits Government would issue the new dollars in exchange for gold, and at the fixed rate.
61 When the gold standard is established, it would not be indispensable that any gold coins should be made legal tender in the Colony and the States. But the Government should be prepared not only to give in exchange for a sovereign such number of dollars as are here- after declared equivalent to a sovereign, but also to give sovereigns in exchange for doll rs at the same rate so long as gold is available, or to give bills on the Crown Agents in London based on the fixed rate of exchange.
62. The above method would be rather slow in operation and would involve some, though not very great, expenditure, but it would be a perfectly safe, and, we believe, are method of establishing a gold standard, involving no risk and creating the minimum of disturbance, while we do not anticipate that any very serious delay would occur before the gold standard be came effective. If the time within which the gold standard becomes effective is unduly pro- longed, the matter, might be expedited by establishing a gold reservol and in any case we think that the profit majje on the coinage of dollars after the establishment of a gold stan. dard should be set aside as a gold reserve, the whole or any portion of it being, if thought desirable, invested in gold securities,
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THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
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63. There remain 1 wo matter" on which we think it expedient to offer some observa ions. It has been represented to ng that the trade of the Straits Settlements is accompanied and faci itated by a large import and re-export of silver dollars, and it is feared that that trade might be injured if either the import of Mexi: oan and British dollars were prohibited; or if Mexican and British dollars ceased to be the legal currency. A regards this matter we desire to point out that the prob.bition of the import of Mexican and British dol lars would only be a temporary measure, and that simultaneously the exchange of the new special. Straits dolar for the existing currency would provide supply of Mexican and British dollars more than sumcient 10 meet the wants of trade, while after the completion of the exchange, and on the demonetisation of the British and Mexican dollar, prohibition of importation would be withdrawn and Mexican end British dollars might continue to be imported and exported merchandise in any quantities the trade of the Straits
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64. A large amount of subsidiary silver coins has been issued in the Straits, and a portion of it, approximately estimated by the Colonial Treasurer at 3000 dollars is in circulation outside the Btraits Settlements, the Federated Malay States and Johore. Some, if not all, of these coins will be returned to the Straits Settlements when a gold standard is established. But we do not anticipate any serious trouble from this cause. If they are returned and put into circulation in such quantities as do not cause the subsidiary coinage to fall below its face value no harm will be done, and if the subsidiary coin falls below its face value the tendency of such coin to re urn would be checked. Under the most unfavourable cir- samstances the difficulty could be met by the Straits Government withdrawing a portion of the subsidiary coius.
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SUPREME COURT.
Monday, 18th May.
IN CRIMINAL JURISDICTION.
BEFORE HIS HONOUR SIR HENRY 8 BERKELEY (ACTING CHIEF JUSTICE).
(May 23, 1903.-
Settlement with foreign countries might rë; d tly saw flames coming out of the door of the quire. To allay possible apprehension, how basement floor. He looked through and saw a ever, it might be well to provide when the fire also burting inside. –He broke through and general import of Mexican and British dollars | found a sparate fire underneath the staircase. in prohibited, that such dollars might be im Hé alarmed the inmates and then went for the ported for purposes of re-export, with the sic-polios A few minutes later an English per Hon in each case of the Straits Government geant arrived and made an examination of the and on such condition as the Government might | premises. He smelt kerosene, as the Chinees pre-cribe.
constable had. He found it on the wooden staircase and traced it up to the first floor, where the door of the room by the male prisoner who was fully drees- was opened
examination of the premises was then måde, ed and prepared to leave A thorough with the assistance of the inspector, and the first floor was found 10 be-strewn with pieces of rag, cotton wool and paper all soaked in kerosene. The walls and floor were found to be sprinkled with kerosene, A cabiole door was soaked with kerosene, and there was every sign of prepa ations for a fire. The hands of the prisoner were also covered with kerosens, and matches and twists of paper were found in his pockets. A loc ed box which was found on the first floor ad removed by the police was subsequently opened and found to contain abundance of rags saturated with kerosene. There were traces of burning on the first floor; The par itions and woodwork had been lighted at several places. A partition was torn down and the pieces of wood scattered about the rest of the premises were evidently torn from this partition and these fragments were all saturated with kerosene The place was in the greatest possible confusion and was almost destitute of contents. When the
I olice examined the basement they found that a board bad been removed from the staircase and underneath this was a quantity of raga soaked with kerosene, and the wood stocked in the basement had been lighted at that place. That was the fire which the Chinese constable first saw and extinguished. The fire was evidently lighted by somebody both in the basement and on the first floor, and it was clear. that when the police, very for.unately, saw the fire in the basement and extinguished it the prisoners were obliged to extinguish their fire on the firs floor or they would have been discovered. Unmistakable traces of fire were subsequently found and it appeared that the prisoners thereupon had collected the rags and sticks soaked in oil and put them in this box and looked them up in order to destroy the traces of their operations. Their motive was without any reasonable question, to defraud the insurance company. The contents of the premises were insured for $2,000 at the time of the fire, and he thought he would prove they were not worth $ 0." All the valuables and money belonging to the accused were found in the woman's pockets, and she also had in her possession a number of pawn-tickets relating almost entirely to the stock, which the prisoners had pawned during the few days immediately preceding the fire. It was perfectly clear that the woman as well as the man was implicated. There were in these premises at the time of the fire some 20 persons, and it was little short of a miracle that the Chinese constable arrived just in the nick of time to give them the alarm; had he been two minutes later probably no one would have been able to extinguish it.
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THE CALENDAR,
There were six cages on the calender, these implicating 14 persons, and including one charge of murder, two of manslaughter, one of fire-raising, one of robbery and one of perjury.
CHARGE OF PERJURY
On the application Mr. P. W. Goldring, solicitor, the Acting Attorney-Genera! asked his Lordship to allow the case No. 3 on the list, in which Lau Mai was charged with perjury in a Land Court claim to stand over till next Sessions.
His Lordship agreed to the adjournment.Į
ABSON,
The first case called was that in which Ho Hing and Wong Ping were charged with arson in connection with there at 205, Queen's Road West on 18th April.
They pleaded not guilty.
Mr. E. H. Sharp, K.C, Acting-Altoruby- General (insti noted by Mr. F. B. L. Bowley, Crown Solicitor), conduct the prosecution. He stated to his Lordship that in connection with this case there had also been committed for trial a small boy named Ho Yit. He had considered the evidence carefully and did not think it advisable to include him in the indictment. He accordingly asked that the boy te discharged.
His Lordship ordered the boy to be discharged. The following jury was empanelled:- Messrs; J. M. A. Thiesson, W.J. Húl, J. Cruikshank, J. A. T. Plummer, H. A. Lammert, P. Dow, and J. A. de Carvalho,
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The Acting Attorney-General in opening the case said that the accused were husband and wife. The house where the fire occurred consisted of a basersent and three floors, all s parately let. The basement was used for storing wood; the ground floor above the basement was a prosper ons tailor's shop. The first floor, was where the prisoners lived and ostensibly car.ied on a tailor's busin: 88. ne would show the jury that they had practically no goods there. Un the second floor was a family house. The ground: at the back of this house was one story lower than at the front, being built on the lower s.de of Queen's Road where the ground falls very rapidly towards the water. The draper's shop was on the level. On the night of the fire the basement was locked up; it was a mere godown. In the draper's shop on the ground ficor the inmates were asleep. On the first floor there were only the two prisoners and the small boy who had just been discharged and who was found asleep on the second floor there was a large family of about tan verandah. On the people ali asleep. About a quarter to four o'clock that morning a Chinese constable on
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Evidence was then taken.
P.W.D., put in and proved a plan of the premises, E. W. Carpenter, executive engineer in the
ontbreak of fire, stated tust he first saw that Chinese Constable 262, who discovered the the basement door was burning. || He`alarmed" the people in the upper floors. Some of the neighbours came and helped him to put out the fire. There was a strong smell of kerosene. Théré was a separate fire under the staircase. He afterwards reported the matter at the police station.
evidence. When he was aroused by the The master of the draper's shop next gave alarm of fire, he said, he went and looked into the back lane and saw smoke coming from the basement floor. He rented_the_whole premises: The male accused tenanted the first floor as a tailor, Witness went into the base. ment after the fire was put out. subsequently went upstairs with the English He
a state of confusion.“ He valued the goods on sergeant. On the first floor everything was in the first floor at $99. Of that value, $79 was for stock.
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