§ SIR DAVID BRYNMOR JONES (Swansea District)To ask the Undersecretary of State for the Colonies whether a new Currency Ordinance has passed the Legislature of the Straits Settlements providing, among other things, that the silver dollar shall henceforth weigh 416 grains with .800 fineness; whether the silver dollar at present current weighs 416 grains with .900 fineness; whether, according to the law of the Straits Settlements the silver dollar is legal tender for an unlimited amount; if so, can he state the reasons for the lowering of the degree of fineness of the new coin; whether the Governor of the Straits Settlements has given his consent to the new Ordinance; and whether he will lay a copy of the Ordinance upon the Table of the House as soon as possible.
(Answered by Mr. Churchill.) The Currency Ordinance, which, it is understood, has just been passed by the Legislature of the Straits Settlements, provides that the Commissioners of Currency may redeem notes in gold or silver at their option. The Commissioners were empowered early in this year to issue notes against gold at the fixed rate of 2s. 4d. to the dollar; the Ordinance referred to will allow them to pay in gold also. The reduction in the fineness of the Straits Settlements dollar from.900 to.800 is provided for by an Order passed by His Majesty in Council on the 22nd instant. The provision will operate from a date to 865 be fixed by the Governor. The standard weight of the dollar will remain at 416 grains. The silver dollar is, and will continue to be, unlimited legal tender, and the gold sovereign will also be unlimited legal tender at the fixed rate. The provision for lowering the fineness of the dollar was necessitated by the rise in the value of silver, which has carried the bullion value of the dollar to the level of the fixed gold value, and may carry it beyond. The Secretary of State was strongly advised by the Governor to retain the dollar at the fixed value of 2s. 4d., and, after careful consideration, he has, with the concurrence of the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury, taken the above measures with that object. The Governor has not yet reported whether he has assented to the Ordinance empowering the Currency Commissioners to pay notes in gold. A copy of the Ordinance will be forwarded in the ordinary course to the Library of the House as soon as copies are received in this country.