§ 56. Mr. HANNONasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer why the metallic reserve against the currency note issue has recently been largely reduced; and whether it is his intention to replace the whole of the gold reserve by Bank of England notes?
§ Sir J. BAIRDGold has been withdrawn from the reserve for the purposes of shipment to the United States of America in connection with the dollar requirements of the Government, more particularly the approaching interest payment on the British debt to the United States Government. There is no present intention to replace the whole of the gold in the currency note reserve by Bank of England notes. A?, however, the Bank of England notes and currency notes may be regarded as forming together a single system of paper currency, my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer would suggest to my hon. Friend that, as pointed out by the Cunliffe Committee, what is important is the gold reserve against the two issues taken together, rather than the amount of gold in each of the reserves taken separately.