§ 24. Sir R. Robinsonasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what steps have now been taken towards a common currency for the British West Indies.
§ Mr. HopkinsonTerritorial currency notes in the West Indies have been demonetised (except in Jamaica and British Honduras) and replaced by a uniform note issue. Orders have been placed for the minting of a uniform coinage. Preliminary steps have recently been taken to extend the uniform note issue to Jamaica, while retaining the pound sterling as the Jamaican unit of account.
§ Sir R. RobinsonWhat difficulties are preventing a final solution of the problem?
§ Mr. HopkinsonThe problem in Jamaica is well on the way to solution. It has been agreed that there shall be a uniform note, which shall carry the usual dollar West Indian currency on one side and the Jamaican pound sterling on the other.
§ Mr. StokesWill the right hon. Gentleman get away from the nonsensical jargon of the economists and say in plain English what he means by "demonetised"?
§ Mr. HopkinsonI might ask the right hon. Gentleman what other word he would suggest for that? It means that the value of these particular currency
| Territory | Amount paid into sugar industry welfare funds | Amount spent from funds on improved housing for sugar workers | |||
| 1953 | 1954 | 1953 | 1954 | ||
| £ | £ | £ | £ | ||
| Antigua | … | 20,805 | 39,669 | 20,783 | 15,481 |
| Barbados | … | 384,522 | 210,656 | 120,592 | 142,180 |
| British Guiana (a) | … | 700,114 | 128,546 | 168,341 | 347,588 |
| British Honduras (b) | … | Nil | 452 | Nil | Nil |
| Jamaica | … | 50,166 | 62,562 | 22,471 | 10,344 |
| St. Kitts-Nevis | … | 54,487 | 61,430 | 100,531 | 67,495 |
| St. Lucia | … | 6,481 | 13,065 | 4,565 | 4,659 |
| St. Vincent | … | 1,502 | 556 | Nil | Nil |
| Trinidad | … | 61,940 | 76,632 | 180,141 | 143,584 |
| Total | … | 1,280,017 | 593,568 | 617,424 | 731,331 |
| (a) Includes £487,166 transferred from other sugar funds. | |||||
| (b) A Labour Welfare Fund has only recently been set up in British Honduras. |