Honaxoxo is a colony, and as such can of course do things a mere Settlement would not tolerate. For instance, at time when the currency question is in every one's mouth, and every individual in the place feels direct interest in its settlement, the Chamber of Commerce holds a private meeting to discuss it, and the first people learn of the matter is that a recommendation—opposed seemingly to the wishes of a majority of the residents—has been submitted to the Government, to legalize the chopped currency. It is of course difficult to predicate with certainty which way public opinion really inclines, until it has been tested bya public meeting; bat the tone of the Press is a tolerably safe guide, and the Hongkong papers are unanimous and logical in condemning such a measure. We can scarcely conceive a greater error than to hold a private meeting of what, in a commercial community, is really a sort of representative parliament—to discuss a question in which, as the Daily Press truly says, the meanest huckster has relatively as grent an interest as the wealthiest merchant on the island. That there is a good deal to be said on the subject, the discussion in the Press has shown; and when such an influential body as the Chamber of Commerce contemplates passing an opinion which must have great weight with the "Government, it is only right that its deliberations should be public, so that every one may have an opportunity of considering the reasons advanced. One cause stated for the privacy of the meeting, was that the letter from the Government inviting the opinion of the Chamber, was marked " private"; but this is declared to be a misapprebevsion; and the idea of the Government consulting privately a body of hundred or more individuals, seems on its face absurd. At any rate, if this were so, the Chairman could have fittingly replied that he did not feel justified in departing from the usual practice of publicity, in a case where publicity was more than ever called for. Asa matter of fact, the case was one of such general interest that public meeting of residents, even, might have been fittingly called, to discuss it.
We have explained in a former article what is the question at issue. The Chinese—particularly those onthemain-Iand—want to have "chopped" dollars, which are always at a greater or less discount in the colony, made-a legal tender; alleging that chopped dollars are the currency on the mainland, and it is fair they should pay foreigners for their goods in the coin they receive for them from their own countrymen; otherwise they will lose the difference between clean and chopped coins. The answer is that, if the Chinese are foolish. enough to deface the dollars, that is their look out, and no reason why foreigners should accept the consequent loss and inconvenience; that the Chinese dealers are quite astute enough to look after themselves in the matter, and that they can easily recoup the difference by a slight addition to the selling price. "The Hongkong storekeeper," it is urged, "has to buy his goods in sterling and sell them in the currency of the Colony, the former being at a considerable preminm—a premium, also, that is constantly fluctuating. Yet no storekeeper thinks of writing Home and, complaining of his losses through the pound sterling being at a premiumhere, demanding that the sovereign shall be considered in all monetary transactions to be worth a certain weight of silver. Like a sensible business man, the storekeeper allows for the premium on the Home currency in pricing his goods; as well as its fluctuations, and sometimes he proves to be a gainer and sometimes 'a loser. Other storekeepers bat contend against exactly the same culties, and therefore the premium on the Home currency here affords no advantage to particular individuals, or places competition on an unfair basi Why the native trader should receive commiseration and the currency of the Colony be upset to accommodate him under exactly similar circumstances to these, while the foreign merchant and storekeeper are left to find consolation for themselves, is a point that will require all the ingenuity of the native community to demonstrate."
The proposal tu meet the wishes of the Chinese, at least so far as to make moderately chopped dollars a legal tender, seems to have emanated from the manager of the Hongkong Bank; but the very pertinent question was asked, how the line was to be drawn between moderately chopped and say badly chopped coins; and the solfevident difficulty Jed to the definition of "moderately chopped" as dollars that are not cut or pierced, weighed at 7.1.7 and of fall weight. Such at least is what the Mail has been able to gather of the drift of the digeussion; and we quite agree that this is a very different thing from making chopped dollars generally a legal tender, as the Chinese petitioners requested. Obviously foreigners could, if they choose, exercise such an amount of selection under this ruling, that "chopped" dollars would be almost worried out of the market; but the practical effect would more likely be that competition would lead to a lax interpretation of the restriction, and the Chinese would have their way. On the whole, it seems to us that the case is not one for legislation. If Hongkong merchants choose to accept chopped dollars in payment for their goods, they can do so; if they do not, Tet them refuse, or exact a discount. We quite fail to see why the Govern. ment should compel them to accept defaced coin, in order' to gratify the Chinese dealers.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.