Chi, Civil Governor of the Chinese Amur region (Heilungchiang province), in com-pluming of the extraordinary scarcity of the copper cash in their territory recommend that the annual subsidies due this year from the provinces of Chihli, Fukien, and Anhui for the payment and main: tenance of foreign-drilled troops in the said region be coined into the new dollar and subsidiary money struck by the Kuangtung and Hupeh mints: The ipal commercial marts of Hei lungehiang province are the sub-prefect tural cities of Hulan and Suihus, und these cities generally supply the authorities of the provincial capital (Tsitsihar) with silver and copper money: of the realm obtained from Customs duties, land taxes, etc. As of late copper cash have been continuously exported to Peking and other places without any coming into the country a dearth hus naturally been created, in' consequence of which the prices of all sorts of commodities have risen very considerably to the great distress of the troops and the common inhabitants of the region. Large shops and banks were therefore, compelled to issue paper notes to ease the money market and these tael and cash neies have come to be used as the principal legal tender of the country. Speculaters have therefore seized the opportunity to make illegal gains for themselves, so that one tael in silver can only be purchased or exchanged in the market at the rate of from 20 odd strings" (tiao) to 80 "strings" of cash in paper notes, [Note.—One tiao.or string" of cash is equal in Manchuria to only 160 copper cash; and in Tientsin to 500 copper cash, whereas south of the Yellow River the tiao or string" follows the old custom, being equal to 1,000 cash.—Trans.] As speculators and banks possessed the silver and copper money, there was no help for the middle classes' and the. taasdes but to submit to the inevitable. But when the first named memorialist (Eu Ts6) came to office he compelled. these banks, ete, to lower their market rates for the silver tael and call-in their tae! notes, reissuing more moderate ones instead." Of late, therefore; the price of the silver tael has been reduced to from 15 to 16 "strings" in copper cash notes in the market city of Suihua, and something less than that in Hulan. 'These prices, how-over, are still much too high and memorialists see no way to reform the existing market prices in their territory' but by importing the new foreign-designed silver dollar and its subsidiary coinage. On a former occasion the Board: of Revenue reported favourably upon the memorial of the Censor Ch'en Ch'i-chang, recommending that Imperial instructions: be issued to the, various Viceroys, Tartar Generals, and Governors of provinces, throughout the Empire, to follow the example of the Kuangtung and.: Hupeh authorities who have established. at. Canton - and - Wuchang foreign' machinery for striking the dollar and decimal coinage, and thereby relieve the congestion in the copper cash market which in' process of time. would become worse if this were not done. The said Board also recommended that if the high. provincial authorities in certain portions of the Empire should find it too difficult to begin. at once the new mints, they should be allowed to send silver to the Canton and Wuchang mints to.coin for them the new dollar and subsidiary money and in this way make the use of this money universal, both on the score of convenience and of economy, etc, Memorialists would therefore pray' to be allowed to follow this last alternative, and would ask for his Majesty's decree to order the Ch'anglu Salt Comptroller (Chibli_ avd Northern Honan) to subsidise memorialist's province 'Is. 9,000 this year the Fukien Salt Commissioner, Tls. 30,000 the Comptroller of the Chihli Banner corps' land rent bureau, is. 40,000; and Tls. 30,000 from the Anhui land taxes, or a total of Tls. 109,000, being portion of the pay of the disciplined troops of this province for 1896, to send the said sum to Hupeh, on behalf of the province of Heilungehiang, where the silver sycee can be re-coined into dollars and decimal coinage. This done (presumably before the end of the year) it is suggested that the new coins be transported from Wuchang by steamer to Newehwany and from thence overland to Moukden and delivered to the Board of Revenue of that city. Memorialists will then despatch a deputy and tro"ps to convoy the treasure to Tsitsihar for distribution to the troops. In this way they hope to relieve the present congested state of the Heilungehiang copper cash market and benefit the troops and all classes of the inhabitants of the province. As for the various subsidies for the disciplined troops and province defence previous to 1896 still unpaid by certain provinces, memorialists pray that his Majesty will take this opportunity to command the delinquent Viceroys and Governors to hasten their contributions in order that the Heilungchiang military chest may not suffer.—Reseript: Let the Board of Revenue report thereon.
3rd June.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.