Mr. Wen Tsuog-yao, Expectant Taotai, and for the past year Interpreter to the Chinese Treaty Commission here, where he has stoas good work and by his uniform good wishes and respect of every one, we energy and courtesy to all has obtained the leora, is soon to leave Shanghai for Canton, Wen Taotai having been urgently sent for by Viceroy Tsen Ch'un-hsien to join his Excellency in his new sphere of work. Viceroy Tsen, most of us know, is 4 progressive and enlightened offi now that HE. is (o have an assistant of similar characteristics in the person of Wen Taotai, Canton will surely reap the benefit in many ways. It is quite probabl that Viceroy Tseu will appoint Wen Taotai upon the latter's arrival in Canton, Chief Commissioner of the Bureeu of F..reign Affairs for Kuangtung province, and we sincerely congratulate the Viceroy having such an able and progressive officer under him.
(Specially translated for the " North-China Daily News.") 1.—While the various countries of the world possess a gold standard, China at the present day is still without it and yet continues the use of silver money.
is not because other countries have no silver money, but since gold began to have a steady value regulations were made for a fixed ratio between gold and silver. China not only has no gold currency but her silver money, even, has no uniform weight or appearance, nur has she a fixed ratio of exchange between the two metals, so that, whenever there is need for gold it must be obtained at market rates. For this reason people in China Inbour under the difficulty of fluctuating rates of exchange at various hours of the day. Moreover the silver dollars in use are limited in number, the balance of the currency being largely made up of silver ingots and lumps. These lumps and ingots of silver are merely so much silver ju the mass, and in the barter for goods are much inferior to the silver dollar. During the past twenty to thirty years the output. of silver mines has "been exceedingly great. and much more than is needed for use by the various countries of the world, and it is increasing from year to year so that silver has Cheaper and cheaper and the purchase Tess and les. Hence it would be much rice as compared with gold, gradually wiser for China to maintain a gold standard instead of a silver one as at present, since silver has dropped down to Such " degree and moreover possesses 110 certain oF uniform exchange, even within the limits of a single day. The hundreds of trades are all disastrously affected by the present state of the currency while the Government having to pay its foreign debts in gold, both, country and people are being plunged into the depths of financial distress. The conditions _pictured in the foregoing therefore. compel one to seek some plan whereby they may be ameliorated, and so make it that China, while still using a silver currency, shall So fix a uniform exchange between silver and gold that there may be no danger of uncertain fluctuations. With this object. in view I now proceed with my suggestions.
2.—If the Chinese Government possessed a large quantity of gold this metal might be struck into gold coins and then a fixed exchange could be decided in their relation to silver money. This naturally would be an easy matter to put into force. But when we have no gold and only uso a silver and copper currency, it becomes incumbent upon us to decide upon some method to bring about a fixed ratio of exchange between gold and silver. If it could be possible to do this by making only slight changes in the old methods of exchange, so much the better, as it would obviate the necessity of making the people suffer on both accounts. When there is no gold and yet it is determined to maintain a fixed ratio of exchange between gold and silver, it is necessary to create a silver currency of a uniform weight and fineness, and in quantities sufficient to meet the needs of the whole empire. To do this a Mint to strike these coins is of paramount importance and indispensable. The Central Government must establish a special Mint of its own which shall strike all the coins needed according to fixed regulations and no branch mints must- be permitted to be established elsewhere. for the proposal to start' a Government Bank, while there are, of course, certain befits and financial advantages obtainable from such an institution, as a matter of fact such a Bank can have little to do with the making of a fixed ratio in the exchange of gold and silver.
3.—If it be decided to coin money to supply the currency needed for the whole empire it would be advisable to continue to retain the terms and weights of "tael," "nace," "candareen" and "Li" (Liang, Ch'ien, Fen, Li) as the people are accustomed to' their use. But in minting the uniform currency it will be necessary that it should not only be accepted at a fixed value throughout the Empire, but be also recognised and accepted at a fixed value in exchange for gold in the other countries of the world. This must be the main object in view and is of greater importance than that of the accepted currency in our own Empire. Hence the "tael" must be made of such a weight as to correspond in value to a certain amount of silver, h should be decided afterwards, with the object of making it a recognised coin in other count: Tt has been recom: the now currency the American should be made' the standard, the American dollar has already a recognised and fixed value in relation to gold in other countries. Others again ye also recommended that the er currency be made each into a pi of coin one Kuping tael in weight, because the present market rate of gold exchange is eight Kuping tacks for Hither of the above st i ble, and in making the now currency ould be made into four kinds, namely, and one-mace coins." Besides those silver coins there should be also struck two kinds of copper money, namely, ten-cash pieces and one-cash picees (10 cash=ono fen; one cash=one li), After the establishment of the Mint and the striking of coins of all kiriis, it will then be time to decide whau the new currency shall be launched upon the country. No other coins should be permitted to circulate in the Empire after thi—As soon as it has been decided what coins are to be struck, proper regulations should be made with regard to the mint to, be established. Tf tu" many. branch mints be allowed it is to be apprehended that the money struck: may not be of uniform weight or fineness, and so confusion may be caused such ax is now prevalent in this Empire and thus infinite trouble and obstruction to the reforms suggested may arise. The best way would be to select some central spot for the construction of one principal Mint which shall coin all the currency that may be needed by the provincial governments. With the exception of this principal Mint no other mints shall allowed to be established. All the minting machinery now in use in the various provinees should be without reserve sent te the principal Mint in question so that there may be no waste of the money expended upon it. Besides the native workmen to be employed in this Mi there should also be engaged certain foreign experts, namely, one superintendent, one examiner of silver, one head mist, and one accountant, each his special department of work. The one-tael and five mace silver coins that are to be struck should be made of nine+enths silver and one-tenth copper the two-mace-and-a-half and one-mnon coins should be made of 1°! "suits silver and iwo-tenths copper. "'he, one-tenth
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.