Extract from Minutes of Committes Meeting hold within the rooms of the Chamber, No. 1, Yuenmingynen Road, on Monday, 28th March, 1904, at 4.30 p.m.
Present:—Messrs. W. D. Little (Chairman), 0. Brodersen, Sir C.-J. Dudgeon,.N. Jameson, H. Keswick, A. M. Marshall, C. Micholau, A. Wright, and the Secretary.
Minutes of the previous Meeting are read and confirmed.
Committee.—Letters of resignation from Mr. W. J. Gresson, and Mr. A. Korff are read, and the Chairman, in expressing the Chamber's acknowledgment of their services, welcomes their successors in the orsons of Mr. H. Keswick and Mr. C.
Native Bank Orders.—The following letter was addressed to the Chairman of the Bankers' Guild on 14th March, and a reply is awaited No. 1280.
Shanghai General Chamber of Commerce, Shanghai, 14th March, 1904. 'The Chairman, Native Bankers' Guild, Shanghai.
Sin—I have to acknowledge receipt of your letter of 23rd December, to which T have delayed replying, in the hope that your Guild would recognise the advisability of reverting to the custom of paying Bank orders onduedate—a custom universally adopted until the recent, and so far successful, attempt of your Guild to make a change, without previously obtaining the consent of those affected by it, or notifying them of your intention.
In your letter now under reply you state that each trade or profession has its own custom and that there can be no such thing as uniformity.
'Dho custom of particular trades as' regards payments to which you refer has nothing whatever to do with the question of the delay of one day in the payment of native Bank orders which forms the subject of the present discussion with your 'The usage until last September has been that a Bank order at 5 days and/or 10 days' sight paid to foreign merchants and cashed through a foreign Bank was converted into cash on the fifth or tenth day respectively; this custom your Guild seeks to change, and it is to this change that my Chamber registers its objection.
In your dispatch of 26th October yon state that "it has been customary for Bank orders issued by members of your Guilil to bear the Hui Hua stamp." In your dispatch of 23rd December you state that "the practice of issuing Hui Hua orders has lasted a long time and is therefore difficult to change."
Our contention is that it has-not been customary to use the Hui Hua stamp, but
occasions of sudden stringency in the allow that it has been used on money market. On such occasions Chinese merchants have always hitherto informed foreign merchants that the use of the Hui Hus stamp was exceptional and temporary.
'You now endeavour by the continuous use of the Hui Hua stamp to convert 5 and 10 days' orders issued to your customers into 6 and 11 days' orders when passed on by the Chinese dealer to the foreign merchants. It is to this procedure, whereby the Chinese bankers would appear to gain one extra day's interest at the expense of the foreign merchants, that this Chamber takes exception. As it is possible that faulty translation of our correspondence has led to misunderstanding on this important question, I should be very glad if your Committee would be willing to meet representatives of this Chamber to discuss the matter, so that all cause of friction between us may be removed and a mutual understanding for the benefit and _goodwill of all concerned may be arrived at.
T have the honour to be, Sir, Your obedient servant, Wriuras D. Litre, Chairman.
Dating of New York Telegrams.—The following replies to letters addressed to the various Chambers concerned are ordered for publication hamper of Commerce, Singapore, 22nd February, 1904.
Sin,—I have to acknowledge the receipt of your letter dated the Lith ultimo, enclosing copy of your Chairman's letter dated the 23rd December, addressed to the President of the Chamber of Commerce, New York, with the view of obtaining an alteration in the existing practice ding the omission of the date and hour of dispatch from the messages passing over the lines of the Commercial Pacific Cable Company.
2—I am desired to point out that in this Colony there are no messages received through the medium of that Company, so that my Committee feel that any such representation from them would carry little or no weight, otherwise they would gladly lend their support to the representation of your Chamber in the matter.
T have the honour to be, Sir, Your obedient servant, Aux. J. Goxs, Secretary.
The Secretary, General Chamber of Commerce, Shanghai.
Hongkong General Chamber of merce, Hongkong, 23rd February, 1904.
Sm,—I am- directed to inform you that your letter of the 9th ultimo with reference to the non-dating of telegrams from New York, has received the attetition of the Committee of this Chamber, and I now enclose, for the information of your Committee, copy of my letter of this date to the Secretary of the New York Chamber, from which you will note that the Committee of this Chamber have supported your Chamber's views on this subject in their entirety, with the hope that it will lead to the Commercial Pacific Cable Company granting facilities in the matter of the dating of mos-sages passing over their lines similar to those granted by the European Cable Companies, whose regulations in this respect are of considerable convenience to the users of their cables.
I am to express the pleasure it gives my Committee in being able to-ce-operate with your Chamber in a matter having for its object the advancing of trade facilities.
T have the honour to be, Sir, Your obedient servant, A. R. Lows, Seoretary, Lesue J. Cunirr, Esq., Secretary, Shanghai General Chamber of Commerce, Hongkong General Chamber of Commerce, Hongkong, 23rd February, 1904.
Srm,—I am instructed to inform you that a copy of the representations recently made by the Shanghai General Chamber of Commerce to your President on the subject of the omission by the Commercial Cable Ca. of the hour of dispatch in messages passing over their lines has been received and considered by my Committee, and that these representations meet with their entire approval.
Previous to the opening of the Pacific Cable, messages from New York vid London, and the Cable Companies in Hongkong, stated on the telegram form the date of dispatch from London only, as they were unable to obtain the time of dispatch from New York. Now, as the majority of the American cables come by the Pacific route via San Francisco and Manila, receivers at this end find great inconvenience in having'no guide as to time of dispatch of the wire from New York. It would be some assistance if the time of dispatch from San Francisco were even given.
Your Committee will readily recognise that as long distance cablegrams occupy some hours in transmission, it follows that receivers of messages are often at a loss to know whether such were sent before or after the receipt at the sender's end of messages from the receiver's end. The Cable Companies to and from Europe always give without charge the time of dis-arch on the telegram. "This inforn: as tion is found of much use to merchants? yankers, and others who are continually in cable communication with far distant ports, and my Committee trast that your Chamber will see its way to approach the Commercial Cable Company with a view to similar privileges being conferred on users of its cables.
Tam, Dear Sir, Yours faithfully, (Sd.) A. R. Lowe, Secretary.
The Secretary, Chamber of Commerce of the State of New York, New York, right owner. Further reproduction prohil ited without permission.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.