7th December, Ir will be seen with much regret that, notwithstanding all the efforts of Professor Jenks, China has determined to adhere to the silver standard, instead of following the example of every other enlightened Eastern country, and has carried out her promise "to adopt a uniform currency for the benefit of foreigners in the Chinese Empire," by ordering the coinage gf an entirely new coin, the Kuping"tael, which, with its subdivisions, is to be the only legal tender in China, superseding sycee and dollars alike, The imperial decree ordering this sippeared in our issue of the 21st ult,, and in recent issues of the "Peking and Tientsin Times" we find a translation of the regulations for carrying the decree into effect.
The regulations begin by.stating that "the equality and weight of the new tael coin must be purer and more exact than those of the silver dollars minted in the provinces, so as to make it a true standard of the national currency. The best quality of sycee which is now in circulation is found. under the process" of chemical analysis to consist of 98,9 per cent of pure silver. Allowing 2 or 3 candareens for loss in minting, the new tael coin is to be minted with an alloy of 9 mace 6 candareens pure silver, and one mace copper, as equal to one Kuping tael of full touch; five-mace coins to be made of 4 mace 8 candareens pure silver, and 5 candareens copper; two-mace coins of 1 mace 7 candareens pure silver and 3.candareens copper} and one-mace coins of 8.5 candareens pure silver and 1.5 candareens copper." The proportion of the output each time is to be 40 per cent of one-tael coins, and 20. per cent each of the three subsidiary coins, and special permission must. be obtained from the Financial Council and Board of Revenue. if it is desired to change this: proportion. The weight and quality of the coins turned out by the authorise ed mints must be uniform, and all analyses and inspections imusb. he:
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.