Peking, Sept. 24.
Until a late hour to-day the Mid-Autumn holiday settlement was dependent upon a loan of $1,200,000 by a small Chinese banking group and upon the Government's ability to pay all local expenses in depreciated copner notes.
According to prominent Chinese bankers, the Ministry of Finance yesterday proposed that the Chinese group should advance the money under contract with the Banque Belge, which guarantees to repay interest and principal in 20 months. When asked for security, the Ministry of Finance verilied that the Banque Belge had an understanding with the Hongkong & Shanghai Bank that the latter would pay fixed sums periodically out of the Salt surplus in hand, with Government approval. into the Banque Belge, to cover the payment.
There was a rumour to-day (for what it may be worth) that the Banque Belge had signed the contract and that the Hongkong Bank, under the Ministry of Finance's warrant, guarantees the security.
The prospect of the police and soldiers receiving copper notes now 80 per cent. below par is seriously worrying the local comity, as it is feared that the tary will force their acceptance at face value. The Government agents are frantically trying to secure a small loan from any foreign bank to provide a reserve for the notes, but everywhere they ave refused as no security but the notes themselves is offered.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.