May 18.
"Tne importance of the projected Internationa! Banking Association, including Chinese. and foreign banks, which we announced last Saturday, will have attracted general attention. It is hardly an exaggeration to describe it as the most important and welcome development which will have occurred in the history of Chinese finance. The new group will not, perhaps, be able to prevent Tuchuns from enlisting swarms of unnecessary soldiers. But should be able to finance native industrial enterprises and to protect them from official interference in a way that has not hitheto been possible for any other organization. That it may be able to take the place of the New Consortium is no unlikely expectation. Should it do so, no one will be better pleased than the Consortium's principal members. The object of their combination, so far from containing any idea of forcing money upon China, was very largely to teach her to rely upon her own resources, and meanwhile only to ensure that any money lent to China should be properly spent. If that object can be gained by a local, native institution, an immense amount of friction and of persistent, though causeless misunderstanding is removed.
One vital undertaking, on whose fortunes the new Association may exercise great influence for good, is the Shanghai mint project. It is true that the foreign banks would not participate in the loan for the mint's erection and equipment. One of the conditions of the formation of the Chinese Banking Group which provides the necessary money, was that no foreign or semi-foreign bank should be included. But this is of no importance, How the mint is built is immaterial how it is conducted is everything. Now on this point it will be remembered that on March 13 we received a telegram from Mr. David Fraser, alluding to a long memorandum from the Chinese Banking Group to the Ministry of Finance (and accepted in full by the Ministry) embodying certain recommendations as to the management of the mint. Among these was the appointment of a special committee, including representatives of the - Customs,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.