At noon, a reception was held in honour of several score of foreist guests, including members of the Consular Body, leading bankers and merchants, ete. when Mr. Calder Marshall proposed the toast of success and long life to the Central Bank and Mr. Soong.
In replying to Mr. Calder Mar-' shall's toast, Mr. T. V. Soong Gentleman: On behalf of the] Directors and the management of} the Central Bank of China, I welcome you here to-tay and express} our appreciation of the many fel citations which you have honoured us.
The Central Bank of China was started in Canton in 1924, by our late leader, Dr. Sun Yat-sen, who entrusted thi work to me.
In spite of paigns against the authority of then infant, struggling government, which started with not more than third of the province of Kuangtung under its control, the Centra! Bank in Canton was able to main-
'a stable position and to keep s notes at all times at par. In the autumn of 1926, the Northern Expedition was launched from Canton. In the course of a few months, Hunan, Hupeh and Kiangsi were conquered; we then turned our forees eastwards, taking Kiangsu and Chi kiang. During this period of military stress, the finances of the campaign were managed by me through the agency of the Central Bank of Canton. Throughout this trying time, the cash reserves were well secured, being, when I left Canton for Hankow, fully GO per cent. of the note issue, The Communist Catastrophe The Central Bank of Hankow came into existence in December 1926. 1 was then the Minister of Finance and, realizing the importance of maintaining the credit of the Nationalist Government in the new territory conquered by our armies, pat forth every effort ta make i Before T proceed to speak about this new institution, let mo say just one word about the Hankow Central banknotes. The Government has undertaken to redeem by a bond issue the banknotes issued by the Central Bank of China as well fas the notes issued by the Commissarint of the General Headquarters, bearing the inscription ''subsidiary notes of the Central Bank."
As a matter of fact, the General Headquarters has already established agencies along the Tsing-Pu Line for the redemption of these notes, but this task is now to be under taken by the Ministry of Finance, AS soon as the Government shall have completed the sale of the Short Term Currency Bonds and the pro-coeds deposited with the Central Bank, the Central Bank will assume full responsibility for the redemption of these notes.
The Central Banks in Canton and Hankow at the present have organic relationship to the bank we ure to-day opening here.
but another of the inevitable consequences of the civil war through which we have passed and during which the financial administration of the various provinces could nat be unified under the central control of the National Gov ferment. Thus, these two banks developed into mere local institutions,' conforming to conditions in their respective localities. We have now, however, reached the constructive stage of our revolution and all political and srovernmentai Therefore, the Central Canton and Hankow continue this abnormal condition of 'a separate and independent identity. In the course of time, the relationship of these banks will have to be regularized.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.