While the shortage of silver dol-tars for meeting maturing business commitments made rates firm for ash exchange transactions, feelings closer "ce-ordination between, the cading Chinese banks, to increase its share holding In the Bank of China and the Bank of Communications. This greater; cohesion proved extremely valuable when, towards the middle of the year, a large number of the smaller Chinese banks found themselves in difficulties, and three private note-issuing banks had to be supported with Government assistance.
With the spread of the wave of distrust the "native" banks, which had for many years played an im-Poriant part in the financing of trade, began to limit withdrawals on each account to $800, and a number of them closed down. The Government appointed a Native Banks! Supervisory Committee to examine the balance sheets of the 85 "native" banks, and to assess the value of their securities, against which allotments of Government bonds were to be made enabling them to borrow from the principal banks.
In the meantime a fresh threat appeared in the alarming situation that developed in North China. Ever since -the occupation of Manchuria by Japan the northern frontier had become a kind of "no-man's land" and a profitable feld for organized smuggling. During the course of the negotiations between the {wo countries, all customs control on the northern frontier had become paralized.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.