May 31.
It will be interesting to see what happens with regard to the new Shanghai Municipal Council Loan the subscription lists to which will be opened this morning, for it en= visages a novel departure in such matters so far as Shanghai is concerned. The terms on which it is Proposed to issue it involve a Tecognition of the change winch has occurred in the matter of Chinese currency, and indeed seems to go somewhat farther than China itself has yet gone, for it really means the raising of a loan in terms of currency as against a commodity loan. "The Chinese dollar has not yet assumed the characteristics of a token currency, because statutory provisions require that it shall contain a cer-fain weight of silver, so that the value of the dollar still depends upon the price of the white metal. In fact all that has been done is merely to change the unit from the tael to the dollar, though it is apparent that the latter is just as Much a definition of quantity as was the original tael. The terms of the new loan go a step further. Recognizing the dollar as legal tender of the country the Municipal Council invites subscriptions to the new Joan in such currency Itrespective of its silver value at a of 2% per cent. The Treasurer's reason for such an action is clearly stated in the communique issued to the Press.
which he states that to define the Weight and fineness of the dollar would be to impose a potential burden upon the ratepayers in respect to the new loans in the possibility of having to provide funds for the equivalent of the silver content of the dollar at any time.
Council's credit, "he said, stood higher than ever before and he considered that it should not adopt 4 dangerous principle and potential
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.