Canton, June 25.
In six short months" Kwanglung. Provincial and Municipal Banknotes will disappear and from yesterday the Provincial Bank ceased giving out its currency. The retirement of Local notes is to be left en-rely to the three big banks of Nanking and Shanghai which have as their special prerogative the printing id circulating of recognized Chinese National Currency. Twice per month they will make a report on the progress that has been made in reliving this local money. From each bill a comer will be snipped, "and these corners will go back tothe Provin-lal Bank as its proof of the accuracy of the reported Agures.
There is $337,849,000 in Provincial Banknotes outstanding and from January 1 they will cease to be Jegal tender. Merchants and others will not dare thereafter to express in any. written agreement the consideration in terms of these Provincial or Munlcipal notes, for if they do the agreement will' be looked upon by the courts as of no binding effect.
Silver is conspicuous by its absence in the big cities and towns of Kwangtung Province; scarcer than before, it remains ' the favourite medium with the farming lass, and in many rural sections the prevailing bartering medium is about half paper and half specie. An extra spurt. is fon to diminish the subsidiary coinage in popular use to the vanishing point, and new restrictive measures of the Ministry of Finance have just been promulgated in Canton, Whenever a silversmith retires from bus ness he may not let his wares into other hands, but must dispose of them direct to the Provincial Bank, which will melt up the vases and spoons for their. silver content. Pawn shops, moreover, which have taken articles made of silver must bring them {o the government deposi tary if not redeemed within the statutory period.
Concerning itself only with its even problem, that of the pay of the civil servants, the local Government has. announced that its employees will get in national notes 80 per cent. of what they are drawing in Provincial or Municipal banknotes, "Merchants gen-bbe when national currency instead of local notes are circulated.
City Borrows $6,000,000
Borrowed from Shanghai on bankers, Mayor 'Tsang Canton has $6,000,000 to make overdue payments to its contractors, and to get the public works, which' they had to hold in abeyance because of the Government's poverty, started again, Employees of Messrs, McDonnell & German, the American engineering corporation that holds the contract for the building of the Wongsha Railway bridge, and of a Chinese concern that is developing the inner harbour of Canton, have, had to hold off the landlord and the Swatow, second largest entrepot of Kwangtung, is. the terminal station of the Chaochow-Swatow. Railway which, when extended, will run Into Fukien Province and be tied up with network of roads so that Swatow will have direct communication by rail with Shanghai, To bring Swatow closer to the depot of this line spans have been thrown across the Hangkong." Just completed, the bridge hus total length of about 300 feet, a width of nearly 30 feet, enabling two motorcars to pass, and leaving ample space for a footpath five feet wide.
The work had to be carried on lurider most dimeult conditions, as the river bed is filled with quicksand, and most of the construction time was spent in sinking the piers and getting them firmly anchored. One span can be opened to allow. vessels to Dass. This part of the structure is raised ingenious lifting device.
Credit for 'a most excellent job is due the designer and supervising engineer, Mr. Herbert Koenig, a rail: way expert who has been building bridges and railroads in China for the past 20 years—also to Messrs. G. Huygen, who fulfilled the contract for building the structure.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.