LIBRARY 
 
 OF Till 
 
 University of California. 
 
 Class 
 
HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 IN THE 
 
 BRITISH COLONIES. 
 
 BY 
 
 ROBERT CHALMERS, b.a., 
 
 Of Oriel College, Oxford : and of Her Majesty's Treasury. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 PRINTED FOR HER MAJESTY'S STATIONERY OFFICE, 
 
 BY EYRE AND SPOTTISWOODE, 
 
 PRINTERS TO THF QUEEN'S MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY. 
 
 Price Ten Shillings. 
 

 p~ 
 
Ill 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 This book, though written by an official, and based on 
 official records, is not an " official " publication. For the 
 statements it contains, I alone am responsible ; and the 
 views expressed in it are my own personal views. 
 
 Three or four years ago, when my official duties had led 
 me to take a personal interest in the study of colonial 
 currency, it was suggested to me that I should put into 
 shape the materials I had collected. This book is the 
 result. In its present form it has considerably outgrown 
 my first scheme, which was simply to state existing facts 
 respecting the currency of each colony, in law and in practice. 
 This original scheme I soon abandoned, in view of the 
 difficulty of making the present intelligible without 
 constant reference to the past. I then proposed to myself 
 to bring up to date the " Currency of the British Colonies," 
 published (anonymously) in 1848, by James Pennington, of 
 the Treasury. But investigation showed that, valuable as 
 is Pennington's book with reference to the remedial 
 legislation of 1838, of which he was in fact the author, 
 his researches into earlier currency history were strictly 
 limited to the practical object which he successfully accom- 
 plished, and that it was necessary to go further afield in 
 order to understand the origin and development of the 
 anomalous systems of " denominational currency," which 
 prevailed in the British Colonies prior to 1838. Moreover, a 
 prominent feature in modern colonial currency is the circula- 
 tion of Notes, by Governments or Banks ; and it would have 
 been wholly inadequate at the present day to follow Pen- 
 nington in dealing simply with metallic standards. India, 
 also, though not a " colony," could not reasonably be omitted. 
 Finally, therefore, I set myself the task of writing a 
 
 726*2. 500.— 4/93. Wt, 179. a 2 
 
 1^2773 
 
history, as complete as materials and space would allow, of 
 colonial currency from the earliest times to the present day. 
 embracing not only coin and notes, but also the monetary use 
 of atandard commodities, which was so characteristic of the 
 early currency of the Colonies. 
 
 The field is a new one; and I have had to make my own 
 surveys, and set up my own landmarks. This, and the 
 multiplicity of detail inseparable from a work of this nature, 
 I may be allowed to plead in extenuation of any errors 
 which have found their way into the text. 
 
 My materials have been drawn almost exclusively from 
 official sources, supplemented by contemporary tracts and 
 colonial histories. The main plan which I have followed in 
 connection with each colony has been to start with the series 
 of legislative enactments governing its currency, and to fill 
 in this outline from official despatches, for access to which 
 I am indebted to the Honourable Robert Meade, c.b., the 
 Permanent Under Secretary of State for the Colonies. These 
 official despatches, now deposited in the Record Office, form 
 Beveral thousand MS. volumes, which are mostly unindexed, 
 and nearly all uncalendared. 
 
 The mode of arrangement which has been adopted is 
 primarily geographical ; but, within certain great geographical 
 divisions, J have endeavoured to introduce an historical 
 principle. For example, in the division "America and the 
 West Indies," the ancient colony of Barbados has been put 
 first, followed by its daughter-colony the Leeward Islands; 
 whilst the Windward Islands come third as having borrowed 
 1 1 1 « i i rarly system of currency from the Leewards. Similarly, 
 the division " Africa " opens with Sierra Leone, from which 
 the Gold <'oast, Lagos, and the Gambia were successively 
 separated ; and New South Wales naturally heads the 
 Colonies of Australasia. It has not seemed to me advisable 
 to adopt the more scientific classification according to 
 ■• currency areas." 
 
 A the earlj metallic currency of the British Colonies 
 .•..ii isted chiefly of non-British coins. I have thought it 
 
necessary, for the sake of clearness and completeness, to give 
 in Appendix A. an account of the foreign, as well as the 
 sterling, coins current ; and I have been at pains to compile a 
 history of the old Spanish dollar (or " piece-of-eight ") and of 
 its modern Mexican representative, which will, I venture to 
 think, be found more complete than any other account of 
 this universal coin of three centuries. For purposes of 
 practical utility, as well as to furnish a series of 2)ieces justifi- 
 catives, I have added in Appendix B. a series of the principal 
 Imperial statutory and other provisions relating to the 
 currency of the Colonies generally, from 1704 to the present 
 day. To give the complete series of Proclamations and Acts 
 in the several Colonies individually, no less than four or five 
 additional volumes would have been required. 
 
 Though I 'have written mainly for those responsible at 
 Home and in the Colonies for the regulation of colonial 
 currency, I have tried also to keep in view the numismatist 
 and the student of currency in general. The numismatist 
 will find in these pages all the detailed information which I 
 could glean from the official records, more particularly with 
 regard to " cut money " and coins specially struck in or for 
 the Colonies ; and it is hoped that in some respects this 
 information may supplement Atkins' standard " Coins and 
 Tokens of the Possessions and Colonies of the British 
 Empire." On the other hand, though I have endeavoured to 
 avoid general currency discussions, and have presumed a 
 general acquaintance with the subject, yet so wide is the 
 field of colonial currency, and so varied have been the 
 experiments made within this field, that students of currency 
 will find in these pages fresh materials for the history of the 
 subject, and may not impossibly derive from colonial 
 experience suggestions for the solution of wider problems. 
 The three centuries of the history of colonial currency have 
 exhibited the phenomena, singly or in combination, of barter, 
 monometallism (gold, silver, and even copper), bimetallism, 
 and paper currency of all grades of imperfection ; there 
 are few experiments in currency which that history does 
 not record, and no blunders of which it does not indicate the 
 punishment ; the general lesson which it enforces, is that 
 
 a 3 
 
VI 
 
 the ukases of governments are futile, when opposed to 
 trade relati<»n> and the natural trend of commerce. In the 
 quaint words of Thomas Violet in 1643, " Time, the truest 
 Schoolmaster, hath taught all ages to know that little 
 penalties could yet never interpose between the Merchant 
 and his profit." 
 
 The most pleasant part of my task remains to be performed. 
 To Mr. Hubert Hall, of the Record Office, I am indebted for 
 the pains which he has been so kind as to take in piloting 
 me through the wilderness of the official records. And to 
 Mr. Edward Rigg, of the Royal Mint, I have to express 
 my thanks for expert assistance in connection with the tables 
 of foreign coins, and many other matters. 
 
 My especial thanks are due to my friend Mr. C. A. Harris, 
 of the Colonial Office. It is through his agency that the 
 several chapters of my manuscript have been submitted to 
 local experts; he has himself revised my proof sheets 
 throughout; and he has personally contributed the three 
 chapters dealing with the Mediterranean Colonies. In all 
 these ways he has rendered me assistance which will be as 
 obvious to others as it is appreciated by myself. But the 
 encouragement and advice which he has afforded me, without 
 -tint, during the years this book has been in preparation, 
 constitute a claim to my personal gratitude which I cannot 
 adequately express. 
 
 Robert Chalmers. 
 London, 13 January 1893. 
 
Vll 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 I.— GENERAL. page 
 
 Chapter 1. General Survey ---.._ 3 
 II. Mode of Legislation - - - - 38 
 
 II.— AMERICA AND WEST INDIES. 
 
 III. Barbados - - - - - - ^46 
 
 IV. Leeward Islands - - - - - - 60 
 
 V. Windward Islands - - - - - 82 
 
 VI. Tobago ---.-.. 94 
 VII. Jamaica - - - - - - -97 
 
 VIII. Trinidad ------- 114 
 
 IX. British Guiana - .... 124 
 
 X. British Honduras - - - - - 139 
 
 XL Falkland Islands - - - - - - 147 
 
 XII. Bermudas ------- 150 
 
 XIII. Bahamas - .... 161 
 
 XIV. Newfoundland - - - - 170 
 XV. Canada - - - - - - - 175 
 
 III.— AFRICA. 
 
 XVI. Sierra Leone - 208 
 
 XVII. Gold Coast .... 212 
 
 XVIII. Lagos - 216 
 
 XIX. Gambia - - . 219 
 
 XX. St. Helena - - - 221 
 
 XXI. Natal - - 228 
 
 XXII. Cape, &c. - - - 230 
 
 IV. -AUSTRALASIA. 
 
 XXIH. New South Wales - - - 242 
 
 XXIV. Victoria - - - - 263 
 
 XXV. Tasmania - - - - 269 
 
 XXVI. South Australia - - . - - 273 
 
 XXVII. Queensland and New Guinea - 279 
 
 XXVIH. Western Australia - - - 281 
 
 XXIX. New Zealand - - - 286 
 
 XXX. Fiji - - - 292 
 
 V.— THE MEDITERRANEAN. 
 
 XXXI. Gibraltar - - - - 296 
 
 XXXII. Malta - - - 307 
 
 XXXIII. Cyprus - - 325 
 
 VI.— THE EAST. 
 
 XXXIV. India ... .336 
 XXXV. Ceylon - 349 
 
 XXXVI. Mauritius - ... 360 
 
 XXXVII. Hong Kong - - - 371 
 
 XXXVIII. Straits Settlements - - - 381 
 
 a 4 
 
vni 
 
 APPENDK'Ks. 
 
 Appendix A. — Coins Current. page 
 
 (i.) Spanish and Mexican Dollar ... 390 
 
 (ii.) Spanish Pistareen ------ 395 
 
 (iii.) Spanish Doubloon ------ 395 
 
 (iv.) Portuguese Moidore and Johannes - - - - 396 
 
 (v.) Barbary Ducat - - - - - - 397 
 
 (vi.) (Joins of France ------- 397 
 
 (vii.) Coins of the United States ----- 398 
 
 (viii.) Sterling - - - - - - - 400 
 
 (ix.) Tables of (a) Silver and (h) Gold Coins - - - 402 
 
 Appendix B. — Imperial Legislation, &c. 
 
 (i.) Act 6 Anne, c. 57 (1707) - - - 414 
 
 (ii.) Act 13 Geo. HI. c. 57(1773) - - - 416 
 
 (iii.) Act 38 Geo. in. c. 67 (1798) - - - - 417 
 
 (iv.) Treasury Minute of 11th February 1825 - - - 418 
 
 (v.) Order in Council of 23rd March 1825 - - - 425 
 
 (vi.) Circular Letters of September 1838 ... 495 
 
 (vii.) Order in Council of 7th September 1838 - - - 428 
 
 (viii.) Order in Council and Proclamation of 14th September 1838 429 
 
 (ix.) Banking Regulations of 1840 .... 409 
 
 (x.) Banking Regulations of 1846 .... 431 
 
 (xi.) Treasury Minute of 12th October 1852 - - - 434 
 
 (xii.) Order in Council and Proclamation of 16th October 1852 - 435 
 
 (xiii.) Order in Council of 19th August 1853 (U.S. Gold) - 435 
 
 (xiv.) Treasury Minute of 22nd March 1853 - - - 436 
 
 (xv.) Order in Council of 18th October 1854 - - - 441 
 
 (xvi.) Order in Council and Proclamation of 18th October 1854 - 441 
 
 (xvii.) Sydney Branch Mint Act, 1863 - 442 
 
 (xTiii.) Proclamation of 3rd February 1866 - 443 
 
 (xix.) Colonial Branch Mint Act, 1866 - - - - 444 
 
 (xx.) Order in Council of 10th November 1866 (Sydney Gold) - 445 
 
 (xxi.) Proclamation of 7th August 1869 (Melbourne Gold) - 447 
 
 (xxii.) Coinage Act, 1870 - ... 448 
 
 (xxiii.) Proclamation of 14th January 1871 ... 453 
 
 (xxiv.) Proclamation of 14th January 1871 ... 454 
 
 ( xxv.) Order in Council and Proclamation of 24th March 1876 - 455 
 
 (xxvi. ) Regulations for Supply of Tokens, 1881 - 456 
 
 (xxvii.) Proclamation of 13th May 1887 ... - 457 
 
 (xxviii.) Coinage Act, 1889 ------ 458 
 
 (xxix.) Proclamation of 22nd November 1890 - - - 460 
 
 (xxx.) Coinage Ait. 189] ----- 4(50 
 
 (xxxi.) Order in Council of 16th March 1892 - - - 461 
 
 (xxxii.) Coinage Charges at the Sydney Mint - 462 
 
 (xxxiii.) Coinage Charges at the Melbourne Mini - - - 463 
 
 (xxxiv.) Proclamation of 30th January 1893 ... 4^4 
 
 Index - ----.., 4(57 
 
[ 1 ] 
 
 GENERAL. 
 
THE 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
 „ OF 
 BSltlFOI 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 General Survey. 
 
 British colonial history covers only the last three centuries. 
 In the 17th century, in addition to the mainland " Plantations " 
 (now part of the United States of America), the colonial 
 possessions of Great Britain comprised little else than the senior 
 colony of Newfoundland and part of the West Indies. In the 
 18th century Gibraltar, Canada, and India were won, and the 
 New England States lost. And in the last hundred years 
 Australasia, South Africa, Malta, the Eastern Colonies, and 
 numerous other possessions have been added to the British 
 Empire. 
 
 At the present day, the currency of the British Colonies is as 
 varied as their geographical position ; and the description of their 
 existing monetary systems would form a catalogue rather than a 
 history. In the light of the past, however, these anomalous 
 systems exhibit a certain unity, which renders an historical treat- 
 ment possible. This unity results from their historical evolution ; 
 for, past history, like a geological record, explains and correlates 
 the divergent systems now existing. From this point of view, 
 the ancient West Indian Colonies are the most important, inas- 
 much as they have passed in the three centuries of their history 
 through nearly all the normal phases of currency evolution. 
 Accordingly, the West Indies will be regarded in the following 
 pages as indicating the main line along which colonial currency 
 has developed, until half a century ago ; and a consideration will 
 be given to the currency of these Islands (and, where necessary, 
 of the coeval " Plantations " on the mainland), which, though out 
 of proportion to their modern importance, is justified by the fact 
 that they furnish the key to the history of colonial currency as 
 a whole. 
 
 In 1704, and again in 1825, the Imperial Government legislated 
 with a view to regulating colonial currency ; and these two dates 
 may conveniently be taken as dividing the history of the subject 
 into three epochs, ihe first of which ends with 1704, the second 
 with 1825, whilst the third epoch extends from 1825 to the pre- 
 sent day. But, whilst there is a certain unity running through 
 the history of currency in the Colonies generally, rendering a 
 general survey possible in more than a merely chronological sense, 
 a special word is necessary as regards India. This great depen- 
 dency stands on a footing, and has a history, entirely distinct 
 from British Colonies in general. The Indian Empire originated 
 in trading- stations, not colonial settlements ; these trading-stations 
 were formed, not amongst barbarous tribes like the early " Plan- 
 
 A 2 
 
4 Colonial Currency. 
 
 tations," but in the midst of highly civilised communities, tena- 
 cious even to bigotry of a consistent tradition in currency - T 
 further, the administration of the early trading-stations in India,, 
 as of the later Indian Empire prior to 1858, was directed, not 
 by the Imperial Government, as in the case of the Colonies, but 
 by a trading company ; and even in the present day the affairs of 
 India are controlled in this country, not by the Colonial Office, 
 as is the case with all British Colonies, but by a distinct Depart- 
 ment of State. Indian currency, accordingly, stands so far 
 removed from the currency of the Colonies proper that, except 
 in connection with recent years, its history has . been excluded 
 from this general survey and confined to the special chapter 
 dealing with British India.* 
 
 These prefatory remarks may serve to indicate the scope 
 within which the history of colonial currency is treated under its 
 three periods in the following pages. 
 
 I.-Prior to 1704. 
 
 In theory currency followed the flag ; in practice it was only 
 the denomination, and not the sterling coin, which followed the 
 English settlers of the 17th century to the "Plantations" of the 
 New "World. The only coins they saw were of foreign silver, 
 chiefly Spanish ; and these foreign silver coins they rated in 
 terms of" sterling, thus originating the complexities of " denomi- 
 national currency " which still survive in the quotation of Halifax 
 exchanges.! It was not that the colonists had any quarrel with 
 the monetary system of the mother country ; they were only too 
 anxious to see sterling circulating among them.J Nor is the 
 cause to be sought in the Imperial policy expressed (e.g.) in the 
 words of a Proclamation of James I., that " the treasure of gold 
 and silver brought into the realm should be considered as an 
 immoveable and perpetual stock. "§ For, as Thomas Violet shows, |[ 
 there were countless subterfuges and devices for smusrfflincr 
 coin out of the kingdom if any profit were to be made; and the 
 
 * It is interesting, however, to note that the modern silver monometallism 
 of India has the same immediate origin as the gold monometallism of the 
 United Kingdom, both being the fruit of Lord Liverpool's classic " Letter to 
 the King" of 1805. And, in still more recent years, the paper currency of 
 India has been modelled on the lines of Sir Robert Peel's Bank Acts of 1844-5. 
 
 f Sre article on " Denominational Currency," by Mr. C. A. Harris in the 
 '• Dictionary of Political Economy" (London, 18!)2). 
 
 + Though the Virginia Charter of 10th April, 1GO0, gave the Company the 
 power "lawfully to establish and cause to be made a coin to pass current 
 there," DO coinage was struck. (Crosby, " Early Coins of America, ' Boston, 
 1878, pp. 19—22.) See also coinage powers granted in 1615 to the Somer 
 Uanda Company (infra pa<je 150). 
 
 $ " Surely, " observee Walter Blerrey in his "Remarks on the Coinage of 
 England " (Loudon, tfHU), "King James thought his Proclamations were as 
 powerful aa the Pope's bulls were formerly. Had lie been sovereign of the 
 world, liis prohibiting the use of foilnge would have had little effect • but as 
 King "I ■ -mall [aland, it was like ordering the people at Hull not to draw a 
 bucket of watei out of the river, lest the tide should not rise high enouch in 
 th, llund.er." ° b 
 
 || "An Bumble Declaration," by Thomas Violet of London: Goldsmith 
 I. odon, 1043). 
 
Ch. I. General Survey. 5 
 
 state of the silver currency of England in the 17th and 18th 
 centuries (see p. 400) is ample proof of the failure of this prohibi- 
 tive legislation. It is necessary to go further afield to understand 
 the i-easons why only the denominations of sterling were current 
 in the British Colonies in the iNew World. 
 
 The chief reason was that the early colonists were poor men, 
 with new countries to develope by the slow processes of agri- 
 culture. As a consequence, they required, and received, com- 
 modities — not coin — from England in return for such part of 
 their exported produce as was not already hypothecated to duties 
 and other home liabilities. Hence coined money was rare 
 amongst them; and the flow of such specie as they had was not 
 from, but to, Europe.* Staple commodities formed the normal 
 medium of exchange. Even where coined money was plentiful, 
 it was frequently used for external rather than for domestic pay- 
 ments. Writing of Maryland in 1671, Ogilby, in his "Descrip- 
 tion of the New World," says : " The general way of Traffick 
 and Commerce there is chiefly by Barter or Exchange of one 
 Commodity for another ; yet there wants not, besides English and 
 other foraign Coyns, some of his Lordship's f own Coyn." And 
 Oldrnixon wrote of the same colony in 1708 as follows: — "The 
 Lord Proprietary had a Mint here, to coin Money, but it was 
 never much made use of. ... . Tobacco is their Meat, 
 Drink, Cloathing, and Money : Not but that they have both 
 Spanish and English Money pretty plenty, which serves only for 
 Pocket-Expences, and not for Trade, Tobacco being the Standard 
 of that, as well with the Planters and others, as with the 
 Merchants." Other colonies were not so well off for coin. 
 Excluding the prosperous colonies of Virginia, Maryland, and 
 Jamaica, it may be said generally of the rest that commodities 
 were the only " money " they commonly saw before the closing 
 yeai'S of the 17th century. But with growing commerce with the 
 Spanish main,} and the rise of the Buccaneers in the West 
 Indies, the plantations naturally and necessarily began to form 
 part of a currency area dominated by the silver "piece of eight" 
 from Spanish America. Spanish coins now began to circulate to 
 a greater or less extent in all the plantations ; and the colonists 
 through whose hands they passed, proceeded to rate them con- 
 
 3 " And 'tis computed that there is exported from Great Britain and 
 Ireland to the several Colonies and Plantations belonging to the Crown in 
 America, to the value of 850,000 L, and that the Importations from them all, 
 including silver and gold, &c. are to the value of 2,600,000 1. So that over 
 and above what we send to our colonies and plantations in our manufactures, 
 native product, and foreign commodities, we have a balance in return thereof 
 to the value of 1 ,750,000 £, which centres and remains among us" (''A 
 Survey of Trade," by William Wood, London, 1718). The same author state* 
 that the value of the sugar from Jamaica, Barbados, and the Leeward Islands 
 was 1,300,000 I. per annum, and of the tobacco from Virginia and Maryland, 
 600,00!) I , or 1,900,000 I. in all out of the above 2,600.000 I. 
 
 -j- The Lord Proprietor of Maryland was Cecil, Lord Baltimore. 
 
 J " Spain being the Cistern and Receptacle of almost all the Gold and 
 
 Silver Although that we do draw some drops of this Indian 
 
 spring, whereof Spain is the Cistern, yet we do draw them at the second- 
 hand " : Rice Vaughan, " A Discourse of Coin and Coinage," London, 1675 
 (written before 1635). 
 
6 Colonial Currency. 
 
 currently with the sterling of which they retained only the 
 denomination.* ^ 
 
 The sterling value generally accepted in the 17th century 
 
 ) 
 
 by Sir Isaac Newton's Tables of 1717. But side by 
 this stiver parity, there was a popular ratingf of the piece of 
 eight by tale at 5 s., partly due to the general resemblance of 
 that coin to an English crown. In Jamaica, however, the rating 
 Mas 4 5. (the Heal, or unit, being taken as a " Spanish sixpence ") ; 
 and a parallel for this can be proved in the case of the ancient 
 colony of the Bermudas, and may be presumed for Barbados. 
 The strict 4 s. 6 d. rating is said to have continued in Maryland}: 
 and Virginia § until 1700 (according to the memorial of 5th July 
 of that year, presented to the Board of Trade and Plantations, 
 by Mr. John Fysack).|| But, generally speaking, the plantation 
 rating was 5 s. in the 17th century; — Massachusetts prescribed 
 this rate on 8th September 1642,11 and the Bermudas in 1658; 
 
 ° The early insufficiency of metallic currency had led to the monetary 
 use of tobacco, corn, wampum, sugar, rum, cotton wool, mahogany, molasses, 
 ginger, indigo, skins, &c. In Virginia in 1618 tobacco was rated at 3 s. a 
 pound ("and not more or less, on tie penalty of three years' servitude to the 
 colony ") ; in Massachusetts in 1643 " wampompeag " was made a legal tender ; 
 sugar, tobacco, and other commodities were the monetary standard of the 
 Vt est Indies in the 17th and 18th centuries (see under British Honduras, 
 Bermuda, Barbados, and the Leeward Islands) ; and the use of dried codfish 
 as a circulating medium has persisted to modern times in .Newfoundland. 
 
 Curious as a detail in the history of prices is the statement from Holmes' 
 "American Annals," quoted in Hankey's " History of Banking in America," 
 that the 150 " young and unconupt girls " imported into Virginia in 1620 and 
 1621 as wives for the colonists, were rated originally at lOOlbs. of tobacco 
 (15/.), but subsequently at the increased price of 1501bs (22/. 10 &•.). "The 
 Rev. Mr. Wecms, a Virginian writer, intimates that it would have done a 
 man's heart good to see the gallant young Virginians hastening to the water- 
 side when a vessel arrived from London, each carrying a bundle of the best 
 tobacco under his arm, and taking back with him a beautiful and virtuous 
 young wife." 
 
 t The said Royal of Eight runs in account of trade at 5 s. of his Majesties 
 
 iw English Mori v." (Sir Robert Cotton's Privy Council Ueport of 2nd Sept. 
 
 !"^<;, printed in " Select Tracts on Money," London, 1856). 
 
 "And again say thay, the Ryall of Eight and the Rix Dollar are both of 
 them reputed as equal to five shillings sterling, but hold in intrinsical value 
 less by tin in the hundred." ( Rice Vaughan.) It will be observed that this 
 passage is evidence both of the 5 s. and of the 4 s. 6 d. rating. 
 
 1 This is dubious (see infra, page 14). When in lo"69 (Crosby, page 124) Lord 
 Baltimore coined (a few) silver shillings, sixpences, groats, and copper pence 
 for .Maryland, the coins were to be of standard fineness, but only to "weigh 
 above nvne pence" per shilling. This depreciation is equivalent to a 6 s. 
 rating of the Piece of Eight. Felt (" Massachusetts Currency," Boston, 1839) 
 is \\ mug in thinking the coins were " equivalent to English sterling." Rudin" 
 thought tin I a. worth Wd. ("Annals of the Coinage," Vol. 1, p. 417). 
 
 § From 1645 t<> 1655 the legal rating had been i. in Virginia. Apparently 
 a f.v. rating was temporarily in force again in 1679. (See Crosby, paties 
 22-24.) ■•'.." 
 
 : See page 12. 
 
 *jl "This Cot coosidring the oft occasions wee have of trading w lh the 
 holliinders at the Dutch Plantation and otherwise; do therefore order that 
 the Holland ducatoon being worth 8 gilders shalbee current at 6s. in all 
 pn\ m>- with'" o r jurisdiction & the rix doller being two & a half gildrs 
 lhalbee likewise currant at 5 s., & the ryall of 8: shalbee also currant at 5s." 
 
 now 
 162< 
 
Ch. I. General Survey. 7 
 
 Jamaica took the same step in 1671 ; whilst by the close of the 
 century in Barbados, Carolina, and the Bahamas, the same rating 
 prevailed, continuing in Canada until recent times as the basis of 
 " Halifax Currency." 
 
 This 5 s. rating and its relation to sterling moneys, is thus 
 referred to in " A Discourse Concerning the Currencies of the 
 British Plantations in America," originally printed (anonymously; 
 in 1740, at Boston in New England, and reprinted in Lord 
 Overstone's " Select Tracts on Paper Currency": — "Originally, 
 and for some years following, in all the English American 
 colonies, 5 s. denomination was equal to an English crown 
 sterling. After some time, Pieces of Eight being the general 
 currency of all foreign American colonists, became also their 
 currency ; and they remitted or gave credit to the merchants at 
 home (by home is meant Great Britain) a Piece of Eight (value 
 4s. 6 d. sterling) for a crown or 5 s. sterling. This was afraud of 1 1 per 
 cent. In sundry of our colonies were enacted laws against passing 
 of light Pieces of Eight. These laws not being put into execution, 
 heavy and light Pieces of Eight passed promiscously ; and, as it 
 always happens, a bad currency drove away the good currency ; 
 heavy Pieces of Eight were shipped off. This current money 
 growing daily lighter, a difference was made between heavy 
 money which became merchandize, and light money, in which 
 they paid their debts, gradually from 10, 15, 20, to 25 per cent., 
 as at present in Jamaica. This was another and continued course 
 of cheating their Creditors and Employers at home."* 
 
 But there were deeper causes than the writer of 1740 indicates 
 for the clipping of Spanish silver and the colonial raising of its 
 denominational value. For the colonies, imbued as they were 
 with the old doctrine that wealth consisted of money, and 
 conscious as they were of the inconvenience of having insufficient 
 coin in circulation for the purposes of trade, were naturally 
 anxious, as they became more settled, to retain, and not to 
 export, such coins as came among them. Imitating the practices 
 familiar to them in England, dishonest persons traded on the 
 desire of the young communities for a metallic currency, by 
 circulating clipped money at the full rate ; and this malpractice 
 was condoned by the colonies when it was found that the light 
 money was more apt to stay with them than " broad " pieces. 
 Moreover, with silver as the colonial standard of value, whilst in 
 England the real standard was gold, payment by tale at the 
 English silver-parity for the piece of eight entailed a loss on the 
 remittance of these coins to England, a loss which was readily 
 avoided by reducing the weight of pieces of eight to correspond 
 with the dominant European ratio of silver to gold. Further, 
 " the raising of the moneys "f was an expedient well-known and 
 
 ° See also an anonymous Tract occasioned by the above "Discourse," and 
 published in London in 1741 under the title of " Observations Occasioned by 
 Reading a Pamphlet." 
 
 + " For say they, If we do observe those States which do soonest and most 
 raise their Money, we shall find that they do most abound with Money ; and 
 that Trader and Manufacturer do most flourish there. As for example the 
 United Provinces, and the Arch-Dukes Country and the Hauns Towns." 
 (Rice Vaughan.) 
 
8 Colonial Currency. 
 
 widely practised in contemporary Europe, as was the diminution 
 of fine content; and clipping by the subject was the counterpart 
 of the debasement of coins by the sovereign. Hence it came 
 about that by the middle of the seventeenth century clipping was 
 rampant in the West Indies,* and light Spanish silver coins 
 became the general standard of value in the British possessions h- 
 the New World. 
 
 So far as can be gathered now, Jamaica and New England 
 took the lead in these proceedings. Jamaica, the home of the 
 Buccaneers and the chief naval and military centre in the 
 troubled years of the 17th century, enjoyed an abundance of 
 metallic currency in marked contrast to the lack of coins in the 
 other West Indian Islands and in the English settlements on the 
 mainland. And it is important to note that in Jamaica, whence 
 Spanish coins passed to other Plantations in the second half of 
 the 17th century, f the Real appears to have passed popularly as 
 the equivalent of the sixpence which its appearance suggested, 
 with the necessary consequence that the piece of eight passed 
 for only 4 s., or 6 d. under its accepted sterling value. Hence, 
 naturally enough, there was a tendency to clip the piece of 
 eight down to a weight representing a sterling value of 4 s., 
 or more probably to a weight representing 4 5. currency in 
 the neighbouring colonies, such as Barbados, where the 
 general 5 s. rating prevailed. In the latter case the reduc- 
 tion would be 20 per cent., which corresponds with Chr : 
 Codrington's Statement in 1691 (see infra) that the pieces 
 of eight current in Barbados and the Leeward Islands were 
 only worth from 3 s. 6 d. to 3s. 9 d. sterling, instead of 4 s. 6 d. 
 This would appear to be the chief origin of the early circulation of 
 clipped Spanish silver in America and the West Indies, aided doubt- 
 less by the universal tendency to cut up coins in order to remedy a 
 dearth of small change.}: It is at any rate certain that by the 
 close of the first half of the 17th century light Spanish coins 
 were being circulated from the West Indies through the Planta- 
 tions of the New World. And the predominance of these light 
 coins (and counterfeit money), coupled with the inconvenience 
 of barter and of an inadequate medium of circulation, § led the 
 
 "Our vessels which traded to the West Indies took considerable quantities 
 of light Spanish coyne, whereby many people were concerned and the 
 Colony in danger of being undone thereby.' (Felt, quoting from the Mass. 
 Archives of 30th October 1684, cited more fully in note §, infra.) 
 
 t Other West Indian Islands had previously brought coin to the mainland 
 Plantations. For Winthrop (Journal, vol.* i, page 309, cited by Crosby) 
 - that '.n 27th August 1639, there " came a small bark from the 
 West Indies, one Captain Jackson in her, with commission from the West- 
 minster Company to take prize, etc., from the Spaniard. He brought much 
 wealth in money, plate, indico, and sugar.'' 
 
 (',</.) under West Indies, West Africa, and Australia 
 § "Andai For the minting or stamping pieces of Silver to pass among Qui- 
 res For x\\d rid., Hid.*' (the twopence was struck in 16(32), " we were necessi- 
 tated thereunto, having do staple Comodity in our Country to pay debts or buv 
 tries, In.! Fish & Corn; which 'was so cumbersom & troublesoiii 
 could not be born. And therefore for some years Paper-Bills parsed for 
 payment of Debts; w««" were very subject to be lost, rent, or counterfeited, 
 ft Other Inconvenience*. Then comes in a considerable quantity of light 
 
Ch. I. General Survey. 9 
 
 colony of New England on 31st May 1652, boldly to set about 
 minting money for itself " of good silver of the just allay of new 
 sterling English mony, and for valew to stampe two * pence in a 
 shilling of less valew than the present English coyne, and the 
 lesser pieces proportionably." Felt adds that " we have the 
 report of a Committee, designated by the General Court in 1654, 
 which expressly states that our coin passed abroad at the discount 
 of one fourth of its home value." f Consequently a " Boston, or 
 Bay, shilling " passed for 9 d. sterling ; and as the new coins 
 were immediately carried out of the country (e.g. to the Leeward 
 Islands, J see page 64), it follows as a corollary of their con- 
 current circulation with the piece of eight, that the latter coin 
 (of full weight) must have passed at 6 s., i.e., one-third above its 
 accepted sterling value of 4 s. 6 d. This was indeed the rating 
 adopted between 1670 and 1672 both in the Leeward Islands and 
 in New England. § 
 
 The stimulus given to clipping by the New England coinage 
 speedily led to the currency of light pieces of eisht at 6 s. and to 
 the raising of the rating of coins of full weight. Jamaica in 
 1671 raised the local rating to 5 s., to be on a par with its neighbours 
 and to endeavour to keep its specie in the Island; but this 
 measure failed to check the old habit of clipping in this the bullion- 
 centre of the West Indies. Positive evidence is forthcoming 
 to show the lengths to which clipping proceeded, as appears from 
 the following extract from the Minutes of the Board of Trade 
 and Plantations for 21st April 1703 : — " The gentlemen con- 
 cerned for Jamaica informed the Board that the rate of pieces 
 of eight of about 13g d. weight is there at 5 s., and those above 
 16 d. weight at 5 s. 6 c/." The former of these ratings 
 is equivalent to 6 s. 6 d. for a piece of eight of 17£ dwts. 
 And on 13th July 1691, Christopher Codrington wrote from 
 Antigua : — '* Our pieces of eight generally not being worth above 
 3 5. 6 d. and 3 s. 9d., some 4 5., and (when full weight, which one 
 
 base Spanish Money, whereby many people were cousened, & the Colony in 
 danger of being undon thereby ; Which put vs upon the project of melting it 
 down and stamping such pieces as aforesaid to pass in paym'of Debts amongst 
 our selves. Nor did we know it to be against any Law of England, or 
 against His Majesties Will or pleasure, till of late; but rather that there was 
 a tacit allowance and approbation of it." (Mass. Archives of 30th October 
 1684, cited by Crosby, page 70.) The Diary of John Hull, the first Mint- 
 master (cited by Crosby, page 31), partly attributes the establishment of the 
 Mint to ''much counterfeit coin brought in the country." Cf. the proviso 
 against " brass or copper" pieces of eight in the Minute of the Council of the 
 Bermudas in April 1653. 
 
 ° The original draft was "three" pence, as appears from the heliotype 
 copy of the document in Crosby's work. 
 
 f A long Report upon these coins from the Royal Mint to the Treasury 
 under date 1 5th January !684 (old style) says the fineness was of the English 
 standard, but that the weight was 22^ per cent, less than the corresponding 
 sterling coins. 
 
 t Crosby is mistaken in thinking that these coins had no currency else- 
 where than in the New England colonies, except as bullion. 
 
 § In Virginia and the four Eastern States this 65. rating persisted until the 
 coinage of the United States began and the denomination of money became 
 dollars and cents. (Robert Morris, 15th January 1782, cited by Crosby, page 
 308.) 
 
10 Colonial Currency. 
 
 in loo is doI i 1 s. 4 .', d. % and in Barbados they pass for 5 s., and in 
 tlu Be Ulan.!- for G s." Presuming Colonel Codrington to refer to 
 only 1 7 dwte. as the "full weight" {see 1699 Act of Antigua, p. 67), 
 his mean quotation of 3 s. 9 d. gives the local value of apiece of 
 eight of 17| dwts. as about G s. for Barbados', and 7 s. 2|rf. for 
 the Leeward [slands, the latter figure beiug identical with the 
 ratings deduoible from the 1699 Act of Antigua. 
 
 Briefly, therefore, the currency history of the period prior to 
 1 704 is marked (a) by the rise of "denominational currency" 
 systems as the result of competitive over-valuation of Spanish 
 silver in terms of sterling, and (b) by the final predominance of 
 the clipped piece of eight.* But it was not till the close of this 
 period that coin superseded commodities even in prosperous 
 colonies; in the more backward settlements barter continued to 
 dominate the currency.! Gold coins were of rare occurrence and 
 were regarded as counters rather than as real " money." % 
 
 * Too late for me to make an adequate use of it for this book, I became 
 acquainted with the valuable Histoire Monttaire des Colonies Fra?icaises, 
 published by M. Zay last year at Paris, " d'apres les documents officiels." I 
 have only been able to give a few references to his book, e.g. under Canada, 
 West Indies, and the Mauritius. 
 
 f E.g. In the Leeward Islands. 
 
 On 21 May 1701 Samuel Davies represented to the Treasury that "the 
 least piece ot Money comonly current in the Islands & Colonys vpon the 
 Continent, of America is Seven pense halfe penny, being an 8' part of a 
 piece of Eight, winch puts y e Inhabitants to y e necessity of Carrying Sugar 
 & Tobacco vpon their Backs to barter for littie Comon Necessarys. . . . The 
 proper lemedy is to Coin halfe pence & pence of Copper or a Mixed Metall, 
 & of half y e value the English Small Money is made, with severall Mottoes or 
 Devices for y e Severall Colonys, & to Order them to pass only in the respec- 
 tive Colonys for which they shall be Appointed, viz., one Sort lor all the 
 Colonys vpon the Continent, another Sort for the Island of Barbadoes, a 3 d 
 sort lor Jamaica, & a 4th Sort for all the Leeward Islands. This method 
 will keep the Money witbin the respective colonys." (Samuel Davis 
 concluded by " humbly praying a Third part of the profit for his discovery.") 
 The Royal Mint favoured the proposed coinage of debased copper, but the 
 Board of Trade, whom the Treasury consulted, appear to have shelved the 
 matter, and 1.0 action was taken. 
 
 % It may here be stated that the only Imperial step which would appear to 
 have been taken before the revolution of lbl>8 to meet the difficulties attend- 
 ing currency in the colonies was the striking of an interesting coin in tin in 
 the reign ol James II. This bears the legend " Val 4 Part. Real-IIispan.," 
 and had no central plug of copper, but was mainly identical with the tin 
 farthings issued under Patent from Charles II. and his successor by Thomas 
 Neale and others, who coined 20d. from a pound of tin, and paid JO % profit 
 to their Majesties. There seems no ground for the view which assigns this 
 coin to Florida. (See Leake's " Historical Account of English Money," 1793, 
 and Montagu's '■ Copper, Tin, and Bronze Coinage of England," 1885). 
 
 • in 19 January L6yl the same Thomas Neale and the other officers of the 
 Royal Mint suggested to the Treasury that New England might " be Supplyed 
 with Pence, Halfe Pence, \ farthings, of Tinn, from England, to their Ma ,ies 
 Advantage." la !C>'.)4 halfpence (with an elephant on the obverse) were 
 Btruck for Carolina and New England. 
 
 Prom a Massachusetts Act of 21 February 1700-1, it appears that "some 
 
 \ 
 
 pi 
 
 pan 
 
 the reign of James I., according to Ruding, vol. i. page 369. 
 
Ch. I. General Survey. 11 
 
 II.— 1704-1825. 
 
 In the 17th century the regulation of colonial currency had 
 been tacitly left in the hands of the Colonies themselves,* and 
 denominational currency had been established. Confusion reigned, 
 and complaints'began to pour in on the home government. The 
 early years of the 18th century were marked by a serious effort 
 in England to grapple with the grave inconveniences and 
 anomalies of colonial currency as a whole, and to introduce law 
 and order perforce. Being inadequate in its scope, the effort 
 failed of its direct object ; but, as will subsequently be seen, its 
 indirect results were important. For it drove the West Indian 
 Colonies to adopt a gold standard, of which they were only robbed 
 by the mistaken Imperial legislation of 1825. On the other hand, 
 the recalcitrant colonies of the mainland (with the exception of 
 Virginia) took refuge in paper money, which they issued in pre- 
 judicial profusion ; and from the Imperial legislation of 1704 may 
 be dated the traditional preference for paper which characterises 
 the currency of the United States. 
 
 In tracing the history of this important first intervention of 
 the Imperial Government in colonial currency, it is essential 
 to note at the outset that on 13th f October, 1697, the General 
 Assembly of Massachusetts Bay in New England legalised the 
 customary rating of the piece of eight of 17 dwts. at 6s., equiva- 
 lent to a rating of 6s. 2d. for a coin of the full weight ot 17 \ 
 dwts. Though this rating was less than the ratings legally in 
 force in Jamaica and the Leeward Islands, yet, as the Board of 
 Trade and Plantations was sadly ignorant of the currency sys- 
 tems in force in the several Plantations under its charge, great 
 stress was laid upon this Act (which received the Royal Assent 
 on 24th November, 1698) in the measures which were taken in 
 1703-4 by the Board, in order to harmonise the conflicting cur- 
 rencies of the several Plantations. 
 
 The irregularities of colonial currency were first made matter 
 of complaint some two years after the passing of the above Act. 
 Writing from Philadelphia to the Commissioners of Customs 
 on 6th March, 1699-1700, Governor Colonel Robert Quary 
 says: — "I am obliged also to inform y r Hon rs that the King 
 is also very much abus'd in the paym 1 of this duty (sc. on 
 tobacco). For formerly the p ce of § of 17 dwt. did pass in 
 this Province but for 6s., and then the Merch 1 allow 'd the 
 King 25 1 * p. cent, over and above the current mony of the 
 Country to make it Sterling mony, but since that time about 
 2 years agoe they have rais'd the p ce of § of 17 dwt. to 
 7s. Sd.\ w ch makes it more than 5o h p. cent, worse than 
 
 * See the Order in Council ot 27 October 1686, refusing to re-establish the 
 New England Mint, but authorising Governor Sir Edmund Andros "by 
 Proclamation to Regulate Pieces of 8 & other forrein Coine within the said 
 Territory of New England, to such current value as he shall judge most 
 requisite for his ma'* 9 Service, & the Trade of His Subjects there." This 
 Order is quoted in extenso by Crosby (page 94) who also gives the text of the 
 documents bearing on the proposed re-establishment of the Colonial Mint. 
 
 | Felt says the 19th. The date in the text is from the MS. minutes of the 
 Board of Trade and Plantations for 3rd May 1703. 
 
 J Equivalent to about 7*. 10\d. for coins weighing 17a dwts. 
 
12 Colonial Currency. 
 
 Sterling and yett the collect" have but 25*' p. cent, allow'd 
 now, so that you will find that the King must loose on all the 
 monv receiv'd here 30 h p. cent. w ch is very considerable.'' 
 
 This warning did not reach the Board of Trade. Their atten- 
 tion was first drawn to the disorder prevailing in colonial 
 currency by the following Memorial from "Proprietors and 
 Inhabitants of the English Plantations in America," presented 
 by Mr. John Fysack on 5th July, 1 700 : — " The inhabitants of 
 Bahamy Island Carolina and other neighbouring islands allsoe 
 of Pennsilvania East and West Jersey New York and New 
 England, the Soyl of which countries being not capable of 
 raissing Tobacco and haveing noe other produce to make returns 
 for the Comoditys of England except some Skins and ffurrs 
 Whaleboan and whale-oyl which will soon grow less plentifull 
 as the People increase, are forced to keep sheep sow hemp and 
 fflax and sett up the Linnen and woolen Manufactures to the 
 prejudice of England and may be of very bad Consequence and 
 besides the Merchants Trading thither paying att least thirty p 
 Cent, for Bills of Exchaing and other returns. A remedy to soe 
 great a calamity is humbly proposed as follows (viz.) : — There is 
 now in these Plantations a great quantity of Spanish* money 
 Plate and Bullion and would be much more if returns were 
 answerable ; which money Plate and Buillion is of no use to the 
 Inhabitants to make returns to England because of the uncertain 
 value putt upon it there, and a peice of Eight in the Bahamy 
 Islands being about five shillings the same in Carolina, in Mary- 
 land! and Virginia J four shillings and sixpence, in Pensilvania 
 Seven shillings, in New York and New England six shillings 
 and sixpence,§ but frequently rising and falling in value by the 
 Contrivance of some designing men in those Countryes who 
 engross it when att the lowest and soe make Merchandize of it 
 and export it into fforeign parts where it is more value than in 
 England. . . It is therefore thought worthy And is humbly 
 tendered to the K l Hon ble the Lords Comissioners of Trade 
 and Plantations to consider whether it is not absolutely necessary 
 for the Improveins Trade to the advantage of those Countrys 
 and this nation to sett up a Mint || in some of the Plantations for 
 
 ° It was the Lyon, or " Doge," dollars of Holland, which were the chief 
 metallic currency of Maryland in 1701. An Act of December 1708, "for 
 settling the rates of fforeigne silver coynes within this Province," speaks of 
 the " Dogg " dollars as " the only generall coyne among Us." They were to 
 pass at 4« (><t. 
 
 t This is corroborated by a MS. note in the margin of a Mint Record 
 Book (1703), ami by Governor Blakiston's letter to the Board of Trade of 
 26th -May IT 11 !. Hut Crosby, quoting Bacon, summarises an Act of 1G86 in 
 Mainland rating the piece of eight, with the ecu and rix dollar, at 6s., and 
 practically adopting the New England currency. 
 
 + Whereas Governor Blakiston expressly states that the Virginia ratine 
 was o.v., and that this dnw coin from Maryland, where the rating was 4s. 6d. 
 And in 17<»H Oldmixon .-ays the piece of eight of 1G dwt. (except of Peru) 
 passed for •">.•>•.. like Franco ecus. 
 
 § In 1672 tin- rating was 6«. in New England and New York (see supra). 
 
 || This was always i he Colonial panacea for the dearth of a circulatory 
 medium. Nearly every important colony asked to be allowed to set up a Mint 
 (w, e.g., a Mint Report to t lie Treasury of 1 9 th January 1691 , Speaking of " the 
 neat and repeated applications" of Jamaica and New England lor local 
 Mints). 
 
Ch. I. General Survey. 1 3 
 
 the coyning all the said Spanish money, Plate and Bullion and 
 baser Mettle into English Coyn of the same goodness and value 
 from a Crownpeice to a ffarthing And that by Proclamation 
 the value of Spanish money Plate and Bullion be adjusted to 
 about six shillings threepence p. ounce in the Plantations which 
 is a medium value and that noe Spanish money Plate or 
 Bullion be exported out of the Plantations till first coyned into 
 English Coyn sterling-money to fitt it for returnes to England 
 only, This makeing returnes more certain and disappoynting 
 the designing pverters of Trade Encourageing Merch ts and the 
 oppressed Planters Encreaseing Navigation and Commerce 
 bringing constant Supplys to the Mint in returns to the Planta- 
 tions and from thence in returns to England and by such 
 circulation continualy Landing more of the Spanish riches upon 
 our Shoar." 
 
 Their rhetoric was in vain. No action was taken by the 
 Board of Trade and Plantations on this Memorial, a proposal for 
 a colonial Mint being viewed with disfavour after the New 
 England experience. But when in 1702-3 the Assembly of 
 Maryland, making no suggestion for a Mint, confined itself to 
 representing to the Board that money was drained from Mary- 
 land by the action taken in other plantations, and notably in 
 Pennsylvania, by raising the rating of the piece of eight, the 
 Board promptly took the malter up and wrote to Mr. Penn for 
 his observations on the allegation against his colony. 
 
 On 21st April 1703 he replied in a letter which, apart from 
 the quaintness of its expressions and the interest attaching to 
 the writer, is worthy of transcription in full, as a thoughtful 
 statement of the views held by a shrewd man of business 
 nearly two centuries ago on the subject of colonial currency : — ■ 
 
 To the Right Hont> le the Lords Commiss 1 ' 
 for Trade & Plantations. 
 
 Hon ble Friends, 
 As to the advance upon Coin in America, and the Inequality 
 of it, I am of opinion it is an unhappiness to the Colonies, and 
 that they deceive themselves in it ; but having made Laws to 
 estimate their money, I am not Lawyer enough to say it can be 
 altered but by a Law. As I have declared there, so I do upon 
 this Occasion, I wish all were at a par that an Ownce of Silver 
 should be an Ownce of Silver in all the Dominions of the Crown. 
 But this objection will be hard to answer (the rest are common to 
 the rise and fall of money every where, and soe I wave them), 
 that for want of returns to England all our Money will be 
 sent in a little time thither. Now, tho this may be what 
 England would like, yet is what the Plantations, the Northern 
 especially, will take very ill, unless Murrys Bank were practic- 
 able and paper Credit, in the lieu of it ; nor will going to Market 
 with money instead of goods serve England at long run, any 
 more than the Plantations, who for want of Coin to circulate 
 Trade among themselves, must dwindle in Trade, and the more 
 because not trading with the Spanish Dominions as formerly, 
 there will not be that supply and recruit of Mony as formerly. 
 
14 Colonial Currency. 
 
 "Wei»-ht seems the fairest way, tho troublesome, unless the Queen 
 will allow us a Mint. Our Single and Double Bitts or Royals are 
 like our old clipt thin sixpences ; they want A at least of the 
 intriusick vallue they goe at, a great abuse. In short, our money 
 must be melted, markt or weighed. Your better understanding 
 in these things will supply the want of mine. 1 shew my respect 
 by this more than my skill, which will I hope finde your Charity 
 if not your approbation. 
 
 I am, with due regard, 
 
 Your Respectfull faithfull friend, 
 
 W m . Penn. 
 
 On 21st April 1703, this letter was considered, and the agents 
 of the Colonies examined, by the Board of Trade. Wishing to 
 reduce the ratings " in all places to a fitting equality," but 
 feeling hampered by the Royal Assent to the New England 
 Law of 1697 (which rated a piece of eight of 17 dwts. at 6 s.\ 
 the Board (one member of which was Mr. Matt. Prior) caused a 
 letter to be written on 4th May 1703 to " Mr. Attorny 
 General'' asking " whether Her Majesty by Her Royal Preroga- 
 tive may alter by Proclamation the Rates of forrein Coin in that 
 Province (as well as in others), notwithstanding the said Act." 
 The Attorney General (Edw. Northey) replied on 31st May that 
 the Colonial Act,* having been confirmed by the Crown, " had 
 the force of an Act of Parliament made in England." In reply 
 to a further letter of 1st June, the Attorney General advised on 
 2nd July 1703 that "her Majesty may by her Royal Proclama- 
 tion make forreigne Coynes Currant Money at such Rates as 
 She shall think fitt in any of her Plantations in America, as well 
 under Proprietors as under her Majesty es imediate Government, 
 so far as doth not contradict any Law confirmed by the Crown." 
 After repeated consideration of the matter, the Board of Trade 
 on 23rd November 1703 finally addressed a representation to the 
 Queen in Council for establishing uniform rates of foreign coins 
 throughout the Plantations. After consultation with the Royal 
 Mint,* a Royal Proclamation was signed by the Queen on 18th 
 June 1704, which was ordered in Council " to be transmitted by 
 the first conveyance to y e severall Governors of Her Ma tys 
 Colonya and Plantations in America to y e end the same may be 
 strictly observed and put in execution in those parts." This 
 Proclamation (which will be found in extenso at page 414) fixed 
 the maximum rating of a piece of eight at 6 s. (the Massachusetts 
 rating of 1 697 ;, and directed that other current {silver) coins 
 should be proportionately rated according to intrinsic content, 
 i.e., at not more than one-third above their sterling value at 
 5 s. 2 (I. per oz. standard, f 
 
 ' The sterling ratings of the several foreign coins, as laid down in the 
 Proclamation, were determined, it is interesting to note, on assays by Sir 
 Isaac Newton, then Master of the Royal Mint. 
 
 fit is a curious coincidence that, in the 17th century, the currency of the 
 French colony of Canada was similarly one-third above that of France, as 
 shown in tin- chapter relating to Canada; 100 French livres were worth 
 133J Canadian livres. 
 
Ch. I. General Survey. 15 
 
 But, as Deputy-Governor John Evans wrote to the Board of 
 Trade from Philadelphia on 13th February 1704 (old style), 
 great difficulty was experienced in enforcing the Proclamation, 
 " owing to no slacknesse in the Government, butt to the liberty 
 that Trading men will alwayes take in their own bargains." In 
 Massachusetts, Governor Dudley could not get the Proclamation 
 enforced by the General Assembly ; New York complained that 
 New England and other colonies would not adopt " Proclamation 
 Money " ; while Pennsylvania waited for an example from New 
 York " being of so much more note and more immediately 
 having the happiness of being under her Ma tie ' s Directions than 
 the Adjacent Colonies." 
 
 Coins continued to be received at the old, or even higher, 
 rates notwithstanding the Royal Proclamation. Being consulted 
 by the Board of Trade, the Attorney General on 19th October 
 1705 advised that an Act of Parliament would be required to 
 make it definitely illegal to receive money at more than its declared 
 value. Accordingly the Imperial Act, 6 Anne, c. 57, was passed 
 (see page 414) enacting that after 1st May 1709 any person either 
 paying or receiving the foreign silver coins in question above 
 Proclamation rates " should suffer six months' imprisonment 
 without Bail or Main-prize," forfeiting at the same time 10 /. in 
 equal moieties to the Crown and the informer. " This Act," 
 observes the author of the " Discourse " of 1740, " continues to be 
 observed in none of our Colonies excepting in Barbados and 
 Bermudas.* Virginia Currency was formerly and continues still, 
 better than Avhat the Act directs." It is interesting to trace the 
 steps by which the colonies in the West Indies and on the main- 
 land " drove a coach and six " through the Act of Parliament. 
 
 (i.) The West Indian Colonies took advantage of the fact that 
 only silver coins were specified in the Statute, no mention being 
 made of gold coins. Accordingly the islands proceeded to give 
 independent ratings (by weight) to the gold coins of Spain, 
 instead of continuing to treat them as mere multiples of the 
 silver dollar or piece of eight. And in this they were assisted 
 by the growth of their trade and the greater circulation of gold 
 coins, Portuguese as well as Spanish. The result was that, by 
 stages which will be found most clearly shown in connection with 
 Barbados, the Bermudas, and the Leeward Islands, the West 
 Indian Colonies passed from a silver to a gold standard of value. 
 
 (ii.) The case was different on the mainland; the North 
 American Colonies sought refuge in paper issues which speedily 
 drove out coin. It is outside the scope of these pages to discuss 
 in detail this interesting subject ; but the Board of Trade 
 papers presented to Parliament in 1740 afford evidence of the 
 profusion in which this worthless paper was circulated. f With 
 regard to metallic money, the American Colonies continued in 
 
 * This is an error, as the Bermudas passed an Act expressly to evade the 
 Imperial enactments. 
 
 f See. also the comprehensive article '-Banking in America," in Macleod's 
 " Dictionary of Political Economy '' (London, 18G3), to which is appended a 
 valuable bibliography. 
 
]6 Colonial Currency. 
 
 the 1 8 th , as in the 17th, century to give the preference to silver, 
 and the inter-colonial current of bullion bore gold from the 
 mainland to the islands and silver from the islands to the main- 
 land in return. 
 
 (iii.) Alike in the Islands and on the mainland, the circula- 
 tion of the " base Pistareen " in the early years of the 18th 
 century {see page 395) afforded a convenient subordinate 
 medium for internal circulation. Dollars (as Pieces of Eight began 
 to be called after 1728, see page 392) became mere merchan- 
 dise, and bore a varying premium for purposes of export, according 
 to their gold price. In short, within a very few years after the 
 passing of the Act of 6th Anne, the metallic currency of the 
 West Indian Colonies rested on a gold basis, with what was 
 practically a token silver coinage circulating internally. 
 
 As the i*ating of the nominal standard coin, the silver dollar, 
 continued to advance (i) on the mainland because of the paper 
 issues, and (ii) in the West Indies in the wake of the ratings of 
 gold coins, complaints began to be received from merchants and 
 others as to the losses inflicted upon them by their debtors in the 
 Colonies. The " humble Petition and Representation of the 
 Merchants of London, Bristol, and Liverpool," which was 
 referred to the Board of Trade by Order in Council of 22nd 
 January 1735, is careful to point out that by the Imperial Act 
 " it is onlv Provided and Enacted at what Rates the Silver 
 Coins shall be accounted, received, taken, or paid, within any of 
 the said Colonys and Plantations : Whereas there are, in all the 
 said Colonys and Plantations, foreign Coins of Gold of several 
 Denominations accounted, etc. at Rates equally or more above 
 the Rate or Value, in proportion as Gold bears to silver passing 
 in this Kingdom, than Pieces of Eight or lesser Pieces of Silver 
 are accounted, etc. by the said Act, and this equally attended 
 with the same or greater Inconveniencys and Uncertaintys, both 
 public or private, as the passing of Silver Coins, and is one 
 Cause, according to the Plenty or Scarcity of Gold or Silver, in 
 any of the said Colonys and Plantations, at one time more than 
 another, of raising or falling the Gold or Silver Coin, to the 
 disordering of all Dealings in such Colonys and Plantations.'' * 
 
 In consequence of the agitation on the part of British merchants 
 and colonial officials, Parliament, on 13th June 1739, presented 
 addresses to the King, requesting information concerning paper 
 currency, and enquiring " What rates all gold and silver coins 
 were accounted, received, taken, or paid, and gold and silver 
 were purchased at and sold for per ounce, in any of the British 
 Colonies and Plantations in America in the years 1700, 1710, 
 1720, 1730," and at the date of the addresses. The Board of 
 Trade wrote out to the Colonies, and presented to Parliament 
 the replies received, on various dates beginning with 27th March 
 1740. These replies showed that, apart from paper issues on 
 the mainland, gold had supplanted silver as the colonial standard. 
 
 : The petition ^oes on to point out the evils of the paper currencies arising 
 in the Colonies on the mainland, — evils which were not appreciated an such 
 by the local debtor. 
 
CIi. I. General Survey. 17 
 
 On 25th April 1740 the House of Commons prayed that the 
 Act of 6 Anne might be " punctually and bond fide observed, 
 and put in execution, according to the true intent and meaning 
 of the said Act." In accordance with this Address, the Board of 
 Trade on 21st May 1740, sent a circular letter to the Colonies, 
 requiring them to obey the Statute of 6 Anne, which dealt ex- 
 clusively with silver coins. As regards the gold coins which 
 formed the real difficulty, it was proposed to issue a further 
 proclamation, and to this end the Mint was consulted. On 19th 
 November 1740 the Mint replied, giving assays and weights of the 
 foreign gold coins current in the Colonies,* and deducing from their 
 sterling values " current values" (i) per piece, and (ii) per oz., 
 " one-third above their true value or Mint prices given for them 
 here." On 9th April 1741 the Attorney General was ordered 
 to prepare a draft proclamation on the lines of the Mint Report, 
 which was approved by the Treasury; but, owing to doubts as to 
 the ratings of the Moidore and Johannes,f no action was taken. 
 
 It may be here mentioned that on 21st June 1728 Mr. William 
 WoodJ communicated to the Board of Trade a proposal to 
 remedy the evils arising from " the issuing of paper money and 
 the rating of the coin." His proposal was to strike a colonial 
 coinage (to be stamped " America") repeating the several British 
 coins, both of gold and of silver, but "one-fourth part less in 
 value," i.e., following the lines of the proclamation and Act of 
 Queen Anne. These coins were to pass by tale and to be kept in 
 the Colonies by various futile devices which Mr. Wood suggested. 
 Nothing came of his interested proposal. Twenty years later, as 
 Ruding records, proposals were made to ensure the integrity of 
 the Empire by a common currency. For, "on the 14th of July 
 1748 Sir Alexander Cuming, Bart., presented a memorial to the 
 Right Honourable Henry Pelham, Esq., &c, in which he pro- 
 posed, that, in order to preserve the dependency of the British 
 plantations in North America on Great Britain, the current 
 species of Great Britain should be made the current lawful 
 money of the said plantations, as the proper measure of property 
 in all countries depending on the British Crown and nation ; and 
 that 290,000 /. sterling should be coined at the Tower for that 
 purpose ; which sum was to be made the foundation of a pro- 
 vincial bank for all the British plantations in America, in order 
 to abolish the paper money in New England and Carolina, and 
 to set aside the currency of clipped Spanish money in Jamaica 
 and elsewhere. Cuming was an enthusiast, and his proposal 
 was considered as visionary by the Administration." In less than a 
 
 The coins were the Louis d'or, Louis de Malt, old French guinea, 
 Merlitou of 1725, French Pistole, Johannes of Portugal. Moidore, Spanish 
 Pistoles and Douole Doubloon, and the Barbary Ducat or Chequin. 
 
 ■J- It was on this point that the matter was referred bick on 10th November 
 1741 to the Treasury, where it would appear to have been shelved. 
 
 % This is the Wood who obtained the patent to coin " brass " halfpence and 
 faithings for Ireland, and was so bitterly attacked by Dean Swift in the 
 Drapier Letters. Between 1717 and 1733 he had (probably) issued, under 
 patent, the well-known "Rosa Americana" co'ns (Id., Id., and id.), see 
 Ruding, Vol. 2, page 72, and Atkin9, page 260-3. These coins were as 
 unpopular as the Irish tokens, and with equal lack of justice. 
 
 72642. B 
 
18 Colonial Currency. 
 
 century, however, as will be seen subsequently, the idea was 
 carried out by the Imperial Government. 
 
 A few words are necessary respecting the measures taken by 
 the Imperial Government with a view to purging the currency of 
 the mainland Colonies from paper issues. As an instance of the 
 profusion with which this worthless "money" was circulated, 
 it may be mentioned that in 1740 the exchange in North Carolina 
 was u 1,000/. paper for 100/. sterling." 
 
 In 1750, as remonstrances were in vain, the Act of 24 Geo. II. 
 was passed " to regulate and restrain paper bills of credit in Her 
 Majesty's Colonies or Plantations of Rhode Island and Provi- 
 dence Plantations, Connecticut, the Massachusetts Bay, and 
 New Hampshire in America ; and to prevent the same being 
 legal tenders in payment of money." This Act recites that the 
 Act 6 Anne c. 57, " hath been entirely frustrated in Her 
 Majesty's said Colonies by their creating and issuing from time to 
 time great quantities of paper Bills of Credit ; . . . which Bills 
 of Credit have, for many years past, been depreciating in their 
 value, by means whereof all debts of late years have been paid 
 and satisfied with a much less value than was contracted for." 
 Consequently, the Act provided that, after 29th September 
 1751, no Colonial legislation was to pass, either renewing the 
 old, or creating new, Bills of Credit (except for "the current 
 service of the year," or " upon sudden and extraordinary emer- 
 gencies of Government, in case of war or invasion ") ; existing 
 paper was to be called in ; and, after the above date, no paper 
 currency " shall be a legal tender in payment of any private 
 bargains, contracts, debts, dues, or demands whatsoever, within 
 the said colonies or plantations, or any of them." 
 
 In 1764, pursuing the policy of 1750, the Imperial Parliament 
 passed the Act 4 Geo. III. c. 34, declaring that, in all American 
 Colonies, future Colonial enactments making paper issues a 
 legal tender, should be null and void. But in 1773, in view of 
 " the want of gold and silver currency in several of Her Majesty's 
 Colonies in America," and, " as well for the publick advantage 
 as in justice to those persons who may have demands upon the 
 publick Treasuries in the said Colonies for services performed," 
 Parliament passed the amending Act 13 Geo. III. c. 57 {see 
 page 416), providing that after 1st September 1773 Colonial 
 paper, voluntarily accepted by public creditors in satisfaction of 
 their claims, might be made a legal tender to the Colonial 
 treasurers in payment of taxes, &c* 
 
 During the remainder of the 18th century, up to 1798, 
 practically no action was taken by the Imperial Government as 
 regards metallic colonial currency, except to strike copper coins 
 for some of the Colonies which now form the United States of 
 
 It may be of interest here to quote the ratings, as given by Robert Morrit 
 on 15th January 1782, of the Spanish dollar in the several United States at 
 the date of their Independence : s. d. 
 
 Georgia - - _ 5 _ 
 
 New York and Carolina - - - - - _ y _ 
 
 Virgina and the four Eastern States - - - - (5 - 
 
 South Curolina (paper) ---- --32 6 
 
 All other States - - - - - . _ 7 <$ 
 
Ch. I. General Survey. 19 
 
 America.* But meantime, as has been pointed out above, the 
 early years of the 18th century witnessed the establishment in 
 the West Indies of a gold standard by weight at a varying 
 number of "pence currency" per grain. But a currency by ta.le 
 necessarily continued for all retail transactions; and in these the 
 Real, or "Bit," was the fixed point, passing for 7 |d. currency in 
 Jamaica and Barbados, and for 9 d. in the Leeward Islands, Kzo. 
 The base alloy of the Real of New Plate, and of the 2-Real 
 piece (or Pistareen), not only established them as the sole silver 
 <joins in general circulation, but also threatened the supremacy of 
 gold. The " Dollar " sank to be a mere denomination, or common 
 measure in which to express (i) gold and (ii) the Bit. The 
 steps taken to adjust the relative values of these circulatory 
 media, and at the same time to attract the silver dollar, were 
 twofold. In the first place, except in Barbados, there was a 
 general tendency to make the dollar a piece of more than ten 
 bits, — most of the islands (headed by the Leewards) rating it at 
 11 bits. And, in the second place, a conventional weight of the 
 Portuguese half-Johannes was fixed, whereby this popular coin 
 passed for $8. When this had been done, other circumstances 
 occurred which wrought confusion in the monetary system of the 
 West Indian Colonies, and led to the circulation of gold by tale 
 in the majority of the islands. For, whereas all Spanish and 
 Portuguese gold had been of the uniform fineness of 22 carats 
 in the first half of the 18th century, Spanish gold coins fell 
 into disfavour in the second half of the century, owing not, 
 only to counterfeit doubloons, which had become current {e.g. in 
 Jamaica in 1758), but also to the lowering of the standard of 
 Spanish gold coinage to 2 If carats fine in 1772, and again to 21 
 carats in 1786, — whereas the Portuguese standard of fineness 
 remained (as did that of Great Britain) at 22 carats. "With 
 varying fineness, uniformity of rating of gold coins was at an 
 end ; and differential ratings of Spanish and Portuguese gold 
 coins were necessitated. Even Jamaica, in spite of its geographi- 
 cal position, passed an Act in 1774 favouring Portuguese gold as 
 against Spanish; and in the other islands the like result was 
 attained by the simple process of clipping the "Joe." In the 
 words of a memorandum of 1802 from Tortola : "The value of 
 the half-Johannes used to be the same in all the islands, viz., 8 
 Spanish dollars. In Jamaica (sic) and in Barbados the weight 
 
 * The Record books of the Mint refer to a proposed coinage of 1754 for 
 North Carolina (2 d. Id., hd.), apparently not executed (see Crosby, page 
 143-4), of Virginia halfpence on 20th May 1773, and to the return between 
 1783 and 1781) of several hundredweights of halfpence from Maryland, 
 Philadelphia, and New York. As will be seen from Crosby (page 173 and 
 passim) counterfeit copper coins from Birmingham flooded the American 
 Colonies, " the more valuable metals daily giving place to base British half- 
 pence." 
 
 Massachusetts in 1703 had arranged to have a copper coinage from England, 
 but the scheme appears to have fallen through in the end. Tokens were 
 struck in tne Colonies, e.g., the Gloucester Token in Virginia 1714, and the 
 Granby or Higley tokens in Connecticut in 1737—1*. 
 
 Copper coins were also struck in 1794 for the Bermudas. 
 
 b2 
 
20 Colonial Currency. 
 
 fixed was 9 dwts. 5 grs.; but in all the other islands the half- 
 Johannes passed without weighing ioT $8, but the consequence was 
 that the Jews and other people of similar description dipt and 
 sweated the gold to such a degree that the half-Johannes was 
 reduced even as low as 5 dwts. At the same time a villainous 
 practice was introduced of importing base half- Johannes from 
 Birmingham, Sheffield, and America, — the intrinsic value of 
 which was not more than 3 to 3£ dollars. The consequence was 
 the silver was carried out of the Colonies to America, and nothing 
 was to be seen but this base clipped and sweated coin. To such 
 a pitch had this evil got that it was difficult for the inhabitants 
 to obtain change to procure necessaries for their families, and 
 were often compelled to give a large premium for that purpose. 
 .... In some islands an Act of the Legislature was passed ; in 
 others— where that was not the case — an association was entered 
 into, which had a similar effect; in all they fixed a standard 
 weight for themselves.* And to make the half-Joan current 
 each island had a stamp for itself, and after a certain quantity 
 was stamped, they would allow no more." 
 
 The importation of counterfeit coin into the West Indies, to 
 which the writer of the memorandum refers, had not escaped the 
 notice of the Imperial Government. On 21 June 1798 the Im- 
 perial Act, 38 Geo. III., cap. LXVII. (seepage 417) was passed 
 to prevent the exportation of counterfeit Johannes and dollars (as 
 well as of base copper coins) to the Colonies. And on 26 Mav 
 1798 the Secretary of State addressed a circular letter to all 
 the West Indian Colonies, directing 1 the Governors " to publish 
 proclamations recommending all persons to weigh the gold and 
 silver coins current, and to state in such proclamation what 
 weight the respective coins should be, making such allowance for 
 reasonable wear as you with the advice of your Council shall 
 think right." Martinique seized the opportunity to raise its 
 ratings ; Dominica followed suit ; and the West Indies generally 
 set about establishing retaliatory ratings f to prevent their coin 
 from being drained from them. Consequently on 8th December 
 1798 the Duke of Portland issued a second circular pointing out 
 that his previous letter against counterfeits had been misunder- 
 stood, and that " no alteration either in the nominal value of the 
 coins or in the relative values of the metals ought at any time to 
 be made in any of His Majesty's Colonies or Plantations without 
 express authority from hence." But the mischief had already 
 been done, and it was found impossible to reduce ratings already 
 raised. 
 
 Except in Canada, where gold was undervalued, and where 
 currency legislation in the 18th century was directed to the 
 retention of gold coins in circulation, the over-valuation of gold, 
 
 • The memorandum goes on to state that the weights were 7 dwts. in the 
 four original Leeward Islands, 7 dwts. 12 grs. in Grenada and St. Vincent, 
 8 dwts. in Tortola, and !) dwts. 5 grs. in Barbados. 
 
 | This was the reason of the raising of the dollar from 11 to 12 "bits" in the 
 Leewurd Islands about 1798. Later, the Windward Islands raised the dollar 
 to 13 bits. 
 
Ch. I. General Survey. 21 
 
 and the consequent inability to retain silver coins in concurrent 
 circulation, had led at the close of the 18th and besrinningr of 
 the 19th century to the circulation of " cut money." Dollars 
 and their parts were cut up and the fractions circulated at their 
 nominal value. This gave rise to fraud, five quarters being 
 commonly derived from cutting up a dollar ; and Colonial 
 Governments were constrained — particularly in the West Indies 
 and on the West Coast of Africa — to stamp all " cut money " 
 which was to r.emain legal tender. And some Colonial Govern- 
 ments resorted to the expedient of cutting a central disc out of 
 the Spanish dollar in order to retain silver in circulation. This 
 was the origin of (e.g.) the ring dollar of St. Vincent, and the 
 ** holey dollar " and " dump " of New South Wales. As in the 
 United Kingdom, so in most of the Colonies the great need was 
 for a subsidiary or token silver coinage ; and the above measures 
 were endeavours to secure this end. 
 
 With the large increase of the British Colonial Empire at the 
 beginning of the 1 9th century, the problem of colonial currency, 
 already complex enough in the West Indies, was further compli- 
 cated by the acquisition (from the Dutch) of Colonies with a paper 
 currency. The Imperial standard of metallic currency was still 
 unsettled, and the Imperial Government was not in a position to 
 grapple with the difficulties of other currencies than its own. 
 Consequently, a perfunctory sanction was given to the coinage of 
 depreciated dollars for Demerara and of depreciated rix-dollars 
 for Ceylon ; and copper coins were shipped, when Colonies asked 
 for small change. But in 1816, when the principles of the 
 metallic currency of the United Kingdom were finally settled on 
 the present basis of gold monometallism, the Imperial Govern- 
 ment began to turn its attention to the deficiencies of colonial 
 currency, and circulars were sent out to the Colonies asking for 
 particulars as to to their systems of currency. The replies, which 
 testified to the evils under which the West Indian Colonies (with 
 the exception of Jamaica) then laboured, were unanimous in 
 favour of a silver dollar as the standard ; but the subject appears 
 to have been dropped. 
 
 In 1820, in response to a request from Mauritius, the 
 Imperial Government struck the silver coins known (from their 
 device) as " anchor money " for circulation in the Mauritius. 
 The coins were originally \, £, and T ^ parts of the dollar, 
 and were of equal fineness and proportionate weight.* It is 
 strange, that, after the discussions leading up to the Imperial Act 
 of 1816, and after four years' satisfactory experience of the new 
 token shilling, the authorities did not decide upon a token coinage, 
 
 were 
 
 * The Mint records 
 
 show 
 
 that 
 
 the following weights of silver 
 
 coined : — 
 
 
 
 
 Lbs. oz. 
 
 
 
 
 1,800 <> 
 
 
 
 into j dollars. 
 
 i,oao 
 
 
 
 )> 8 » 
 
 728 4 
 
 
 
 >> A >» 
 
 3,608 4 
 
22 Colonial Currency. 
 
 inferior in fineness to the Spanish dollar. Had this course 
 been adopted, the coins might have been kept in the 
 Colonies, and much inconvenience might have been temporarily- 
 prevented. The issue of anchor money was repeated in 1822, 
 ■when similar coins ( with the addition of a half-dollar for the 
 Mauritius), were consigned to the Mauritius and the West 
 Indies.* The experiment was not, however, made with a view 
 10 a final solution of the currency problem in the Colonies, nor 
 was its success such as to warrant a repetition. A year or two 
 later copper fractions of the dollar were also struck for Mauritius, 
 the AVest Indies, Sierra Leone, &c. ; but the coinage was melted 
 down, before issue, at the end of 1825. 
 
 As regards the circulation of paper money in the Colonies, it 
 has already been shown that in the 18th century the Imperial 
 Government was strongly opposed to colonial measures whereby 
 notes of colonial Governments were made a legal tender. It was 
 this policy which dictated (i.) the disalloAvance of a Barbados 
 Bill of 1706, (ii.) the passing of the Imperial Acts 1750 — 1773 
 (see supra) forbidding the issue, as legal tender, of (unsecured) 
 notes by American Colonies, and (iii.) the prompt pressure which 
 was brought to bear on France in 1766 to pay off " the drifts of 
 worthless paper in which Canada floundered " at the date of its 
 capture by British arms. During the great war this sound 
 policy was abandoned, in practice, under stress of the financial 
 difficulties in which the Imperial Government was plunged both 
 at home and abroad. With a forced paper currency in circula- 
 tion in England, it was not to be expected that austere principles 
 of finance could either be preached or enforced in the Colonies. 
 It is, however, creditable to the Imperial Government of the day 
 that, with the exception of an issue in Canada in 1811 (which was 
 punctually redeemed a year or two later), no new paper was put 
 in circulation in the Colonies. On the other hand, whilst the 
 Imperial Government resisted the temptations to create new 
 issues, its financial exigencies rendered it powerless actively to 
 reform existing evils, in the shape of the worthless paper 
 inherited from the Dutch in the newly acquired Colonies of 
 British Guiana, Ceylon, and the Cape. In these Colonies 
 existing issues, so far from being called in, were largely 
 increased under British rule, prior to 1825. 
 
 The foregoing remarks apply to Government notes. As regards 
 issues by banks, the policy in vogue, alike in the Colonies and in 
 the United Kingdom (with the privileged exception of the Bank 
 of England), was the policy of laisxez faire ; practically, the 
 banks established in the Colonies were allowed to control their 
 
 o 
 
 The Mint records give the following details : — 
 
 I. For the Mauritius : l II. For the West Indies : 
 
 Lbs. OZ. 
 
 
 Dollars 
 
 8,209 
 
 into 
 
 4 
 
 1,283 11 
 
 >> 
 
 i 
 
 1,288 11 
 
 >i 
 
 i 
 I 
 
 oil 11 
 
 >> 
 
 T« 
 
 Lbs. 
 
 
 Dollars 
 
 6,540 
 
 into 
 
 i 
 
 3,780 
 
 >; 
 
 L 
 
 5 
 
 2,620 
 
 !> 
 
 1 
 
 16 
 
 The total weight of silver coined was 19,2. r )8 lbs. oz. 
 
Ch. I. General Survey. 23 
 
 paper issues for themselves, subject ouly to unlimited liability. 
 And, not only banks, but even private individuals were allowed 
 to circulate their own notes, notably in British Guiana and the 
 new Australian Colonies. In Tasmania, for example, private 
 notes ranged as low as 6 <L ; and even in New South Wales in 
 1813 a Proclamation had to be issued to forbid the issue of 
 promissory notes (which were not required before 1803 to be on 
 printed forms) " for any sum of money under the sum of 2*. 6^/." 
 There was little or no recognition prior to 1825 of the truth 
 expressed in Lord Overstone's dictum that notes should be "the 
 shadow of the sold." 
 
 » v 
 
 III— From 1825, Onwards. 
 
 Tn dealing with this third and last period of colonial currency 
 it will be convenient to distinguish metallic from paper money, 
 and so to break up the history of colonial currency since 1825 into 
 two parts, dealing first with the coin of which notes are at best 
 only representatives. 
 
 (a.) Coin. 
 
 In 1825 the Home Government made its great attempt to 
 introduce British silver into circulation throughout the British 
 Colonies.* The shilling was to circulate wherever the Brkish 
 drum was heard. The causes of this revolutionary change were 
 two-fold, arising from circumstances affecting (i.)the Spanish, and 
 (ii.) the British currency. 
 
 In the first place, the successful revolt of the Spanish Colonies in 
 America had cut off by 1820 the supply of the universal Spanish 
 dollar ; while for some half a century there had been a dearth of 
 the fractions of the dollar for subsidiary circulation in the 
 Colonies. The Home Government was also alive to the 
 prevalence of dishonest paper and of " cut " and " plugged "f 
 money, which was the curse of colonial currency in the VVest 
 
 Indies. 
 
 In the second place, the Act of 1816, establishing gold as the 
 sole standard of value in the United Kingdom, had placed the 
 Home metallic currency on a sound basis, establishing a token 
 silver coinage, which for the first time for centuries remained in 
 circulation. And, further, the new Mint was now in full work- 
 ino- order and uble to satisfy even greater demands than those made 
 upon its resources for purpose of internal circulation. 
 
 Consecpuently the disease seemed almost to suggest its own 
 remedv. The new shilling was a success at home ; why should 
 it not" prove as great a success in the Colonies, and form a 
 
 °In the next year, by Royal Ordinance of France, dated St. Cloud, 
 30 August 182G, the currency of the French Colonies was assimilated to that 
 
 of France. 
 
 + When a (gold) coin which had been clipped wa9 raised again to the 
 standard weight, the additional gold, fixed on to the clipped coin, was 
 called the " plug," and the "lumpish result was plugged gold coin." Needless 
 to say, the plugs were frequently adulterated. The coin most commonly 
 plugged was the '• Joe." 
 
24 Colonial Currency. 
 
 i silver) link between them and the mother country ? And, apart 
 from the interests of the Colonies, the Home Government had 
 interests of its own to consult. The large payments to troops 
 and officials in the Colonies, amounting to several millions sterling a 
 year, were made the heavier by continual shipments of specie, 
 necessitated by conflicting and unsound systems of colonial 
 currency. If British silver could be substituted once for all as 
 the circulatory medium of the Colonies, it would not only save 
 the expense of shipping specie, but also swell the Imperial 
 o-ain by seignorage on subsidiary silver. On grounds, there- 
 fore, both of policy and of expediency, it seemed desirable to 
 introduce British silver coins into circulation in the Colonies. 
 The real justification of the measures of 1825 was one which was 
 only vaguely felt at the time, and which required the subsequent 
 experience of half a century to demonstrate and to define. That 
 justification is to be found in the fact that the Spanish dollar, 
 the universal coin of three centuries, had lost its supremacy, and 
 that its universal dominion was in process of disintegration into 
 rival " currency areas," chief among which was destined to be 
 the area dominated by British sterling. 
 
 A beginning was made through the Commissariat, the Depart- 
 ment by which the troops, &c. were paid abroad. As the pay of 
 the troops was fixed in sterling, it was decided to pay them in 
 sterling silver and copper coins, and so to introduce these coins 
 into Colonies. In order to keep the money in circulation, an 
 ingenious arrangement was devised. The bills which the Com 
 missaries were in the habit of drawing upon the Treasury at 30 
 days' sight for raising funds, were to be issued (at 103/. per 100/. 
 Bill) to any person tendering British silver. In this way it was 
 hoped to ensure the general use of British tokens as a circulatory 
 medium in the Colonies. These proposals, which so far had 
 primary reference, not to the colonial public, but to the Imperial 
 troops, &c, were embodied in the Treasury Minute of 11th 
 February 1825 (quoted inextenso at page 417), the substance of 
 which was communicated to the several Commissaries by circular 
 letter of 12th February. In order to give legal currency to the 
 British coins in the Colonies generally, an Order in Council was 
 passed on 23rd March 1825 {see page 425), which proved as 
 mischievous as it was intended to be beneficial. Its fundamental 
 errors, derived from the Treasury Minute, were (i.) its rating of the 
 Spanish dollar for concurrent circulation with British silver, and 
 ( ii.) its omission to rate foreign gold coins. 
 
 (i.) The Treasury Minute stated that " as the substitution of 
 British silver and copper currency for the Spanish dollar, even 
 in the payments from the military chest to the troops, cap only be 
 gradually effected ; and as it may, in many cases, be still expedient 
 to employ that coin as a medium of payment at a fixed rate as 
 compared with British currency, my Lords are of opinion that 
 it should (when necessary) be issued at the rate of 4 s. 4 d* the 
 
 c The figure Was derived from Kelly's Cambist, which gave 370-9 grains as 
 the fine content of the Spanish dollar. Consequently, at 5 s. 2d. per ounceof 
 
 ndard silver (containing 444 grains fine), the equivalent of the Spanish 
 dollar was taken as being 51"7D d. 
 
Ch. I. General Survey. 25 
 
 dollar, being a fraction of a farthing only above its intrinsic value 
 at the rate of 5 s. 2 d. per ounce of standard silver." But as this 
 " Mint price," which dated back to 1601, and had reference to a 
 bimetallic standard, was 2c?. per ounce higher than the gold-price 
 of silver in the open market, the effect of its application to the 
 Spanish dollar was to overrate that coin, as measured by the gold 
 sovereign, to which the shilling was now subsidiary. Had this 
 blunder been confined to the mere rate of issue of the Spanish 
 dollar to the troops in lieu of sterling coins, the evil would not 
 have amounted to more than an unintentional fraud on the 
 troops, &c. ; but, when the obsolete Mint price was made the 
 basis for rating British silver for concurrent circulation with the 
 dollar, the over-valuation of the latter coin by 3J- per cent, was 
 fatal to the Imperial scheme. By a familiar law, the over-rating 
 of the dollar sufficed to drive out the shilling. 
 
 (,ii.) As has been shown above, the indirect effect of the Pro 
 clamation and Act of 6 Anne had been to establish a gold 
 standard in the West Indies. Here, as in Spain itself, the gold 
 doubloon (with the Portuguese Johannes)* had practically sup- 
 planted the silver dollar. Consequently, if British silver was 
 undervalued 3]- per cent, as compared witti the dollar, it was still 
 further under-rated (by an additional 4^ to 5 per cent.), as com- 
 pared with the colonial gold standard. In Colonies where the 
 doubloon (worth 645. sterling) passed, as in Spain, for 16 silver 
 dollars, the under-valuation of the shilling by about 8 per cent, 
 rendered its circulation hopeless. In Gibraltar, for example, 
 where the doubloon was supreme, the newly-arrived boxes of 
 British silver were bought up at the price of one doubloon for 
 69 s. 4 f/., and immediately shipped back to England "unopened 
 and with seals intact." 
 
 Beyond these two fundamental errors of method, there was 
 the minor error of fixing one uniform rate of exchange for the 
 issue of Treasury Bills in all Colonies alike. A premium of 3 per 
 cent., though, perhaps, not too high (at the time) for the Australian 
 Colonies, was excessive for places where the cost of shipment, &c, 
 was less than 3 per cent. Even had the introduction of British 
 tokens been thoroughly carried out, it is evident that no person 
 would pay down 103/. for a 100/. bill on the London Treasury 
 at 30 days' sight, when he could ship the coin home, or buy a 
 private bill, at a less rate. 
 
 In spite of all its shortcomings, the principle of the Order in 
 Council of 23rd March 1825 was brought into operation in the 
 Colonies generally. The details will be found under the 
 head of the several Colonies; the story of its failure is best told 
 in the language of the remedial measures subsequently 
 adopted. 
 
 In January 1827 the Treasury complained to the Commissariat 
 Department, that" when British money is issued from the military 
 
 ♦Roughly speaking, Portuguese gold was unimportant as compared with 
 Spanish gold, till the second halFof the last century. About the beginning 
 of this century the most important West Indian islands encouraged the cir- 
 culation of the doubloon, leaving the cut Johannes to the Leeward Islands, &c. 
 
 rHE ». 
 
26 Colonial Currency. 
 
 chests to the paymasters or others, it is exchanged for dollars or 
 other circulating medium, and the silver money is returned into 
 the chest for bills on this Board, instead of being paid to the 
 men, by which measure only it would get into circulation, and 
 supersede the circulation of dollars and other foreign coins, for 
 which it is, in Their Lordships' opinion, in all respects better 
 adapted." This practice, which was very profitable to pay- 
 masters, was to be discontinued, and the troops were to be 
 actually paid in British silver. • And in September of the same 
 year, the rate at which 100/. bills were to be sold in exchange 
 for British silver was reduced from 103 /. to 101 /. 10s. In 1834 
 and 1835 Kepublican dollars and doubloons of the South 
 American States were admitted to an equality with the Spanish, 
 dollar and doubloon ; and, also in 1834 and 1835, a proposal 
 was nearly adopted to coin token fractions of a dollar (quarters, 
 eighths, and sixteenths),* to replace the cut money of the West 
 Indies, &c., and to provide the greater volume of small cur- 
 rency there required for the payment of wages to emancipated 
 slaves. This proposal was abandoned when it was found that 
 Jamaica and other islands had rated the shilling and sixpence 
 as quarters and eighths of the dollar respectively ; and that it 
 was in furtherance of the same scheme that Jamaica had 
 obtained 10,000/. worth of 3c?. and \\d. pieces from England. 
 A definite step in advance, however, was taken in 1835 by 
 Treasury Minute of 19th June, whereunder the Army rate of 
 the doubloon was reduced from 69 s. 4rf. to 66s. This reduction 
 was made on the ground that the "doubloon is intrinsically 
 equivalent to about 15^ 5 T dollars (i.e., at 4s. 4<f. each), and, so 
 far, marked a great advance towards a solution of the problem 
 of rating Spanish coins for concurrent circulation with British 
 coins. But, though the doubloon was placed on a just footing 
 with regard to the dollar, there still remained the overrating 
 of the silver dollar by 3^ per cent, with regard to sterling. 
 
 Much distress having been occasioned in the West Indies by 
 the want of properly regulated silver currency, a Committee of 
 the Privy Council was appointed in 1838 to hold an inquiry; 
 and the root of the evil was shown by Mr. James Pennington to 
 be the erroneous rating of the dollar, according to the 
 "Mint price" of 5s. 2d. per ounce standard, instead of 
 according to market price (then 5 s.). The representatives of 
 the West Indian Colonies, and notably Mr. McQueen, on behalf 
 of Jamaica, advocated the retention of the silver dollar as 
 " the proper circulating medium and standard of value to be 
 continued in the British West India Colonies," with shillings, 
 &c, in subsidiary circulation up to a limit of 5 dollars. But 
 the Government was not prepared to go further than to correct 
 the errors of 1825. As the bullion values of a Mexican dollar and 
 
 The fineness was to lie JS33-3 per mille, and the weights were to be propor- 
 tionate to the dollar, i.e., 1<>4 grains tor the quarter, 52 for the eighth, and 2C> 
 for the sixteenth. They were to be stamped " West Indies," and not to be 
 legal tender beyond 10 dollars in one payment. An amount representing 
 ."00,000 dollars was to be coined in the first instance. 
 
Ch. I. General Survey. 27 
 
 of a doubloon were found to be nearly 4 s. 2 d. and 64 s. respec- 
 tively, those values were adopted as the ratings of these two 
 coins for concurrent circulation with sterling. It was decided to 
 do no more than give a fair field to the dollar, the doubloon, 
 and the shilling in the West Indies, and by correct adjust- 
 ment of the three principal coins in circulation, to enable 
 "currency" systems to be abolished without interfering with ex- 
 isting contracts. 
 
 Accordingly, (i.) by Order in Council of 7th September 1838 
 (see 428 page ") the Order in Council of 23rd March 1825 was 
 revoked, so far as respected the Colonies in America and the West 
 Indies; and (ii.), by Order in Council, and Proclamation of 
 14th September 1838 (see page 429), it was ordained that, through- 
 out the West India Colonies, including British Guiana,* the 
 doubloon and dollar should circulate and be received in payment, 
 equally with sterling, as being respectively of the full value of 
 64«. and 4 s. 2d. Instructions were sent at the same date 
 to the Governors of the several Colonies in the West Indies 
 directing them to declare by local proclamation the "currency" 
 values of the doubloon, the dollar, and the shilling, according to 
 the relative values assigned to these coins in the Royal Procla- 
 mation. The doubloon, being the real standard in the West 
 Indies, was to be taken as the basis of the currency ratings, with 
 a consequent levelling up of the values of the dollar and shilling. 
 The new " currency ratings " were in most cases inconvenient 
 for the purposes of ordinary life. The Bahamas and Jamaica 
 at once proceeded to dispense with " currency " and adopt sterling 
 denominations. And in this connection it is to be observed that, 
 the reign of the Spanish dollar being over, most of the West 
 Indian Colonies had come to form part of the rapidly widening 
 "currency area" of Great Britain. Hence, even though in 
 many cases the formal adoption of sterling denominations was 
 postponed (by Montserrat till 1864), sterling coins steadily 
 worked their way into general circulation in the West Indies. 
 The success of the legislation of 1838 in the West Indies led in 
 1843-4 to its application to Colonies elsewhere, — to the Mauritius, 
 the West Coast of Africa, St. Helena, Malta, Gibraltar, and 
 Honcr Kong. In the two first cases French and East Indian 
 coins were also admitted to tender ; in Malta the doubloon was 
 not allowed to compete with sterling; and in Gibraltar (where 
 only the Spanish doubloon passed current, and where the silver 
 dollar was in practice mere bullion) the rating of the dollar (as 
 a denomination) at 4s. 2d. was allowed to be established side by 
 side with the rating of the Spanish doubloon at 16 dollars, or 
 66 s. 8 c?., instead of 64s. 
 
 The great discoveries of gold in Australia in 1851,f following 
 as they did on those of California, profoundly affected the 
 
 * The new legislation, it will be observed, was not extended to the Colonies 
 in North America. Apart from other considerations, the year was unpro- 
 pitious, as being that of the Canadian Rebellion. 
 
 f According to Coghlan's Seven Colonies of Australasia, " from the date of 
 the first discovery of payable gold, in 1851, to the end of the year 1890, the 
 quantity of gold produced in the Australasian Colonies represents a total 
 
28 
 
 Colonial Currency. 
 
 currency of the British Colonies in common with the rest of the 
 civilised world. A primary effect was' to drive out the now 
 appreciated silver dollar from circulation in places like the West 
 Indies,* where nothing but the hitherto steady gold-price of silver 
 had retained these coins in circulation, side by side with the gold 
 sovereign and iis token representatives. Thus the second half 
 of the century saw the banishment of the old silver dollar to 
 the East. But the most notable effect of the Australian gold 
 discoveries was the local demand for the establishment in Australia 
 of branches of the .Royal Mint, the first of which was opened at 
 Sydney on 14 May 1855, whilst the second, at Melbourne, dates 
 only from 12 June 1872. The coins issued from the Sydney 
 Mint during the first years of its working were a legal tender only 
 in Australasia and the Eastern Colonies of Ceylon,Mauritius, and 
 Hong Kong.f But, as local feeling was strong against the 
 restricted currency of the Australian sovereign, and, as a Select 
 Committee of the House of Commons in 1862 J recommended the 
 admission of the colonial coin to equality with the London 
 sovereign, the Imperial Act 26 & 27 Vict. c. 74 {see page 442) was 
 passed in 1863, giving power to Her Majesty (i.) to declare gold 
 coins struck at the Sydney Branch Mint a legal tender in the 
 United Kingdom, and (ii.) " to impose on the coinage of 
 gold at the said Branch Mint at Sydney a charge sufficient to 
 defray the expenses of coinage, over and above the expenses of 
 assay and refining ; and it shall be incumbent on the said Deputy 
 
 value of 341,906,358 ?., extracted in the short space of 40 years. The share of 
 each Colony in the production of this wealth is given hereunder : — 
 Production of Gold in Australasia to end of 1890. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Proportion 
 
 
 Colony. 
 
 
 Value. 
 
 raised in 
 each Colony. 
 
 
 
 
 £. 
 
 Per Cent. 
 
 New South Wales 
 
 - - 
 
 - 
 
 38,075,172 
 
 11-14 
 
 Victoria 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 227,357,436 
 
 66-50 
 
 Queenslund - 
 
 - • 
 
 . 
 
 26,034,662 
 
 7-61 
 
 South Australia - 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 1,169,768 
 
 0-34 
 
 XV estern Australia 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 605,535 
 
 0-18 
 
 Tasmania 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 2,238,156 
 
 0-65 
 
 New Zealand 
 
 Australasia - - 
 
 - 
 
 46,425,629 
 
 13-58 
 
 
 341,906,358 
 
 100-00 
 
 In his" Wealth and Progress of New South Wales" (Sydney, 18!)1), the 
 same writer shows, for the period 1851-1890, a net export ot 303,335,700 I. in 
 respect of gold, bullion, and specie for the whole of Australasia, two-thirds of 
 tins amount being contributed by Victoria alone. 
 
 In the Bahamas this lesulted in the introduction of the gold dollar of the 
 United States, and in the consequent passing of the Orders in Council, &C. of 
 1!) AugUbt 1863 and 9 March 1854 (seepage 435), formally rating the Eagle at 
 41 s. and the gold dollar at 4s. 1 d. for the whole of the West Indies. 
 
 f The gold discoveries had furnished the Imperial Government with a 
 favourable opportunity for introducing in 1852 the principle of a 40 s. limit of 
 tender for silver in Australasia. And as it was then generally believed that 
 
 India and the East .generally would pass to a gold standard, the 40 s. limit w 
 also applied to ( Vylon, Mauritius, and Hong Kong (see Order in Council ai 
 Royal Proclamation ot 16 October 1852, quoted at page 435). 
 % Parliamentary Paper, No. 421, of 1862. 
 
 as 
 and 
 
Ch. I. General Survey. 29 
 
 Master to coin gold at the charge so imposed." Under this Act 
 was issued the Royal Proclamation of 3 February 1866 {see 
 page 443), (i. ) declaring Sydney gold " a legal tender for payments 
 within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland," and 
 (ii.) imposing a charge of 3d. per ounce. As the Act of 1863 
 related to Sydney coins only, and, with regard to these, provided 
 for their currency in the United Kingdom onty ; and as, moreover, 
 the question of establishing other colonial mints had again been 
 brought under Imperial consideration, the Colonial Branch Mint 
 Act, 1866 (see p. 444) was passed, enabling to Her Majesty to 
 proclaim the gold coins of any Branch Mint a legal tender both 
 in the United Kingdom and in the Colonies, and to impose a 
 charge for coinage. On 10 November 1866, a Royal Proclama- 
 tion (see p. 445) was issued under the provisions of the above Act, 
 making the Sydney coins legal tender in the Colonies specified 
 in the Schedule to the Proclamation, so that the coins of this 
 Branch Mint were now placed practically on a footing of 
 equality with those struck at the Royal Mint in London.* 
 When it was finally decided to establish a new Branch Mint at 
 Melbourne, currency was given to the gold coins which might 
 be struck there by the Royal Proclamation of 7 August 1869 
 {see p. 447), " within all parts of Our Dominions in which 
 gold coins issued from Our Mint in London are at the date of 
 the issue of this Our Proclamation a legal tender."! The Order 
 in Council of 7 August 1869, relating to the establishment of 
 the new branch Mint, whilst imposing no coinage charge at 
 Melbourne, authorises the coinage of " gold and other coin in 
 accordance with the standard of weight and fineness of the 
 currency of this realm, and of the same design," subject to 
 Treasury control. But no silver or bronze coins have been struck 
 at Melbourne, or at Sydney, though the question of minting 
 silver tokens at Melbourne has been raised recently by the 
 Government of Victoria, as mentioned in the chapter relating to 
 the latter Colony. 
 
 It will have been observed that from 1825 onwards, no doubt 
 had been entertained by the Imperial authorities that, faulty as 
 the legislation of 1825 might have been in important details, it 
 was other than sound in its essential idea, viz., that sterling was 
 the best system of currency for all British Colonies, irrespective 
 of their geographical position and trade relations. It is true that 
 certain foreign coins were allowed also to be legally current, such 
 as the dollar and doubloon ; but it was only by way of compromise 
 that these non-sterling coins were allowed to circulate con- 
 currently with sterling. And, as has been pointed out, the 
 Imperial Government had shown its anxiety to perfect the intro- 
 
 It was not until 18G8, however, that, by Proclamation of 14 May of that 
 year, Sydney gohl was made a legal tender in Canada and Newfoundland. 
 
 •j- Evidence is not forthcoming to show that the Royal Proclamation was 
 published in any Colony except Victoria ; nor does the point seem material 
 seeing that the Act gives statutory effect to the Proclamation upon its issue. 
 It will, however, be observed that the Imperial Act is precise in referring 
 solely to "gold coins issued from Our Mint in London.'' Consequently 
 Melbourne gold was not made a legal tender in Colonies where only Sydney, 
 and not London, gold was a legal tender in 1861). 
 
30 Colonial Currency. 
 
 duction of sterling currency by imposing in 1852 a 40 s. limit on 
 the tender of British silver, not only in Australia but also in such 
 silver-using countries as Ceylon, Mauritius, and Hong Kong. 
 This doctrine of the universal applicability of sterling was aban- 
 doned, though with reluctance, when it was demonstrated (in each 
 case by Sir Hercules Robinson) that a gold standard was imprac- 
 ticable, and mischievous, in Colonies such as Hong Kong, the 
 Straits Settlements, and Ceylon, where trade relations made a 
 silver standard imperatively necessary. It was thus the East 
 which taught the lesson of " currency areas "in colonial currency. 
 Once recognised, the new doctrine was warmly espoused, a mint 
 being established in 1864 at Hong Kong to coin, instead of gold 
 sovereigns, silver dollars of the Mexican type. In 1876, Mauritius 
 was recognised as falling, like Ceylon, within the currency area 
 of India, and the silver rupee was accordingly established as the 
 standard coin for the Island. And in 1887 the currency of 
 British Honduras was reformed by adopting as the standard the 
 silver dollar of Guatemala, on the ground that it was by the 
 neighbouring Republics that the currency of this British Colony 
 Avas necessarily dominated. And while the doctrine of " currency 
 areas" was recognised and applied by the Imperial Government 
 in the case of these lesser Colonies, the self-governing Dominion 
 of Canada had in 1871 recognised the same doctrine for itself by 
 assimilating its currency* (so far as the gold standard was con- 
 cerned) to that of the neighbouring United States, — a step which 
 has also been taken, in practice though not in law, by the 
 Bahamas. Alone among British Colonies, Newfoundland has 
 maintained its (formal) independence in currency. Refusing to be 
 drawn into the currency area either of Great Britain or of the 
 United States, the senior Colony has the unique distinction of 
 possessing a gold coin of its own (the two-dollar piece), which 
 perpetuates the gold-price in 1838 of the old Spanish silver dollar. 
 The following is a list of the several Colonies, classified from 
 the point of view of metallic currency : — 
 
 I. Sterling Standard. 
 
 (a) With 40 s. limit for silver : 
 
 Australasia.* 
 
 The Cape, &c. 
 
 Natal. 
 
 Fiji. 
 
 St. Helena. 
 
 (b) With a 5 /. limit : 
 
 Malta. 
 
 (r) With no limit : 
 
 West Indian Islands. 
 British Guiana. 
 West African Colonies. 
 Falkland Islands. 
 
 ° In practice, though not by law, in every Colony .~ 
 
o 
 
 O 
 
 CO 
 
 Ch. I. General Survey. 31 
 
 IL Non-Sterling Standards. 
 
 (a) IT. S. gold dollar: 
 Dominion of Canada. 
 
 (b) Newfoundland gold dollar: 
 Newfoundland. 
 
 (c) Spanish (= Latin Union) " bimetallic" standard : 
 Gibraltar. 
 
 (d) Mexican dollar : 
 Hong Kong. 
 Straits Settlements. 
 
 (e) Rupee : 
 British India. 
 Ceylon. 
 Mauritius. 
 
 (/) Guatemalan dollar: 
 British Honduras. 
 
 In concluding this portion of the general survey it is neces- 
 sary to advert to the abuse of tokens in some sterling-using 
 Colonies. 
 
 In the West Indies and elsewhere* the absence of a 40 s. 
 limit on the le^al tender of silver vitiates the local system of 
 currency by maintaining a metallic circulation of mere tokens 
 without a local bulwark of standard gold coins. 
 
 It is true that twentv silver shillings cannot be obtained from 
 the Royal Mint except in exchange for a yold sovereign, and that, 
 since the Imperial system of issuing silver coins is calculated 
 automatically to meet general requirements (at home) without 
 danger of over-issue, these silver tokens maintain their nominal 
 value in gold. But it is to be observed that the Imperial 
 Government 1ms never recognised any title on the part of holders 
 of silver (or bronze) coins to have such token coins re-exchanged 
 for gold. And, the practical consequence to a small Colony of a 
 currency reduced to tokens only, is 
 
 (a) to encourage the convenient, but dangerous, 
 system of paper currency (more or less unsecured) 
 in respect of the larger amounts represented by the 
 displaced gold coins ; and, 
 
 (b) to hand over the control of the exchanges to 
 Banks, which are thus enabled to profit by the short- 
 comings of the local currency system.f 
 
 These results, it may be added, are directly encouraged by the 
 liberality of the Imperial Government in paying freight, &c. 
 on British tokens supplied to Colonies (see page 456). 
 
 * In the West African Colonies, where there is no paper currency and 
 where there are no banks of issue, gold is found in concurrent circulation 
 with silver tokens, in spite of the absence of a 40*. limit, and in spite of the 
 native preference for silver. 
 
 f This was the reason which led, at the instance of the local merchants, and 
 in opposition to the wishes of the hanks, to the recognition by law of the 
 sovereign in Newfoundland in 185H. 
 
32 Colonial Currency. 
 
 There is also (lie possible danger to the Imperial Government 
 of having to face re-shipment8 of the vast sums in token silver 
 which, though now circulated or hoarded on the West Coast of 
 Africa and throughout the West Indies, may hereafter be returned 
 into home circulation to the derangement of the sterling monetary 
 system. It must not be forgotten that the framers of the Imperial 
 regulations of 1816 for issuing tokens did not contemplate the 
 use of British tokens outside the United Kingdom. 
 
 Passing from the above general considerations to tne parti- 
 cular case of the West India Islands, it should be remembered 
 that, prior to 1825, gold had been their monetary -standard for 
 over a century ; and that nearly all the important Islands 
 objected strongly in 1838, when sterling was finally introduced, 
 to the absence of a limit of legal tender on British silver, as 
 robbing them of their gold standard. Though, in the second half 
 of this century, local opinion has been adverse to a 40 s. limit 
 (largely, it would appear, under the mistaken impression that 
 such a limit would clash with the need for relative abundance of 
 silver wherewith to pay the negroes), yet it may be hoped, on the 
 precedent of the spontaneous action recently taken by St. Lucia, that 
 united action will eventually be taken by the West India Islands 
 along this obvious line of currency reform. In the first instance, 
 perhaps, it might suffice to begin with a 5 /. limit, as in Malta. 
 
 (b.) Notes. 
 
 Prior to the passing of Sir Robert Peel's Bank Acts of 
 1844-5, the accepted theory of banking in England presumed 
 the issue of Notes, — subject, in the London district, to the 
 monopoly of the Bank of England, — for, deposits (now the main- 
 stay of Banks) were until recent years of quite secondary 
 importance in comparison with the power of Note issue, w r hich 
 furnished the chief inducement to establish Banks, and the chief 
 source of banking profits. And nowhere was this accepted 
 doctrine of " free banking " less likely to be challenged than in 
 the Colonies in the earlier years of the present century, when, 
 after the close of the great war, the era of peaceful progress 
 began and credit was demanded for the development of their 
 resources. It was in connection with the grant of Royal 
 Charters, or the allowance of colonial Acts of Incorporation, for 
 the Banks which now began to spring up in the Colonies, that 
 the Imperial Government, influenced by the discussions con- 
 sequent on the resumption of specie payments in England, 
 gradually evolved a banking policy* which, by 1838, had the 
 following definite aims, so far as Notes were concerned : — 
 
 (i) To require Notes to be cashed on demand in specie at 
 the place of issue, as well as at the principal establishment 
 of the issuing Bank ; 
 
 (ii) To prevent the issue of Notes under 1 /. currency; 
 
 * This policy was first formulated about 1831 by Lord Althorp, then 
 Chuncellor of the Exchequer, and by Mr. Paulett Thomson (afterwards 
 Lord Sydenham), who was then at the Board of Trade. 
 
Ch. I. General Survey. 33 
 
 (iii) To insist on publication of periodical returns of 
 assets and liabilities, as an indication to the public of the 
 financial position of Banks of issue ; and 
 
 (iv) To safeguard issues by making shareholders liable for 
 twice the amount of their shares. 
 
 Applying these principles to colonial Acts for incorporating 
 Banks, the Treasury was constrained in 1836-8 to press for the 
 disallowance <>f numerous measures, which failed to attain even 
 this modest standard. And it was "in order to prevent miscon- 
 ception of the views entertained by the Treasury and Board of 
 Trade in regard to the regulations which should be observed in 
 the establishment of Banks in the Colonies," that on 7th January 
 1839, the Colonial Office asked the Treasury " to draw up, in 
 concert with the Board of Trade, an abstract of such regulations 
 as they may think indispensable, in order that they may be 
 transmitted to the Colonial Possessions of the Crown for the 
 information and guidance of the Governors and Legislative 
 Bodies in those Colonies." Accordingly, the Treasury pro- 
 ceeded to codify the regulations '■ which they have generally 
 considered advisable ; '' and in these the Board of Trade con- 
 curred, — suggesting, however, {inter alia) li some check on the 
 establishment of Companies merely for the purpose of trafficking 
 in shares, or what are usually called Bubble Companies." The 
 regulations rhus settled by the two Departments will be found 
 at page 429,* Articles 16 and 17 being those which were added 
 at the Treasury in order to meet the wishes of the Board of 
 Trade. From the point of view of Note issue, with which alone 
 we are here concerned, these Regulations, which carry out the 
 four requirements specified above, are noteworthy for the absence 
 in them of any provision distinguishing Promissory Notes from 
 other " debts and engagements of the Company," within the 
 maximum limit imposed by Article 4. Notes were in fact left on 
 the same footing as all other liabilities, and it was for the note- 
 holder to satisfy himself of the likelihood of payment of Notes, 
 the issue of which was limited by no clear or precise provisions. 
 On the other hand, the Imperial Government never countenanced 
 any proposal to make Bank Notes a legal tender. 
 
 In 1844-5 Sir Robert Peel passed the series of Acts which 
 have governed from then till now the issue of Notes in the 
 United Kingdom. For present purposes, the great principles of 
 his legislation may be stated as — 
 
 (i) The withdrawal of issuing powers from the category 
 of ordinary banking business ; and 
 
 (ii) The provision of («) security and [b) convertibility by 
 the ultimate concentration (for England and Wales) of the 
 entire Issue in the Bank of England on a basis which was 
 fiduciary within the minimum issue, and fully covered by 
 deposit of specie beyond such minimum. 
 
 But, as a temporary measure, Sir Robert Peel allowed existing 
 
 * They were communicated to the several Colonies by Lord John Russell's 
 circular 'letter of 4th May 1840. 
 
 72642. C 
 
34 COLONIAL ClJKKENCY. 
 
 provincial Issues to continue, subject to their never exceeding 
 the amount at which they stood at the time when his Acts were 
 
 passed. 
 
 The Imperial measures of 1844-5 had an important bearing 
 on the regulation of Note-issue in the Colonies. In the words of 
 the Colonial Office circular of 30th May 1846 (see page 431) 
 "the arrangements adopted by Parliament in regard to Banks of 
 I —no in the United Kingdom appear to Her Majesty's Govern- 
 ment to have rendered necessary some modification of the 
 Regulations of 1840, with a view to bring them into exact 
 accordance with the principles on these subjects established in 
 this country.' 1 The old Regulations were accordingly " revised 
 with that object; " and assumed in 1846 the form in which (with 
 an addition respecting specie reserve, mentioned below) they 
 appear at the present day in the " Colonial Office List." 
 
 Apart from improved provisions relating to banking proper, 
 the Regulations of 1846 (which will be found at page 432) intro- 
 duced into colonial banking legislation the following important 
 provisions, framed mainly on the lines of the Imperial provisions 
 relating to English provincial Notes: — 
 
 (i) By Clause 5 the power of Issue was distinguished 
 from "the business of a Banker." 
 
 (ii; Under the same Clause, the power of Issue was to 
 be exercised " in such manner only as shall not be at 
 variance, with any general law of the Colony." 
 
 (iii) By Clause 16, the maximum Issue was " not at any 
 time to exceed the amount of the Capital Stock of the 
 Company actually paid-up." 
 
 The Regulations of 1846 subsequently received an important 
 addition at the end of Clause 16 in the words: " A reserve of 
 specie always to be maintained equal to one-third of the amount 
 of Notes at any time in circulation." This provision, however, 
 is wholly inadequate to safeguard the Notes (as distinct from 
 deposits and other liabilities), in that it does not earmark the 
 reserve of specie to the Notes alone. In the event of failure, such 
 reserve would merely form part of the general estate of the 
 Bank, and would not be hypothecated to meet the claims of note- 
 holders in preference to other creditors. 
 
 Jt will be convenient here to summarise the Issue provisions 
 contained in the Banking Regulations in the form in which 
 they appear in the " Colonial Office List: " (i) Notes, which are 
 redeemable in specie on demand, and must not be of a le^s 
 denomination than 1 /., are limited to a maximum issue not 
 exceeding paid-up capital : and (ii) they derive such formal 
 security as they possess (a) from the specie reserve of one-third 
 of the circulation, and (l>) from the general liability of the .share- 
 holder.- not only for the amount of their holding in shares, but 
 also for a like additional sum. 
 
 These provisions have been applied (until quite recent years), 
 t" practically every Bank to which a Royal Charter has been 
 granted, or tor which an Ad of Incorporation has been passed 
 m the Colonies, 'Thus the influence of the Regulations of 
 
Ch. I. General Survey. 35 
 
 1840-46 has ranged from Canada and the West Indies to 
 Australasia and the Eastern Colonies ; and, even if all their 
 provisions are scarcely abreast of current theory, yet it may be 
 urged on their behalf that they have withstood the rigorous tests 
 of practical experience throughout half a century and in every 
 quarter of the globe. 
 
 So far, the consideration of Notes as part of the currency ot 
 Colonies has had exclusive reference to Bank paper. Though 
 the Imperial Government had never favoured the issue of Notes 
 by Colonial Governments, yet financial exigencies had led to 
 the circulation of Government paper in several Colonies, e.q, 
 in Jamaica (1822) and in Prince Edward Island (1825). But, in 
 these Colonies, as also in the Cape, Ceylon, and British Guiana 
 (where paper money had been an inheritance from the Dutch), 
 the efforts of the Imperial Government were directed to effecting 
 the withdrawal of the Government Issue. 
 
 The hands of the Imperial Government were forced, though 
 their policy remained unchanged, by Mauritius in 1849. For 
 in that year, as the result of a Bank failure in 1847, and the 
 consequent suspicion of all Hank Notes in the Island, the Colonial 
 Government was finally induced by the mercantile community 
 to substitute Government Notes for private issues. To this, as a 
 fait accompli, the Imperial Government could offer no resistance 
 at the time. But the views held in the middle of the century as 
 to the limits in theory, and impolicy in practice, of state inter- 
 ference, found scope in the rejection in 1854 of proposals for a 
 (secured) Government Issue in Prince Edward Island, and 
 derived moral support a year or two later from the abandonment 
 by the Legislature of New Zealand of the system of a Govern- 
 ment Note circulation, which had been in force for several years, 
 under circumstances which required no compromise with any 
 established Bank of Issue and gave the experiment free play.* 
 Fortified in a priori principles by the experience of New Zealand, 
 the Imperial Government desired in 1857-8 to restore the 
 Mauritius Issue to private hands. Local circumstances, however, 
 militated against this step; and, in lieu, measures were taken in 
 1864 to put the Government Issue on a secure footing. It was 
 then provided that Currency Commissioners should hold against 
 the Issue : — 
 
 (i) Specie equal to one-third as a minimum, and one-half 
 as a standard, of the circulation for the time being, and 
 
 (ii) Imperial securities and Island Debentures to a 
 maximum of one-half of the circulation, the limit on invest- 
 ment in Island Debentures being fixed at one-fourth of the 
 amount of Notes actually in circulation in 1864. 
 
 Similar provisions were re-enacted in 1876, and still remain in 
 force in Mauritius. 
 
 Uutil 1884, Mauritius afforded the only example of a State 
 
 ' On 1 October 1852 a Select Committee of the Legislative Council of New 
 South Wales had reported in favour of a National Bank of Issue, with its Notes 
 fully secured by gold bullion or coin. The Committee held that the existing 
 Banks' "power of issuing Notes is inconsistent with the public welfare." 
 
 c 'I 
 
36 Colonial Currency. 
 
 Issue in Crown Colonies ; and private issues were still traditionally 
 preferred by the Imperial Government. In 1884, however, a 
 startling experience in Ceylon commanded a review of the tra- 
 ditional policy. For, on 3rd May 1884, the Oriental Banking Cor- 
 poration, which had a note-circulation in Ceylon of Rs. 3,200,000, 
 closed its doors ; a state of panic ensued ; trade came to a stand 
 still ; and on 5th May, under pressure from the Banks and the 
 Chamber of Commerce, the Governor assumed the responsibility 
 of guaranteeing on behalf of the Ceylon Government the Notes 
 of the bankrupt Corporation.* It was at once recognised that this 
 decision admitted the principle of ultimate State liability for private 
 Issues, and that, after the Ceylon precedent, the argument lor 
 such issues had become untenable. It was, therefore, without 
 hesitation that sanction was given to a proposal for establishing 
 in Ceylon a Government Issue modelled on that existing in 
 Mauritius. 
 
 The subsequent history of Notes in the Crown Colonies is 
 simple, but important, as indicating the adoption of a more 
 stringent policy than was in vogue prior to 1884, in favour of 
 safe-guarding the issue of paper ; e.g. in the Bahamas the local 
 Act establishing the Bank of Nassau provides that, before 
 issue, all Notes of the Bank should be secured by the deposit 
 in the hands of trustees of approved securities, or specie, to the 
 full amount of the circulation. 
 
 In the self-governing Colonies also steps have been taken 
 in several instances, to exact a larger measure of security for local 
 Issues than was provided bv the Banking; Regulations of 1846. 
 The policy adopted has varied in different Colonies. In New 
 South Wales and Tasmania the issue of notes has been subjected 
 to unlimited liability; whereas Victoria was content in 1887 to 
 make Bank Notes a first charge on the assets of the issuing- Bank, 
 iii case of failure. f Canada, whilst making Bank Notes a first 
 charge on assets, as in Victoria, goes further by instituting a 
 "Bank Circulation Redemption Fund," which makes the Banks 
 guarantee one another's Aotes. The Cape, following the pre- 
 «i dent of the United States in connection with National Bank 
 Notes, took a different course in 1891, by stopping all existing 
 Issues and requiring banks to deposit (Cape) Government 
 securities with the Colonial Government to the full nominal 
 amount of the Issue, prior to the circulation of the Notes, 
 which are further declared a legal tender in the Colony. Lastly, 
 the Dominion of Canada, alone among self-governing Colonies, 
 has a State Issue (dating back to 1866), which may be fiduciary 
 to the large proportion of 85 per cent, and is legal tender in the 
 Dominion. 
 
 In conclusion, it may l>c well to state the essentials of a sound 
 Issue. Every Note should be (a) secured and (b) convertible ; 
 that is to say, a noteholder should know that the note he holds 
 
 * In the Straits, on the other hand, whore the Colonial Government abstained 
 from following the Ceylon precedent, the other Banks in self-defence took on 
 themselves the onus of cashing the Oriental Bank's notes in local circulation. 
 |- An interesting paper on v The History and Development of Hanking in 
 Australasia," by Mr. Edwin Brett, will be found in the "Journal of the 
 Institute of Bankers,'" vol. 4 (ltm). 
 
Ch. I. General Survey. 37 
 
 will exchange, not ultimately, but on presentation, for that amount 
 of legal tender coin which is indicated by the Note's denomina- 
 tion. 
 
 In order to ensure the convertibility of an Issue, it is not 
 necessary that every 1 /. in Notes should have a gold sovereign 
 behind it ; for experience shows that the circulation in note-using 
 communities never drops below a definite minimum. This 
 minimum, representing an amount of Notes which is never likely 
 to be presented for payment, may therefore be represented by 
 securities, re., may be "fiduciary;" all Notes beyond such 
 minimum should be issued against legal tender coin. Until 
 experience has shown what is the minimum Issue in a given 
 Colony, investments (which should be in high-class securities 
 other than those of the Colony itself) should not exceed one-thiru 
 of the Notes in circulation, nor should they ever exceed one-half. 
 These stringent safeguards, which subordinate profits (beyond 
 working expenses) to the financial security of the community, point 
 to Government Issues as the only practically sound system of paper 
 currency. And it may be added that there is no more reason — 
 in fact there is less reason — why Banks should issue notes at a 
 profit than strike token coins at a profit.* But, whether the 
 Issue be by the Government or by the Banks, it is of vital 
 importance to a community that the Notes in circulation should 
 be so safeguarded as to form, in no unsubstantial sense, " the 
 shadow of the gold." 
 
 * The following remarks are taken from the R.'port, in 1889, of a Royal 
 Commission appointed in South Australia >l to consider the desirability of 
 establishing a State Bank," &c: — "It may be that various objections will be 
 raised to the issue of a State paper currency — as there will necessarily be a 
 conflict of interests, and special privileges arc usually held with a tight grasp. 
 But vve take the liberty to advance th<? assertion that the interests of the State 
 are in all cases paramount, and that whatever increment of advantage there 
 may result from a system supported and permitted by the people should be 
 secured for their benefit." 
 
38 Colonial Currency 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Mode of Legislation. 
 
 " There is no doubt," wrote Lord Liverpool to the King in 
 1805, "that the Sovereigns of most of the kingdoms and states 
 of Europe have enjoyed and exercised from time immemorial the 
 right of declaring at what rate or value the Coins of every deno- 
 mination, permitted to be current in their respective dominions, 
 shall pass, and become in that respect lawful Coins, or legal 
 tender. In this Your Majesty's kingdom, Your Royal predeces- 
 sors have always enjoyed and exercised this right. Sir Matthew 
 Hale reckons this right inter jura majestatis, and says that it is an 
 unquestionable prerogative of the Crown." And the same 
 doctrine is laid down by the Civil Law maxim " Monetondi jus 
 principum ossibus inhceret." It remains to trace the changing 
 modes in which this prerogative has been exercised or superseded, 
 so far as the British Colonies are concerned. 
 
 A part from Mint indentures,* the recognised mode of regulating 
 the currency in the United Kingdom has been by Royal pro- 
 clamation. But such proclamation has for centuries been issued 
 — like other Royal proclamations — by the Sovereign with the 
 advice of the Privy Council. In his speech of 2nd September 
 1626, before the Privy Council, Sir Robert Cotton was " of 
 opinion with Mirror des Justices, the ancient book of our Common 
 Law, that Le Roy ne poit sa Many Empeirer ne a mender sans 
 V assent de touts ses Counts* which was the greatest council of the 
 kingdom." It is true that from very early times Acts of Parlia- 
 ment have also regulated the coinage of the realm ; and notably 
 the Act of 1666 (18 Ch. II. c. 5), which extinguished seignorage 
 as a royal right. But it appears that Parliament was resorted to 
 either for the purpose of furnishing supplies for the reform of the 
 king's currency, or else (in the words of. Lord Liverpool) "to 
 enforce his Majesty's authority in issuing proclamations." Of the 
 latter character was the Act 6 Anne, c. 57 (see page^4l4), " for 
 ascertaining the rates of foreign coins in Her Majesties planta- 
 tions in America." 
 
 For present purposes, therefore, the recognised mode of regu- 
 lating the currency may be taken to have "been by Royal pro- 
 clamation issued by the Sovereign in Council. This Royal pre- 
 rogative, which was established before the first "Plantations" 
 
 " ■ s "' hereon the discussion in the fourth chapter of Lord Liverpool's 
 latter } quoting the views of Blackstone and link's. See also pp. 19 and 20 of 
 the Fin i Report of the Deputy Master of the Mint. As the sterling coins, the 
 manufacture of which Mini Indentures regulated, were practically never seen 
 in the British Colonies until after 1825, i.e., nine years after the passing of 
 I he great Act oi (816, the function of Mint Indentures lias not hen discussed 
 in tin; text. 
 
Ch. II. Mode of Legislation. 39 
 
 were founded, necessarily extended to the new dominions over 
 seas, subject to the surrender of it by the Sovereign (e.g., to the 
 Virginia and East India Companies), or to Colonial legislation. 
 But, in this latter case, the legislation, though initiated by the 
 Colonial Government, did not finally become law until it had been 
 approved by the Sovereign in Council. This tacit surrender by 
 the Sovereign of the function of initiation was, however, the 
 salient feature in the early history of currency legislation in the 
 Colonies. 
 
 Throughout the 17th century the Colonies invariably initiated 
 their own laws to regulate local currency, the action of the 
 Sovereign being confined to confirmation in Council. It was the 
 fact that the Royal Assent had been given to the New England 
 Currency Act of 1697 (see page 11 J, which first raised the 
 general question of the principles governing currency legislation 
 for the Colonies. On 4th Mav 1703, the Board of Trade and 
 Plantations proceeded, in view of such Royal Assent, to consult 
 the Law Officer of the day as to " whether Her Majesty by Her 
 Royal Prerogative may alter by Proclamation the Rates of forrein 
 coin in that Province (as well as in others), notwithstanding the 
 said Act." The Attorney General replied that the New Eng- 
 land Act, having been confirmed by the Crown, " had the force 
 of an Act of Parliament made in England." And, on 2nd July 
 1703, the Attorney General advised further that " Her Majesty 
 may by Her Royal proclamation make forreigne coynes currant 
 money at such rates as She shall think fitt in any of Her Planta- 
 tions in America, as well under proprietors as under Her 
 Majestyes imediate Government, so far as doth not contradict 
 any Law confirmed by the Crown." In view of this opinion, the 
 Royal Proclamation of 18th June 1704 {see page 414) was issued, 
 laying down for " Our several Colonies and Plantations in 
 America," certain ratings of coin borrowed in the main from the 
 New England Act of 1697. 
 
 As this Proclamation was not observed, debtors and creditors 
 alike agreeing to pay and receive the current coins at other than 
 the proclaimed rates, the Imperial Government again took the 
 Law Officer's opinion ; and the Attorney General advised that an 
 Act of Parliament would be required to make it definitely criminal 
 to receive money in the Colonies above proclamation rates. 
 Accordingly the above-mentioned Act of 6 Anne was passed " for 
 the better Inforcing the due Execution of Her Majesties said 
 Proclamation . . & for the more effectual Remedving the 
 said Inconveniencies thereby intended to be remedied." The Act 
 proceeded to enact that any person who should " Take or Pay 
 any of the several Species of Foreign Silver Coins mentioned in 
 the before-recited Proclamation at any greater or higher Rate 
 than that at which the same is thereby Regulated . . shall 
 suffer Siv Months Imprisonment, without Bail or Mainprize ; 
 Any Law, Custom or Usage in any of the said Colonies or 
 Plantations to the contrary hereof in any wise notwithstanding." 
 As earlv, therefore, as 1707 the principle had been established 
 in practice that, provided the Sovereign had not confirmed a 
 local Act repugnant thereto, the Sovereign in Council had power 
 
40 Colonial Currency. 
 
 under the prerogative to regulate by Proclamation the currency 
 of Colonies equally with the currency of England. And an Act 
 of the Imperial Parliament had been recognised as the supreme 
 mode of currency regulation. 
 
 In 1774, and again in 1816, the Imperial currency was regu- 
 lated by Act of Parliament, which involves the assent of the 
 Sovereign. These Acts of Parliament had no reference to the 
 Colonies. It was under the prerogative that the Order in 
 Council of 23rd March 1825 was issued (see page 425), declaring 
 that a sum of 4 s. 4 d. in British tokens should be legal tender 
 equally with a Spanish dollar " in all those Colonies where the 
 Spanish dollar is now, either by law, fact, or practice, considered 
 as a legal tender for the discharge of debts." Though the Order 
 in Council of 1825 did not order a Royal Proclamation, it \va8 
 by Royal Proclamation under Order in Council (after the legis- 
 lation of 1825 had been revoked — for America and the West 
 Indies only — by Order in Council) that the remedial legislation 
 of 1838 was effected. Alike in 1825 and in 1838, however, 
 erroneous ideas prevailed as to the regulation of currency in the 
 Colonies ; it was not recognised (\) that the gold and silver coins 
 of the United Kingdom as such, are not in the absence of some 
 express enactment or Proclamation a legal tender in the Colonies, 
 insomuch as the Imperial Statutes relating to currency do not, 
 except by express enactment, extend to the Colonies; or (ii) 
 that, under the prerogative, the Sovereign could only regulate 
 Colonial currency in those Colonies where there did not exist 
 a local Legislature to which the power of regulating currency 
 had been surrendered by Act of Parliament or Royal Charter. 
 
 In 1870, by the Coinage Act of that year (see page 448), the 
 Imperial Parliament made formal provision for the regulation of 
 Colonial currency. Section II. (9) of this Act directs that "it 
 shall be lawful for Her Majesty, with, the advice of Her Privy 
 Council, by proclamation to direct that the whole or any part of 
 this Act shall apply to, and be in force, in any British possession, 
 with or without any modifications contained in the proclamation." 
 And the same section goes on to provide that " every such Pro- 
 clamation . . shall have effect as if it were enacted in this 
 Act." But Section 19 expressly enacts that " this Act, save as 
 expressly provided by this Act, or by any Proclamation made 
 thereunder, shall not extend to any British possession." 
 
 In practice it is mainly the Colonial Constitution which has 
 determined the proper mode of legislation respecting the local 
 currency. And from the point of view of constitution, Colonies 
 may be divided into those that have, and those that have not, 
 responsible government. 
 
 I. The Colonies of the former division possess the power to regu- 
 late, by Colonial Act, their own currency. They are ten in 
 number, viz. : — 
 
 Dominion of Canada. 
 Newfoundland. 
 New South Wales. 
 Victoria. 
 
Ch. II. Mode op Legislation. 41 
 
 Queensland. 
 Tasmania. 
 South Australia. 
 Western Australia. 
 New Zealand. 
 Cape of Good Hope. 
 
 II. — Colonies of the second division, which have not responsible 
 government, may for the purpose of general legislation be divided 
 into two classes. 
 
 The legislative power, as defined by the instrument ol con- 
 stitution (viz., Letters Patent, Colonial Ordinance, Order in 
 Council, or the Governor's Commission), is exercised — 
 
 (i.) In the first class by the Governor and some legisla- 
 tive body or bodies in which there is not a majority of official 
 members ; 
 
 (ii.) In the second class of Colonies either by the Governor 
 alone* or by the Governor and a legislative council, the 
 majority of which consists of official members. 
 
 In the first class (i), the Imperial Government has no power 
 of initiating local legislation ; in the second class (ii), the 
 Imperial Government can indirectly effect legislation by instruc- 
 tions to the Governor,f or through the official majority of the 
 Council. 
 
 In both classes of Colonies the Imperial Government can either 
 prevent legislation (by instructing the Governor to refuse the 
 Royal Assent or by disallowing a law to which he has signified 
 such assent), or can advise the Sovereign to exercise the coinage 
 prerogative. 
 
 There is a further, direct, control over colonial currency in the 
 hands of the Imperial Government in those Colonies (whether of 
 class (i) or (ii), the names of which are underlined in the lists 
 given below, since power is there reserved to the Sovereign to 
 legislate by Order in Council. In addition, a statutory power to 
 legislate by Order in Council is reserved to the Sovereign in the 
 Straits Settlements (by the Act 29 & 30 Vict. cap. 115) and in 
 the Colonies of the Gold Coast, Lagos, Sierra Leone, Gambia, 
 and the Falkland Islands (by the Act 50 & 51 Vict. cap. 54 ; 
 see also schedule thereto). 
 
 In the following lists of the Colonies comprised in the two classes, 
 the letter (a) denotes that local legislation as to currency 
 
 has taken place ; 
 
 the letter (/>) denotes that the local currency has been 
 
 regulated by Order in Council without Proclamation ; and 
 the letter (c) denotes that Proclamations as to coinage 
 
 have been issued under Order in Council. 
 
 ° As in Gibraltar and St. Helena. 
 
 f The Royal Instructions to the Governor direct that he shall not assent 
 to any Bill or Ordinance of certain classes, one of which is (to quote the usual 
 form) "any Bill affecting the currency of the Colony or relating to the issue 
 of Bank Notes.'' 
 
42 Colonial Currency. 
 
 (i) In the first class are — 
 
 Natal. 
 
 Jamaica (a) (c). 
 Bahamas (a) (c). 
 Barbados (a) (c). 
 *Leeward Islands (a) (c). 
 Malta (c). 
 
 Mauritius (c). 
 
 Bermuda («). 
 
 (ii) The Colonies comprised in the second class are — 
 
 Basutoland. 
 British Bechuanaland. 
 British Honduras (a)(c). 
 British Guiana (a) (c). 
 
 Trinidad and Tobago (a) (c). 
 
 Windward Islands (a) (c). 
 
 Falkland Islands. 
 
 St. Helena (c) 
 
 Fiji. 
 
 West African Colonies (a) (c). 
 
 Gibraltar (b) (c). 
 
 Ceylon (c). 
 
 Hong-Kong; (a) (c). 
 
 Straits Settlements (a) (c). 
 
 New Guinea. 
 
 Zululand. 
 
 For all Colonies alike (whether possessed of responsible 
 government or not), there is the power to proceed by Proclamation 
 under the Coinage Act, 1870 ; in which case the Proclamation has 
 effect as if enacted in the Imperial Act. Up to the present, this 
 Acl has only been applied (<i) as a whole to the Cape, Natal, and 
 Fiji, and (l>) in part only, in 1891, to Barbados and the Leeward 
 [glands. 
 
 In tli- Leeward Islands, the Leeward Islands Act', 1871 (34 & 35 Vict 
 c. 107- b. 10), is the instrument of constitution, and while giving to the legisla- 
 ting id i!i.- separate islands general power to legislate, gives the central 
 legislature of the Leeward Islands power to legislate on certain specified sub- 
 jo its, among which is "currency." 
 
Ch. II. Mode of Legislation. 43 
 
 Consequently, there are three modes of regulating the currency 
 for the Colonies, viz. : — 
 
 (1.) Through Colonial Legislation. 
 
 (2.) Through Legislative Order in Council.* 
 
 (3.) Through a Coinage Proclamation (under Order in 
 Council) which may be either — 
 
 (a) Under the prerogative and without Statutory 
 authority, or 
 
 (b) Under the Statutory Authority of the Coinage 
 Act, 1870. 
 
 And the Order in Council or Proclamation as to currency, 
 unless it be under the Act of 1870 or have statutory force under 
 some other Act, can be overruled by a Colonial Ordinance which 
 is left to its operation. Whether, on the other hand, a Pro- 
 clamation under the general Coinage Prerogative can alter a 
 Colonial law is a moot point. 
 
 It is sutforested that where the currencv consists of sterling 
 coins, the Imperial Coinage Act of 1870 {see page 448) should 
 be applied in whole or part, so that Imperial Proclamations issued 
 from time to time thereunder, might apply not only to the United 
 Kingdom, but also to all sterling-using Colonies. The same in- 
 strument would then conveniently apply to sterling (where it is 
 the standard) throughout the Empire ; and there would be no 
 recurrence of anomalies such as that at present existing in con- 
 nection with pre- Victorian, and light Victorian, gold coins, which 
 remain in circulation in the Colonies, though they have been 
 demonetised and exchanged in the United Kingdom. 
 
 So far, this chapter has dealt solely with metallic currency, to 
 the exclusion of paper money. The Royal Prerogative as to 
 coinage does not appear to apply to Notes, a form of currency not 
 contemplated in the early times from which the Prerogative dates. 
 Apart from the formerly important, but now practically obsolete, 
 usage of constituting Banks of Issue for the Colonies by Royal 
 Charter, the paper currency has usually been regulated (i) in the 
 United Kingdom by Statute and (ii) in the Colonies by local Act.f 
 But where power to legislate by Order in Council is reserved by 
 the instrument of constitution, this mode of procedure is also 
 open to adoption in Crown Colonies. The intervention of the 
 Imperial Parliament with regard to paper currency in the 
 Colonies has been confined to the passing in 1750-1773 of Acts 
 
 ° A distinction is to be drawn between (i.) an Act of legislation which flic 
 Sovereign in Council can perform in respect of those Colonies wli.Te a powei 
 so to legislate lias been reserved by the instrument of constitution, and (ii.jan 
 Act in exercise of the coinage prerogative, which the Sovereign in Council can 
 prima facie perform in respect of all Colonies by Royal Proclamation under 
 Order. 
 
 f e.g., Bahama*, Honi Kong, Ceylon, and Mauritius, in addition to, practi- 
 caly, all the seif governing Colonies. 
 
44 Colonial Currency. 
 
 " to prevent paper bills of credit hereafter to be issued in any 
 of His Majesty's Colonies or plantations from being declared 
 to be a legal tender in payments of money, and to prevent the 
 legal tender of such bills as are now subsisting from being 
 prolonged beyond the periods limited for calling in and sinking 
 the same." 
 
[ « ] 
 
 AMERICA AND WEST INDIES. 
 
46 Colonial Currency. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Barbados. 
 
 (1625.) 
 
 From the historical point of view, the currency of Barbados is 
 of Greater interest than that of any other existing colony. Its 
 interest is derived not merely from the long period of nearly 
 three centuries which it covers, but still more from the broad 
 scope of its early influence. For, until 1671, when the Lee- 
 ward Islands were constituted a separate government. Barbados 
 was the metropolis of the British West Indies; prior to that 
 separation, other islands (Jamaica excepted), had little or no 
 separate currency history ; it was only after the middle of the 
 18th century that the Windward Islands (so far as they were 
 then British Possessions) came to have a currency system other 
 than that of the dominant island; and, further, it was from Bar- 
 bados that Jamaica borrowed the ratings of her early monetary 
 system. For these reasons, though Newfoundland is a more 
 ancient colony, and though Jamaica for a century and a-half 
 was the bullion centre of the colonies in the New World, Bar- 
 bados may most fittingly be chosen as the starting point in 
 studying the detailed history of currency in the British colonies. 
 
 In Barbados, and in the other islands which followed the lead 
 of I'arbados, exchange was chiefly by barter during the 
 17th century ; and it will be convenient to treat first of the 
 use of commodities as " money," and then to pass to the history 
 of metallic currency. 
 
 (I.) BARTER.* 
 
 During the first years of the history of Barbados as a British 
 colony, cotton and tobacco, as in other colonies in the New 
 World at the same date, formed the staple produce ; and, as 
 penalties are expressed in terms of these commodities from at 
 least 1631 onwards, it may be assumed that they formed part, if 
 not the whole, of the circulatory medium of the infant colony. 
 About 1640, sugar supplanted cotton and tobacco as the staple 
 commodity, and became the principal medium of exchangef in 
 
 See also under Leeward Island?, British Honduras, Bermuda, Newfound- 
 land. &c. 
 
 i Set " .1 True and exact History of the Island of Barbados' by Richard 
 Ligon (London, 1<;7:;). 1). scribing (at p. iii) the traffic of a merchant, he 
 says, " In- makes hi- exchanges, and rc-eir^s in his Sugars*' ; and at p. 115, 
 wagi - are nxpres ed in ''sterling or tin- value in such goods as grow upon the 
 plantation." Ligon 9ays (p. 40), " the commodities this island trades in, are 
 indico, cotton-wool, tobacco, sugar, and fustick-vood." 
 
Ch. III. Barbados. 47 
 
 the colony during the remainder of the 17th century. Indeed, 
 merchants reproached the islanders with having no money 
 except brown sugar; and similarly Lord (Francis) Willoughby 
 of Parliam, writing in 1664, states that the circulating medium 
 of the island consisted of "goods, for they have no money."* 
 
 The earliest rating appears to have been 10 s. per 100 lbs. ; 
 of Muscovado, or brown sugar. On 16th September 1667, 
 Lord (William) Willoughbv stated that the Assemblv had 
 "raised their coin, that is Muscovado, from 10s. per 100 lbs., 
 to pass in pay for 16 *." By Act of 29th April 1668, Mus- 
 covado was to pass at 2d. a pound ( = 16*. 8 d. per 100 lbs.) ; 
 but this price was repealed by Act of 19th February 1668-9, 
 because "it is found by experience that the consequence thereof 
 tends to the impairing of the credit and trade of this Island." 
 An Act of 9th November 1688, as to fees, re-rates sugar at 
 12 s. 6d. the 100 pounds ; and the same valuation obtains under 
 an Act of 1670, as to the secretary's fees, and under an Act of 
 1673, for building fortifications. It was doubtless as a penalty 
 that the Acts of 1681 and 1685, " for coinuteing the Arrears of 
 Public Leavyes into Money," reduced the rate to 10 s. The 
 similar Acts of 1690-91 and 1691-92, restored the rating to 
 12 s. 6 d., which, as will be seen under the head of Leeward 
 Islands, was the standard rating of sugar in the West Indies 
 during the last 30 years of the 17th century. 
 
 Before the close of that century, coin would appear to have 
 displaced commodities to a considerable extent.f For, writing 
 to the Board of Trade and Plantations on 13th July 1691, 
 Colonel Christopher Codrington, contrasting the Leeward 
 Islands, says, " In Barbados, tis true they have a money trade, 
 and consequently Muscovado shug'% cotten, and ginger, sells 
 there at a tollerable price." And similar information, in more 
 valuable detail, is given in Oldmixon's " British Empire in 
 America " (quoted infra, p. 50), which speaks of the abundance of 
 coin in Barbados up to 1704, and of the relapse to barter at that 
 date in consequence of the Royal Proclamation of that year 
 (see page 14). But this relapse, of which Oldmixon wrote 
 in 1708, appears to have been temporary only, and not to have 
 lasted beyond the first few years of the 18th century. About 
 1715 Barbados dispensed with the use of commodities as money, 
 and finally established a metallic standard. 
 
 * The penalties under the " Act concerning' morning and evening prayer 
 in families" (1645 ?) are expressed in sugar; e.g. " whosoever shall swear 
 or curse, if a master or freeman, he shall forfeit tor every such offence four 
 pounds of sugar ; if a servant, two pounds of sugar." And a Fees Act of the 
 same date directs that " people may certainly know where to carry and pay 
 sugar for fees ;" and no officer was to refuse sugar according to the prescribed 
 scale. 
 
 t From the Act of 19 December 1088, " for ye better regulating of out 
 crves in open market," it appeals that the Marshals were in the habit of com- 
 puting their fees " most comonly in money, w ch proves very inconvenient." 
 Consequently the Marshal's fees were to be levied in sugar (at 12.?. n*«?. per 
 100 lbs.), and continued to be so leviable up to 1733, being virtually repealed 
 by the Fees Act of 10 December of that year. 
 
48 Colonial Currency. 
 
 (II.) METALLIC CURRENCY. 
 
 (a) Prior to 1704. 
 
 Until 1715, Barbados,* like all other British Colonies in the 
 New World, employed the Spanish Piece of Eightf as its 
 standard coin. But, unfortunately, there is not the same 
 definite information as to the earliest l-ating of the Piece of 
 Eight in Barbados, which is forthcoming in Jamaica and the 
 Bermudas. 
 
 A variety of Acts are recorded as having been passed in 
 Barbados prior to 1668, but only two are extant. The first, 
 dated 12 September 1651, and signed by Lord Francis Willoughy 
 of Parham, after dwelling on the " good successes" elsewhere 
 resulting from "the rysing of the valew of severall coynes," 
 proceeds to rate coins at one-third above their sterling values, e.g., 
 " the two and twenty shilling peice of English money in gold+ 
 at twenty-nine shillings & fourpence and all lesser coynes 
 to that proportion." The Dutch Ryder was rated at 28 s., a Rix- 
 dollar at 6 s. 3 a cross dollar at 5 s. 8 d. ; " a ffrench double pistoll at 
 20 s., a ffrench crowne at 9 s.; in sylver a Cardecue§ at 2 s., an half 
 Cardecue at 12 d. ; ( Spanish coynes in gold ) a double pistoll at 20 s., 
 in sylver a peice of eight at 6 s., & the lesser of that species in 
 proportion." But it does not appear that this Act continued 
 long in operation, for (at some date shortly before 1662 j|| an Act 
 "for ye advanceing & raiseing the valew of peices of eight" 
 recites, that " it is found by experience that ye want of money 
 is very prejudiciall to this Island ; that ye cause of soe great 
 a Avant is for that peices of eight have not. theire due valew but 
 passe here at too low ratcs.'' , % Contrary to what might be 
 imagined from the provisions of the earlier Act of 165J, this 
 Act enacts that, " all peices of eight of Ciuel Mexico & ye 
 Pillar peices shall passe currant at ye rate of 4 s. 8 d. a peice 
 current money of England." There is thus evidence of early 
 and conflicting ratings of the Spanish piece of eight; but, in the 
 absence of fuller documentary evidence than the Record Office 
 and the Island archives afford, there is only analogy with 
 
 It is curious that Li»on never mentions any coins, and that (perhaps 
 for tlu' convenience of his readers in England) liissumsare expressed in sterling 
 in connection with the years 1047 to 1050 during which lie whs in IJarbados, 
 The word "sterling " is commonlv used in early Acts of Barbados even down 
 to 1082, when (jig.) churchwardens were authorised to pay 5s. sterling, 
 (== a piece of eight) for every " wild monkey or raccoon" killed. "Current 
 money" appears first in an Act of fi July 16iJ0 respecting the Governor's. 
 - i ary. 
 
 f See page 300 for the history of this important coin, which is even 
 better known by its later name of the ••Spanish Dollar." 
 
 J i.e., the Guinea, seepage 400. 
 
 § See page 397. 
 
 Probably in 1050. Oldmixon refers to an Act of this title, signed (like 
 the above) by Francis Lord Willoughby. 
 
 IT As the recognised sterling equivalent of the piece of eight in the 
 17th century was 4 s. 6</., the words in italics imply a. lower rating in 
 force. 
 
Ch. III. Barbados. 49 
 
 Jamaica* and the Bermudas, to support the conjecture that the 
 original rating of the piece of eight in Barbados was 4 s., based 
 on a sixpenny rating of the Spanish unit, the Real. The 4 s. 8 d. 
 (over)-rating having been tried and found wanting, Barbados 
 proceeded on 14 November 1668 to raise the piece of eight to 5 s. 
 by an " Act for the advancing and raising the value of peeces of 
 eight." Like its predecessor, though not with equal veracity, 
 this Act stated that " peeces of eight have not been fully estimated, 
 but permitted to pass here from man to ?nan at too mean rates ; 
 whereupon very much coin hath been hence exported to foreign 
 nations! ; for prevention whereof for the future : Be it ordained 
 that from and after publication hereof all peeces of eight of 
 Sevill, Mexico and pillar peeces, shall be esteemed valued and pass 
 current in payment between all persons within this Island at the 
 rate of five shillings per peese current money of England. And that 
 all and every the half and quarter peeces and royalls of the said 
 coin and single royalls of all sorts of Spanish coin} in like pro- 
 portion, any statute, law, ordinance, or provision heretofore made 
 to the contrary, notwithstanding." 
 
 One of the earliest results of the 5 s. overrating of the piece 
 of eight( = 4 s. 6 d. sterling), established in 1668, was to encourage 
 counterfeits and light coins, as is shown by the passing of an 
 Act of the 22nd December 1669, to stop the circulation of 
 " several corrupt and exceeding light pieces of eight lately sent 
 to this Island by some persons designing their own profit and 
 advantage, though with the great damage and ruin of the pros- 
 perity and welfare of this Island." The coins are also spoken of 
 as " less in weight or of a baser alloy than is usual." 
 
 Twenty-two years later, in 1691, Christopher Codrington 
 speaks of " pieces of eight generally not being worth above 3s. 6 d. 
 and 3 s. 9 d., some 4 s., and when full weight, w ch one in a 100 
 is not, 4 s. 4| d. ; and in Barbados they pass for 5 s." Analogy 
 with the Leeward Islands, &c, at the same date, supports 
 the view that clipped Spanish silver formed the bulk of the 
 metallic currency of Barbados, at the close of the 17th century. 
 
 * It seems fair to assume that it was from Barbados that Jamaica (colonised 
 half a-century later), borrowed its earliest rating of the piece of eight at 
 is., just as it copied in 1070 the Barbados 5 s. rating of 1668. 
 
 f Evidence of the dearth of coin in Barbados of and the effort? of the early 
 colonists to attract and retain specie, is afforded by the memorial of 11th May 
 1651 to the Board of Trade and Plantations, which prays, "that his Ma lye 
 would bee gratiously pleased to grant a power to your petiti e,s to advance the 
 vallew of such fforeigue conye.s as already are or hereafter shall be brought into 
 this Island, with power also to new stamp them, or to coyne such gold and 
 silver bullion as shall from time to time bee brought hither and to sett such 
 vallews upon them as by us shall bee thought fitt for the good and benefit 
 of this place. As to our desire of advanceing or coyneing of money, wee shall 
 need speake little to that, all countryes haveing experimentally found that 
 that only is the true measure and encouragement of trade, which wee have 
 noe better way to gett into our hands then by advance and coyneing of money 
 as it is before humbly desired." On 5th September 1667, and again on 
 3rd August 1668, the Colony renewed its petition for a Mint to coin money, 
 to be current in the Island only, '"as in New England and elsewhere is 
 practised." 
 
 I This opened the door for the currency at 1\ d, of "Royalls," or Heals, of 
 " new plate," ten of which went to the old Piece of Eight. See page 392 
 (note), and under Jamaica. 
 
 72642. D 
 
50 Colonial Currency. 
 
 It is true that this is contradicted by the definite statement of 
 Oldmixon* as to " the good weight of their pieces of eight " 
 which formed the "great running cash in the Island" prior to 
 1704. But Oldmixon 's statement is proved to be erroneous by 
 the opening words of the Report of President Dottin to the 
 Board of Trade on 9th November 1739, which gives the following 
 account of the currency of Barbados from 1700 onwards : — 
 
 " In the year 1700 and till the 1st day of January 1704 (i.e., 
 1705 'new style') forreign silver coin pass'd in this Island 
 by Tale, so that generally light money only was paid and 
 received here ; for if what was offei'd wou'd by a standard be of 
 greater or less value than it was offer'd at, it was taken accord- 
 ing to its denominations of whole, half, quarter, and eighth peices ; 
 whereby a great deal of the forreign coins passing here were 
 clipp'd and made very light, and there w T as then no complaint 
 made of the want of cash in this Island. The gold that was then 
 current were Pistolesf which pass'd at twenty shillings and 
 guineas at twenty-five shillings." 
 
 (b.) 1704-1825. 
 
 " Her late Majesty Queen Ann by her Royal Proclamation 
 dated 18th June 1704,$ which was published in this Island the 
 twenty-ffourth day of August following, and w r as to take place and 
 be inforced the day of .January afterwards, having been pleased 
 to settle and ascertain the current rates of forreign coins in her 
 Majesty's Colonys and Plantations in America, all the light money 
 that had been before current, was, before that settlement took 
 place, paid away in discharge of debts then owing in the Island : 
 and the cash having then center'd in the hands of merchants and 
 other traders who having advices that the neighbouring colonys 
 and Plantations had not paid that strict observance to her said 
 Majesty's Proclamation as had been done in this Island, most or 
 all the cash was soon afterwards sent off from hence, which 
 occasioned the prejudicial! Act hereafter mentioned to be passed 
 in this Island for supplying the want thereof (sc. by paper). 
 
 ou Though Barbados could never boast of equal advantages with 
 Jamaica, as to the trade to the Spanish West Indies, and liad never such 
 resort of pirates, who are the men that make silver plenty, yet tour or five 
 years ago there was a great running cash in the Island, thought to amount 
 to no less than 200,000 I. sterling in value, many merchants at the Bridge 
 having paid 10,000/. ready money upon occasion ; but that, plenty is now 
 so abated that it is well if there's a fourth part of that Sum at this time at 
 Barhados. This was occasioned chiefly by the good weight of their Pieces of 
 Eight ;and the proclamation put forth in England in 1702 (sic) to reduce coin 
 to a certain value by weight, which tempted many of the traders to buy up the 
 silver, and export it to the other Islands, or to England, to save the premium 
 of Bills of Exchange ; which, on the calling in of the Pieces of Eight, and 
 establishing paper credit, rose to 00, and is now 35 per cent., and in time of 
 peace, when trade flourished, was but 10 or 12 per cent. Though the cur- 
 rency of money was thus settled, yet there was not enough of it to answer all 
 the necessities of trade, and the merchants bartered the commodities they 
 imported for sugar, cotton, ginger, and the product of the Island ; Muscovado 
 Sugar being the general medium of commerce there as well as in the other 
 islands." — (Oldmixon.) 9 
 
 i The Pistole, it will be observed, was rated in accordance with the 
 monetary system of Spain at four pieces of eight. 
 
 % Seepage 14. Its fundamental provision was that a piece of eight ot 
 17 J dwts. should not pass for more than Gs. " currency " in any colony. 
 
Ch. III. Barbados. 51 
 
 And from the said first day of January 1704 till this time all 
 Silver Coins are accounted received and paid according to the 
 rate and standard directed by the said Proclamation ; and when 
 Moydores were first introduced into this Island, without any 
 regard to their wtight, they pass'd currently at thirty-five 
 shillings each, as well as Pistoles at twenty shillings and guineas 
 at twenty-five shillings, till the year 1715 or 1716, when the 
 principal merchants agreeing to take Pistoles at twenty-two 
 shillings and sixpence,* guineas at twenty-seven shillings and 
 sixpence, & Moydores at thirty-seven shillings and sixpence, they 
 have ever since till this time passed at those rates ; and not many 
 years since many pieces of new coin'd Spanish f gold have 
 been introduced and pass current, the whole peices at five pounds 
 and the others in proportion thereto. We have lately a very bad 
 silver mostly current among us, of a very base allay, of a Spanish 
 coin, called or distinguished by the name of Pistereens, \ which 
 pass by weight. But a French coin§ made for the payment of 
 their soldiers abroad are reckon'd much better silver, and tho' 
 they are not as good as their other silver, yet they pass currently 
 in this Island by tale at seven-pence halfpenny, but weigh 
 generally about seven-pence and under, and are much esteem'd 
 by the inhabitants ; but few remain long in the Island, being 
 carry'd to his Majesty's Leward Islands and other places where 
 the standard and weighing of money being little regarded, this 
 Island is very often drain'd of all its cash." 
 
 " Uncoin'd gold is generally sold here at fi°our pounds ten 
 shillings per ounce, and silver at ffive shillings and sixpence 
 per ounce, and the Exchange betwixt this Island and Great 
 Britain for many years pass'd has been from 28 to 32 per cent., 
 but most commonly at thirty." 
 
 " No paper credit was established in this Island in the year 
 1700, nor at any time before or since, but in the year 1705, when 
 paper bills of credit to the value of 7,000 I. issued for the payment 
 of a tax then laid on the inhabitants.! And in the year 1706, 
 
 ° "A Pistole full weight, 104 grains, ought to be current according as Pistole 
 gold bears to silver Proclamation money, at 22 s. 3 d., but I will say 22 s. (3 d., 
 because at that rate they are taken at Barbados where the Act of the 6th of 
 Queen Ann is observed." (Wavell Smith, "Two Letters to Mr. Woods," 
 London, 1740.) The rating of 22 5. 6 d. for the gold equivalent of 4 pieces of 
 eight of 6 s. each, is sufficient evidence in itself of the continued circulation of 
 clipped gold coins. 
 
 •j- Is not the word " Spanish " a mistake? The " whole piece " suggests the 
 new Portuguese Johannes, the half of which at 50 s. was the familiar " Joe'' of 
 later years. It was not till the beginning of the 19th century that the Doubloon 
 passed for 51. ; and it is here stated that the Quarter-Doubloon, op Pistole, 
 continued in 1739 to pass at its 1715 rate of 22 s C> d. 
 
 I See page 395, and under Jamaica, th* Bermudas, &c. It will be noted 
 that President Dottin states here that the currency of this coin in Barbados 
 was by weight in 1739, and not by tale as in other Colonies and as in this 
 Island in later years. 
 
 § Isle du Vent, Bits of J 731. (Zay p. 58 ; and see infra, p 55.) 
 
 [j " In the year 1705 the Assembly, taking into consideration the gnat 
 want of money in the Island occasioned by the sending away all the silver 
 from thence, upon the Proclamation for i educing pieces of eight to a certain 
 standard in the West Indies, passed an Act to allow fi.%000/. paper credit, ini- 
 powering the Treasurer to give out bills for such a sum, and lend them to the 
 
52 Colonial Currency. 
 
 when an act entiiuled " An act to supply the want of cash and to 
 establish a method of credit for persons having real estates in this 
 Island," passed here the 18th of June 1706, impoweriug the 
 Treasurer to issue bills of credit by way of loan, for one year, to 
 any person who shou'd apply for the same, to the value of one- 
 fourth of their estates, which bills were then directed to pass as 
 current cash and be received and allowed in payments accordingly. 
 In pursuance whereof, large sums issued ; but these bills being of 
 little or no credit, and occasioning all the gold and silver coin to 
 be sent off the Island, and greatly discouraging the trade thereof, 
 her late Most Excellent Majesty Queen Anne, by her Order in 
 Council dated the twenty-first day of October 1706, was pleased 
 to declare her disallowance of the said Act, and signifyed her 
 Royal Will and Pleasure to this Government that all possible care 
 shou'd be taken, and the best provision made that cou'd be, that 
 6uch who had been obliged to receive such bills and the persons 
 to whom any debts were owing, and had been obliged to part 
 with their leg-al security s for such bills, should be no sufferers 
 thereby, but be restored, as far as might be, by some new law to 
 the same state they were in before the passing the said Act.* And 
 to prevent a law of the like, or of any extraordinary nature 
 passing in this Island afterwards, an instruction was given and 
 has been continued to the governours not to pass any law of an 
 extraordinary nature till the Sovereign's pleasure is first known 
 therein, which has occasioned no other paper currency since to be 
 established in this Island. " 
 
 The foregoing detailed report of 1739 shews that the effects of 
 Queen Anne's Proclamation of 1704 in Barbados were as 
 follows : — 
 
 (1 .) The light silver, which had previously been current at 5 s. 
 per piece of eight, was driven out of circulation. 
 
 (2.) A gold standard was established ; the rating of the 
 (clipped) Pistole being raised from 20 s. in 1700 to 
 
 planters, on security of land and negroes. John Holder, Esq., Speaker of the 
 Assembly, was appointed Treasurer, and wus to have 5 per cent, for managing 
 these hilis. The money'd men were generally against this project, for they 
 found their debtors were glad of an opportunity to pay them in paper. '* 
 
 "The Assembly who passed the Act being dissolved, the next that sat proceeded 
 vigorously against those who were concerned in it, and sent an Address to 
 England to complain of it." 
 
 *'Mr. Crow arrived in Barbados in the year 1707 and according to his 
 instructions removed those gentlemen that had been concerned in the Paper 
 Credit Act from their places at the Council Board, and from all other that were 
 in the Governor's power. This bred discontentment and occasioned more 
 remonstrances to be sent to England." 
 
 " The Treasurer, Mr. Holder, was obliged to refund the 5 per cent, he had 
 received for managing the paper credit; and he appealing, the matter depends 
 at this time," i.e. L708. (Oldmixon.) 
 
 John Poyer, in Ins History of Barbados (London, 1 HOB), states that Holder 
 " applied to the Queen to be permitted to retain his ill-gotten gains, but 
 without success.'' 
 
 • A local Act was accordingly passed in April 1707. 
 
Ch. III. Barbados. 53 
 
 22 5. 6 d. in 1715, and that of the Moidore from 35 s. 
 to 37 s. 6 d. ; & the Portuguese Johannes was begin- 
 ning to circulate at 5 /., or 50 s. for the " Half Joe." 
 
 (3.) Pieces of eight (or Spanish Dollars) passing by weight 
 at 6 s. currency per 17 1 dwts., could not be kept in 
 concurrent circulation with gold. 
 
 (4.) In Barbados, as elsewhere in the West Indies, the 
 " base Pistareen " formed the bulk of the subsidiary 
 coinage. 
 
 For the next fifty years there is little evidence as to the facts 
 of currency in the Island. But the evidence of a pamphlet 
 published in 1791 in Barbados* shews that in that year a 
 guinea was still rated at 27 s. 6 d. (though "the low rate of 
 exchange has carried all the guineas out of the country "'), a 
 Moidore at 37 .<?. 6 d., and a " Joe " at 50 s. Gold was still the 
 standard ; but the gold coins of Spain had been supplanted in 
 Barbados (and in the Windward Islands generally) by the Portu- 
 gese (Moidore and) Johannes. " By the simple operation of the 
 scissors the joe and the moidore have been diminished until four 
 of the imperfect pieces will weigh only three of the perfect. A 
 pistereen f has been divided into four parts, three of which became 
 current, each at half the value of the pistereen, and the remaining 
 fourth part contained bullion equal in weight to the other three. 
 An attempt was made to divide the dollar, but some secret 
 principle prevented the mutilation, or common sense rejected the 
 imperfect coinage, as it ought to bave treated the others." 
 
 The state of the currency, both gold and silver, had in fact 
 become a scandal. The elections of 1790 turned on the question of 
 currency reform; a reforming majority was returned; and a com- 
 mittee of the Assembly was appointed to consider the subject. 
 In June 1791 an Act was passed making it penal to clip ; but 
 this was soon found to be inadequate. The real evil, so far as 
 the gold coins were concerned, lay in the importation of light 
 coins from America and Great Britain ; and a further com- 
 mittee was appointed in the same month of June, which recom- 
 mended that — 
 
 (i) Foreign gold should pass not by tale, but by weight ; 
 
 c " The principles by which a currency is established and a coinage 
 formed and the money circulation of this Island may be restored and 
 preserved." This anonymous work is believed to have been written by G.W. 
 Jordan, " the present valuable agent for the Colony, whose superior intelligence 
 penetrates with facility into the most difficult and abstruse branches of 
 human knowledge." (Poyer) 
 
 f In 1739 this coin was stated to be current by weight. It is evident that 
 in the interval it had obtained a currency by tale as two " Bits " (or 'Reals 
 of new plate "), i.e. as the fifth of a Dollar. And as the fifth of the s. rate laid 
 down by the Proclamation of 1704 was an inconvenient fraction, thePistareen 
 passed for la. 3c?. (see infra), or twice the uniform rating of the "Bit" 
 since 1GG8. Hence the Dollar now passed for 6s. 3d. 
 
 72642. E 
 
54 
 
 Colonial Currency. 
 
 (ii) That the following should be the weights and rates of 
 currency for the several gold coins : — 
 
 Joe - 
 
 Moidore - - - - 
 
 Double Doubloon 
 
 Rider - 
 
 Louis d'Or - 
 
 French and Portugal Guineas 
 
 English Guineas 
 
 Weighing 
 at least 
 
 iwts. 
 16 
 
 grs. 
 10 
 
 6 
 
 5 
 
 15 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 22 
 
 5 
 
 22 
 
 4 
 
 16 
 
 5 
 
 8 
 
 £. s. 
 5 - 
 1 17 
 
 4 10 
 1 15 
 1 13 
 1 7 
 1 10 
 
 6 
 
 (iii) That 2$d. should be allowed for every grain short of 
 the above standard weights. 
 
 After six weeks' altercation between the Assembly and the 
 Council, each throwing out the other's Bills, Governor Parry 
 took the matter into his OAvn hands, and on the 4th August 1791 
 issued a Proclamation " for immediate convenience, and in order 
 to resort at once to the true and only equitable principle of 
 fixing all foreign coins at a standard proportionate to the legal 
 coin of Great Britain, and of keeping the different species of 
 foreign gold coins aforesaid as nearly as may be to their known 
 weight and standard." It will be seen that in the following 
 ratings the Governor, whilst careful to retain the familiar 
 currency equivalents, avoided the (conscious) error of the above 
 Committee, and, instead of " reducing the standard of all foreign 
 gold coins in circulation about 10 per cent, below their real 
 value " (Poyer), laid down the legal weights as the standard. 
 His rates and weights were — 
 
 Joe 
 
 Moidore 
 
 Doubloon 
 
 diets. 
 weighing 18 
 6 
 17 
 
 j» 
 
 jj 
 
 grs. 
 
 £. s. 
 
 10 
 
 - 5 - 
 
 21 
 
 - 1 17 
 
 8 
 
 - 4 10 
 
 d. 
 
 and 2%d. was to be allowed for every grain deficient. This 
 reform put an end to the evils attending the standard gold coins 
 of the Colony, by establishing a currency by weight, instead of by 
 the abused system of tale. 
 
 Further, on 19th March, in a Proclamation against clipping and 
 debasing gold coins, the Governor had called attention to the 
 old provisions of Queen Anne's Proclamation of 1704, and had 
 forbidden the passing of foreign silver coins at illegal rates, i.e., at 
 more than 6 s. for 1 7 £ dwts. As practically the whole of the silver 
 in circulation was found to be light, the inconvenience of making 
 retail payments by weight resulted in the passing of the Act of 
 19th March 1799, providing that after the 5th April of that year 
 no clipped money should be a legal tender, but that it might be 
 paid in by weight to the Colonial Treasurer up to 5th July. The 
 immediate expense of the transaction was met by paying for the 
 old silver in Treasury Bills of eight months' date. 
 
Ch. III. Barbados. 55 
 
 The Treasurer was further directed to select good round pieces 
 for " a currency to pass by tale." A pamphlet of 1816 by the 
 Colonial Agent (Jordan) states that "since that period the silver 
 money has been as good as could be wished, the pieces being 
 generally perfect. The silver coinage consists of dollars current 
 at 6 s. 3 d. currency (or 10 bits) ; half-dollars current at 3 s. 1£ d. 
 currency, or five bits ; quarter-dollars at 1 s. 6$d. currency, or 2| 
 bits; pistereens current at Is. 3c?., or two bits; pistereen 
 bits current at 7 1 d. currency; Crimbal or Isle du Vent* bits, 
 (French coins made for their Windward Islands, and called 
 Crimbal, as I understand, from the name of the person who 
 first introduced them into circulation in Barbados) current at 
 7f } (f.; dollar half-bits, pistereen and Crimbal half-bits, and cut 
 half-bits formed by the cutting of bits into halves,f current 
 at 3f d. currency. The copper coinage consists principally of 
 farthings. "X 
 
 Barbados now admitted to tender only silver and gold coins of 
 full weight, and rated the dollar at 6 s. 3 d. and the doubloon at 
 90 s., or in the proportion of 1 :1 4.4, whereas in the outside market 
 the ratio was 1:15.36. In other words, in order to circulate con- 
 currently with the dollar at 6 s. 3 d., the doubloon should have 
 been rated not at 90s., but at 96 s. The result was that, finding 
 themselves denuded of Spanish gold, the merchants at public 
 meeting in 1816 decided to raise the doubloon to 51., or 16$, in 
 accordance with the monetary system of Spain. This step, which 
 finds an exact parallel in Jamaica, had the natural result of 
 driving silver out of the Island, whilst it attracted Spanish gold. 
 The inconvenience under which the Colony soon laboured, of 
 having little or no silver for small change, led in 1822 to the 
 coining for Barbados (primarily) of a supply of " Anchor money," 
 such as had originallv been coined two years before for 
 Mauritius. A supply of the new coins (of the denominations of 
 halves, quarters, eighths, and sixteenths of dollars, see page 22), 
 mitigated the evil, which had reference to retail dealings only, 
 and did not affect the gold standard which was now re-established 
 in Barbados. 
 
 (c.) From 1825 onwards. 
 In 1825 was issued the Order in Council of 23rd March of 
 that year, aiming at the introduction of British silver and copper 
 coins into general circulation throughout the Colonies (see page 
 21). As the "dollar" in Barbados was in reality only the 
 sixteenth part of a gold doubloon, and as the doubloon (intrinsi- 
 cally worth only 64 s. sterling) derived a value of no less than 
 69 s. 4 d. from the mistaken rate of 4 s. 4 d. assigned to the dollar 
 
 ° See also under Leeward Island* and supra, page 51. 
 
 f The writer states that the cut half-bit is more frequently a third of th« 
 bit, as " the division is not duly regulated." It may here he noted that, 
 unlike Dominica, Trinidad, &c, Barbados never stamped its cut money with 
 the Island's initial or other device. 
 
 X It is curious that the Agent should not have mentioned the Barbados 
 " Pine Apple" penny of J 7BH, or the Barbados " Neptune's Car" penny and 
 halfpenny of 1702 (see Atkins' " Coins of the British Colonies and Posses- 
 sions'"). 
 
 E 2 
 
56 Colonial Currency. 
 
 in the Order in Council, it will readily be seen that the shilling 
 was unable to oust the doubloon. And, even if the rating of the 
 sterling coins had been justly expressed in relation to the doub- 
 loon, the awkward " currency " rating of 1 s. 5-fa d. must have 
 retarded its introduction into circulation among the uneducated 
 classes, familiar only with " bits " in their simple reckonings. 
 Such sterling coins as were issued to the troops, &c, by the 
 Commissariat were first exchanged for doubloons, &c, and then 
 remitted with profit to England. So far as general circulation 
 was concerned, the measure of 1825 was an unqualified failure. 
 
 In 1834, doubtless in consequence of the currency reforms of 
 that year in the United States, most of the " Anchor money" was 
 shipped away to the mainland ; and Barbados found itself 
 without small change, and in danger of unknown demands for 
 such coin in connection with the emancipation of the slaves. A 
 Committee was appointed, which reported on 24th June 1834, 
 recommending that the doubloon of 5 /. currency should be 
 retained as the standard, and urging that British coins should be 
 brought into circulation by (correctly) rating the sovereign at 
 31 s. 3 d. currency and other sterling coins in proportion. The 
 general feeling in the Assembly seems to have been to make four 
 British shillings equivalent to $\ (compare Jamaica); and 
 against this view (which was in the planters' favour), the mer- 
 chants hastened to protest by memorials of 7th July 1834 and 
 8th February 1835. Their protests were effectual, since, though 
 a Bill passed the legislature to rate the shilling as a quarter- 
 dollar, it was disallowed by the Governor. As, however, the 
 need for small change was so great, and as the exigencies of the 
 planters were so pressing, the Governor on 13th April 1836 pro- 
 claimed that, for six months only, the British shilling should pass 
 at 1 s. 6d. currency, which, as the local rating of the dollar was 
 6 s. 3 d., was correct in making 4 s. 2d. sterling equivalent to #1, 
 though it left untouched the over-valuation of the doubloon 
 relatively to silver. " This gave immediate relief," says an Island 
 Memorial of 22nd November 1838 : "for there was a largre 
 quantity of British silver in the Commissariat, which His 
 Excellency gave instructions should be issued freely ; abundance 
 remained in circulation up to about the middle of last year, when 
 the chief portion disappeared." As the Governor at first refused to 
 renew the Proclamation, a public meeting was held on 2nd May 
 1837, which, after declaring that the lack of small silver was a 
 serious evil to the planters and the emancipated slaves, pledged 
 itself to continue to receive British silver coins at the rates of the 
 expired Proclamation of 1836. Subsequently, these rates were 
 again legalised by the authorised renewal of the Proclamation. 
 Thus, from 13th April 1K36, onwards, the dollar and British silver 
 were correctly rated with reference to each other in Barbados, 
 though the doubloon continued to be over-valued with reference 
 to both. 
 
 On 7th and Mth September 1838 ysec page 27), Orders in 
 Council and Proclamations were issued for remedying the legisla- 
 tion of 1K2.J. It was now provided that the dollar should be 
 rated throughout the West Indian Colonies at 4 s. 2d. sterlino-. 
 
Ch. III. Barbados. 57 
 
 and the doubloon at 64 s., for concurrent circulation with sterling 
 coins. The Royal Proclamation was brought into local operation 
 by the Governor's Proclamation of 26th October of the same 
 year. This latter Proclamation, which was confirmed by 
 Order in Council of 11th July 1839, took the doubloon as the 
 local standard of value, and, retaining its current valualion of 5 I., 
 proceeded to re-rate on this basis the dollar at 6 s. 6 d. and the 
 British shilling at 1 s. 6| d., repealing at the same time all 
 previous currency proclamations. The reform met with a mixed 
 reception. As may be seen from petitions in the " Barbados 
 Globe and Colonial Advocate " of 1st, loth, and 22nd November 
 1838, there was a feeling in favour of making the dollar, 
 instead of the doubloon, the standard. A letter of 1838 speaks 
 of " an active Doubloon party, but weight and respectability on 
 the other side." And at a public meeting held on 13th November 
 1838 it was unanimously resolved "that a petition to the Legisla- 
 ture be prepared, to limit the tender of the British silver to 20 s. 
 current money of Barbados ";* it was also resolved to take coins 
 at the old rates. But this opposition to the measures of 1838 
 was temporary only. The new rates prevailed ; British silver 
 was introduced into, and retained in, circulation ; the demand 
 for a limit on its legal tender ceased to be heard ; aud ten years' 
 experience of the new system led to the passing of the local Act 
 of 21st August 1848 (No. 195) for the assimilation of the 
 Colonial currency and moneys of account to sterling. On the 
 basis of the rating of the doubloon at 5 /. currency, it was 
 provided that old debts should be payable at the rate of 100 /. 
 for every 156 /. currency ; and 4 s. 2 d. in sterling was to be a due 
 equivalent for every liability of one dollar. The last Section of 
 the Act provides that " nothing in this Act contained shall be con- 
 strued to interfere with the circulation of any foreign coins, which 
 by Her Majesty's Proclamation now are or shall hereafter be 
 declared current in this Island, at such values in the currency of 
 the United Kingdom as now are or shall hereafter be fixed by any 
 such Proclamation or Proclamations." Consequently the dollar 
 and tbe doubloon remained a legal tender. 
 
 The Order in Council of the 19th August 1853, which was 
 procl aimed and brought into operation locally on 11th October 
 of the same year, rated the gold coins of the United States for 
 concurrent circulation with sterling at 41 s. for the eagle and 
 4 s. 1 d. for the gold dollar.f And on 28th January 1867, the 
 Governor by Proclamation brought into operation in Barbados 
 
 * This desire to put a limit on the legal tender of British tokens was 
 shared by other West Indian Island's at this date, e.g., Jamaica and Trinidad. 
 But in 1852 (see Parliamentary Paper, No. 268, of 1853) local feeling was 
 against a limit of tender for silver. 
 
 The Island Memorial of 22nd November 1838 viewed with alarm the 
 grant of a charter to the Colonial Bank. " To retain a metallic currency is 
 1 lie avowed aim of Your petitioners, for they cannot view without appre- 
 hension the numerous failures which occur in those countries where paper is 
 made the representative of specie." 
 
 f See p. 28 (note). Local Proclamation was made on 11th October ]8o3 and 
 11th April 1854. Intrinsically the gold dollar of the United States is worth 
 is. I'Sliid., and the eagle ten times that sum, so that these coins, being 
 undervalued, were handicapped as against the sovereign and doubloon. 
 
58 Colonial Currency. 
 
 the Order iii Council and Proclamation of 10th November 1866, 
 declaring the Li<>ld coins struck at the Sydney Branch of the Royal 
 Mint to lie legal tender in certain colonies* But these provisions 
 lor the currency of United States and Australian gold were nuga- 
 tory in a colon v where token silver was an unlimited tender, f 
 Dating from the gold discoveries about 1850, the silver dollar 
 had ceased to circulate, as its gold-price had risen till it was 
 profitable to export the coin. Like the rest of the West Indian 
 Colonies, therefore, Barbados was left with a circulation 
 composed exclusively of British tokens and the notes of the 
 Colonial Bank. But a quarter of a century later, the increased 
 production of silver and the consequent fall in its gold price, made 
 it possible to lay down the Mexican dollar in the West Indies at 
 a total cost of about 3 s. 10 d., or 4 d. less than the unrepealed 
 rating of this coin under the Order in Council of 1838. It does 
 not appear that Mexican dollars were, as a matter of fact, 
 imported by speculators into Barbados, as they were into British 
 Guiana. But as a result of the general scare at the possible 
 restoration of the silver dollar as a standard of value, the Act of 
 26th March 1879 was passed in Barbados demonetising Spanish, 
 Mexican, and Columbian dollars, and providing that for three 
 days after the publication of the Act, these coins might be 
 exchanged at the Colonial Treasurer's Office at their former rate 
 of 4 s. 2 d. each. By Order in Council and Royal Proclamation 
 of 9th May 1891 (sec the 22nd Mint Report) a colonial " groat or 
 fourpence " was legalised for Barbados (and certain other West 
 Indian Colonies). The Royal Proclamation was published in the 
 colonial Gazette of 15th June 1891, and ordered by local Procla- 
 mation of 29th June 1891, to come into force on and from that 
 day. (See also under British Guiana for this " groat.") 
 
 The circulatory medium of the Colony has long been confined 
 in practice to British tokens^ and notes of the Colonial Bank.§ 
 The amount of specie in circulation! on 31st December 1891 may 
 be estimated at 100,000 /., and the amount of the Bank's notes 
 at the same date at (perhaps) 32,000 /., making together a total 
 in coin and notes of 132,000/., which, taking the population at 
 182,000, gives an average of about 14*. 6d. per head (three- 
 quarters in coin and one-quarter in notes). 
 
 With anomalous consistency, Barbados, like the rest of the 
 West Indies, has always maintained a money of account different 
 
 °See page -445. fSee page 31. 
 
 +The follow-in* coins are in occasional circulation : — United States Eagle 
 at 41 ,s.,and other gold coins in proportion (except the gold dollar, rarely 
 neen, which passes as a "dollar'' or 4s 2d.); doubloons at 04 it. ; British 
 Guiana (silver) guilder-token at 1*.; and the Canadian quarter-dollar at 
 lOd. 
 
 £The Colonial Bank was constituted under a Royal Cliarter of 1836, and 
 an Imperial Act of 1856. Its subscribed capital is 2,000,000/. (of which 
 600,0002. is paid up), audits total nute circulation on 31 8t December 1891, was 
 returned at 400,500/. 12*. Gd. In addition to a London office, it has 15 
 branches and agencies in the West Tndies and British Guiana. 
 
 Irrespective of the reserve held by the Colonial Bank in the Island, and 
 of the probably considerable hoards buried by the negroes. These further 
 items would probably ecrual, together, the amount of coin estimated in the 
 text as being ID general circulation. 
 
Ch. III. Barbados. 59 
 
 from that in actual circulation. For some two centuries accounts 
 were kept in £. 5. d., though the coins current were mainly 
 Spanish; and »t the present day, when sterling coins hold the 
 field, mercantile accounts are kept in " dollar's and cents," the 
 dollar of account being 4 s. 2d. sterling, and the cent | d. 
 
6o Colonial Currency. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Leeward Islands.* 
 (1623.) 
 
 Down to 1670-71, these Islands, "so far as they were English, 
 were part of a general government of the Caribbean Islands " ; 
 and their early currency history will be found under Barbados, 
 the centre of the general government. The dearth of coin, and 
 the consequent prevalence of barter in the Leeward Islands down 
 to within a century of the present day, lends an antiquarian 
 interest to the study of their currency ; whilst the multiplicity 
 of their early Acts, &c, furnishes a record of early colonial 
 currency more complete than that of any other British " Planta- 
 tions in America." 
 
 " In y e Leward Islands," wrote Governor Chr. Codrington 
 from Antigua on 13th July 1691, "there is very little money, 
 and y e trade drove in them almost wholly by way of Truck of 
 the severall Especies of y e produce of the Islands in Exchange for 
 other and of all these for such goods and commodities as they 
 want, nor is money soe much as the standard of Trade, ye 
 March ts keeping all their books and acc ts in Shugg r (i.e. Sugar) 
 or other y e produce of y e Islands, and in these doe state all y e 
 Debts due to or from them." And so too in 1740 the Secretary 
 of the Leeward Islands wrote, " When I speak of ' currency ' 
 without the addition of ' coin,' you will please to observe, I 
 always mean the Value that is put on Sugar, Rum, Cotton, and 
 other Commodities, the growth of the Leeward Islands, which 
 is called Currency there, in contradistinction to Gold and Silver ; 
 for there is no such thing as Paper Currency in the Leeward 
 Islands." 
 
 It is necessary, therefore, to recognise at the outset that in 
 these Islands exchange was chiefly based on standard commodities. 
 There was, in fact, a dual standard established by law, consisting 
 primarily of commodities, and secondarily of coin. It will be 
 convenient to deal first with the non-metallic currency. 
 
 I. Barter. 
 
 In the earliest years it was tobacco which formed the monetary 
 standard here, as in Barbados. " One thousand pound of good 
 Marchantable tobacco in Role" was the fine for commerce with 
 "the heathen " under the curious Antigua Act of 20th November 
 1644 : Mini a like fine was imposed by a Montserrat Act of 1668 
 lor Sabbath-breaking by "unlawful gaming, immoderate and 
 uncivil drinking ... or any other prophane and illicious 
 
 • St. Kitts, Antigua, Montserrat, and Nevis were the four original Leeward 
 Islands, — Dominica and the Virgin Islands being added about a century ago 
 
uNivERsrn 
 
 Ch. IV. Leeward Islands. 61 
 
 Labours of the Week-days, as digging-, houghing, baking, crab- 
 bing, shooting, and such like indecent Actions." 
 
 About lo70-71, when the Leeward Islands were formed into 
 a separate Government, sugar supplanted tobacco as the general 
 staple;* and because (as a Nevis Act of 1672 recites) "many 
 contests daily doe arise for that there hath not beene any certaine 
 prefixed rate put upon Sugar whereby it might passe between 
 party and party at a currant price in lieu of Money Sterling," 
 sugar was concurrently rated with coin. 
 
 From 1670 to 1700 the regular rating enacted in the four 
 Islands was 12 s. 6rf.f for "five score pound weight of good, dry 
 well-cured merchantable Muscovado Sugar." This over-valuation, J 
 of sugar discouraged the importation of coin, and, in spite of the 
 several Acts of the 17th century in the Leeward Islands, little 
 metallic currency was seen till after the beginning of the 18th 
 century. The Colonial Acts levy taxes, prescribe fees, and 
 impose fines {e.g. on the militia) in sugar ; and private property 
 was measured by the same standard of value. The following 
 instances will exemplify the early conditions of currency in these 
 Islands : — 
 
 (1 ) When in 1668 Montserrat decided that "by the first con- 
 veniency that may be, an able preaching Orthodox Minister be 
 procured," the local Act prescribed that " for the maintenance of 
 such able preaching Minister, the just and fidl Quantity of 
 fourteen thousand pounds of Sugar, or the value thereof in 
 Tobacco, § Cotton Wool, or Indigo, be yearly raised or levied." 
 (The Minister was not to demand payment for the Baptism of 
 infants, for reading the Burial Service, or for Churching of 
 Women. For solemnising marriages, " no such Minister shall 
 demand any more than one hundred poimds of sugar, or the 
 value thereof in Tobacco, Cotton Wool, or Indigo.") 
 
 (2.) "Whatsoever Person," says a Nevis Act of 1680, "shall 
 kindle any Fire or Fires iu the Street or Streets, or other 
 Places of Danger aforesaid, for boiling and dressing of Victuals 
 
 •. shall be forthwith fined one hundred pounds of 
 
 Muscovado sugar." And, to guard against " small-pox, spotted 
 fever, or other contagion," a like fine was imposed in 1680 on 
 Masters of Ships landing passengers in Nevis without the 
 Governor's license. 
 
 (3.) An estimate of an estate in St. Christopher (1698) 
 contains the following item: " 600 akers of good manurable land 
 att least att 1,000 li. Sugar" (i.e. per acre), "the usual price the 
 Sugar att 1 2 s. 6 d. per hundred - - - - £. 3,750." 
 
 •In Barbados, sugar had supplanted tobacco, &c. as early as 1640 {see 
 page 46). 
 
 f But 15*'. in Montserrat from 1668 to 1670, and in Nevis from 1672 to 
 1680. 
 
 t The same Piece of Eight which passed for 6*. in the Leeward Islands, 
 parsed for only. 5. <t. in Barbados ; and yet, from 1670 onwards. 12*. 6rf. was 
 the ratii: 0- of one hundred pounds of su»;ar not li in Barbados and in the 
 Leeward Islands. Hence, as Chr. Codrinijton observed in 1691, Barbados 
 had "a money trade " when the latter Islands had " very little money." 
 
 § Which was to be paid " in leaf," and not in roll, unless so agreed by both 
 parties. 
 
62 
 
 Colonial Currency. 
 
 It may be concluded that up to 1700 commodities formed the 
 sole internal currency, and the major part of the remittances, 
 of the Leeward Islands. About 1699 (see the Antigua Act, 
 page 66 infra) there would appear to have been for some un- 
 explained cause an influx of metallic money, and the Islands 
 proceeded to raise their denominational ratings of current coins. 
 This step deposed sugar from being the standard, as is shown in 
 the case of Nevis. For, when by Act No. 44 (probably of 1699) 
 specie was formally introduced as the Nevis standard of value, 
 the " disputes and controversies which have lately happened 
 by the payment of money in Leiw of Coinodityes " led to the 
 passing in 1700 of a further Act, which runs as follows: — 
 
 " Whereas of late Sugar and other Commodities of the produce 
 and Manufacture of the Island are advanced in their vallew 
 much more than formerly, by reason whereof the Marchants and 
 Traders (who were wont to be very well content to receive 
 money instead of the several Comodityes produced and made by 
 the planter, to say 12 s. 6d. for every hundred pounds of Sugar, 
 2 s. for a pound of Indico, and so proportionably for the seuerall 
 other Commoditys) do now thinke it a greuiance and complaine 
 that they are oblidged to take money for their dets ; . . . and 
 on the other side the Planters do insist on their ould* custome 
 and are dubious that they shall be presently ruined by their 
 creditors seuerily, should the said custome be infrindgit and 
 they not.have the Liberty of paying money at the usuall price 
 when they have no possibility to procure the Comoditys of 
 y e Island. To put an end and determination to all such disputes 
 . . . . it is hereby enacted " that money might be tendered 
 at the following rates measured by the standard, and subsidiary, 
 commodities, viz. : 
 
 " 12«. 6d. currant money for every 100 lbs. of Muscovado. 
 
 „ 1 „ „ Indico. 
 
 „ 1 „ „ Cotton wool ginn'd. 
 
 „ 1 ,, „ Tobacco or Ginger." 
 
 2 s. 
 9r/. 
 lid. 
 
 a 
 
 At the beginning of the 18th century, as a result of the 
 Proclamation and Act of Queen Anne and the change of the 
 metallic standard from silver to gold as hereafter detailed, 
 sugar lost further ground as the circulatory medium, though it 
 continued to be current. The fixed rate per 100 lbs. was 20s. 
 in St. Kitts in 1717, and in Nevis in 1746. But the more usual 
 currency was not at a fixed rate, as in the 17th century, but "at 
 the then current price." In case of dispute, each side appointed 
 a "Viewer'' to value the commodity tendered in payment, and 
 in case of disagreement the Viewers called in an umpire. 
 
 For purposes of internal circulation, sugar, &c. long continued 
 to have monetary importance. On 15th May 1750 the Council 
 
 Montserrat was mainly colonised from Ireland. 
 
Ch. IV. Leeward Islands. 63 
 
 of Nevis* recommended the " present Levey to be in Money ; 
 the Perpetual Deficiency of Sugar Payments keeping the 
 Country always in low Credit, as is too obvious to us all." The 
 Assembly of the same Island on 15th June 1752 arranged for 
 " the appraisment of all Sugars, Rum, and Molasses paid for 
 Debts" (i.e. to the Colonial Government). And on the 24th 
 August 1753 the same Assembly suggested '* An Act to make 
 the Commodities of the Country legal tender. The great scarcity 
 of money of late, and the advantages thereby taken by the 
 Merchants in not taking the produce of the country in barter, 
 but at their own prices, makes such an Act absolutely necessary." 
 A request by the Council for more precise information as to 
 what was meant by " legal tender," drew the following reply 
 from the Assembly on 30th August 1753 : — 
 
 " The intended Hill will be calculated to make the Commodities 
 of this country (as mentioned in the Bill) legal tender merely 
 for goods, wares, and merchandise sold in this Government, but 
 not for any debts contracted in England, nor to extend to any 
 specifick contract whatever. The nature of ascertaining the 
 value of such country Commodities will be by two persons to be 
 chosen by the parties in difference." The Council agreed, but 
 no legislation seems to have been effected. 
 
 In Antigua in 1756, taxes were to be paid " onethird part 
 thereof in gold or silver current money of this Island, and the 
 other twothird parts in good Marchantable Muscovado Sugar." 
 But on 22nd May 1760, it was enacted that taxes should be paid 
 " by discount of the public debt, or in gold or silver current 
 money of this Island." As late however as 13th June 1770 
 (at least ) sugar could still be paid at an agreed price for not 
 keeping the full quota of white servants required by an old Act. 
 Still later evidence of the internal circulation of commodities as 
 money is afforded by a Revenue Act passed in St. Christopher 
 in 1784: — "And whereas it may be burthensome and oppressive 
 to the Inhabitants of this Island to pay the amount in specie, be 
 it enacted that the payment of the taxes aforesaid may be in 
 cash, sugar, or rum, at the option of the person or persons liable 
 to pay the same." 
 
 By the close of the 18th century metallic money would appear 
 practically to have driven commodities from circulation ; and so 
 ended this interesting, if confusing, phase of colonial currency. 
 
 5 "As to the product of the country, and its trade, what has been said of 
 Barbados, Antego, and the other Chanbbee Islands, will also serve for this, 
 feugar is the staple commodity here, as well as there, and serves for all the 
 nses of money. For all the trade of the Island is managed by sugar* Pounds 
 of sugar and not pounds of sterling is the balance of all their accounts; and 
 exchanging that commodity for others did the inhabitants' business as well as 
 if they had silver." — Oldmixon's British Empire in America, 2nd Edition; 
 London, 1741. 
 
64 Colonial Currency. 
 
 II. — Coin. 
 
 (i ) Prior to 1704. 
 
 The first enactment relating to the metallic currency of the 
 Leeward Islands was that passed in " Mountseratt " on 29th 
 September 1670, entitled " An Act for Rateing Sugger, Raising 
 of fferreigne Coyne, and Preventing ye Plague." It runs as 
 follows : — 
 
 " Whereas y e Authority aforesaid having seriously considered 
 y e greate Necessity of money in this Island, for y e Better 
 Manadgement of Trade and to encourage all Sure person or 
 persons that shall for y c future bring any sum or sumes of 
 fferreigne coynes unto ye Island aforesaid, or any others now on 
 this Island that have any desire to imploye any sure coyne in 
 their custodye : It is therefore enacted, and bee it hereby 
 enacted by y e Authority aforesaid, y at for y e future all Moneys 
 of y e King of Spaines Coynes, shall pass and be received by all 
 manner of persons resideing upon this Island, or which hereafter 
 shall com upon y e same at y e full Allowance hereafter signified 
 and expressed, that is to say every Ciuill, Mexico, and Pellare, 
 Peice of eight at Sixe shillings, and every old Peru* and new at 
 five shillings y e Peice, and halfe Peices and Quarter peices 
 proportionably, and all New England money f at its full vallue in 
 New England." 
 
 The above Act of Montserrat, which superseded an earlier 
 rating of 5 s. for the Piece of Eight (dating back to before the 
 separation from Barbados in 1670-71), was copied two years 
 later in AntiguaJ and Nevis, though (apparently) not in the 
 remaining Island of St. Kitts The Nevis Act of 1672 is in- 
 teresting, as specifying in greater detail than does the Montserrat 
 Act, the "pine-tree" coins ("Boston or Bay shillings," &c.) 
 which were received from New England in payment for rum, &c. 
 It concludes as follows : " All Money coyned in New England by 
 his Majesties Authority§ and there called shillings, sixpences, 
 threepences, twopences, and pence, shall alsoe, after the Publica- 
 tion hereof, passe currant in this Island, in all payments, for the 
 like value as the same is in New England." 
 
 c These coins, being "of uncertain allay," according to Sir Isaac Newton, 
 would appear from ttiis prohibitive rating to have been foisted upon the local 
 merchants to the exclusion of the more reliable Mexican coins. *Scealso under 
 Jamaica, page 99. 
 
 ■• See page 8 (note). 
 
 + The Antigua Act was "dated at the Court hous in ffalmouth (the 14th) 
 day of August 1(>72." 
 
 § This mis-statement of facts was doubtless intentional. This coinage (see 
 page 9), which commenced in 1052 and continued until 1688, was viewed 
 with royal displeasure. The coins were to be struck "of good silver of the 
 just allay <>f new sterling English money, and for value to be stamped two- 
 pence in a shilling of less value than the present English coyne. and the lesser 
 peeces proportionably.'' lly 1654 they were taken in England at 9 c?. pur 
 shilling, or 25 per cent, oft their face value. And this led to the rating of 
 " pieces of eight, that are full weight and good silver,'' at 6 s. in New Engfand 
 on 8 October K'>7^, eo that in this year New England and the Leeward Islands 
 enacted like ratings, and had a similar currency system. 
 
Ch. IV. Leeward Islands. 65 
 
 Some 20 years later the actual state of the metallic currency 
 is touched upon in Governor Christopher Codrington's letter of 
 13th July 1691 to the Board of Trade and Plantations. His 
 words are : " Our peices of eight generally not being worth 
 above 3 s. 6 d. and 3 s. 9 d., some 4 s., and, when full weight 
 (w ch one in a 100 is not), 4 s. 4^ d. . . . they pass in these 
 Islands for 6 s. Its but of late y* we have had lesse y n a Rial, 
 which passes for ninepence, and y e least we have now is a French 
 Sole mark, w ch passes here for three-halfpence, y l is six of them 
 to a Rial.'' * Speaking of a large consignment of farthings 
 (apparently some 3,000/. in ail) which had been made to him by 
 the " mere motion " of the Plantations Board, he remarks, " I 
 have given each Company 100 I. of farthings, and y e remaind 1- I 
 shall endeavour to dispose of to y e best advantage of y e Reigm 1 
 for provisions and other necessaries. I must here observe to y r 
 Lordships y* farthings cann be of noe manner of use in these 
 Islands for change, there being nothing to be bought here for soe 
 small a coyne, and a quantity of them are troublesome to carry. 
 Tho' they are sterling money, yet 6 s. of y rs " (i.e., your farthings) 
 " will purchase no more here y n a peice of eight ; tho' had y' 6 s. 
 bin disposed of in England, it would have purchased a peice of 
 eight and a-half " {i.e., of the clipped kind). 
 
 The 6 s. rating of the Piece of eight had apparently not been 
 enacted in the English half of St. Kitts; and moreover the 
 occupation of part of , the Island by the French introduced into 
 circulation the silver Ecu, or Louis d'argent, probably as a result 
 of the costly colonial administration of France. Consequently, 
 in order to establish uniformity of rating for the Piece of Eight, 
 and in order to admit the " French Crown" f to legal lender in 
 the four islands, the General Assembly of the Leeward Islands 
 passed an Act in 1694 of which the following are the two first 
 sections: — 
 
 " And it is hereby enacted by the authority aforesaid, That 
 each Piece of Eight of Sevill, Mexico, and Pillar, and each 
 French Crown shall be current and pass for .Six Shillings current 
 Money ; a Perue Piece of Eight at Five Shillings, and all 
 Moneys whatsoever of those coins aforesaid shall in all Pay- 
 ments whatsoever be proportionably rated (except the Eighth 
 part of a Perue Piece of Eight, commonly called a Sevenpence 
 halfpenny, [which] shall be current and pass for Ninepence), 
 any Law, Custom, or Usage to the contrary notwithstanding. 
 
 Whosoever shall, for base lucre, by any ways or means, coin, 
 falsify, impair, diminish, seal, wash, clip, file, or lighten any of 
 the Money aforesaid, or any other Money current in these Islands, 
 shall be guilty of felony, and shall suffer death for the same 
 without benefit of Clergy." 
 
 c Apparently the French colonial coin of 5-sols, or perhaps the Double, 
 struck in 1670 (p. 170). 
 \See also under Jamaica. 
 
SG Colonial Currency. 
 
 It will be observed that in this Act there is no mention 
 whatsoever of gold coins, and that specific reference to the New 
 England coins is omitted, perhaps because of their occurring less 
 frequently in 1694 than a quarter of a century earlier. It is also 
 to be noted that clipped and light coins were already familiar, 
 but that, whilst it was a capital offence to clip coins within the 
 Leeward Islands, no penalty was imposed on the importation 
 and circulation of clipped coins, nor r was a least current weight 
 fixed for the Piece of Eight and the Ecu, which two coins, being 
 practically of equal content of fine silver, were correctly valued 
 at the same currency rate. 
 
 The shortcomings of the General Act of 1694 soon made them- 
 selves felt. The commercial rivalry of the four Islands readily 
 disposed each to take any real or supposed advantage of the 
 others. Nor did any one Island regard the passing of the Act 
 of the General Assembly of the Leeward Islands as precluding 
 it from further legislation on currency upon its own account.* 
 Consequently, five years later, Antigua passed the quaint local 
 Act of 26th March 1699. This Act, the greater part of which 
 is given below, is notable as first introducing in the Leeward 
 Islands (i) a rating of silver coins by weight, and (ii) a con- 
 current rating of gold coins ; the influence of trade with the 
 Dutch will be observed in the admission to tender of such coins 
 as the Cross and Lion (or "dog") dollars, and, perhaps, the Bar- 
 bary Ducat, which grew so familiar in later years : — " Whereas 
 nothing is more obvious than that plenty of money in all 
 countryes is what gives a great encouragement to trade, and that 
 where it most stands the inhabitants of that place are very easy 
 in all their dealings, which, for these many yeares past, by the 
 dull methods of bartering on(e) commodity for another m this 
 Island, and the brisk advantages (we) have had by some mony of 
 late happening among us, we have sufficiently experienced. And 
 forasmuch as the continuing the passable coins appointed by this 
 Act in the Island, and the speedy encouraging the importation 
 of more, is what will mainly contribute to the effectuall propa- 
 gation of this collony ; and in reguard also the infancy of the 
 settlement will not at present admitt of bringing down the said 
 coine so nere its intrinsick vallew as we could wish ; yet by the 
 importation of a quantity sufficient to circulate plentyfully in 
 trade (tho' at a high vallew), we are sensible will not only be 
 a present advantage but enable us also to bare the loss of a strict 
 regulation for the future ; . . . . Be it enacted that all 
 mony, both gold and silver, shall hereafter pass from man to man 
 at the rates and proportions as are hereafter sett down at large, 
 and no otherwise. And no mony defaced by plugging! shall 
 pass from party to party, to prevent the adulteration commonly 
 used in the said pluggs. 
 
 <! But see hereon the Leeward Islands Act of 7th June 1705, printed at 
 page 17 of the Antigua Collection of Laws, 1734. 
 
 -j- Sec page 23 (note). 
 
Ch. IV. Leeward Islands. 
 
 6? 
 
 A Table for Mony intended to pass by this Act. 
 
 SILVER. 
 
 Pieces of Eight * of Mexico Pillar and 
 Civill and all others esteemed of the £,. s. d. 
 same finess, containing 17 peny 
 weights, to pass at- - - - - 7 - 
 
 The same, from 17 to 15 dwts. in- 
 clusive - - - - - --66 
 
 All other of the same sort under 
 
 15 dwts. - - - - - - - 6 - 
 
 Cross f and Lyon J dollars, and all 
 Peru Pieces of Eight, without 
 weighing - - - - - - - 5 - 
 
 French Crown - - - - - - 7 - 
 
 English Crown - 7 6 
 
 Black Doggs § or French Sous marks - - 1 £ 
 
 * The weight given by Sir Isaac Newton in 
 1702, &c, was 17 J dwts., and the value 53 p 88d., 
 corrected to 5id in 1717. The rating of the Act 
 is almost exactly 5iZ. per dwt. ; hence, at 15 dwts., 
 the rating should have been 6s. 2d., and at 
 14 dwts. 5s. 9d. Thus a premium was put on 
 light coins. 
 
 1 1*. e., the Patagon, or Cross dollar of Flanders, 
 worth 52 - 91d. at 5s. 2d. per oz. standard. 
 
 J i.e., The Lion (or Dog) dollar of Holland, or 
 §rds of the Dueatoon ; worth about 43 - 7d. at 
 5s. 2d. per oz. standard. 
 
 § " Dogs," rated at 1 §d., existed in these islands 
 in the present century. In the French Islands 
 they were called " Xoirs." Codrington speaks 
 of them (1691) as new importations; he terms 
 them "Sole Marks" and " .Solz Marques." (In 
 connection with these " Black Dogs " the 
 following extract from the Antigua Act of 1757 
 regulating the Assize of Bread is of interest : — 
 " The loaf of wheaten bread commonly called 
 a Dog loaf or three-halfpenny loaf, and which 
 
 GOLD. 
 
 Spanish Double Double Loones,' con- £ . s. d. 
 taining 17 dwts. - - - -512- 
 
 French Pistoll or Lewis d'Ore - -18- 
 
 Arabiane Chequinef and t.,11 other 
 small pieces of like weight - - - 14 - 
 
 English Guinea - - - - -113- 
 
 English Jacobus - - - - - 2 - - 
 
 English Carolus - - - - - 1 10 - 
 
 is the sixth part in value of the silver piece 
 ot money, now usually current in this island 
 by the name of a Bit, or 9d., shall weigh, 
 after being baked, 16j oz. av." On 12th De- 
 cember 1825 the "Dog Loaf" in St. Kitts was 
 to weigh only 3 oz. a v. ) In Connecticut, in 1721, 
 " An Act sent from the Lower House that the 
 coin called Black Doggs pass at 2d. p. pee. 
 was dissented to." (Crosby, " Early Coins of 
 America," Boston, 1878, page 203.) Crosby 
 could " gain no clue as to what coins were here 
 referred to." 
 
 See Note * on page 65. 
 
 * Taken in connection with the rating of the 
 dollar of like weight and fineness at 7s., the ratio 
 adopted was that of Spain, viz., 16 : 1. 
 
 fThe Barbary Ducat of 1740. See page 72. 
 
 tThe current of specie remittance being from 
 the West Indies, and gold being over-valued 
 relatively to silver in England at this time, 
 these ratings of the English gold coins are 
 immaterial. 
 
 " For every grain of gold short of the above weights, 4 d. is to 
 be deducted." 
 
 As regards silver coins, halves and quarters were " to pass in 
 proportion to the whole piece, both in weight and vallew .... 
 but all others of less weight, together with Ryalls and half- 
 Ryalls, (to) go in payment as formerly " ; i. e., the Real was to 
 continue to pass by tale for 9d. 
 
 Provision was made in the other Leeward Islands on the same 
 lines as those laid down in Antigua.* 
 
 "When, therefore, Sir Gilbert Heathcote wrote to the Treasury 
 in 1700-1 that " A peece of 8 in ye Leeward Islands is called 
 6 5., and 3 J ps. of 8 make 1 /.," it may be concluded that, though 
 the rating of 30 years before was retained in name, in substance 
 the " peece of 8 " actually rated at 6 .?., had shrunk from 17g to 
 under 15 dwts. These light coins, passing by tale, and being 
 over-valued with regard to those of full weight, may be taken 
 as formino; the metallic standard of value for internal circulation. 
 
 * In 1698 there had heen passed in Nevis " An Act to ascertain the value 
 of Foreign Coin to pass current in this Island." No copy ot' this Act (which 
 is stated to have been continued by an Act of the following year) is to be 
 found in the Record Office ; but it may be concluded, on analogy with the 
 action taken iii 1672, and in view of the statement of the Council of St. 
 Christopher in 1716 (see infra) that its provisions were practically the same 
 as those of the contemporary Act in Antigua. There is also indirect evidence 
 of similar legislation in Montserrat ; for it would appear, from the St. Chris- 
 topher statement of 1716, that the 7s. rating of the Ecu and the weightier 
 Pieces of Eight was in force in tiiis island in common with Antigua and Nevis. 
 
68 Colonial Currency. 
 
 But for making specie payments outside the Island, heavier 
 undipped coins were preferred. For, it appears from the 
 .Journals of the Council of Antigua for 27th April 1713 that 
 " great {i.e. whole) pieces-of-eight, &c, have been, and still are, 
 always taken by weight."* This view is supported by the 
 evidence as to the currency facts of 1700, furnished to the Board 
 of Trade in 1739. With regard to St. Kitts, it was said that " in 
 the year 1700, and for some time before, almost the only coin 
 passing among us were Spanish dollars or pieces-of-eight, and all 
 the lesser species of that coinage. But they were for the most 
 part dipt and passed in tale and without weighing at the rate of 
 6 s. this currency per dollar. No gold or other silver coin being 
 hardly ever seen ; but a Spanish pistole of 4 pennyweight was 
 then deem'd worth 24 s. This currency continued untill the year 
 1704." 
 
 (ii.) 1704-1825. 
 
 Prior, therefore, to 1704, the metallic currency of the Leeward 
 Islands consisted practically only of light silver (pieces of eight 
 and smaller Spanish coins), which passed by tale. Queen Anne's 
 Proclamation of 1704 [see page 14) had the effect of changing 
 the metallic standard of value from silver to gold. The course 
 of the change is fully, if naively, described in the following 
 extract from a letter of Governor Jos. Estridge, dated St. Chris- 
 tophers, the 12th December 1739: — "In less than six months 
 after there was no such thing as a piece of eight of any weight 
 to be seen. The Difficultys which we soon found ourselves 
 falling under for Want of some sort of Coin to supply even the 
 Ordinary Occasions of Life made every one unanimously willing 
 
 * The exchanges are of interest in this connection. In 1700-1 the price in 
 London of " Bills of Exchange that will he punctually paid," is stated in 
 Treasury Papers as " 125 I. for the Leeward Islands,'' i.e. 125 I. local currency 
 for 100/. sterling paid for the bills in London. On 7th August 1701, Joseph 
 Martyn of London, merchant, offered to "supply what money theyr Lordships 
 (sc. of the Treasury) pleaseiu y e Leeward Islands," at 125Z. current money in 
 Nevis. At the date of the capture of Nevis the Messrs. Haistwell, in March 
 1 70< >-7, made the Treasury the highest offer they received for the placing of 
 " money" in these Islands, viz., 20 per cent, premium. This rate, which 
 they declined to continue, and which they proposed in 1708 to reduce to 112 /., 
 throws a prima facie suspicion on the following insinuation of Mr. James 
 Parke, in his letter to the Earl of Sunderland of 15th February J70G-7 : 
 *' The officers complain the Coll. (i.e. Colonel) allows them but J 5 per cent, 
 for the difference of money, whereas the merchant allows 50 and 00 per cent., 
 and I think it hard the Coll. should gett at least .'35 per cent, upon all the 
 pay of the regiment. Coll. Whetliams lives at his ( ase in London and getts 
 more money by this legiment than any five Collonells that have been in the 
 hattles of Blenheim and Rummalis." But an explanation of the discrepancy 
 is to be found in Governor Estridge's statement of 12th December 1739, with 
 reference to the above year 1707 : — " It was Warr time and remittances 
 could not be made to London in country produce under fifty or sixty per 
 cent, loss, whereas coin at that rate to be sent to London did not loose thirty 
 per cent., so everyone sent away what they had or coud receive." 
 
 In 1740 the exchange is quoted at 175 I. for Antigua and 160/. for the 
 three other Islands, but is is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to arrive at 
 certainty as to the meaning of these exchanges, as sugar and other commodi- 
 ties were legal tender within each Island at prescribed rates, and the dual 
 standard of coin and commodities naturally entailed local payment in the 
 cheaper form for the time being. 
 
Ch. IV. Leeward Islands. 69 
 
 so far to elude that Act as to recieve by Consent the Lesser 
 Species of Ryalls and half Ryalls without weighing, which have 
 passed and been received so ever since, and by this means some 
 small Quantitys of that has been kept among us.* But as for 
 whole or half Dollars or Pieces of Eight, hardly any have been 
 in currency from that Time ; for if by chance some few Dollars 
 of full Weight are imported by Trading w th the Spaniards, the 
 Importer either sends them directly to Great Brittain or Sells 
 them in Private at Seven shillings each to any one who wants 
 them for that purpose. To relieve ourselves in some Measure 
 from the Miserys we suffered by being drain'd as aforementioned, 
 of our silver Coin, w ch stagnated all Trade and Embarrassed the 
 Common Occurrences of Business, It was unanimously agreed 
 towards the Year 1707, As gold Coins were not rated or com« 
 prized in the aforesaid Act, to receive and pay french Louidores 
 and Spanish Pistoles at 28 s. and other gold coins in Proportion. 
 This raising of gold encouraged the Importation of it and brought 
 in some supply and such foreign yold Coins, Spanish especially, 
 have been the Chief or almost only Currency passiny arnony us 
 from that time." 
 
 The similar testimony of Messrs. Dunbar and Richard Oliver 
 on 2nd January 1739-40 as to Antigua was, that " from the year 
 1700 to 1710 Spanish Pistolesf and French Louisdores pass'd 
 at 28 5. per Peice without Regard to any certain Weight, and 
 Quadruples (or gold Cobbs) pass'd in proportion at £. o. 125. 
 each."t 
 
 They proceeded to review the history of currency in Antigua by 
 decades, as follows : 
 
 ' (i.) 1700-10. "Spanish Peices of 8 of Mexico, Sevile and 
 Peru, weighing 17 a 7 . 12 Grs. pass'd at 65. per Peice in small 
 sums without regard to the fineness or courseness of the Silver ; 
 Bvit when any considerable Sums were receiv'd or paid, they 
 were generally made a Merchandize of, and after the Act of Par- 
 liament in 1704 Peices of 8 l pass'd at 6 s. 10| d. per oz.,§ and 
 were sold at 10 to 12 per £)* advance thereupon, and then esteem'd 
 as the current money. At the same time, there was no Equality 
 between the value of gold and the value of silver, the silver 
 remittances to Britain being 10 to 15 per Cent, better than that 
 of gold to the Shipper, and by this means all our Silver, espe- 
 
 * So, with regard to Antigua, the second edition of Oldmixon's hook (1741) 
 says, "The Currency here had been according to the Act (i.e , of 6 Anne) till 
 about the Time (i.e., 1712) of Mr. Hamilton's being turned out of this Govern- 
 ment, for the greater Pieces of Money ; but Bits and half-Bits, Sevenpenny 
 Halfpenny Pieces, past so as they had always done in marketing and re- 
 tailing." 
 
 -f- So Oldmixon states that in 1711 "Pistoles passed there for 285." 
 
 J " N.B. — So inconsiderate and irregular were the values of these Species 
 of Gold, that a Pistole which weighed only 4 dwtt. pass'd here at 28 .v.. and 
 yet a Moydore of near 7 dwtt. pass'd only for 42 s., which is near 12 d. per 
 penny wt. difference at the same juncture of time." 
 
 They add that the usual weight of the moidore was G dwt. 20 grains, coins 
 of 5 dwt. 6gr. passing at 3-3 s., like the English guinea. 
 
 These early ratings of gold coins are corroborated by Oldmixon. 
 
 § i.e., at 6 s. per piece-of-eight of 17£ dwts., or 6 s. 8 d. with the premium 
 of 12 per cent, mentioned later in this sentence. 
 
 72642. F 
 
70 Colonial Currency. 
 
 cially the heavy part thereof, was gather'd up and remitted to 
 Britain as Bullion ; and the gold and a little Light Money only 
 remain'd with us, and so it is at this day. We beg leave there- 
 fore to observe hereupon that a Remittance of £.100 in heavy 
 Money (i.e., silver) then yielded so much (i.e., £100) sterling, 
 within 35 to 37 per cent. But a Remittance in either English 
 or Portuguese gold did not yield above £100 sterling for £150 
 this currency, or thereabouts ; and a Remittance in French or 
 Spanish Gold did not yield above £100 sterling for £160 this 
 currency, or thereabouts, which proceeded from the Lightness of 
 those Species of gold and Irregularity of our currency during the 
 space of those ten years. 
 
 " During that period of time, few or no remittances were made 
 in gold to Britain, most remittances that were then made, were 
 either in the produce of the country, or heavy money in peices 
 of 8*, or in bills of exchange, from 40 to 45 per cent. ; except 
 some small remittances in gold dust or ingotts, which were 
 bought here at from 51. to 5 I. 12 s., this money per Ounce, and 
 by remittances of that kind, exchange did not amount to about 
 30 to 40 per cent. 
 
 (ii.) 1710-20. " Wee further humbly report that from the year 
 1710 to 1720 the value of gold and silver continued very 
 near the same as they had been the preceeding 10 years. 
 
 (iii.) 1720-30. "Wee also further humbly report that from the 
 year 1720 to 1730*, the value of the species in gold and silver 
 had very little variation from what they had govern'd at both 
 the preceeding periods of time, except that heavy silver advanced 
 in the way of merchandize from 10 to 12 per cent, to 15 and 20f 
 per cent., as a rule to bring heavy Money to Curr* Money. 
 
 (iv.) 1730-40. " From that time, gold and silver pass'd as in 
 the preceeding years, with little or no variation untill 1738,$ and 
 since the year 1738 all coyn'd gold has been paid currently at 
 
 ° Writing from Nevis in 17-4, Governor Hart says, '• this money is one- 
 third worse than sterling," taking the dollar at is. 6 d. sterling, and at 6 s. 
 in local currency. 
 
 fi.e., from 6 s. 1 0| c?. to 7 s. 2§ d. (prohably 7s.) per piece of eight of 
 17^dwts. 
 
 \ According to Mr. Wavell Smith's anonymous pamphlet .(" Two letters 
 to Mr. Wood," London, 1740) a Bill was passed in Antigua on 30th April 
 173b' (and was copied in Montserrat) rating (1) British gold at 75 per cent, 
 over its sterling value, (2) foreign gold at 3£ d. per grain, on analogy with 
 British gold, and (.'3) all silver coins at 9 s. 8 d. per oz. (This last is 
 apparently a mistake on Mr. Smith's paM, and is copied into the second 
 edition ( 1 741 ) of Oldmixon's " British Empire in America.") The Bills 
 (which frankly recite that the Act of Queen Anne " has long been found 
 useless and impracticable in this island") uid not receive the Royal Assent. 
 But in Marc)] 1738, at a meeting of the Governor, Council, and Assembly of 
 Antigua at Parham, " an Instrument of Association " was signed, undertaking 
 to pay and receive gold at 3£<7. per grain as proposed in the Bill. "The 
 whole bench of lawyers, who are most of them, if not all, of the Assembly, 
 mm in alter agreed not to take a fee from any man that refused to receive the 
 gold at that rate, but to he concerned against them, and have promised to 
 appear and defend the other side gratis." (Wavell Smith.) 
 
Ch. IV. Leeward Islands. 71 
 
 7 /• per ounce,* 7 s. per dwt., and Z\d. per grain, and peices of 
 
 8 (which formerly pass'd at 6 s. per peice, or 6 s. lO^d. per 
 oz., according to Proclamation, with the advances thereon 
 already mentioned) are now advanced to 9 s.f per ounce and 
 upwards." 
 
 The steps of the change are thus clear : first, the gold coins 
 were raised, and then, as the Spanish pistole and Louis d'or 
 purported to be equal to four dollars, or ecus, respectively, these 
 silver coins followed suit and were raised from 6 5. to 7 s. each. 
 The latter step was taken before 1715, as is proved by the case 
 of St. Christopher's^ ; for on 23rd August 1715, the Council 
 of this island " were of opinion that it would be of Benefit to this 
 Island to raise the value of French crowns to 7s"; and on the 
 same day the governor ordered in council that " French crowns 
 pass current, and be taken in payment, after the rate of 7 s. a- 
 piece, and all French Half Crowns and Quarter Crowns in 
 proportion." The point having been raised whether this was 
 not in defiance of the proclamation and Act of Queen Anne, the 
 Council on 15th January 1716, observed that these French crowns 
 had passed current at 7 s. for several years in the other Leeward 
 Islands, and consequently argued, with much ingenuity, that the 
 action taken in St. Christopher's in 1715 "could not be said to 
 alter the coin, but only followed the practice of the other 
 islands " ! The council proceeded to state that " the said order 
 has proved to the advantage of this island, and the recalling it 
 would be very prejudiciall, as it would carry all such crowns 
 (which is the only species of coin vie now have current) to the other 
 islands where they pass for so much. It is stated by Mr. Wavell 
 Smith that, in 1740, the French crown formed "One-half 
 of the silver money current in St. Christopher's," and that 
 the Spanish pistole, reduced by clipping in London and 
 Barbados from 104 to 96 grains in weight (or bv 1 s. 4d. sterling 
 in value), still passed for four of these current Ecus. Governor 
 Estridge, who corroborates Mr. Wavell Smith's statement as to 
 the currency of golc^pistoles of 4 dwt. passing at 28 s., contradicts 
 him as to the silver Ecu by saying (with greater probability, on 
 analogy with other West Indian colonies at the same date) that 
 " our chief or only silver currency at present areSpanish piastres^ 
 at 18 d. a piece, French Isle du Vents|| at 9 d., Spanish Ryalls 
 at 9 d., and the half pieces of French and Spanish at 4£ d." 
 Thus before the year 1740 all four Leeward Islands had arrived 
 at uniformity of price for gold per ounce, and at uniform ratings 
 of the several gold and silver coins current among them. The 
 
 ° The same is stated to have been the case in 1739-40, in Montserrat and 
 St. Christopher's. It appears from the ratings ^iven on 17th January 1739- 
 40, that the same price obtained also in Nevis. 
 
 f In (he other islands it was only 8 s. The Antigua rate was 75 per cent, 
 advance on the English Mint price of 5 5. 2 d. per ounce, standard. 
 
 % See also note to page 69 as to the maintenance of proclamation ratings in 
 Antigua till about 1712. 
 
 § i.e. Pistareens (see page 395) ; c£ Jamaica at the same date (page 102). 
 
 || Called " French or Crimbal Bits" in Barbados (q.v.). 
 
 F 2 
 
72 
 
 Colonial Currency. 
 
 following is the Nevis table of 17 January i739-40, with which 
 the other three Islands practically agree : — 
 
 GOLD COIN. 
 
 £. s. d. 
 
 Doubloon (i.e. of only 1G dwts.) - - 5 12 - 
 Spanish (or French) Pistole (i.e. of 
 
 4 dwts.) 18- 
 
 Zequeen (te. of 2 dwte.)* - - - - 14 - 
 
 Portuguese Moydore (i>. of C> dwts.) -22- 
 French Moydore (Loin's de Malt) -22- 
 French Lewisdore (of 1725. " Mirli- 
 
 ton") 18- 
 
 Portuguese Johannes (i'.e. of IS dwts.) 6 6 -f 
 Portuguese Crusado - - - - 1 16 - 
 English Guinea - - - - -113- 
 French Guinea - - - - -113- 
 
 * Respecting these " Barbary Ducats " Air. 
 Wavell Smith wrote to his deputy about 1740 
 warning liim against taking them, seeing that 
 they were " dipt of five grains of their weight 
 and yet uttered at 14 s. each when the real 
 value (full weight too) was but 7 s. 10|d. 
 sterling." He adds the following note : — 
 " When I first discovered the introduction of 
 these Barbary ducats in my office at St. Kitt's, 
 I soon put a stop to their currency by refusing 
 them in my office ; and afterwards talking 
 with some gentlemen, they were desirous to give 
 them a common name. Upon which I reply'd : — 
 ' Christen them as sons after their fathers ' 
 name : so let them be called ' Toby's and 
 Jerry's,' for they were introduced by a rich 
 
 SILVER COIN. 
 
 £. s. d. 
 English crown - - - - - 7 6 
 
 French crown - - - - - 7 - 
 
 Spanish pieces of 8 - - - - 7 - 
 
 (formerly 
 at 6 s.). 
 
 Spanish Ryall - - - - - - 9 
 
 French Ryall+ - - - - - - 9 
 
 Danzick Skelling - - - - - - 9 
 
 (now cry'd 
 down.) 
 
 man at Nevis, Tobias Wall, and Jeremiah 
 Brown, another very rich man at St. Christopher. 
 The latter had the good luck to escape an 
 indictment being found against him, by one of 
 the Grand Jury withdrawing, not leaving a 
 competent number to find the Bill." 
 
 t Wavell Smith states that the St. Kitt's 
 currency of the " Johannes" ((>. half the above 
 coin, which is the dobra of 12,800 reis) was 
 3 /. 12 s., i.e. double the valuation given in this 
 table to the " Crusado." 
 
 % i.e. the Isle du Vent coin referred to supra. 
 
 "Lesser peices such as half and quarters in proportion." 
 
 There is a break after 1740 of nearly 60 years in the detailed 
 history of currency in the Leeward Islands ; and the close of this 
 long period sums up a series of changes of which the following is 
 necessarily only a conjectural record. 
 
 The starting point is the statement of 1739 that in 1739 the 
 price of coined gold was 7 /. per ounce, and that of silver 
 " 9 s. per ounce and upwards." It will be seen that this is 
 equivalent to a ratio between gold and silver of 1 : 15*5, or 
 an under-valuation of silver by about I3 percent, as compared 
 with the market rate of 1 : 15*3. Consequently, as suggested 
 by the words " or upwai'ds," the price of silver as measured by 
 the gold standard tended to rise above 9 s. an ounce, which is 
 equivalent to 8 s. per dollar. And, pari passu, in the Leewards 
 as in other West Iridian Islands, there was a tendency to depart, 
 as regards the over-valued gold coins, from the strict observance of 
 currency by weight, and to pass by slow degrees to currency by 
 tale for gold (as for subsidiary silver coins). Thus, the original 
 under-valuation of silver was increased by the debasing, through 
 clipping, of the gold standard. And this view harmonises with 
 the fact that in 1766 Antigua passed an Act " to prevent Frauds 
 and Abuses in exacting Sums of Money for changing Gold Coins 
 into Silver Coins.'" This Act (viewed in the light of subsequent 
 facts) may be regarded as an indication of the prevalence of the 
 Portuguese Johannes, rated at eight dollars and passing by tale. 
 As this coin was clipped and sweated, it drove out the Spanish 
 and other gold coins, and formed the standard of the local currency 
 throughout tlif Leeward and Windward Islands in the second 
 
Oh. IV. Leeward Islands. 73 
 
 half of the last century. And one important result of the esta- 
 blishment of the light .Johannes as the standard was the necessity, 
 as its weight diminished, of raisins; the rating of the silver unit 
 
 Cj 
 
 and nominal standard, viz., the dollar. Since the early years of 
 the eighteenth century, as has been seen, the dollar, subdivided 
 into 10 "bits" of 9 d. each, had been driven from circulation, the 
 subsidiary circulation consisting of old worn and clipped token 
 bits. It is probable that the Nevis rating of 1740 (viz., Is. for 
 the Spanish dollar) soon gave way to a rating of 7 s. 6 d., being 
 the proper equivalent of 10 bits at 9d. each. And it is an 
 ascertained fact that, before the close of the century, the lightness 
 of the current bits led to the rating of the dollar at 11 bits of \)d. 
 each, or 8 s. 3d. per $. Thus the dollar, which had originally 
 been rated at eight, and subsequently at 10 bits, had now been 
 raised to 11 bits; before the close of the century it was to be 
 further raised, except in the Virgin Islands, to be equivalent to 
 12 bits. 
 
 By 1798 the Leeward Islands were left with a circulatory 
 medium consisting exclusively of light Joes and a minute quantily 
 of worn and obsolete silver coins. The next few years are marked 
 by endeavours to keep silver coins in circulation, and by the 
 transition from the Joe to the doubloon. 
 
 Early in 1798 iMartinique* passed an Act raising the rating of 
 the dollar, on the ground that " the dollar passing in Antigua and 
 Grenada at 9*. (when it passed here only at 8s. '3d.) drained all 
 the silver away." Hence, " of necessity and not of choice," 
 Martinique copied its neighbours in the rating of the nominal 
 unit, and then proceeded to " raise the gold in turn." In the 
 autumn of 1798 Dominica likewise passed a Currency Act, 
 " following the standard established in Martinique, between 
 which and this Island the relation is so great and the com- 
 munication so easy, that any difference in the values established 
 in the two colonies must make gold and silver the subject instead 
 of being the medium of trade between them." The final result 
 was that within a few months there was one uniform rating of 
 the dollar at 9s throughout the Leeward Islands, with the 
 exception of the Virgin Islands,f where the old 8 s. 3 d. rating was 
 retained, and where the dollar was still subdivided into 11 bits. 
 Elsewhere, the dollar was equal to 12 bits, and the doubloon was 
 uniformly rated at 16 dollars. 
 
 The action taken by Martinique and Dominica was severely 
 censured from home, and the Governors were instructed to 
 restore the original currency. The Governor of Dominica, 
 misunderstanding his instructions, issued on 30th January 1799 
 
 At this date Martinique was temporarily a British possession. 
 
 ■f On 11 Marcli 1801 a Virgin Islands Committee, appointed to " take into 
 consideration the propriety of raising the value of the Mexican milled dollar," 
 reported that, as the Commander in Chief of the Leeward Islands had no 
 power to assent to such a measure, the dollar " ought to remain at its present 
 value." 
 
£. 
 
 s. 
 
 6 
 
 12 
 
 6 
 
 6 
 
 — 
 
 8 
 
 — 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 74 Colonial Currency. 
 
 a proclamation in which, with fancy weights, he embodied the 
 earlier ratings of the common coins of the Island: — 
 
 Portugal Johannes - - - 
 
 Spanish quadruple or doubloon - 
 
 Pillared dollar ------ 
 
 Piece of eight " weighing 13 dwts. 18 grs."f 
 
 " Quarter piece of eight" {i.e. the pistareen) 1 6 
 
 On 20th February a strong remonstrance was addressed to the 
 Governor by the Assembly, asking for the withdrawal of the 
 retrograde Proclamation, pending an appeal to the Crown in 
 favour of "the law now in force." The merchants went further; 
 two days after the Assembly's remonstrance they agreed in 
 public meeting to pay and receive money at the rates prescribed 
 not by the Governor's Proclamation, but by the Island Act ; and 
 the " Dominica Journal " counselled the vigorous boycott of 
 dissentients (as having " sinister motives in view "). Thus the 
 Proclamation became a dead letter. 
 
 By the close of the 18th century the several Leeward Islands 
 had established, either by legislative or conventional action, a 
 standard weight for their standard coin, the half-johannes. 
 Whilst this coin continued to be rated throughout the Leewards, 
 and, indeed, all the British West India Islands, at 66 s., its weight 
 was fixed, 
 
 (i). At 7 dwts. in the four original Leeward Islands, 
 (ii). At 8 dwts. in the Virgin Islands. 
 
 But, at the same time, in the words of the Council of Antigua 
 in 1799, " as the standard value of gold coin in circulation in this 
 island by weight" {i.e. excluding the "joe " which was current 
 by tale ) " is now, and has been for a great number of years, at 
 the rate of 7 s. currency the pennyweight, and as it never has 
 been customary in this island to weigh the silver coin in circula- 
 tion, to recommend by proclamation any alteration in the former, 
 or to adopt the latter, would be nugatory, as the inhabitants 
 could not be compelled to pay any regard thereto, there being 
 no legal standard for the weight of gold or silver coins." 
 
 Having attracted dollars by its enhanced rating, Dominica 
 proceeded to take measures to keep them in the island. From 
 the Council Minute of 14th September 1798, it appears that 
 *' whereas the scarcity of silver coin for change has long been a 
 subject of great complaint," the Council ordered 4,000 "of the 
 
 m i.e., the residue of the old coins struck be r ore 172G which still passed at 
 the old Leeward Islands rating of 6 s., even though the weight had diminished 
 to li dwts. below that to which the 0$. rating was limited by the Antigua Act 
 oi 1099 (supra, page G7). 
 
 This interesting survival of " pieces of eight,'' as circulating tokens at the 
 end of the lttth century, finds an exact parallel in Jamaica (see page 105), 
 where, as in the Leeward Islands, the 17th century rating was similarly 
 preserv d. 
 
Ch. IV. Leeward Islands. 75 
 
 newest pillared dollars " to be handed over to " an ingenious 
 silversmith," for the purpose of having a piece not exceeding 
 2 d svts. cut out of the centre of each dollar." It was at the same 
 time provided that " such cut dollar shall circulate at the rate of 
 85. 3d., and every piece cut out of such dollar weighing 2 dwts. 
 shall be paid at the rate of 1 s. I|i7." If the "cut dollar," 
 or ring, did not weigh 15 dwts. after issue, it was to pass at 
 6d. per dwt. Writing of the new cut money on 12th February 
 1799, the Governor of Dominica says: "the silversmith in this 
 Island cuts them for 4|rf. each dollar.* The piece cut out is 
 a scolloped round; on one side of each the letter D is stamped 
 within a circle." 
 
 On 3rd February 1801, the Assembly of the Virgin Islands 
 passed " an Act for stamping half dollars, quarter dollars, and 
 shillings, pistreens, bitts, half bit ts, also the coin commonly called 
 black dogs, and rendering the same current at their accustomed 
 values." After reciting " the great inconveniences which have 
 arisen to all classes of the community for want of an established 
 current coinage for the internal traffic of these islands," the 
 Act proceeds to direct that all holders of " round or cut 
 pieces of money, such as have for some time been in circulation 
 (viz., halves and quarters of dollars, &c), do bring in the same 
 to a committee to be appointed . . . that the same be stampt 
 under their inspection and re-issued." The committee were to 
 provide a "proper stamp," and the stamped coins were to pass 
 " at the same rates and values as heretofore accustomed." The 
 stamp adopted was " Tortola," and from the Council Minutes of 
 11th March 1801, it appears that the committee had "caused to 
 be stamped the sum of 2,000 /. currency," and that they were 
 further authorised to stamp a further sum of 500 I. currency. 
 This Act was disallowed by Order in Council of 15th August 
 1802, though by Proclamations of the Governor pending with 
 Lord Lavington's of 1st October 1804) its provisions were 
 allowed to continue temporarily in force xmtil the autumn of 
 1805. After this latter date the cut-money passed current by 
 convention only, but continued up to 1889 to circulate in the 
 Virgin Islands. 
 
 As regards cut money in other Leeward Islands, there is not 
 forthcoming the same direct evidence as exists for Dominica and 
 the Virgin Islands. Atkins f describes stamped black dogs in 
 connection with St. Kitts and Nevis, and he also describes a " thin 
 piece of silver stamped with Nevis 6," which probably represents 
 a " 6-dog piece," or bit, and suggests the procedure of Dominica. 
 And at the same date as the Virgin Islands, St. Kitts passed an 
 Act for cutting and stamping silver and copper coins, the title of 
 which is identical with that of the Virgin Islands Act. Unfor- 
 tunately, the liecord Office has preserved nothing but the title. 
 
 c i.e. The " ingenious silversmith" absorbed the whole of the profit arising 
 from the division of a 9 s. dollar into two pieces, rated at 8 «. 3 d. and 1 s. l^d. 
 respectively. 
 
 f "Coins and Tokens of the Possessions and Colonies of the British Empire " 
 (London, 1889). 
 
76 Colonial Currency. 
 
 Lastly, as regards Montserrat, it is stated in Porter's Tables that 
 " dollars and other Spanish coin were cut by order of the Legis- 
 lature," and many of the coins stamped in the Virgin Islands are 
 stated to have been previously cut and stamped in Montserrat. 
 It may well be, that in all the Leeward Islands (with the possible 
 exception of Antigua) the same action was taken as has been 
 above described in connection with the Virgin Islands. 
 
 As regards Antigua, the inconvenience of an insufficient 
 subsidiary coinage led the Colony in 1796 to ask for an insular 
 coinage of 5,000 1, in small silver. The matter having been 
 shelved by the Imperial authorities, a Colonial Committee in 
 1603 asked again that the coinage might be supplied, with the 
 device of a windmill and the legend Antigua* A copper coinage 
 was also asked for, but nothing was done in the matter of either 
 the silver or the copper coinage. The dearth of small change 
 led Antigua, about the year 1817, to supply its own wants by 
 raising the rating of the pistareen from Is. 6d. to 2s. currency, 
 thus making the bit a " shilling." The result of this overvalu- 
 ation of the pistareen (also called a " sheedy " early in this 
 century) was of course to drive out other coins, both gold and 
 silver ; in the words of a Committee of the Legislature in 1834, 
 " with us the chief medium of monetary circulation of late years 
 has been the Spanish Pistarine, or 2-real piece." 
 
 With the dawn of the nineteenth century the doubloon, as 
 16 dollars, came to be the standard coin of the Leeward Islands 
 in succession to the " jo'e." Whilst the Virgin Islands retained 
 the old rating of the dollar at 11 bits, or 8 s. 3d., Antigua, 
 Montserrat, Nevis, and St. Kitts agreed in having a common 
 rating of the dollar at 9 s., or 12 bits ; whilst Dominica, following 
 the lead of the Windward Islands, adopted for the uncut, or 
 " round " dollar, the enhanced rating of 10 s. 6d. But in all the 
 Islands alike the dollar, being regarded as the sixteenth of a 
 gold doubloon, was underrated and driven from circulation. 
 Therefore, the standard of the Leeward Islands still rested on a 
 gold basis, though the standard gold coin was no longer the Joe, 
 but the doubloon rated at 11. 4s. 
 
 With the increased production of rum and molasses in the 
 United States, and with the stoppage of supplies of Mexican 
 coins owing to the revolutionary war, the Leeward Islands had 
 been losing, since about 1810, their stock of the aliquot parts of 
 the dollar. To meet this difficulty, the Islands had generally 
 followed the lead of Antigua, and assigned to the pistareen the 
 exaggerated currency value of 2 s., i.e., 2-9ths of a dollar, instead 
 of l-5th of a dollar, as in other West Indian Islands. Con- 
 sequently the pistareen may be regarded as forming the bulk ot 
 the silver, if not of the entire metallic currency, at the close ot 
 this second period. f 
 
 * The Committee asked that the denominations might he 2s., Is. and Gd. 
 
 •f In 1822, the deficiencies of subsidiary currency in the Leewards, as in 
 other West Indian Colonies, was partially met by the coinage of " Anchor 
 money" of the denominations of l-4th, l-8th, and l-16th of a dollar (see 
 page 21). 
 
Ch. IV. Leeward Islands. 77 
 
 (iii) From 1825, onwards. 
 
 It was at this stage that the Order in Council and Royal 
 Proclamation of 23rd March 1825 was issued and brought into 
 operation in the Leeward Islands. The intention of this measure 
 (sec page 23) was to remedy the shortcomings of Colonial 
 currency by the introduction of British silver and copper tokens. 
 But this intention was defeated by the provision which the Order 
 contained, that the Spanish dollar was to be rated at 4 s. 4 d. (or 
 2 d. more than its gold-price) for concurrent circulation with the 
 sterling coins. Such British silver as was imported by the Com- 
 missariat, was exported as soon as it was issued to the troops, &c. 
 And it may well be that the currency ratings of the British 
 shilling at Is. W\± d. in the Virgin Islands, at 2 s. 3 T Q g- rf. in 
 Dominica, and at 2 s. 0\§ d. in the four original Leeward Islands, 
 contributed to the failure. 
 
 In 1830 even the pistareen * was shipped off, " in consequence 
 of its being taken by American traders with a view to its ulterior 
 transportation to Cuba and other places, where it is said to be 
 now current at a quarter-dollar. To obviate the want of a due 
 silver medium consequent on this exportation," states the report 
 of an Antigua Committee of 9 January 1834, "the Legislature 
 has recently instructed the Treasurer to import a supply of English 
 shillings and sixpenny pieces, to which — to preclude, if possible, 
 a prompt withdrawal — a denomination of value has been assigned 
 beyond the usual par of exchange." This latter sentence refers 
 to the Treasurer's notice of 2nd November 1833, that the British 
 shilling would be received and paid thenceforth as a quarter- 
 dollar, i.e., at 2 s. 3 c/. currency, with sixpences at half that 
 value. As doubloons thus became equivalent to 64 s. sterling 
 (their proper value), the step was salutary in placing British 
 coins on a proper equality with the standard doubloon ;f and 
 though it placed the silver dollar at a disadvantage relatively to 
 sterling, yet this was of no practical importance, as the dollar 
 had long been kept out of general circulation by its undervalua- 
 tion relatively to the doubloon. Further, the Antigua Committee 
 of 1834 proposed an insular coinage consisting of a silver "4-dog 
 piece," and a copper substitute for the worthless " black dog," 
 &c; but happily no action was taken to perpetuate these bar- 
 barous denominations. 
 
 In 1838 (see page 27) a just value of 4s. 2d. for the dollar, 
 
 ° But in Nevis, in 1857, a Proclamation declared the pistareen, better 
 known here as a " sheedy," to be a legal tender at the rate of 10 d., an over 
 valuation which retained the coin in circulation within the Island. In 1805 
 the sheedy was decried as from 1 May of that year ; but the local popularity 
 of the coin with the merchants and planters made the Proclamation a dead 
 letter. In 187b' the Colonial Government collected a large quantity of 
 sheedies, but unfortunately paid them out again. In 1879 the Governor gave 
 instructions that the sheedy should be exchanged for British silver, and 
 finally on 8 October 187!) a Proclamation was issued, decrying the coin as 
 from that date. The result was that at a cost of 1,06-3 I. sterling, the Colonial 
 Treasury received 21,796 sheedies, (>,9t2 half-sheedies, and 131 double sheedies 
 " and others." The loss on the sale of these coins as bullion was 200 /. 
 
 f There is an exact parallel for this in the case of Upper Canada, Jamaica, 
 and British Honduras. 
 
78 
 
 Colonial Currency. 
 
 and of 64 5. for the doubloon, was fixed for their concurrent 
 circulation with sterling. Retaining the doubloon as the stan- 
 dard of the local currency, and retaining its existing currency 
 ratings, local proclamations prescribed the following concurrent 
 ratings for the several Islands : — 
 
 Colony. 
 
 Virgin Islands 
 Antigua 
 Montserrat - 
 6t. Kitts 
 
 Nevis - 
 
 Dominica 
 
 Date 
 of Proclamation. 
 
 29 July 1839 - 
 20 November 1838 
 28 November „ 
 7 December „ 
 22 July 1839 - 
 
 7 February and - 
 25 July 1840 - 
 
 Doubloon. 
 
 £. s. (I. 
 
 6 8- 
 
 7 4- 
 7 4- 
 7 4- 
 
 7 4- 
 
 8 - - 
 
 Dollar. 
 
 s. d. 
 
 8 4 
 
 9 4§ 
 9 i\ 
 9 4J 
 9 4£ 
 
 10 5 
 
 British 
 Shilling. 
 
 s. d. 
 
 2 - 
 
 2 3 
 
 2 3 
 
 2 3 
 
 2 3 
 
 2 6 
 
 All these proclamations were approved and confirmed by Order 
 in Council on various dates, beginning with 3rd May 1839. 
 
 The next step was to assimilate the money of account to 
 sterling and dispense with " currency " ratings. This step was 
 taken by Acts of the local Legislatures on the following dates : — 
 Dominica, 13th June 1842; Antigua, 13th January 1847; St. 
 Kitts, 20th August 1849; Virgin Islands, 25th October 1852; 
 Nevis, 18th November 1858 ; and Montserrat, 1st December 
 1864. The rates per 100/. sterling for converting "currency," 
 were 200 /. for the Virgin Islands, 250/. for Dominica, and 225/. 
 for the four original Leeward Islands. 
 
 The subsequent history of currency in the Leeward Islands is 
 simple. British tokens were supreme before 1838 (at least in all 
 the islands except Dominica and the Virgin Islands), and have 
 since retained their supremacy. In 1853, by Order in Council 
 and Royal Proclamation of 1 9th August of that year, the gold 
 coins of the United States were made legal tender in the 
 Leeward Islands, as in other Colonies in the West Indies (see 
 page 28), at 41 s. the eagle and 4s. \d. the gold dollar. In 
 1866 currency was given (see page 29) to the gold coins struck 
 by the Sydney Mint. But neither of these measures had any 
 practical effect in the absence of a limit of legal tender on silver 
 tokens. In 1876 (1877 in Dominica) Acts were passed in each 
 of the several Leeward Islands demonetising the silver dollar, 
 the low gold-price of which now threatened to reduce the 
 currency of the West Indies to a silver standard. On 9th May 
 1891, Section 10 of the Imperial Coinage Act was applied to the 
 Leeward Islands by Royal Proclamation; and under that section, 
 by Royal Proclamation of the same date, currency was given to 
 a new "groat, or fourpence," (the modern equivalent of the 
 earlier " bit"), struck for British Guiana and the West Indies. 
 The Royal Proclamation was published in the "Leeward Islands 
 
Ch. IV. Leeward Islands. 79 
 
 Gazette" of 18th June 1891, and brought into operation locally 
 as from 1st August 1891 by the Governor's Proclamation of 
 25th July. 
 
 It is impossible to state the amount of coin now in circulation 
 in the several Leeward Islands. But it may perhaps be con- 
 jectured that the amount does not exceed 5 s. per head of the 
 population. The amount of notes of the Colonial Bank in circu- 
 lation in the Leeward Islands* on the same date may perhaps 
 be taken at 22,000/. (mainly in St. Kitts). Taking the total 
 population at 130,000, the above figures give an average of 35. -id. 
 in notes per head of the population of the Leeward Islands. 
 
 In conclusion, reference must be made to the cut-money of 
 Dominica and of the Virgin Islands, and to the exceptional con- 
 ditions affecting the metallic currency of the latter islands. 
 
 (i.) The cut money of Dominica being " found by experience 
 to be productive of great loss and mischief to the Colony," a 
 Proclamation was issued on 17th October 1862 ordering all 
 holders of these mutilated and defective coins to exchange them 
 at the public Treasury at the following rates, " 25 s. sterling 
 for 7 ring dollars, for 14 six-bit pieces, and for 56 mocoesf 
 respectively, and 1 s. sterling for every 20 dogs." 
 
 (ii.) The case of the Virgin Islands is interesting.^ There were 
 no troops in the Islands to attract sterling coins, and the commerce 
 of the little community was mainly with St. Thomas and the 
 neighbouring Danish Islands. Moreover, as a result of the 
 cutting and stamping of dollars in 1801, the Virgin Islands 
 possessed a circulatory medium which from sheer badness could 
 only disappear if demonetised, or if driven out by a currency 
 still worse. Although in 1852 the Virgin Islands duly passed an 
 Act to assimilate their currency to sterling, its provisions 
 amounted in practice merely to this, that instead of calling a 
 " dollar " 85. 3 d. currency, the Islanders now rated their 
 accustomed coins in terms of sterling. As the Act declared 
 100/. sterling to be equivalent to 200/. currency, and as further 
 the Islanders disregarded the Proclamation which rated the 
 dollar at 8 s. 4 d. instead of 8 s. 3 d., they simply halved the latter 
 figure, and accordingly rated at half their old currency values the 
 familiar Spanish and Mexican coins. The result was a " dollar " 
 popularly rated at 4 s. l£ d. sterling, and consisting of 99 " cents." 
 This anomalous result was convenient to a community which 
 reckoned mainly by " dogs," 66 to the dollar. Subsequently, 
 since the currency of the Danish Island of St. Thomas practically 
 dominated all Virgin Islands currency, and since the standard 
 coin in St. Thomas was the gold doubloon divided into 16 
 " dollars," the Virgin Islands reduced their rating of the " dollar " 
 to one-sixteenth of the sterling equivalent of a doubloon, i.e., to 
 
 * Notes are unfamiliar in the British Virgin Islands, and are not issued by 
 the Colonial Bank in all the other Leeward Islands. 
 
 f For a parallel use ot this term, see under the Windward Islands. 
 
 t 1 am indebted tor my information respecting the curious currency of the 
 Virgin Islands to the Commissioner, Mr. Edward Cameron. 
 
80 Colonial Currency. 
 
 4 s. The Danish coins current some 30 years ago were based on 
 the stiver, rated in the Virgin Islands as the seventy-fifth part 
 of a current dollar. In 1857 it was stated by the Governor that 
 " the British penny and halfpenny are rarely seen, and their 
 values not understood by the people." In 1863 the Governor 
 reported " the whole amount of British coin and of coin declared 
 to be a legal tender is only 6 /." The Governor goes on to say 
 that "the amount of United States half and quarter dollars in 
 circulation is also very small. A great bulk of the circulation 
 here is composed of the Danish money in use at St. Thomas. 
 This Danish money has lately been simplified, and now consists of 
 copper cents (equivalent to an English halfpenny) and debased 
 silver (or rather mixed metal) coins of the respective 
 nominal values of 3, 5, 10, and 20 cents. This coin has been 
 coined expressly for use in the Danish West Indies, each coin 
 bearing on the reverse a ship with the inscription ' Dansk 
 Vestindisk Mont.' . . . . It is in this money, supplemented 
 when necessary by notes of the St. Thomas Bank, that the whole of 
 the daily trade between St. Thomas and the British Virgin Islands 
 is carried on. The rest of the coin in circulation here consists of 
 cut dollars." As regards the condition of the cut money, the 
 Governor states that 33 "cut quarts" were found to weigh 
 121 dwts., 10 grains, or, roughly, about one-seventh below their 
 weight of issue. Sixteen "dogs " weighed 283 grains, each coin 
 being worn as thin as a sheet of writing paper, though 
 "Louis XVI. R. de F. et de Nav . . . Colonie de Cayenne" 
 might still be deciphered. (See Zay p. 80). 
 
 The following table gives the former ratings in sterling of the 
 cut-money and other coins : — 
 
 Spanish bit - - - - - - - 4\d. 
 
 ,, pistreen - - - - - - 9d. 
 
 " Pillared 4 dog piece " (i.e., a Mexican half-real ) - 3d. 
 " Stamped half-tortolo " 2s. Of rf. 
 
 " Stamped quarter-tortolo " - - - - Is. 
 
 " Stamped eighth-tortolo " - - - - - 6d. 
 
 Danish cent ------- i f /, 
 
 Danish 3, 5, 10, and 20-cent pieces proportionately. 
 Spanish doubloon - $16 or 66s. 
 
 Mexican doubloon ------ 64s. 
 
 The cut money was estimated in 1875 to amount to 175 /. only ; 
 a few years later 50 /. worth was shipped to England to be melted 
 down; in 1889 pistareens and "dogs" were called in and sold, 
 to the nominal value of some 15/., for 6/. ; and at the same date 
 the value of the cut half-dollar was reduced from 2 s. Of </ to 2 s., 
 at a total expense of 18s. \^d. to the Colonial Treasury. Lastly, 
 in 1892, it was decided to do away with the circulation of cut- 
 money altogether, and a sum of 41/. (in cut halves and quarters 
 exclusively) was shipped to London for sale as bullion. Thus 
 
Ch. IV. Leeward Islands. 81 
 
 disappeared a curious relic of the barbarous systems of currency 
 which prevailed at the dawn of the century. 
 
 Meanwhile, as the supply of Danish tokens of i to 20 cents 
 was excessive, these coins were received in St. Thomas at a 
 discount, which was usually 2 per cent., but rose in 1891 to 
 10 per cent.; and in self-defence, the Virgin Islands rated them 
 at 94 cents to the current dollar, i.e., making 5 dollars in such 
 coins pass for only 18 s. §\d., instead of 1 1. 
 
 About 20 years ago, when the gold-price of silver began to 
 fall, Mexican dollars flowed from St. Domingo into St. Thomas, 
 and thence into the British Islands, passing in the latter at 4*. 
 sterling. And, as the result of the continued fall of silver, "all 
 the business and money transactions of the Virgin Islands are 
 at the present day carried on in Mexican silver, and in brass 
 (tradesmen's) tokens" of 10, 5, 3, 2, and 1 cents, which were 
 first issued in 1887, and have contributed greatly to drive out the 
 Danish money. The Virgin Islands, unlike British Honduras 
 under analogous circumstances, have partially preserved a gold 
 standard of value by continuing to regard the current dollar, or 
 dollar of account, as one-fifth of a pound sterling, and by reducing, 
 pari passu with the fall of silver, the rating of the prevalent 
 Mexican dollar in cents of a current dollar. In 1885 the Mexican 
 dollar passed for 90 cents (3 s. 7$d.), and now passes for 75 cents 
 (3.«.), with a downward tendency. 
 
82 Colonial Currency. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 The Windward Islands.* 
 
 (1763.) 
 
 Until the closing years of iast century, the currency of the three 
 Windward Islands (Grenada, St. Vincent, and St. Lucia) was 
 derived from, and identical with, that of the Leewards ; the unit 
 of account was the dollar containing 11 " Bits " (of 9 d. each), 
 and, therefore, rated at 8 .9. 3 d. currency. But the characteristic 
 feature of the Windward Islands was the prevalence of the 
 Portuguese Johannes as the standard coin. The under-rating of 
 this coin at $ 8, lead to the circulation of light " Joes," and to the 
 mal-practices of clipping, sweating, &c In order to escape from 
 the evils of a currency composed of light gold, with little or no 
 silver in circulation, the Windward Islands resorted to " cut 
 money " and to the frequent raising of denominational values, 
 with the final result that the dollar rose by 1838 to a currency 
 rating of 10 s. It will be convenient to divide the history of 
 Windward currency into two periods (the first ending with 1825 
 and the second beginning with that year), and to treat of the 
 currency of each of the three islands separately within the two 
 periods, up to the middle of the present century, when their 
 currency history becomes identical throughout the group. 
 
 I. Prior to 1825. 
 (i.) The devices to which the dearth of silver led may be in- 
 stanced by the words of the Grenada Act of 2lst March 1787 : — 
 " Whereas by reason of the great scarcity of British silver coin in 
 this Colony, a certain foreign coin called a dollar, at the rate of 
 8 s. 3d. current money of Grenada, and a certain piece of silver 
 called a " Bitt " (being the eleventh part of a dollar, marked with 
 the letter G) at the rate of 9 d., like current money, have, for 
 purposes of commerce and public convenience, been by general 
 consent suffered to circulate and pass in payment; and whereas a 
 practice hath lately prevailed amongst divers evil-disposed per- 
 sons of cutting, for wicked gain's sake, dollars into a greater 
 number of parts than eleven, and marking each of such parts 
 with a G, and then imposing the same on the public for a Bitt, 
 and also of cutting, clipping, or filing such Bitts, as were 
 originally equal in value to the eleventh part of a dollar, by which 
 means the intrinsic average worth of the Bitts now circulating 
 is diminished nearly one-third." It was enacted that no private 
 person should cut dollars or stamp Bits " with the letter G," 
 
 * For much information respecting the currency of the Windward Islands, 
 I am indebted to the kind agency of the Honourable Sir Walter Hdy- 
 Hutchinsoi), k.c.m.g., the present Governoi-in-Chief. 
 
Ch. V. Windward Islands. 83 
 
 and that Bits should pass by tale for only 6 d. (instead of 9 d.), 
 though by weight they might pass in the scale on an equality with 
 whole dollars. It was, however, provided that in no case need a 
 payee receive more than one-fifth of a payment in Bits, whether 
 by tale or weight. The mode of payment by weight proved 
 mischievous, as "ill-disposed persons introduced into the common 
 packages (of Bits, by weight, passing for one Johannes, or eight 
 dollars) Bits made of lead, tin, and other base metals." Conse- 
 quently, Bits were ordered by the local Act of 9th December 
 1790 to pass by tale only, at 6 d. But, subsequently, it appears 
 that the rating of stamped Bits was again fixed, by Proclamation, 
 at 9^. 
 
 On 3 1 st July 1 798 President Mitchell issued a Proclamation, in 
 view of " the present impaired and diminished state of the several 
 coins usually current," and in order to prevent Grenada being 
 flooded with the light Portuguese gold coins then being decried 
 in neighbouring colonies. The following were his main ratings : — 
 
 Silver dollar, of at least 17 dvvts., "at 12 Bits or 9s. 
 currency,* and its aliquot parts at the same proportional 
 weight and value." 
 
 Johannes, weighing not less than 7 dwts. 12 srs., at 
 3 /. 6 s. currency (i.e $ 8 at the old 8 s. 3 d. rating). 
 
 Johannes, weighing not less than 8 dwts. 12 errs., at 
 3 /. 12 s. currency, or 8 dollars (z e. at the new 9 *. rating). 
 
 Guinea, weighing not less than 5 dwts., at 21. 5 s. currency, 
 or 5 dollars. 
 
 Moidore, weighing not less than 6 dwts., at 2 1. 9 s. 6 d. 
 currency. 
 
 Spanish quadruple, or double doubloon, weighing not 
 less than 17 dwts., at 7 I. 4 s. currency, or 16 dollars ; parts in 
 proportion. 
 
 As "great inconvenience and obstruction to trade may arise from 
 the small number of Johanneses now in circulation equal to the 
 foregoing prescribed weight of 7 dwts. 12 grs.," it was ordered 
 that " trip. Johannes of 6 dwts. and upwards may be plugged " 
 by prescribed officers up to the standard weight. And. " in 
 order to facilitate the currency of the Johannes and its aliquot 
 parts, as well those at present of the prescribed weights as those 
 which are allowed to be plugged, the Johanneses weighing 
 8 dwts. 12 grs. or more, and the aliquot parts of a Johannes 
 shall be stamped with the letter G in the centre of the face side, 
 and the Johannes weighing 7 dwts. 12 grs. with the like letter 
 in three places on the face side and as near the edge as possible." 
 In 1814 such was the scarcity of small coins in Grenada that 
 
 8 The Preamble of the Proclamation speaks of "estimating the silver 
 dollars at ihe increased value hereinafter annexed thereto." Hence 17!'!5 may 
 be taken as the beginning of the i) s. rating in Grenada oFthe dollar now raised 
 to 12 Bits. It should be added that, in this increase of the denominational 
 value of the dollar, Grenada was only keeping pace with the Leeward 
 Islands and was not as yet taking the lead in the race of denominational 
 currency. It will be seen subsequently that St. Vincent was not slow to 
 follow in adopting the new 9*. rating. 
 
84 Colonial Currency. 
 
 " housekeepers and the community in general find many impedi- 
 ments and much difficulty in procuring change to enable them to 
 purchase the common necessaries of life." Accordingly the 
 Governor's Proclamation of 2nd November 1814, ordered that 
 7,920 Spanish dollars, which had been expressly imported for the 
 purpose, should be cut up and put in circulation. And by Pro- 
 clamations of 23rd March and 1st August 1818, excessive values 
 (which cannot be traced now) were given to the Spanish 
 Pistareeu (sec page 395;, which was strangely assumed to be a 
 Sicilian " shield quarter-dollar.*' (Probably the rating was 2s. 3d.) 
 And by Proclamation of 28th February 1823 "Anchor money " 
 (sec page 21), was made current, also at an over-valuation. 
 
 (ii.) In St. Vincent, on 8th December 1797, an Act was deemed 
 necessary " to prohibit the importation of the counterfeit coin 
 called Black Dogs and Stampees, and for appointing a Committee 
 for regulating and stamping Black Dogs, Stampees, and half and 
 quarter Dollars, and punishing offenders who may counterfeit 
 such Stamps." The Committee was to " affix the following 
 Stamp, to wit (S.V.)," on the above coins within 30 days from 
 the passing of the Act. The reason given for stamping the 
 silver coins was as follows : — " And whereas very great Frauds 
 have been practised under the pretence of Cutting Dollars into 
 Halves and Quarters for the purpose of facilitating the circula- 
 tion of small Money, Be it enacted that all quarter Dollars and 
 half Dollars hereafter to be admitted in payment shall be 
 stamped under the authority of the aforesaid Committee with 
 the same stamp as is to be used for the purpose of stamping 
 Black Dogs and Stampees, and every quarter Dollar shall be 
 stamped in three places as near as possible to the three angles, 
 and every half Dollar shall be stamped in the places at the ex- 
 tremities of the two angles and in the middle between the stamps 
 at the angles. No cut quarter of a Dollar shall be stamped but 
 such as may weigh 3 dwts. 13 grs., and no Cut half Dollar shall 
 be stamped but such as may weigh at least 7 dwts." Counter- 
 feiting the stamp was punishable by death, and the following 
 limits were fixed for the legal tender of the stamped coins : — 
 
 8 s. 3 d. currency in 6 /. 12 s. currency for Black Dogs, &c. 
 
 16/. 10 s. . „ 100/. „ „ Cut Silver. 
 
 On 27th July 1798 a further Act was necessitated by "the 
 reduced state of the gold coin and the quantity of counterfeit 
 money in circulation," which had resulted in May in " a total 
 stoppage in all payments of the money called Joes." The pro- 
 visions of the Act may be summarised as follows : — 
 
 (i.) All gold coins were to pass by weight at 8 s. currency 
 per dwt.j and 4 d. per grain, with the following exceptions 
 of coins to pass by tale : — 
 
 dwts. grs. Currency. 
 Guinea, not weighing less than 5 6 at 2 /. 2 s. 
 Double Joe „ „ „ 15 „ 6 /. 12s. 
 
 (The latter rating is stated to be " its present nominal 
 value," making the half Joe worth 8 dollars at the 
 old rate of 8 s. 3 d. per dollar.) 
 
Ch. V. Windward Islands. 85 
 
 (ii.) The Spanish round dollar was to pass at 9 s. currency 
 (and its parts down to the sixteenth in proportion) ; 
 
 English crowns w r ere rated at 10 s. currency ; and 
 '•'Portugal (sic J Coins called Pistereens shall pass as usual 
 at 1 s. 6 d.," i.e., 2 bits. 
 
 " Your Grace/' wrote the Governor of St. Vincent to the 
 Duke of Portland at this date, " can hardly form an idea of the 
 shameful excess to which the deterioration of the Gold coin 
 called Joes had arrived, the standard weight of which should be 
 in this Colony 7| dwts.; but it appeared, upon calling the light 
 Joes in (to be increased to the established weight of the Island), 
 that many did not exceed 5 dwts., and a very large proportion 
 not more than 4 dwts. By the various regulations adopted, the 
 money of one Island is not current in another, each Government 
 having affixed a particular stamp. All the light money of the 
 Colony has been brought to the standard weight by the addition 
 of a gold plug inserted in the Joes at the expense of the Posses- 
 sors, and (as English gold and silver coins are seldom seen), 
 they again act as the general circulating medium." The Gover- 
 nor went on to explain that the increased rating of the dollar at 
 9 s. was intended to prevent " the exportation of our silver, 
 which must have been the natural consequence produced by 
 the additional nominal value affixed to coin at Martinico and 
 Grenada." 
 
 Reviewing in 1815 the currency of St. Vincent, the Agent for 
 the Colony stated that the silver coins current were dollars rated 
 at 9 s., wdiich were cut into two and four pieces to form Half and 
 Quarter Dollars. " A plan was adopted a few years ago of taking 
 out from the centre of each Dollar a circular piece ecpial to half 
 its weight and stamping both the ring and the central piece, the 
 ring passing for the full value of the Dollar and the piece sub- 
 tracted for the half. This should be done only by the Treasurer 
 (in whose custody the stamp is), and the benefit arising therefrom 
 be accounted for annually to the Legislature. Many impositions 
 have of late been practised (as might reasonably have been 
 expected), and the Legislature have determined to call in and 
 pay off all bo stamped." The Agent goes on to say that " other 
 silver coins are the Bitts and Half-Bitts, both round. Besides 
 these a French (sic) round coin passes for a Quarter Dollar, I 
 believe called the pistoreene. This is more generally seen cut 
 into quarters and again subdivided, passing for the bitt and 
 half-bitt. The only copper coins are the stampee and black dog, 
 both French, the former passing for the fourth part of a bitt, the 
 other the sixth of a bitt (9 d. currency). Both the above are 
 miserable coins and great impositions have been practised by the 
 export of large quantities of something like them from Birming- 
 ham of little or no intrinsic value. . . . The silver current 
 in the Island is more damaged than worn : scarcely a piece in 
 circulation that has not undergone a clipping equal to the fourth 
 part of its original size and value." 
 
 Alter premising that " Spanish dollars when paid away in 
 laro-e sums by weight must be one ounce, all other silver coins 
 
 72642. G 
 
86 Colonial Currency. 
 
 passing by tale," the Agent mentioned (inter alia) the following 
 weights and ratings : — 
 
 
 
 
 d 
 
 ivts. 
 
 grs. 
 
 
 
 
 £. 
 
 s. 
 
 Doubloon* 
 
 weighing 
 
 18 
 
 
 pass 
 
 ing 
 
 for 
 
 7 
 
 4 
 
 Joe, stamped^ 
 
 >> 
 
 
 7 
 
 12 
 
 
 '» 
 
 
 3 
 
 12 
 
 Joe, unstani 
 
 iped 
 
 >> 
 
 
 7 
 
 12 
 
 
 ?? 
 
 
 3 
 
 12 
 
 Moidore 
 
 - 
 
 >? 
 
 
 6 
 
 — 
 
 
 55 
 
 
 2 
 
 9 
 
 Guinea - 
 
 - 
 
 >) 
 
 
 5 
 
 - 
 
 
 55 
 
 
 2 
 
 5 
 
 Dollar - 
 
 - 
 
 » 
 
 
 18 
 
 — 
 
 
 >' 
 
 
 - 
 
 9 
 
 Bitt 
 
 - 
 
 — 
 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 
 55 
 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 9 
 
 " Intercourse with the Spaniards formerly furnished the Island 
 with large quantities of milled dollars brought by the Spaniards. 
 But, as considerable difficulty always took place in navigating 
 their open hoats (or perriaques) against the wind (St. Vincent 
 lying to the Eastward), these cargoes became more scarce, and 
 as the Continental troubles reached more to the Southward, the 
 trade has in a great measure, if not entirely, been thrown on the 
 Islands of Trinidad and Grenada, and this obliged us in the 
 Island of St. Vincent to have recourse to the mutilated stamped 
 ring dollar to form something like a circulating medium. I do 
 not apprehend (concludes the Agent) that these, together with 
 the whole of the silver current coin in the Island, can exceed 
 1,000 /. currency." 
 
 It was avowedly in order to " bring into more general circula- 
 tion the perfect Spanish milled dollar," that, on the 1st January 
 1818, Governor Sir Charles Brisbane proclaimed, — 
 
 (a.) That all plugged and stamped ''Joes," and all unplugged 
 and unstamped Joes of 7| dwts. should pass at 66 *. currency, 
 and, — 
 
 (b.) That, whilst the whole Spanish dollar was to pass at the 
 reduced rate of 8 s. 3 d. currency, the ratings of the " cut money " 
 were to be reduced, as follows: — (a) the-ring dollar and "the 
 diametrically cut half-dollar," to 4s. \^d. ; (b) the cut quarter- 
 dollar to 2«. Of d. ; and (c) the round 4.^-bitt jnece to 3 s. 
 currency. 
 
 Popular pressure, exerted through the House of Assembly, 
 speedily secured the revocation, so far as gold was concerned, of 
 this measure. On 5th March 1818 the Governor issued a fresh 
 Proclamation, aimed at " the currency of all the base and 
 mutilated gold coin." In the first place, all plugged and 
 mutilated gold was withdrawn in exchange for deposit notes, at 
 its currency value. Next, for " plain and unmutilated and im- 
 perforated pieces " only, new and increased ratings (by weight) 
 were prescribed, viz., 9 s. per dwt. for Portuguese gold and 
 8 .s. 3 d. for all other gold coins. And, further, the (whole) 
 Spanish dollar was raised to a currency rating of 10 s., and the 
 doubloon (weighing at least 17 dwts. 5 grs.) to 8/. currency. 
 
 ""Very few in circulation." 
 
 t" Ill-fashioned lumpish pieces, stamped in the middle." 
 
Cli. V. Windward Islands. 87 
 
 Though it will be seen subsequently, in connection with St. 
 Lucia, that St. Vincent was not the first to establish a Windward, 
 as opposed to a Leeward, currency, yet it is to St. Vincent 
 that the dubious credit attaches of priority in raising the dollar 
 to the ultimate Windward rating of 10 s. 
 
 (iii.) The currency of St. Lucia is complicated by the fact 
 that the denominations used were the French livre, sol, and 
 denier, instead of the £. s. d. currency of the British Islands. 
 Its British currency history may conveniently be commenced 
 with the Ordonnance of 20th January 1813, which, on the 
 recommendation of the Council, and in order to stop the efflux 
 of coin, directed the circulation of cut money in the following 
 terms: — "Des pieces d'argent provenant de gourdes coupees en 
 trois morceaux et ce le plus pres possible des colonnes lesquelles 
 resteront dans les morceaux de cote et au moyen de ce l'ecu se 
 trouvera tout entier dans celui du milieu. Chacun des morceaux 
 portera i'empreinte " S. Lucie." Les morceaux de cote ainsi 
 coupes et etampes auront chacun la yaleur de deux livres cinq 
 sous, ou trois escalins, et celui du milieu six livres quinze 
 sous, ou neuf escalins." Half and quarter dollars were to be 
 similarly stamped and cut, with proportionate ratings.* The 
 currency of these stamped fractions of dollars was soon checked 
 by " une quantite considerable de Mocos dits de Sainte Lucie, 
 provenant de gourdes coupees et marquees de fausses etampes, 
 lesquels ne pouvant plus y circuler (ie. in Martinique) vont 
 refluer sur cette ile." Consequently all importation of cut money 
 was prohibited, and the following ratings were laid down by the 
 Ordonnance of 26th April 1817: — 
 
 (a.) The Dollar. — " La gourde ronde aura cours pour 9 livres 
 15 sous, ou 13 escalins." (Cf. Zay p. 211-2). 
 
 (b.) Gold. — The Spanish doubloon was rated at 15 dollars, 
 or 146 livres 5 sous. "Les moedes ('Joes') continueront de 
 Dasser pour la meme valeur qu'elles ont actuellement dans la 
 Colonie, savoir : — Celles d'or vrai de Portugal a 9 livres le 
 penny (i.e. dwt.) Celles dites d'or a 20 (sc. carats) a 8 livres 8 
 sous le penny. 
 
 (c.) Cut Money. — The cut money of 1813 was to pass at 
 reduced rates, the " 3-Moco piece " or middle of the cut dollar 
 being reduced from 9 to 8 escalins (or bits), whilst the single 
 
 li. sous den. 
 c For the fractions of the £ dol. the middle piece was to pass for 3 7 
 or -J| escalins. 
 For the fractions of the \ dol. the middle piece was to pass for 1 13 9 
 
 or 2 escalins and 1 tempe. 
 And the side pieces were to pass for a third of the above values respectively. 
 The escalin, it will be observed, is the more familiar " Bit," 12 of which 
 went to t lie dollar, as against 15 under the urotitable scheme of cutting the 
 dollar introduced by the Ordonnance. (Cf. Zay 217-221). 
 
 g2 
 
88 Colonial Currency. 
 
 "Moco" (or side piece)* was to be reduced from 3 escalins 
 to " 2 escalins et quatre noirs (' Black Dogs ') ou 40 sous." 
 In other words, the cut money was reduced in value one-ninth 
 all round. 
 
 It may here be noted that on 10th August 1825 Governor 
 Blackwell estimated the cut money at between thirty and 
 forty thousand dollars. He added that it was " liable to be 
 cut and filed down." 
 
 The relation in St. Lucia of the livre to the dollar is interest- 
 ing. An Ordonanceof 1st June 1818 (giving currency to British 
 pence) rated these sterling coins at 1 08 to the " Gourde 
 Courante,t ou neuf livres." As has been already seen, the 
 Spanish dollar had been raised the previous year from 9 livres 
 (12 bits) to 9f livres (13 bits). And since a bit was 9 d. 
 currency, the Act of 1817 gave to the Spanish dollar in St. 
 Lucia a currency value which was expressed in terms of 
 £. s. d. as 9 s. 9 d., a rating which marked the first rise of a 
 Windward, as opposed to a Leeward, currency. The next step 
 w r as the convenient one of decimalizing the dollar in terms of 
 livres, a step which was taken before 1823, doubtless by popular 
 agreement, and in imitation of St. Vincent's action of 1818. 
 The Act of 1st April 1823, which gave currency in St. Lucia 
 to the British "Anchor money' 3 (see page 21), rated the 
 quarter dollar at 2 livres 10 sols, i.e., 10 livres to the dollar. 
 Thus, as a livre was identical with a "shilling currency," St. 
 Lucia had established by 1823 the final Windward Islands 
 rating of the dollar at 10 s. 
 
 'to 
 
 II. From 1825 onwards. 
 
 In pursuance of the measures taken by the Imperial Govern- 
 ment in 1825 (see page 23) for introducing British silver and 
 copper coins into general circulation throughout the Colonies, 
 steps Avere taken in the three W r indward Islands to fix ratings in 
 " currency " for the sterling coins. These ratings were based on 
 the (mistaken) Imperial rating of the Spanish dollar as the 
 equivalent of 4s. id. (instead of 4 s. 2d.) sterling; and. as the 
 " dollar " was rated at 9 s. in Grenada, at 9 s. 9 d. in St. Lucia, 
 and at 10 s. in St. Vincent, no uniform currency ratings for 
 sterling coins was possible throughout the three islands. 
 
 (i) In Grenada a local Proclamation was issued on 19 Sep- 
 tember 1825$ rating the British shilling at 2 s. 1 h d., and declaring 
 the pound currency equal to 9 s. 7 81-100 d. And the opportunity 
 Avas taken to reduce the excessive ratings of " Anchor money" 
 
 * " Moco " seems to be an abbreviation of the word maccochino, of which the 
 forms maccaroni and macuquina were employed in Jamaica and Trinidad 
 respectively to denote cut money. (See note under Jamaica, page 10!)). 
 
 j- Cf. Mauritius for a parallel to this survival of a " current dollar " (of 
 account) retaining an obsolete rating outgrown by the specie dollar. (See also 
 under Malta). 
 
 % Subsequent Proclamations of 12th October 1826 and 6th May 1827 were 
 issued with reference to the currency of the half-crown. 
 
Ck V. Windward Islands. 89 
 
 and of the " peseta or pistereen, commonly called the shield 
 quarter-dollar,'' coins which " at present form the chief part of 
 the circulating; medium." It was provided that the pistereen 
 should thenceforward pass for 2 s. currency only, and Anchor 
 money at the rate of 9 s. per dollar, with a 50 /. limit of legal 
 tender. Finding, however, that the underrated British silver 
 was eagerly bought up by shrewd merchants at a premium of 
 from 2^ to 5 per cent, as soon as it was imported by the Com- 
 missariat, the Colony of Grenada passed an Act in 1827 over- 
 rating the British shilling at 2 s. 6 d. currency. " From that 
 time the dollars and doubloons have all disappeared" (wrote an 
 official in 1827), "together with every description of coin except 
 British silver." An effort appears to have been made to retain 
 the familiar coins; for, the Governor stated in 1836 that " usage 
 arising from premium has rendered the doubloon current at 8 /. 
 and the dollar at 10 s. currency," i.e., at the enhanced ratings 
 already in force in St. Vincent. 
 
 (ii.) Writing in 1831, Charles Shepherd, in his "Historical 
 Account of the Island of St. Vincent," gives the folloAving account 
 of the currency of that island : The gold coins in circulation are 
 exclusively Spanish and Portuguese, the doubloon at the value of 
 #16 with the aliquot parts in proportion. The Johannes 
 passes by weight at 9 s. the dwt. ; formerly this coin was the 
 most common throughout the islands, each Colony multilatinor 
 their own by plugs and various marks, to prevent exportation ; 
 from these practices the coin became so deteriorated that in 1818 
 it was called in at a considerable loss, and doubloons came into 
 more general circulation. The silver coins are the dollar which 
 passes for 10 s. currency, and the Colonial coins {i.e. Anchor 
 money) of one-fourth, one-eighth, and one-sixteenth; the British 
 silver occasionally forms part of the Commissariat issues (from 
 which source nearly all the bullion of the country arises), but it 
 is speedily collected by the merchants for remittance to Europe, 
 and is therefore of little benefit as a general circulating medium. 
 The English copper money and a barbarous Colonial coin, with 
 the equally barbarous names of stampees and Black Dogs, com- 
 pletes the catalogue." 
 
 It has not been found possible to trace the St. Vincent Procla- 
 mation of 7th September 1825, rating British silver coins.* But 
 it was stated officially, with reference to the legislation of 1818 
 above mentioned, that there existed in St. Vincent " a distinction 
 in value between the perfect and the mutilated Spanish dollar, 
 the perfect dollar having an increased value of 1 s. currency, and 
 a corresponding greater value in currency has there been given 
 to British coins." As the Spanish dollar (10 s. currency) was 
 rated at is. id. sterling in the Order in Council of 1825, 
 probably the British shilling was rated at 2 s. 3 9-13 d., and the 
 pound currency at 8 s. 8 d. sterling. 
 
 • The island records were lost in a fire at Kingstown many years ago, aud 
 no copy is forthcoming in the Record Office in London* 
 
90 Colonial Currency. 
 
 On 2nd September 1834 the House of Assembly of St. Vincent 
 was anxious to "introduce with effect measures for the abolition of 
 currency and the substitution of sterling money in the Colony." 
 The Governor drafted a Proclamation accordingly, rating the 
 dollar, &c, in terms of sterling, and demonetising " stampees and 
 Dogs;" but by the advice of the Governor of Barbadoes he 
 abandoned his project as ultra vires. 
 
 (iii.) In St. Lucia there was a difficulty in the shape of " cut 
 money," estimated at from $30,000 to $40,000. On 26th July 
 1825 the Privy Council favoured the introduction of sterling coins 
 and the withdrawal of cut money ; but, though a measure was 
 drafted to carry out these objects, nothing was done at the time. 
 Proclamations were issued on 22nd April 1830 ordering the 
 "Round dollar" to pass at 4 s. 4 d. sterling, and the Moco to 
 pass at 10 d. sterling. And on 14th September 1835 a Local 
 Ordinance was passed (with reference to the new threepenny and 
 three-halfpenny pieces then first introduced into the island), 
 whereunder the British penny was rated at 4 sous, the British 
 shilling at 48 sous, and the sovereign at 960 sous, or 48 livres 
 (48 s. currency). Previous to this, the shilling had passed only 
 for 40 sous, or 2 livres (2 .<?. currency). 
 
 In 1838 (see page 27) the Imperial Government introduced 
 its remedial measures, whereby the errors of the legislation of 
 1825 were (temporarily) rectified by valuing the dollar at 
 4 s. 2d. and the doubloon at 64 s. for concurrent circulation with 
 sterling coins. Under the new Imperial legislation it remained 
 for the Governors of the three islands to express these parities 
 in terms of currency. By this date the lead of St. Vincent had 
 been followed by St. Lucia and Grenada, and the dollar was now 
 uniformly rated in all three islands at 10 s., and the doubloon at 
 $ 16 or 8 I. currency. Taking the doubloon as the standard coin 
 in each case, and adjusting the rating3 of the dollar and British 
 shilling accordingly on the Imperial basis, the Governors laid 
 down the following scheme : — 
 
 Doubloon, 8 I. ; dollar, 10 s. 5 d. ; British shilling, 2 s. 6 d. 
 
 The Proclamations of the Governors were severally dated 
 16th November 1838 in St. Vincent, 22nd November 1838 in 
 Grenada, and 12th December 1838 in St. Lucia, in which last 
 colony the currency values were also expressed in the French 
 denominations as 160 livres for the doubloon, 50 livres for the 
 sovereign, *±\ livres for the shilling, and 10 livres 8 sous 
 4 deniers for the Spanish dollar. 
 
 The next step was to dispense with the inconveniences of 
 " currency " and adopt sterling denominations of account. This 
 measure (which Grenada had been anxious to adopt since 1825, 
 and St. Vincent since 1834) was readily carried out by the 
 passing of a local Act on 16th December 1839 by St. Vincent, and 
 on 24th August 1840 by Grenada. Difficulty was experienced in 
 netting rid of the old French denominations in St. Lucia. In 
 1839 the Legislative Council threw out a Bill for introducing 
 
Ch. V. Windward Islands. 91 
 
 sterling denominations ; * on 5th June 1840 Governor Everard 
 took the matter into his own hands, dispensed with livres by- 
 Proclamation, and (after rating- the dollar and doubloon at 
 4 s. 2d. and 64 s. respectively) gave a currency, in terms of sterling, 
 to the "cut money," as follows : — 
 
 s. d. 
 Fond (3-Moco piece) - - - 2 6 sterling. 
 2-Moco piece - - - - 1 8 „ 
 
 Moco -10„ 
 
 Dog H >, 
 
 Startled by these unfamiliar denominations, " not representing 
 ascertained values," the Imperial Government disallowed the 
 Governor's Proclamation, and passed an Order in Council on 
 1st April 1841, which abolished the French denominations of 
 account (livres, sous, and deniers), and ordered that the currency 
 of the United Kingdom, known under the denominations of 
 pounds, shillings, and pence sterling, should be the sole and 
 exclusive currency and money of account to be recognised as 
 legal within the Island of St. Lucia. By 1841, therefore, the 
 currency of all three Windward Islands had been assimilated, in 
 forui at least, to a sterling standard ; and, though the doubloon 
 and dollar were admitted to tender in Grenada and St. Vincent 
 concurrently with sterling, in St. Lucia sterling was the sole and 
 exclusive currency by law.f 
 
 As regards the old " cut money," it is possible to describe its 
 withdrawal from St. Lucia, though not from the other two 
 islands. The Imperial Treasury having been advised that 
 " mocos," though still current, were no longer a legal tender, a 
 notification to this effect was published in the Official Gazette, in 
 February 1851 ; and in the same Gazette appeared a notice from 
 the Colonial Treasurer, stating that " cut money " would not be 
 received at his office after 1st August 1851, but requesting that, 
 up to that date, taxes and duties might be paid in cut money in 
 preference to other modes of payment. In the words of the 
 St. Lucia Blue Book for 1851 : — "It was deemed expedient 
 gradually to withdraw this description of coin from circulation. 
 Of this coin, 7,400/. in value has been already withdrawn and 
 shipped to England through the agency of the Colonial Bank, 
 and an equivalent sum in small British silver has been introduced." 
 It was estimated that cut money to the value of about 1,000/. 
 sterling was still outstanding. The effect of the withdrawal was 
 described as follows by the representative of the Colonial Bank 
 on 10th April 1852 :f — -"After the first dissatisfaction caused by the 
 change of a currency to which the labouring population had been 
 lono- accustomed, the convenience of the circulation of British 
 
 * On 12th Julv 1839 the Legislative Council were unanimous in thinking 
 that the then existing system of currency was the most advantageous to the 
 Colony and would cause less confusion than if the system of sterling were 
 
 introduced. . . 
 
 f Parliamentary Paper, No. 368 of 18o3, page 36. 11ns paper also gives 
 
 the contemporary view as to the limitation of the legal tender of British 
 silver in the West Indies. 
 
92 Colonial Currency. 
 
 silver and its smaller divisions was soon appreciated, and, as I can 
 speak from experience, it is now far more favoured by the lower 
 classes than was ever the cut money, and conduces much more to 
 their convenience and comfort." 
 
 Henceforth, in the Windward Islands, as in other West Indian 
 colonies, the records of currency history are simple. The gold 
 discoveries of 1849 and 1851 enhanced the gold-price of silver ; 
 the dollar was driven out; and sterling coins soon monopolised 
 the circulation. But, as there was no 40 s. limit of legal tender, 
 and as the Islands did not favour the introduction of such limit, 
 the sterling coins in circulation were, and remain, exclusively 
 tokens of silver and copper. Consequently, the legalisation in 
 the three islands of U. S. gold in 1853 (see page 28), and of 
 the Sydney Mint gold coins in 1866 (see page 29), [produced 
 no practical effect on the currency of the Windward Islands. 
 Lastly, when the gold-price of silver had fallen so as to threaten 
 the Windward Islands, like the rest of the British West Indies, 
 with a silver standard of value such as now exists in British 
 Honduras, local Acts were passed demonetising the silver 
 dollar, Grenada passing its Act in 1878, St. Vincent in 1879, and 
 St. Lucia in 1882. In 1891, by the Order in Council of 9th May 
 of that year, a colonial " groat or fourpence," was made a legal 
 tender in the three Windward Islands. (See page 86 of the 
 Twenty-second Annual Report of the Deputy Master of the 
 Mint.) In Grenada the Order was published in the Government 
 Gazette of 17 June 1891, and brought into local operation on 
 and from 15 July ; in St. Vincent the Order was published in the 
 Government Gazette of 18 June 1891, and brought into operation 
 on and from 9 July ; and in St. Lucia the date of Gazette pub- 
 lication was 3 July 1891, and the date on and from which the 
 Order was brought into operation was 28 July. 
 
 In 1888 St. Lucia passed a " Legal Currency and Tender 
 Ordinance " to consolidate and amend the currency law of the 
 island. This Ordinance proposed (i.) to repeal all previous legis- 
 lation, (ii.) to re-enact the provisions of the 1841 Order in 
 Council, whereby sterling was constituted the sole and exclusive 
 currency of St. Lucia; (iii.) to make Bank of England notes a 
 legal tender, and (iv.) to place a 40 s. and 1 s. limit on the legal 
 tender of British silver and bronze respectively, subject to a 
 proviso that the 40 s. limit might be set aside in the case of silver, 
 if a Court were satisfied that " reasonable diligence " could not 
 have procured gold or Bank of England notes.* Though the 
 Home Government was constrained to disallow this Ordinance in 
 view of its provisions as regards Bank of England Notes, &c, 
 the credit rests with St. Lucia of being the first among West 
 Indian colonies in modern times to attempt to remedy the evil of 
 allowing unlimited tender to tokens. 
 
 The amount of coinf in circulation in the Windwai'd Islands is 
 
 ' It may be well to point out, that not only are Bank of England notes not 
 a legal tender outside the United Kingdom, but that, even within the United 
 Kingdom, they are not a legal tender outside England and Wales. 
 
 f As practically no gold is seen in circulation, these figures refer to tokens 
 only, and practically to shillings and sixpences. 
 
Ch. V. Windward Islands. 
 
 93 
 
 (roughly) estimated to have been as follows on the 31st December 
 1891 : — Grenada 13,000/., St. Vincent 8,000/., and St. Lucia 
 10,000/. (irrespective of the Bank's holdings and hoarded coin, 
 amounting to at least as much more). The notes of the Colonial 
 Bank in circulation in the three islands on the same date were 
 (about) 12,000 /. for Grenada, 5,250 /. for St. Vincent, and 9,000 /. 
 for St. Lucia. Taking the total population of the several islands 
 at (in round numbers) 53,000 for Grenada, 42,000 for St. Vincent, 
 and 42,000 Tor St. Lucia, the above estimates give the following 
 averages of the " active " currency per head of the total 
 population : — 
 
 Island. 
 
 Coin. 
 
 Notes. 
 
 Total 
 Currency. 
 
 
 s. d. 
 
 s. d. 
 
 s. d. 
 
 Grenada - 
 
 4 11 
 
 4 6 
 
 9 5 
 
 St. Vincent 
 
 3 10 
 
 2 6 
 
 6 4 
 
 St. Lucia 
 
 4 9 
 
 4 4 
 
 9 1 
 
94 Colonial Currency. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Tobago. 
 
 The early currency of this Island was identical with that of 
 the Leeward and Windward Islands. The standard was gold, 
 and the standard coin was the Portuguese Johannes. Nominally, 
 it is true, the dollar was the unit, at 85. 3d. currency, with the 
 half-johannes rated as the equivalent of eight dollars. But in 
 Tobago, as in other West Indian Islands, the over-valuation 
 of gold drove out silver. 
 
 On 17th August 1798 a committee was appointed, in view of 
 a general circular from home respecting base coins, &c, to con- 
 sider how best to put a stop to the circulation of base money, 
 and to put a standard weight upon Portuguese gold. On the 
 23rd they reported that after public inquiry they found that 
 " there is at present in circulation in this Island above 8,000 
 Johannes, which are not more than sufficient for the internal 
 commerce and convenience of the country. A very large 
 proportion of them are considerably under the standards which 
 have been fixed in the neighbouring colonies. Apprehensions of 
 immediate loss and inconvenience produce a great unwillingness 
 to adopt the expedients which have been recurred to in other 
 islands, that is by fixing a standard weight and passing the light 
 coin by weight, fcuch a regulation would in a great degree 
 prevent the infamous and immoral system of mutilation which 
 has grown to such a height now as to call for the interposition 
 of authority to check it." The committee went on to propose 
 that a standard weight of 7 dwts. should be fixed for the 
 Johannes rated at eight dollars, or 66s., " stamping all the 
 Johannes now in the Island of less weight, and giving them the 
 currency of the standard." The depreciation of the silver and 
 the baseness of the copper coin are evils too that call for 
 remedy." When the matter came before the Council, they 
 suggested a proclamation against light gold, to prevent the 
 threatened influx of light "joes" from Martinique. 
 
 The Governor having stated that he did not see his way to 
 sanctioning as the standard a weight so far below the legal weight 
 of the coin, the Council replied that no other Colony fixed the 
 weight at anything like the proper number of grains, and that to 
 fix the weight in Tobago at a grain or two under the full weight 
 of 9 dwts. 6 grs. per joe would ruin everybody, and would carry 
 off all the coin in the Island. The result of this remonstrance 
 was that the Governor consulted the Home Government. But 
 on 15th October 179K he issued a futile proclamation fixing the 
 weight of the half-johannes at 9 dwts. 4 grs., and rating it at 
 36 s. sterling. Other gold coins were rated in proportion, also in 
 
Ch. VI. Tobago. 95 
 
 terms of sterling, and the ancient rating of the Spanish dollar at 
 45. 6d. sterling was re-enacted. 
 
 The result of the fixing of standard weights was to introduce 
 in Tobago the barbarous expedient, already familiar in most of 
 the neighbouring Islands, of raising light gold coins to the 
 standard weight by "plugs" of gold (frequently copper). The 
 adulteration of the plugs, and other inconveniences, led to the 
 issue, on 13th July 1821, of the Governor's Proclamation 
 demonetising all " plugged gold ;" and the Island was free thence- 
 forward from this evil. It was probably with reference to an 
 earlier date that the concluding words of the following statement 
 of 1825 refer : " At Tobago the currency is more defective than 
 in any of the Islands. There is a copper coin of the value of 
 a farthing which circulates as a penny, of which (as is natural) 
 the counterfeits are most extensive ; and as an attempt to stop 
 this, they are stamped, and called ' estampees.' There are also 
 gold and silver coins of a similar nature, none of which pass 
 current except at Tobago. A proposition to call in these coins 
 was before the Legislature when I left the Island." 
 
 As regards the estampees, it should be stated that, as early 
 as 9th November 1807, an Act was passed imposing a penalty 
 of 100 /. currency on the importation of " base copper and other 
 coins made to the resemblance of the foreign coins called 
 estampees and black-dogs." The penalty was raised to 250 /. 
 by the Act of 20th November 1817. And similar provisions 
 were embodied in a further Act of 1821. 
 
 The history of the silver " cut money " of Tobago is obscure. 
 It was stated in 1825 to amount to from 30,000 dollars to 
 50,000 dollars. Apparently, this cut money originated in " An 
 Act to establish and regulate a small currency for the Island." 
 Atkins, in his " Coins of British Colonies and Possessions," 
 describes " a Spanish dollar with a hexagonal piece cut from the 
 centre," and states, that " the piece cut from the foregoing is 
 countermarked with a T." 
 
 When, by local Proclamation of 6th August 1825, the Imperial 
 Order in Council and Proclamation of 1825 (see page 23) was 
 brought into operation, the Governor took the course of laying 
 down not " currency rates " but sterling denominations ; the 
 Spanish dollar was rated at 4.s. 4rf. sterling, and the doubloon 
 was rated at 69 s. 4 d. sterling, or 4 s. per pennyweight. Conse- 
 quently, though sterling denominations were introduced, yet as 
 the dollar was worth only 4 s. 2 d. sterling, and the doubloon 
 64 s., sterling coins were unable to compete with the silver, much 
 less the gold coins of Spain. It was stated in 1827 that 
 " almost the whole of the British silver imported by the Colony 
 has disappeared." 
 
 On 13th September 1838, the Council represented that the 
 Colonial Bank was allowing only 4 s. 2 d. for the dollar, and 
 uro-ed that the dollar and doubloon might be rated at 4 s. 2 d. 
 and 63 s. 6 d. sterling, " their true and proper value." Accord- 
 ingly, when the Imperial Government introduced its remedial 
 measures of 1838 (see page 27) there was no opposition in 
 
;»ti Colonial Currency. 
 
 Tobago. There was no conventional " currency " as a term, and 
 everyone knew perfectly well that the doubloon was the standard 
 coin. On 5th November 1838, the Governor proclaimed (in his 
 own name) that the Royal Proclamation should forthwith take 
 effect and come into force. It was not necessary in this Colony 
 to give new "currency ratings" to the Spanish coins. 
 
 The remainder of the currency history of Tobago is identical 
 with that of neighbouring Colonies in the "West Indies. On 
 8th May 1854, and 27th 'May 1871 respectively, United States 
 gold coins and the sovereigns and half-sovereigns of the Sydney 
 Mint were made a legal tender in the Colonv ; and bv Ordinance 
 No. 14 of 1879 the silver dollar was demonetised. Practically, 
 gold coins do not circulate, and the circulating medium consists of 
 British silver and copper tokens. 
 
Ch. VII. Jamaica. 97 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Jamaica. 
 
 (1655.) 
 
 A special importance attaches to the early history of currency 
 in this island, seeing that in the seventeenth and eighteenth 
 centuries it was the bullion-centre of the British possessions in 
 the New World. Not only was Jamaica commercially the most 
 prosperous of the West Indian Colonies, but, as being both the 
 head-quarters of the naval and military forces and the home of 
 the buccaneers, the island constantly received large supplies of 
 coin, and enjoyed a metallic currency,* when the West Indies 
 in general kept accounts, and traded, in sugar and other com- 
 modities. And whilst it was thus the main channel through 
 which coins passed into the West Indian Islands, and (in a less 
 degree) into the "Plantations" on the mainland, Jamaica 
 exercised indirectly an important influence on all the Colonies 
 of the New World by the rating which it borrowed from Bar- 
 bados for the dominant coin of its currency area — the " Piece 
 of Eight." For Jamaica, regarding Hike Spain) the Real as 
 the unit, valued this coin at 6 c?.f sterling (the valuation adopted 
 by Mr. Daniel Merser, merchant, in a letter to the Mint of 
 4th September 1680), with the result that the Piece of Eight 
 passed at only 4 s.,\ or 6 d. under its accepted sterling value, and 
 
 ° Oldmixon says : "The Island began to abound in Money, which was 
 brought thither by the Buccaneers, as the Pyratesin the Spanish West-Indies 
 are called. And the Government of Jamaica, tho' they were far from 
 encouraging such wicked courses, yet winked at them, in consideration of 
 the Treasures they brought thither and squandered away there." He adds 
 curious details of the Buccaneers' reckless extravagance with " the Load 
 which they had scraped together with so much Hazard." {British Empire in 
 America, first published in 1708.) 
 
 See also the Account of Jamaica, by Francis Hanson, written in 1G82. In 
 observing that the Island of Jamaica " is most commodiously seated in the 
 midst of the Spaniards" ("the very belly of commerce," according to 
 C. Reynel in his True English Interest, 1074), "so that we drain the benefits 
 of their ^old and silver mines without their labour and expences," — Francis 
 Hanson observes : "And whereas most other plantations ever did and now do 
 keep their Accounts in Sugar, or the proper commodities of the place, for 
 want of money, it is otherwise in Jamaica ; for in Port Royal there is more 
 plenty of running cash (proportionably to the number of its inhabitants) 
 than is in London, which (among other worthy acts) we chiefly owe to the 
 provident care of his Excellency Sir Thomas Lynch, our present & former 
 governour, who about ten years ago (by advise of his majesties council there) 
 raised the value of our current coyns about one fifth more than they will 
 yield in any pait of Christendom, so that none care to carry money off', but 
 bring great quantities thither." 
 
 f See infra for the similar rating of an English sixpence and a Spanish real 
 in 1738, notwithstanding the depreciation of this latter coin from the eighth to 
 the tenth of a " Piece of Eight " See also under Gibraltar 
 
 + The rating retained for the Peru Piece of Eight in 1681, vide infra. 
 
98 Colonial Currency. 
 
 ] s. or more under its current rating in neighbouring Colonies. 
 This led to clipping in Jamaica, and was the chief cause of the 
 successive raising of the "currency" ratings of the Piece of 
 Eight throughout the New World.* 
 
 (i.) Prior to 1704. 
 
 From a letter of Governor Sir Thomas Lynch to the Board of 
 Trade and Plantations, dated 10th March 1671 (i.e., only 16 years 
 after the capture of the island), it appears that, at some time 
 between the 1st and loth February 1671, the Assembly "dis- 
 patched an Act for making peeces of 8 Currant at 5 s." In the 
 autumn of the same year the Council took the matter up, and 
 passed the following Order : — 
 
 " By the Governour and Councill. 
 
 " Whereas I have with the advice of his Majesties Councill, 
 taken into serious Consideration the great Want of mony in this 
 Island, meerlv occasioned by makeing it currant below the 
 Intrinsick value, and so much beneath the Standard of all our 
 Nejo-hbours,t who thereby use all advantage to draw it to them, 
 because it advances clearly 20h- f Cent, when^they bring it 
 home, and by that meanes our goods and other Produce of this 
 Island are not so much in demand, whereby the Planters have 
 been very much discouraged from the makeing of them, w ch hath 
 infinitely obstructed and retarded the Settlement of this Island, 
 for y e prevention of which great mischeif and inconveniency, 
 and for y e better encouragement of bringing mony hither and 
 causeino- plenty of it to be kept amongst us, wherein the Interest 
 of this °Island doth so much consist, Its therefore ordered by 
 and with the advice and Consent of his Majestyes Councill, that 
 peices of 8, and half pieces of 8, being Pillar, Sevil, or Mexico, 
 be raised to five shillings, and two 8 and six' 1 , and all other 
 Spanish mony of that Coin proportionably : and that DoublonsJ 
 now passing at 16 s : be reed, currant at 20 s : This advance to 
 begin within 6 months after the date of this order." 
 
 This order was "read and published at the Grand Court held 
 at St. Jao-o the last Tuseday in October 1671." The six 
 months' notice given by this Order defeated the object of this 
 early legislation in currency, much to the pained astonishment 
 of its authors. Hence, two months later (on 21st December 
 1671), the Governor in Council was forced to issue an amending 
 Order, of which the following is an extract: — 
 
 " Whereas it hath since appeared that severall upon the hopes 
 of makino- 25 ^ cent, by this advance liord up their Spanish 
 mony, whereby Trade is very much lessned and abated, and 
 mony not being currant the Merchants are enforced to sue the 
 
 Sec page 8 et xrqq. 
 
 f Barbados had raised the rating to 5*. in 1(168, and Jamaica was fo'iowino; 
 suit in self-defence. 
 
 + This is one of the earliest extant records of gold coins in Colonial 
 enactments, and is a proof of the metallic wealth of Jamaica at this early 
 date. The "Doublon'' referred to, is, of course, the "Pistole,"' or gold 
 equivalent under the Spanish monetary system of $4, whence its Jamaica 
 ratine at His. before 1671, and at 1 /. afterwards 
 
Ch. VII. Jamaica. 99 
 
 Planters, who not haveing ready mony to answer y' r Demands 
 will be compelled to make disadvantageous Contracts, infinitely 
 to their prejudice and Loss : To y e Intent therefore that a con- 
 venient Remedy may be applyed to both these Inconveniences, 
 and that mony may for the present more freely pass, the better 
 to support our Trade, It's therefore ordered by and w Ul y e advice 
 and Consent of his Majesty es Councill That the former order 
 imediately take place, and that Doublons and all Spanish mony 
 being either Pillar Sevill or Mexico be received and paid currant 
 at y e rates therein mentioned : but that all Debts formerly 
 contracted be discharged and paid at the rate of 4 s. 6d. p p ce of 
 8, or in Doublons at 14 s. 6d. being the intrinsick value of both." 
 
 In 1678 the Lords of the Committee for Trade and Planta- 
 tions advised Charles II. to establish a Mint in Jamaica tor the 
 encouragement of trade, the coins to be current only in Jamaica. 
 But this advice was not taken, the feeling against the un- 
 authorised mints in New England and Maryland militating 
 against any proposal for a colonial mint. It may be added 
 that a Mint report to the Treasury of 19th January 1691 states 
 that " the great and repeated applications which were made to 
 their late Ma ties (i.e. Charles II. and James II.) for obtaining of 
 such a Priviledge were ineffectuall." 
 
 In 1681 the Act 33 Car. II. cap. 19, was passed in the 
 Island, and subsequently approved by the King in Council on 
 23rd February 1682, for the purpose of "ascerteyning ye value 
 of forrain coyns and establishing interest." The first section 
 runs as follows : " Be it enacted that each single Spanish 
 Dubloon or fFrench Pistoll shall be Currant, and passe for twenty 
 shillings Currant Money, each single peice of eight of Sevill, 
 Mexico, or Piller, and each fFrench Crowne at five shillings, 
 Currant Money, a Peru Piece of Eight at Four shillings, and 
 all monies whatsoever of those Coynes aforesaid, shall in all 
 payments whatsoever be proportionably rated, any Law, 
 Custome, or Usage to y e contrary notwithstanding.' 1 
 
 The rating of the Peru Piece of Eight at 4 s. is an indication 
 of the early prevalence, and subsequent distrust, of this coin of 
 "uncertain allay (see page 391). Action similar to that taken 
 in 1681 by Jamaica had been previously taken in 1670 in the 
 Leeward Islands, and was followed throughout the Plantations 
 generally, so that the Peru Piece of Eight was practically 
 demonetized in the British colonies. It is interesting to note 
 the early familiarity of Jamaica with the Pistole and silver Ecu 
 of France, which is shown by its formal inclusion in the Act of 
 1681. It was not until 1694 that the Leeward Islands (which, 
 through Si. Kitts, were more intimately connected with the 
 French colonies), formally rated the Ecu on a par with the 
 standard Piece of Eight. 
 
 In 1683 a " Supplemental and Explanatory Act" was passed, 
 providing {inter alia) that " when any sugar, ginger, anotto, 
 indigo, cocoa, cotton, or piemento, being the production of this 
 island, shall be taken upon Writt of Venditioni expenses, — the 
 same shall be carried to Port Royall and there be appraised by 
 the churchwardens . . & the said goods so taken and appraised 
 
100 Colonial Currency. 
 
 shall by the Provost Marshall be forthwith delivered to the 
 Plaintiff for so much money as the same shall be appraised . . and 
 accepted by the Plaintiff as so much money effectually paid him, 
 any former law to the contrary notwithstanding." This is the 
 only approach in Jamaica to the system of barter which pre- 
 vailed in other West Indian colonies. 
 
 There is now a considerable gap in the legislative history of 
 the currency of Jamaica; but there are incidental references 
 which partly supply the deficiency. 
 
 From the minutes of the Board of Trade of 21st April 1703 
 it appears that "the gentleman concerned for Jamaica informed 
 the Board that the rate of pieces of eight, of about 13 £ dwts. 
 is there at 5s.,* and those above 16 d weight at 5*. 6«7." This 
 precise and definite statement is of value as proof of the practice 
 of clipping which had its quarters in this entrepot of specie. And 
 it will be observed that the statement quoted shows that the 
 heavier coins were unfavourably rated; so that it may safely 
 be concluded that at the beginning of the 18th century the 
 standard coin of Jamaica was a silver "Piece of Eight" diminished 
 by nearly a quarter of its weight (17^ dwts.). 
 
 (ii.) From 1704 to 1825. 
 The provisions of the Royal Proclamation of 1704, and of the 
 subsequent Imperial Act 6 Anne, cap. 57 (see page 414) were at 
 first nominally observed in Jamaica by the 5 s. rating in force, 
 though the maximum rating of 6 s. per piece of eight of full 
 Aveio-ht under the Proclamation and Act was exceeded in fact, 
 since a coin of full 17^ dwts. was worth in Jamaica about 6 s. 6 d. 
 currency at the 5 s. rating. But a few years later, at some time 
 between 1707 and 1722, " notwithstanding a positive law " (i.e. 
 the Act of 6 Anne) " to ascertain the Value of money, the people 
 of Jamaica raised their money by agreeing to tender and receive 
 it at 6s. 2>d. the Piece of tight." Oldmixon (from whom the 
 above statement is quoted) goes on to record that "several mer 
 chants sent home a representation against it, and the Government 
 was so far from giving the least countenance to the least disregard 
 of this law, that the Lord Carteret, then Secretary of State, wrote 
 to the Duke of Portland (then Governor of Jamaica) by His 
 Majesty's command, in a letter dated 22nd October 1722, wherein 
 his Lordship tells his Grace, 'that the articles of complaint in the 
 representation deserve his Grace's most serious consideration, and 
 the King directs his Grace to use his utmost care to see proper 
 remedies applied. That the trade and credit of he island will be 
 lost if the valuation of the coin be not rectified. It is (adds his 
 
 ° In 1700-1 Sir Gilbert lleathcote had informed the Treasury that "a 
 peeee of 8 in Jamaica is called 5s." The regular price in London of " Bills 
 of Exchange that will be punctually paid." is stated ac 115/. in local currency 
 at this date. On 31st July 1701, Sir Bartholomew Gracedieu ottered the 
 Treasury \20l. "for the exchange of money from London to Jamaica for the 
 services of his Majes" Forces there." 
 
 But on 25th July 1701 Laurency Gahly tendered only 15" nominal 
 premium, observing, " si nous ne metons pas un pris au dessus de 15°/ , 
 e'est parce qu'avec le bruit de guerre il ce fait moing3 do negoce. ce qui rand 
 l'argent plus rare a la Jamaica." 
 
Ch. VII. Jamaica. 101 
 
 Lordship) a bold attempt, that those who have advised it have 
 undertaken, being expressly contrary to the Act of the 6th of 
 Queen Anne and your 47th Instruction, which I am commanded 
 to repeat to you, should be strictly obeyed.' The Duke of 
 Portland restored the currency to the tenure of the Act." 
 
 The explanation of the new and conventional rating of the piece 
 of eight at 6 s. 3 d. mentioned above is furnished by the history of 
 the real. When this coin represented only the eighth of a piece 
 of eight, it had been rated in Jamaica since 1671 at 7| d. cur- 
 rency. And the same rating was retained when the circulation 
 of the pistareen (" provincial peseta " of Spain, see page 395), intro- 
 duced into Jamaica, among other British colonies, the currency 
 of " reals of new plate," two of which went to the pistareen, and 
 10 to the piece of eight (or " dollar," as the coin began to be 
 commonly called early in the 18th century). With the adoption 
 of the new real as a basis, Jamaica raised the currency value of the 
 multiples of the real; and so the " piece of eight," or dollar, 
 passed not for 5 s. (7| d. x 8) as heretofore, but for 6 s. 3 d., i.e., 
 7| d. x 10. But, accepting Oldmixon's statement that the Duke 
 of Portland restored the currency " to the tenure of the Act," 
 this rating of 6 s. 3 d. must have been confined to the new real, 
 and to its mutiple the pistareen, leaving the standard piece of 
 eight and its old Mexican fractions of a half, a quarter, and an 
 eighth, to pass by weight according to the provisions of the Pro- 
 clamation of 1704. Apart, however, from the fact that Oldmixon 
 merely quotes a pamphlet of 1740*, and apart from the fact that a 
 gap in the records makes it impossible to refer to original testi- 
 mony to substantiate his statement, there is evidence that the 
 6 s. 3 d. rating was in force a few years later, not only for the 
 pistareen (as the fifth of a dollar), but also for the dollar itself. 
 And, as will be seen subsequently, in connection with the year 
 1772, the old light pieces of eight continued to pass current (as 
 tokens) for many years at the 5 s. rating of 1671. The evidence 
 as to the subsequent 6 s. 3 d. rating of the new dollar is derived 
 from an anonymous and undated tract (probably of 1738), entitled, 
 " The Importance of Jamaica to Great Britain," which supplies 
 the following scheme of the ratings in force in Jamaica by 
 1738:- £> fc dm 
 
 1 ryal or bittf 
 
 - 
 
 - — 
 
 — 
 
 7 2 A 
 
 1 sixpence! 
 
 - 
 
 - — 
 
 — 
 
 H 
 
 1 shilling! 
 
 - 
 
 — 
 
 1 
 
 3 
 
 10 ryals or 1 dollar§ - 
 
 - 
 
 - - 
 
 6 
 
 3 
 
 30 „ 3 dollars or one 
 
 pistole|| 
 
 - 1 
 
 3 
 
 9 
 
 46 „ 1 guinea - 
 
 - 
 
 - 1 
 
 8 
 
 9 
 
 62 ,,1 moidore - 
 
 - 
 
 - 1 
 
 18 
 
 9 
 
 * By Mr. Wavell Smith, secretary of the Leeward Islands, and entitled 
 " Two Letters to Mr. Wood.'' 
 
 f By an indelicate anecdote the writer explains that this name was in vogue 
 among the Creoles. 
 
 JThese ratings of sterling coins are interesting, in connection with the rating 
 of the real, as relics of the original equivalence of the real and a sixpence. 
 
 § i.e. the new coins of 172(5. 
 
 || Properly 1 pistole=4 dollar?. This anomalous rating indicates clipping 
 of the gold coin. 
 
 72642. H 
 
102 Colonial Currency. 
 
 The anonymous author observes that, " no part of the money 
 they get from the Spaniards, except pistorines, a base coin, stays 
 with them." And, later on, he says, " Besides its commodities 
 great quantities of Spanish coin have been returned from this 
 island, the planters not reserving a bit for their own use except 
 pistorines, nicknamed by them Don Patifid's* Money." Unfor- 
 tunately, Jamaica would not appear to have reported to the Board 
 of Trade and plantations in 1740 as to its currency, and no precise 
 evidence is forthcoming to show the extent to which clipping 
 prevailed as regards gold coins. But, as may readily be inferred 
 from the above rating of a pistole at only 23 5. 9 d., as against a 
 rating of 6 s. 3 d. for the new silver dollar, the current gold coins 
 of 1738 must necessarily have been diminished in weight. And 
 there is the positive evidence on this point afforded by Long's 
 statement in 1774 (see infra, page 104), as to the continued cur 
 rency even at that date of light " hammered gold pieces," i.e., 
 coins dating back to before the great Spanish re-coinage of 1726. 
 Analogy with other West Indian colonies suggests that early in 
 the 18th century Jamaica probably passed from a silver to a gold 
 standard of value, a view whicb is supported by the prolonged 
 circulation in the colony of the clipped gold coins of earlier date 
 than 1726 ; but, in the absence of definite information as to the 
 weight of the current gold coins, it is impossible not to accept 
 the statement of 1738, quoted above, that pistareens formed the 
 circulatory medium, and were therefore the real standard of 
 value within the island at that date. 
 
 The plentiful supply of coin which Jamaica had always enjoyed 
 had in practice saved the colony from the inconvenience of barter. 
 But ever since 1683 sugar, &c. (of local growth) was required 
 to be received at the market rates upon " Writ of Venditioni 
 expenses." This obsolete usage proving inconvenient, the pro- 
 vision was repealed in 1751 by the Act 24 Geo. 2, c. 19, at the 
 instance of the (creditor) merchants, providing that henceforth 
 " no other payment shall be allowed and deemed a good payment 
 in law but in current coin of gold or silver, unless in such cases 
 where both partys agree for payment in sugars and other produce 
 of this island, or in discharge of debts contracted before the 
 passing of this Act." 
 
 On 11th November 1758 the Assembly passed " an Act for 
 ascertaining the value of Spanish milled money, and for rendering 
 the payment of debts more certain." The preamble recites that 
 " those several species of Spanish coin Avhich had a certain price 
 or value put on them, and were made current in this island by 
 virtue of (the Act of 1681) are now greatly decreased in quan- 
 tity from the nature of our trade to the northern colonies, and 
 for the want of the usual supply by importation from the Spanish 
 coast, none of that species having been made there for several 
 years past, and the small quantity now left being greatly debased 
 by fraudulent clipping . . . There has been for some time 
 past an importation of new species of coin as well gold as silver 
 
 * Don Patiuo was successively colonial minister and finance minister o*' 
 Spain umlor thfl Bourbons at the beginning of the 18th century. 
 
(h. VII. Jamaica. 
 
 103 
 
 from the Spaniards made by them instead of the former, com- 
 monly known by the name of " milled money ; " but, as no fixt 
 or determined value is put on them, they are in a great measure 
 useless in the carrying on commerce from the uncertainty, and 
 by their not being made current cannot be legally taken by the 
 Receiver General in payment of taxes." Accordingly, it was pro- 
 vided that " a fixt value or rate shall be put on a certain num- 
 ber of each species of the said milled money as well gold as 
 silver, amounting altogether in value to 100,000 /. and no more, 
 and that is to say " : — 
 
 " The value of 5 /. shall be put on 2,000 milled doubloons. 
 
 j) 
 
 35 
 
 >j 
 
 » 
 
 »> 
 
 55 
 
 21. 10 5. 
 
 55 
 
 55 
 
 3,000 
 
 55 
 
 2-pistole 
 pieces. 
 
 \ I. 5 s. 
 
 55 
 
 55 
 
 10,000 
 
 55 
 
 pistoles. 
 
 12 s. 6 d. 
 
 55 
 
 55 
 
 8,000 
 
 55 
 
 half-pistoles. 
 
 6 s. 3d. 
 
 55 
 
 55 
 
 11,072 
 
 55 
 
 quarter-pis- 
 toles. 
 
 6 s. 8 d. 
 
 55 
 
 35 
 
 60,0u0 
 
 55 
 
 dollars. 
 
 3 s. 4 d. 
 
 55 
 
 55 
 
 60,000 
 
 35 
 
 half-dollars. 
 
 1 *. 8 d. 
 
 55 
 
 55 
 
 120,000 
 
 55 
 
 quarter- dol- 
 lars. 
 
 10 d. 
 
 55 
 
 55 
 
 320 000 
 
 55 
 
 rials. 
 
 5d. 
 
 55 
 
 55 
 
 320,000 
 
 
 half-rials. 
 
 2\d. 
 
 5) 
 
 55 
 
 147,840 
 
 55 
 
 quartiles or 
 quarter-rials.'' 
 
 " In order to ascertain the said number of each species ; Be it 
 further enacted that each of the said pieces be stamped or marked 
 with the letters GR on both sides of each piece, and after such 
 stamp or mark be put on them they shall be deemed current 
 money of the island." The Act proceeds to appoint commis- 
 sioners for the superintendence of the stamping, and concludes 
 by providing that, " All debts now due in this island shall be 
 paid in such manner as if the exchange between this island and 
 Great Britain were at the time of such payment 40 /. per cent., 
 that being the present rate of exchange. 
 
 The statement in the preamble of the above Act as to the 
 " trade with the northern colonies " (of America) is explained 
 by Long* as follows : " The island was drained extremely low 
 by the sudden current the silver took to Hispaniola on opening 
 their ports there, and the harbour of Monte Christi, to our illicit 
 traders " ; and Alderman Beckford stated in evidence before the 
 Board of Trade and Plantations in 1760, that "the nature of the 
 trade with the northern colonies exhausted their cash, the traders 
 from which, in return for their lumber, take only a small part in 
 produce, but chiefly cash, with which they go and purchase a 
 cargo at the French or Dutch islands at 50 per cent, advantage. 
 This cannot be prevented by raising the nominal value of the 
 
 * History of Jamaica, 3 vols. ; London, 1774 (published anonymously). 
 
 II 2 
 
104 
 
 Colonial Currency. 
 
 coin, for all commodities will rise in proportion. The marks 
 {i.e. the stamp G.R.) will certainly be counterfeited." From the 
 evidence of Mr. Elletstone before the same board, on 29ih Feb- 
 ruary 1760, it appears that " the ejfect of the Bill has been to raise 
 the price of dollars to 6 s. 6 d., at which they are now passed and 
 taken by common consent, so that no more than 12,000/. has 
 been stamped." 
 
 The evidence taken by the Board of Trade, and the advice of 
 the law officers, led the board to recommend the disallowance of 
 the Act. But its provisions were conventionally observed not- 
 withstanding — '(1) the dollar passing thenceforward not, it is 
 true, at the full rate of 6 s. 8 d., but at 6 s. 6 d., whilst (2), in the 
 words of Long, " the milled double doubloons having been raised 
 by an act of assembly 5 s. each above the hammered, have con- 
 tinued over since at this advanced rate by general consent of the 
 inhabitants." Long adds that " a great temptation therefore 
 offered to the debasers of coin ; this was naturally to be expected, 
 and accordingly happened. Mints were set at work in the 
 Northern and in the Dutch and other colonies, to say nothing of 
 the industrious coiners of Jamaica, who to gain these per cents, 
 and as much more as they could, poured in so great an abundance 
 of base doubloons as to interrupt the commerce of the island." 
 
 The statements of Long in 1774 as to the circulating currency 
 of Jamaica prior to 1773, is summed up in the following tabular 
 form : — 
 
 Gold. 
 
 Weight. 
 
 Current Value. 
 
 
 Dwts. grs. 
 
 £. 
 
 s. d. 
 
 Spanish " double doubloon," milled 
 
 17 8 
 
 5 
 
 - - 
 
 Ditto ditto hammered • 
 
 * 
 
 4 
 
 15 - 
 
 Ditto "doubloon," milled 
 
 8 16 
 
 2 
 
 10 - 
 
 Ditto ditto hammered 
 
 - 
 
 o 
 
 7 6 
 
 Ditto pistole, milled ... 
 
 4 8 
 
 1 
 
 5 
 
 Ditto pistole, hammered - 
 
 . 
 
 1 
 
 3 9f 
 
 (half and cpjarter pistole proportion- 
 ately) 
 
 
 
 
 English guinea - 
 
 • f» 
 
 1 
 
 8 9| 
 
 Portuguese moidore - 
 
 » * 
 
 1 
 
 18 9f 
 
 • " I have not noticed the weights of the hammered gold or silver pieces* 
 their alloy being different from the other marketable milled pieces, and so 
 much clipped, filed, and depreciated, as to be greatly below the value at which 
 they are suffered to pass current." — (Lony). 
 
 | i.e., the ratings nientionod in 1738. 
 
Ch. VII. Jamaica. 
 
 105 
 
 Silver. 
 
 Weight. 
 
 c 
 
 arren 
 
 t Value. 
 
 
 Dtvts. grs. 
 
 
 s. 
 
 d. 
 
 Spanish milled, or Mexican, dollar* 
 (half, quarter, and eighth ia propor 
 lion). 
 
 17 8 
 
 
 6 
 
 6 
 
 " Cobs,f or hammered pieces of* 8" 
 
 - 
 
 
 5 
 
 -I 
 
 "Pieces of 4 ryals "§ 
 
 - 
 
 
 2 
 
 6 
 
 Ditto 2 „ or pistorins - 
 
 - 
 
 
 1 
 
 3 
 
 " Ryal or bit " (also, " old ryal or 
 bit piece.") 
 
 - 
 
 
 — 
 
 n 
 
 Reviewing the silver|| currency of Jamaica prior to 1773, Lone 
 (who observes that the current silver was diminished 21 percent, 
 in weight by " clipping villains ") states that " the pistorins and 
 half pistorins, if of full weight, are not fit for a remittance to 
 Europe, as they are coarse silver ; their baseness is sufficiently dis- 
 tinguished by their black complexion. For this reason they have 
 escaped the fate of the better coins, and are permitted to remain 
 in the island, where, together with the old hammered dollars, 
 pieces of eight, and ryals, which are so much diminished by wear, 
 clipping, and sweating, as not to be exportable,^ they form the 
 chief part of the silver in present circulation. . . There are in- 
 dustrious Jews in this island, who carry on a profitable business 
 by purchasing dollars with ryals of the old plate, which are of bad 
 quality. According to the present denominations of the currency, 
 a single dollar of 6 s. 6 d. passes in exchange for 10 ryals, which, 
 at 7| d. each, amount to no more than 6 s. 3 d., or 3 d. per dollar 
 loss to the person who changes for these ryals. . It is not sur- 
 prising that the dollars should eagerly be bought up with these 
 pistorins or ryals for exportation, but rather, as the profit is so 
 large, we should wonder that a single milled dollar, of full 
 weight, remains in the island ; for 624 of these ryals, intrinsically 
 not*worth more than 17 /. 14 s. 4 d., will buy 60 dollars intrinsi- 
 cally worth here 19/. 10 s. currency.- There is no country, 
 perhaps, where the coins in circulation are more in need of a strict 
 examen and reformation than in this island." 
 
 * "Generally of full weight." 
 
 •j- " From cola, Spanish cant word for real." 
 
 % i.e the old rating of 1071. 
 
 § i.e. half dollars of new plate.' 
 
 || The trade with the northern colonies of America, and with the Dutch of 
 Cura.oa for mules, "drains away much of the old hammered silver, and the 
 milled ryals." 
 
 ^f "The course of exchange between Jamaica and Britain, was formerly 35 
 per cent., but since raised to 40 per cent., at which it has remained for 
 many years." 
 
106 
 
 Colonial Currency. 
 
 The amount of coin in circulation in Jamaica in 1772 was esti- 
 mated by Long at 65,000 I. only. This inadequate volume of 
 metallic currency was supplemented by " the annual orders issued 
 by the Council, amounting to near 10,000/., and the custom of 
 passing bonds and notes, but chiefly the former. These bonds, 
 it must be observed, are as well a cause as an effect of the 
 scarcity of coin. From being used at first in lieu of very 
 considerable sums, as from 1,000 /. to 10,000 /., they have, since 
 their more general application to the purposes of commerce and 
 to loans or debts from 50 /. upwards, gradually supplied the place 
 of gold and silver, and allowed the latter a freer scope to pass 
 out of the country." He goes on to say that, even though they 
 bore 8 to 10 per cent, interest, these bonds were not cashed 
 except at a discount on their par or face value, and that this 
 showed a want of specie on the island. 
 
 The conventional rating of Spanish gold at 5 /. the doubloon 
 was legalised in 1773, and the currency of Portuguese gold 
 encouraged by the important. Act, 14 Geo. III., cap. 18, which 
 was probably framed in connection (i.) with the lowering in 
 1772 of the Spanish standards of fineness, {see page 396), and 
 (ii.) with the importation from America of counterfeit coins. 
 The following table gives the weights and currency values of the 
 chief gold* coins to be current in Jamaica as from 1st January 
 1774:— 
 
 Desciuption. 
 
 Weight. 
 
 Currency 
 Value. 
 
 Spanish : 
 
 Dwts. Grs. 
 
 £. s. 
 
 Double doubloon, or 4 pistole piece 
 
 17 8 
 
 5 - 
 
 Doubloon, or 2 pistole piece 
 
 8 16 
 
 2 10 
 
 Pistole (half and quarter pistoles 
 in proportion) - - - - 
 
 4 8 
 
 1 5 
 
 Portugal : 
 
 
 
 Johannes - - - 
 
 18 12 
 
 5 10 
 
 Half Johannes - 
 
 9 6 
 
 2 15 
 
 Moidore - 
 
 6 22 
 
 o _ 
 
 " and so in proportion for each greater or smaller piece of 
 said coin." It will be observed that the above ratings of full 
 
 * Nothing is said of silver coins in the Act. 
 
 French gold pieces of 2, 1£, 1, and % pistoles were to he current at the 
 same rates as the Spanish coins of the same weights. But as the French 
 standard was 22 carats fine, whilst Spanish coins were only 21 f, French 
 cold could not circulate in competition with ther ^ld coins of Spain. 
 
Ch. VII. Jamaica. 107 
 
 weight coins work out to 2*884 d. per grain for Spanish gold, 
 and to 2*973 d. for Porttiguese gold. Taking the millesimal 
 fineness (by assay) of the Spanish coin to be 893, and of the 
 Portuguese 916*§, a premium of *159 d. per grain was set by the 
 Act of 1773 on the latter, as between coins of full weight of the 
 two nationalities. Further, an important provision was laid 
 down in 1773 for the first time in Jamaica by the deduction of 
 " threepence for every grain weight so deficient." This pro- 
 vision, it will be seen, imposed a relative penalty on light 
 Spanish gold as compared with light Portuguese coin. 
 
 After passing the above Act it was found necessary, before 
 the close of 1773, to call in the clipped unmilled Spanish gold, 
 which formed the bulk of the internal circulatory medium at 
 this time. The Act of 31st December 1773 prescribed that the 
 old light gold should be received by special commissioners, who 
 were to weigh the coin and to exchange it at the rate of 4/. 15 s. 
 for a doubloon weighing not less than 13 dwts.* ; thus incidentally 
 indicating to what a length clipping and sweating had gone in 
 reducing the weight of ihe internal currency. It will also be 
 observed that this weight of the clipped gold doubloon is prac- 
 tically that to which h was stated, 70 years before, the weight 
 of the old piece of eight had been reduced in Jamaica. It may 
 not be too much, perhaps, to infer that, as in the seventeenth 
 century, so in the eighteenth up to 1773, clipping of the standard 
 coin reduced the weight by 25 per cent. 
 
 Experience justified Long's anticipation in 1774 that "this 
 measure . . . will be the means of introducing a large quan- 
 tity in particular of the Portuguese coin." But the incon- 
 venience of under-rating Spanish coin, as compared with Portu- 
 guese, in an island which at that date was necessarily included, 
 both by geographical position and by trade relations, in the 
 currency area of Spanish America, speedily led to the conven- 
 tional raising of the currency price of the Spanish doubloon and 
 Spanish dollar to 5 /. 5 s., and 6 s. 8 d. respectively. And this 
 5 per cent, advance in the local rating of Spanish gold was 
 enhanced over 3^ by a subsequent change in the monetary 
 system of Spain. For, in 1786, though the gross weights were 
 left unaltered, the standard fineness of the Spanish gold coins 
 was reduced from 21| to 21 carats. But, notwithstanding the 
 relative premium thus placed on Spanish goldf, Jamaica pro- 
 ceeded at some date between 1803 and 1808 to adopt in the 
 local currency system the Spanish ratio of #16 = 1 doubloon. 
 Retaining as the basis the convenient rating of the dollar at 
 
 * In order to " sink and divide in the most easy and equitable manner tlie 
 loss that will he sustained " in calling in the old light gold at its current 
 valuation, and in re-issuing it " at a certain and reasonable value agreeable 
 to their respective weights," only three-fourths of the agreed value was 
 payable in cash, the remaining quarter being exchanged for tickets in a 
 lottery (10,0130 tickets at 5/.), which offered "1,086 fortunate tickets," 
 qualifying tor prizes which ranged as high as 5,00(H., but were subject to a 
 20 per cent, deduction by the Culonial Government. 
 
 f It is the maintenance of Spanish gold as the standard in Jamaica which 
 distinguishes the currency history of the island from that of the West Indies 
 generally, in which light "Joes" formed almost the entire circulation." 
 
108 
 
 Colonial Currency. 
 
 6.?. 8 d. (which admitted of the rating of the Mexican real at 
 10 c/., and made $3 equal to the £. currency), Jamaica raised 
 the local price of its standard coin the doubloon, from five 
 guineas to 5 /. 6 s. 8 d. For the details of the above transitions, 
 there is the evidence (i.) of Bryan Edwardes in his " History of 
 the British West Indies," writing with reference to 1788, (ii.) 
 of R. C Dallas, whose " History of the Maroons " is dated 
 1803, and (iii.) of an anonymous " Account of Jamaica," pub- 
 lished in 1808. Their statements are summarised in the fol- 
 lowing comparative Table* : — 
 
 Description of Coin. 
 
 Spanish 
 
 Real or Bit - 
 
 Pistareen 
 
 Dollar 
 
 Pistole 
 
 Doubloon 
 
 Portuguese : 
 
 "Half Johannes" 
 called) 
 English guinea - 
 
 (so 
 
 1773. 
 Long. 
 
 £. *. 
 
 - 1 
 
 - 6 
 1 5 
 
 5 - 
 
 2 15 
 
 d. 
 
 7 1 
 
 3 
 
 6 
 
 1788. 
 Edwardes. 
 
 £. *. a. 
 
 -68 
 1 6 3 
 5 5- 
 
 2 15 - 
 1 12 6 
 
 1803. 
 Dallas. 
 
 £. s. d. 
 
 -68 
 1 6 3 
 5 5- 
 
 2 15 - 
 
 1808. 
 Anon. 
 
 *. d. 
 
 - 7A 
 
 1 3" 
 
 6 8 
 
 6 8 
 
 6 8 
 
 2 15 - 
 1 12 6t 
 
 The net result of the Act of 1773 had been to purge the island 
 of its old mutilated gold coin, whilst the conventional rating of 
 the doubloon at 5 I. 5 s. re-established Spanish gold before 1788 as 
 the local standard of value, a position which was further strength- 
 ened within the next twenty years by the equally conventional 
 increase 1o 5 /. 6 s, 8 d. of the local rating of the new, and intrin- 
 sically less valuable, doubloon. Prices, it is true, were uniformly 
 quoted in dollars; but a " dollar " in payments meant one-six- 
 teenth of a gold doubloon. Scarcely had the local system of 
 currency been adjusted on this basis, when events outside Jamaica 
 combined to drain the island of its specie, and to cut off fresh 
 supplies. 
 
 " Ever since the great increase of the value of bullion in Great 
 Britain," wrote the agent for Jamaica in 1817, " the small silver 
 coin % have composed nearly the entire of the circulating species 
 in the island (say 200,000 /.), the gold coins and dollars having 
 nearly all got out of circulation, being remitted to England and 
 a neighbouring island for commercial purposes . . .In commerce 
 dollars are purchased in Jamaica to the extent of millions per 
 
 So also Stewart's " View of t lie Past and Present Slate of the Island of 
 Jamaica " (1823), and Kelly's "' Universal Cambist " (1826). Stewart states 
 that tht pistareen and bit t were rare in 1823. 
 
 f Stated to be of rare occurrence in Jamaica. 
 
 J It became the custom to make up paper parcels of Mexican silver coins, 
 enuorsed as containing a specified sum ; and these parcels passed from hand to 
 hand, without counting, for considerable sums of money. Naturally inferior 
 coins were selected for these parcels. In 1H24 the Commissary refused to 
 accept them, as be found them to contain " bits not worth half 7$d., together 
 with plain pieces of base- silver resembling old shillings and sixpenses, of no 
 coinage whatever, French coins, and bad dollars." (Cf. Zay pp. 67 and i?4). 
 
Ch. VII. Jamaica. 109 
 
 annum as bullion and exported. For this object a higher and 
 fluctuating rate is occasionally given by merchants for them."* 
 After stating that " coins in Jamaica form a prime article of 
 trade," and that there was a constant stream of coininto and out 
 of the island, the agent observes that " the coins current in 
 Jamaica are rarely or never much worn, damaged, or reduced in 
 weight below their original value." The bit, or 1\<L piece, 
 which was rapidly disappearing before the Mexican fractions of 
 the dollar f (rated proportionately to the latter), was an excep- 
 tion. But Stewart, who also states, in 1823, that " very few of 
 the Spanish coins are deficient in weight," records that the 
 Portuguese gold coins in circulation were light. The obvious 
 explanation of the latter statement is that, after encouraging the 
 importation of "Joes" in 1773, Jamaica had left their rating 
 unaltered, whilst increasing the relative rating of Spanish gold ; 
 and this penalty, augmented by the induction in the Spanish 
 standard for gold coins in 1786, actually put a premium of about 
 I d. currency per grain on clipping such Portuguese gold as had 
 not been driven from the island. 
 
 Such, then, was the state of currency in Jamaica in the early 
 years of the present century. With the outbreak of the 
 revolutionary war in Mexico, the bullion trade, which had 
 kept the island plentifully supplied with coin, was stopped ; 
 and Jamaica was reduced to a circulating medium composed 
 mainly of small Mexican silver coins, the worst of which passed 
 in parcels, whilst the better specimens circulated by tale.} By 
 1822, for the first time in the history of Jamaica since its capture 
 in 1655, the metallic currency of the island had proved in- 
 adequate to meet the requirements of trade. In this year the 
 Assembly resorted to the ruinous system of issuing unsecured 
 paper money in order to carry on the Government. And under 
 annual Acts further issues were made, with the natural result 
 that, as early as 16th April 1825, the Receiver General wrote : 
 " Gold I have not ; nor has a single doubloon, or any other 
 gold coin, been paid to me for many weeks." 
 
 * So, too, in 1815, the Island Government wrote that " Spanish gold coins 
 are seldom exported when dollars can be procured. '' 
 
 + The agent remarks that the Mexican quarter-dollars were called 
 " Maccaroni pieces." Can this he a negro corruption of Mejicani?. Or is 
 it a representative of maccochinn, a word still used in Venezuela to mean 
 "cut money"? In support of this latter view is the use of "macuquina" 
 in Trinidad (q.v.) for the local cut-money. It will he seen subsequently that 
 the name Maccaroni was transferred to the British shilling (rated as a quarter- 
 dollar), and was in vogue in British Honduras. Apparently, the word 
 " moco'' (used for cut-money in the St. Lucia) is an abbreviation of the same 
 word. 
 
 J Consequently, when, in 1822, " anchor money " was struck in England 
 for the West Indian Is. in pieces of $, £, and T ' s of a dollar (see page 21), the 
 Governor of Jamaica pointed out that these coins were not wanted in this 
 island, as " there is at present the greatest abundance of this description of 
 coin under the denominations of ' maccaronies ' (viz., 20 d. pieces, 10 d. pieces, 
 and 5 d. pieces), and almost all payments which arc not of magnitude are paid 
 in such coi?is." 
 
110 Colonial Currency. 
 
 (iii.) From 1825 onwards. 
 
 It was at this juncture that the Order in Council of 23rd 
 March 1825 (see page 23) was brought into operation in 
 Jamaica, and the other British colonies, for the purpose of intro- 
 ducing British silver and copper* coins into general colonial 
 circulation. A sum of 35,000 /. in British silver was imported 
 into Jamaica in 1825-8 by the Commissariat; and further con- 
 fusion was thereby introduced into Jamaica* currency. Owing 
 to the scarcity of coin in the island, the shilling by common 
 consent passed — from the planter to his negroes in the first 
 instance — not at its proclaimed rate of three- thirteenths of a 
 dollar (I s. 6 - 47 d. currency) but as a " quarter-dollar "t (or 
 Is. 8 d. currency), and other British coins in proportion. It is 
 true that a judicial decision (Stevenson v. Smith) affirmed it 
 illegal to pay debts of 1 I. currency with 12, instead, of 13, 
 sterling shillings ; but none the less the Kingston merchants, and 
 people generally, agreed to receive the shilling as a quarter- 
 dollar. Thus, by convention, the dollar J was under-rated at 4 s. 
 sterling, and the ( Mexican) real at 6 d. ; and it is interesting to note 
 that these conventional ratings of the 19th century Avere identical 
 with the equally conventional ratings with which the currency 
 of Jamaica originally started nearly two centuries before. In 
 1832, taking advantage of the popular over-rating of the 
 shilling, the Colonial Government established the local supremacy 
 of sterling by obtaining the Imperial loan of 200,000 /., granted in 
 that year, in British silver. The result was that in 1836 the local 
 Commissary reported that a the only small change which can be 
 procured is the British shilling and its sub-divisions, § the small 
 Spanish coins having nearly disappeared." 
 
 To return to the question of paper money, the issue of the 
 island cheques outstanding on 27th October 1828 was over 
 350,000/. ; and this sum had grown to about 400,000/. in 1837, 
 according to the local Committee of that year on the monetary 
 system of the island. On 8th July 1838, the Governor wrote 
 that "the demand for money has occasioned a heavy run on both 
 banks, and these have resorted to the Receiver General to get 
 the Government checks cashed ; but he having no cash, a com- 
 
 * The aversion of the negroes to copper coins led to the profitable export 
 by speculators of the consignments of 1825 and later years. Up to 1825 no 
 baser metal than silver had been current in Jamaica, and the smallest silver 
 coin was a half-real or " fivepence " 
 
 f Hence the negroes transferred the name " maccaroni " to the British 
 shilling (cf. British Honduras, page 141). The term " mac" for a shilling is 
 used by the negroes at the present day ; e.g., " a mac and fipence " (currency) 
 denotes Is. 3rf. sterling. 
 
 J By Local Proclamation of 25th June 1834, the dollars of the South 
 American Mints. " new dollars," were placed on the same footing as the old 
 pillar-dollars of Spain. But this step was ineffectual so far as the general 
 currency of Jamaica was concerned. 
 
 § In accordance with a Resolution of the Assembly of 4th July 1834, 
 British silver, 3d. and \\d. pieces, were imported in that year. Further 
 supplies of the latter coin, which, under the name of "a* quatty," still 
 remains popular in Jamaica, were made on several subsequent occasions, the 
 last coinages having been 1,000/. in i860 and 1,600/. in 1862. 
 
Ch. VII. Jamaica. Ill 
 
 promise has been come to, allowing 6 per cent, interest on those 
 checks. We are, in fact, in a state of bankruptcy." 
 
 The bankruptcy of the local Government, and the currency 
 of British silver coins, the only metallic circulating medium 
 remaining, * led to pressing appeals to the Imperial Government 
 for currency reform, and to the passing of a Local Act on 
 15th November 1837 (i) limiting the tender of British silver to 
 5 /. currency, f and (ii) formally rating the shilling at its conven- 
 tional value of Is. 8d. currency. This Act was disallowed 
 in 1839, as in 1838 the general policy of the Order in Council of 
 1825 had been reviewed by a Board of Trade Committee, with 
 the result that by Order in Council and Proclamation of 14th 
 September 1838 (see page 27), the doubloon and dollar were 
 rated (for the West Indies and British Guiana) at 64 s. and 
 4 s. 2d. steiding respectively. Accordingly, under the Local Pro- 
 clamation of 5th November 1838 (approved by Order in Council of 
 3rd May 1839), the following currency ratings were prescribed 
 for Jamaica, viz.: — Shilling, \ s. 8 d. ; dollar, 6 .s. 11^ d. ; 
 doubloon, 51. 6 s. 8 d. The currency basis chosen was the 
 doubloon at its old conventional rating ; and from this, the true 
 metallic standard, the relative ratings of the dollar and shilling 
 were deduced, a trifling over-valuation being given to the shilling. 
 But instead of retaining the needless complications of "currency," 
 Jamaica, in 1839, passed an Act (3 Vic. cap. 39) enacting — 
 
 l."> That, as from 31st December 1840, the currency of the 
 
 United Kingdom should be that of Jamaica.} 
 (2.) That existing contracts in local currency should be 
 settled at the rate of 166 I. 13 s. 4 d. Jamaica currency 
 for every 100 /. sterling ; and 
 (3.) That from the same date " the doubloon shall be deemed 
 a legal tender at and after the rate of three pounds 
 four shillings ; the silver dollar shall be a legal tender 
 at and after the rate of four shillings and twopence, 
 and the several sub-divisions of those coins at and 
 after the same rates, and the gold and silver coins of 
 Great Britain and Ireland shall be legal tenders to 
 any amount at and after the rates they pass current 
 at in Great Britain and Ireland." 
 
 * In his evidence before a Board of Trade Committee in 1838, Mr. 
 Colville stated that "the dollar bears a premium, beyond that upon the 
 doubloon, of 2 to 3 per cent.; but the premium upon dollars has been as high 
 as 7 per cent., as compared with the paper ; that is, when you possess your- 
 self' of paper, and you require dollars or doubloons to carry abroad for foreign 
 payment, vou could only get them at that premium." And he added " the 
 only currency to be seen now in Jamaica is the island cheques, the bank notes, 
 and the British shilling and sixpences." Similar testimony will be found in 
 McQueen's " Letter to Lord Glenelg " on West Indian Currency (London, 
 
 ■I OQO^ 
 
 ■f Sue also under Barbados and Trinidad for similar evidence of the far- 
 sighted objections entertained at this date to admitting silver tokens to un- 
 limited tender. 
 
 + The term " Bit " is still, however, in constant use among the negroes to 
 denote 4.i d. ; " mac," as has been noted above, is their name for the shilling ; 
 and the old currency denominations are preserved by them in speaking of 
 (e.Q.), a threepenny piece as " fipence." Cf. Honduras and the Bahamas. 
 
112 Colonial Currency. 
 
 The last provision (3) is important, as it temporarily entailed 
 difficulties with regard to the dollar in later times, and as it has 
 permanently left Jamaica stocked with British token silver, and 
 denuded of gold. 
 
 In 1841, the local Act 5 Vict. c. 28 repealed so much of 
 the 10th Section (quoted above) of the 1839 Act as declared 
 the sub-divisions of the dollar * a legal tender. In the following 
 year, by the Act 6 Vict. c. 40, currency was formally given to 
 British copper coin, within the limit of 1 s. legal tender. In 
 1841, by the Act 7 Vict. c. 5, the original Act was further modi- 
 fied, so as to limit to 40 s. the legal tender of British silver coins 
 smaller than the sixpences, "to wit, four-penny, three-penny, 
 two-penny, and penny-half-penny pieces," though " the crown, 
 half-crown, shilling, and sixpence shall continue and be in this 
 island a legal tender to any amount." All these three steps, 
 though inadequate, were steps in the right direction towards 
 perfecting the currency system of the island. 
 
 In 1852 the Colonial Bank represented that the whole amount 
 of British silver in circulation in Jamaica was about 391,000/., 
 of which only some 17,000/. (net) had been imported by the 
 bank.f 
 
 On 19th August 1853, a Royal Proclamation (see p. 28) 
 authorised the circulation of the gold coins of the United States 
 concurrently with sterling at the following rates : — Eagle, 
 2 Lis.; Half-Eagle, 21 s. 6 d. ; Quarter-Eagle, 10.9. 3d ; Gold 
 Dollar, 4 s. 1 d. The Royal Proclamation was brought into force 
 in Jamaica by the Governor's Proclamation of 19 October 1853. 
 Multiples of the Eagle were to be rated proportionately to the 
 Eagle by Order in Council and Proclamation of 9 March 1854, 
 brought into operation in Jamaica on 12 May 1854. Considerable 
 sums in United States gold are introduced into the island by ship- 
 ments from the Isthmus of Panama and South America generally. 
 This gold, which passes at the legal rates, speedily finds its way 
 into the Bank's hands, and thence to New York — frequently in 
 August and September, when sterling bills are cheap. It is such 
 exports of United States gold that make up nearly the Avhole of 
 the exports of bullion from Jamaica. 
 
 The gold coins of the Sydney Mint were made le»al tender in 
 Jamaica under the Royal Proclamation and Order in Council of 
 10th November 1866 {see page 29). 
 
 Dating from about 1850, dollars had ceased to circulate to any 
 considerable extent; but, a quarter of a century later, the fall 
 in the gold-price of silver made it profitable to import 
 Mexican dollars into the West Indian Islands; and in 1876 the 
 question became acute in Jamaica. To obviate the danger of 
 re-establishing the silver dollar as the local standard of value, the 
 
 * See also the Royal Proclamation of 1863, brought into operation in 
 Jamaica by the Governor's Proclamation of 23rd October 180 J. 
 
 | See page 10 of Parliamentary Paper No. 268 of 1853. 
 
Ch. VII. Jamaica. 113 
 
 Island Legislature passed Law No. 8 of 1876,* demonetising the 
 dollar and its sub-divisions. Thus the shilling was finally re- 
 established as the practical standard of value in Jamaica. 
 
 As copper and bronze coins were far from popular in an island 
 unaccustomed to a baser metal than silver, nickel pence and half- 
 pence were authorised to be struck for Jamaica by the Order 
 in Council and Royal Proclamation of 11th November 1869, and 
 by the Local Acts Nos. 35 and 49 of 1869. Their limit of legal 
 tender was fixed at 1 s. for the pence, and 6 d. for the half-pence. 
 And by Law No. 13 of 1880, nickel farthings were authorised. 
 Finally, by Law No. 11 of 1882, confirmed by the Order in 
 Council of 17th May 1882, all copper and bronze coins were 
 demonetised in Jamaica, and in the Turks and Caicos Islands, 
 and the nickel coins substituted exclusively.! 
 
 The amount of silver coin in general circulation in Jamaica on 
 31st December 1891 was estimated at 320,000 l,\ the amount of 
 notes of the Colonial Bank§ in circulation at the same date being 
 (perhaps) 160,000 /. Taking the population at (in round figures) 
 640,000, this gives a total of (say) 10 s. in coin, and 5 s. in notes, 
 or 15 s. in all, for the " active" circulation per head. 
 
 * This Act was extended to the Turks Islands by the Law, No. 10, of 1880. 
 In these latter islands, as a result of their earlier connection with the Bahamas, 
 the United States silver half-dollar is current at 2 s., and the quarter-dollar 
 at I s., under Proclamation of 14th September 18(56. The sterling system was 
 introduced into the Turks Islands by the Act of the Bahamas, 2 Vict. c. 4. 
 
 f According to page 106 of the Twenty-second Annual Report of the 
 Deputy Master of the Mint, the total nominal values of the nickel coins 
 struck from 1869 to the end of 1891 have been as follows : Pence, 8,200/. ; 
 half-pence, 8,450/.; farthings, 1,600/.; Total, 8,250/. Thus, the nickel 
 coinage is equal to a trifle over 3 d. per head of the total population. 
 
 \ Irrespective of the reserve held by the Colonial Bank in the island, and 
 of the probably considerable hoards buried by the negroes. These further 
 items would perhaps equal, together, the amount of coin estimated in the 
 text as being in general circulation. 
 
 § Notes do not circulate among the coloured population, who only use coin : 
 they find their circulation exclusively with the commercial and well-to-do 
 classes. 
 
114 CoL.<j ial Currency. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 Trinidad. 
 
 (1797.) 
 
 According to Governor Picton, writing on 23rd March 1802, 
 the revenue of Trinidad under Spanish rule was "noways equiva- 
 lent to the expenses ; but the deficit was intended to be supplied 
 by the mines of Mexico, from whence an annual subsidy* was 
 assigned to the Colony of $200,000 to defray the expenses of its 
 Government, civil and military. But the remission of this 
 money was very uncertain even in time of peace. . . Government 
 was defrayed by the natural expedient of Papeletus or Treasury 
 notes, payable to order, which the intiabitants and officers, civil 
 and military, were obliged to receive as cash, although they 
 publicly discounted them at a loss of from 20 to 50 per cent. ; 
 and, shameful to relate, they were often bought up by emissaries 
 of the officers of the King's Treasury, supplied with the King's 
 own money for that purpose." 
 
 With regard to coin, it would naturally be expected that up 
 to its transfer from Spanish to British rule in 1797, the island 
 would have conformed to the monetary system of Spain, and have 
 rated a gold doubloon at $ 16, and a dollar at 10 bits, or reals 
 of new plate (see p. 392, note). But, as a matter of fact, neither 
 these ratings was in force in 1797. All calculations were 
 expressed either in " pesos sincillos " (== dollars of new plate, see 
 pasje 392), or in "dollars and bitts;" but nine bits were regarded 
 as the equivalent of a peso fuerte, or Spanish dollar.! The 
 explanation of this anomalous rating is afforded by the further 
 anomaly that (in the words of a memorandum of 1802), in 
 Trinidad " all gold passes for one dollar per dwt. As a doubloon 
 weighs 17 dwts. 8 grs., its value is 17] dollars, from which 
 circumstance that coin flows into the colony, as its value in the 
 other islands never exceeds 16 dollars, in some less." In other 
 words, the gold doubloon X worth only 15] dollars in the open 
 
 * This subsidy was dispatched in silver dollars from San Domingo by the 
 Cituada every year. 
 
 f The local "name tor the Spanish dollar, among the French settlers in 
 Trinidad when a Spanish Colony, was '• pe»o gordo" an interesting admixtnre 
 of the French term "gourde" with the Spanish peso duro. 
 
 X I have followed tlie contemporary memorandum rather than the Currency 
 Committee of 1838 (seethe Trinidad Standard of 23i d November 1838), who 
 opined that " the Portuguese soon supplanted every other description of 
 
Ch. VIII. Trinidad. 115 
 
 market, was over-rated 13 per cent, in Trinidad as compared 
 with the silver dollar, and consequently drove out the latter coin ; 
 but, in order to retain in circulation the smaller silver coins 
 required for the retail transactions of every-day life, the price of 
 the bit was raised from the tenth to the ninth of a dollar, with 
 the result that, though the dollar (as such) was under-valued with 
 regard to the gold doubloon, only 156 bits (as against 160 under 
 the Spanish monetary system), were paid as the equivalent of 
 the doubloon ; consequently, whilst maintaining a gold standard 
 (by weight), Trinidad had conventionally adjusted the rating of 
 the bit so as to ensure the circulation of a subsidiary currency of 
 small silver coins. 
 
 With the first few years of British occupation, the denomina- 
 tion of the money of account was assimilated to that of other 
 British colonies in the West Indies, sums being expressed in 
 " £. s. d. currency," as well as in " dollars and bits." And for the 
 local rating of the dollar, Trinidad adopted the convenient 
 " Leeward Islands currency," which prevailed at this time 
 throughout the British West Indies, with the exception of 
 Jamaica and Barbados. This change was introduced in 1804 ; 
 after that date, the words " Leeward Islands currency " are found 
 commonly in connection with the bills of the local commissary. 
 The basis of the Leeward Islands currency (see under Leeward 
 Islands) was the rating of the dollar at 9 s. currency* by the 
 beginning of the present century ; and the " Prices Current " of 
 Trinidad [e.g. of 31 August 1809) uniformly speak of the " Spanish 
 milled dollar at 9 s. currency." But it must be carefully borne 
 in mind that a " dollar " in Trinidad really meant not the Spanish 
 silver coin of that name, but the 3-52nd part of a gold doubloon 
 (or perhaps one-eighth of a Johannes). And it was this anomaly 
 which prompted Colonel Fullarton in 1805 to claim from the 
 Imperial Government a sum in respect of " loss on being paid 
 one year's salary by the Treasurer of Trinidad in doubloons at 
 17g dollars each, which sold in London for 3 1. 5 s. each."| In 
 order to carry out the change in the local system of cur- 
 coin.'' But, at the same time, the conclusion of the Committee is in direct 
 accord with their subsequent statement, thai, after the conquest, "large 
 contracts were frequently made in joes." On the other hand, see Colonel 
 Fullarton's statement in 1805, quoted infra. 
 
 Hence the old real or bit (Escalin) was known in Trinidad as a shilling. 
 An obscure distinction seems to have arisen between the u silver bitt " (the old 
 real;, and the " bitt of twelve pence " (the ninth part of a round dollar). 
 
 f At this price in London the doubloon, rated in Trinidad at $17 would 
 point to a gold par of 240 I. currency per 100/. sterling; but (i) gold was at 
 a premium at this time in London, owing to the forced currency of paper, 
 and (ii.) the exchanges on London in Trinidad, which fluctuated violently 
 between 185 and 210 per cent., were complicated by two causes (a) the 
 dangers attending remittance in time of war, and (b) the fact that, owing to 
 the laro-e military expenditure by the Imperial Government in the island 
 (defrayed by the sale of bills), the exchanges were highly favourable to the 
 buyers of such bills. It is also to be remembered that the local commissaries 
 advertised their bills for " one third in dollars and the remainder in 
 doubloons." 
 
116 Colonial Currency. 
 
 rency General Hislop* proclaimed on 9 February 1804 the 
 following values of coins then in circulation : — 
 
 Currency. 
 
 s. d. 
 Gold, per dwt. - - - - - 8 5 or 8| bitts. 
 
 Silver : 
 
 Round silver Mexican milled dollar 9 - or 9 „ 
 
 (2? ?> h anf ' o 1 5 * n proportion). 
 Round silver piece of money called a 
 
 pistareen - - - - -2-or2„ 
 
 Round silver piece of money called a 
 
 bitt - - - - ' - - 1 - 
 
 Round silver half bitt, or the cut 
 
 silver half bitt - - - - - 6 
 
 Cut silver quarter of a bitt - - - 3 
 
 The Currency Committee of 1838 observes that "this procla- 
 mation was intended to have, and had, the effect of reducing the 
 value of the Johannes in proportion to its actual weight. . . The 
 current value of the doubloon at this time was 16 pesos fuertes, or 
 7 I. 4 s. currency. . . Notwithstanding the great over-valuation 
 of the doubloon in proportion to the Johannes, the latter still 
 continued to keep their ground in circulation," owing to — 
 
 (i.) The adulteration of the plugs in the " plugged joes," 
 such plugs " amounting to from 20 to 25 per cent, of 
 the whole weight of the coin." 
 
 (ii.) " The facility of transmitting the plugged joes to 
 Grenada and St. Vincent where they passed current 
 in the purchase of bills at the rate of 66 s. of the 
 currency of those islands ; " and — 
 
 (iii.) " The great demand for specie in Europe during the 
 years of war seems to have materially interfered with 
 its transmission to other parts of the world." 
 
 " Loud complaints," continued the Committee, (s were con- 
 stantly made as to the exportation of all the dollars ; and these 
 complaints at last became so importunate as to induce the 
 Government to adopt certainly one of the most singular devices 
 for the prevention of the evil which could be imagined." 
 
 •' From the great rise in the value of silver at home (wrote 
 the Governor in 1811) the merchants here have been making 
 their remittances in dollars in preference to purchasing bills," 
 i.e., from the Commissary. It was to put a stop to this export 
 of the undervalued silver coin that the Governor in Council 
 
 * He had previously appointed a Coinmi'tee of Council, which reported on 
 15 October 1803, "to consider the inconvenience arising from the want of 
 change, and to regulate the value of coins in this island." 
 
Ch. VIII. Trinidad. 117 
 
 issued his Proclamation of 19 June 1811, the preamble of which 
 recites that " a great scarcity of current silver specie prevails in 
 this colony, arising from the large exportations of dollars made 
 from hence ; and that the only effectual mode of diminishing such 
 exportation and of retaining in the island a quantity of such specie 
 sufficient for the accommodation of its inhabitants will be to permit 
 the circulation of a certain number of cut dollars."* The Pro- 
 clamation goes on to direct that an official should be appointed 
 " to cut from the centre of all such dollars as shall be tendered to 
 him for that purpose (not exceeding $25,000) a piece of silver 
 equal to the value of one shilling current money of this island" 
 (i.e., one bitt), and that such piece of silver shall be delivered to 
 the person tendering the dollar to be cut, and shall pass current 
 for the sum of one shilling. And each and every such dollar 
 which shall have been cut in manner and under the directions 
 hereintofore for that purpose contained, shall continue to pass 
 current throughout the colony for the sum of nine shillings ; and 
 the said pieces of silver so to be cut therefrom are hereby declared 
 to be a legal tender throughout this Government."! 
 
 " The colony," wrote the Governor on 30 July 1811 to Secre- 
 tary the Earl of Liverpool, "has already experienced great 
 benefit by this measure, and I am confident it will be ultimately 
 of the greatest advantage to the mercantile interest." Unfortu- 
 nately, the records do not show what criticism the noble author of 
 The Coin of the Realm passed on this fatuous anticipation of the 
 Governor. 
 
 The central disc$ cut out of the dollar under the above Pro- 
 clamation of 1811 was circular with a crenated§ edge, and with 
 the colony's initial " T " stamped upon it. Hence it was known 
 as the " T Bit " ; another name was " Macuquina "| (which, 
 however, grew to be an elastic term covering the fragments of 
 the silver coins of all nations not current by tale in the colony). 
 As is shown by the " Prices Current " of the day, the above 
 measure of 1811 did not at first affect the current rating of the 
 whole or " round " dollar at 9 s.; there appears to have existed 
 
 ° It should be noted that the Committee of 1803 had recommended that 
 the dollar should be cut into 2, 4, 8, and 12 parts under the directions of a 
 Committee of Council. But the governor of the day disregarded this advice, 
 which was acted on by private individuals, as evidenced by the mention of 
 cut fractions of a bit in the above Proclamation of 1804. 
 
 f Mention is frequently made of " stampees " or " estampeV' in Trinidad 
 in the early years of the colony, its value being 3 d. currency, or a '"quarter- 
 bit." The stampee was a " dog ■' stamped by a colony as a defence against 
 counterfeits, and circulated as " a dog and a half." But there is no extant 
 evidence that Trinidad stamped its own dogs ; the stampees may have been 
 importations. 
 
 J " Many persons, not content with the extraction of a regular or moderate 
 proportion of the dollar, as practised at the Colonial Treasury, employed the 
 blacksmiths, who cut out one half of the metal in holes of all sizes and all 
 dimensions." Report of Currency Committee of 1H38. 
 
 § See Ruding hereon, under the year 1811. According to Atkins (Coins 
 and Tokens of the Possessions and Colonies of the British Empire, London, 1889^) 
 there are 14 crenations, and the piece is " countermarked with a T radiated ' 
 (page 324). No evidence is forthcoming to support his suggestion that in 
 addition there were heart-shaped "cut-bits." 
 
 U See note under Jamaica, page 109. 
 
 72642. I 
 
118 Colonial Currency. 
 
 the anomaly of rating on equal terms (i) the " round " dollar, and 
 (ii) the "cut" dollar, which had been diminished by a ninth of 
 its -weight. But, in the course of a few weeks, the " round " 
 dollar asserted its claim to equality of rating with the "cut" 
 dollar plus the " T Bit," and was raised by Proclamation of 28 
 August 1811 from 9 s. to 10 s. currency value ; and at the same 
 time the doubloon, the standard coin of the island, was rated by 
 tale, according to the Spanish monetary system (and general 
 custom in the West Indies), at $16, or 8 /. currency. But this 
 Proclamation of 28 August was suspended on the 31st. On 4 Sep- 
 tember the Council voted that the cut dollar should pass at 9 s., 
 and all other gold and silver coins at their former value, i.e., the 
 " round dollar " was to pass like the "cut dollar" for only 9 s. 
 This decision was embodied in a further Proclamation of 14 
 September of the same year. But, notwithstanding the Proclama- 
 tion, the unnmtilated dollar continued to pass at 10 s. currency, 
 and the doubloon at 8 I. by popular agreement. It was not till 
 1814 that Sir Ralph 'Woodford's Proclamation of 14 September 
 of that year fixed the legal value of the silver dollar at 10 s. cur- 
 rency. The same Proclamation provided that, after a limited 
 period, the cut dollars and T Bits should cease to pass by tale 
 and be current only as bullion at the rate of $1, or 10 s. currency, 
 for 17dwt. 8 grs., the accepted weight of the dollar. 
 
 In 1813, in spite of the " T Bit," the Governor of the day 
 applied to the Home Government for " a small coin for the Island 
 currency, which is very seriously wanted here. The alloy " (he 
 adds) " might be graduated by the calculation of the silver in the 
 Spanish dollar at 4 s. 6 d. (its sterling value being only 4 s. 2d.) 
 so as to render the exportation of it a disadvantage." But, as 
 the new Royal Mint was only in course of construction, the 
 Board of Trade was constrained to regard the proposal as 
 " impracticable under present circumstances." Trinidad, there- 
 fore, failed to obtain a local token coinage, and continued to 
 suffer under the inconveniences entailed upon it by the short- 
 comings of the Spanish over-valuation of gold. Nor was the ex- 
 periment of the Imperial Government successful a few years 
 later when British copper coins were imported into the island.* 
 "After a trial of six years," wrote the Governor in 1825, "the 
 use of copper coins is limited to the transactions of the soldiers' 
 pay and the Commissariat Department." This experience is in 
 accord with that of other islands {e.g., Jamaica), where it was 
 similarly found impossible to secure the circulation of copper coins 
 among the negroes. After a currency of 12 years, the " T Bit" 
 was decried, owing to the manufacture of counterfeits. For, in 
 1823, as appears from the preamble to the Governor's Proclama- 
 tion of 29 October 1823, " some wicked and daring person or 
 persons have imported and endeavoured to circulate a large 
 quantity of base and counterfeit coin in imitation of the T Bit 
 now current in the said island, by strewing the same in large 
 
 Under proclamation of 28 May 1819, by which 66 Tower pence (or 112 
 halt-pence) were ordered to pass as the cquhalent of "a Spanish round 
 dollar," with a $£ limit of legal tender. The undervaluation of the copper 
 coins would in any case have deburred them from circulation. 
 
Ch. VIII. Trinidad. 119 
 
 quantities in the public streets, &c, in the Town of the Port of 
 Spain." Consequently, it was ordered by the Proclamation that 
 from and after 1 December 1823 the " T Bit shall not pass cur- 
 rent in the said island either by tale or as bullion ; and as a 
 protection to all holders thereof the colonial treasurer is hereby 
 ordered to take and receive, until the said first day of December 
 all legal T Bits that are in circulation, and that are of the proper 
 standard weight, that is, at the rate of 10 T Bits to a Spanish 
 dollar, and to give other current money in lieu thereof." The colony 
 shipped the decried discs* of silver to England, asking that the 
 silver might be coined into 20,000 bits or " shillings," 40,000 
 half-bits, and 80,000 quarter-bits, or " estampes." But in 1824, 
 as in 1813, the colony failed to obtain *he local coinage for which 
 it asked ; the reason in 1824 being that the Imperial Treasury 
 was maturing its general scheme for the introduction of sterling 
 coins into the colonies generdly. 
 
 Writing in 1824 as to the temporary withdrawal of the 
 " T Bits,"f the Governor says " the want of this coin and of a 
 smaller denomination of money is much felt, and although great 
 convenience has been found from the quarters,^ and even the 
 eighths, of dollars now circulated in piyment of the Troops (i e. 
 the British • Anchor money ' coined for the West Indies in 1822 
 see page 21), the smaller coin of a sixteenth of a dollar does not 
 correspond with the decimal division of the dollar in use in this 
 island, and occasions a loss to the party receiving or paying it," 
 the "Anchor sixteenth" passing as only a hall-bit (2 stampees), 
 or one-twentieth of a dollar (6 d. currency) 
 
 In 1825, when Trinidad was thus suffering from the lack of small 
 silver, the Imperial Government issued the Order in Council 
 of 23rd March 1825 {see page 23), aiming at the introduction 
 of British silver and copper tokens into general circulation 
 throughout the British Colonies. The Order was brought into 
 local operation in Trinidad as from 1st January 1826, by the 
 Governor's Proclamation of 26th October 1825, whereunder 
 Trinidad was subjected to the following concurrent ratings : — 
 
 Island Currency. 
 s. d. 
 British. Shilling - 2 3£ and 10/13ths of a 
 
 Anchor $1/4- 
 „ #1/8- 
 „ $1/16 - • 
 
 * Cut-dollars weighing nine-tenths of an unmutilated dollar were re- 
 issued, and ordered to pa&s hy weight on an equality wit'i the uncut coins. 
 
 f It may be here stated that "cut dollars" and some " T Bits" were 
 currently accepted, and in circulation, in 1857. Since that date they have 
 heen worked into bangles &c , by the East, Indian immigrants on account of 
 the (supposed) purity of the silver. 
 
 t The Governor's proclamation of 27th March !823, rated the quarter 
 dollar at 2s. (id. currency, the one-eighth dollar at Is. 3d., and the one- 
 sixteenth at 7 A (/. currency"; " the same shall be a legal tender in all cases " 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 farthing 
 
 2 
 
 6 
 
 
 1 
 
 3 
 
 
 — 
 
 7hm 
 
 stampees.) 
 
120 Colonial Currency. 
 
 Spanish. 
 
 £. 
 
 s. 
 
 d. 
 
 
 
 Doubloon - - - - 8 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 or 
 
 160 
 
 (h t i, h and T ' s th 
 in proportion.) 
 
 
 
 
 
 Dollar, or Peso Duro - 
 
 10 
 
 — 
 
 5> 
 
 10 
 
 Peceta Mexican (= $1/4) - 
 
 2 
 
 6 
 
 J5 
 
 2i 
 
 -2 
 
 Real of Mexican Plate 
 
 1 
 
 - 
 
 ?> 
 
 1 
 
 Half ditto - 
 
 — 
 
 6 
 
 5J 
 
 ~h 
 
 Peceta Provincial (Piatareen) 
 
 2 
 
 - 
 
 }) 
 
 2 
 
 Bit (Provincial Real) - 
 
 1. 
 
 - 
 
 » 
 
 1 
 
 Real Vellon, or half-bit 
 
 — 
 
 6 
 
 )) 
 
 _i 
 
 2 
 
 It will be observed that Mexican fractional coins, other than 
 the quarter-dollar, were under-rated in the colony, being taken 
 as equivalent to the corresponding provincial coins. This pro- 
 hibitive rating necessarily kept the Mexican real and half-real 
 out of the island, leaving the field to the provincial coins. Hence, 
 in the words of the Governor in 1825, " the decimal division of 
 the dollar, and its nominal value of ten shillings (or bits), cor- 
 responds both to the money of account and the money of 
 circulation." The rating of the dollar at 10 bits, and the rating 
 of the doubloon at $16, were the most important changes which 
 had taken place since 1797. Instead of 13 per cent., the doubloon 
 was now over-valued only some 4| per cent., as compared with the 
 dollar; and the dollar, as the equivalent of 10 bits, had a fairer 
 chance of circulation than at its former rating of 9 bits. But, as 
 the dollar (the proper gold-price of which was only 4 s. 2d.) 
 was rated by the Order in Council of 1825 at 4.9. 4c?. sterling, 
 for concurrent circulation Avith sterling coins, and as further 
 the doubloon (worth intrinsically 64s.), was rated at $16, or 
 69 s. 4 d. sterling, the natural fate of the British silver coins 
 imported into the island was (i) to be bought up at 69 s. 4 d. for 
 a doubloon, and (ii) to be re-shipped forthwith to England. In 
 Trinidad, as elsewhere, the measure of 1825 defeated the purpose 
 it was framed to ensure. 
 
 Soon after the reform of the currency system of the United 
 States in 1834, Trinidad, like all other neighbouring colonies at 
 the same date, suffered severely from the dearth of small silver. 
 So great was the inconvenience under which the colony laboured 
 from this cause, that in 1836, a proposal was made by the Colonial 
 Government (for the third time) that a local coinage should be 
 struck for the colony (in denominations ranging from ^ to a 
 quarter-bit, or stampee) ; and 10,000 /. in doubloons was shipped 
 home to meet the cost. The Home Government refused to strike 
 the proposed insular coinage, and in lieu sent out to the colony 
 sterling three-penny and three-halfpenny pieces. These sterling 
 coins the colony declined to accept, shipping them back to their 
 agent in London as " unsuitable and not such as required." And, 
 indeed, it would have been a hopeless task accurately to compute 
 in " bits," the equivalence of these small coins. 
 
Ch. VIII. Trinidad. 121 
 
 By the end of 1837 all the "anchor money : ' had disappeared, 
 and dollars commanded a premium of from 3 to 3£ per cent, as 
 against gold. And the newly-formed Colonial Bank advertised 
 its refusal to recognise a doubloon as equal in value to ilo. 
 
 In 1838 (see page 27) the Imperial Government introduced 
 its remedial measures, whereby the dollar was rated at 4 s. 2 d., 
 and the doubloon at 64 s., for concurrent circulation with sterling 
 coins in the "West Indies. The Governor's proclamation of 
 20th November 1838, which gave local effect to this salutary 
 Imperial legislation, properly retained as the basis for revised 
 currency values the rating of the standard doubloon at 8 L, and 
 on this basis proceeded to lay down ratings of 10 s. 5 d. for the 
 dollar and 2 s. 6 d. for the British shilling. Salutary and just as 
 were these proceedings, they excited some prejudice, here as 
 elsewhere, among persons accustomed to reckon by " dollars " 
 without a true appreciation of the real standard of value. 
 Hence, as will be seen from the Port of Spain Gazette fo- 
 30th October 1838, and the Trinidad Standard of 23rd Novem- 
 ber 1838, there was considerable local feeling in favour of lowerf 
 ing the raring of the (standard) doubloon, rather than of raising 
 that of the dollar, — existing contracts to be paid at the rate or 
 four British shillings per " dollar," or one-sixteenth of a gold 
 doubloon.* But nothing came of the agitation ; Her Majesty in 
 Council, on 3rd May 1839, confirmed the Governor's proclama- 
 tion, and on 22nd May 1839 revoked ' ; all former Proclamations 
 and Orders for fixing the relative values of currency, and of any 
 coins in the said Island." 
 
 From 1838-9 onwards, with one important demonetisation (the 
 dollar), the currency of Trinidad has undergone no practical 
 change by legislation. As the result of the gold discoveries in 
 the middle of the century, the increase in the gold-price of silver 
 made it profitable to export the silver dollar from Trinidad, 
 as from other Colonies similarly circumstanced. It was stated 
 by the Governor in 1852f that " it is only two years since 
 British silver has been brought into circulation in the colony. 
 It was effected at first with considerable difficulty : it has been 
 found of great advantage both to the planter and the labourer; 
 and so speedy a change in its circulation " (i.e., the introduction 
 of a 40s. limit) "would create a prejudice which would 
 operate most untowardly on the public feeling. At present I 
 have no fear that it is in excess ; for, though now brought largely 
 into circulation, the cut dollars have not been withdrawn, and 
 there is still a large supply of French o-cent pieces, which at 
 one time were the only small silver coin to be found in the 
 Island. ... It may not be easy to understand on mere 
 principles of currency, as the Lords of the Treasury very 
 naturally suggest, why the Bank might not return to the im- 
 
 ° An Ordinance was indeed introduced on these lines in December 1838, 
 which proceeded u to limit the sums for which British silver coins are to be 
 received in lawful tender at one time." 
 
 f See page 30 of Parliamentary Paper, No. 208 of 1858 (relative to the 
 circulation of British silver coins in the West Indie- without a limit of legal 
 tender). 
 
122 Colonial Currency. 
 
 portation of Mexican dollars, nor why the limitation of British 
 silver should affect the accommodation to be given to the 
 planters ; it is sufficient for me that the Directors of the Bank 
 say this would follow ; and I have no doubt it would take place, 
 as I believe the inhabitants of these islands are as much at their 
 mercy in pecuniary matters, as they are at that of the Boyal 
 Mail Steam Packet Company for their postal arrangements, and 
 for the conveyance of their persons. 1 hope I may be allowed 
 to state, without breaking through the rules of propriety, that it 
 is my deliberate opinion that both require much closer watching 
 by the authorities in England than has been given to them." 
 
 The gold discoveries, dating from 1849, which had driven out 
 the silver dollar, led subsequently to the legal currency of new 
 gold coins, the gold coins of the United States and of the 
 Sydney Mint being admitted to legal tender in the Colony, 
 the former by Order in Council and Proclamation of 19th 
 August 1853 (see page 28), and the latter by Order in Council 
 and Proclamation of 10th November 1866 (see page 29). 
 
 As the rates for the United States coins were fixed at 41 s. 
 for the eagle and 4s. Id. (98 cents) for the gold dollar, whereas 
 the value of the gold dollar intrinsically is is. 1-316 d., and that 
 of the eagle consequently 41 s. 1*16 d., it follows that the gold 
 coins of the United States are placed at a slight disadvantage as 
 compared with the sovereign. But as the legislation of 1838 
 left British silver an unlimited legal tender, the sovereign has 
 never entered into general circulation in Trinidad. By custom, 
 however, the gold dollar of the United States is taken as a 
 "dollar," i.e., the equivalent of 4 s. 2 d. sterling, and multiples of 
 the dollar in proportion. This popular convention, which finds 
 a counterpart in the Bahamas, and which over-values the eagle 
 by 8 d., would naturally be expected to result, as in the Bahamas, 
 in the establishment of the gold coins of the United States as 
 the standard of value in the Colony. But, as neither the banks 
 nor the Colonial Treasury will receive United States gold except 
 at its legal rate, the very considerable amount of United States 
 gold which is introduced into the island (with doubloons) from 
 Venezuela, and which is readily accepted by merchants at its 
 " face value " (i.e., in " dollars "), is re-exported to the United 
 States, &c, at the rate of some #30,0C0 (6,250/.) a month. 
 The refusal of the banks and Colonial Government to conform 
 to the popular over-rating has prevented United States gold 
 from becoming the standard of value in Trinidad, as in the 
 Bahamas. In comparing the two Colonies in this respect it is 
 to be remembered that (till recently) there has been no Bank of 
 Issue in the Bahamas, whereas in Trinidad the Colonial Bank 
 has for many years had a large issue of sterling notes, for redeem- 
 ing which the United States eagle is only equivalent to 41 s. by 
 law. Similarly, doubloons, though accepted readily by mer- 
 chants at $15£ (3 /. 4s. Id.)* are only received by the banks, &c, 
 at their legal rating, 3/. 4 s. ($15.36). Of these doubloons, 
 
 Till a few years ago the doubloon was accepted in Trinidad at #15.75 ; 
 but the merchants eventually agreed among themselves to reduce this 
 over-valuation to the Venezuelan ratio of 1 doubloon = $15.50 
 
Ch. VIII. Trinidad. 123 
 
 however, which are chiefly used by traders with Venezuela, a 
 considerable number make their way into circulation until wanted 
 for remittance in the course of trade. 
 
 At the beginning of 1876, the fall in the gold-price of silver 
 entailed trouble throughout the West Indies in connection with 
 the silver dollar of Mexico and South America. Though for a 
 quarter of a century the coin had practically been unknown, it 
 still remained a legal tender to any amount under the Proclama- 
 tion of 1838. Taking warning betimes from the example of 
 British Guiana, the Colonial Government of Trinidad passed a 
 demonetising Ordinance on 18th July 1876, allowing 30 days for 
 holders of these coins to exchange them at the Colonial Treasury 
 at the old rate of 4 s. 2 d. It appears that only one speculative 
 importation had taken place, and the total number of dollars 
 exchanged was 13,139, representing a nominal value of 2,737 h, 
 at the rate of 4 s. 2 d. per dollar. 
 
 As no ordinance has ever been passed in this island prescribing 
 sterling denominations of account, (i) private persons continue 
 to reckon exclusively by dollars and cents,* whilst (ii) in the 
 Government offices accounts are kept both in £. s. d. and in 
 $ currency. 
 
 The amount of coin in circulation on 31st December 1891 is 
 estimated at 100,900 /., of which only about 5,000 /. was in 
 British gold, and 5,000 I. in doubloons and United States gold, 
 the balance of 90,000 /. being in British silver and bronze. 
 (There is no foreign silver of any kind in circulation in the 
 Colony.) The amount of the notes of the Colonial Bank in 
 circulation at the same date may be taken at about 100,000 /. 
 Thus the total amount of currency (coin and notes) was 
 200,000/., or 1/. per head of the population (200,028), 10*. 
 being in coin, and 10 s. in notes. 
 
 * Thus, e.g., the threepenny-piece, which is slowly creeping into use, is com- 
 monly called "six cents." The term Bit {Escalin or Escalier) is in familiar 
 use among the lower classes and Creole housekeepers for 10 cents, or 5d., the 
 necessaries of common life being sold by the Bit and Half-bit. 
 
 It is worthy of note that in the middle of the century a local barber, 
 Francois Declos. stamped his initials on all pence and half-pence (2 cents 
 and 1 cent) which came into his hands, and issued the stamped coins as for 
 2£ and 1£ cents respectively. These "Stampees" were freely received at the 
 barber's valuation. 
 
124 Colonial Currency. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 British Guiana. 
 
 The present Colony comprises three original Colonies, Berbice, 
 Demerara, and Essequibo, the two latter of which formed one 
 " United Colony" for administrative purposes under British rule, 
 and remained separate from Berbice until 1831. 
 
 Like the Cape and Ceylon, these three Colonies long retained 
 the mode of reckoning by guilders which had been in vogue 
 under Dutch rule. Accounts were kept according to the follow- 
 ing scheme : — 
 
 1 guilder equals 20 stivers. 
 1 stiver „ 16 pfennings. 
 
 The guilder of account in British Guiana was the Hong guilder, 
 and 12 guilders to the £. sterling was " par." A half-johannes 
 (here styled a ichole Johannes) passed for 22 of these guilders, or 
 florins. And, as the guilder was rated at 1 5. 8 d. sterling, and 
 was at the same time regarded locally as equivalent to a 
 third of the Spanish dollar,* the local rating of this dominant 
 coin of the day was 5 s., a rating which, though identical with the 
 Halifax rating, was not derived from it. But with the departure 
 of the Dutch, the guilder became purely a money of account. 
 
 The characteristic feature in the currency history of the several 
 Colonies which make up the modern British Guiana is not so 
 much their ratings of coin, but their issues of paper money. 
 Both in Berbice, and in the United Colony of Demerara and 
 Essequibo, the local currency was dominated by depreciated 
 paper, which was irredeemable in both cases, and was in addition 
 unsecured in Berbice. The profligate issue of paper marks the 
 currency history of all the three Colonies which passed from the 
 Dutch into British hands about the year 1800 ; it was the 
 scourge of the currency of the Cape and of Ceylon no less than 
 of British Guiana. The paper of Berbice was a heritage from 
 the Dutch, like the paper of the Cape and Ceylon ; but in the 
 United Colony of Demerara and Essequibo it originated under 
 British rule, and, though originally issued with laudable motives, 
 proved equally baneful in its effects. 
 
 British Guiana stands, or stood t "until recently, alone among the 
 British Colonies in retaining in ordinary circulation a local token 
 coinage in silver dating back to the days of its unreformed currency. 
 The analogous coins struck early in this century for Ceylon, 
 Mauritius, and Sierra Leone, have long since been withdrawn ; 
 but a few of the guilder-tokens of British Guiana are still 
 
 Originally the guilder had been one-third of the rix-dollar, which was 
 practically equivalent in value about the year 1700 to the Piece of Eight, 
 or early Spanisb dollar (see page 391). 
 
Ch. IX. British Guiana. 125 
 
 retained in circulation in the Colony by reason of their deficiency 
 in intrinsic value. 
 
 As the ascertained facts regarding the early history of Berbice 
 are at once simple and scanty, it will be convenient to treat first 
 the history of currency in that Colony, and then to treat of that 
 of Demerara and Essequibo, which leads naturally on to that of 
 modern British Guiana. 
 
 (i.) Berbice. 
 
 On 20th August 1797 the Governor wrote that "the Colony, 
 though settled long before Demerary had been in a declining 
 state for some time ; ' (since the insurrection of 1762), " but in the 
 last few years had become prosperous." Since 1789 the slaves 
 had been trebled and 60 new estates brought into cultivation. 
 
 The paper money of this Colony had its origin in the issues 
 under Articles 5-7 of the Capitulation ; it replaced bills for 
 salaries, &c, on the Dutch Berbice Association, which were found 
 in circulation at the time of the capture, and for which certain 
 estates of the Association were held to be liable. The amount 
 of this paper appears to have been 173,349 guilders. By a 
 deplorable oversight, when the hypothecated estates were restored 
 to the Association in 1815, no stipulation was made for the 
 redemption of the paper issued against them, though the Colonial 
 Office directed that the debt should be recovered. 
 
 Consequently, after 1815 there was no definite fund earmarked 
 against the local paper, which had the two cardinal shortcomings 
 of being at once irredeeemable and unsecured. 
 
 The beginning of the purely Colonial issues seems to have been 
 in 1809, on the 1st of August of which year the Court of Policy, 
 being informed by the Receiver General that in consequence of 
 the failure of the crops the Treasury was bankrupt, "judged fit 
 to order that notes shall issue to the amount of 80,000 guilders 
 from the Treasury, signed by. . . ., the two eldest members of 
 this Court. The notes shall be in the same form as those issued 
 on the 6th June 1800 " ; and they ranged in denomination from 10 
 to 500 guilders. After making the notes a le«;al tender in the 
 Colony, the Court went on to " bind the ordinary and extra- 
 ordinary public revenue of this Colony to be and remain a 
 security for the withdrawing and cancelling of the said paper, 
 and the Receiver General is hereby ordered not to re-issue any 
 of the notes issued by virtue of this Ordinance after the last div 
 of December of the year 1810." 
 
 But the idea of redemption was abandoned, and more paper was 
 issued; so that in 1816 the Colony reported that there was in 
 specie " only about 200 /. sterling in circulation." It was stated 
 at the same time that " the denominations of the silver coin 
 which occasionally appears, tho' very seldom, and then only in 
 small quantities," were — s. cl. 
 
 Spanish dollar of standard wt., valued in currency at 5 - 
 
 Dutch guilder „ 6 dwt. 12 gr. „ 1 8 
 
 10 -stiver piece „ 3 dwt. 6 gr. „ - 10 
 
 5-stiver „ „ 1 dwt. 15 gr. „ - 5 
 
 2£-stiver „ „ 18$ gr. „ - 2jj 
 
126 Colonial Currency. 
 
 " The general established currency of the Colony of Berbice is 
 paper, and consists of ' goods ' or notes of various amount in 
 guilders, issued by the authority of the Court of Policy, the 
 present value in exchange of which is at par, i.e., 12 guilders 
 per £. sterling." By 1829 the paper issues of Berbice amounted 
 to 365,416 guilders, of which 173,349 had been issued (as shown 
 above) in connection with the capitulation, whilst 97,160 was the 
 balance of issues prior to 1815, and the residue (94,907) repre- 
 sented issues of 1826. Side by side with the Government issues, 
 there was a circulation of private promissory notes, issued by 
 individuals and locally current " in consequence of the want of a 
 sufficient circulating medium of small silver." On 20th November 
 1833 the Governor, by proclamation, ordered that the public 
 offices in Berbice should refuse to receive this private paper. 
 He also notified that he Avas in communication with the Imperial 
 Government as to introducing a metallic currency. 
 
 In 1831 Berbice had been united with Demerara and Essequibo 
 to form the modern Colony of British Guiana, and its further 
 currency history will be found thereunder. 
 
 (ii.) Demerara and Essequibo. 
 
 "These Colonies," wrote Governor Beaujou, "had no usual 
 trade with any part of Europe besides Holland, and to that 
 country the whole was confined with the exception of allowing 
 vessels from the United States and foreign plantations to 
 import the artich s indispensably required, and which could not 
 be brought from Holland. In the latter part of 1794, from 
 consideration of additional necessity, produce was allowed to be 
 exported to the amount of the commodities so imported. (New 
 negroes also in 1795 were admitted temporarily in foreign 
 bottoms.) Previous to the year 1794 no produce was allowed to 
 be sent to foreign plantations or the United States of America, 
 but the clandestine exportation was considerable." And, as was 
 the case in all Dutch Colonies, accounts were kept in guilders 
 and stivers. At the date of the surrender (1796) there was 
 found in the States' chest a sum in specie of 22,270 florins (or 
 under 2,000 /.) in Demerara, and a smaller sum in Essequibo ; 
 but there is no evidence as to the coins composing these 
 balances. 
 
 Whatever may have been the earlier circulation of Dutch or other 
 coins, in 1 798 the Portuguesejohannes was the standard of value, and 
 indeed practically the sole circulating medium. It appears that 
 in the middle of this year there was a great quantity of light and 
 clipped Johanneses in circulation, and the Governor had " reasons 
 to apprehend a further importation." Upon his motion the Court 
 of Policy, on 2nd August 1798, passed an Ordinance* relating to 
 these light coins, and on 29th October stated that " there are 
 none, or very few other coins than joes in circulation here." This 
 (Dutch) Ordinance directed that "no other Johanneses shall be 
 
 This step was manifestly taken in consequence of the Colonial Office 
 circular of 26 May 1798 (jeepage 20). 
 
Ch. IX. British Guiana. 127 
 
 legal tender for 22 auilders,* but those of gold {i.e., not counter- 
 feits), and weighing 7 engels weight. Also the double, the half, 
 the fourth, and the eighth part in proportion." But, " to prevent 
 loss to the inhabitants all Johanneses weighins: less than 7 engels 
 weight, at present in the Colonies, and which have not been cut 
 or filed, and on which the letters around the edge are whole, 
 shall be stamped, and after that passed for the full value till 
 2nd August 1799. After that, stamped Johanneses shall cease 
 to be legal tender. Two Commissioners shall be appointed to so 
 stamp this coin. The stamp for Essequibo shall be square, with 
 the letters E. D., and that for Demerara round, with the same 
 letters." 
 
 On 28th January 1801 a complaint was made to the Court of 
 Policy as to the dearth of silver, and the loss inflicted on soldiers 
 by the money-changers charging 2 guilders for changing a joe. 
 The Governor proposed " to introduce the round Spanish dollar 
 of the value of 12 bits,f and the Danish schellingen, the original 
 value of which was 11 to the dollar, but he proposed to reduce 
 the value of the same so as to make them 12 to the dollar." 
 This was. perhaps, the origin of the " cut-money." Atkins 
 figures a Spanish dollar (dated 1786), from which a circular piece 
 has been cut, the cut dollar being stamped with the Colonial 
 initials E. Sf D., and with its currency value of 3 guilders. The 
 circular piece cut out of the dollar is similarly stamped with the 
 initials, and with the currency value of 3 Bts. (i.e. 3 bits or 
 quarter-guilders). Mr. E. A. V. Abraham, in his pamphlet of 
 1891 on the Coins of British Guiana, says : "The Government 
 cut pieces in the shape of a star, a crescent, and a circle from the 
 dollar pieces, milled the cut-out, and the space so cut from, and 
 mint-marked the cut-out pieces .... The smaller coins 
 were treated in a similar manner. The Spanish piece to represent 
 a ' sixpence ' (? \ real) was partially cut across in three in the 
 shape of a triangle, and when a purchase was made, the purchaser 
 broke a piece off his 'sixpence,' and when he had broken 
 three pieces off (each being a ' penny'), the triangular piece left 
 was a ' bit.' These pieces are called cut-bits. The dollar was 
 cut in five triangular pieces, each representing a quarter of one 
 
 dollar The cut edges were milled, and the pieces 
 
 mint-marked." 
 
 In 1806, owing to the dearth of silver money, the Court of 
 Policy issued "goods" to the amount of 73,00(1 florins, ranging 
 in denomination from 1 to 100 guilders. These "goods," secured 
 on the Colonial revenue, were made a legal tender, whilst the 
 Berbice paper money was decried within the 4 United Colony' of 
 Demerara and Essequibo. 
 
 In 1808, ten years after the Ordinance respecting the light 
 weight of the Johannes, the Colonial currency was troubled with 
 plugged coins of a very questionable character. The memorial of 
 Court of Policy forwarded by the Governor on 31st December the 
 1808, states "that an enormous quantity of base coin, consisting 
 
 c This rate was fixed by the French Proclamation of 26th February 1782. 
 f i.e., the scheme of " Leeward Islands currency, as finally modified in 
 1798.'''' 
 
128 Colonial Currency. 
 
 of Portuguese pieces, commonly called joes, plugged with copper 
 or brass slightly gilt over, having lately found its way into general 
 circulation in these Colonies, your memorialists, on the representa- 
 tion thereof made by your Excellency at an extraordinary ses- 
 sion of this Court, which you thought proper to convene on the 
 occasion, united with your Excellency in the opinion that not a 
 moment should be lost in putting a stop to an evil which could 
 not but increase in magnitude every hour it was suffered to con- 
 tinue We came to an unanimous resolution to call 
 
 in all joes with plugs whatsoever, whether made of brass, of 
 copper gilt over, or of better materials, so as once for all to guard 
 against the possibility of a similar imposition being practised at a 
 future period. And we resolved at the same time that paper 
 money under the guarantee of the Colony should be issued in the 
 room of those plugged joes, in order to pass as a colonial 
 currency until it would be in our power to redeem it in specie. 
 
 In consequence of this operation, there has been withdrawn from 
 o-eneral circulation a quantity of coin, consisting in joes with 
 plugs, equal in the value they represent to nearly 50,000 I. ster- 
 ling* for which Colony goods, redeemable in specie in 18 months 
 or sooner, are now issuing . . . It was resolved to send the 
 plugged joes thus collected to England, there to be sold for what- 
 ever price the gold found in them shall fetch, and to appropriate 
 the proceeds towards defraying the expense of a new coinage for 
 the use of these colonies, to be executed under the inspection of 
 Mr. Bolton, of Birmingham, partly of good joes of the value at 
 which they have for years been legally current heref, and also of 
 a proportion of silver money with a peculiar stamp so as to ensure 
 its remaining in the country, which latter operation, on account 
 of the very great inconvenience now experienced from the want 
 of a sufficient quantity of small silver money (particularly by those 
 classes of the community who stand most in need of it), would un- 
 questionably be attended with a permanent benefit to the colony." 
 
 In forwarding this memorial, the Governor said : " Should His 
 Majesty not think proper to permit the re-coinage to be in 
 Portugal pieces (which is the only kind current here at present), 
 the Court of Policy humbly begs that His Majesty may be 
 graciously pleased to allow a Royal colonial gold coin to be 
 struck for the use of these colonies of the same uold which is 
 withdrawn and sent home, and of the same weight and value as 
 that which is now in general circulation here, and as it 
 appears from the quantity of copper and brass plugs, with which 
 a great proportion of joes so withdrawn have been debased, 
 that the colony will sustain a loss of upwards of 10,000/. 
 sterling exclusive of the freight and insurance of the 
 specie to and from Europe, it is humbly requested that a silver 
 coinage to the above amount may also be allowed to be struck, 
 bearino- on one side the effigy of our most gracious Sovereign, 
 and on the other a colonial emblematical device, expressing also 
 
 The Governor stated the number of the plugged joes at 28,000. 
 
 + ie at 22 guildeis. It will thus be observed that the colonial suggestion 
 was that counterfeit coin should be struck " under the inspection of Mr. Bolton, 
 of Birmingham," and with the connivance of the Imperial Government. 
 

 Ch. IX. British Guiana. 129 
 
 the value of the coin, for which bills of exchange shall be re- 
 mitted to whosoever may be employed to carry it into execution. 
 It is proposed that the silver should be coined in proportions, 
 weight, and value as follows — viz. ; 
 
 4,000/. stg. in pieces of 3-gldrs. to weigh 15 dwt. at 3 a-. 9^/. each. 
 2,000 „ „ 2 „ „ 10 „ 2 6 
 
 2,000 „ 1 „ „ 5 „ 1 3 
 
 2,000 „ „ | „ „ 2\ „ 7J 
 
 At the above rates (as the exchange for Government Bills has 
 lately been as high as 15 guilders) only 6£ per cent, would be 
 reserved to assist the colony in defraying the expense of freight 
 and insurance. 
 
 I am in hopes your Lordship will feel well inclined to favour 
 the plan of a silver coinage when I assure you of the great dis- 
 tress and inconvenience which all ranks of His Majesty's subjects 
 here suffer from an unusual scarcity of small change. For the 
 almost only kind now in circulation is the Danish bit, or five 
 stiver piece, which is a composition of copper with a small 
 proportion of silver slightly plated over, and which at the present 
 rate of exchange passes for about 5 d. sterling, thougli intrinsi- 
 cally not worth 1 d" 
 
 Immediately afterwards the colony asked for a coinage of 
 2,000 I. in smaller silver coins (.[-guilders), making the sterling 
 equivalent of the silver coinage 12,000 /. 
 
 The plan of a gold coinage was abandoned by the colony On 
 2nd August 1809. The silver coinage was executed by the 
 Royal Mint in the same year, in the following proportions : 
 
 21,500 pieces of 3-guilders, equivalent to 64,500 guilders. 
 16,125 „ 2 „ „ 32,250 „ 
 
 32,250 „ 1 „ „ 32,250 „ 
 
 64,500 „ £ „ „ 32.250 „ 
 
 124,032 „ | „ „ 31,008 
 
 5> 
 
 Total value in guilders 192,258 
 
 In order to pay expenses, the fineness was reduced to 816*6 per 
 milh, the alloy being 2 oz. 4 dwts. per pound troy. The new 
 coin was made a legal tender by the Proclamation of the Governor 
 of 3rd February 1810. And, apparently, the temporary issue of 
 paper " goods " of 1806 was withdrawn in exchange for the new 
 silver coins. 
 
 Had the colony rested content with withdrawing from circula- 
 tion the " plugged joes," and with importing heavy coins of the 
 same familiar denomination, providing at the same time for a 
 currency of these coins by weight (without plugs), the stand- 
 ard gold currency would have been established on a sound basis. 
 And the new silver tokens, if restricted to a purely subsidiary 
 position, would have made the monetary system of the colony 
 complete for the time being. But these views, familiar as they 
 are now, were unknown at the beginning of the century. And 
 the colony, which had shown so laudable a sense of its duties by 
 
130 Colonial Currency. 
 
 the withdrawal of the plugged joes, was seduced by the fund it 
 became possessed of, into pursuing a course more fatal by far to 
 its true interests than that which it remedied. For, though the 
 original idea had been, as above shown, to redeem within 18 
 months the "colony goods" (or colonial notes) issued in exchange 
 for the coin withdrawn,* the United Colony, instead of re- 
 deeming the notes, invested in London the proceeds of the sale of 
 the shipment of coin (less the cost of the silver coinage), and 
 credited the local revenue with the interest accruing. And this 
 convenient practice led the colony to ship to England in following 
 years all the gold it could lay its hands on, and to issue paper in 
 lieu. By the close of 1813 the sum invested stood at 23,964 /., "and 
 upon this security we circulate in paper money 80,103/. 16 s. 8^." 
 In April 1815 the Court of Policy remitted a further sum of 
 17,060/. for investment, raising the total paper currency at this 
 date to 75,807 joes, or 1,667,754 guilders. And on 22nd March 
 1825, for the purpo-e of paying the expenses of martial law, 
 consequent on the insurrection of 1823, the Colonial Govern- 
 ment issued a further sum in paper of 24,182 joes, or 532,004 
 guilders, making a total of 2,199,770 guilders. 
 
 In 1813 the colony had a coinage struck at the Royal Mint of 
 three tons of copper stivers, 220 of which were struck from the 
 pound avoirdupois. 
 
 On 6th June 1815 the Court of Policy ordered 8,000/. ster- 
 ling to be remitted for a further supply of silver coin, the legend 
 '"Colonies of Fssequibo and Demerary" to be altered into 
 " United Colonies of Demerary and Essequibo." The Home 
 Government having agreed to the proposal at the end of 1815, 
 the coinage was executed at the Royal Mint in 1816 of the same 
 fineness as that of 1809. The proportions struck were as follows : 
 
 10,197 pieces of 3-guilders, equivalent to 30,591 guilders. 
 15,302 „ 2 ., „ 30,604^ „ 
 
 34,092 „ 1 „ ., 34,092 
 
 33,96^ „ k ., „ 16,984 
 
 42,912 „ 4 „ ,. 10,728 
 
 
 Total value in guilders 122,999 
 
 Writing to the Colonial Office on 15th October 1825, the 
 Governor says of the colonial tokens: "The greater part, I 
 believe, still remains in these colonies, and it may, indeed, be 
 called the only silver coinage in circulation (for the dollars have 
 almost disappeared)." But he adds that " a base coin has for 
 many years been in circulation in this colony, but of late years 
 has greatly increased - viz. the Danish one and two bitts. In 
 the Danish Islands thev pass at the rate of 15 or 16 bitts to the 
 dollar, whereas here they are current at the rate of 12 for a 
 dollar or 3-guilder piece. They are imported here by individuals 
 who make a profit by it of between 30 and 33 per cent. Most 
 of this currency is no longer really the Danish colonial money, 
 which contained some silver, but a counterfeit coin containing no 
 
 The original issue of paper amounted to r>15,340 guilders. 
 
Ch. IX. British Guiana. 131 
 
 silver at all." By proclamation of the Governor on 4th August 
 1825, it was ordained that "the spurious coin known by the name 
 of Danish bitts and two bit ts, which have never been formally sanc- 
 tioned by any competent authority and proclaimed a legal tender, 
 shall provisionally and until further notice constitute a legal tender 
 to the amount of 11 guilders and no more in one payment." And 
 on 2nd September of the same year these Danish coins were 
 demonetised altogether in the united colony of Demerara and 
 Essequibo, a step which was followed on 7th October by Berbice. 
 On 8th September 1825 the Governor proclaimed in the Colony, 
 and so brought into local operation, the Imperial Order in Council 
 and Royal Proclamation of 23rd March 1825 (sec page 23), the 
 object of which was to introduce British silver into general cir- 
 culation throughout the colonies. This instrument assumed, the 
 Spanish dollar as the pre-existing standard of value generally, 
 and rated it for concurrent circulation (as a temporary measure) 
 as the equivalent of 4 s 4c?. sterling, whereas the gold-price (or 
 sterling equivalent) of the coin was only 4 s. 2d. When the 
 Order was received in the Colony, the Governor stated that " by 
 fact and practice the Spanish dollar is current for 3 guilders of 
 the colonial money of account, and at this rate, accepting the 
 standard determined by His Majesty's Government of 4s. 4d. 
 for the Spanish dollar, a British shilling amounts to 134Jj stivers. 
 The exchange for several years has generally continued between 
 13|*and 14^ stivers, the medium being therefore 14." Con- 
 sequently, the Governor's Proclamation of 8th September rated 
 the British shilling at 14 stivers, and the penny at 1 stiver 4 pen- 
 nings, the halfpenny being rated at 10 pennings, and the farthing 
 at 5. As a matter of fact, the Spanish dollar was not made a 
 legal tender at this date, though conventionally it was supposed 
 still to be the equivalent of 3 guilders of the money of account. 
 
 As a result of large shipments of specie, the Commissariat 
 issued the pay of the soldiers half in British silver and half in 
 Spanish dollars. The over-rating of the Spanish dollar by 4 
 per cent., relatively to the sterling coins, naturally drove out 
 the latter. " The British silver," wrote the Governor in 1831, 
 " has successively disappeared as fast as it has been issued. 
 Since the re-opened intercourse with the United States the 
 Spanish dollars have disappeared also, and there is now no silver 
 currency in the colony but the colonial silver coinage of 1809 
 and L816, which has alone remained because its intrinsic is not 
 quite equal to its nominal value." It was for this reason, and to 
 meet the inconvenient deficiency in the circulating medium, that 
 the Court of Policy, on 8th June 1831, asked for " the following 
 quantity of silver colonial coin or tokens similar to the coinage 
 last executed for the colony in the year 1816," viz. : — 
 
 Guilders. 
 equal to 15,000 
 20,000 
 „ 15,000 
 
 „ 15,000 
 
 „ 7,500 
 
 „ 3,750 
 
 5,000 3-guilder 
 
 pieces - - - c 
 
 10,000 2-guilder 
 
 » 
 
 15,000 1 -guilder 
 
 " 
 
 30,000 ^-guilder 
 
 „ of 10 stivers each 
 
 30,000 ^-guilder 
 
 „ oi 5 ,, ,, 
 
 30,000 £ -guilder 
 
 „ of 2 g „ ,, 
 
132 
 
 Colonial Currency. 
 
 After stating that, at the current exchange of 1 5 guilders per 
 pound, the proposed new coinage amounted to " a little more 
 than 5,000 /. sterling," the Court went on to observe that the 
 measures of 1 825 " have totally failed, as none of the British 
 silver coin is now in circulation, owing to the high rate of 
 exchange between the Colony and Great Britain, which induces the 
 merchants to purchase at a considerable premium for remittance 
 all silver coin equal to or above the standard of Spanish dollars." 
 
 The Imperial Treasury represented to the Colonial Office that 
 the proposed coinage of more tokens could only provide a tem- 
 porary remedy ; that the real evil was the irredeemable paper 
 of the Colonial Government ; and that the Court of Policy " ought 
 to sell out the Consols which it held, and so cancel the notes 
 it had issued." Eventually, however, at the close of 1831, 
 sanction was reluctantly given for the coinage, and the new 
 tokens were issued in 1832. It will be observed that, though 
 Berbice had been added to Demerara and Essequibo in 1831 to 
 form the modern colony of British Guiana, the coins ordered 
 in 1831, and issued in 1832, bore the old stamp of " United Colony 
 of Demerary and Essequibo." 
 
 Further coinages of the Colonial tokens, from 1 guilder to |th 
 of a guilder, were struck in 1833 and 1835, — the following table, 
 showing the numbers of each denomination in 1832 as well as 
 in the two latter years : — 
 
 Year. 
 
 3-Gs. 
 
 2-Gs. 
 
 Guilders. 
 
 £ -Guilders. 
 
 ^-Guiders. 
 
 f-Guilders. 
 
 Nominal 
 Value. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Guilders. 
 
 1832 
 
 2,156 
 
 4,108 
 
 8,031 
 
 8,344 
 
 8,548 
 
 - 
 
 29,024 
 
 1833 - 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 24,440 
 
 48,384 
 
 97,040 
 
 67,776 
 
 81,547 
 
 1835 - 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 21,925 
 
 36,450 
 
 72,844 
 
 70,872 
 
 67,220 
 
 All these coins were struck for, and put into circulation in, 
 Demerara and Essequibo ; none were for Berbice. 
 
 The Demerara Blue Book for 1835 gives the (colonial) coin in 
 circulation as : — 
 
 38,626 
 45,202 
 135,029 
 221,085 
 374,592 
 168,624 
 
 pieces 
 
 of 3 guilders each 
 
 2 „ 
 
 1 .„ „ - 
 10 stivers „ 
 
 5 »j ?> 
 2i 
 
 Guilders. 
 
 - 115,878 
 
 - 90,404 
 
 - 135,029 
 
 - 110,542-10 
 
 - 93,648 
 
 - 22,078 
 
 
 Fl. 566,579-10 
 
 "or 40,469/. 19*. 3i<*." 
 
Ch. IX. British Guiana. 133 
 
 As regards the Government notes, or " Colony goods," the 
 total amount of this paper currency in Demerara ancf Essequibo 
 at the end of 1829 was 2,199,758 guilders, in notes of from 1 to 
 20 ''joes," each joe being equivalent to 22 guilders. Against 
 this irredeemable paper the Colony held 184,800 /. consols, worth 
 nearly 160,000/. at the price of the day; and, at the exchange 
 of 15 guilders to the pound, this stock was therefore worth about 
 2,384,000 guilders. Thus the Colonial Government was in a 
 position to redeem the whole issue, had it been so minded. But 
 the Court of Policy preferred dividends to a sound specie cur- 
 rency. 
 
 The exchange, which had not been higher than 14£ in 1826-27, 
 and which fluctuated between 14.^ and 14| in 1829, had risen 
 still higher, to 15, in 1831. Within the next two years the 
 exchange rose to 18 guilders per pound, as against the eighteenth 
 century "par." of 12. The Court of Policy tinkered with the 
 evil by Ordinances of 1830 and 1832, altering the form and 
 denomination of some of its notes ; "half-joe notes" of 11 guilders 
 being substituted for 2,500 1-joe notes. And on 3rd June 1834, 
 as the drain of specie continued, the Court consented to invest 
 its dividends for the year in procuring more silver tokens. In 
 this year the Governor stated that the local silver currency had 
 " nearly disappeared, and no specie, to even the most trifling 
 amount, can be obtained except at a very great sacrifice." 
 
 (iii.) British Guiana. 
 
 In 1838 (see -page 27) the Imperial Government introduced its 
 remedial measures, whereunder the doubloon and the Spanish 
 dollar were rnted at 64 s. and 4 5. 2d. respectively for con- 
 current circulation with sterling. The local Proclamation 
 carrying out the Imperial measures was issued on 15th Novem- 
 ber 1838, and fixed the following "currency" ratings : — 
 
 Doubloon - - - - 46 guilders, If stivers. 
 Dollar ----- 3 „ 
 Shilling - - - - - 14| 
 
 And the doubloon, dollar, and British silver coins were made legal 
 tender in the Colony of British Guiana. The currency for 
 British silver was complicated by the traditionary mode of 
 reckoning among the working classes and the negroes. These 
 latter knew nothing of the denominations of the Colonial money 
 of account, guilders, stivers, and pennings ; their calculations 
 were solely in "bitts" of 5 stivers each, 4 to a guilder, and 
 therefore 12 to a dollar. Hence, finding that they could not pass 
 the shilling for 3 bitts, they would only take it as the equivalent 
 of 2| bitts. This difficulty, and the necessity for rating the 
 Colonial tokens for concurrent circulation with sterling, &c, led 
 to a new system of denominations, introduced under Ordinance 
 No. 3 of 1839. 
 
 Under this Ordinance the money of account was changed to 
 dollars and cents, the currency dollar being equal to 3 guilders of 
 the old reckoning. And the next step, under Ordinance No. 1 
 
 72642. K 
 
134 Colonial Currency. 
 
 of 1840, was to declare the values of the Colonial tokens in 
 dollars and cent3, as follows : — 
 
 | bit {i.e. £ guilder) - 
 
 1 53 (»•*• 4 guilder) - 
 
 3 bits ------ 
 
 1 guilder ------ 
 
 3 guilders ------ 
 
 »• 
 
 s. 
 
 d. 
 
 cents 
 
 — 
 
 2 
 
 or 4 
 
 — 
 
 4 
 
 „ 8 
 
 1 
 
 - 
 
 n 24 
 
 1 
 
 4 
 
 „ 32 
 
 4 
 
 — 
 
 „ 96 
 
 Thus the Spanish or Mexican dollar was rated at 3 guilders 
 ('dollar currency ') plus a half-bit, making 12| bits to the specie 
 dollar,* whilst 3 bits went to the shilling. With this measure it 
 was imagined that there would cease to be any difficulty in circu- 
 lating British silver concurrently with dollars and doubloons. 
 But, when re-issued, the guilders " immediately, for convenience 
 sake, regained by common consent the nominal value before 
 assigned to them, and continued up to August 1850 to pass as three 
 to the specie dollar, or even — when the sum was fractional — for 
 34 cents." 
 
 The legislation of 1838-40 had put the metallic currency on a 
 satisfactory footing (except that no limit of tender had been im- 
 posed on British token silver) ; but the real evil, the paper 
 currency, was still untouched. In 1839 the outstanding 
 Deraerara and Essequibo paper issues still stood at 2,199,770 
 guilders, against which there were sterling investments worth 
 £. 150,077, or Fl. 2,176,129 at the current rate of exchange of 
 14£ guilders to the £. On 10th June 1839 an ordinance was 
 passed providing for the redemption of the notes by 1st January 
 1840. Commissioners were appointed with powers to draw bills 
 against the colonial fund in London, or to import specie, for the 
 purpose of enabling the Receiver General to pay the notes off 
 in specie on and after 1st January 1840, as from which date they 
 were demonetised except for tender at the Public Offices. But, 
 as the demand for specie was pressing, a further ordinance was 
 passed on 27th November 1839, fixing 2nd December of that year 
 as the first day for paying off the notes. The redemption was not 
 completed, however, for some time, as in 1841 16,000 dollars 
 were voted for " the Joe notes." 
 
 As regards the Berbice paper, ranging in denomination from 1 
 to 330 guilders, and amounting on 31st December 1834 to 
 FL 426,699. 10. 9, according to the Blue Book for 1837, it was 
 resolved in 1839 to follow the Demerara precedent, and so 
 establish one uniform currency of specie for the whole Colony of 
 British Guiana. In the beginning of 1837 a coinage of 1836 for 
 the Colony of British Guiana (121,992 guilders in all f) had been 
 put in circulation in Berbice, in exchange for Berbice paper of a 
 like amount, which was burnt. On 17th January 1840, 70,000 
 
 * The Ordinance provided that fur two months the guilder tokens might be 
 paid in to the Receiver General at the old rate, to be re-issued by him subse- 
 quently at the diminished rate laid down by the Ordinance. 
 
 ■f The numbers and denominations were as follows: Guilders 38,103; J gs. 
 80,072; ^gs. 13!).632; and |,gs. 121,1)92. The Blue Book for 1837 states 
 that 9ince 1834 " the sum of Fl. 128,220 in paper currency has been taken up 
 and destroyed, having been replaced by silver change." 
 
Ch. IX. British Guiana. 135 
 
 guilders of the paper money were further cancelled ; and further 
 redemptions were made from time to time. The Local Guide has 
 the following note, with reference to the year 1841: "The 
 remainder of the Berbice paper money redeemed." But in 1844 
 2,000 dollars was voted for the " redemption of Berbice paper 
 money "; and in 1845 the money voted appears as a " balance in 
 hand," so that it could not have been spent on redemption in 1844. 
 
 In concluding this review of the unreformed currency of 
 British Guiana, it is to be observed in the first place that though 
 the paper of the United Colony of Demerara and Essequibo was 
 secured by stock in London, yet that, as the paper was irre- 
 deemable, it was practically on the same footing as the unsecured 
 paper of Berbice. But there was this essential difference 
 between the currency of the two provinces that, whilst Berbice 
 had no coin at all in circulation, Demerara and Essequibo had an 
 ultimate limit to the fluctations of exchange in the guilder tokens. 
 As the 3-guilder piece contained some 294 grains of fine silver 
 and was consequently worth 3 .«. 4 d. sterling, 18 silver guilders 
 of the colonial coinage were worth 1 /., and an exchange of 18 
 " caused every, dollar, or everything in the shape of silver to 
 leave the colony," till the exchange fell again. The other limit 
 resulted from the valuation of the Spanish or Mexican dollar at 
 3 of the guilders of account. As the Spanish dollar was worth 
 in London 4 s. 2d. sterling, it follows that par was represented 
 by an exchange of 4| dollars, or 14 guilders 8 stivers. Extra- 
 ordinary circumstances produced modifications of these normal 
 limits. For example, the exchange was reduced shortly after 
 1833 (when it stood at 18) to the low figure of 13 by the pay- 
 ment of compensation money in large sums by the Imperial 
 Government in connection with the manumission of slaves. But 
 by 1838 the exchange was up to 14 1. 
 
 With the withdrawal of the paper money, the currency of the 
 colony did not stand on the same footing as in other West Indian 
 Colonies, owing to the old colonial tokens, which were retained in 
 circulation because their intrinsic was not equal to their conven- 
 tional value. In 1845, as appears from the Minutes of the Com- 
 bined Court of 9 April of that year, a committee on coinage 
 recommended that " 2 and 3 guilders tokens should be remitted 
 to England to be sold * and the proceeds placed to the credit of 
 the colony with the agents ; the one-guilder tokens to be con- 
 tinued in circulation until a sufficient supply of quarter-dollars 
 can be imported." Also copper coins were recommended as a 
 legal tender "to the amount of 8 cents in one payment." In 
 1850, by Ordinance No. 17, the colony proposed to limit the 
 legal tender of British copper coin to 3%d., i.e., "below the 
 lowest silver coin in ordinary use." This ordinance was dis- 
 allowed, but its effect was to restore the currency to the legal 
 standard, the guilder token falling from 33^ to 32 cents. Pre- 
 viously, so completely had the tokens held the field at their over- 
 valuation that no sterling coins were seen, and retail traders " were 
 
 • In 1839 tokens of 2 and 3 guilders were sent to England to be melted 
 down, according to Governor Barkly on 28th April 1852 (H. of C. Paper, No. 
 268 of 1853). 
 
 E 2 
 
136 Colonial Currency. 
 
 driven to establish among themselves a currency of empty bottles 
 and j links of sugar cane " (Governor Barkly). But with the gold 
 discoveries of the middle of the century, the enhanced gold-price 
 of silver carried away all the dollars from this as from other 
 colonies with similar currency regulations. In 1852 " the 
 merchants of Georgetown had viewed with anxietv for some time 
 past the unusual amount of British silver imported into this 
 colony, and the power afforded our banks, as well as individuals, 
 of tendering this silver coinage in payment to an unlimited ex- 
 tent." It was urged u that it is impolitic, and in principle unjust, 
 to make a coinage of this description a legal tender of payment to 
 an unlimited amount in the colonies"'; and a 5 /. limit was 
 earnestly desired, to obviate the payment of bank notes " in an 
 inconvertible silver coinage, which — unrestricted — is nearly as 
 objectionable as our former colonial paper currency."* But, as 
 other West Indian Colonies had now come to hold less sound 
 views, no action was taken. 
 
 By proclamation of 12th April 1851 copper coins were made 
 a legal tender up to 1 .«., and in 1853, by proclamation of J2 
 October of that year, U.S. gold coins were made a legal tender at 
 the (under-) ratings of 4 s. 1 d. for the gold dollar, and of 41 s. 
 for the eagle {see page 28). The doubloon seems to have 
 gradually become unimportant in the currency of the colony, as 
 its trade with Great Britain grew in volume ; and by 1876 
 British silver was the principal money current in British Guiana, 
 as in the rest of the British West Indies. 
 
 The rating of the silver dollar which was laid down in 1838 
 was 4 s. 2d. In 1876 these coins could be bought in London at 
 a price which made it possible to lay them down in the West 
 Indies at not. more than 3 s. 10 d. each. Accordingly it became 
 a highly profitable speculation to import dollars; and a Liverpool 
 firm took advantage of this favourable opportunity to import 
 80,000 dollars into British Guiana early in May, followed by 
 consignments of 65,000 dollars, and 78,000 dollars, iu the two 
 succeeding mails. There were to have been further importations, 
 but they were stopped by telegram. For, as soon as the second im- 
 portation was known of, the local banks refused to receive the coins, 
 except in payment of obligations ; and it was generally understood 
 that the Colonial Government would interfere. The interference 
 of the Colonial Government took a twofold shape. In the first 
 place, under Ordinance No. 5 of 1876, an import duty of 20 per 
 cent, was put on all importations of silver coin not coined within 
 the United Kingdom, provided the amount imported were above 
 300 dollars enfaced value. And, in the second place, the Ordi- 
 nance No. 6 of 1876 was passed, declaring " that tender of pay 
 ment in Spanish, Mexican, or Columbian silver coins called 
 dollars shall cease to be a lawful tender " after 22nd August 1876. 
 The Ordinance provided that up to that day dollars " now in 
 circulation, and now (1st August) within the Colony " should be 
 exchanged at the old rate of 4s. 2 d. each. The number of coins so 
 received for exchange was 226,100 dollars, ecpuivalent at the old 
 
 ° See also under Jamaica, Barbados, and Trinidad, for an even more prompt 
 apprehension of sound currency principle with regard to token coin9. 
 
Ch. IX. British Guiana. 137 
 
 rate to 47,104 /. They realised on sale in London in November 
 1876 the net sum of 44,300 /., after deducting all charges. 
 
 From the newspaper reports of the debates on the measures 
 taken by the Colonial Government, it will be seen that there was 
 a desire expressed in the Colony for a specie dollar on grounds 
 of convenience, and that a certain proportion of the community, 
 not realising the essential nature of a token coinage of silver 
 representing gold, Avelcomed the incoming of coins in which it was 
 possible to pay the dollar of account with a single piece of money, 
 instead of three (at least) as heretofore. Had their views been 
 adopted, British Guiana would have passed, like British Honduras, 
 to the category of silver-using countries, such as India and China. 
 
 The present currency of British Guiana consists of British 
 token coins, silver and bronze, and notes of the British Guiana 
 Bank and the Colonial Bank, together with a dwindling stock of 
 the old guilder tokens. As there is no limit on the legal tender 
 of silver, gold is driven from circulation, though held to a certain 
 extent by the two banks. For practical purposes therefore 
 British Guiana stands on the same currency footing as the bulk 
 of the West India Islands, and consists in practice of sterling 
 tokens only. Accounts, however, are kept in dollars and cents 
 (see under Barbados), both by the Colonial Government and by 
 the community at large. 
 
 Mention has already been made of the ancient custom of the 
 "masses" to reckon by "Bits" in British Guiana. The bit 
 originally represented a quarter of a guilder; and as in 1840 the 
 guilder tokens were rated at 1 s. 4 d. per guilder, the bit has 
 thenceforth been identical with a British fourpenny - piece, 
 As the British fourpenny - piece, though still legal tender 
 in the United Kingdom, has been practically withdrawn 
 from circulation at home for many years, the Colony of 
 British Guiana has been unable to renew its stock of these 
 favourite coins. In view of demands from the Colony, it was 
 found necessary in 1891 to strike a new "groat, or four-pence" 
 for British Guiana and certain other West Indian Colonies. 
 Currency was given to the new coin in this Colony by the Order 
 in Council and Royal Proclamation of 9th May 1891, which was 
 brought into operation locally by the Governor's Proclamation of 
 1st July 1891. In connection with the " bit," it may be stated 
 that the half-bit, or 2d., represents " in every day practice the 
 towest value attached to the purchases made from the small 
 iraders. The quarter of a bit, a penny, is termed a ' gill,' but it 
 Is a rare instance when a ' gill ' will effect a single purchase, or 
 when any article can be purchased for a ' gill.' " 
 
 The amount of coin in the Colony on 31st December 1891 was 
 estimated, so far as an estimate could be made, at 150,000 /. ; and 
 the notes in circulation on the same date were as follows : — 
 
 £, 
 British Guiana Bank - - 77,794 
 
 Colonial Bank ------ 57,999 
 
 £. 135,793 
 
138 Colonial Currency. 
 
 The notes, it should be added, are of the denominations of $5, 
 #20, and #100. The British Guiana Bank was established by 
 Local Ordinance No. 82 of 1836, amended by Ordinance No. 9 
 of 1838, and continued by Ordinance No. 6 of 1857. British 
 Guiana is the only British Colony in which the Colonial Bank 
 is subjected to competition in the West Indies. 
 
 Taking the population at 290,000 (in round numbers) the 
 average amount of coin per head of the population was 10 s. 4d., 
 whilst the average note circulation was 9 s. 4 d , or 19 s. 8 d. in 
 all. 
 
 
 
 
Ch. X. British Honduras. 139 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 British Honduras. 
 
 The currency of this Colony is of interest not only in its 
 earliest but also in its latest phases, in marked contrast to the 
 history of currency in West Indian Colonies. The local standard 
 of value, within little over a century from the present time, has 
 in succession been mahogany, the gold doubloon, the British 
 shilling, the fractional parts of dollars, and, lastly, the Guate- 
 malan dollar. On the whole, it may be said of the Colony that 
 its currency has uniformly been based rather on convention than 
 on law ; popular agreement being the dominant factor in its pro- 
 cedure. On a small scale, British Honduras is one of the best 
 instances of a country drawn insensibly into the currency area to 
 which it belongs both by geography and trade relations. It will 
 be seen that it was against their judgment, and only under the 
 stress of facts, that in 1885 the local merchants surrendered a 
 gold standard and adopted the silver standard in force among 
 the neighbouring states. 
 
 (i) 1765-1825. 
 
 The first article of the popular Convention of 9th April 1765 
 (with which law began in British Honduras) provides that " who- 
 ever shall be found guilty of profane cursing and swearing shall 
 . . . forfeit and pay for every such offence the sum of 2 s. 6 d., 
 Jamaica currency, or the same value in merchantable un chipped 
 logivood." In May of the following year it was expressly pro- 
 vided that " all debts contracted in the Bay of Honduras shall be 
 payable in logwood, unless there shall be a special agreement 
 made between the parties in writing to the contrary." The same 
 Meeting of 1766 imposed penalties of" 5 /. logwood currency," 
 and '• 50/. Bay currency," apparently using the terms indiscrimi- 
 nately, and provided that " no appeal be allowed from this court 
 to any other, for any sum under 200/. Jamaica currency." 
 
 Putting the above facts together, it will be seen that, as 
 mio-ht be expected from the intimate relations which subsisted 
 between the Bay and Jamaica, the currency of the latter 
 Colony was familiar to British Honduras in 1765, and indeed 
 in force there ; but that exchange was consciously and avowedly 
 by commodities. The fact that the standard commodity of the 
 Bay was so bulky an article as logwood did not prevent the 
 Settlement from using it, as West Indian Islands used sugar, &c, 
 for the purpose of a currency (so-called); and in British Honduras, 
 as in such West Indian Islands as the Leewards, the liberal price 
 fixed by the inhabitants for their own staple, appears to have kept 
 
140 Colonial Currency. 
 
 coin out of the country, leaving the early currency of the Bay on 
 a purely mahogany basis. 
 
 The extent to which the staple commodity was over-valued by 
 the Baymen may be inferred from the fact that (i.) the penalty 
 of 5 /. Jamaica currency, imposed in 1787 on high prices for 
 turtle, had been expressed in 1766 as 2o /. Bay currency ; and 
 (ii.) the fees of the Clerk of the Court ordered in 1766 to "be 
 settled at four times the amount of the same services in Jamaica, 
 as settled there by law, and that the same be Bay currency." It 
 should here be added that in 1803 a public meeting, wishing to 
 express in Jamaica currency a fine of " 20 tons ofmerchantable 
 unchipped logwood,'' resolved that, "in consideration of the value 
 of logwood at the period when the said law was made {i.e., 1765), 
 the sum of 40 /. cash be a fine to be paid in future." 
 
 The currency of logwood on the above system, by which 
 apparently Bay currency was worth only a quarter of Jamaica 
 currency, necessitated a reform some 20 years later, as is shown 
 by the resolution of " a meeting of the inhabitants at the mouth 
 of the River Belize, by appointment, the 12th day of June 1784 ": 
 — " Resolved, that all business in future shall be kept and trans- 
 acted in Jamaica currency, and all former debts contracted in 
 Bay^ currency shall be reduced to Jamaica currency, be paid and 
 received at the established price which may prevail at the time 
 that such payment is made." The latter words of the resolu- 
 tion are further explained by the words of another resolution of 
 the same date, which runs as follows : " Resolved, that the 
 established price of mahogany shall be 15 1. per 1,000 feet; tha*, 
 all wood under 15 inches shall be deemed unmerchantable, and 
 not admitted in payment for debts ; that the established price of 
 logwood shall be 6 I per ton for chipped and 4 /. per ton for un- 
 chipped logwood ; and that such prices shall continue in force 
 until the 1st of June 1785." 
 
 The currency of the Bay was now on a metallic basis. As the 
 system adopted was that of Jamaica, British Honduras suffered 
 under the same disadvantages as that island from the over-ratina 
 of gold, and the consequent dearth of silver coin. Details of the 
 currency of Jamaica will be found in the chapter dealing with 
 that Colony ; it will be sufficient here to state that the b<?sis of 
 the Jamaica currency was the rating of the Spanish dollar at 
 6 s. 8 d. y and the conventional rating of the gold doubloon, not at 
 its legal rating of 5 t , but at a conventional rating (in accordance 
 with the monetary system of Spain) at ^16, or 51. 6 s. 8 d. Whilst 
 it may well be that the neighbourhood of the Spaniards to 
 British Honduras favoured the latter Colony in the supply of 
 silver coins so long as the Spaniards retained authority over 
 their American Colonies, there is direct evidence that after the 
 outbreak of the Revolutionary Wars, from 1810 to 1820, British 
 Honduras suffered like Jamaica from the cutting off' of the usual 
 supplies of the Spanish coin which formed its currency. 
 
Ch. X. British Honduras. 141 
 
 (ii.) 1825-1887. 
 
 When, in 1825 (see page 23), the Imperial Government made 
 its attempt to introduce British silver into general circulation 
 throughout the Colonies, Jamaica set aside the (mistaken) ratings 
 of the Imperial Government, and instead of rating the British 
 snilling as 3-13ths of the dollar, rated it as a quarter-dollar, or 
 1 s. 8 d. currency. The result was to make the British shillino- 
 bear its just proportion of l-64th of the standard gold doubloon, 
 then worth 64 s. sterling. Consequently Spanish silver was 
 barred from circulation altogether, and the circulating medium 
 consisted of doubloons and British token silver. British 
 Honduras copied Jamaica in this proceeding. There is no trace 
 of any formal Proclamation in British Honduras of the rates 
 laid down by the Imperial measure of 1825 ; but it was stated in 
 1827 that the shilling, known in British Honduras as a 
 " Maccaroni " or quarter-dollar (see note, page 110), was in 
 circulation and remedied an inconvenient dearth of small silver. 
 
 When, in 1838, the Imperial Government introduced its 
 remedial legislation, whereby the silver dollar was rated at 
 4 s. 2d. and the gold doubloon at 04 s. for concurrent circulation 
 with sterling, the magistrates and merchants of Belize deprecated 
 any change being introduced into their currency system ; " for, 
 the present arrangement was not to be surpassed in any of the 
 Colonies." But nevertheless the Superintendent formally pro- 
 mulgated the Imperial Order in Council and Royal Proclamation 
 of 14th September 1838 (see page 27) ; though he rendered the 
 measure nugatory by "refraining from issuing any subsidiary 
 Proclamation declaratory of the proportionate value in money of 
 account of the maccaroni, the dollar, and the doubloon ; those 
 being already fixed previous to the issue of the Proclamation on 
 the most approved and equitable principles, viz. : — 
 
 Currency. 
 
 Doubloon - 
 
 Dollar ----- 
 
 Maccaroni _ _ _ _ 
 
 " The lowest coin we have here " (adds the Superintendent) 
 "is a fivepence ; equal to 3 cl. sterling," i.e., half a Mexican real. 
 Under pressure from home, Colonel Macdonald, the Superin- 
 tendent, eventually issued, on 21st June 1839, a Proclamation 
 declaring the followiug ratios : — 
 
 Sterling. Currency. 
 £. s. d. £,. s. d. 
 Doubloon - - 34- 568 
 Dollar -^ - - - 4 2 - 6 11^ 
 Maccaroni - - -1- -18 
 
 The Imperial Government took some umbrage at the title 
 o-iven by the Governor's Proclamation to the Imperial shilling, aud 
 pressed for an amended Proclamation. But there is no evidence 
 forthcomino- that the amendment was carried out. And it is 
 certain that, whether or not the designation of the shilling was 
 
 £. s. 
 
 d. 
 
 5 6 
 
 8 
 
 - 6 
 
 8 
 
 - 1 
 
 8 
 
142 Colonial Currency. 
 
 altered in a subsequent. Proclamation of the Governor, the in- 
 convenient and unworkable rating assigned to the dollar was 
 never observed at any time in the history of British Honduras. 
 Nor did the community at any time recognise any other rating 
 than the old one which they 'had borrowed from the popular 
 usage of Jamaica, viz., 4 s. per ' dollar ' ( = 1 doubloon).* 
 
 In the next decade the only fact in the currency history of 
 the Colony was the passing of a local Act (12 Vict. c. 6) 
 declaring the copper coins of Great Britain a legal tender within 
 the limit of 1 s. It was recited in the Act that " doubts existed 
 relating to the circulation and currency of British copper coins 
 within this Settlement," a doubt which probably had taken its 
 origin from the refusal of the natives to take copper in 1827, and 
 whtch was in harmony with the assurance subsequently given 
 that copper would rust in the climate ! 
 
 The middle of the century witnessed the great discoveries of 
 gold in California and Australia, which led to the issue, under 
 Order in Council, of the Royal Proclamation of 19th August 
 1853, rating the United States gold dollar at 4 s. i d., and the 
 eao-le at 41 s. This Proclamation was brought into local opera- 
 tion by the Superintendent's Proclamation of 23rd November 
 1853, as from 1st December following. The measure was only 
 so far observed as to rate the eagle at $ 10.25, the gold dollar 
 itself beinsj rated at $ 1, i.e., 4 s. 
 
 On 21st February 1855 the Colony passed the Act 18 Vict. 
 c. 16, " to alter and define the currency of this Settlement." 
 This Act, which recites that " it is expedient to substitute a more 
 convenient legal currency for that at present in use," prescribed 
 that — 
 
 (i.) Public accounts were to be kept in dollars and 
 rials. 
 
 (ii.) All legal process should so state all sums of money. 
 
 (iii.) " Such dollars shall be computed at the rate of 4 s. 
 of sterlino- money of Great Britain for each dollar, and such 
 rials at one-eighth part of the said sum."' 
 
 " Provided that this Act shall not be taken to affect the value 
 of any particular coin or coins, declared of greater than its or 
 their nominal value by any Proclamation of, or by Order of, Her 
 Majesty, nor have the effect of depreciating or raising the value 
 or any specific coin or coins of any foreign country, circulated 
 under the name of dollars or rials, but being of greater or less 
 intrinsic and commercial value than is hereinbefore nominally 
 affixed to dollars and rials, commonly current in this Settle- 
 ment." 
 
 A further provision of the Act abolished the old Jamaica cur- 
 rency, which was by this time obsolete. 
 
 * In the case of Carter v. Brodie the Supreme Court of the Colony decided, 
 on 20th April 1885, that there was no evidence forthcoming (.in the Colony) of 
 a local Proclamation having been published, rating the Mexican dollar at 
 4s. 2d. 
 
Ch. X. British Honduras. 143 
 
 The denomination of rials was abolished in the money of 
 account thus established by the passing of the Act 27 Vict. 
 c. 20, which directed that the local currency should be reckoned 
 in " dollars and cents." 
 
 In 1870 the currency consisted in practice (i.) partly of gold 
 doubloons current at their legal rate of 64 s., but (ii.) chiefly of 
 silver coins. These silver coins included (i.) British tokens, 
 (ii.) United States half and quarter dollars, (iii. ) halves and 
 quarters of Spanish, Mexican, and Columbian dollars, and 
 (iv.) the silver coinage of Guatemala and other Central American 
 States. An average sample of silver in two parcels of 4U /. each 
 gave the following results in 1870: — 
 
 £. s. d. 
 British silver - - 28 4 - 
 
 Spanish, Mexican, or Columbian 11 16 - 
 dollars and parts. 
 
 United States half and quarter 21 17 - 
 dollars. 
 
 Guatemalan dollars and parts - 18 3 - 
 
 Total - - - £. 80 - - 
 
 It was stated at this date that much of the coinage, especially 
 the old Spanish, and the British tokens, was much worn and 
 defaced ; and that the Guatemalan dollar had gradually crept 
 in, though unauthorised. 
 
 In a similar sum of 80 /. examined in 1876 the following were 
 the proportions : — 
 
 £. s. d. 
 British silver - - - - 8 8- 
 
 Spanish, Mexican, or Columbian 12 16 9 
 dollars and parts. 
 
 United States silver - - - 29 10 - 
 
 Guatemalan dollars and parts - 18 13 3 
 
 Peruvian dollars- - - - 10 12 - 
 
 Total - - - £. 80 
 
 By 1876, when the gold price of silver had fallen to a low 
 figure, the amount of gold in circulation was practically nil; it 
 had all been shipped out of the country for remittances. And 
 the result was the more marked in its effects in British 
 
Dols. 
 
 cents. 
 
 
 
 87h 
 
 
 
 93f 
 
 16 
 
 37A 
 
 144 Colonial Currency. 
 
 Honduras because the rating of 4 s. per dollar had previously 
 kept out the Mexican dollar (the only dollar, other than the 
 Spanish, which was really legal tender). The new so-called 
 dollars of the neighbouring Republics had been introduced with 
 a facility which was readily explicable by the fact that they 
 were intrinsically mere replicas of the five-franc piece, with- 
 out any standard gold coin behind them to give them a 
 representative value higher than the gold-price of their 
 fine content. And as the gold-price of silver continued to 
 fall, the Guatemalan dollar sank to be worth scarcely 3 s. 4 e?. 
 sterling. By 1878 it was stated that there was not in the Colony 
 a single doubloon or other gold coin of full weight. The 
 currency consisted exclusively of silver coins, and no silver 
 dollars in the Colony were worth in sterling more than 3 s. 4d. 
 
 The controversies which now raged round the question of 
 the Colony's currency arc too recent to be discussed in detail. 
 The local merchants (bv advertisement dated the 1st of April 
 1879) published their agreement to receive coins at the following 
 rates : — 
 
 Peruvian, Guatemalan, and Chilian dollars at 
 
 Mexican dollars at 
 
 Doubloons of full weight at - 
 
 American (i.e., United States) gold coins at 
 
 5 per cent, premium, i.e., per dollar - - 1 05 
 
 English gold coins at '2\ per cent, premium, 
 
 i.e., the sovereign at 5 12| 
 
 Under this " double standard " the currency of the Colony 
 would have passed from silver to gold whenever the gold price 
 of silver rose to 53*5 d. per ounce, and would have fallen again 
 to a silver standard whenever the price of silver fell below the 
 same figure. And among the gold coins the sovereign would 
 have been driven out under any circumstances by the doubloon 
 and the eagle. Moreover, to repay seven Guatemalan dollars, 
 borrowed on 31st March 1879, would have required on 1st April 
 no less than eight of the same coins. Such was the merchants' 
 original proposal for remedying the evil " and influencing the 
 introduction of a standard gold currency in place of a depreciated 
 silver currency." 
 
 Subsequently, by an agreement among the merchants, to 
 which the Governor became a party, it was arranged that, whilst 
 the Mexican dollar should be taken as 100 cents, the Guate- 
 malan and Chilian dollars, with the Peruvian sol, should pass 
 for only 87 £ cents, but that all half and quarter dollars should 
 continue to pass as 50 and 25 cents respectively. Hence, in a 
 very little time, the unfortunate Colony was flooded with fractions 
 of Guatemalan and other dollars of the five-franc type. On 7th 
 May 1885 twelve of the principal mercantile houses advertised 
 that they would receive and pay the Peruvian and Chilian and 
 Honduras dollars at 100 cents. A public meeting endorsed this 
 new policy, and rated the Mexican dollar at 106$ cents, with the 
 liberal limit of #500 on the tender of fractions of dollars. 
 
Ch. X. British Honduras. 145 
 
 And so distinct was the public opinion of the day in favour of 
 silver monometallism that nobody voted, except the proposer 
 and seconder, for an amendment in favour of the British o-old 
 sovereign as the standard. British Honduras had, in fact, 
 recognised that, as almost the entire commerce of the Colony lay 
 with countries to the south, the coins of the Central American 
 Republics must necessarily dominate British Honduras also. It 
 only remained to pass the necessary legislation. 
 
 (iii.) 1887 onwards. 
 
 By Royal Proclamation under Order in Council of loth Sep- 
 tember 1887— 
 
 (i ) all previous legislation was revoked; 
 
 (ii.) the Guatemalan dollar was made the standard of 
 value ; 
 
 (iii.) the Venezuelan, Chilian, Columbian, and Uru- 
 guayan dollars, with the Peruvian sol, were rated as equal 
 to the Guatemalan dollar ; 
 
 (iv.) the Mexican dollar was rated at 108 cents ; 
 
 (v.) fractions of the above coins were rated propor- 
 tionately, with a 50-dollar limit of legal tender; and 
 
 (vi.) the bronze cent, which had been authorised for the 
 Colony by Order in Council of 19th May 1885, was made a 
 legal tender up to half-a-dollar. 
 
 The Colony also proceeded to legislate on its account, by 
 passing, on the 24th November 1887, Ordinance No. 8 of 1887, 
 which (i.) repealed the Acts 12 Vict. c. 6, 18 Vict. c. 16, and 
 27 Vict. c. 20, and (ii.) re-enacted that accounts should be kept 
 in dollars aud cents. And as the statutes were being consoli- 
 dated at this stage, the above re-enactment was combined with 
 the provisions of the Royal Proclamation of 1887 to form 
 Chapter LXVIII. of the Consolidated Statutes. 
 
 As difficulty was experienced in connection with the currency 
 of the Mexican dollar at eight cents above the standard Guate- 
 malan dollar, Ordinance No. 1 of 1889 was passed on 8th January 
 1889, demonetising this coin and its parts. The Ordinance also 
 demonetised (as not being in popular favour) the Venezuelan, 
 Uruguayan, Columbian, and Honduras dollars, with their parts; 
 but provided that up to 12th January any of the demonetised coins 
 could be exchanged at their old legal values. So great had been 
 the influx of Mexican dollars from neigh bouring countries 
 (where they were undervalued), that no less than 245,737*5 of 
 these coins were exchanged, the premium amounting to nearly 
 #21,000. Some dissatisfaction having been expressed at the 
 demonetisation of the whole Honduras dollar, the Colonial 
 Government undertook to receive this coin as before ; and the 
 Honduras dollar is consequently current, though not a legal 
 tender. Legally, only the Guatemalan dollar, the Chilian 
 dollar, and the Peruvian sol (with their fractions) remain a 
 legal lender in the Colony. 
 
146 Colonial Currency. 
 
 The only coin peculiar to the Colony is the bronze cent., of 
 which the following amounts have been struck at the Royal Mint 
 for the Colony, viz., $ 720, in 1885 ; $ 1,000, in 1888 ; $ 500, in 
 1889, making $ 2,220 in all in nominal value. 
 
 It may here be mentioned that it has long been the custom in 
 this Colony to make up paper packages of $50 and $ 100, and bags 
 of $250, $500, and $1,000, initialed by the issuing firm, and 
 marked with the weight ; and that such packages and bags pass 
 current without being opened. A mistake discovered is always 
 rectified. 
 
 So far as could be estimated, the total amount of coin in cir- 
 culation in the Colony on 31st December 1891 was about 
 $ 500,000, of which (roughly) 35 per cent, may be taken to have 
 been in Guatemalan dollars (and their parts) ; 55 per cent, in 
 Chilian Dollars, and Peruvian Sols (and their parts); and the 
 balance in Mexican and Honduras Dollars (and their parts) in 
 equal proportions. Taking the population on the same date at 
 32,000, the average amount of coin per head was therefore 
 $ 15-62.* 
 
 There is no Bank in the Colony, and no paper moneyf at the 
 present day. In the words of the Annual Report on the Colony 
 for 1892,| " the inconvenience of this bulky coinage (silver dollars) 
 is considerable, and the payment of large sums can only be made 
 by mule-cart, or by the employment of robust porters. The 
 Colonial Government accordingly contemplate taking steps for 
 the issue of silver certificates, based on a specie reserve and 
 investments, which it is believed will be of very great con- 
 venience to the public." 
 
 At the moment of going to press, information has been 
 received that of late the trade with the Central American 
 Republics has been dwindling, whilst that with New Orleans has 
 been increasing. It is represented that, practically, all imports 
 now come from New Orleans, whilst all exports go the United 
 Kingdom. Consequently, it is stated, the experiences of a silver 
 standard are stimulating currency discussion; and there is a 
 growing agitation in favour of chopping round again and of 
 adopting as the standard the gold dollar of the United States. 
 
 * With regard to the Corosal district, the "Colonial Guardian" of 11th 
 June 1892 says: "This district has a currency all to itself, viz. 'holey' 
 money, i.e., dollars (which only pass for 88 cents), half-dollars, shillings, 
 sixpences, and 'fippences' (= threepenny bits, as in Jamaica), all with one 
 or sometimes two holes in them. As the Yucatecans never bury these, 
 we've always got a good supply of counters to deal with." 
 
 f The only paper issues of which there is any evidence to be found, con- 
 sisted of paper-tokens put in circulation some ten or twelve years ago by the 
 Chinese, at a time when great inconvenience was felt from the dearth of small 
 change, 
 
 t Colonial Reports — Annual No. 19. British Honduras (C. 6563, — 3). 
 
Ch. Falkland Islands. 
 
 147 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Falkland Islands. 
 
 (1842.) 
 
 The history of currency in these obscure islands is comprised 
 within the last half century, and affords an exact parallel to that 
 of the West Indies in its existing conditions. 
 
 When the British Government was formerly established, it 
 was stated that the " paper dollars " of M. Vernet (a subject of 
 the Argentine Republic, who was expelled the islands prior to 
 their final occupation by the Imperial Government) were in 
 general circulation, but were unpopular among the Gauchos, and 
 " great difficulty was experienced in procuring cash for Govern- 
 ment Bills." Sterling denominations of money were in vogue ; 
 but dollars and doubloons, imported from Rio de Janeiro or 
 received from ships, were the chief coins seen by the 78 inha- 
 bitants of the Falklands. On 31st March 1842, the Governor 
 reports having received " 1,183 dollars and 8 d., equal at 4 s. 4 d. 
 the dollar " (the old rate of 1825) " to 256 I. 7 s."; and on 6th 
 April of the same year " one bag, containing 44 doubloons and 
 247| silver dollars," was received by the Island Government from 
 Rio. 
 
 Owing to the dearth of specie, the Governor, in 1844, issued a 
 temporary paper currency, to the nominal value of 1,000/., in 
 the following denominations : — 
 
 Description of Note. 
 
 Number 
 Issued. 
 
 Total Amount in Dollars. 
 
 £. s. 
 
 d. 
 
 
 
 ^-dollar notes ... 
 One „ „ . - - 
 
 210 
 130 
 
 One hundred and five - 
 One hundred and thirty 
 
 22 15 
 28 3 
 
 4 
 
 The dollar being 
 at 4s. 4d. 
 
 Five „ „ ... 
 
 170 
 
 Eight hundred and fifty 
 
 184 3 
 
 4 
 
 
 Ten „ ... 
 
 43 
 
 Four hundred and thirty 
 
 93 3 
 
 4 
 
 
 Twenty-five dollar notes 
 
 64 
 
 Sixteen hundred - 
 
 346 13 
 
 4 
 
 
 Fifty „ „ 
 
 30 
 
 Fifteen hundred - 
 
 325 - 
 
 - 
 
 
 One shilling and eightpence 
 
 1 
 
 One shilling and eightpence - 
 £. 
 
 - 1 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 1,000 - 
 
 - 
 
 
 With regard to these notes, the Governor furnished the follow- 
 ino- explanation on 2nd April 1844: — "Had I not issued them 
 there would have been no circulating medium whatever in the 
 Colony, and in fact the whole machinery of government must 
 
148 Colonial Currency. 
 
 have stopped. I endeavoured to proceed without resorting to 
 such a step as long as possible, but the confusion and difficulty 
 increased to that degree that I hesitated no longer. The notes 
 are of the most primitive character, written by hand at some 
 trouble ; they are signed by myself", 'on the part of the Colonial 
 Government,' and made payable to bearer, but all the circum- 
 stances were well understood in the Colony. No specie payment 
 was expected, and, contrary to my fullest expectations, very little 
 dissatisfaction has been expressed. No doubt the appearance of 
 these notes and the character of their negotiation may be different 
 to anything of a similar nature in England or elsewhere, but 
 everything here is at present of the most primitive character. 
 When a trader arrives he is informed that upon leaving the 
 Colony, if he brings any of these notes which may be in his 
 possession to the Government office, he will receive a Treasury 
 bill in exchange, Avhich is accordingly done. £. 1,000 is thus in 
 circulation, and will be called in immediately that I receive 
 specie, though very many will not be forthcoming, as I know of 
 many being accidentally, and on one occasion a large number 
 being thoughtlessly, destroyed. As I hope to receive specie in 
 about five months, I propose to give until 31st of March 1845 to 
 individuals to present these notes and close the accounts, passing 
 to the credit of Government the balance* of notes not presented." 
 
 A year or two later, as coin was still scarce, orders were 
 received from home to pay salaries by bills on the London 
 Treasury. This occasioned much discontent among the officials. 
 
 Up till 1849 the dollar had passed in the Falklands at its 1825 
 (mis-)rating of 4 s. 4 d. sterling* On 31st July 1849, however, the 
 Governor, acting on instructions, issued a Proclamation declaring 
 the Spanish doubloon and dollar worth 64 s. and 4 5. 2d. sterling 
 respectively, but providing that none but perfect coins should be 
 received or paid. It was about this date, when the rising gold- 
 price of silver finally banished silver dollars, that sterling coins 
 were introduced (chiefly by the Government in the first instance), 
 and established as the normal circulatory medium of the Falkland 
 Islands. In 1860 the Governor represented that "the specie 
 lately received, viz., 1,000 /., has been all absorbed in general 
 circulation ; and it is now with much difficulty that sufficient cash 
 can be procured in exchange for bills to meet the advances 
 required monthly for the pay of the garrison and for the neces- 
 sities of the Civil Government." As he had "advertised for 
 specie in the Colony in the most public manner, but had not 
 received any tenders in reply," he asked, after an abortive 
 attempt to import Spanish dollars from Monte Video, that " a 
 sum of 2,000 /. may be sent from England, chiefly in old 
 Crowns or Half-crowns, for the service of the ensuing financial 
 year. . . . Old Half-crowns are the coins least likely to be 
 sent away from the Colony in the course of trade, on account of 
 the heavy loss attending the exchange." 
 
 Ten years ago, though sterling coins formed the main circula- 
 tion, foreign coins were commonly seen at Stanley : — U.S. gold 
 
 All the notes, except about 30/. worth, were presented and redeemed. 
 
Ch. XL Falkland Islands. 149 
 
 and silver coins passing at 4 s. per dollar ; Mexican, Uruguay, 
 Monte Video, Chilian, and Peruvian silver dollars, with French 
 5-franc pieces, at 4 .<?. each ; together with Portuguese gold and 
 Brazilian silver at like rates of 4 s. per dollar. 
 
 With the exceptions (i.) that in 1863 counterfeit Chilian and 
 other coins were found in circulation, and (ii.) that on 30th 
 January 1867 the Imperial Order in Council and Proclamation 
 of 1866 relating to Sydney gold (see page 29) was published and 
 brought into local operation, there has been no change in the 
 currency of the Falkland Islands in law. 
 
 Until the last few years the circulating medium of the Falk- 
 lands consisted almost entirely of British gold, and silver was 
 scarce ; but the exportation of 2,000 /., raised on sale of bills by 
 a British ship of war, reversed these conditions. Now, the only 
 coins seen are British silver and bronze tokens.* Gold, is very 
 rarely found in circulation. If a gold coin finds its way into 
 private hands, the holder retains it for the profitable purpose of 
 exchanging silver for shepherds emigrating to Patagonia as 
 sheep-farmers, who are ready to give as much as 7 J per cent, 
 premium for gold to carry with them to the mainland. 
 
 The fact that the Royal Mint pays freight and insurance on 
 tokens imported, encourages the importation of silver and bronze 
 rather than gold. And, further, since British silver is practically 
 useless at Sandy Point and Monte Video, the absence of gold 
 coins, ensured by the unlimited legal tender of silver, fortifies 
 the local monopoly for the sale of stores. 
 
 There are no banks or paper currency. 
 
 It is estimated that the total stock of coin in the Colony is 
 about 5,000 /., of which only some 2,000 /. is in " active " circula- 
 tion, or perhaps 1 /. per head of the total circulation. 
 
 8 At the present time the only foreign silver coins are some 20 or 30 U.S. 
 half-dollars, together with n solitary Portuguese 200-reis piece, which is 
 unpopular. 
 
 72642. 
 
150 Colonial Currency. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 THE BERMUDAS. 
 
 (1609.) 
 
 This Colony (f a connecting link between the British Colonies 
 in North America and the British Colonies in the West Indies ") 
 has the distinction of having been the first of existing Colonies to 
 strike a separate coin for its own exclusive use. 
 
 In the Commission of the Virginia Company* to Richard 
 Moore, dated the 27th April 1612, there is contained a promise 
 that '•' by the next supplie there shall be a Coyne sent unto you 
 w th all convenient opportunitie, together w th the rates and value 
 thereof." But there* is no evidence to show that any money 
 was actually struck by the Virginia Company. 
 
 On the re-grant of the Islands to the Somer Islands Company 
 by James L, the Letters Patent of the 29th June 1615 expressly 
 " give and grant to the said Governor and Company and theire 
 successors, that they shall and lawfully may establish and cause 
 to bee made a Coyne to pass currant in the said Somer Islandes 
 betweene the Inhabitants there, for the more ease of commerce 
 and baro-ainins: betweene them, of such mettall and in such 
 manner and forme as the said Governor and L ompany in any ot 
 the said generall Courts shall limitt and appoynt." Action was 
 speedily taken under these powers by the new Company. For, 
 the Instructions to Governor Daniel Tucker of the 15th February 
 1616, state that the Company had "appointed a base coyne, w ch 
 we send rated \\ th our prouisions, whereby you may give to such 
 men there (sc, as declined profit-sharing) weekly wages when 
 they worke, w th w ch coyne y 1 shall be lawfull and free for them to 
 buy any prouisions out of the Store or any ffishe corne tooles, 
 or any other thinge in the Islands where they can gett the same. 
 And to that end you shall proclaime the said Coyne to be currant 
 to pass freelye from man to man only throughout the Islands and 
 not otherwise." The currency of these coins, and their descrip- 
 tion, is stated (with reference to the years 1616-9) in the following 
 passage of " The Historye of the ' Bermudaes " : " A certaine 
 paye of base-mony (deliuered unto the Governour by the Com- 
 
 * For this and other particulars of* the history of the Bermudas up to 1687 
 see the elaborate " Memorials of the Bermudas," by General Sir J. Henry 
 Lefroy (London, 1877), and the same author's " Historye of the Bermudaes," 
 edited for the Hakluyt Society in 1882 from a MS. attributed to Captain 
 John Smith. 
 
 f " The Bermooda is the most plentiful place that ever I came to, for ffishe, 
 Hogges, and ffowles." (Letter of Sir George Somers to the Earl of Salisbury 
 20th June 1610). From Oldmixon's "British Empire in America" it 
 appears that " some have fancied the Islands derived their name from the 
 Hogs, Bermudas signifying in the old Castillian dialect a Black Hog." 
 
Ch. XII. The Bermudas. 151 
 
 pany), and which haueing a hogge stampt upon it on the one 
 side (in memory it should seeme of the great number of wild 
 swinef found vpon the Hands at their first discouery) was, in a 
 scoff, tearmed by the people hogge mony." 
 
 Such was the origin of the ancient and rare brass* hog money 
 of the Bermudas, having (i) on the obverse a wild boar in a 
 beaded circle, with the inscription Sommer Islands, and (ii) on 
 the reverse a ship under sail with the Cross of St. George flying 
 from four mastheads. Above the " hog " is a numeral XII., 
 VI., III., and II. ,f representing the denomination in penee. 
 Sir J. Lefroy is of opinion that these interesting, if flagitious, 
 coins " can never have been issued to any extent, or they would 
 not now be so exceedingly scarce." This view is supported by 
 the words of Captain John Smith in 1624, that "beside meat, 
 drinke, and cloatbs, they had for a time a certaine kinde of brasse 
 money with a hogge on the one side, in memory of the abundance 
 of hogges was found at their first landing/' (" The General] 
 Historie of Virginia, New England, and the Summer Isles," 
 London, 1624.) 
 
 Barter. 
 
 Apart from the insignificant supply of " hog money " the 
 currency of the Bermudas under the domination of the Somer 
 Islands Company (i.e. until 1684), was principally tobacco. It 
 was in this commodity that the " Martial Officers at the Towne" 
 (St. George's) were paid from 1620 onwards, and artificers]; in 
 1623; in 1627 the acting of interludes, &c, was subject to a 
 penalty of 20 lbs. of tobacco, a fine of 10 lbs. being at the same 
 date imposed on the " sale of any figgdrinke to apprentices " ; 
 in tobacco housewives reckoned their marketings, and tenants 
 paid their rents ; § and with tobacco fines, eked out by lashes, 
 the Government battled against the social irregularities of the 
 islanders. At the beginning of the second half of the 17th 
 century the currency of tobacco appears to have been at its 
 height. From 1658 onwards coin tended to supplant tobacco for 
 external, if not for internal, payments, as will be seen, infra, 
 from the legislation relating to coined money. There remain to 
 be noticed the following enactments as to the currency of tobacco 
 in the closing years of the 17th century. 
 
 In 1670 it appears that "payment in tobacco for Accommo- 
 dation of persons at the Assizes not haveing given content to 
 some persons in St. George's; It is unanimously Ordered, That 
 tobacco in all cases be the payment, and not to be refused for 
 
 ° Brass was a term for what we should now call mixed metal or bronze. 
 f Possibly there was a penny also, on analogy with (e-g.) the coinage of 
 Maryland (see p. 0). 
 
 % Who soon raised " a general! complainte that they have been paid with 
 base tobacco for their labours, being such as they could put off for no 
 commodities thy stood in need of." 
 
 8 " Such is the Mould that the blest Tenant feeds 
 
 On precious Fruits, and pays his rent in Weeds." — 
 
 Waller, i; The Battle of the Summer Islands." 
 
 L 2 
 
152 Colonial Currency. 
 
 current payment, according to such value or estimate as it shall 
 be pitched uppon at the tyme of Division.* And the goodness 
 thereof to be Judged (if occasion require) by two substantiall 
 men of the Tribe where it is paiable, or at St. George's." And 
 in 1694 the pay of the Guard of the Castle and " Pagitt's Fort" 
 was fixed in "current money or tobacco at price current." A 
 retrograde step was taken in establishing a fixed rating of 
 tobacco on 31st October 1698, when, under keen stress of 
 Virginian competition, the despairing planters of the Bermudas 
 passed the following Act: "for settling a Current Value on 
 Tobacco of the growth of these Islands ; — " Forasmuch as the 
 Incouragement of the Planting of Tobacco is of great Use and 
 Advantage to these Islands, and has been a Principal Manu- 
 facture here, for ^Employment and Improving of Navigation, 
 Promotion of Freight, and also the proper Medium of Trade 
 and Concern : Now to the intent the Planter may not be totally 
 Discouraged and the aforesaid Ends, plainly tending to the 
 Promotion of the Publick Good and Interest, wholly Frustrated; 
 Be it therefore 'Enacted by the Governor, Council, and Assembly, 
 and hereby it is Enacted by the Authority of the same, That a 
 fixed and settled Value and Price Current be set and put on all 
 Tobacco of the growth of these Islands (that is to say) That all 
 Tobacco being Merchantable, of the growth aforesaid, shall and 
 may go and pass Current Payment to pay and fully to satisfie 
 all Debts Contracted from and after Publication hereof, at the 
 Pate and Current Value of Three Pence per Pound ; only 
 excepted all and singular other Contracts made to the Contrary 
 thereof." 
 
 Coin. 
 
 Side by side with Tobacco, Spanish f silver circulated in the 
 17th Century in the Islands. For the most part, this metallic 
 currency appears to have been derived, in early years at all 
 events, from wrecks and wrecking.^ The occurrence of the 
 Piece of ei^ht and its early underrating at 4 s. (cf. Barbados and 
 Jamaica) are shown by the following Council Minute of April 
 1653 : — " It was then taken into consideration what inconve- 
 niences doth insue by reason that Spanish moneyes do not pass 
 betweene party and party as formerly y* hath done. And (being) 
 debated, y l was ordered that pieces of Eyght should pass for 4 s. 
 per piece for current payment betweene man and man, so they do 
 
 When an annual rating was struck. 
 
 f Some British coin circulated in the earliest years, for, in 1018. — 
 "Thomas Foshrooke, gouldsmitk of Smith's Tribe, did not forbear to melt the 
 King's Ma tu Coyne of Gould & Silver into Bodkins, Eare-wyres, and 
 such like unprofitable and unnecessarie commodities." 
 
 + ""Wee the grand Inquest doe present that whereas it comes to passe that 
 sometymes Shipps lull upon these Coasts and are distressed, wch when our 
 Inhabitants doe perceive they presently goe aboarde them & then by fforce 
 & in a voyclent way Take & carry awaie what they can come by and fall A 
 cutting & haleing down the Rigging tearing down the Sailes even to the 
 Amazement & the astonishment of the shippes Companyes," 7tb Dec : 1G52. 
 ("Memorials," 11.(35.). 
 
Ch. XII. The Bermudas. 153 
 
 not appear to be apparent brasse or copper.* And alsoe all other 
 Spanish to passe as formerly without refusal by any manner of 
 persons." This Minute, which led to a Governor's Proclamation 
 on 26th April 1653, is valuable as indicating (i) that, like 
 Barbados and Jamaica, the Bermudas based their first "deno- 
 minational currency" on a sixpenny rating for the Real, making 
 4s. for the Piece of Eight, and ( ii) that the latter coin, being 
 worth 4s. 6d. sterling, could not be retained in concurrent circu- 
 lation with tobacco. The underrating of Spanish silver forced 
 the local Government, five years later, to raise its denominational 
 value ; and, as in Barbados and Jamaica, the rise was 25 °/ . 
 For, at the Assizes of June 15-17, 1658, " it was presented for 
 consideration of the Gouernor and Counsell that some course 
 might be taken for restrevning men from putting off pieces of 
 eight to seamen, who ought by o r orders here to lay y l out amongst 
 vs, and to continue still in comfortable commerse one w th another 
 as yt was fformerly. Yt was herevpon ordered that all peeces of 
 eight w ch formerly passed current for 4 s. per peece shold hence- 
 forward pass current betweene party and party at 5 s. per peece, 
 provided they are silver; and that this be immediately published 
 throughout the Tribes." 
 
 The same enhanced rating was re-enacted in greater detail in 
 January 1663, as appears from the following: — "Wee the generall 
 Assembly finding great preiudice to our Inhabitants, and much 
 decay in Trade by reason of the want of monie which of late 
 years haue bin carried and conuaied away both by Inhabitants 
 and strangers. It is therefore enacted Etc. That all peeces of 
 coyne commonly called and knowne by the name of peeces of 
 eight being good silver shall bee of the full value of ffiue shillings 
 sterling per peece. And euery half peece of eight shall bee of 
 the full value of two shillings sixpence sterl. and euery Spanish 
 shilling or quarter-peece of eight shall bee of the full value of 
 ffiueteene pence sterl. And every Spanish sixpence! or eighth 
 part of a peece of eight shall bee of the value of seuen-pence 
 halfepenie. And they shall soe passe from person to person in 
 buying or selling or payment of Debts for the time to come. 
 Alwaies provided that what debts haue bin heretofore contracted 
 shall bee paid in peeces of eight at ffoure shillings per peece. 
 And bee it enacted Etc. That Noe commander of ships or 
 (Barques carrying) Passengers for the time to come shall trans- 
 port or carie away with them iu their ships or Barques aboue 
 the value of ffiue pounds, vppon doble the forfeiture of all such 
 some or somes of monie then afore expressed that shall bee found 
 or discouered to be imbarqued : one half to the Informer, the 
 other halfe to bee expended in publique vses." 
 
 The export of coin still continuing, the Company on 10th 
 February 1668 passed the following "Law for raissing y e value 
 of Spanish Coines " : — "The Company takeing in consideration 
 
 * As to the prevalence of counterfeit coins on the mainland at this date, see 
 page 9, with reference to tlie estahlishment of the New England Mint 
 in 1652. 
 
 f As is pointed out above, this is the key to the early 4*. rating of the 
 Piece of Eight. 
 
154 Colonial Currency. 
 
 the great prejudice wrought to the Plantation of the Sorrier 
 Islands by export of y e money there by Strangers tradeing for 
 provisions, hides, oyle, iron, Etc., for prevention whereof Bee it 
 enacted and ordained that all peices of Spanish Coynes coinonly 
 called or knowne by the name of peeces of Eight (that is to say) 
 Sevill, Mexico and piller peeces shall from and after the publica- 
 tion hereof be of the full value of ffive shillings & of fower pence 
 sterl : y e peece and ordinary piller peeces of eight called peine 
 peeces shal be of the full value of flower shillings eight pence 
 sterl : y e peece and the halfe peeces and quarter peeces of either 
 sort to be of the value in like proportion and shall soe passe from 
 pson to pson in the buying or selling of any Coihoditye, or the 
 paym 1 of any debt or in any other manner of way wherein money 
 may be used within the said Islands. And the Governo r and 
 Councell in the said Islands are ymediately upon the receipt of 
 this Law to cause a Proclamation to be made thereof in all places 
 as is usuall in the like case throughout y e Islands and take care 
 that the Inhabitants doe duely observe and pfornie the same 
 accordingly." 
 
 From 1668 to 1707 there is no evidence forthcoming as to 
 currency. But analogy with Jamaica and other Colonies sup- 
 ports the following conjectural history of the changes leading up 
 to the undermentioned Act of 1707. In the first place it will 
 have been seen that silver passed by tale, weights not being 
 specified,* and that the rating of the piece of eight had always 
 been correlated with a proportionate rating of the real. 
 When the latter coin was 6 d., the piece of eight was 4 5. ; the 
 raising of the piece of eight to 5 s. in 1658 entailed the raising 
 of the real to l\d. ; and the foregoing Law of 1668 gave a 
 rating of 5 s. 4 d. to the piece of eight which presumes the 8 d. 
 rating for the real.f At each step, it will be observed, the 
 rating was so fixed as to allow of a valuation of the real in a 
 round number of pence and halfpence. Consequently, when in 
 1686 Spain made 10 reals of " new plate" equal to the piece of 
 eight, the Bermudas, retaining the old 8 d. rating for the new 
 real, raised the denominational value of the piece of eight from 
 (8 x 8) rf. to (8xlO)rf. And the new currency value of the 
 piece of eight at 6 s. 8d. was the reason why the Islanders' 
 practices conflicted with Queen Anne's Proclamation of 1704, 
 limiting the currency value of the piece of eight of lYg dwts. to 
 6 s.J To get over the difficulty, the Bermudas decided in 1707 to 
 adopt a gold, instead of a silver standard, but only so long as the 
 obnoxious Proclamation was in force ! The Bermudas have the 
 distinction of being the first to defeat the Royal Proclamation 
 by legal weapons. 
 
 There was a local Act passed in 1704 prohibiting the clipping of Spanish 
 money, which is proof of light silver circulating here, as elsewhere in the 
 British "Plantations," at the beginning of the 18th Century. 
 
 | This may also be inferred from Governor Popple's rating of the pistareen 
 (of two new reals) at Is. -id. in the beginning of the next century. (See 
 infra) . 
 
 X See page 1 4. 
 
Ch. XII. The Bermuda-, loo 
 
 The following is the text of the Bermudas Act of 1707 
 " for settling a Current Value upon Foreign gold in these 
 Islands " : — * 
 
 '" Whereas there hath been no Current Value as vet set upon 
 Gold, which manv times causeth Disputes and Differences, in 
 passing the same ; and for prevention whereof for the future, we, 
 therefore, Your Majesty's most dutiful and Loyal Subjects, the 
 Assembly of these your Majesty's Bermuda or Summer Islands 
 in America, Do most humbly beseech Your Majesty, that it 
 may be Enacted ; and be it Enacted and Ordained by the 
 Authority of the same, That from and after publication hereof, 
 all Pistoles of gold weighing Four Pennyweight and Six grains,f 
 shall pass current in these Islands at Twenty-four shillings ; and 
 Half Pistoles and ChicquinsJ of gold weighing two Pennyweight 
 and Three grains at Twelve shillings, and all Double Pistoles, 
 weighing Eight Penny Weight and Twelve grains at Forty eight 
 shillings each ; and for every grain the said several Pistoles, 
 Double Pistoles, Halves, and Chicquins, shall weigh more or less 
 than is afore expressed, shall be allowed Three Pence ; and that 
 this Act be and remain in full force, for and during the con- 
 tinuance of Her Majesty's Proclamation for Settling and Ascer- 
 taining the Current Rates of Foreign Coin in Her Majesty's 
 Colonies and Plantations in America, and no longer." 
 
 It will be seen that the weights set down for all but the 
 smallest of these gold coins is less than the standard ; but that 
 the provision of 3 d. per grain (of difference) placed a premium 
 of some 12 per cent, on heavier coins. It will also be observed 
 that the Act takes as its basis the Proclamation rate of 6 s. per 
 (heavy) piece of eight, making the (light) pistole worth four 
 times 6 s., or 24 s., in accordance with the Spanish monetary 
 system. With the formal adoption of a gold standard, silver was 
 driven out and inconvenience experienced in minor traffic. The 
 latter evil, here as elsewhere in the West Indies, was met by 
 the appearance of the pistareen (see page 16), which served as the 
 chief subsidiary coinage for internal purposes, whilst gold formed 
 the medium of external exchanges. 
 
 The following review of Bermuda currency from 1700 to 1739 
 was furnished by Governor Alured Popple to the Board of Trade 
 and Plantations on 20th December, 1739: "There never has 
 been any Paper Money current here. I beg leave to acquaint 
 your Lordships that all Spanish, French, or other foreign Coin 
 
 * This Act passed the Assembly and the Governor in Council on 9th May 
 1707, and was " published on the Town Bridge in St. George's" on the same 
 day. 
 
 f This corresponds to the weight of 17 dwts. assigned in 1699 to the 
 doubloon or quadruple pistole in Antigua, where a piece of eight of 17 dwts. 
 was rated at fs. As the proper weight of a pisiole on issue was 4 dwts. 8 grs., 
 according to Sir Isaac Newton, it may be presumed that b's. in the Bermudas 
 would purchase a piece of eight of about 16 dwts. only, which tallies with a 
 rating of (is. 8 d. for a piece of eight of full 17£ dwts. 
 
 % So, too, the Virginia racing of the " Arabian " chequins %\as two pieces of 
 eight of 16 dwts. each, as stated by Oldmixon in 1708. See page 397 > 
 with regard to this coin. 
 
156 Colonial Currency. 
 
 have always, and are now accounted, receiv'd, taken or paid at 
 the rate of 6 s. 10£ d. p Ounce, but being often scarce, the 
 Merchants do sometimes give a premium of 5, 6, or 8 p Cent, in 
 order to obtain Silver to make Remittances Home. Spanish 
 Pistereens have for some time pass'd, been receiv'd and paid by- 
 Tale at the Rate of 16 pence each, some of them weighing more, 
 but more of them weighing less. This has been done for the 
 ease of the Inhabitants, who by general Consent for the more 
 easy Circulation of Money have agreed to take them from one to 
 the other at the above Rate. 
 
 " All Spanish, Portuguese, and other foreign gold coins, are 
 accounted, received, taken or paid, and have ever since the 
 passing the Act for settling a current value upon foreign gold, at 
 the rates therein mention'd. This Act was pass'd here in 1707 
 and is to continue in Force so long as the Proclamation enacted 
 by an Act of Parliament Pass'd in the 6ih year of Queen Anne 
 entituled ' An Act for ascertaining the Rate of foreign coin in 
 her Plantations in America,' shall continue in force and no 
 longer. 
 
 "Gold and silver has always been purchas'd and sold, as 
 follows, Viz 1 . : — Gold for 5 1. to 4 /. 10 s. p ounce, and silver 
 from 6 s. 10 d. to 5 Shill. p Ounce. 
 
 "An English auinea passes Current here for 11. 8 s. 8d." (i.e., 
 £rd above the old rating of the guinea at 21 s. 6d.), " an English 
 crown at 6 s. 8 d., and half-crowns, shillings, and six-pences in the 
 same proportion."* 
 
 In the second half of the 18th century the Bermudas were 
 constrained to issue paper money. The origin of this issue 
 appears to be traceable to an Act of 1761 " for raising a sum of 
 money for the use of His Majesty, his Heirs and Successors, as 
 well as for the immediate arming and fitting out of two private 
 vessels of war, &c." The " certificates " issued for this purpose, 
 and subsequently for other public purposes (such as salaries, &c. ), 
 bore interest after six months, and were legal tender by and to 
 the Public Treasurer " in the same manner as gold and silver 
 
 * Interesting as throwing light on the general commercial conditions of the 
 Bermudas in the first halt of the 18th century is the following extract from a 
 Report of the Board of Trade and Plantations to the House of Lords on 
 23rd January 1733-4 : 
 
 " By the Returns made to Us from the Governors of the Bermuda and 
 Bahama Islands in the year 1730, We find that the only Manufactures set 
 up in those small Governments are the Building of Sloops, the making Hats 
 ot a Production called Plat, and a little Joiner's Work. But their Sloops, 
 especially thnse of Bermuda, make the principal Article of their Commerce, 
 and are Sold or Bartered for Provisions & Negroes in the other Parts of 
 America ami the West Indies." 
 
 This is corroborated by Oldmixon in 1741 ; but both industries are stated 
 to he moribund. He adds (with reference to 1708), " This Colony produces 
 no considerable Commodity by which the Inhabitants may be enriched, & 
 their commerce consists chiefly in Timber and Provisions, which they send to 
 the other Parts of America that stand in Need of them, and some Tobacco 
 imported to Kngland. There is a sort of pedling Retail Trade between 
 England & these Islands, by which neither the inhabitants of the one place or 
 the other grow much the richer. Our diet is but ordinary ; the People are 
 generally poor, & I observe that poor People are most healthful." 
 
Ch. XII. The Bermudas. 157 
 
 monies now are." The absence of definite information as to 
 Bermuda currency, and as to the amounts of " certificates " out- 
 standing from time to time, makes it matter of conjecture how far 
 this paper money affected the rates of gold coins retained in 
 concurrent circulation. It may well be that it was to forbid the 
 exacting of a premium on gold, as against paper money, as well 
 as to legalise the currency (i) of Portuguese moidores and ''joes " 
 (which were unknown in 1707) and (ii) of Spanish gold coins of 
 the 1786 issue (when the standard was reduced to 21 -carats 
 fine) that in 1787 the colony passed an Act "for settling a value 
 on all Foreign Gold Coin current in these Islands." This 
 Act, which recites that " inconveniences have arisen from the 
 want of a certain Value being fixed on the Foreign Gold Coin 
 circulating in these Islands," enacts that " each and every Grain 
 contained in any Piece of Foreign Gold Coin current in these 
 Islands may be estimated at, and pass current in Payment for, 3 d. 
 current Money of these Islands." As this Act rated all current 
 gold coins alike at 3 d. per grain, notwithstanding their varying 
 degrees of fineness, the Spanish doubloon (and its parts), being 
 only 21 carats fine, necessarily held the field as the metallic 
 standard. The equivalent of local currency in sterling (standard 
 irold being 22 carats fine) is found as follows : — 
 
 3 x 22 
 As the legal value of 1 grain of standard gold = — ^\ — d. 
 
 . • . 123*275 grains, or 1./. sterling,* = 11. 12 s. 4 d. (about), 
 or, in other words, the " pound currency " in gold was worth 
 nearly 12 s. 5 d. sterling and 161*55/. currency was equal to 
 100 I. sterling. 
 
 In order to supplement the small change of the Islands, a 
 supply of Bermuda pennies was obtained in 1793 from England 
 and made current by the following Act : — " Whereas His 
 Majesty has been graciously pleased by his Order in Council of 
 1st February 1793 to authorize Matthew Bolton, Esquire, of 
 Birmingham, in England, to strike for the use of the Inhabitants 
 of these Islands a quantity of copper coin, not exceeding the 
 value of £ 200 sterling ; and whereas it is deemed essential to 
 the welfare of the community, that such part of the said Coin as 
 is already received be put into immediate circulation, be it 
 enacted, &c, that the Treasurer be authorized to pay in any 
 Copper Coin that is or may be in the Treasury, in consequence 
 of the said Order in Council, to any person having a demand on 
 the Public, 2^% on the amount of such demand at the rate of 
 12 coppers for Is. currency, and that the person having such 
 demand be obliged to receive such Copper Coin in payment, at 
 such rate, in the same manner as gold and silver monies are by 
 law or custom made payable in these Islands, until the whole 
 quantity of Copper Coin shall have been emitted from the 
 Treasury, either by payment, exchange, or otherwise. 
 
 " And be it further enacted by the Authority aforesaid, that 
 in any other payments, after the passing of this Act, no person 
 
 •The sovereign was of course not coined until 1816, but its weight is [$ of 
 the guinea, and represents the gold pound of account of the 18th century. 
 
158 Colonial Currency. 
 
 be obliged to receive more than eleven Coppers in any payment 
 whatever, and- that on all occasions a tender of a less number of 
 Coppers than twelve be deemed as payment at the rate aforesaid, 
 in the same manner as gold and silver monies are by law or 
 custom made payable within these Islands."* 
 
 These copper coins had an unluckv fate. On the voyage out, 
 " a part was captured and carried to France ; and about the 
 sum of $ 600 was received in the Colony, which appeared to be 
 adequate to the demand for it ; but in consequence of the 
 relative value of that coin with the Spanish Dollar becoming 
 greater than in change, it was mostly taken off." 
 
 On 29th February 1816 a Committee of the Council and 
 House of Assembly furnished the following particulars to the 
 Board of Trade as to the currency of the colony : — 
 
 Current silver coins were the Spanish milled dollar and its 
 parts, together with " Quarter pieces of-eight,f commonly called 
 Pistareens, the eighths of pieces of eight, commonly called Bits, 
 equal to tenths of Dollars, and the sixteenths of pieces of 
 eight, commonly called Groats, equal to twentieths of Dollars.' 
 As is indicated by the last particular, the dollar passed as 
 6 s. 8 d- currency. The quantity of circulating specie was 
 " extremelv fluctuating." 
 
 " As to gold, the general rate of currency is 6 s. currency per 
 pennyweight " {i.e., 3 d. per grain, or 6 I. per oz.), " the par of 
 exchange being 150 /. currencv for 100/. British sterling." It 
 will be observed that this " par " is incorrect ; but it was 
 approximately true in practice since,- in the words of the 
 Governor in 1816, "coins of the basest nature circulate at 
 precisely the same value as those of the utmost purity. I am 
 not indeed aware," he adds, "that any very sensible incon- 
 venience has yet been sustained from this circumstance, probably 
 from its not having been elsewhere sufficiently known." 
 
 It may consequently be concluded from the above facts, and 
 on analogy with other colonies at the same date, that the 
 Bermudas, prior to 1825, enjoyed a gold standard (the Spanish 
 doubloon); that silver dollars could not be retained in concurrent 
 circulation; and that the pistareen and its parts formed the sub- 
 sidiary currency of the colony. 
 
 When in 1825 the Imperial Government sought to establish 
 British silver as the currency of the colonies ( see page 23), the 
 endeavour failed, here as elsewhere, owing (i) to the over- 
 valuation of the dollar at 4 s. 4 d. sterling, and (ii) to the popular 
 over-valuation of the gold doubloon as the equivalent of sixteen 
 dollars. But. eventually, in ihe Bermudas, as in Jamaica and 
 British Honduras, though the Colonial Government required the 
 full 13 s. in British silver for every " pound currency," consisting of 
 three dollars, the shilling passed generally, as between individuals, 
 
 * This Act passed the Assembly on the 24th, the Council on the '25th, and 
 the Governor on the 20th day of April 1794. This curious limit still survives, 
 it will be seen, in the monetary system of the Bermuda* at the present day. 
 
 f The "piece of eight" here referred to is not the early Spanish-American 
 dollar, but the (provincial) piece of eight reals of " new plate" (see page 392). 
 
Ch. XII. The Bermudas. 159 
 
 as a quarter-dollar (or 1-1 2th of a pound currency), making 
 100/. sterling equal to 166 /. 13*-. 4 c?. currency. As a doubloon 
 was worth 64 s. sterling, and was regarded as equal to 1 6 dollars, 
 this popular rating correctly adjusted the relative values of the 
 doubloon and the British shilling, whilst it entirely barred the 
 silver dollar from circulation. 
 
 After the publication of the Royal Proclamation of 1838 (see 
 page 27), whereby the values of the doubloon and dollar were 
 (for the time) correctly adjusted both to one another and to 
 sterling, the colony in 1841 wisely dispensed with its old system 
 of denominational currency by enacting that on and after 
 1st January 1842 the currency of the United Kingdom* should 
 also be the currency of the islands, and that 166 /. 13 s. Ad. in 
 currency should be the equivalent of 100/. sterling. Provision 
 was made at the same time, on the lines of the ratings of 1838, 
 for the concurrent circulation of doubloons at 64 s., and of 
 dollars at 4 s. 2 d., provided every doubloon or dollar weighed 
 17 dwt. 8 grains. 
 
 About 1874 there was a great and increasing import of the 
 gold and silver coins of the United States, particularly silver ;f 
 but the merchants unanimously agreed among themselves to 
 decline receiving this currency except at a heavy discount, and 
 it was soon exported again. In 1876, in view of the deprecia- 
 tion of the gold-price of silver, the Currency Act (1841) Amend- 
 ment Act 1876 was passed, repealing the provision of 1841 as to 
 the currency of dollars, and restricting the legal tender of copper 
 or bronze coins to 1 1 d. in any one payment. 
 
 At various times endeavours have been made to limit the legal 
 tender of British silver to 40 «., but without success. The 
 trading community generally appears to be, or at least to have 
 been, opposed to this salutary change, though they are familiar 
 in practice with the extra \ per cent, premium which they have 
 to pay for bills on London if purchased with silver. The last 
 Bill imposing a 40 s. limit was introduced into the local legisla- 
 ture in 1882, but was shorn of its limiting provision before 
 becoming law as the Legal Tender Act 1882. This Act is 
 indeed confined to a single operative clause, % aimed at prevent- 
 ing the import of light British gold (from the United States and 
 elsewhere), which was rapidly debasing the local currency. 
 
 As there is no " least current weight " for British silver coins, 
 
 * See also the amending Act of 18(51. 
 
 -j- Cf. the Bahamas for a similar phenomenon at this date. 
 
 % Section II.— "A tender of payment of money, if made in gold or 
 silver coins which have been issued by Her Majesty's Mint, or which, having 
 been issued by any branch mint in Her Majesty's colonial possessions, have 
 under any proclamation of Her Majesty been made current and legal tender 
 irt the United Kingdom, and which gold or silver coins have not been called 
 in by any Proclamation, and have not become diminished in weight by wear 
 or otherwise, so as to be of less weight than the current weight at which the 
 same respectively are legal tender or legally current in the United Kingdom, 
 shall be a legal tender ; and no other money or coin than such coin as is 
 hereinbefore mentioned shall be legal tender in these islands except copper 
 or bronze coin as far as the same is made legal tender by the Act passed in 
 the year 187(5, entitled ' An Act to amend the Law relating to the Currency and. 
 Value of certain Foreign Silver Coins and other purposes.' ' 
 
160 Colonial Currency. 
 
 the provision as to light coins is of course operative only as 
 regards sovereigns and half-sovereigns. The net effect of the 
 section appears to be to assimilate the currency of British coins 
 in the Bermudas to that prevailing at the time being in the 
 United Kingdom. And it will be observed that by this section 
 the doubloon, the last foreign coin to retain legal currency, was 
 demonetised, leaving British coins the sole legal tender in the 
 colony. It would naturally have been expected that so large a 
 trade with the neighbouring United States would have led, as in 
 the Bahamas, to the adoption in practice, if not at law, of the 
 U.S. gold currency as the insular standard. But, as a matter of 
 fact, the Bermudas have never allowed themselves to be drawn 
 into the U.S. currency area. 
 
 It was estimated at the beginning of 1892 that the total amount 
 of coin in circulation (there is no paper) was 90,000 /. (30,000 I. 
 being in silver), or about 5 /. per head of the population (18,000 
 in round figures, including the troops). But it is difficult, on 
 analogy with other Islands, to believe that the " active " cir- 
 culation of the Bermudas can amount to more than one-fifth of 
 this sum. 
 
Ch. XIII. The Bahamas. 161 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 The Bahamas.* 
 
 (1666.) 
 
 Prior to the year 1750 there is little evidence of the state of 
 the currency in these islands ; but there are chance references 
 to the subject which, considered in the light of fuller knowledge 
 concerning the currency of neighbouring colonies, make it 
 possible to reconstruct in part the history of currency in the 
 Bahamas during its earliest years. 
 
 Under the Proprietaries of Providence, according to Oldmixon's 
 " British Empire in America " (1708), " the most considerable 
 profit made by the inhabitants of Providence was by the mis- 
 fortune of poor adventurers : either such as were shipwrecked, 
 or such as in a winter-voyage for the continent of America, were 
 driven to the Bahama Islands and put into Providence for 
 provisions. As for wreck?, the people of Providence, Harbour 
 Island, and Eleuthera, dealt in them as it is said the good 
 men of Sussex do : All that came ashore was prize, and if 
 a sailor had, by better luck than the rest, got ashore as well as 
 his wreck, he was not sure of getting off again as well. Wrecks 
 and Pirates were the only hope of Providence, there being no 
 product to trade with except brasiletto wood and salt, which 
 the people exported to the continent and other islands. Carolina 
 being the nearest colony to this, the people of Providence traded 
 most thither." Even the Governor of 1691 "highly caressed 
 those pirates who came to Providence," as to a congenial resort. 
 It is further stated that about the year 1700 Governor Hasket 
 " found an unruly people, and they were the more so, for few 
 wrecks had happened lately, and the pirates began to spend their 
 money elsewhere." And it is in the same year that Mr. Fysack's 
 Memorial (see page 12) furnishes the earliest specific informa- 
 tion as to the currency system of the Bahamas. The occurrence 
 of the universal coin of the day in these islands had already been 
 instanced by Samuel Smith's confession in the Bei'mudas that he 
 had "hidden 1,000 peeces of eight in the Bohemia {sic) Islands"; 
 and Fysack's Memorial gives specific information as to the local 
 rating of this coin ; " a peice of eight in the Bahamy Islands 
 being about five shillings." The rating was stated to be " the 
 same in Carolina," and it is probable that it was trade-relations 
 with the latter colony which had established this common seven- 
 teenth-century rating in the Bahamas also. 
 
 From 1703 to 1717 the Bahamas were a pirates' stronghold ; 
 in the words of an Address of the House of Lords to the King 
 in the latter year, " the usual retreat and general receptacle for 
 the pirates are at Providence." This led to the expulsion of the 
 pirates by Captain Woodes "Rogers, which is commemorated by 
 
 * For information respectingexisting conditions of currency in the Bahamas, 
 I am indebted to Captain Jackson, c.m.g., the Colonial Secretary. 
 
162 
 
 Colonial Currency. 
 
 the motto, expulsis piratis rcstitutu commerciu, both on the Colonial 
 Seal and on the copper coins struck for the colony a century- 
 later. Whatever currency legislation may have been effected 
 prior to 1734 is now lost, for reasons best explained in the 
 Governor's words of 10th February of that year : " After the 
 death of Mr . Rogers, all the Acts of Assembly of these islands 
 were secreted or conveyed away by some person to prevent their 
 being put in execution, except an Act for levying divers sum!- 
 of money. &c, which was in the dead of night left at my door 
 wrapt in a sheet of clean paper without any direction." 
 
 It is, however, eertain that these troubled years witnessed that 
 change from a silver to a gold standard of value, which was 
 characteristic of the currency history of all the West Indian 
 Colonies in the early part of the eighteenth century. And, 
 further, that light gold coins circulated, and that it was found 
 necessary in 1744 to fix by law minimum weights and current 
 ratings for the foreign gold coins which formed the local 
 circulatory medium, may be gathered from the preamble of the 
 Act of 1750 ''for settling and ascertaining the current rates of 
 foreign gold in this Government," which runs as follows : 
 " Whereas an Act, intituled an Act for settling and ascertaining 
 the current rates of foreign gold in this Government," passed at 
 an Assembly begun and held at Nassau the 21st day of February 
 1744,* is liable to objections for want of a proviso that the same 
 shall not restrain his Majesty from regulating and settling those 
 coins in any other manner, and of a clause for suspending the 
 execution thereof until his Majesty's pleasure shall have been 
 known : Be it therefore enacted, &c, that the before-mentioned 
 Act be, and is hereby, repealed. And, forasmuch as it is 
 necessary that the value of foreign gold should be ascertained, 
 to prevent the disputes and inconveniences which may arise by 
 reason of the same being clipped and otherwise diminished," &c, 
 ratings were prescribed by the Act (which presumably merely 
 re-enacted, with a suspending clause, &c, the irregular Act of 
 1744) as follows : — 
 
 Description. 
 
 Current 
 Money. 
 
 Portugal Pieces, commonly called Jo- 
 annas (halves, &c, proportionably) - 
 
 Spanish 4-Pistole Pieces (i.e., " Doub- 
 loons") - 
 
 Spanish 2-Pistole Pieces - 
 
 Spanish and French Pistoles 
 
 Half-Pistoles and Chequins* 
 
 Moydores of Portugal - 
 
 (Halves and quarters proportionably.) 
 
 * Neither in the Record Office nor in the Island Archives can a copy of 
 this Act now be found. 
 
 f See page 397 for the currency of this "Arabian gold " in the Bermudas, 
 Leeward Islands, &c , at the same date. 
 
Ch. XIII. The Bahamas. 
 
 163 
 
 " arid for every grain which the several species of coins before- 
 mentioned shall weigh more or less than is afore-expressed, there 
 shall be allowed 4.\ d" 
 
 As all these gold coins are rated alike, irrespective of fineness, 
 at one uniform rating of 3*37 d.per grain of their specified weight, it 
 is clear that the above legal allowance of 4^ d. per grain of difference 
 from the prescribed weights, encouraged the circulation of full- 
 weight coins. And, as the Spanish gold coins were at least one 
 per cent, inferior in fineness (even before 1772) to the gold coins 
 of France and Portugal, it is equally clear that a further premium 
 was placed by the Act on heavy Spanish gold. The further 
 lowering of the Spanish standard to 901 per raille in 1772, and to 
 875 in 1786, tended to establish even more firmly the supremacy 
 of Spanish gold coins of full weight in the Bahamas. 
 
 This supremacy of Spanish gold, and the lowering of the 
 Spanish standard of fineness for gold in 1786, explain why in 
 1788 the Colony found it necessary to pass the Act 28 Geo. III., 
 cap. I., " for regulating and ascertaining the value of the current 
 coin in the Bahama Islands," which recites that the Acts of 1744 
 and 1750 " are from the alteration of the circumstances of these 
 islands become almost useless." The new Act provided that " all 
 mill'd gold not clipp'd, plugged, or otherwise defaced," should 
 thenceforth pass at the following rates: — 
 
 Description. 
 
 Wei 
 
 ght. 
 
 Currency. 
 
 
 dwts. 
 
 grs. 
 
 <£. s. d. 
 
 English Guinea _•__•_ 
 
 5 
 
 4 
 
 1 18 - 
 
 French Double Guinea - 
 
 10 
 
 4 
 
 3 12 - 
 
 „ Single „ 
 Whole Johannes 
 
 5 
 18 
 
 2 
 
 1 16 - 
 
 6 8- 
 
 Half „ ... . 
 
 9 
 
 - 
 
 3 4- 
 
 Moydore ------ 
 
 Spanish Milled Doubloon - 
 
 6 
 17 
 
 16 
 
 8 
 
 2 8- 
 6 4 - 
 
 Fractions of the above coins were to be rated proportionately ; 
 and " for every grain short a deduction of 3£ d. shall be made " ; 
 clipped, plugged, and other defaced gold to pass likewise at 3%d. 
 
 a grain. 
 
 The Act then proceeded to rate silver coins as follows : — 
 
 Spanish Milled Dollar - - - 
 
 (i, k> h ' tn > i n proportion). 
 
 English Shilling - 
 
 (Sixpence proportionately). 
 
 Pistareen .-.-.,-.- 
 (| and £th in proportion). 
 
 s. d. 
 
 - 8 - 
 
 - 1 9 
 
 - 1 6 
 
164 Colonial Currency. 
 
 These ratings of silver coins are the first, it will be observed, 
 which are recorded for the Bahamas since 1700. Conjecturally, 
 on analogy with the ascertained facts of currency during the same 
 period in other West Indian Colonies (e.g., Jamaica), it may be 
 premised that (i.) by the change from a silver to a gold standard, 
 and (ii.) by the introduction of the " base Pistareen " and the Real 
 of "new plate" (10 of which went to the dollar, as against eight 
 Mexican Reals), the 5 s. rating of the silver dollar was raised 
 first to 6 s. 3 d. (=5s. x \° ), and thence by successive stages 
 to 6 s. 9 d. (the 1750 rating of the " gold dollar," or sixteenth of 
 a doubloon), but more probably to 6 s. 8 d., the convenient 
 Jamaica rating, admitting of division both by 8 and by 10 for 
 the Mexican and "new plate" Reals, respectively. The 1788 
 rating of the silver dollar at 8 s., or threepence more than the "gold 
 dollar," indicates an endeavour to retain Spanish silver in circula- 
 tion ; and it will be observed that the Pistareen was (wisely) 
 valued in 1788 at less than its Spanish proportion of a fifth of a 
 dollar. 
 
 Like the earlier Acts, the Act of 1788 erred in rating all gold 
 coins alike by gross weight, irrespective of relative fineness, and 
 may therefore be taken to have left Spanish gold with the supre- 
 macy over otlfer gold coins. And as the ratings in the Act 
 proceeded on the basis of somewhat over 3| d. per grain, it 
 follows that heavy coins continued to have the preference for 
 payments. And, taking the sterling values of the dollar and the 
 doubloon at 4 s. 2 d. and 64 s. respectively, it will be seen that, 
 in order to correctly adjust the ratings of the two coins, the 
 doubloon ought to have been rated, not at 124 s., but at 
 122 s. 10 h d. (on the basis of 8 s. for the dollar). In other words 
 the gold doubloon was over-rated 1*68 per cent., as against the 
 silver dollar. Having thus regulated the currency of gold and 
 silver coins, the local legislature of the Bahamas proceeded in 
 the following year to pass the Act 29 Geo. III. cap. 2, to 
 obviate " the inconveniences from the want of a well-regulated 
 copper currency, " and to demonetise all silver coins other than 
 those specified in the Act of 1788. As appears from the 
 preamble of the Act 42 Geo. III. cap. 9, nothing was done from 
 1789 to 1802 in the matter of the copper tokens (pence) proposed 
 for the Colony. But in the latter year the Act last mentioned 
 provided that 12 of these should contain in pure copper only 4 d. 
 sterling, instead of 6\d. as proposed in 1789, and that the limit of 
 legal tender for the new tokens should be 2 s. instead of 20 s. 
 currency. A supply of these pence to the nominal value of 
 500/. currency was ordered in 1806, and was struck in the same 
 and the following years at Boulton's Mint at Birmingham. These 
 Bahamas pence (which borrowed their legend from the Colonial 
 Seal) were " intended to supply the negroes with small money, 
 but they refused to take them, and the project came to 
 nothing." 
 
 In 1816 the Colonial Agent stated that the current silver coins 
 were dollars and their fractional parts (h, \, \, and T Vh) ; the 
 quantity in circulation for common use was but small, but the 
 quantity of dollars to be found in the islands was very great, as 
 
Ch. XIII. The Bahamas. 165 
 
 there were frequent importations of silver into the colony and 
 great exportations thence to Great Britain. The result, said the 
 Agent, was that the current silver was of full weight. 
 
 In 1825 the Imperial Government endeavoured to introduce 
 British silver and copper coins into general circulation throughout 
 the colonies (see p. 23). In proclaiming locally the provisions 
 of the Order in Council of 23rd March 1825 the Governor on 
 23rd August of that year declared 10 s. 10 d. in sterling coins to 
 be equivalent to 1 I. currency. Or, in other words, the pound 
 sterling was to be equivalent to 11. 16 s. ll-^rf. But, as the 
 silver dollar was rated in the Order in Council at 4 s. 4 d., instead 
 of 4 s. 2 d., for concurrent circulation with sterling, and as the 
 doubloon was further over-rated in this colony nearly two per 
 cent, relatively to the dollar, the British coins were driven out 
 as fast as they were introduced by the Commissariat. 
 
 Though the dollar could hold its own against the shilling, its 
 currency was menaced soon after 1825 by the competition of the 
 new Spanish pistareen, or peseta of the Peninsula. In 1828 it 
 was found necessary to pass the Act 9 Geo. IV. cap. 18, reciting 
 that since 1788 this novel coin, purporting to be an " unpillared 
 quarter " was being profitably imported in great quantities and 
 was driving out all other coins, both gold and silver. The Act 
 goes on to enact that the Spanish peseta, the Spanish real (or 
 half-peseta, known in this colony hitherto as a " shilling ") and 
 the half-real (or " sixpence "), should pass current at the rate of 
 only five pesetas, or 10 reals to the dollar, and that these coins 
 should not be legal tender for more than 1 1, currency in any one 
 payment. 
 
 When, on 7th September 1838, the Imperial Government passed 
 the remedial measures (see page 27) whereby the dollar was cor- 
 rectly rated at 4 s. 2 d., and the doubloon at 64 s., for concurrent 
 circulation with sterling, the Bahamas legislature, recognising 
 that the day of Spanish currency was over, hastened to enact in 
 November of the same year, that sterling should thenceforth be 
 the local money of account, and that old debts should be paid at 
 the rate of 4 s. 2 d. sterling for every 8 s. ($1) of the old currency. 
 The Bahamas have the credit of being the first among the 
 Colonies to take this sensible step. 
 
 A few years later the peseta again gave trouble, as ' c in conse- 
 quence of the recent reduction in the current value of the said 
 peseta in the neighbouring Island of Cuba, and the lesser rate at 
 which the said peseta obtains currency in the United States of 
 America, the said coin is again being introduced in considerable 
 quantities into these islands*" The Act 8 Vict. c. 49, accord- 
 ingly reduced the rating of the peseta from 10 d. to 9 d. sterling, 
 and provided that after one year the coin should cease to be a 
 legal tender in the Colony. 
 
 "In private transactions," reported Governor Gregory in 1850, 
 " the community seem determined to adhere to the old currency. 
 Prices are all stated either in dollars and cents, or in Bahama 
 currency, 1 /. sterling being equivalent to 2 /. old currency." 
 The latter words are of interest as showing that, at some date 
 
 72642. M 
 
166 Colonial Currency. 
 
 between 1838 and 1850, there had grown up a popular and con- 
 ventional rating of $\, or 8 s. currency, at 4 s. sterling, instead 
 of 4 s. 2 d. This overrating of British coins explains why- 
 Governor Gregory reports that "a considerable proportion of the 
 coin in circulation consists of sovereigns, holf-crowns, shilling, 
 and sixpenny pieces," merely adding that " American and 
 Spanish dollars are also a legal tender." 
 
 In connection with the salt industry a currency had for some 
 time been given conventionally to the French five-franc piece, 
 ind, as it appeared that, frequently, the inhabitants of the salt- 
 producing islands could only dispose of their salt by taking 
 French coins in payment, the Act, 13 Vict. c. 23, was passed in 
 1850, providing that the five-franc piece should " pass currently 
 and be lawfully paid and received within and throughout these 
 islands at and after the rate and value of 3 s. 10| d. of the lawful 
 money of these islands, and in the like proportion for the other 
 French silver or gold coins of the same denomination." It will 
 be observed that this enactment gives unlimited tender not only 
 to the standard coins of France, but also to the token franc and 
 two-franc piece. 
 
 The 4 5. rating of the silver dollar stimulated the export of 
 these coins Avhen their gold-price w r as enhanced by the gold 
 discoveries of 1849 and the following years. " In consequence 
 of the exportation of dollars and other silver coins," wrote the 
 Commissary on 15th June 1853, "the gold coins of the United 
 States of America have become the circulating medium through- 
 out these Islands, and pass at the rate of 4 s. 2 d. sterling per 
 dollar, but by convention only ; and, as they are now the only 
 coins of value that appear, and as they must in my opinion ere 
 long form the basis of the currency of the Colony, the sooner an 
 established sterling value is fixed on them, the better it will be 
 for trade and for the community in general." The Commissary 
 added that the 4 5. 2 d. i-ate obtained <: at the Bank and for 
 all mercantile transactions ; but persons receiving small sums 
 . . . are compelled to part with their gold for household pur- 
 poses, or in exchange for silver coins, at the rate of 4 s. per 
 dollar, being a loss to them of 4 per cent." Accordingly, 
 legal currency was given to coins of the United States, the eagle 
 being rated at 2 7. 1 s., and the gold dollar at 4 .v. Id., by the 
 Order in Council and Proclamation of 19th August 1853 (see 
 page 435), which was brought into operation locally by the 
 Governor's Proclamation of 15th October of the same year. 
 Not till 11 years later were silver coins of the United States 
 admitted to tender. Following the conventional rating of a 
 " dollar " as 4 s. sterling, the Order in Council and Proclamation 
 of 1st March 1864 (brought into operation in the Bahamas by 
 the Governor's Proclamation of 6th April of the same year) gave 
 ratings of 2 s. and 1 s. respectively to the token half and quarter 
 dollar of the United States. But though these fractional parts 
 of the silver U.S. dollar were thus admitted to tender, no action 
 was taken then, or has been taken since, to give legal currency 
 to the whole silver dollar. 
 
Ch. XIII. The Bahamas. 167 
 
 In 1873 it became profitable to ship away all the U.S. gold 
 coins, and practically all the British token silver ; whilst half and 
 quarter U.S. dollars, purchasable in New York for 3 s. 9<L, 
 were poured into the Bahamas at 4 s. per dollar. Consequently, 
 by 1876, the circulating- medium of the Colony consisted practi- 
 cally of the above token fractions of the U.S. silver dollar, with 
 British fourpenny and threepenny bits and a miscellaneous collec- 
 tion of copper coins for small change. At this date there were 
 only a few Mexican dollars in the Colony, popularly rated at 4 s. 
 
 With the passing of the Bland Act in 1878, and the con- 
 sequent restoration of the silver dollar as a standard coin 
 in the United States, the merchants and shopkeepers of the 
 Bahamas hastened to ship off the U.S. silver coins in settlement 
 of their liabilities on the mainland. And the Mexican dollar, 
 worth at the time only 3 s. 9 d. sterling, flowed in, to pass 
 current at 4 s. (legally 4 s. 2d.). By the beginning of 1881 the 
 circulatory medium was reduced to these Mexican coins. The 
 first idea of the Colony, in 1879, was to legalise the currency of 
 this dollar at 4 s.; next it was proposed to rate it at 3 s. 9 d. ; 
 and there was also a proposal to have a special coinage of florins, 
 shillings, &c, stamped" Bahamas" for local circulation exclusively. 
 But, instead, the wiser course was taken in 1881 of demonetising 
 " the Spanish, Mexican, and Columbian silver coins, called 
 " dollars " after six months' notice (44 Vict. c. 7), the coins to be 
 exchangeable during the same period at 4 .«. each at the Public 
 Bank. And at the same time the local legislature imposed an 
 import duty of 50 s. on every 100 of the above dollars introduced 
 into the islands. No less than $90,306 were paid into the bank 
 for exchange, their place being filled by the importation of 
 18,000 /. in British silver. And it may here be noted that on 
 9th March 1881 the Governor submitted to the Council the 
 question whether silver, as a legal tender, should be limited to 
 40 s., and whether the Council thought that such a measure 
 would be desirable or would meet with favour in the Assembly. 
 The Council were " unanimously of opinion that it would not.'" 
 
 With 1881 ends the currency history of the Bahamas, so far 
 as it relates to metallic currency and the regulation of such 
 metallic currency by law. The coins legally current are British 
 and French gold and silver, U.S. gold coins, and U.S. silver 
 half and quarter dollars. If the currency of the colony were 
 governed in practice by the several enactments above mentioned, 
 no United States coins would remain in circulation; and the 
 Bahamas, like the West Indian colonies generally, would be 
 reduced to a circulatory medium, consisting mainly, if not 
 exclusively, of British tokens. The law, however, has been 
 superseded by popular convention. Instead of the legal rating 
 of the U.S. gold dollar at 4 s. 1 d., the convenient (1838) rating 
 of the silver Spanish dollar at 4 s 2d. has tacitly been adopted 
 for the gold dollar, and consequently the eagle has been rated 
 at ten times 4 s. 2d., or 21. Is. 8 d. And as these U.S. coins 
 are intrinsically worth only 4 s. 1.316 d., and 2 1. Is. 1.16 d. 
 
 M2 
 
168 Colonial Currency. 
 
 sterling respectively, the popular over- valuation* has turned the 
 scale in their favour, and U.S. gold is the local standard of value. 
 The reason is not far to seek; for, the commercial relations of the 
 colony are mainly with the neighbouring United States, New 
 York alone practically monopolising the trade with the islands. 
 And the majority of the visitors who flock to the Bahamas as a 
 sanatorium also come from the United States. The colony, 
 therefore, necessarily forms part of the U.S. " currency area," 
 and this relation has been at once recognised and strengthened 
 by the conventional over-valuation of U.S. gold coins. As this 
 over-valuation has not been extended to the silver coins of the 
 United States, which, with their fractions, pass at the old legal 
 rate of 4 s. per dollar, these latter, when introduced by visitors, 
 &c, are collected for profitable export to the United States. 
 British silver coins form the bulk of the subsidiary currency, 
 but of late years inconvenience has been felt from the dearth of 
 change. 
 
 The metallic currency of the Bahamas has recently been 
 supplemented by paper. In 1888, under the Act 52 Vict. c. 1 
 (see also the amending Act 53 Vict. c. 1), the Bank of Nassau 
 was incorporated with power to issue notes (of 5 s. and upwards) 
 to be secured before issue by the deposit in the hands of the 
 Colonial Government of either (i) "interest-bearing securities 
 of the United Kingdom, or the United States of America, or 
 of any British possession, to be approved by the Governor in 
 Council ; or (ii) gold or silver coins lawful money of the Bahama 
 Islands for the amount of the notes intended to be issued." It 
 will be observed that the issue may be wholly fiduciary ; and 
 consequently, though secured, might conceivably not be imme- 
 diately convertible. But, in respect of legal safeguards, the 
 Bahama Issue is sounder than any other issue in the West 
 Indies, f The amount of the bank's paper in circulation on 
 31st December 1891 was 5,000/., and the total amount of coin in 
 circulation at the same date was estimated at about 15,000 /., of 
 which (roughly) 8,000 /. was in U.S. gold, and the balance in 
 British tokens. Taking the population at 50,000, the above 
 figures give an avei'age of 8 5. in notes and coin per head of the 
 population. One result of the bank's note issue has naturally 
 been to drive out gold. So scarce had gold become by the 
 beginning of 1892, as practically to have disappeared from 
 general circulation. Another result has been to partially 
 remove by its 5 s. notes the previous inconvenience of dearth ol 
 change. 
 
 In conclusion, it may be well to point out that, superior as the 
 Bahamas system of currency is to that of the West Indies 
 
 A *' dollar " is invariably calculated at 4 s. 2 d. sterling in all large mercan 
 tile transactions and at auctions, but in the shops a "dollar'' is uniformly 
 reckoned as 4.?. only, unless otherwise stated. 
 
 j- Compare the modern note issue of the Cape Banks. The Bahamas note, 
 it will be observed, rests on a broader and sounder basis of ultimate 
 security, since the investments are not in local stocks, which would.neces- 
 sarily shrink in value precisely at the time when a local crisis would lead 
 to the presentation of notes for payment. 
 
Ch. XIII. The Bahamas. 169 
 
 generally, and workable as it may be in practice, it has the grave 
 drawback of i*esting not upon law, but upon convention ; and 
 further it is (happily) unique at the present day in reproducing 
 those anomalies of " currency " which were the banc of colonial 
 monetary systems prior to 1838. The scientific remedy would be 
 the adoption in the Bahamas, as in Canada, of the gold U.S. 
 dollar for the legal, as it is already the practical, measure and 
 standard of value. 
 
 * The remark of Governor Gregory in 1850 (see page 1(55) that M the com- 
 munity seem determined to adhere to the old currency," applies very widely 
 to-day among the market-folk, pedlars, and the negroes generally, who 
 invariably use the words '" shilling " and "sixpence" to denote 6 d. and 'id. 
 sterling respectively. The only other terms used by these elasses in calcula- 
 tions are "a check" (l£d.), "a big copper'' (1 d.), and "a small copper" or 
 "cent" (j d.). Constant mistakes are made by strangers who understand 
 "shilling " and "sixpence " to denote the sterling coins of those names, and 
 thus frequently pay double the value asked. (Compare the use of the 
 "currency " term fipence in Jamaica to denote 3 d. sterling.) 
 
170 Colonial Currency. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Newfoundland. 
 
 (1583.) 
 
 Until quite recently, there appears to have been no legal 
 enactment for the regulation of the currency of this Colony. 
 This is the more intelligible in that much of the trade has been 
 effected by barter throughout the history of the Island from 1583 
 to the present day.* So far as can be gathered now, the early 
 metallic standard of Newfoundland, as of other British Colonies 
 on the mainland of America, was the Spanish dollar, rated at 
 5 s. currency, and forming almost the entire metallic currency. 
 As since 1825 (see page 23) that coin was rated by the Imperial 
 Government at 4 s. 4 d. sterling, the currency pound Avas 
 reckoned at 17*. 4 c?. sterling, i.e., the £. sterling was nominally 
 held equivalent to 1 /. 3 s. 1 d. (nearly) in local currency. 
 Doubloons seem to have passed at 76 s. currency, or about 9^ d. 
 under their proportional currency value (if of full weight), and 
 this under-rating of the gold coin tended to maintain the silver 
 dollar as the local standard of value. The nominal par of ex- 
 change for sterling was 115 /. 7 s. 8 d. ; but the over-rating of the 
 Spanish dollar at 4 s. 4 d. sterling, whereas its intrinsic value was 
 slightly under 4 s. 2 c?., usually resulted in an extra premium of 
 about five per cent, on the sale of bills on England, making the 
 real par roughly 120/. currency. The British shilling passed 
 variously at Is. 2 d. and at 1 s. 3d. in the Island, to tally with the 
 exchanges, the latter rate placing a further specific premium of 
 about five per cent, on the shilling, as such, as measured by the 
 5 s. rating of the Spanish dollar. Thus originated the modes 
 of reckoning known as " Newfoundland (or Local) sterling," as 
 opposed to " British sterling. " Hence it was possible to express a 
 given number of dollars in no less than four different ways, i.e., 
 in dollars, in £. s. d. currency, in Newfoundland sterling, and in 
 British sterling. 
 
 Before issue of the Order in Council and Proclamation 
 of 1838 (see page 27), which repealed for America the 
 mistaken legislation of 1825, the Island Legislature 
 passed an Act on 25th October 1838 to remove "doubts 
 with respect to the value of dollars as a legal tender " in 
 the Colony. They declared Spanish and other American dollars 
 (omitting the coin of the United States) at 4 s. 4 d., "to be as 
 
 5 "The inhabitants have not much land, and no money. They truck with 
 one another tor what they want and have.'' — Oldmixon's British Empire in 
 America, vol. I., jiage 18 (2nd edition, London, 1711). 
 
£. 
 
 s. 
 
 ef. 
 
 
 3 
 
 16 
 
 03 
 
 y 3 
 
 currency. 
 
 1 
 
 4 
 
 
 >> 
 
 — 
 
 6 
 
 - 
 
 »> 
 
 — 
 
 5 
 
 — 
 
 )> 
 
 — 
 
 1 
 
 21 
 
 
 Ch. XIV. Newfoundland. 171 
 
 good and valid as a tender or payment of monies of the Coin of 
 the Realm now is or would be." This Act was not confirmed, 
 owing to the issue of the 1838 Order and Proclamation. 
 
 On 22nd April 1845, the Assembly of the Island passed an 
 Act^ in which, whilst the 5 s. currency rating of the dollar was 
 retained, the doubloon and sterling coins were correctly, if 
 inconveniently, rated for concurrent circulation, as follows :~ 
 
 Doubloon - 
 
 Sovereign - 
 
 Crown - 
 
 Dollar .-. - 
 
 Shilling - 
 
 But, as the same Act further provided that 115 /. 7 s. 8 4-13 d. 
 currency should discharge existing contracts of 100/. sterling, 
 the Royal Assent thereto was refused. For, under the new 
 ratings of the Act, the "currency pound," which had formerly 
 been equivalent to 17 s. 4 d. sterling, had now been reduced to 
 16 s. 8d. sterling; or, in other words, 96 1. 3 s. 12-13 d. in 
 sterling coins would now have paid off a debt of 100/. British 
 sterling. But this somewhat startling inconsistency would have 
 been superficial only, and not real, seeing that, under the 1825 
 rating at 4 s. 4 d. sterling, the dollar, the real Island standard of 
 value, was over-valued some four per cent, with respect to 
 sterling. 
 
 Though the Colonial Act was disallowed, its provisions for the 
 concurrent rating of Spanish and British coins prevailed, the 
 Spanish dollar still remaining the nominal standard as one 
 quarter of the " pound currency," and the sovereign being re- 
 garded as equalling 24 s. currency. This rating of the sovereign 
 was confirmed by Law of May 1856, after a somewhat curious 
 dispute between the merchants and the sole Bank then estab- 
 lished in the Colony. The Bank declined to recognise the 
 sovereign, because it was to its interest to pay its notes in silver 
 tokens ; and as a result of the consequent increase of cost of re- 
 mittance, the trading community petitioned the Assembly, and 
 the Act of 1856 was passed. 
 
 Meanwhile considerable inconvenience had been felt for some 
 time as a result of alack of small change , and, in 1851, two Acts 
 were passed, one of which was framed to remedy this incon- 
 venience, whilst the other (which will be noticed first) was of 
 wider scope. 
 
 The latter (14 Vict. c. 5) was an " Act to authorise the issue 
 of Treasury notes and for the reduction of the public debt." It 
 provided, in connection with paying off the colonial debt, for the 
 issue from time to time of promissory notes payable in specie on 
 demand. These notes were not to run for more than ten years ; 
 and the Colonial Treasury was to keep against them an amount 
 in specie equal to one-third of the circulation. The first issue 
 was to be limited to 20,000/., and no note lower than 20 s. was 
 
172 Colonial Currency. 
 
 permitted. After some hesitation, traceable to the suspicions 
 aroused by the inconvertible paper currency of Prince Edward 
 Island, this Act was confirmed by Order in Council. But, as it 
 was found that the Government notes could not compete with 
 those of the banks, an amending Act was passed in 1855, which 
 authorised the issue of Government notes of the denomination, 
 not only of 1 /., but also of 10 s. and 5 s., and restricted the banks 
 from issuing notes of a lower value than 20 s. This amending 
 Act became law in 1857. 
 
 The other measure of 1851, intended to remedy the want of 
 small coins, was passed, because, " the neighbouring Colonies 
 having a legalised copper currency, and there being none in this 
 Colony, many traders and private parties have been in the 
 practice of importing and circulating base copper coin of the 
 most worthless description, the refuse of other parts of the 
 world, until the condition of this part of our currency has become 
 a crying grievance." The Act, therefore, prohibited the impor- 
 tation of such coin, but left the existing amount in circulation. 
 It also placed at the disposal of the Government a sum of 500 /. 
 for the purchase of reliable penny and halfpenny pieces. The 
 majority of the objectionable tokens which remained in circula- 
 tion were those of Prince Edward Island and French coins. 
 
 By 1860 the Spanish dollar had ceased to circulate ; the 
 currency consisted of British and American gold (the eagle 
 passing at 49s. 3d.), with British* half-crowns (and shillings), 
 United States half and quarter dollars and dimes, and 
 a few Spanish quarter dollars. Tokens formed the greater 
 part of the copper currency. The old 5 s. rating of the 
 dollar was retained as the basis of the main Colonial Act, viz., 
 that passed on 25th March 1863 (26 Vict. cap. 18), and em- 
 bodied in chapter 92 (Title 25) of the Consolidated Statutes of 
 1872. The main provisions of the Act were as follows: — 
 
 (i.) The denominations of money were fixed a3 dollars and 
 cents, with 100 cents to the dollar. 
 
 (ii.) American, Peruvian, Mexican, and old Spanish dollars 
 of full weight and fineness, and their sub-divisions, were made 
 legal tender at the rate of $1 up to the limit of $10. The 
 sovereign, doubloon, and eagle were to be unlimited legal 
 tender, at $4.80, $15.35, and at $9.85 respectively. British 
 silver coins were made legal tender, within a limit of $10, at the 
 proportionate values which they nominally bear to the sovereign 
 in the United Kingdom. And it was provided that gold, 
 silver, and bronze coins might be struck, representing dollars and 
 cents. 
 
 (iii.) The copper coins then in circulation were called in at 
 half their face value ; and in this way the old copper grievance 
 came to an end. 
 
 • An old resident states that at this time two shillings and six pence in 
 steiling coins could be made to represent three different amounts in currency. 
 A halt-crown was equal to 3s. currency ; two shillings and a sixpence were 
 only 2 s. 11 d. ; and 30 pence were but 2 s. 6d. 
 
UN!VhKi>l I t 
 
 J^ALI 
 
 Ch. XIV. Newfoundland. 
 
 173 
 
 In 1863 Newfoundland, like Canada, had adopted gold as the 
 sole standard of value, with dollar and cents as the denominations 
 of money. But, unlike Canada, Newfoundland did not finally 
 adopt the U.S. gold coins. Instead, this colony has stereotyped 
 the ancient 5 s. rating of the Spanish silver dollar by making it 
 (as the quarter of the pound currency) the unit of the new 
 insular monetary system. The new two- dollar piece is thus the 
 lineal representative in gold of two Spanish silver dollars. 
 
 Under Order in Council and Proclamation of 9th August 1870 
 (in accordance with the Colonial Act of 1863), a special coinage 
 has been struck at the Royal Mint for Newfoundland, consisting 
 of a two-dollar piece .in gold, with a subsidiary token coinage of 
 50-cent, 20-cent, 10-cent, and 5-cent pieces in silver, and 
 bronze cents. The bronze and silver coins are not legal tender 
 beyond 25 cents and $10 respectively. The total nominal value 
 of the special coins so struck is as hereunder : — 
 
 Description. 
 
 Weight of 
 Coin. 
 
 Fineness. 
 
 Nominal Value 
 
 of Coins struck from 
 
 1865 to 1891, 
 
 inclusive. 
 
 Gold: 
 
 $2 piece - 
 
 Silver : 
 
 50 cents - 
 
 20 cents - 
 
 10 cents 
 
 5 cents - 
 
 Bronze : Cents ... 
 
 Grains. 
 51.364 
 
 181.81 
 72.72 
 36.36 
 18.18 
 
 87.50 
 
 Per mille. 
 916-6 
 
 925 
 
 925 
 
 925 
 
 925 
 
 per cent. 
 ( 95 copper") 
 <{ 4 tin \ 
 t 1 zinc J 
 
 $ 
 197,100 
 
 236,000 
 
 147,000 
 
 34,800 
 
 28.800 
 
 15,300 
 
 Total Norair 
 
 al Value - - $ 
 
 659,000 
 
 In 1887 (50 Vict. cap. 4) a consolidating and amending Act 
 was passed repealing the earlier Act, and dispensing with 
 references to the old " pound currency." Silver dollars and 
 doubloons were no longer admitted to tender. (This Act contains 
 in Section 9 a misprint of "sixteen" instead of "eighteen" in 
 valuing British gold coins by weight.) 
 
 By convention (though not by law) Peruvian, Mexican, 
 Columbian, and old Spanish dollars were,practically demonetised, 
 even before 1887, passing at 80 cents each.* The silver dollar of 
 
 * They now pass as 60 cents, but are so rarely seen that they may be 
 disregarded. The same remark applies to the U.S. silver dollar, now passing 
 as 80 cents. 
 
174 Colonial Currency. 
 
 the United States similarly passed at 93 cents, and its sub- 
 divisions at the like rate. 
 
 As the population is estimated at about 200,000, the above 
 total of $659,000, if it may be considered as remaining entire 
 in the colony, would give $31 per head of colonial coin, of which 
 roughly $1 is in gold and $2£ in subsidiary coin. In addition, 
 British sovereigns and gold coins of the United States (with a 
 few old doubloons) circulate in the colony to a limited extent. 
 
 There are two banks of issue in the colony, their circulation 
 being as follows on 31st December 1891 : — 
 
 Union Bank - - - $619,771 
 Commercial Bank - - 572,884 
 
 Total - - $1,192,655 
 
 This total is equivalent to about $6 in notes per head of the 
 population, or nearly double the metallic currency in circulation. 
 The total currency (notes and coin) is equivalent to $9£ per 
 head, a curiously exact parallel to the estimate arrived at for 
 for Canada and Australasia. 
 
Ch. XV. Canada. 175 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Canada.* 
 
 (1763). 
 
 Old Canada, as ceded to Great Britain in 1763 by the Treaty of 
 Paris, was divided in 1791 (by the Imperial Act 31 Geo. III. 
 cap. 31) into the two provinces of Upper Canada (now Ontario) 
 and Lower Canada (now Quebec). These two provinces, re- 
 united in 1840 by the Imperial Act 3 & 4 Vict. cap. 35, were 
 amalgamated in 1867 with New Brunswick and Nova Scotia 
 (thereby forming the " Dominion of Canada ") by the Imperial 
 Act 30 Vict. cap. 3; Rupert's Land (Manitoba) was added to the 
 new Dominion in 1870, British Columbia in 1871, Prince Edward 
 Island in 1873, and certain other territories in 1876 and 1880. 
 
 Broadly speaking, the currency-history of Canada consists in 
 Ihe transition from the French ecu to the silver Spanish dollar, 
 and from the Spanish dollar to the gold dollar of the United 
 States. But this transition has reference exclusively to the 
 standard coin ; the characteristic feature of Canadian currency, 
 both in the 17th century and at the present day, is paper. 
 
 As the detailed history of currency varies considerably in the 
 several constituent colonies, it is necessary to trace the monetary 
 system of each separately, prior to their being merged in the 
 Dominion. 
 
 I. Old Canada (Quebec and Ontario).! 
 
 The currency under French rule was nominally that of France. 
 Just as sterling was in theory the original currency of the British 
 Colonies of New England, so in theory the French monetary 
 system prevailed in French Canada. In practice, however, alike 
 in Canada and in the New England Colonies, dearth of coin led 
 to the prevalence of barter in early years. The commodities 
 used as currency were mainly furs and grain in both cases. " In 
 the absence of coin," states Mr. Francis Parkman in his Old 
 litgime in Canada (London, 1884), " beaver-skins long served 
 as a currency. In 1669 the Council declared wheat a legal 
 tender at four francs the minot, or three French bushels; \ 
 and, five years later, all creditors were ordered to receive moose- 
 
 * For valuable information I am indebted to the kind agency of Mr. J. 
 Mortimer Courtney, Deputy Minister of Finance of the Dominion. 
 
 t See on this subject the exhaustive articles of Mr. James Stevenson in the 
 Transactions of the Literary and Historical Society of Quebec for 1875 (" The 
 Card Monev of Canada") ; for 1870 ("The Currency of Cana 'a after the 
 Capitulation."); and for 1892 (" The War of 1812 in connection with the 
 Army Bill Act"). See also Zay's valuable Histoire Monetaire des Colonies 
 Franqaises (Paris, 1892). 
 
 % Edits et Ord, II. 47. 
 
176 Colonial Currency. 
 
 skins in payment at the market rate.* Coin would not remain in 
 the colony. If the company or the king sent any thither, it went 
 back in the returning ships. The Government devised a remedy. 
 A coinage was ordered for Canada one-fourth less in value than 
 that of France. Thus the Canadian livre or franc was worth in 
 reality fifteen sous instead of twenty. This shallow expedient 
 produced only a nominal rise of prices, and coin fled the colony as 
 before. Trade was carried on for a time by means of negotiable 
 notes, payable in furs, goods, or farm produce." 
 
 The special coinage above referred to is the subject of similar 
 observations in the History of Jamaica (London, 1774) : — 
 " The advance of one-fourth upon the real value of the silver 
 coined in France, purposely for the circulation of Canada, did not 
 keep the money from going out of that colony. . . . All her 
 money was drained back to France.'' As regards the coinage in 
 question, Le Blanc gives the following details in his Traite 
 Ristorique des Monnoyes de France: — " Afin de faciliter le 
 commerce dans le Canada, le Roy (sc. Louis XIV) fit fabriquer 
 pour cent mille livres de Louis de 15 sols, de 5 sols, et des 
 doubles de cuivre pur. Ces monnoyes etoient de mesme cours, 
 poids, et loy que celles de France. Sur les Loiiis d'argent de 
 15 sols et de 5 sols, au lieu du Sit nomen Domini benedictum il y 
 avoit Gloriam regni tui dicent, et sur les doubles Doubles de 
 VAmirique Franqoise. ,i It will be observed that Le Blanc is in 
 error in stating that the Canadian coins were " de mesme cours 
 que celles de France "; for, {e.g.) the fifteen-sous piece passed 
 for 20 sous Canadian currency, i.e., 100 French livres were worth 
 133^ Canadian livres.f 
 
 With 1685 the printing-press began to dominate the currency of 
 Canada. In this year, according to Mr. Parkman, " the Intendant 
 Meules issued a card currency. He had no money to pay the 
 soldiers, and 'not knowing (he informs the Minister)t to what 
 saint to make my vowe, the idea occurred to me of putting in 
 circulation notes made of cards, § each cut into four pieces ; and I 
 have issued an ordinance commanding the inhabitants to receive 
 them in payment.' . . . The example of Meules found ready 
 imitation. Governors and Intendants made card money when- 
 ever they saw fit ; and being worthless everywhere but in 
 Canada, it showed no disposition to escape the colony. || It was 
 declared convertible not into coin, but into bills of exchange ; and 
 this conversion could only take place at brief specified periods. . . 
 In 1714 the amount of card rubbish had risen to two million 
 
 * Edits et Ord, II. 55. 
 
 f See Zay, pp. 41-47, et seq. The coins, which were for the Islands as well 
 as the mainland, were struck in 1670. Zay gives the text of the several 
 edicts relating to paper as well as coin. 
 
 J Meules an Ministre, 24 September 168.1. 
 
 § The monnoie des cartes was stamped with a fleur de lis and a crown, and 
 was signed by the Governor, the Intendant, and the Comptroller. Its 
 denominations ranged, apparently, from 32 livres to 20 sols. 
 
 || "Schuyler and Dillon, who made an expedition into Canada in 1698, 
 leport with apparent surprise that there the currency consisted of paper 
 only.'' Old Colonial Currencies, by S. E. Dawson, in the Canadian Monthly 
 for April 1872 (reprinted in the Canadian Antiquarian for July 1872, and 
 again in the New York Bankers' Magazine for February 1874). 
 
Ch. XV. Canada. 177 
 
 livres. Confidence was lost, and trade was half dead. The 
 minister Ponchartrain came to the rescue, and promised to redeem 
 it at half its nominal value. The holders preferred to lose half 
 rather than the whole, and accepted the terms. A few of the 
 cards were redeemed at the rate named ; then the Government 
 broke faith, and payment ceased. ' This afflicting news,' says a 
 writer of the time, ' was brought out by the vessel which sailed 
 from France last July.'" 
 
 In 1717, the old cards having been converted into bills of 
 exchange, a " Declaration du Roi au sujet de la Monnoie des 
 Cartes" was issued on 5th July 1717, which included the following 
 provision for the substitution of French for colonial currency in 
 Canada : — " Comme la monnoie du pays qui a ete introduite dans 
 le Canada, n'est d'aucune utilite a, la Colonie, et que les deux 
 sortes de monnoies dans lesquelles on peut stipuler causent de 
 l'embarras dans le commerce, nous avons abroge et nous abrogeons 
 dans le Canada la monnoie elite du pays, et en consequence 
 voulons et nous plait que tautes stipulations de contrat, 
 redevances, baux a ferme et autres affaires generalement quel- 
 conques, se fassent a commencement de lenregistrement des 
 presentes au Conseil Superieur de Quebec, sur le pied de la 
 monnoie de France ; de laquelle monnoie il sera fait mention dans 
 les actes ou billets apres la somme a laquelle le debiteur se sera 
 oblige, et que les especes de France ayent dans la Colonie de 
 Canada la meme valeur que dans notre Royaume.'' 
 
 Consequently, from 11th October 1717 (the date of registration 
 of the Declaration at Quebec) the currency of Canada was 
 identical with the currency of France, and only French coins 
 were legally current in the Colony. For the next twelve 
 years a certain quantity of coin was current, the value of which 
 was adjusted by a series of edicts from 1719 to 1726. The old 
 card money was to be presented by 1718 for redemption at one- 
 half its nominal value, the redemption money to be paid in instal- 
 ments extending to 1st March 1720. Paper had however only 
 disappeared for a time ; it was speedily re-issued ; and the last 
 state of Canadian currency under French rule was worse than 
 the first. Passing over a temporary issue in 1717 (which 
 professed to be the last, and was punctually redeemed) re-issues 
 were resumed in 1729,* and continued until the close of French 
 rule. The Ordonnance du Roi of 2nd March 1729, states that 
 "les especes d'or et d'argent que Sa Majeste y a fait passer 
 depuis dix annees pour les depenses du pays ton, repasse succes- 
 sivement chaque annee en France, ce qui en cause 1'aneantisse- 
 ment du commerce interieur de la Colonie." The effect is here 
 stated as the cause; it was the commercial poverty of Canada 
 which drove out the coin imported for administration expenses by 
 the Government. Referring to a somewhat later period Mr. James 
 Stevenson states that " the average annual imports of 1749-1755 
 amounted to the equivalent of 210,000 /. sterling, and the average 
 annual exports of those years to 60,000 /. sterling." And a 
 
 -The denominations ranged from 24 livres to 7s sols. A sum of 400,000 
 livres was issued in 1729, and 200,000 livres in 1733. 
 
178 
 
 Colonial Currency. 
 
 French State paper of" the day, which he quotes, estimates at 
 5,000,000 livres " le tarif ties depcnses que le Roy fait annuelle- 
 ment dans cette Colonic" The grossest corruption prevailed in 
 the issue of the Bills and supplementary Ordonnances (issued by 
 the Intendant alone, and ranging from 20 sols to 100 livres 
 in denomination) ; but payment was more or less regularly made 
 by the Paris Treasury until 1754, when it was deferred. In 
 1759 payment was refused pending an inquiry. As the inquiry 
 of 1763 revealed scandalous malversations, the bills were reduced 
 to one-half of their nominal value, and the Ordonnances 
 to one-quarter. Bonds bearing 4, and afterwards 4^, per cent. 
 interest were given in exchange for the outstanding 80,000,000 
 livres (over 3,000,000/. sterling) of these " Canada Bills," but the 
 liquidation* was not complete until 1772. In the words of Mr. 
 Parkman, "in the last bitter years of its existence, the colony 
 floundered in drifts of worthless paper." f 
 
 The first step taken by the British Government was to pass 
 on 14th September 1764 an Ordinance, which came into effect as 
 from 1st January 1765 which proceeded to lay down ratings of 
 the various coins in circulation on the basis of the Proclamation 
 of Queen Anne in 1704 (see page 14); the fundamental pro- 
 vision of which was the rating of the Spanish dollar at 6 »/J for 
 colonial currency. And the opportunity was taken at the same 
 time to provide for the ready conversion of the old money of 
 account by enacting that " in all agreements prior to, or since 
 the Conquest, which have been made in livres according to the 
 method of computation in use, the livre shall be estimated equal 
 to one shilling of the currency hereby established, the dollar to 
 be equal to six livres, or 6 s., and in the same proportion for every 
 coin herein specified." The list of coins in question was as 
 follows : — 
 
 Names of Coins. 
 
 Weight. 
 
 Currency. 
 
 Dirts. Grs. 
 
 f. s. d. 
 
 18 6 
 
 4 16 - 
 
 6 18 
 
 1 16 - 
 
 5 17 
 
 1 10 - 
 
 5 4 
 
 1 8 - 
 
 5 3 
 
 1 8 - 
 
 4 4 
 
 1 1 - 
 
 Gold: 
 Johannes of Portugal - 
 Moydore - 
 Caroline of Germany - 
 Guinea - 
 
 Louis d'or - 
 Spanish and French pistole - 
 
 * As regards the Canada Bills, see Macpherson's Annals of Commerce (1805), 
 Vol. 3, page 440. See also Anglo-French Convention of 29th March 17b'(5. . 
 
 f Curious, as bearing on the heavy expenses of administration two centuries 
 ago, is the following statement in a letter of 22nd June 1700 from Governor 
 the Earl of Bellomont to the Board of Trade : — " I suspect there's a Secret 
 Service they are ashamed of. Fifty crowns was the price of every scalp the 
 fFrench or their Indians carried to the Governor, whether they were English- 
 men's scalps or those of our Indians, as I was told, and as I charged the Count 
 de ftrontenac in a letter I writ to him.'' 
 
 I The sterling value assigned to the Spanish dollar by Sir Isaac Newton in 
 1704 was 4*. 6tf. (see p. 14). Hence amounts stated in "Proclamation 
 Money," as it was called, were to sterling as 4 : 3. 
 
Ch. XV. Canada. 
 
 179 
 
 Names of Coins. 
 
 Wei 
 
 ght. 
 
 Currency. 
 
 Silver : 
 
 
 Dwts. 
 
 Grs. 
 
 £. s. d. 
 
 Seville, Mexican, pillar dollar 
 
 - 
 
 17 
 
 12 
 
 - 6 - 
 
 French crown or 6 livre piece 
 
 - 
 
 19 
 
 4 
 
 - 6 8 
 
 French piece passing at present at 
 
 15 
 
 16 
 
 -56 
 
 4 s. 6 d. Halifax (currency). 
 
 
 
 
 
 British shilling - - - 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 _ 
 
 - 1 4 
 
 Pistereen - 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 - 1 2 
 
 French ninepenny piece 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 - 1 - 
 
 Copper : 
 
 
 
 
 
 20 British coppers 
 
 ~ 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 - 1 - 
 
 The provisions of this Ordinance were made retrospective by a 
 further Ordinance of 15th May 1765, so as to cover engagements 
 outstanding which had been entered into before the bep-innino; of 
 the year ; and it was also made compulsory to use the new 
 denominations or money of account. This latter provision being 
 found unworkable, was repealed by a later Ordinance of 5th 
 April 1768. 
 
 The main feature of the above ratings was the undervaluation 
 of gold coins, the characteristic of the mainland colonies in the 
 last century as compared with the West Indies. The same 
 principle was followed in 1777 when " Proclamation Money" 
 gave way to " Halifax Currency " in Old Canada, the rating of 
 the dollar being reduced from 6 s. to 5 s. currency. By the 
 Ordinance 17 Geo. III. c. 9, it is enacted that "the following 
 species of coins shall pass current throughout this province, at 
 and after the rates hereinafter mentioned, that is to say : 
 
 Gold.* 
 
 Weight. 
 
 Currency. 
 
 The Johannes of Portugal weighing 
 „ Moidore - 
 
 „ Doubloon, or four pistole piece 
 „ Guinea _,'-"-- 
 „ Louis d'or - - - - 
 
 Dwts. Grs. 
 
 18 6 
 6 20 
 
 17 - 
 5 8f 
 5 3 
 
 £. s. d. 
 4 - - 
 1 10 - 
 3 12 - 
 1 3 4 
 1 2 6 
 
 " paying two pence one farthing for every grain of gold under 
 weight." 
 
 * It will be observed (i.) that the weights are uniformly increased except 
 for the Johannes and the Louis d'or, and (ii.) that the currency ratings are 
 five-sixths of those of 1704, except for the Louis d'or (which is 8d. lower than 
 its proportionate rate), and for the doubloon (which is some Gd. higher than 
 its old proportion after allowing for increase of weight). 
 
 -j-This being the lowest weight at which the guinea was allowed by English 
 law to pass current. 
 
180 Colonial Currency. 
 
 Silver. 
 
 s. d. 
 
 The Spanish dollar - - - - - _ 5 _ 
 
 „ British crown - - - - - -56 
 
 „ French crown, or piece of six livres tournois -56 
 
 „ French piece of four livres ten sols tournois - 4 2 
 
 „ French piece of thirty-six sols tournois - - 1 8 
 
 „ French piece of twenty-four sols tournois - - 1 1 
 
 „ British shilling - - - - - - 1 1 
 
 „ Pistereen - - - - - - - 1 - 
 
 " And all the higher or lower denominations of the said gold and 
 silver coins shall pass current in their due proportions. And the 
 said species of coins or any of them, at the said rates, shall be 
 deemed a legal tender in payment of all debts whatever." But 
 it was provided that " no person shall be obliged to receive at any 
 one payment above the value of one shilling in copper money." 
 The result of this Act was to banish gold and to establish silver 
 monometallism. It remains to be considered which of the silver 
 coins was now constituted the local standard of value. 
 
 As the Spanish dollar, containing, from 1772 to 1808,371*75 
 grains of fine silver, was worth (at 5 s. 2 d. per oz. standard) only 
 about 4 s. 2d. sterling, the British crown, when rated at 5 s. 6 d. 
 currency, was undervalued about 4 d. currency, and so was 
 debarred from circulation. 
 
 And a like fate attended the Spanish dollar itself, as a con- 
 sequence of the 5 s. 6 d. rating of the French crown, containing 
 (when of full weight) only 403 grains of fine silver. For, when 
 5 s. 6 d. currency could be legally paid in Canada by a French 
 coin, containing 403 grains fine, debtors naturally abstained from 
 making payment in 1 1-10 Spanish dollars, containing 408*87 
 grains fine. But, as 5| pistareens* were legal tender for 5 s. 6 d., 
 and as, from 1772 to 1808, the pistareen contained only 69*105 
 grains of fine silver, it was possible by tendering pistareens to 
 pay a debt of 5 s. 6 d. currency with 380 grains of fine silver, or 
 less by 23 grains than the content of the French crown. Hence 
 the pistareen was the cheapest tender, and must be regarded as 
 theoretically forming the standard of value. But, for historic 
 reasons, it would appear that a preference continued to be given 
 to the French coins ; and as these latter became lighter and 
 lighter in weight by much wear, they effectively debarred better 
 coins from local circulation. 
 
 On 7th May 1796, the Legislative Council of Lowerf Canada 
 passed the Act 36 Geo. III., c. 5, the preamble of which runs as 
 follows : — 
 
 ° See also under Jamaica, the Bahamas, &c. ; and see page 395. 
 
 f In 1791 Old Canada was divided into the two Provinces of Upper and 
 Lower Canada. 
 
 % The Official Gazette of 18th October 1792, contains proposals for a 
 " Canada Banking Company," emanating from merchant-!, & c ., who had 
 " experienced great inconvenience in Canada from the deficiency of specie or 
 some other medium to represent the increasing circulation of the country, as 
 well as from the variety of the money now current." Stevenson states that 
 they " succeeded in forming a private hank only, chiefly of deposit, not of 
 issue." 
 
Ch. XV. Canada. 
 
 181 
 
 " Whereas it will tend to prevent the diminution $ of the specie 
 circulating in this Province, that the same be regulated accord- 
 ing to a standard that shall not present an advantage by carrying 
 it to the neighbouring countries, and whereas by the Ordinance 
 now in force for regulating the currency of this Province, an advan- 
 tage does arise by carrying gold coin out of the same, be it there- 
 fore enacted," &c. 
 
 The following ratings were then laid down in order to retain 
 gold : — 
 
 
 Weig 
 
 ht.* 
 
 Current 
 
 "iTV 
 
 
 "J- 
 
 Gold. 
 
 Dwts. 
 
 Grs. 
 
 £. s. 
 
 d. 
 
 British guinea - 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 1 3 
 
 4 
 
 Johannes of Portugal - 
 
 18 
 
 
 
 4 - 
 
 — 
 
 Moidore „ - 
 
 6 
 
 18 
 
 1 10 
 
 — 
 
 Milled doubloon, or 4 pistole piece, 
 
 
 
 
 
 of Spain - 
 
 17 
 
 
 
 3 14 
 
 — 
 
 French Louis d'Or, coined before 
 
 
 
 
 
 1793 
 
 5 
 
 4 
 
 1 2 
 
 6 
 
 French pistole, coined before 1793 
 
 4 
 
 4 
 
 - 18 
 
 — 
 
 American Eaglef - - - - 
 
 11 
 
 6 
 
 2 10 
 
 - 
 
 Silver. 
 
 
 
 
 
 British crown - - - - 
 
 - 
 
 _ 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 ,, shilling - - - - 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 - 1 
 
 1 
 
 Spanish milled dollar § - ' - 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 - 5 
 
 - 
 
 „ pistareen - 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 - 1 
 
 - 
 
 French crown, coined before 1793 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 - 5 
 
 6 
 
 „ piece of 4 livres 10 sols toui 
 
 nois 
 
 - 
 
 - 4 
 
 2 
 
 „ „ „ 36 sols tournois 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 -- 1 
 
 8 
 
 24- 
 
 55 55 55 "^ »5 SJ 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 - 1 
 
 1 
 
 American dollar - - . - 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 - 5 
 
 - 
 
 " And all the higher and lower denominations of the said gold and 
 silver coins shall also pass current, and be deemed a legal tender 
 in payment of all debts and demands whatsoever in this Pro- 
 vince, in the same proportions respectively." For every grain of 
 gold (in all the gold coins mentioned), above or below the above 
 weights, 2\d. was to be allowed or deducted in payments by 
 tale ; but over 50 I. currency either party might require gold 
 coins to be weighed, computing the gold coin of Great Britain, 
 Portugal, and America at 89 s. currency per ounce, and the 
 gold coin of Spain and France at 87 s. per ounce. 
 
 Precisely similar provisions were enacted on 3rd June 1796 for 
 Upper Canada, by the Act 36 Geo. III., c. 1. 
 
 * It will be observed tri.it the weights are generally reduced. 
 
 \i.e., the old Eagle, which was of British standard fineness, and contained 
 247*5 grains of fine gold. 
 
 § "Equal to 4s. 6 d. sterling money," observes the Act incidentally, refer- 
 ring: to Queen Anne's Proclamation of 1704. 
 
 72642. N 
 
182 Colonial Curkency. 
 
 Practically, therefore, what was done in the two Provinces in 
 1796, was (i), to raise the (light weight) doubloon 2 s. nearer to 
 its intrinsic value, relatively to other gold coins, and (ii), to give 
 legal currency to the new American Eagle and silver dollar. 
 
 But the under-rating of Spanish and French gold continued to 
 drain such coins out of the country ; and, " whereas by the Act 
 now in force, the relative value of gold coins current in this 
 Province is not accurately established," the Act 48 Geo. III., 
 c. 8, was passed in Lower Canada in 1808 ; and the similar Act 
 49 Geo. III., c. 8, in Upper Canada in 1809. 
 
 By these Acts the doubloon was raised by 6 d. to 3 /. 14 s. 6 d. ; 
 the Louis d'or by 2 d. to 1 /. 2 s. 8 d., and the French pistole by 
 3 d. to 18 5. 3 d., for payments by tale ; whilst for payments of 
 over 20 /. currency (as against 50 I. in 1796), payment might be 
 made by weight — (i) at the old rate of 89 s. per ounce for 
 American, Portuguese, and British gold coins, and (ii), at the 
 increased rate of 87 s. 8^d. per ounce for Spanish and French 
 gold coins. It was further provided that for every grain above 
 or below the standard weights cited above, an allowance should be 
 made, — (i) of 2\ d. currency per grain for American, Portuguese, 
 and British gold coins, and (ii), of 2 J. d. currency per grain for 
 Spanish and French gold coins. 
 
 It will be observed that, thotigh provision was made for weigh- 
 ing gold coins, no penalty was imposed on light silver ; and this 
 immunity continued to maintain silver coins as the real standard 
 of value throughout Canada. 
 
 Thus far the currency of the two Provinces of Old Canada was 
 governed by similar enactments, each step being taken with a 
 view to keep the under-rated gold coins in circulation.* 
 
 s On 1st August 1812, in order to provide funds for the American Wa:, 
 the Provincial Parliament of Lower Canada passed an "Act to facilitate the 
 circulation of Army Bills," to a total amount not exceeding 250,010/. cur- 
 rency, and in denominations of (i) $4 and (ii) $25 and upwards. The £4 
 notes were payable in cash on demand ; the higher denominations bore 
 interest at the rate of (> per cent., and were redeemable either in cash or in 
 bills on the London Treasury at a rate of exchange to be fixed once a fort- 
 night. The maximum issue was increased to 500,000 /. by Act of 15th 
 February 1813, and to 1,500,000/. by a further Act of 1814. The latter Act 
 provided that " a sum no less than 200,000/. and not exceeding 500,000/. 
 shall be in bills of 1, 2, 3, 5, and 10 dollars, such bills (being) payable as 
 those of larger denominations in bills of exchange on London, and not bearing 
 interest, and that the holders of such bills shall be entitled to demand Army 
 Bills of §50 and upwards bearing interest." > No notes were issued after 1st 
 February 1815. The grand total of Army Bills issued was 3,441,093/. 10s., 
 made up as follows: — 
 
 £. s. d. 
 Bills of 25, 50, 100, and 400 dollars 2,793,612 10 - 
 Bills of 1, 2, 3, 5, and 10 dollars - 551,500 - - 
 Bills redeemed with specie only, — 
 
 $4 - 52,131 - - 
 
 %\ - 44,750 - - 
 
 Total - - - £.3,441,993 10 - 
 
 The above Acts were repealed in 1817, and the Army Bill Office was finally 
 closed on 24th December 1820. 
 
 " The introduction of this paper currency," observed a writer in the " Quebec 
 
Ch. XV. Canada. 183 
 
 Though the most over-rated of the larger coins was the lis;ht 
 French crown, yet, as fresh supplies of this coin and its sub- 
 divisions were impossible, it cannot be regarded as having been 
 the real standard of value, at any rate in Upper Canada. The 
 volume of Spanish silver procurable may be taken to prove 
 that, even in spite of its being rated on a par with the less 
 valuable silver dollar of the United States, the standard of value 
 in Canada was the Spanish dollar, or more properly the token 
 pistareen. 
 
 This view is borne out by the evidence given in 1857 before 
 the Decimal Coinage Commission by Mr. Draper, Chief Justice 
 of Common Pleas in Upper Canada. According to his testimony, 
 the circulation of Upper Canada in 1820 consisted mainly of 
 Spanish coins, with some French crowns, &c. (though not to the 
 extent prevailing in Lower Canada at that date). " Of gold," 
 said Mr. Draper, " Ave saAV very little except the English guinea, 
 the value of which, by provincial statute at that time, was 
 23 s. 4 rf. I do not remember to have seen any other gold coin 
 in circulation at that time." But witli one and the same metallic 
 currency, the accounts of the Province of Upper Canada were 
 complicated by two concurrent systems : — 
 
 (i) In the Halifax currency the " pound currency " was divided 
 into 20 currency shillings-, or four Spanish dollars, each rated at 
 5 s. currency. 
 
 (ii) In the New York currency the unit was the " York 
 shilling," i.e. the Mexican Real, eight of which went to the 
 Spanish milled dollar. Twenty " York shillings " made up the 
 New York currency pound. But as the York shilling, or one- 
 eighth of a Spanish dollar, was equivalent to only 7| d. in Halifax 
 currency, it follows that the New York currency pound was only 
 equal to 12 s. 6 d. in Halifax currency. 
 
 The New York currency system of account was " prohibited 
 virtually by the inconvenience the Legislature attached to draw- 
 ing bills or notes or rendering accounts in that currency." The 
 prohibitory Statute (2 Geo. IV., c. 13), was passed in Upper 
 Canada on 14th April 1821, and thenceforward "we had the 
 same coins in circulation as before ; only all our accounts were 
 kept in Halifax currency." It is, however, carefully to be borne 
 in mind that by " Halifax currency" is meant merely that the 
 denominations were (imaginary) pounds, shillings, and pence, 
 with a 5 s. rating for the dollar. Out of political prejudice, as 
 Mr. Draper observed, and in contravention of all commercial 
 convenience, a nominal adherence to sterling was maintained 
 pari passu with a circulation mainly composed of non- sterling 
 coins. 
 
 In Lower Canada, in 1819, by the Act 59 Geo. III., c. 1, 
 
 Gazette ''of 31st March 1815, " was certainly a seasonable and judicious experi- 
 ment, and its unprecedented suceess has not only been a great pecuniary saving 
 to Great Britain, but it has also contributed in no small degree to the preser- 
 vation of these Provinces." (See Mr. James Stevenson's monograph of 1892, 
 treating of Army Bills in elaborate detail.) 
 
 N 2 
 
184 Colonial Currency. 
 
 French gold and silver coins struck since 1792 were admitted to 
 unlimited legal tender, the gold 20-franc piece of 4 dwts. 3 grs. at 
 18*. Id., the silver ecu of 6 livres at 5 s. Gel., and the silver 
 5-francs tournois at 4 s. 8 d. By this step these silver French 
 coins* were made the standard of value in Lower Canada, the 
 Spanish dollar and its sub-divisions remaining the standard in 
 Upper Canada. The popular money of account in Lower 
 Canada remained livres, &c, at six livres to the Spanish dollar. 
 
 In 1825 was issued the Order in Council dated 23rd March of 
 that year (printed at p. 425 infra.), which over rated the Spanish 
 dollar at 4 s. 4td. for concurrent circulation with sterling. As 
 shown above (page 23), the object of this Order was to introduce 
 British silver into general circulation throughout the colonies. 
 
 In 1827, under the influence of the above Order, the Provincial 
 Legislature of Upper Canada passed the Act 7 Geo. IV., c. 4, 
 whereunder the following ratings of British silver in currency 
 were enacted, viz. : — 
 
 s. d. 
 British crown piece - - - 5 9 
 
 British shilling - 12 
 
 As these rates co-existed with the 5 s. rating of the dollar 
 (both Spanish and American), British silver coins could not be 
 brought into circulation. The coin was either returned upon the 
 Commissariat for Treasury Drafts, or bought up (for the New 
 York market) at 6 s. currency per crown as a remittance to 
 London, whenever the exchange ruled above 9^ per cent, premium, 
 the 6 s. rate being equal to 8 per cent, advance on the New York 
 sterling rate of 4 s. 6 d., and 1 £ per cent, being sufficient to cover 
 freight, &c. But, further, the abundance of paper money was 
 such that in 1828 it was reported that " the circulating medium 
 of both provinces is paper; British coin is never seen, and, 
 except among the Canadians below Quebec, rarely a silver dollar. 
 Specie cannot swim so near the engrossing gulfs of the American 
 paper circulation." The notes issued by the banks ranged as low 
 as a dollar, or 5 s. currency. 
 
 The flooding of North America with pistareens led to the issue 
 of a Report on their intrinsic value by the United States Mint 
 on 1827. In consequence, they were accepted at only 17 in lieu 
 of 20 cents. In 1830 Upper Canada passed the Act 11 Geo. IV., 
 c. 6, demonetising the pistareen (or " shilling ") and the 
 French silver coins, and enacting that British silver coins should 
 no longer pass current if they had lost l-25th of their full weight. 
 And a reduction of the rating of the pistareen to 10 d. was effected 
 in Lower Canada by the Act 10 & 11 Geo. IV., c. 5. The 
 result was to establish the dollar, in lieu of the pistareen, as the 
 standard of value in Upper, if not in Lower Canada. In the 
 latter province the worn ecu still held the field, but growing 
 scarcity of these old coins allowed South American dollars and 
 U. S. half-dollars to circulate. 
 
 * It was estimated in May 18-28 that there was about 50,000 Z. worth of 
 these coins in Lower Canada. 
 
£. 
 
 s. 
 
 d. 
 
 2 
 
 13 
 
 4 
 
 2 
 
 10 
 
 — 
 
 1 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 1 
 
 4 
 
 4 
 
 - 
 
 6 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 5 
 
 - 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 3 
 
 Ch. XV. Canada. 185 
 
 In 1834 the United States passed to a gold standard by the 
 new coinage, whereby the old eagle passed for $10*67, and the 
 sovereigns for $ 4*875 instead of $4*44. This important step was 
 severely felt in Upper Canada, — all gold disappearing into the 
 United States, and the only silver obtainable (that of the United 
 States) being drained out of the country again in connection with 
 the exchanges. In 1836, in consequence, it is alleged, of the 
 presentation of notes for payment by foreign holders, an Act was 
 passed in Upper Canada raising the rating of the British crown- 
 piece to 6 s. currency, and of the British shilling to Is. 3 d. 
 currency, and providing for the denominational rating of the 
 British sovereign, the Mexican dollar, and the United States 
 eagle. The result is shown in the following table of currency 
 values : — 
 
 United States eagle (old), weighing 1 1 dwts. 6 grains 
 ,, „ (new*) „ 10 „ 7 8 „ 
 
 British guinea, weighing 5 dwts. 9£ grains 
 „ sovereign „ 5 „ 3£ „ - 
 ,, crown ------- 
 
 Spanish milled ] 
 
 Mexican -) dollar - 
 
 United States J 
 
 Shilling f ------- 
 
 Being now over-valued with regard at once to the sovereign, 
 the crown, the eagle, and the dollar, the shilling (being the 
 cheapest tender of payment), drove out all the other coins, both 
 gold and silver. Practically reduced thus to shillings (and six- 
 pences, rated at 1\ d.) the Province of Upper Canada asked for a 
 special silver coinage to be legal tender above its bullion value. 
 Fortunately, this proposal, which emanated from the local note- 
 issuing banks, and would have benefited them at the expense of 
 the exchanges and prices, was rejected by the Home Govern- 
 ment. 
 
 The only points of importance in Canadian currency during 
 the next few years have reference to paper. In Lower Canada, 
 in 1838 an Ordinance (2 Vict. c. 1) had to be passed to 
 allow certain banks to suspend the payment of their notes in 
 specie, owing primarily to the failure of the United States 
 banks to redeem their notes in specie, and to the consequent jmr- 
 chase and presentation of Canada notes which were redeemable 
 in British silver. In Upper Canada the total note circulation in 
 1837 is stated at about 200,000 /., of which apparently a con- 
 siderable part consisted of promissory notes of so-called private 
 banks, '" of doubtful solvency, and not subject to those checks 
 which it is thought necessary to impose in regard to banks 
 chartered by the Legislature." Accordingly, in 1837, the 
 currency of Upper Canada was purged of such worthless paper 
 
 * i .e. the new eagle coined after 1834 and containing 23-2'2 grains fine. 
 
 f Commonly known as a " quarter dollar." This statutory action of Upper 
 Canada finds an exact parallel, and anticipation, in the conventional action of 
 Antigua, Jamaica, &c. It was copied directly from Nova Scotia (see infra). 
 
186 
 
 Colonial Currency. 
 
 by the passing of the Act 7 Will. IV., c. xiii., limiting the 
 privilege of note issue to authorized banks, and making it a mis- 
 demeanour for other persons to issue a " bank bill or note intended 
 to pass as money." This Act was copied in Lower Canada in 
 1839, with the addition of a prohibition against the issue ol notes 
 for less than 5 s. currency, a salutary prohibition which Upper 
 Canada adopted in 1840. 
 
 After the issue of the Order in Council of 7th September 1838 
 (see page 27), revoking the 1825 Order " so far as respects Her 
 Majesty's Colonies and Possessions in America and in the West 
 Indies," no constructive Imperial legislation was passed affecting 
 Canadian currency ; but Bills passed the Legislatures both of 
 Upper and of Lower Canada, retaining all the principal imperfec- 
 tions of their respective currency systems. These Bills did not 
 receive the Royal Assent. Before any further legislation took place, 
 the two Canadas were re-united in 1840 by the Imperial Act 3 
 & 4 Vict., c. 35, under the style of the "Province of Canada." 
 
 In 1841 the United Legislature passed the Act 4 & 5 Vic. 
 c. 93, repealing all past currency legislation, and enacting as the 
 new basis a " pound currency," such that 1 /. 4 s. 4 d. should equal 
 the sovereign. 
 
 The following ratings by tale were laid down : — 
 
 Legal tender by tale to any amount. 
 
 Weight. 
 
 Currency. 
 
 Gold: 
 
 Diets. Grs. 
 
 £. 
 
 s. 
 
 d. 
 
 United States eagle, coined before 1834 
 
 11 6 
 
 2 
 
 13 
 
 4 
 
 United States eagle, coined since 1834 
 
 10 18 
 
 2 
 
 10 
 
 
 British sovereign of Imperial weight - 
 
 — 
 
 1 
 
 4 
 
 4 
 
 Silver : 
 
 
 
 
 
 Spanish milled N 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 United States 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Peruvian - 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Chillian - - ) Dollar - 
 
 17 4 
 
 - 
 
 5 
 
 1 
 
 Central American 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 South „ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Mexican 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Halves of the above dollars 
 
 8 14 
 
 — 
 
 2 
 
 H 
 
 French 5-franc piece - - 
 
 16 
 
 
 4 
 
 6 
 
 8 
 
 Legal tender only up to 50 s. cy.: 
 
 
 British crown, as lawfully current 
 
 1 
 
 British coins of all other denominations 
 
 
 
 
 
 at proportionate rates 
 
 — 
 
 
 — 
 
 
 Subdivisions of dollars, less than halves, 
 
 
 
 
 
 not having lost 4 per cent, of their 
 
 
 
 
 
 weight ------ 
 
 — 
 
 
 — 
 
 
Oh. XV. Canada. 18? 
 
 If the payment to be made in gold coins exceeded 50 /., either 
 party mi^ht insist on payment by weight (i) at 94 s. 10 d. 
 currency per oz. for British gold coins, or United States gold 
 coins struck before 1834, or (ii) at 93 s. per oz., for United States 
 wold coins of the later issue. 
 
 For payment by weight, but not by tale, the following gold 
 coins were admitted to unlimited tender " when offered in sums of 
 not less than 50 /. currency " : — 
 
 £. s. d 
 
 French 40-franc piece, and its multiples or 
 
 divisions ------ per ounce 4 13 - 
 
 Spanish -"} 
 
 Mexican I Doubloon and the parts thereof „ 4 9 7 
 
 Chilian -J 
 
 La Plata 
 
 and )■ Gold coins - „ 9 5 
 
 Columbian 
 
 Portuguese 
 
 and I Gold coins - - - „ 4 14 6 
 
 Brazilian J 
 
 As the sovereign contains 113 grains of fine gold, it was 
 properly valued, relatively to the eagle containing 232*2 grains 
 fine And taking the Spanish and Republican dollars at 50 d. 
 sterling, a tolerably exact equilibrium was obtained between the 
 sovereign and eagle on the one hand and those dollars on the 
 other. But, inasmuch as the United States dollar was rated 
 equally with the Spanish and other dollars at 5 s. 1 d. currency, 
 a preference of h per cent, was given to this coin in Canada. 
 Since 10 of these coins were procurable, over the border in 
 the United States, for a gold eagle rated only at 50 s. 
 currency, it may be concluded that the real standard of value in 
 Canada was now the silver dollar of the United States. 
 
 In 1850 the Parliament of the Province of Canada passed the 
 Act 13 & 14 Vict. cap. 21, "to establish freedom of banking," 
 which (i) repealed the Acts of 1837 and 1839, &c. in Upper and 
 Lower Canada, but (ii) re-enacted their provisions as regards the 
 restriction of issue privileges to authorised banks only, and 
 (iii) limited issues to the face equivalent of provincial securities 
 to be previously deposited by the banks. So far therefore as 
 this Act applied, the Note circulation of the Province of Canada 
 began to be specifically secured, though fiduciary only (cf. the 
 Notes of the National Banks of the United States). 
 
 In 1851 there was a proposal to strike a "pound currency" in 
 gold containing 92-877 grains of fine gold, with a decimal coinage 
 in silver, subsidiary thereto. But nothing came, in Canada, of this 
 scheme for perpetuating in gold the old 5 s. rating of the silver 
 Spanish dollar. 
 
 In 1853 by the Act 16 Vict. cap. 158 (see also chapter 15 of the 
 " Consolidated Statutes of the late Province of Canada ") a 
 further step was taken towards the adoption of the United 
 States (gold) currency by providing that the denominations of 
 money might be not only ehillings and pence, but also " dollars, 
 
188 Colonial Currency. 
 
 cents, and mills." In consequence of the old 5 5. rating of the 
 Spanish dollar, this statutory dollar (divided into 100 cents or 
 1,000 mills) was to be the quarter of the fictitious "pound cur- 
 rency." The sovereign was still rated at ] I. 4 s. 4d. (or $4.86) 
 currency, and the gold United States eagle at 2 /. 10 s. (or $ 10) 
 currency ; but, after providing for the passing of British silver 
 and copper coins at their proportionate sterling values within legal 
 tender limits of 50 s. and Is. currency respectively, all other 
 existing silver coins were demonetised. Provision was made for 
 the introduction of a local system of token coins, which was in 
 part carried out by the introduction of silver 20-cent, 10-cent, and 
 5-cent pieces, and of a copper 1-cent piece struck at the Royal 
 Mint and made current by Letters Patent of 10th December 
 1858.* The total nominal value of this coinage of 1858 was 
 $450,000, and it was struck in the following proportions, viz.: — 
 $150,000 in 20 cent pieces, $ 125,000 in 10-cent pieces, $75,000 
 in 5-cent pieces, and $ 100,000 in bronze cents. In 1857 the 
 rendering of public accounts in dollars and cents was made com- 
 pulsory by the Legislature of Canada. 
 
 In 1866 the Province of Canada provided for the issue of 
 Provincial Notes; but this subject will more conveniently be 
 treated in connection with the Dominion issue. 
 
 It is now necessary to consider the currency of other Colonies 
 which were amalgamated with the " Province of Canada" in or 
 after 1867 to form the existing " Dominion." 
 
 o 
 
 II. Nova Scotia. 
 
 In 1787 began the currency legislation of this Colony. In that 
 year was passed the Act 28 Geo. III., cup. 9, "to prevent the cir- 
 culation of base and counterfeit half-pence and other copper coin, 
 and to establish the current value of English crowns, half-crowns, 
 and shillings." The ratings fixed were 5 s. (id. for the crown, 
 2 s. 9 d. for the half-crown, and 1 s. 1 d. for the shilling, " and so 
 in proportion for the lesser divisions of such coin." It will be 
 observed that the Halifax rating of 5 s. for the Spanish dollar (taken 
 to represent 4 s. 6 d. sterling in accordance with Newton's rating 
 of 1717) underlies these ratings, and that a crown is rated a penny 
 higher than five separate shillings. The real standard of value 
 was thus the Spanish dollar and its subdivisions, especially the 
 pistareen. It is to be noted that neither in this nor in any subse- 
 quent Act of the Colony was the silver dollar actually declared a 
 legal tender. So familiar w r as the coin that its currency was taken 
 for granted. 
 
 In 1817 an Act (57 Geo., III. cap. 2) was passed to get special 
 copper half-pence coined in England for the Province. But the 
 Royal Assent was refused, and no steps were taken. 
 
 On 23 March 1825 (see page 23) the Imperial Government 
 issued the Order in Council and Proclamation for introducing 
 British silver and copper tokens into general circulation throughout 
 the Colonies. As the Royal Proclamation rated the dollar at 4s. 4 d. 
 
 * See Reports of Committee of the Executive Council, approved by the 
 (iovernor in Council on HJth June and 19th September 1H57. 
 
Ch. XV. Canada. 189 
 
 for concurrent circulation with sterling, "it was found expedient," 
 by the Act 7 Geo. IV., c. 19, to repeal the above ratings of 1787 
 for sterling coins, " so that in future such coin may pass current 
 in this Province according to the actual value." This repeal left 
 the Colony without any legal currency whatsoever, though in 
 practice it had no effect on the metallic circulation. 
 
 In 1834, in view of the monetary legislation of the United 
 States in this year and the consequent drain to the United States 
 of all gold coins and all coins representing a gold standard, Nova 
 Scotia proceeded to pass in self-defence the Provincial Act 
 4 Will. IV., c. 61, from which the following noteworthy words are 
 cited : — 
 
 " Whereas the adoption of British sterling money in the 
 currency and monies of account of and thoughout all His 
 Majesty's dominions would be highly useful, and tend to unite 
 more closely the interests of the colonies with those of the Mother 
 Country. But to make such alteration in the currency of this 
 Province, at present, would be inconvenient and inexpedient, 
 unless the same were adopted in the adjoining Provinces; and 
 whereas, in the meantime, and until such changes shall be made 
 in the currency of other Colonies, it is requisite and necessary to 
 establish a standard of value and an equivalent for property, 
 which may be obtained by fixing a value upon foreign gold and 
 British silver coins : Be it therefore enacted that " the following 
 rates, &c, shall be established, viz : — 
 
 English shilling* = 1 s. 3 d. currency] with a 50 /. limit 
 
 „ sixpence = 1\ d. „ 3 of legal tender. 
 
 Spanish American doubloonsf — 4 I. „ 
 
 The ratio between British silver (as representing the gold 
 sovereign) and the doubloon (worth 64 s. sterling) was just. But 
 as the silver dollar continued to be rated at 5 s. currency,! 
 whereas its sterling value was 4 s. 2 d. } this coin was under-rated 
 21 d. currency. Practically, therefore, the shilling (as a " quarter- 
 dollar") and the doubloon formed the standard of value under this 
 Act. But, in addition, there was about 50,000 /. sterling in 
 Province Paper in circulation which had not for many years been 
 redeemable at the Provincial Treasury. 
 
 In the year 1836 ("in consequence of the present disordered 
 state of the currency") the Provincial Act, 6 Will. IV., c. 41, was 
 passed, formally rating the sovereign at 25 5. with proportionate 
 rating (i.e. at the 1834 figures above) for British silver coins within 
 a 40 5. limit of legal tender. 
 
 * The crown and half-crown were left to find their own currency value 
 and passed during the whole of 1834 at 6 s. and 3 s. respectively. These coins 
 were almost without exception paid back to the Commissary for Hills on the 
 Loudon Treasury. 
 
 + "The difficulty of procuring British coins in the ordinary course of trade 
 still continuing." 
 
 t When Mexican dollars were introduced in \%%1 by the Commissariat 
 they were bought up by speculators at 5 s. 3d. currency for the United States. 
 But as this speculation did not answer, they gradually fell to 5*. again, much to 
 the annoyance of the soldier who now got only four British shillings hi exchange. 
 
190 
 
 Colonial Currency. 
 
 In 1839, in consequence of the above-mentioned under-rating 
 of the silver dollar, the local Act 2 Vict. c. 37, was passed as 
 to paying Treasury Notes in dollars, not at their " value 
 in the old Halifax currency of 5*.," but at current rates, 
 stated to have " fluctuated of late from 5 s. Id. to 5 5. 3 d." 
 In 1839 the coins in circulation were stated to be mainly doubloons 
 and British silver. 
 
 In 1842,* by the Act, 5 Vict. c. 8, the Provincial Legislature, 
 to regularise the conventional ratings in force, enacted the 
 following just currency values, taken from the Imperial Pro- 
 clamation of 1838 (see page 27), viz. : — 
 
 
 
 Cui 
 
 ■rency. 
 
 Ste 
 
 ;rlin°". 
 
 
 
 Gold: 
 
 
 £. 
 
 s. 
 
 d. 
 
 £. 
 
 s. d. 
 
 Doubloonf - 
 Sovereign 
 
 - 
 
 4 
 1 
 
 5 
 
 — 
 
 3 
 1 
 
 4 - 
 
 Silver : 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Peruvian ^ 
 
 Columbian I -r* 1 1 + 
 at • ) Doll art - 
 Mexican ^ 
 
 Old Spanish J 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 5 
 
 24 
 
 - 
 
 4 2 
 
 Shilling - 
 
 Penny - - - - 
 
 Halfpenny - 
 
 - 
 
 — 
 
 1 
 
 3 
 
 1 
 i 
 
 ~2 
 
 - 
 
 1 - 
 
 - 1 
 
 - ~h 
 
 The limit of legal tender was fixed at 40 s. sterling, or 50 s. 
 currency, for British silver, and at 1 s. currency for British 
 copper coins. 
 
 As late as 1846, as appears from the Act 9 Vict. c. 52, "the 
 practice of making promissory notes . . . payable in timber, 
 country produce, and other specific articles, prevails to a great 
 extent in this Province.'' 
 
 In 1859 (see 22 Vict. c. 24) public accounts were to be kept 
 in dollars and cents, with an optional second column for £. s. d. ; 
 and for this purpose a sovereign was to be brought to charge at 
 5 dollars, and silver coins in proportion. This preliminary step 
 led in 1860 to the passing of the Act 23 Vict. c. 3, whereby, in 
 addition to prescribing dollars and cents as the sole denominations 
 
 * See Report of a Currency Committee, dated 4 March 1839. and ordered to 
 he printed on 7 March by the Assembly. 
 
 f Weighing not less than 415 grains, and containing not less than ."GO grains 
 
 line gold. 
 
 X Weighing not less than 416 grains, and containing not les than 373 grainsof 
 
 tine silver. 
 
Ch. XV. Canada. 
 
 191 
 
 of money, the following ratings of legal tender coins were 
 enacted, viz. : 
 
 
 C urrency . 
 
 St 
 
 
 
 srling. 
 
 
 $. 
 
 c. 
 
 £. 
 
 8. d. 
 
 Sovereign - 
 
 5 
 
 - 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 Doubloon (of 360 grains fine) 
 
 16 
 
 — 
 
 3 
 
 4 - 
 
 Peruvian 
 
 
 
 
 
 / , i" 'i • ) Dollar of 373 grains fine - 
 Columbian [ & 
 
 1 
 
 4 
 
 — 
 
 4 2 
 
 Old Spanish] 
 
 
 
 • 
 
 
 A 10-dollar limit of legal tender was placed on British silver 
 coins, which were rated in currency as follows : 
 
 Crown 
 Half-crown 
 Florin 
 Shilling - 
 Sixpence - 
 Fourpence 
 
 c. 
 
 25 
 
 62£ 
 
 50 
 
 25 
 
 m 
 
 8 
 
 For bronze and copper money the limit of legal tender wa 
 fixed at 25 cents (1 s.), and old provincial copper pence were to b 
 withdrawn from circulation to make way for a new local issue. p 
 Under this latter provision the following coinages were struck at 
 the Royal Mint, viz. : 
 
 • Year. 
 
 Cents. 
 
 ^ Cents. 
 
 Total. 
 
 1861 - 
 
 1862 - 
 1864 - 
 
 8,000 
 
 10,000 
 
 8,000 
 
 2,000 
 2,000 
 
 10,000 
 10,000 
 10,000 
 
 Total nominal Value - $. 
 
 26,000 
 
 4,000 
 
 30,000 
 
 It will be observed that the metallic currency of the United 
 States had not been adopted in Nova Seotia prior to its inclusion 
 in the Dominion, and that no specific rating of the eagle had 
 been fixed. 
 
 When Nova Scotia was incorporated in the Dominion of 
 Canada, old debts were to be paid at the rate of 73 cents of the 
 
 In 1856 the Province had obtained 1,250/. in "pence," and 1,250/. in 
 " half-pence " from the Royal Mint. By the Act of 1851) these coins were to 
 be called in and exchanged at 60 pence to the dollar. 
 
£. 
 
 s. 
 
 rf. 
 
 2 
 
 — 
 
 — 
 
 1 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 — 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 192 Colonial Currency. 
 
 new Canadian currency for every 75 cents of Nova Scotia 
 currency. 
 
 III. New Brunswick. 
 
 This Colony, ceded to Great Britain in 1763, formed part of the 
 colony of Nova Scotia until 1785, when it was erected into a 
 separate colony. In New Brunswick, as in Nova Scotia, the 
 currency basis was the rating of the Spanish dollar at 5 s. 
 
 In 1786, by the Act 26 Geo. III. c. 16, the following ratings 
 were laid down : 
 
 Gold : 
 
 Portuguese half Johannes (or 
 English guinea - 
 
 Silver : 
 
 English crown - 
 
 French crown 
 
 Spanish dollar - - - - - - 5 - 
 
 Practically, the pistareen Cas a " shilling ") was hereby esta- 
 blished as the standard of value. 
 
 " Whereas it will tend to prevent the diminution of gold specie 
 circulating in this province, and whereas an advantage does arise 
 by carrying gold coins out of the same" (says the Act of 1805, 
 45 Geo. III. c. 4), the following currency ratings were enacted : 
 
 £. s. d. 
 British guinea -----.- 
 Portuguese Johannes - 
 Portuguese Moidore - 
 Spanish doubloon - 
 
 French Louis d'Or (coined before 1793) 
 French pistole (coined before 1793) 
 American eagle* ------ 
 
 " And all the higher and lower denominations of gold coin shall 
 also pass current and be a legal tender, in payment of all debts 
 and demands whatsoever in this province in the same proportion 
 respectively." 
 
 For every grain, more or less than the above standard weight, 2\d. 
 currency was to be added or deducted in payments by tale. In all 
 payments over 50 1, currency either party might require the gold to 
 be weighed at 89 s. currency per ounce for the gold coins of Great 
 Britain, Portugal, and America, and at 87 s. per ounce for the 
 Spanisli and French gold. " No plugged gold of any kind shall from 
 and after the passing of this Act be a lawful tender in this 
 Province." The above Act of 1805 was copied from the 1796 
 Acts of the two Provinces of Old Canada, and failed, equally 
 with them, to retain in circulation gold coins other than those of 
 the United States. After the reformation of the Imperial coinage 
 in 1816, under the Imperial Act 56 Geo. III. c. 68, the Provincial 
 
 * Containing 247"5 grains of fine gold up to 1834. 
 
 Dwts. 
 
 grs. 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 18 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 18 
 
 17 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 4 
 
 4 
 
 4 
 
 11 
 
 6 
 
 1 3 4 
 
 4 - - 
 
 1 10 - 
 
 3 14 - 
 
 1 2 6 
 - 18 - 
 
 2 10 - 
 
Ch. XV. Canada. 193 
 
 Act of 60 Geo. III. was passed, and, after approval by Order in 
 Council of 1st February 1821, was published in the Province on 
 5th June 1821. This Act rated the new sovereign (contamina- 
 nt grains of fine gold) at 22s. 3d. currency* (on analogy with 
 the old rating of the guinea), and repeated the old rating of 
 the British crown-piece at 5 s. 6<7. and so forth. The silver 
 dollar of the United States was formally rated at 5 s., in accord- 
 ance with the United States valuation of these coins at ten to the 
 eagle. 
 
 The result of the under-valuation of British coins, both of gold 
 and silver, was that they passed, not at their legal rates, but at 
 prices varying with the exchange with England. The eagle being 
 over- valued by over Is. 3d. relatively to sterling, remained the 
 standard of value, and the only coins that could be kept in concur- 
 rent circulation with it were a few light French crowns and (with 
 difficulty) the silver dollars of the United States. New Bruns- 
 wick had, in fact, practically adopted the currency of the United 
 States with its over-valuation of gold. 
 
 About 1828 it was agreed popularly not to receive the pistareen 
 for more than 20 sous(i.e., ^th of a dollar), and with $1 as a limit 
 of tender. This step followed on the action of the United States 
 in 1827. In order to retain sterling coins in circulation, the local 
 Legislature passed an Act in 1843 rating the sovereign at 
 11. 4s. 2d., the eaglef at 21. 10s., the British crown at 
 6 s. 0| d., the French crown at 5 s. 6 d., and dollars at 5 s. currency. 
 The Royal Assent was refused to this measure and it never 
 became law. Under its provisions the eagle would have been 
 over-valued about 4d. currency, relatively to the sovereign 
 containing 113 grains fine. But in the next year a still less 
 satisfactory measure was passed, establishing the following 
 currency ratings : 
 
 United States eagle 
 
 Sovereign 
 
 Crown-piece - 
 
 Spanish 
 
 Mexican 
 
 South American 
 
 United States , 
 
 £. 
 
 s. 
 
 2 
 
 10 
 
 1 
 
 4 
 
 _ 
 
 6 
 
 d. 
 
 dollar - - - - - 5 - 
 
 It Avill be observed that even under this Act the eagle was 
 over-valued relatively to sterling by over &d. currency, or about 
 1| per cent. It therefore continued to be the local standard of 
 
 value. 
 
 On 7th April 1852 was passed the Act of the Legislature of 
 New Brunswick, 15 Vict. c. 85, confirmed by an Order in Council 
 of 30th June 1852 and Proclamation thereunder. Under this 
 Act the denominations of dollars and cents in accounts were per- 
 mitted, though the unit of account was fixed as the "pound 
 currency,'' and the Act contemplated a local coinage. 
 
 • At 23 s. 4 d. for the guinea, the sovereign should have been 22 s. 2J <?., as 
 the Mint advised at the time. 
 
 f Containing since 1834 only 232-2 grains of fine goR 
 
194 Colonial Currency. 
 
 The following were the ratings in currency 
 
 s. d. 
 
 (New) United States eagle*- - - - 2 10 - 
 
 Sovereign - - - - - - -144 
 
 Crown - - - - - - - — 61 
 
 Shillingf - - - - - - - - 1 2£ 
 
 A 50 5. limit of legal tender was fixed for British silver coins. 
 By these new ratings no preference was given to United States 
 gold coins over sterling ; but as there was no profit to be obtained 
 by importing British gold or silver coins, the eagle may still be 
 regarded as the standard. % 
 
 In I860, by the Act 23 Vict. c. 48, the denomination of dollars 
 and cents were definitely adopted for accounts, with permission to 
 have a second column for " sterling " values. The basis of the 
 local currency was made the statutory dollar, divided into 100 
 cents and 1,000 mills, such that $4=1/. currency, and 20 cents 
 = 1 s. currency. And under the provisions of the same Act it 
 was decided in 1860 to issue a subsidiary coinage of $60,000 in 
 silver and bronze to be coined at the Koyal Mint in the following 
 proportions : — 
 
 $ 
 Silver - 30,000 in 20 cent, pieces] 
 
 „ - - 15,000 „ 10 „ Struck in 1862. 
 
 - 5,000,, 5 „ J 
 
 >> 
 
 Bronze - 10,000 „ cents§ - - Struck in 1861. 
 
 A further coinage of the same pieces was sanctioned in 1864 
 to the nominal value of $55,000 in the following proportions : — 
 
 $ 
 Silver - 30,000 in 20 cent, pieces. 
 
 „----- 10,000 „ 10 
 
 „ - . - - - - 5,000 „ 5 
 Bronze - 10,000 „ cents.§ 
 
 ?.' 
 
 No subsequent coinages were executed for New Brunswick, 
 which thus possessed on its entry into the Dominion of Canada 
 no other coins of its own than the above $115,000 in tokens. It 
 was provided in 1871 (see infra) that these coins should be 
 a legal tender throughout the Dominion. 
 
 * See also the Provincial Act 16 Vict. c. 33. 
 
 f It will be seen that the shilling was under- valued with regard to other 
 British coins. Probably it was in view of a flooding of the country with 
 crowns and half-crowns, that the 7th section of the Act enabled the Lieutenant- 
 Governor by Proclamation " to stop the circulation " of any British silver 
 coins after six months' notice. 
 
 J In 1854 the colon}- obtained from the Royal Mint 2,000 1, in "pence ''and 
 1,000 1. in " half-pence " for local circulation. 
 
 § Half-cents, also, are stated to have been coined (see Atkins, p. 279) ; but 
 they were not struck at the Royal Mint, and are, therefore, very doubtful. 
 Possibly Sandham, whom Atkins quotes as his authority, has mistaken the 
 Nova Scotia half-cents of 18G1 and 1804. 
 
Ch. XV. Canada. 195 
 
 IV. Prince Edward Island. 
 
 After its capture in 1758, this island, like New Brunswick, 
 was annexed to Nova Scotia in 1763*, but seven years later was 
 constituted a separate colony, on petition of the inhabitants. 
 
 In a revenue Act of 1785 (25 Geo. III., c. 4, s. 2) " lawful 
 money of this island" is defined as being "at the rate of five 
 shillings per Spanish milled dollar," the standard currency 
 rating of this coin in British North American Colonies. 
 
 The 18th century rating of the dollar at 4 s. 6d. "sterling" 
 long survived in the colony. In the words of the Act of 1851, 
 14 Vict. c. 33 : — " Sterling money ever since the settlement of the 
 colony has, with few exceptions, been paid and received in the 
 liquidation of quit rents by the addition of one-ninth part to the 
 sterling, in order to reduce it to the currency of this island, 
 without having regard to the fluctuating commercial premium or 
 discount of exchange." It is thus probable that the Orders in 
 Council and Proclamations of 1825 and 1838 had no effect in this 
 colony. See also recitals in the Act 16 Vict. c. 4. 
 
 The money of account was depreciated by the excessive issue 
 of irredeemable Treasury notes, 5 /., 2 /., 1 /., 10 s., and 5 s. each. 
 According to the Journal of the House of Assembly for 1853, 
 " the first issue of Treasury notes was made in 1825 to the 
 amount of 5,000/., while in that year the net revenue of the 
 colony amounted only to 2,500/.; and from 1825 to 1833 
 inclusive, additional issues of Treasury notes were successively 
 made, to the amount of 14,000 /., which several issues amounted 
 in the whole, on 31st January 1834, to 16,500/., and the net 
 revenue of that year, ending 31st January 1834, was 16,925/.; 
 and from that period 1,000/. were cancelled annually, until the 
 sum of 5,000 /. was liquidated, which reduced the amount of 
 Treasury notes afloat to 11,500/., which sum is still in circula- 
 tion."! About the date when this reduction had been effected, 
 the undue issue (reaching 23,712/. in 1851) of six per cent. 
 " warrants " in small amounts by the colonial Government in 
 anticipation of revenue, led to a great depreciation of currency. 
 For, it was stated as early as 1839 that " 20 British shillings pass 
 conventionally as the equivalent of 30 s. island currency," instead 
 of about 24 s. before depreciation set in. And even at this 
 higher rate it was found impossible to retain coin in circulation, 
 as appears from the report of a local Commission of 1847. There 
 
 * "The late Earl of Egmont, First Lord of the Admiralty, proposed settling 
 the island on a feudal plan, his Lordship to be Lord Paramount of the Island, 
 which was to be divided into a certain number of baronies to be held of him, 
 every baron to erect a stronghold or castle, to maintain so many men in arms 
 and with their under-tenants to perform suit and service, according to the 
 custom of the ancient feudal tenants in Europe" ("An Account of 1'rince 
 Edward Island," by John Stewart, London, 1800). 
 
 f See Acts 5 Geo. 4, c. 18; 6 Geo. 4, c. 12 (authorising 10 s. notes); 
 11 Geo. 4, o. 10; 1 Win, 4, c. 15 ; 3 Wm. 4, c. 13 (directing cancellation of 
 1,000/. yearly for five years) ; 5 "Wm. 4, c. 11 (making issue perpetual); and 
 10 Vict. c. 1 2 (authorising exchange of old for new notes). The maximum 
 issue consequently remained 1 1,500 /. in notes of from 5 /. to 5 s. 
 
 In 1845 the Home Government refused to sanction a proposal from the 
 colony to make a further issue of 15,000 L, to be redeemed in 15 years. 
 
196 Colonial Currency. 
 
 was (naturally) no local bank at this time ; and the convertible 
 notes of the private banks in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick 
 circulated in Prince Edward Island by 1852 to the amount of 
 150,000 l. 
 
 The colony meantime had been led to favour a Government 
 note issue, and in 1848 a Bill passed the House of Assembly 
 providing* for a specie reserve amounting to one-third of the 
 issue ; the Legislative Council wished to increase the reserve to 
 half, and the Bill dropped. In the next Session, though nothing 
 was done as to note issue, a re-valuation of the current coins was 
 effected as a preliminary to currency reform. Under the Island 
 Act, 12 Vict. cap. 24 (which received the Royal Assent on 6th 
 October 1849), the following currency ratings were established, 
 viz. ; — 
 
 £. s. d. 
 Doubloon (weighing not less than 415 grains) 4 16 - 
 Eagle m „ „ „ 258 „ 3 - - 
 
 Sovereign ("being of full weight") - 1 10 - 
 
 Shilling* (&c, in proportion) - - - - 1 6 
 United States 
 
 Peruvian 
 Mexican 
 Chilian 
 
 Spanish milled 
 Central American ) 
 
 Dollar - - - - - 6 3 
 
 (Weighing not less than 
 412 grains, of which 
 370 grains must be 
 fine silver.) 
 Half dollars - - - - _ _ 3 _ 
 
 Quarter dollar - - - - - --16 
 
 Halt-quarter dollar - - - - ---9 
 
 Five-franc piece - - - - - --56 
 
 Pence of United Kingdom, Canada, Nova 
 Scotia, and New Brunswick (with Is. 6 d. 
 limit of legal tender) - - - - - - 1 
 
 The main features of this Table were already popularly in 
 force, as is proved by their appearance in the table which is 
 printed in the 1844 edition of M'Culloch's Commercial Dictionary 
 (Art. Quebec). 
 
 The ratings of British coins were correct relatively to one 
 another and to the doubloon and Spanish dollar. The United 
 States silver dollar was overrated relatively both to other 
 dollars and to the eagle, which latter coin was undervalued about 
 i s. 8 d. as against the British sovereign. Thus the United States 
 silver dollar was made the insular standard. But, by section 
 3 of the Act 19 Vict. cap. 1, the United States silver dollar was 
 ordered to be valued at only 6 s. currency for calculating duties 
 on imports. 
 
 In 1864 a limit of legal tender on silver coins was first intro- 
 duced, the limit being fixed by the Act 27 Vict. cap. 15, at 6 /. 
 currency (= 4 7. sterling). 
 
 In 1870 (by the Act 33 Vict. cap. 17) French five franc pieces 
 and all the silver dollars, with their sub-divisions, were demone- 
 tised. In 1871 it was "deemed expedient to assimilate the 
 
 No limit of legal tender was prescribed for FHtisb or other silver coins. 
 
Ch. XV. Canada. 197 
 
 currency of this Island to that of the Dominion of Canada and 
 of the United _ States of America, and to introduce a decimal 
 system of keeping accounts in the public offices into this country." 
 Accordingly, by the Act 34 Vict. cap. 5, the dollar of 100 cents 
 was made the unit of account, and constituted on the United 
 States ratio of $4.8*6 cents to the sovereign. The following ratings 
 were fixed by the Act : — 
 
 $ c/s. 
 
 British sovereign - - - - - 4 86 
 
 „ crowns - - - - - 1 20 
 
 „ half-crowns - - • - 60 
 
 „ shilling 24 
 
 „ sixpence - - - - -012 
 
 United States gold dollar - - - I 
 
 Spanish doubloon- - - - - 16 
 
 Mexican „ - - - - - 15 40 
 
 French 20-franc piece - - - - 3 80 
 
 „ 5 „ „ - - - - 90 
 
 Spanish silver dollar - - - - 1 
 
 Mexican „ ,, - - - - 1 
 
 Pound currency - - - - - 3 24 
 Canadian silver coinage (face value). 
 
 This important Act omitted to place a limit of legal tender on 
 silver coins, and re-monetised the French, Spanish, and South 
 American coins. These oversights would appear to have been 
 speedily felt ; for, in the following year, the Act 35 & 36 Vict. 
 cap. 12, placed limits of $10 and 25 cents on the tender of silver 
 and copper coins respectively, and demonetised all " foreign 
 silver coins." The Lieutenant-Governor having been empowered 
 by Section 5 of the Act of 1871 to provide a coinage of cents for 
 the island, a million bronze cents were struck in 1871 by Messrs. 
 Heaton and Sons, of Birmingham, under the supervision of the 
 Royal Mint. This $10,000 in bronze cents was the contribution 
 of the Island to the currency of the Dominion when incorporated 
 therein in 1873. But it was not till 1881, as will be seen later, 
 that the Dominion currency system was extended to this colony. 
 
 V. — Dominion of Canada.* 
 A— Metallic Money. 
 
 The International Monetary Conference at Paris in 1867 led to 
 the passing of the first currency legislation of the new " Dominion 
 of Canada." | It was presumed that the 25-franc piece in gold, 
 containing 112 grains fine, would be the standard international 
 coin, and that the U.S. half-eagle would be adjusted to the same 
 weight. Consequently the Dominion Parliament, in assimilating 
 the currency of New Brunswick and the two Provinces of Canada 
 to that of the United States, declared that it was desirable that the 
 
 c By Royal Proclamation of 27 May 18G7 the Imperial Act 30 Vict. c. 3 
 was brought into operation, uniting the Province of Canada with Nova 
 Scotia and .New Brunswick to form the " Dominion of Canada." 
 
 t See U.S. and Canadian Bills in Rpt. on Intern. Coinage, 1868. 
 72642. O 
 
198 Colonial Currency. 
 
 ciu-rency of Canada should remain of the same value as that of 
 the United States, and therefore made contingent provision for 
 the adoption of the basis recommended by the Conference, if 
 such basis should be adopted in the United States (31 Vict, 
 cap. 45). The Act provided for the retention of the " pound 
 cuirency," as the equivalent of $4, such "pound currency" to 
 contain 89*601 grains of fine gold, or 97747 grains standard 
 gold. As regards existing; contracts, 23 cents 22 mills of the 
 new currency were to represent 22 cents 40 mills of old cur- 
 rency (except in Nova Scotia, where 121 new cents were to be 
 equivalent to 120 old cents); and the British sovereign was to 
 pass for $5*04^. 
 
 The above Act of 1868 was repealed by the Dominion Act of 
 1871, 34 Vict. c. 4 (Chapter 30 of the Revised Statutes of 
 Canada, 1886), which assimilated the currency of Nova Scotia to 
 that of Ontario, Quebec, and New Brunswick, establishing 
 dollars, cents, and mills as the currency of the whole Dominion of 
 Canada, and adopting the gold coins of the United States for 
 circulation concurrently with the British sovereign rated, accord- 
 ing to metallic content, at $4. 863. Provision is, indeed, made 
 for the coinage of special gold coins for Canada, but no such 
 coins have been struck. The metallic currency is, therefore, on 
 an exclusively gold basis, and consists almost entirely of eagles 
 and other United States gold coins. British sovereigns occur at 
 Halifax, where British troops are stationed, and an Imperial 
 dockyard has been established. But as a matter of fact, gold is 
 rarely seen in circulation in the Dominion, its place being taken 
 by Bank and Dominion notes (see infra). If gold is required 
 {e.g., by individuals going to England), it is obtained from a 
 bank. 
 
 As regards subsidiary coinage, reference has been made above 
 (p. 188, 191, 194, and 197) to the silver 20-cent, 10-cent, and 5-cent 
 pieces, and copper cents, struck for the Province of Canada, New 
 Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island respectively. 
 The total nominal value of these coinages was $605,000. It was 
 provided by Section 7 of the Act of 1871 that these coins (not 
 including those of Prince Edward Island, which was not then part 
 of the Dominion) should continue to be legal tender in Ontario, 
 Quebec, and New Brunswick, and from 1 July 1871, should be 
 legal tender in Nova Scotia also. Provision was at the same 
 time made for the striking; of Dominion tokens, which were to 
 be legal tender, the silver up to $10, and the copper or bronze 
 coins up to 25 cents. " No other siLvei', copper, or bronze coins 
 than those which Her Majesty shall have caused to be struck for 
 circulation in Canada, or in some province thereof, shall be a 
 legal tender."* 
 
 In 1881, by the Act 44 Vict. c. 4, the provisions of the above 
 Act of 1871 were extended to the Provinces of British Columbia 
 and Prince Edward Island, so that the metallic currency of the 
 Dominion is now uniform. And in 1886 the currency Acts were 
 consolidated by Chapter 30 of the Consolidated Statutes of 1886. 
 
 *> See the Act, 31 Vict. c. 47, " respecting the manufacture or importation of 
 cop er coins or tokens." 
 
Ch. XV. Canada. 199 
 
 The subsidiary coinage of the Dominion is struck at, or on 
 behalf of, the Royal Mint in London, and is of the following 
 denominations : — 
 
 Silver 50 cents. 
 
 « - - 25 „ 
 10 .. 
 
 5» 
 
 5 „ 
 
 Bronze 1 cent. 
 
 The Royal Mint j gives $6,189,110 as the total subsidiary 
 coinage (including the $450,000 struck in 1858) ; but this is less 
 than the total according to Dominion authorities, which is by 
 them given at $6,229,110, irrespective of the provincial coins 
 and 20-cent pieces. On the latter basis the amount of subsidiary 
 coin per head of the total population (which stood at 4,833,665 
 in 1891) is slightly over $1£. 
 
 B — Paper Currency. 
 
 (i.) Dominion Notes. 
 
 In 1866 the Legislature of the Province of Canada passed the 
 Act 29 & 30 Vict. c. 10, "to provide for the issue of provincial 
 notes" to an amount not exceeding $8,000,00) in all, viz.: — 
 (i) $5,000,000 on general account, and (ii) $3,000,000 in 
 exchange for provincial debentures to be taken by banks sur- 
 rendering their power of issues. These " Provincial Notes" were 
 to be redeemable on demand in specie and to be a legal tender. 
 By offering 5 per cent, compensation on existing circulation, it 
 was hoped to arrange for the gradual surrender by the chartered 
 banks of their power of issue ; and no new banks were to be allowed 
 a like privilege. For securing the provincial issue, it was pro- 
 vided that the redemption fund (up to $5,000,000 of notes) should 
 consist of 20 per cent, in specie, and that the balance of the issue 
 should be covered by Provincial debentures. Over $5,000,000, 
 the specie was to be 25 per cent. From the 8th section of the 
 Dominion Act of 1868 (31 Vict. c. 46) it appears that the sum of 
 $5,000,000 was " issued for general purposes of the Province, and 
 a further amount for purposes relative to the surrender by the 
 Bank of Montreal of its power to issue notes." With the above issue 
 began the important system of what are now " Dominion Notes." 
 
 In 1868, after regulating coin, the Dominion Parliament pro- 
 ceeded to regulate paper currency. The Act 31 Vict. c. 46 
 (i) took over the $8,000,000 of " Provincial Notes" issued or 
 prepared for issue two years before, (ii) offered to chartered 
 banks the same terms as the Province of Canada had offered in 
 1866; and (iii) secured the Dominion issue by a 20 percent, 
 deposit of specie up to $5,000,000 of notes, and 25 per cent. 
 
 * This departure from a purely decimal system by introducing a quarter 
 dollar instead of a 20-cent piece was on analogy with the currency scheme of 
 the United States. It is true that by the United States Act of 3rd March 
 187o provision is made for a 20-cent piece; but as it was not readily distin- 
 guishable from a quarter-dollar, only a limite'l number of the new coins were 
 issued, and they have since been withdrawn as far as possible. 
 
 | Twenty-second Annual Report of the Deputy Master of the Mint, 1891 
 (c. 6(54). 
 
 02 
 
200 Colonial Currency. 
 
 beyond ; the balance of the issue to be covered by Provincial or 
 Dominion debentures. No bank except the Bank of Montreal* 
 surrendered its issue under the scheme of 1866-68. 
 
 In 1870, by the Act 33 Vict, c 10, it was provided that the 
 normal issue of Dominion notes might be increased to $9,000,000, to 
 be secured as to 80 per cent, by debentures, and as to 20 per cent, 
 by specie ; and an excess issue to any amount was allowed, provided 
 it were wholly against specie. But, as the outlet for paper was 
 steadily growing, the stringency of the latter provision was relaxed 
 by the Act of 1872 (35 Vict. c. 7), which limited the holding of 
 specie to 35 per cent, only of the excess issue beyond $9,000,000. 
 
 In 1875, bv the Act 38 Vict. c. 5, the percentage of specie to 
 be held for the issue between $9,000,000 and $12,000,(100 was 
 fixed at 50 per cent, the whole of any excess issue beyond twelve 
 millions to be covered by specie. Lastly, by the Act 43 Vict. 
 c. 13, the maximum issue was raised to $20,000,000, "provided 
 that the Minister of Finance shall always hold, for securing the 
 redemption of such notes issued and outstanding an amount in 
 gold, or in gold and Dominion securities guaranteed by the 
 Government of the United Kingdom,} equal to not less than 
 25 per cent, of the amount of such notes, at least 15 per cent, of 
 the total amount of such notes being so held in gold ; and provided 
 also that the said Minister shall always hold for the redemption 
 of such notes an amount equal to the remaining 75 per cent, of 
 the total amount thereof, in Dominion debentures issued by 
 authority of Parliament." The issue may exceed $20,000,000 
 by an unlimited amount, provided the whole of such excess is 
 fully covered by a deposit of gold. 
 
 Thus 85 per cent, of the normal issue may be purely fiduciary. 
 The denominations of the notes in general circulation are $4, 
 $2, $1, and 25 cents. Besides these the Dominion Government 
 issues notes of the denominations of $50, $100, $300, and $1,000, 
 which are chiefly, if not entirely, held by the banks to make up 
 the 40 per cent, of their reserves required (see infra) to be held 
 by them in Dominion notes. To superintend the issue of these 
 notes to banks in exchange for specie, &c, Assistant Receivers 
 General are stationed in Toronto, Montreal, Halifax, St. John 
 N. B., Winnipeg, Victoria B. C, and Charlottetown P. E. I. 
 The regulation of the issue is now governed by Chapter 31 of 
 the Revised Statutes of Canada 1886, which was a consolidation 
 of the Acts then in existence. 
 
 The amount of these notes in circulation on 31st December 
 1891 was as follows : — 
 
 $ 
 Fractional (25 cent, scrip) - - - 184,8<»7 60 
 
 Small notes ($1, $2, and $4) - - 7,058,418 25 
 
 Large notes ($50 and upward) - - 8,953,050 00 
 Provincial notes ($5, $10, and $20) - 10,491 16 
 
 Total - - $ 16,206,770 01 
 
 e The Bank of Montreal resumed its issue on the termination of its agree- 
 ment with the Government. * 
 \ See Finance Accounts of the United Kingdom for 1800-91, pages 112-3.* 
 
Ch. XV. Canada. 201 
 
 Of this total, #10,113,040 was held by the banks as part of 
 their reserves, and #6,093,730 was in general circulation. It 
 will be observed that over 55 per cent, of the total issue consisted 
 of "Large Notes." 
 
 Against the issue the Dominion Government held on 31st 
 December 1891 the following : — 
 
 A. Specie. — (I.) Gold : #. #. 
 
 U. S. Gold - - 3,414,497 
 British Gold - 117,830 
 
 3,532,327 
 
 (II.) Silver and Bronze - - - 86,966 
 
 Total Specie - - 3,619,293 
 
 B. Securities. — (\.) Guaranteed sterling Debentures 1,946,667 
 (II.) Unguaranteed Debentures - 14,250,000 
 
 Total Securities - - 16,196,667 
 
 Total Specie and Securities - - #. 19,815,960 
 
 These figures show that the nominal value of the securities 
 held was practically identical with the total issue, Guaranteed 
 Debentures being equivalent to 12 per cent., and Unguaranteed 
 Debentures to 88 per cent. The gold held by the Dominion 
 represents nearly 21*8 per cent, of the issue, fn other words, 
 behind every dollar in Dominion notes there are 21A cents in 
 gold and nearly 100 cents in securities. The amount of Dominion 
 Notes in general circulation ($6,093,730) is equivalent to an 
 average of $1J per head of the total population. 
 
 (ii.) Bank Notes.* 
 
 In 1867, at the time of confederation, there were a number of 
 banks in the several Provinces, working under local charters. 
 For the province of Canada, the general provisions are to be 
 found in Chapter 55 of the Consolidated Statutes of Canada, 
 under which no bank note, of any amount whatever, is allowed to 
 be issued by any person or party, except a Chartered Bank or a 
 banker licensed under that Act. There were in 1870 u no 
 licensed bankers under it (and the power to grant such licenses is 
 repealed by 29 & 30 Vict. c. 10, s. 16), so that there is and can 
 be no bank note in circulation except those of chartered banks." 
 In 1867, during the first session of the Dominion Parliament 
 (to which banking and paper currency had been transferred 
 by the Imperial Act, 30 Vict. c. 3), the several provincial 
 banks were allowed by 31 Vict. c. 11, to carry on business 
 throughout the Dominion, the banks of New Brunswick and 
 Nova Scotia being subjected to a tax on their circulation, similar 
 to that imposed on the banks of Quebec and Ontario by pro- 
 
 Unlike Dominion Notes, no Bank Note is legal tender. 
 
202 Colonial Currency. 
 
 vincial law. In the following year (1868) the Act, 31 Vict. c. 46, 
 was passed (see above, page 199) to provide (?) for the surrender 
 by the banks of their powers of issue, and (ii) for the substitution 
 therefor of Dominion notes. As the banks did not avail them- 
 selves of the provisions of the Act, it was repealed in 1870. 
 
 In 1871 the important Bank Act, 34 Vict. c. 5 (based on an 
 Act of the previous year) prescribed that no new bank should 
 issue notes of less than ^4 each, or to a total exceeding "its 
 unimpaired paid-up capital." Further, " the bank shall always 
 hold as nearly as may be practicable one-half of its cash reserves 
 in Dominion notes, and the proportion of such reserves held in 
 Dominion notes shall never be less than one-third thereof.' 
 This latter provision is important as the beginning of the policy 
 of pushing the circulation of Dominion notes.* As will be seen 
 later, the proportion has been increased and the holding of such 
 notes enforced by penalty. This Act of 1871, as amended and 
 continued, became Chapter 120 of the Revised Statutes of 
 Canada and was the banking law of the Dominion until 1st July 
 1891. It was made to apply to nearly all existing, as well as 
 to new banks. There were, however, a few banks in Nova 
 Scotia and New Brunswick which were then carrying on business 
 under unexpired local charters ; and provision was made whereby 
 they, as well as banks in Prince Edward Island, might avail 
 themselves of the provisions of the Act. The last bank came 
 under the operation of the Act on 1st March 1892. 
 
 By the amending Act of 1880 (43 Vict. c. 22): 
 
 (i.) Notes outstanding were made a first charge on the assets 
 of the bank (which included the double liability of the share- 
 holders). 
 
 (ii.) The lowest denomination of note was raised from $i 
 to #5. 
 
 (iii.) Dominion notes were to be issued up to a maximum of 
 # 50 in all payments by banks, at the request of the payee. 
 
 By the further amending Act of 1883 (46 Vict, c. 20) : 
 
 (i.) The minimum amount of reserves to be held in Dominion 
 notes was raised from one-third to 40 per cent. ; 
 
 (ii.) The maximum up to which Dominion notes could be 
 demanded in any one payment was raised from $ 50 to $ 60; 
 
 (iii.) A penalty of $ 250f was imposed on banks holding less 
 than 40 per cent, of their reserves in Dominion notes; and 
 
 (iv.) Penalties were imposed for excess of circulation, ranging 
 from $ 100 for an excess issue not over $ 20,000, to $ 10,000 for 
 an excess over $ 200,000. 
 
 The Bank Acts were consolidated in 1886 by the Act 46 Vict, 
 c. 20. But, four years later, in view of the expiration in 1891 of 
 the charters of all the chartered banks in Canada, with the 
 exception of one local bank in Prince Edward Island, a new and 
 
 * The Act abolished the old ♦ax on note circulation so far as regards hanks 
 coming under its provisions. The tax on other hanks continued until 187-'. 
 t This penalty was increased to $ 500 in 1890 by the Act 53 Vict. c. 31. 
 
Ch. XV. Canada. 203 
 
 more stringent Bank Act (53 Vict. c. 31) was passed, some 
 provisions of which, relating to notes, are as follows : 
 
 (i.) The total amount of notes in circulation at any time 
 " shall not exceed the amount ot' the unimpaired paid-up capital* 
 of the bank " (as under the old law), under penalties ranging 
 from $1,000 for an excess issue not exceeding $ 20,000 to 
 $ 100,000 for an excess issue of more than $ 200,000. 
 
 (ii.) The denomination of notes is still fixed at $ 5 (as a 
 minimum) and at multiples of $ 5 ; at the request of the payee, 
 $ 100 instead of $ 60, as heretofore) of any payment by a bank 
 must be made in Dominion notes of $ 1, $ 2, or $4. 
 
 (iii.) Notes in circulation are to be a firstf charge on the 
 assets^ of the issuing bank in case of insolvency. 
 
 (iv.) A "bank circulation redemption fund " of 5 per cent, of 
 the average circulation of each bank is to be lodged with the 
 Minister of Finance for further securing the payment of bank 
 notes, with 6 per cent, interest, in case of stoppage of payment, 
 until finally redeemed. The creation of this fund marks a new 
 departure. The banks really guarantee each other's circulation ; 
 as it is to their interest to keep the fund intact, it may be antici- 
 pated that they will aid in the speedy redemption of the notes of 
 a suspended bank. The high rate of interest which notes bear 
 between suspension and redemption aims also at preventing notes 
 of a suspended bank from falling below par, and so at obviating 
 the loss and inconvenience from depreciation frequently experi- 
 enced, especially by the poorer classes, in connection with bank 
 failures in the past. It will be observed that the Government 
 itself does not in any way guarantee the bank's notes ; the 
 liability of the Government is confined to accounting for the 
 redemption fund deposited with it. 
 
 (v.) Another new feature of the Act is the provision com- 
 pelling banks to make arrangements to ensure the circulation of 
 their notes at par in every part of the Dominion. Complaint had 
 arisen that in certain cases discount had been charged, in other 
 parts of the Dominion, on notes issued by banks which had no 
 branches or agencies outside the place or province of issue. 
 When this was brought to the attention of the bank managers, 
 they made arrangements, before the passing of the Act, whereby 
 the notes of any chartered bank could be redeemed at par in any 
 part of the Dominion. Such arrangements are now required by 
 
 ° Except for La Banquedu Peuple (theonh bank in Canada en commandite) 
 and the Bank of British North America (the only bank whose shareholders 
 have only a single liability). The circulation of these two banks is limited to 
 75 per cent, of their unimpaired paid-up capital, with a provision for an issue 
 over that amount to the extent of their unimpaired paid-up capital, upon 
 deposit with the Minister of Finance of an amount in cash or Dominion bonds 
 equal to the excess. The penalties for over-issue by these banks were also 
 increased. 
 
 f There had been conflicting decisions as to whether note-holders or the 
 Crown had the prior lien. 
 
 % Each shareholder is liable for an amount equal to the par value of his 
 shares, in addition to any amount not paid up thereon. 
 
204 
 
 Colonial Currency. 
 
 law, and hanks have to provide agencies for the redemption of 
 their notes at par at the principal business centres throughout the 
 Dominion. 
 
 (vi.) As regards reserves, an important change was made. 
 The provision requiring a bank to hold as nearly as practicable 
 50 per cent, of its reserves in Dominion notes is swept away, 
 and there remains only the requirement that a minimum of 40 
 per cent, of whatsoever reserve may be kept, shall be in the 
 form of Dominion notes. But no limit whatsoever is fixed as to 
 the minimum amount of reserves ; this is left entirely to the 
 discretion of the banks themselves, contrary to the provision of 
 United States law. Canadian law would be complied with, if 
 specie and Dominion notes were held as a reserve to the amount 
 of (say) $ 10 in all; provided that of euch $ 10 at least $4 was in 
 Dominion notes. 
 
 (vii.) Only chartered banks may issue notes, and such issue 
 must be for circulation and not for the purpose of securing a 
 loan for the bank on security giving priority over other creditors. 
 The issue of notes as mere security for a loan to a bank not only 
 subjects the persons implicated to heavy penalties, but bars 
 recovery of the loan. 
 
 The following table gives the totals of bank notes in circu- 
 lation on 30 June in each year from 1868 omvards : — 
 
 Year. 
 
 Circulation. 
 
 Year. 
 
 Circulation. 
 
 
 $ 
 
 
 $ 
 
 1868 - 
 
 8,874,296 
 
 1880 
 
 20,186,176 
 
 1869 - 
 
 8,939,817 
 
 1881 
 
 26,102,368 
 
 1870 - 
 
 15,833,037 
 
 1882 
 
 32,229,937 
 
 1871 - 
 
 19,616,734 
 
 1883 
 
 32,211,945 
 
 1872 - 
 
 25,355,070 
 
 1884 
 
 29,654,511 
 
 1873 - 
 
 25,273,316 
 
 1885 
 
 29,692,803 
 
 1874 - 
 
 25,583,130 
 
 1886 
 
 29,200,627 
 
 1875 - 
 
 20,901,991 
 
 1887 
 
 30,438,152 
 
 1876 - 
 
 20,288,158 
 
 1888 
 
 30,444,643 
 
 1877 - 
 
 18,265,356 
 
 1889 
 
 31,209,972 
 
 1878 - 
 
 19,351,109 
 
 1890 
 
 32,059,178 
 
 1879 - 
 
 18,090,814 
 
 1891 
 
 31,379,886 
 
 The following: table 
 
 gives 
 
 the circulation per head of the 
 
 population in the middle of 1871, 1881, and 1891 : — 
 
 Year. 
 
 Population. 
 
 Circulation. 
 
 Per Head. 
 
 1871 
 1881 
 1891 
 
 3,625,024 
 4,324,810 
 4,833,665 
 
 $ 
 
 19,616,734 
 
 26,102,368 
 31,379,886 
 
 $ 
 
 5-41 
 
 6'04 
 6-50 
 
Ch. XV. Canada. 205 
 
 On 31st December 1891 the total issue of bank notes amounted 
 to $35,634,129. It remains to be seen how far (in Lord Over- 
 stone's phrase) these notes were " the shadow of the gold." 
 
 Though the banks collectively held $5,769,313 in cash on 
 3lstDecember 1891, and though in addition they held $10,113,040 
 in Dominion notes, and had further deposited $843,075 with the 
 Government "for security of note circulation," yet in strictness 
 none of these items, except the last, are definitely earmarked 
 against the issue ; and the notes in circulation were under 18 per 
 cent, of the total liabilities at the close of 1891. Still, as the 
 solvency of the banks is essentially dependent on the floating of" 
 their notes, and as practically all payments in respect of deposits 
 withdrawn, &c, are normally made in paper within the Dominion, 
 and as, moreover, the law makes outstanding notes a first charge 
 on the assets of a bank in case of insolvency, the above specie 
 and Dominion notes may be assumed to be hypothecated to the 
 note issue. On this assumption, and on the further assumption 
 that of the $5,769,313 in specie, 95 per cent, (or $5,480,848) is in 
 gold, it resulrs that the total circulation of the banks has a 
 15*4 per cent, basis of gold. And a further 28'3 per cent, is 
 covered by Dominion notes, which latter have a gold basis of 
 21*8 per cent., thus giving to the bank notes a further gold basis 
 of 6.1 per cent., or 21*5 per cent, in all. 
 
 SUMMAKY. 
 
 Practically, the circulatory medium of Canada consists of — 
 (i) subsidiary coins, and of (ii) Dominion, and (iii) bank, notes. 
 High banking authorities in Canada regard the circulating stock 
 of gold as " nil." " No one carries gold in his pockets in this 
 countrv ; if there is a small amount carried by travellers it is 
 in American gold. As a rule, Canadians going to the States tem- 
 porarily get National Bank notes for $5 and $10 each, and silver 
 certificates for $1 and $2 each for travelling expenses." 
 
 (i) The total of the subsidiary coins struck for the Dominion 
 is $6,229,110. (The old "provincial" coins and the 20-cent 
 pieces have, to all intents and purposes, disappeared from circu- 
 lation, and may be disregarded.) Deducting from this total 
 $86,966, held as part of its reserve by the Dominion Govern- 
 ment on 31st December 1891, and 5 per cent. ($288,465) of the 
 banks' specie reserves, as the estimated amount of silver and 
 copper held by them on the same date, we arrive at a net total of 
 $5,853,679 in token coins in general circulation, or slightly under 
 $1£ per head of the total population. 
 
 (ii) After deducting the holdings ($10,113,040) of the banks as 
 part of their reserves, the amount of Dominion notes in general 
 circulation is $6,093,730, or $1£ per head. 
 
 (iii) The total amount of the bank notes in circulation on 
 31st December 1891 was $35,634,129, an uncertain amount of 
 which was included in the item of $9,119,736 ''notes of and 
 cheques on other banks." The full total gives an average of $7j- 
 per head. 
 
206 Colonial Currency. 
 
 Every dollar in Dominion notes has 2l£ cents of gold behind it; 
 and every dollar in bank notes may be assumed to have 21 £ cents. 
 Or, from another point of view, if the total bank issue and the 
 Dominion notes in general circulation be added together, the 
 total "active " paper circulation of the Dominion ($41, 727,859) had 
 behind it, on 31st December 1891, a total sum of $9,013,175 in gold 
 in the hands of the banks and the Government, giving nearly 
 21$ cents in gold to every dollar of paper in general circulation. 
 Thus, the circulating currency of the whole Dominion on 31st 
 December 1891 was as follows: — 
 
 I. — Legal Tender : $ 
 
 Token coins ----- 5,853,679 
 Dominion notes - 6,093,730 
 
 Total - - - #11,947,409 
 II — Not Legal Tender : 
 
 Bank notes 35,634,129 
 
 Total - - - $47,581,538 
 
 But this total is irrespective of the bank notes held, as above 
 pointed out, by other banks. If the total holding in "notes of 
 and cheques on other banks" be assumed to be equally divided 
 between notes and cheques, then the above total will be reduced 
 to a trifle over $43,000,000. In the latter case the total metallic 
 and paper circulation per head of the population works out, in 
 round figures, at $9 (as against $10 nearly, on the basis of the 
 larger total shown above). Expressed in terms of sterling, the 
 above average of $9 is equivalent to 37 s., whilst the higher average 
 of $10 w r ould be equivalent to slightly over 41 s. It will thus be 
 observed that the " active " currency of Canada corresponds in a 
 striking manner to that of the principal Australian Colonies, 
 which is 2 /. 
 
 Note on ExcHAr^GES. In 1704 a Proclamation of Queen Anne declared 
 that the Spanish (dollar or) ''piece of eight" of that day was worth 4s. Gd. 
 This rate survived the Spanish dollar, and the transition of the United States 
 standard from silver to gold, and lasted down to recent times, as the •' New 
 York sterling valuation," or " par of exchange." It was not until 1873 that, 
 feeling the inconvenience of the quotation of United States Bonds at a ficti- 
 tious discount of about 9j per cent, (see the 8th Report of the Deputy Master 
 of the Mint), the Legislature of the United States passed the Act of 3rd March 
 1873, enacting that the par of exchange with the United Kingdom should he 
 based on intrinsic content, i.e., the pound sterling was declared equal to 
 $4-8665 (or $1=49-3 16c?.). This United States Mint-par is not the only 
 basis for calculating in Canada the exchanges with the United Kingdom ; 
 there are two other modes of calculation, viz., (i.) "Halifax sterling," and 
 (ii.) "Halifax currency." Undftr (i.), the dollar is rated at 4 s. 6 d., and 
 therefore (100 sovereigns or) $486§ equal £.109J ; i.e., in " Halifax sterling " 
 'J!, per rent, premium is the par of exchange. Under (ii.), the dollar is rated 
 at os. (a rating which is one-ninth higher than the above 4s* (id.), and 
 therefore (100 sovereigns or) $486§ equal £. 121 5 " currency.'' 
 
[ 207 ] 
 
 AFRICA. 
 
208 Colonial Currency. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 Sierra Leone. 
 
 (1787.) 
 
 In 1791, four years after its cession, the peninsula was handed 
 over to the Sierra Leone Company " for the purpose of estab- 
 lishing a settlement for freed negro slaves." This purpose is 
 symbolized by the device on the reverse of the coins struck in 
 1791 by the Company, viz., a black hand clasping a white one. 
 The basis of their monetary system was the Macuta, " monnaie 
 de compte, ou plutot une maniere de compter en usage parmi 
 les ne^res de quelques endroits des cotes d'Afrique, particuliere- 
 ment a Loango sur la cote d'Angola ; chaque macoute vaut 10 
 et il faut macoutes pour un cent qui est aussi une espece de 
 monnaie de compte parmi les negres."* The Company struck a 
 dollar of 100 cents (10 Macutas) and silver pieces of 50, 20, and 
 10 cents, together with copper coins originally designated 
 " penny pieces," but subsequently " cent pieces." The Com- 
 pany's dollar was equal in gross weight to the Spanish dollar, 
 but was intrinsically about 8 per cent, inferior.f The coinage of 
 the smaller silver coins (Macutas, or 10 cents) continued up to, 
 and including, 1805. It is evident that these coins could not 
 circulate with the Spanish dollar, except with a premium on the 
 latter ; probably they served for internal circulation only, and 
 were not issued in any considerable quantity. 
 
 In 1807 the Colony was re-transferred to the Imperial Govern- 
 ment, and, with growing trade, the dearth of small silver coins 
 made itself felt. 
 
 In 1822 a requisition was received for a quantity of copper 
 coins to meet the deficiency of small change. It was at first pro- 
 posed to send out British pence, half-pence, and f;irthings ; but 
 it was seen that this would create difficulties in connection with 
 the popular 5 s. rating of the Spanish dollar — the principal coin 
 in circulation — as compared with the 4 s. 8 d. rate of issue of that 
 coin to the troops. Though the idea of introducing British silver 
 was mooted, it was not decided on at this date; and consequently 
 it was felt inexpedient to introduce British copper alone. The 
 silver coins in circulation were stated to be dollars, halves, 
 quarters, and eighths. 
 
 * Bonneville, Trait e dea Monnaies (Paris, 1800). He states that the 
 provincial money coined by Portugal tor Angola was expressed in Macutas, 
 the pieces being ot 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 Macutas. Eacli Macuta was equal 
 to 50 Reis. 
 
 -j- Bonneville gives the gross weight as 26-239 gramme^, the millesimal 
 fineness as 810, and the fine weight as 21-411 grammes. Bui, from the cal- 
 culations of Eckfeldt and Dubois the gross weight was 408 grains, 834 fine 
 and therefore the coin contained 34024 grains fine, or 30-00 grains less than' 
 the Spunish dollar according to Kelly's Cambist of 1820. 
 
Ch. XVI. Sierra Leone. 209 
 
 As a centesimal division of the dollar was familiar in the 
 Colony, it was proposed to send out local copper coins of two, one, 
 and half cents, to be legal tender up to one dollar. But this pro- 
 posal was subsequently dropped. 
 
 "When British silver was introduced by the Imperial Govern- 
 ment into this and other British Colonies in 1825 (see page 23), 
 the premium of 3 /. charged for Commissariat bills on London {see 
 page 25) was felt to be too high ; and large quantities of the 
 coins imported by the Commissariat were shipped off, both from 
 Sierra Leone and the Gambia. It was indeed found impossible 
 to retain any British coins in circulation, partly owing to the pre- 
 valence here as elsewhere of " cut " Spanish money. From the 
 Council Minutes of 4th January 1831, it appears that dollars were 
 cut nominally into quarters, but practically intone parts. The 
 Colony, therefore, obtained from England a stamp (marked 
 " W.R." surmounted by a crown) for the purpose of stamping cut 
 moneys to be legally current. The old cut moneys were called 
 in, and stamped quarter-dollars issued. A Proclamation of 30th 
 March 1832, made such stamped cut-money legal tender to the 
 exclusion of the old unstamped pieces after 1st May 1832. But 
 in 1835 the Lieutenant-Governor wrote that this precaution had 
 failed to stop clipping. The Colony consequently asked either 
 for a supply of the new silver 3 d. and \\ d. pieces (with shillings 
 and sixpences), or for " a separate small coinage which may serve 
 generally for the English settlements in the West of Africa." 
 The Treasury at first urged measures for substituting the ordinary 
 British silver coins for the cut-money, but subsequently, in 1836, 
 agreed to issue 1,000 /. of the 3 d. and lg d. pieces, and 500/. in 
 pence and halfpence. The smaller silver coins were considered 
 by the Colonial Government " best calculated to benefit the 
 liberated African population," and to stay in the Colony.* 
 
 By Proclamation of 6th December 1834 unstamped cut-mcney 
 (quarter-dollars) was made a legal tender ; and the Com- 
 missariat in 1835 cut a great quantity of dollars in ordei to 
 check the export of these coins by the merchants. As by wear 
 and clipping " cut quarters " were deficient as compared with the 
 "round dollar," it grew a common practice to reject the lighter 
 pieces, and considerable inconvenience was thereby caused. The 
 merchants' memorial of 6th June 1838 urged that " dollars were 
 cut by the Colonial Government into quarters and halves 
 upwards of twenty-five years back," and complained that these 
 cut moneys were now refused by the Commissariat and the public 
 departments. 
 
 The inconvenience of the rejection of cut money led to its 
 being called in. 83,076 " cut quarters " were shipped home to 
 be sold as bullion for the purchase of British silver to be sent 
 out to the Colony. They realised 4,205 /. 18 s., which sum, with 
 a temporary Imperial loan, was employed in shipping 9,000/. in 
 British silver coins to the Colony (2,500/. in shillings, 2,500/. in 
 sixpences, 2,000/. in threepenny-pieces, and 2,000/. in three- 
 halfpenny-pieces). On receipt of this supply of British coin 
 
 2 Experience showed that they were unpopular alike with merchants and 
 liberated Africans, and poured back on the Colonial Government. 
 
210 Colonial Currency 
 
 he Governor proclaimed, on 7th January 1839, that from and aftei 4 
 he 12th of that month " all cut monies or cut parts of dollars will 
 cease to be a current coin of this Colony." On 31st January 
 1839 he reported that 6,255 1. 3 s. 6 d. had been paid away in 
 exchange for the decried cut-money. 
 
 On 19th February 1839 the Commissariat speaks of doubloons 
 and dollars as the ordinary currency, but mentions that " a 
 number of Brazilian pieces of 96'- reis each " * had been paid 
 in at the dollar rate, at which they were popularly accepted. 
 The Iioval Mint found the average to be 414*6 grains, containing 
 372*25 grains fine, or 1*35 grains more than the fine content of 
 th< 1 Spanish dollar, according to Kelly's Cambist in 1826. 
 
 The remedial legislation of 1838 for the West Indies (see 
 paue 27) was extended to the West Coast of Africa by tAvo 
 Orders in Council of 10th June 1843, the first of which revoked 
 the 1825 Order " so far as respects Her Majesty's colonies and 
 possessions at Sierra Leone, the River Gambia, Cape Coast, and 
 elsewhere on the western coast of the continent of Africa"; 
 whilst the second Order in Council and proclamation laid down 
 the following rates for the concurrent circulation of foreign coins 
 with sterling : — 
 
 £. s. d. 
 Doubloon of Spain, Mexico, or the States of 
 
 South America - - - - - -34- 
 
 20-franc piece - - - - - - --15 10 
 
 Dollar of Spain, Mexico, &c. - - - - - 4 2 
 
 5-franc piece - - - - - - - - 3 10£ 
 
 Any tender of paymeut in the said coins " shall be deemed and 
 taken to be a lawful tender, in the same manner as if such tender 
 had been made in the current coin of the United Kingdom." 
 
 The standard currency of Sierra Leone was now sterling with 
 foreign gold and silver coins rated, for concurrent circulation, but 
 without a limit of tender on silver coins, whether British or 
 foreign. The result was that gold was (practically) never seen 
 in circulation, and trade introduced a large proportion of French 
 5-franc pieces. 
 
 By Order in Council and Proclamation of 30th June 1852 
 legal currency was given to the gold coins of the United States 
 on the West Coast of Africa, as follows : — 
 
 s. 
 
 d. 
 
 Eagle - - - - - 41 - sterling. 
 
 I n 20 6 „ 
 
 \ „ - - - - 10 3 „ 
 
 But as the sovereign and doubloon were already unable to 
 hold their ground in competition with silver, the United States 
 eagle, which was undervalued by I •16 c*'. relatively to the 
 sovereign, never obtained a footing in the Colony. Similarly the 
 local Proclamations of 12th January 1867 and 1st August 1871, 
 
 ° This appears to be a double Crusado Novo. But for the specific mention 
 of 9G0 Reis, the coin would naturally be supposed to be a clipped coioa de 
 prata of 1,000 Reis, introduced in 1835. 
 
Ch. XVI. Sierra Leone. 211 
 
 which legalised the currency in this Colony of the gold coins of 
 the Sydney Mint,* were powerless to bring those coins into 
 circulation. 
 
 In 1879, as the result of the depreciation of the gold price of 
 silver in the previous years, the silver dollar began to give 
 trouble on the West Coast of Africa, as in the West Indies. The 
 legal currency of the dollar in Sierra Leone at 4 s. 2 d. sterling, 
 when it w r as barely worth 3 s. 8 d., naturally induced merchants 
 and speculators to import the coin, and early in 1880 steps were 
 necessary to prevent the Colony from passing to a silver standard 
 and measure of value. At this date it was stated (1) that 
 English coin was rarely seen, and (2) that, almost the whole of 
 the coins in circulation consisted of 5-franc pieces or dollars, the 
 latter coin being poured into the Colony by every steamer that 
 arrived. By Ordinance No. 2 of 1880 it was enacted that the 
 dollar should cease to be a legal tender in the Settlement, but 
 that for three days (subsequently increased by Government 
 Notice to 13) the Colonial Government should receive the de- 
 monetised coin at its old rating of 4 s. 2 d. The total nominal 
 value of the coins so received was about 26,000 /. 
 
 By 1880, the original dislike of the natives to bronze coins 
 had disappeared, and there was no difficulty in keeping such coin 
 in circulation. The field was now left to 5-franc pieces,! and to 
 British silver and bronze tokens. There is no paper currency. 
 
 In 1882 the amount of 5-franc pieces in circulation was 
 estimated at 20,000/., whilst the amount of sterling coin (largely 
 hoarded, and not actually in circulation) was put at over 30,000 /. 
 
 * See page 29. 
 
 f Belgian, Italian, and Swiss 5-franc pieces were made legal tender equally 
 with the French coin by Order in Council, &c, of 28th November 1874, 
 published locally on 5th January 1875. 
 
212 ' Colonial Currency. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 TnE Gold Coast.* 
 (1667.) 
 
 Though part of the present Colony of the Gold Coast was in 
 the occupation of the Royal African Company from 1667, and of 
 the African Company of Merchants from 1750, yet its currency 
 history cannot be traced with any approach to certainty prior to 
 1821, when it was merged in the general government of the 
 West African Settlements. Nominally the system of currency 
 in force between 1821 and 1874 (the year in which the Gold 
 Coast, including Lagos, was constituted a separate Colony) was 
 therefore that of Sierra Leone, under which Colony will be found 
 details of the several enactments regulating the currency of the 
 West African Settlements prior to 1874. 
 
 On 5th August 1875, the Governor of the now distinct Colony 
 of the Gold Coast issued a Proclamation which, after reciting 
 the Royal Proclamations of 10th June 1843 (rating the doubloon 
 at 64 5., the French 20-franc piece at 15 s. 10 d., the silver 
 dollar at 4 s. 2d., and the French 5-franc piece at 3 s. 10|cf.), 
 the Royal Proclamation of 30th June 1852 (rating the "U.S. 
 eagle at 41 s. and the U.S. gold dollar at 4 s. 1 d.), went on to 
 state that " whereas the said recited Proclamations have been 
 duly promulgated, and have taken effect and come into force in 
 Her Majesty's said Colonies and possessions, inclusive of the 
 Settlements on the Gold Coast and the Settlement of Lagos, but 
 it is expedient that the same should be republished and again 
 promulgated for the better information of all whom it may con- 
 cern, Now, therefore, be it known that Her Majesty's herein- 
 above recited Proclamations are and shall be in full force through- 
 out the Gold Coast Colony and the dependencies thereof." 
 
 Whilst, however, there was by law uniformity of currency in 
 Sierra Leone and the Gold Coast, there was in practice 
 a marked difference, arising out of the prevalence of un- 
 coined gold in the latter Colony and its customary use as money 
 by weight. The general rate at which rock gold and gold dust 
 passed current was 3 /. 12 s. per ounce, the ounce being sub- 
 divided into sixteen "ackies" (4 s. 6 d. each), and each ackie into 
 six " takus " (9 d. each).f Other weights were the " benda " (two 
 ounces), the " periquin " (two and a-half ounces, or 9 /.). Side 
 
 * I am indebted tor information respecting tlii* Colony to Mr.W. W . Hull 
 the Assistant Colonial Secretary. 
 
 f The al>ove rates, which are taken from an official source, do not tally with 
 the statements in the glossary to Bowditch's "Mission to Ashanti," which 
 make the price of gold 4/. per ounce (i.e., 5 s. per "ackie" or 10 d. per 
 "taku"), and give the "benda" as two ounces tour ackies (1)1.) and the 
 " periquin " at two ounces eight ackies (10 /.). 
 
 It is interesting to note that the minimum weight, the "taku," is the name 
 of a seed, recalling the British " grain'' and the Indian seed unit of weight the 
 " rati." 6 
 
Ch. XVII. The Gold Coast. 213 
 
 by side with the currency of gold dust, a system of denominational 
 currency was in vogue in the Colony up to as late as 1870 at 
 least. " A commercial nominal currency exists (wrote the 
 Governor in 1870) by which, for general trade purposes, the 
 dollar* is still computed at 4 s. 6 d., and consequently eaglesf and 
 doubloons, which contain a fixed number of dollars, are also on 
 these occasions paid and received at the proportionate currency, 
 or imaginary, value." (But the 4s. 6 d. rating did not obtain at 
 the Colonial Treasury, where the legal ratings were observed.) 
 It seems probable that this 4 s. 6 d. rating was introduced from 
 the United States, where Sir Isaac Newton's sterling valuation 
 of the piece of eitiht (or Spanish dollar) survived up to a few 
 years ago (see p. 200', note). Under this system an ounce of gold 
 dust passed as the equivalent of a doubloon, a very profitable 
 mode of reckoning, seeing that the doubloon was only worth 64 s., 
 whilst an ounce of (standard) gold is worth 3 /. 17 s. lO-^d. 
 
 It was further stated in 1870 that at that date cowries^ were 
 very little used, except in the eastern districts, and no further 
 imports of cowries were being made. The "head of cowries" 
 in 1870 fluctuated from Is. 6 d. to 2 s. 3 d., but was most fre- 
 quently at the former price. A few Dutch silver coins (see 
 infra) were in occasional circulation ; but they were very few in 
 number and their value was uncertain, as the Fantees objected to 
 them. With regard to sterling eilver coins, it was stated that 
 the natives refused all but unworn coins, and utterly declined to 
 take pre- Victorian silver, on the ground that with the death of 
 the issuing monarch the coin became valueless. This latter 
 prejudice, it may be added, continues to the present day. 
 
 In connection with the cession of the Dutch Settlements a 
 certain amount of complexity was introduced into the currency of 
 the Gold Coast. Prior to 1846 the Dutch Government had been 
 in the habit of paying all salaries, &c, in goods ; but in 1846, as 
 the result of complaints, it was decided to make such payments 
 in gold dust, the accepted medium of circulation. But, side by 
 side with gold dust, there flowed into circulation after 1870 
 Dutch silver coins of 2|-florins or guilders, and subdivisions 
 of this coin. As this coin apparently passed as a dollar, the 
 Governor of 1872 ordered it to be received as 4s. '2d. "to 
 prevent inconvenience to the traders at Elmina." But in the 
 next year the rating was reduced to 4s., or only l^d. over its 
 sterling equivalent at the time (cf. the 5 -franc piece in the Gambia). 
 As the subdivisions of the Dutch 2 ^-guilder piece were of inferior 
 alloy, the falling gold-price of silver led shortly before 1880 to 
 large experimental shipments of these coins into the Colony ; 
 
 * From other evidence it appears that only United States dollars were rated 
 at 4 s. d., and that it was the silver dollar of the United States which \v;ts 
 most common at this date. Other silver dollars were rated at 4s. only. 
 
 "j" U.S. gold, it was stated in 1870, was seldom seen in circulation ; but 
 there was a fair supply of Spanish gold coins, called five-dollar pieces, and 
 rated at 20 .v. fir/. 
 
 % In ]bo9 Governor Bird stated that 16,000 cowries were worth a sovereign. 
 £. 2,568 in cowries brought from 60 miles up-country cost 125 /. for carriage 
 and counting, 80 men being employed for the job and the whole day being 
 spent by this number of men in counting the cowries. 
 
 72642. P 
 
214 Colonial Currency. 
 
 s * unprincipled persons import them from Holland to the loss of 
 the Colonial Government and to the benefit of themselves." And 
 the same fall in the gold-price of silver introduced a considerable 
 number of Mexican dollars. In order to meet this new evil the 
 Colony passed on 29th April 1880, the " Demonetisation Ordi- 
 nance,''' No. 2 of 1880, which restricted the currency to the 
 following : — 
 
 (i.) All gold and silver British, sterling. 
 
 £. s. d. 
 
 (ii.) Spanish and South American doubloons* at 3 4 - 
 
 (Halves in proportion.) 
 
 American Double Eagles - - „ 4 2 - 
 
 „ Eagles - - _ - - # „ 2 1 - 
 
 (Halves and quarters in proportion.) 
 
 French 20-franc piece - - - ,,-1510 
 
 (iii.) Gold dust and nuggets, at per oz. - 3 12 - 
 
 It will be observed that this Ordinance not only demonetised 
 the dollar, Dutch silver, and the 5-franc piece of France, but also 
 excluded British bronze coins from legal tender. But this exclu- 
 sion was of no practical importance, as the natives have steadily 
 refused copper and bronze money. Also, no standard weight and 
 fineness are stated for the doubloon, thus rendering it possible to 
 pass legally for 3 /. 4 s. " Tree," " Sun," and Argentine doubloons 
 ranging in sterling value from 3 /. to 2 I. 16 s. But no advantage 
 seems to have been taken of this shortcoming in the Ordinance, 
 doubloons having practically ceased to circulate on the Gold 
 Coast. 
 
 As regards the working of the Demonetisation Ordinance, 
 1880, it is to be observed that, under section 3, " during a period 
 of ten days subsequent to the promulgation of this Ordinance 
 . . . all coins hitherto current and received in this Colony 
 will be received at the Colonial Treasury of this Colony at their 
 present current value." But this provision was interpreted by 
 the Governor to mean, not that the demonetised coins were to be 
 freely exchangeable at the Colonial Treasury, but only that 
 during the limited days of grace, duties, &c, might be paid in 
 such coins. Thus the loss attendant on the demonetisation fell on 
 the " last holder." But it appears that in the present Colony of 
 the Gold Coast (excluding Lagos) there were comparatively few 
 dollars or Dutch coins which did not find their way into the 
 Colonial Treasury before the expiration of the days of grace. 
 The net result was to substitute sterling silver coins for the Dutch 
 and other silver. 
 
 In connection with the legal tender of gold dust, the Colonial 
 Government employed " ^old-takers " to weigh and assay the 
 gold dust tendered in payment at the Colonial Treasury. But 
 from 1883 onwards the export of gold dust fell more and more 
 into the hands of the local merchants, till in 1888 the Govern- 
 
 * It will be observed that Mexican doubloons are excluded. These coins have 
 never been so popular on the West Coast as the old Spanish doubloons, which 
 used to pass for £16, whilst Mexican doubloons were taken at $15. 
 

 £. 
 
 
 £. 
 
 1883 ■ 
 
 - 57,50! 
 
 1886 ■ 
 
 - 74,877 
 
 1884 ■ 
 
 - 78,696 
 
 1887 • 
 
 • 81,168 
 
 1885 ■ 
 
 - 89,981 
 
 1888 ■ 
 
 - 86,510 
 
 Ch. XVII. The Gold Coast. 215 
 
 merit shipments were only some 1,565 /., or 2 per cent, of the 
 trade shipments. In fact, t:old dust was now worth more than 
 72 s. per ounce, the price at which it passed current by law, and 
 by Gresham'slaw Avas driven from circulation. In these circum- 
 stances, and with the knowledge that a practice was growing up 
 of adulterating trade gold-dust, the Colonial Government pro- 
 ceeded to purge their currency by passing on 12th April 1889 
 Ordnance No. 9 " to demonetise gold dust and nuo-grets." 
 
 With regard to the export of gold dust, the following figures 
 show the total exports from the Colony for the eight years to 
 31st December 1890, coin being included with gold-dust in the 
 two last years : — 
 
 1889 103,200 
 
 1890 - 91,657 
 
 At the present day cowries are in use among natives alone, and 
 for petty transactions only ; the coin in circulation is practically 
 confined to sterling, though a few United States silver half- 
 dollars (brought by American vessels) pass current at 2 s. (the 
 rate prescribed in 1864 for this coin in the Bahamas). There is 
 at present a nalive prejudice against the German silver which is 
 appearing in the eastern part of the protectorate. British gold 
 is in circulation on the coast only ; in the interior, and among 
 the natives everywhere, only British silver coins pass current. 
 The natives object to crowns and double-florins, preferring 
 florins, shillings, sixpences, and threepenny-pieces ; when the 
 Jubilee coinage was issued, they refused to accept it until a 
 Government notice was issued to the chiefs. Gold is declined by 
 the natives except at a discount, and copper is not seen.* 
 
 It is difficult to estimate the amount of coin in the country, as 
 the natives are in the habit of hoarding. But perhaps the 
 circulating stock on 31st December 1891 may be put at a total of 
 100,000 l. 
 
 There is no paper currency. 
 
 * In the petty transactions of everyday life the threepenny -bit is the 
 smallest coin u*;ed, though prices range dnwn to pence and halfpence. As 3d. 
 will buy (e.g.) a large supply of fruit, the custom is to pay down a threepenny- 
 bit tor a pennyworth of fruit, and to take the change in further supplies on 
 subsequent days. 
 
 A nickel coinage, like that of Jamaica, might possibly prove a convenience. 
 
 p2 
 
216 Colonial Currency. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 Lagos. 
 
 (1861.) 
 
 The legislative history of currency in Lagos will be found 
 under the head (i.) of Sierra Leone, and (ii.) of the Gold Coast 
 Colony, Lagos having formed part of the united government of 
 the West Africa Settlements from 1866 to 1874, and of the 
 Gold Coast Colony from 1874 to 1886. The Gold Coast Pro- 
 clamation of 5th August 1875 {see page 212) was expressly applied 
 to Lagos, and formally made current in this Colony the silver 
 dollar at 4s. 2d., the French 5-franc piece at 3 s. 10§ d.. the 
 doubloon at 64 s., the French napoleon at 15*. 10 d., and the 
 United States eagle at 41s., in addition to current sterling coins.* 
 But though this Proclamation served its immediate purpose of 
 removing all doubts as to what was legal tender in Lagos, it is 
 dubious whether it was really necessary, seeing that the Order 
 in Council and Proclamation of 10th June 1843 laying down the 
 above currency, was made applicable to " Her Majesty's colonies 
 and possessions in Sierra Leone, the River Gambia, Cape Coast, 
 or elscichere on the western coast of the continent of Africa, and 
 their dependencies." The Gold Coast Proclamation of 1875 
 »vas therefore in the nature of a re-enactment of the legislation 
 pf 1843. 
 
 In 1879, owing to the fall in the gold-price of silver in the 
 London market, large shipments of dollars were made to Lagos 
 (chiefly by a Hamburg firm), and put in circulation at a profit of 
 over 10 per cent. On 31st July the Government balance of 
 10,920/. consisted of dollars to the amount of 9,200 /., mainly 
 Mexican, but also Peruvian, Chilian, and Brazilian. On 13th 
 May 1880, 14,548/. out of a total balance of 15,398/. was in 
 dollars. And it appears from a memorial to the Governor, of 
 May 1880, that dollars formed an equally large proportion both 
 of the money in circulation and of private hoards. It was at this 
 juncture that the Gold Coast Ordinance No. 2 of 1880 was 
 brought into local operation by Notice of 11th May 1880, all 
 foreign silver coins being demonetised on and after 21st May.f 
 
 A local Ordinance, passed on 5th August 18G2, had made the Dutch 2 J 
 guilder piece legal tender at the rate of 4 s. sterling. This Ordinance was held, 
 however, to he invalid, like all ether Ordinances of 18(52, in consequence of 
 tlie invalid constitution of the legislature in that year; and in the Order in 
 Council of 0th January WCt'.) foreign silver coins were not rated as legal tender, 
 the idea heing that British silver coins would best serve for the smaller 
 pecuniary transactions of the Colony. 
 
 [•The totiil number of dollars shipped to England by the Colonial Govern- 
 ment was 78,930, representing 16,441 I, at 4s, 2d, each, 
 
Ch. XVIII. Lagos. 217 
 
 Up to this date the coins still remained a legal tender generally, 
 and were payable to the Colonial Government for duties, &c. 
 But, after 21st May 1880, no provision whatsoever was made for 
 exchanging at their old ratings the dollars in general circulation. 
 Severe and unjustifiable hardship was consequently entailed 
 upon the community, and not least upon its poorer classes. To 
 quote an official report of the time : — " The effect produced on 
 the public mind by the law is as if a violent and destructive 
 political and financial hurricane had passed over the Settlement. 
 The general feeling is very bitter ; for the people have been 
 touched where they feel most keenly." 
 
 The effects of the demonetisation of 1880 were the more 
 severely felt, in that there was at first a wholly inadequate stock 
 of sterling coin on hand to take the place of the dollar. But on 
 9th June 1880 5,000 /. was received from Accra, and at the end 
 of July 10,000 /. arrived from England for the Colonial Govern- 
 ment. The merchants imported some 4,000 /. more in coin, in 
 addition to about 2,300 /. in Bank of England notes. In the 
 middle of October, however, it was reported that there was still 
 "a fair amount of trade done in dollars, as firms receive them at 
 3 s. 6 d. against accounts, and 3 s. 4 d. against goods ; " but there 
 was no scarcity of British coin in the Colony. In the course 
 of the next few years the silver dollar disappeared from 
 circulation. 
 
 As the 5-franc piece has never enjoyed the same vogue here 
 as (e.g.) in the Gambia, the silver coins current in Lagos are 
 now exclusively those of Great Britain. Among the natives, 
 crowns, half-crowns, and double-florins are unpopular as com- 
 pared with other British silver ; and in the interior (cf. the Gold 
 Coast), pre- Victorian coins are refused in the belief that, on 
 the demise of the Crown, the coins of the reign cease ipso facto 
 to have legal currency. 
 
 Bronze coins are current, but at a discount of 10 per cent, as 
 compared with silver coins of an equal nominal value. For 
 instance, three bronze pennies will only exchange for 22£ strings 
 of cowries, whereas a silver threepenny-bit will command 25 
 strings. 
 
 Cowries are in general use as currency at 6 d. per " head " of 
 2,000 cowries. Within the colony they are used in procuring 
 articles of less value than the silver unit {3d.); in the interior 
 they still form the recognised currency, though silver is 
 preferred. 
 
 As regards gold, sterling coins do not monopolise the currency, 
 as in the case of silver. Legally, doubloons and gold-dust are 
 legal tender, but gold-dust is no longer current, and the few 
 doubloons which find their way into the Colony are not readily 
 received in payment, and gravitate to the Colonial Treasury, 
 where they tend to remain. Consequently it is in contemplation 
 to demonetise these coins, as well as raw gold. The gold 
 currency would then consist, in law as in practice, of British, 
 United States, and French gold coins. Amongst the uneducated 
 natives, especially out of Lagos itself, gold coins are not popular. 
 Suspicion was aroused some years ago by an importation of 
 
218 Colonial Currency. 
 
 spurious sovereigns and half-sovereigns ; and, moreover, the 
 native preference is for silver. 
 
 The practice of hoarding* makes it difficult to estimate with 
 accuracy the amount of coin in circulation. The prevalence of 
 this practice was demonstrated in the middle of 1892 by the fact 
 that, owing to the stoppage of the roads interfering with the 
 native commerce, natives from the interior bought goods in 
 Lagos for cash, instead of by exchange of commodities ; it is 
 believed that the coins then brought down into Lagos had been 
 buried for years. So in India during the famine years the 
 increased export of gold has been traced to the forced breaking 
 up of hoards. It is, moreover, an ascertained fact that about 
 20,000 Z. a year in British silver is annuall}" absorbed by, and 
 through Lagos, finding a circulation, though not in large 
 quantities, amongst an estimated population of at least 2,000,000, 
 in addition to 32,500 in the island of Lagos. 
 
 Subject to the foregoing remarks, the total amount of coin in 
 circulation in the Colony has been estimated at 120,000/. the pro- 
 portion of silver to gold being 10 to 1. 
 
 There is no paper currency in Lagos, but the African Banking 
 Corporation, which has recently been founded, has proposed to 
 issue 1 /. and 5 /. notes in the Colony. 
 
 * Compare Sierra Leone, &c, and the negro practice in the West Indies 
 e.g., Jamaica. ; 
 
Ch. XIX. Gambia. 219 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 Gambia. 
 
 (1807.) 
 
 The Gambia, being associated with Sierra Leone from 1807 
 to 1843, had the same currency history in the early years of the 
 century, the only distinguishing feature being the number of 
 5-franc pieces which flowed into the Gambia from the neighbour- 
 ing French Settlements. It is the prevalence of these coins 
 which has uniformly characterised the currency of this colony 
 up to the present day. 
 
 The Imperial legislation of 1825 (see page 23), which aimed at 
 the general introduction of British silver and copper coins into 
 circulation throughout the colonies, was marred by the rating 
 which it laid down of 4 s. 4 d. for the Spanish or Mexican dollar 
 for concurrent circulation with sterling, the dollar being at that 
 time worth only about 4 s, 2d. sterling. Consequently, here, as 
 elsewhere, British coins were introduced by the commissariat, 
 only to be profitably re-exported to England again by the local 
 merchants. And as the supply of dollars fell off, owing to 
 the revolt of the Spanish colonies in the New World, an incon- 
 venient scarcity of coin was experienced in the Gambia as else- 
 where, which led to the device of cutting dollars into four parts 
 with a view both to keep the silver in the country and to provide 
 a small change. 
 
 " The currency of the place," says a memorial to Lord 
 Glenelg, of 26th July 1838, " is on a very unsatisfactory footing. 
 The Spanish dollars are all cut up by the commissary before they 
 are issued. This opens a door to the fraudulent clipping of this 
 ' cut money,' as it is called ; and to such an extent has this been 
 carried that the general currency of the place may now be con- 
 sidered to be depreciated at least 40 per cent. Each of these 
 cut pieces passes for a quarter-dollar; some of them are worth 
 little more than half that sum. In addition to the Spanish dollar, 
 the French 5-franc pieces are cut up in imitation of the others, 
 by which the evil is increased." So, too, at the same date, the 
 governor thought these quarter-pieces, though rated at 1 s. 1 d., 
 to be worth intrinsically only about 9 d. When Sierra Leone 
 demonetised its cut-money, the amount outstanding on 12th 
 January 1839 flowed into the Gambia in such volume that the 
 merchants refused to accept it. The governor proposed, and the 
 Home Government agreed, to follow the example of Sierra 
 Leone, and decry the cut-money in the Gambia also. 
 
 The legislative history of currency after 1840 is identical 
 with that of Sierra Leone. The Order in Council of 10th June 
 1843 (rating the dollar at 4 s. 2 d., the doubloon at 64 s., the gold 
 
220 Colonial Currency. 
 
 20-franc piece at 15 s. 10 d., and the 5-franc piece at 3 s. 10£ d.), 
 the Order in Council of 30th June 1852 (rating the eagle at 
 41 s., and the gold dollar of the United States at 4 s. 1 d.), and 
 the Order in Council of 28th November 1874 (giving currency 
 to Belgian, Swiss, and Italian 5-franc pieces at 3 s. 10£ d.), 
 were all brought into operation in the Gambia.* In 1871, f the 
 new Sydney sovereign was made legally current; and in 1880, 
 by Local Ordinance No. 2 of that year, the silver dollar was 
 demonetised iu this colony. But so few were the dollars in 
 circulation that only 695 of these coins were exchanged. 
 
 The demonetisation of the dollar led to a discussion in 1880 as 
 to the policy of demonetising the 5-franc piece. It then appeared 
 that this coin formed 85 per cent, of the total circulation of the 
 colony (then between 20,000 I. and 30,000 /.), a fact which 
 explained the small number of the dollars current, and was 
 itself explained by the further fact then brought to light, viz., 
 that the 5-franc piece passed current at the time at the con- 
 venient, though illegal, rate of 4 s., except in payments to the 
 Colonial Government. And of the remaining 15 per cent., 
 which was practically all British, practically no part was in gold 
 or copper. 
 
 The result of the discussion of 1880 was that, whilst the 
 English merchants thought that little or no inconvenience would 
 result from the suggested demonetisation, the French merchants 
 held a diametrically opposite opinion, urging that if the people 
 from the neighbouring French Settlements learned that their 
 only coin, the 5-franc piece, was demonetised in the Gambia, 
 they would cease to come to Bathurst for goods. The Legislative 
 Council were of opinion that it was practically immaterial 
 whether the coin was demonetised or not. In these circum- 
 stances, and in view of the fact that four-fifths of the exports 
 from the colony went to France, it was not judged expedient to 
 take any action, at least so long as the Latin Union continued to 
 limit the iesue of 5-franc pieces. 
 
 Up to 1890 the system of trading was mainly by barter in the 
 Gambia. It was only in 1891 that the system of purchasing pro- 
 duce for cash was introduced. 
 
 Of the currency, the amount of which it is impossible to give, 
 about 80 per cent, was estimated to be in 5-franc pieces, and the 
 remainder in British tokens, mainly florins, shillings, and smaller 
 silver coins. There is no difficulty in getting the natives in 
 Bathurst to take bronze coins ; but up-country bronze is little 
 known. There are no foreign copper coins in circulation. 
 Cowries are not used now except as ornaments, a use to which a 
 considerable quantity of British silver is also applied by the 
 natives. There is no paper currency. 
 
 * The dates of the local Proclamations were, respectively, 30th September 
 1843 ; 13th November 1852 ; and 5th January 187;"). 
 f The local Proclamation was dated 22nd June 1871. 
 
Ch. XX. St. Helena. 221 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 St. Helena.* 
 
 (1651.) 
 
 From the earliest times the accounts of the East India 
 Company, and all payments to troops and civil servants, were 
 expressed in sterling. But it is not to be inferred from this that 
 sterling coins circulated in the Island. All evidence goes to show 
 that, at least in the seventeenth century, the common coin in 
 circulation was the dominant coin of the day, the " Piece of 
 Eight" (or Spanish Dollar), current at 6 s. At the close of 1673 
 the equivalent of 400/. was shipped from London in "Pieces of 
 Eight and copper money " ; fines for non-attendance at the 
 council were expressed in dollars ("Absence | dollar, second 
 time 1 dollar, third time l£ dollars"); in 1679 other penalties 
 were similarly imposed in dollars (4 dollars "for picking lemons," 
 and 2 dollars for throwing rocks into the valleys); and in 1707 
 6 dollars was the fine by payment of which Mrs. Clavering 
 escaped being "duckt in the sea at the crane for scandalizing the 
 whole Island." 
 
 In 1683 two " setts " of figures (1 to 10) engraved in iron, were 
 shipped to the island for the purpose of stamping copper bars 
 for currency at a penny per ounce. Obstacles having been 
 thrown in the way of the circulation of the stamped copper, it 
 was ordered in 1687 that not more than half of any debt should 
 be payable in such currency, the remainder to be paid in coined 
 money. 
 
 No direct evidence is forthcoming in respect of the 17th cen- 
 tury to show the rating fixed in St. Helena for the Piece of 
 Eight or Dollar. But in March 1708 it was ordered that 
 " crowns and Spanish pieces of eight " should pass thenceforth 
 at 5 s. instead of 6*. each, but " may be paid into store for old 
 debts at 6s." As the piece of eight in the 17th and early part of 
 the 18th centuries was uniformly regarded as being worth 4 s. 6d. 
 sterling, the old rating at 6 s. prior to 1708 is sufficient explana- 
 tion in itself of the prevalence of this coin in St. Helena. But 
 the reduction of that rate suddenly to 5 s. produced a most dis- 
 astrous effect upon the Island currency. As eariy as November 
 1708 it was reported that "cash is all gone from the Island; in 
 selling 800 /. worth of stores only 7 dollars was received in 
 ready money." The explanation given in 1716 is that dollars 
 
 * For information concerning the ancient currency of the Island I am 
 indebted to the researches of Lieut. Col. Maclean, (late) r.a. 
 
 '5RA; 
 
 OK THE 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF 
 
222 Colonial Currency. 
 
 " being worth 20 per cent, more than 5 s. in Madras, could not be 
 kept in the Island." The colony was now in considerable straits 
 for a circulatory medium. In 1713 the Island asked for "one 
 whole ton of the Chinese money called Petiese," which " would 
 be of advantage here," as the equivalent of farthings ; or if they 
 passed at " six for a penny, there would be a profit of 100 per 
 cent."; or, suggested the Island authorities, copper farthings might 
 be sent out, to pass as halfpence, and halfpence to pass as pence, 
 " as in some parts of the West Indies." It appears that pice 
 sent out from Madras were " not so acceptable to our people 
 because of their bad shape ; and yet three of them are worth a 
 penny, which makes them too weighty to be commonly carried 
 in the slight pockets here." Accordingly, in 1715 a request 
 was made again for English halfpence and farthings, and 
 apparently with some success. For, in 1716, there was a proposal 
 to punch a small hole in dollars and copper farthings, in order 
 to keep the coin in the Island. A paper currency was introduced 
 early in the 18th century, consisting of " bank bills " or " cash 
 notes."* Out of the whole Government balance of 700 1, in 
 January 1717, 400 I. was in these bills, the remainder being 
 made up of 100/. in " bits" (presumably Spanish reals, f as in 
 the West Indies), 100 L in fanams,| and i00/. in copper pice. 
 
 The Government balance of July 1740 indicates a great im- 
 provement in the circulatory medium of the Island. The follow- 
 ing are the items : — 
 
 £. s. d. 
 
 Cash notes ----- 300 - - 
 
 Pagodas,§ 6,413 at 9 s. - - - 2,885 17 - 
 
 Dollars, 1,140 at 5 s. - - - 285 - - 
 
 Venetians,! 1,234 at 10s. - - 617 - - 
 
 Kupees, 1,525 at 2s. 3d. - - 171 11 3 
 
 Ducatoons, 146 at 6 s. - - - 43 16 - 
 
 Small money - - - - - 4 10 
 
 Total - - - £.4,303 9 1 
 
 In 1742 mention is also made of " moriscoes," " half St. 
 Thomas," and " gold gubbers," all rated at 6 s. each, of "gold 
 
 * The denominations are given as 40«., 20*., 5s., and 2s. 6d. in 1750. 
 
 f In 1750 "rials" are valued at 7 id. ; " double ryals '' and "half rials" 
 were also mentioned at the same date. 
 
 J In 1742 "phename " were valued at 3rf. 
 
 § See under India for an account of this standard gold coin of Madras. It 
 is not clear to what type the 1,525 rupees, mentioned lower down in this 
 table, should be referred; but it may be conjectured they were rupees of 
 Madras. 
 
 || i.e. the Venetian sequin, or " chickeen," whence the Anglo-Indian term 
 "chick.' 
 
Ch. XX. St. Helena. 
 
 223 
 
 rupees " at 30s., and of " Dudoes " at 1 s. 2d.* In 1750 "French 
 pieces" are also specified, with a rutin.: of 2d. These latter 
 coins suggest the " Sous marques," familiar in Mauritius, but 
 may be of Pondichery coinage (Zay, p. 274). 
 
 In 1750 the balance in the Island Treasury is shown in pieces 
 of gold (bullion), Venetians, gold rupees, pagodas, dollars, ryals, 
 and "French pieces," in addition to cash notes. In 1760 the 
 balance is shown in the same coins, except gold rupees and 
 ryals, which do nor appear. No alteration in ratings of the 
 above coins can be traced during the remainder of the 18th 
 century ; the treasury balances being shown subsequently to 
 1770 simply as "specie" and "cash notes." It will, however, 
 have been noticed that St. Helena, lying as it did " in the direct 
 track of vessels homeward-bound from the east round the Cape 
 of Good Hope," and forming a favourite sanatorium for Ano-lo- 
 Indians, had begun at least as early as 1740 to form part of a 
 "currency area," which the geographical position of the Island 
 would at first, sight seem to preclude, viz., the Indian currency 
 area. And the coins which flowed into St. Helena were mainly 
 the gold coins (pagodas and Venetian sequins) current in 
 Madras, and in Madras (as elsewhere in silver-using India) 
 under-valued as measured by silver. It will be seen that, apart 
 from the introduction of French coins during the imprisonment 
 of Napoleon upon the Island, Indian coins, and especially the 
 pagoda, continued to dominate the currency of St. Helena up to 
 1843. 
 
 In 1819, the following coins were legally current at the under- 
 mentioned rates : — 
 
 Doubloon • 
 Mohur 
 Napoleon - 
 Venetian - 
 Star pagoda 
 Porto Novo 
 
 £. s. d. 
 
 3 13 6 
 
 1 12 8 
 
 - 16 10 
 
 - 9 2 
 
 - 7 6 
 
 - 6 3 
 
 Ducatoon 
 Spanish dollar - 
 German crown 
 French „ 
 Sicca rupee 
 
 s. d. 
 
 5 7 
 
 4 8 
 
 4 8 
 
 4 2 
 
 2 1 
 
 But, to prevent exportation, the same coins were received by 
 the local Treasury, in payments for stores, &c, at some 7 per 
 cent, above their legal rates of issue. Needless to say this 
 expensive plan failed. In 1819 no less a sum than 50,000 /. in 
 dollars had to be imported into the Island by the Company. 
 
 In 1821, the Company struck a copper halfpenny for the Island, 
 and would appear to have contemplated a silver coinage sub- 
 sequently ; patterns of a haif-crown of 1823, and of a shilling of 
 1833 being known. The want of small coin was shown by the 
 practice of counting all small copper coins (even farthings, &c.) 
 as a halfpenny, the St. Helena minimum. 
 
 8 The rating does not accord with Zay's definition (p. 273,):— il doudou, 
 denomination populaire de la piece de 4 caches," which was of copper. 
 
224 
 
 Colonial Currency. 
 
 The following rates were fixed by the Governor and Council 
 on the 1st November 1823 : — 
 
 
 £. «.. d. 
 
 
 £. i. d. 
 
 •Spanish and Austrianf dollars - 
 
 - 4 6 
 
 Bengal sicca rupees - - - - 
 
 - 2 - 
 
 
 3 10 6 
 
 Bombay and all other rupees • 
 
 - 1 10 
 
 Joes (Portuguese) - 
 
 1 15 3 
 
 
 - 5 4 
 
 Bengal mohurs (having the star) 
 
 1 11 6 
 
 British 3 s. tokens .... 
 
 - 2 8 
 
 Bombay and all other mohurs - 
 
 1 8 - 
 
 Johannes 4 s. pieces - - - - 
 
 - 3 9 
 
 Louis d'ors and Napoleons - 
 
 1 2 6 
 
 - 16 2 
 
 - 9 - 
 
 Dutch and Ceylon guilders and rix 
 dollars. 
 
 Colonial pieces X .... 
 
 - 1 6 
 
 - 2 3 
 
 Star Pagoda ..... 
 
 - 7 2 
 
 
 - - 9 
 
 Porto Novo, ditto .... 
 
 - 5 9 
 
 Old English and all other shillings - 
 
 - - 9 
 
 American dollars, German and French 
 crowns. 
 
 - 4 - 
 
 Ditto - - ditto - - sixpences - 
 
 - - 4 
 
 The "St. Helena Calendar "for 1829 observes that "No altera- 
 tion has been made in the value of British coins. They there- 
 fore remain as fixed by the (Imperial) Legislature," i.e., were 
 current at their full value. " Sovereigns, however, from the 
 circumstances of St. Helena being so great a resort of home- 
 ward-bound shipping, generally command a premium." 
 
 On 25th March 1830 the rating of the Spanish dollar was 
 further reduced to 4 s. 2 d., and that of the doubloon to 64 s., 
 the actual sterling values at the time. The following ratings 
 were subsequently fixed by the Governor and Council on the 
 8th April 1830 :— 
 
 GOLD. 
 
 I L V E E. 
 
 Doubloons - 
 
 Joes ------ 
 
 Bengal mohurs (having the 
 star). 
 
 Other mohurs - - - - 
 
 Moiilores 
 
 Napoleons and Louis d'or 
 
 10-guilder pieces - . . 
 
 Venetians 
 
 Star pagodas 
 
 Porto Novo pagodas - 
 
 £. *. d. 
 3 4- 
 
 1 12 - 
 
 1 12 - 
 
 1 9 - 
 1 5 - 
 
 - 15 - 
 
 - 15 - 
 
 - 9 - 
 
 - 7 - 
 
 - 6 4 
 
 Ducatoons - 
 3-guilder pieces - - - 
 
 Dollars, Spanish, and Austrian 
 Dollars. United States - 
 5-franc pieces - - - - 
 Half star-pagodas - 
 
 Colonial pieces 
 coined). 
 
 Sicca rupees (star) 
 
 Other rupees - 
 
 Dutch guilders 
 
 2-franc pieces - 
 
 (English 
 
 s. d. 
 
 5 2 
 
 4 6 
 4 3 
 
 3 10 
 3 10 
 3 6 
 2 3 
 
 2 - 
 1 10 
 1 6 
 1 10 
 
 ° The rating adopted was that assigned in 1704 to the earlier «• Piece of 
 Eight " hy Sir Isaac Newton (see page 14). 
 
 | i.e. The Maria Theresa dollar, still popular in Abyssinia and elsewhere 
 in Africa. 
 
 % i.e. The "Anchor" half-dollar coined in 1822 for the Mauritius see 
 page 21). 
 
Ch. XX. St. Helena. 
 
 225 
 
 Such was the lawful currency when the Island was transferred 
 to the Imperial Government in 1834 under the Act of Parlia- 
 ment of the preceding year. The currency was nominally 
 sterling, with foreign coins concurrently rated.* But sterling 
 coins were very rare, and sovereigns commanded a premium from 
 travellers homeward-bound. 
 
 As the (correct) Island rating of the dollar at 4 s. 2 d. clashed with 
 the (incorrect) Imperial 4 s. 4 d. rating, and as other ratings were 
 also at variance with existing Treasury Regulations for the pay 
 of troops, &c, directions were given by the Secretary of State 
 on the 17th October 1835, that "all receipts and payments on 
 behalf of the Government should be made in British currency 
 or in foreign coins at the regulated army rates " This led to the 
 following retrograde proclamation by the Governor, dated the 
 29th February 1836:— 
 
 GOLD. 
 
 SILVER. 
 
 Joes (Portuguese) - 
 Bengal mohurs (star) 
 Other mohurs - 
 
 Napolens and Louis d'Or - 
 10-guilder pieces 
 
 Star Pagodas - 
 Porto Novo f - 
 
 £. s. d. 
 3 6- 
 
 1 13 3 
 
 1 13 3 
 
 1 10 2 
 
 16- 
 
 - 15 7 
 
 - 15 7 
 
 - 9 4 
 
 - 7 3 
 
 - 5 6 
 
 Ducatoons J 
 
 3-guilder pieces J - - - 
 
 Half star-pagoda ... 
 Colonial pieces (English coined) 
 Sicca rupees (star) - 
 Other § „ 
 Dutch guilders 
 5-franc pieces - 
 
 s. d. 
 6 4 
 
 4 8 
 
 4 4 
 
 3 8 
 2 4 
 2 1 
 1 11 
 1 6 
 
 4 - 
 - 10 
 
 The under-valuation of sterling coins {e.g., the doubloon was 
 only worth 64 s. sterling, and the dollar 4 s. 2 d.) did not prevent 
 the importation of large sums in British silver into the Island by 
 the Imperial Government, e.g., 5,000 1, was shipped from the 
 Cape in 1841, only to be returned in small consignments within 
 a twelvemonth. And such was the over-valuation of certain 
 Indian coins in this heterogeneous currency, that, in spite of the 
 over-valuation of the dollar and doubloon by 4 per cent, as com- 
 
 * As a matter of fact, the whole balance in the Island Treasury, as handed 
 over by the Company's officers on the 1st March 1830, was in Spanish dollars. 
 But doubtless these coins v ere retained to the exclusion of all others, only 
 in order tu obtain the extra 2d. per dollar under the Governor's Proclamation 
 of the 29th February 1836. This was the suspicion entertained by the 
 Imperial officers of the day. 
 
 t " Of these," said a Memorial from the Island of November 183b, "there 
 is a considerable amount in circulation. Many of them aiu of a very base and 
 inferior description.'' 
 
 J " Of these " says the above Memorial, "there are several kinds in circula- 
 tion. Many of them are clipped or else much worn." 
 
 5 The Memorial of 183H explains that many of these were ol Native coinage, 
 and that "the intrinsic value of some of them is probably not more than Is. Gd." 
 
226 Colonial Cukkenct. 
 
 pared with sterling, " the disposing of Spanish and South 
 American dollars and doubloons to the masters of American 
 vessels is generally more advantageous to the merchants than 
 paying them into the Commissariat chest in exchange for bills 
 on London." Of the silver coins current in 1843, scarcely any 
 were British, and nearlv all were clipped, worn, or defaced. 
 Such was their variety that persons tendering for Commissariat 
 Bills " were seldom aware of the specific coins in their possession 
 until they opened their money bags, which contained generally 
 an indiscriminate mixture of rupees, francs, ducatoons, and many 
 others. 1 ' Few coins had any established weight, but lightness 
 did not bar their circulation. Popular suspicion, however, of the 
 base Porto Novo pagoda* led to the whole insular stock of these 
 coins being poured into the Commissariat chest, 1,668 being in 
 hand on the 15th August 1843. And, from 1836 onwards, the 
 Island memorialised the Home Government (1) for a return to 
 the earlier rating of the dollar at 4s. 2d., and (2) for the de- 
 monetisation of most of the foreign coins, particularly pagodas. 
 Further, clipping became still more rife, and counterfeit dollars, 
 &c, were put into circulation, entailing the passing of the Order 
 in Council of 15th January 1840 against such malpractices. 
 
 In 1843, following the precedent of the Sierra Leone Order of 
 the 10th June 1843, the principle applied in 1838 to the West 
 Indies {see page 27), was extended to St. Helena. By the 
 Order in Council and Proclamation of the 15th July 1843, the 
 dollar and doubloon were rated at 4 s. 2 d. and 64 s. respectively, 
 and all other non-sterling coins were demonetised. Such de- 
 monetised foreign coins were exchanged for British silver, &c, 
 by the commissariat officer to the amount of nearly 12,000 £., 
 the money being shipped home and sold as bullion. 
 
 Thus by 1844 the currency of St. Helena was placed on the 
 same footing as that of the West Indies. The dollar and the 
 doubloon were rated for concurrent circulation with sterling, and 
 there was no limit of legal tender on silver coins. 
 
 And as in the West Indies, so in St. Helena, the next step 
 in currency legislation resulted from the depreciation of the gold 
 price of silver and the consequent over-rating of the dollar at 
 4 s. 2 d. In 1879 the Governor of the Island wrote that dollars, 
 worth only 3 s. 8 d. at the Cape, were beginning to pour into St. 
 Helena. 
 
 As a provisional measure, the Governor Avas authorised to pass 
 an ad interim Ordinance demonetising the dollar. This was done 
 by Ordinance No. 3 of 1879, passed on 6th November 1879, 
 whereby it was further provided that for three days after the 
 promulgation of the Ordinance dollars might be paid into the 
 Colonial Treasury at the old rate of 4 s. 2 d. 
 
 The opportunity was now taken to review the currency system 
 of the Island. It was decided to proceed further than the mere 
 demonetisation of the dollar, and (i) to demonetise the gold 
 doubloon as unnecessary in an island now having trade relations 
 
 ° These coins (according to the Commissary) " had no legal weight, form, 
 atamp, or other quality by which their correctness can be ascertained." 
 
Ch. XX. St. Helena. 227 
 
 almost exclusively with England and the Cape ; and (ii) to impose 
 a 40 5. limit on the legal tender of British silver, and a 1 s. limit 
 on bronze. 
 
 These provisions were embodied in the amending and consoli- 
 dating Order in Council and Proclamation of 20th April 1880, 
 which was published on 17th June 1880 by the Governor, and 
 brought into operation as from the same date. 
 
 Consequently, only the gold, silver, and bronze coins of the 
 United Kingdom are now legal tender in the Island. There are 
 no banks or paper currency ; and the bulk of the gold has accu- 
 mulated in the local Treasury Chest. An enterprising arrange- 
 ment has been made by the Colonial Government for the issue 
 (at a charge of 1 per cent.) of Bills on the Crown Agents for the 
 Colonies, in lieu of the cumbrous system of Post Office Orders 
 with a maximum of 10 I. each. This tends to encourage the 
 visits of the whalers on whom the limited trade of the Island 
 depends. 
 
 It has been estimated that the coin in St. Helena, of which 
 one-half is silver, amounts to about 10,000/., or nearly 21. 12s. 
 per head, taking the total population at 3,800. But, of this, 
 at least 4,000 /. is not in private hands, so that the " active " circu- 
 lation amounts to under 1 /. 12 s. per head. 
 
 No foreign coins are in circulation, except one or two American 
 quarter-dollars, which pass as shillings. 
 
Colonial Currency. 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 Natal. 
 (1843.) 
 
 In 1825 the Cape Government had passed an Ordinance 
 making British silver and copper coins legal tender in the 
 territories then comprised in the Cape Colony. But, as the Cape* 
 Ordinance, No. 12 of 1845, declared that no Ordinance pre- 
 viously passed in the Cape should extend to Natal, the currency 
 of the latter Colony was absolutely unregulated by law. As a 
 matter of practice, however, the currency of Natal was identical 
 with that of its neighbour the Cape ; and British coins of gold 
 and silver (but principally the former) were the exclusive 
 medium of exchange. 
 
 The first regulation was the Government Notice, No. 15 of 
 1867, dated 1 February 1867, which published the Order in 
 Council, and Proclamation of 10 November 1866, declaring the 
 gold coins of the Sydney Mint a legal tender. But apparently 
 no local proclamation was issued bringing the Imperial measure 
 into operation. 
 
 The great dearth of silver and copper money which prevailed 
 throughout South Africa until quite recent years was acutely 
 felt in Natal. Even fourteen years ago, the recognised change 
 for a sovereign was 19 s. 6 d. up-country. Copper or bronze was 
 almost unknown ; it was unpopular with the natives, and the only 
 place where change was given in bronze was the Post Office. At 
 stationers, &c, where it was occasionally necessary to sell articles 
 of less value than a threepenny-bit, it was the custom to give 
 cheap pencils, &c, as change. But storekeepers generally found 
 it expedient to meet the difficulty by selling nothing under 3 d. 
 At the present day there is a sufficient supply of bronze coins, 
 and somewhat of an excess of British silver. 
 
 One curious result of the former dearth of silver was the cur- 
 rency of the Indian rupee, which was introduced from Mauritius 
 by speculators after the commencement of Indian immigration. 
 The rupee passed in the Colony at 2 s., a rate which, with a 
 falling gold-price of silver speedily led to large and profitable 
 importations of these coins. The result was that the local banks 
 refused to take them at their popular rating, and the Colonial 
 Government in August 1876 ordered that rupees should be 
 refused when tendered in payment of taxes, &c Consequently, 
 by 1880 the rupee had passed out of local circulation. 
 
 The anarchy which prevailed with regard to the currency of 
 Natal was ended in 1882. By Royal Proclamation under Order 
 
 • Until 1848 the Legislative Council of the Cape continued to frame laws 
 of Natal. 
 
Ch. XXI. Natal. 229 
 
 in Council of 29th November 1881, it was provided that on and 
 after a day to be fixed by the Governor by Proclamation, the 
 Imperial Coinage Act of 1870 should apply to this Colony (and 
 to the Cape). The Governor's Proclamation of 3rd February 
 1882, fixed 14th February as the day for the coming into 
 operation of the Royal Proclamation ; and, consequently, from 
 that day onwards the metallic currency of Natal has been 
 established on a sterling basis with the same safeguards and provi- 
 sions as to subsidiary coins as prevail in the United Kingdom. 
 There are no foreign coins in circulation. 
 
 No legislation has taken place with respect to bank notes. 
 
 The amount of coin (gold and silver) in the Colony on 31st 
 December 1891 was estimated at 682,948 /., and the amount of 
 bank notes* in circulation on the same date at 225,290 /., or 
 908,238 I. in all. As regards coin, the banks held 582,948 /. ; 
 and 100,000 /. has been estimated for the coin in " active" circu- 
 lation (exclusive of the banks). 
 
 Taking the population! at 544,000, the gross figures are 
 equivalent to I/. 5 s. in coin, and 8s. 3 d. in notes, per head of 
 the population. Taking the European population alone, the 
 note circulation represents nearly 4 I. 16 s. per head. 
 
 The "active" circulation in coin works out at only 3s. 8d. 
 per head of the total population (native as well as European), 
 in addition to the above 8 s. 3 d. in notes, or about 12 .«. per 
 head for coin and notes together. 
 
 * Cape notes have no circulation in Natal. 
 f Only some 47,000 were Europeans. 
 
 72642. Q 
 
230 Colonial Currency. 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 Cape of Good Hope.* 
 
 (1795.) 
 
 Ltke Ceylon, this colony passed at the close of the last century 
 from Dutch into British hands ; and, as in the case of Ceylon, so 
 in the Cape, the Dutch East India Company had been constrained 
 by their financial exigencies to resort to the ruinous expedient of 
 paper money. The standard coin at the Cape, as in other Dutch 
 Colonies, was the silver ducatoon, with copper stivers in sub- 
 sidiary circulation ; but a variety of. foreign coins, gold as well 
 as silver, were introduced into concurrent circulation with the 
 Dutch coins by ships touching at the Cape on their way to and 
 from the East, to which the Cape was a stepping stone. Of* 
 these foreign coins the chief was naturally the Spanish dollar, 
 the universal coin prior to the present century. But materials 
 are not forthcoming to trace in detail the ratings in force at 
 different dates in the colony under Dutch administration. Nor, 
 if such materials were forthcoming, would the information be of 
 other than secondary importance, in comparison with the early 
 history of paper currency at the Cape. 
 
 It was in 1782, during the war, that Governor Joachim Van 
 Plettenberg issued the first paper-monej r in the colony. The 
 denomination adopted was not the ducatoon, which was the 
 standard coin, but the " rix-dollar," a money of account, equal 
 to 8 shillings or 48 stivers (cf. Ceylon). In June of 1782 the 
 issues amounted to lids. 159,607. 6. 4, the notes being for 
 various denominations ranging as low as two stivers. In 1793, 
 when only 200,000 rix-dollars in paper were in circulation,! the 
 Lombard Bank was floated with a capital of Rds. 680,000, which 
 was lent to the Colonial Government in return for new paper 
 rix dollars ; and by the date of the first surrender of the colony 
 to Great Britain (16th September 1795), the total paper issues, 
 including the 680,000 Rds. representing the Bank's capital, 
 amounted to Rds. 1,291,276. According to Grant,^ after the 
 
 For information respecting the modern currency of the Cape, I am in- 
 debted to Sir Charles Mills, k.c.m.g., c.b., the Agent-General for the 
 Colony. 
 
 Rds. 
 f Total issues, 1782-4 - - - 025,21946 
 
 Redemptions in specie and hills, 1785-9 - 825,904 - 34 
 
 99,315-12 
 Further issues in 1792 - - - 100,684-36 
 
 Total - - - 200,000- 
 
 X " Considerations on the State of the Colonial Currency and Foreign 
 Exchanges at the Cape of Good Hope" (Capetown, 1825) ; see also J. B. 
 Ebden's (anonymous) " Copies of Correspondence relative to the Currency of 
 the Cape of Good Hope" (Capetown, 1825). 
 
Ch. XXII. Cape of Good Hope. 
 
 231 
 
 capture of the colony in 1795 the (paper) "rix-dollar was In such 
 request that General Craig could not obtain a sum required for 
 the ' extraordinaries ' of the army, though he offered the bills 
 at par, that is at 4 s. the rix-dollar, the value at which they passed 
 in circulation. He was, therefore, obliged to create 250,000 rix- 
 dollars in currency" in 1797, and a further sum of Rds. 80,000 
 for the purchase of rice in the same year. This latter step was 
 in contravention of the undertaking given by the British Colonial 
 Government, with reference to the 8th Article of the Capitulation, 
 viz., to aim at the liquidation of the paper currency. And further 
 steps were taken on the same mischievous path by the British 
 Government in 1797, which depreciated the paper rix-dollar 
 from the par of 1795 to from 20 to 30 per cent, discount. 
 When the Cape was restored to the Dutch in 1803 a full equi- 
 valent was paid to them in stores for the outstanding British 
 issues of paper, Rds. 1,786,276 representing the amount actually 
 in circulation. It might have been hoped that this opportunity 
 for purging this important colony of the scourge of unsecured 
 paper money, would have been taken by the Dutch, and that they 
 would have now remedied the evil introduced by them into the 
 colony some 20 years before. But, unfortunately, during the 
 Dutch re-occupation from 1803 to 1806 the evil was aggravated 
 rather that alleviated. For, on the final surrender of the Cape 
 to Great Britain in January 1806. the paper currency amounted 
 to nearly Rds. 2,100,000 ; ami such was the depreciation of the 
 paper at this date, that a Spanish dollar — worth only about 4 s. 2 d. 
 sterling — exchanged for from 2i to 3 paper rix-dollars, making the 
 latter equivalent even at this early date to only about Is. 6 d. 
 on the average. . With the re-establishment, however, of British 
 rule, the credit of the paper rose, mainly in consequence of the 
 issue of the following Proclamation by Governor Baird on 23rd 
 January 1806 : — 
 
 " Whereas it is highly necessary for the prevention of all dis- 
 putes and the better regularity of trade that the several coins of 
 money which are current in the colony should have a fixed and 
 determined value assigned to them, I having taken the same into 
 my most serious consideration have determined and do hereby 
 order accordingly that the respective values of the coins hereafter 
 mentioned should be as follows : — 
 
 
 Ski) 'lings. 
 
 Stivers. 
 
 Sterling. 
 
 
 
 
 £. s. d. 
 
 A guinea .-.--- 
 
 44 
 
 264 
 
 1 2 - 
 
 A doubloon. 16 Sp. dollars - 
 
 160 
 
 960 
 
 4 - - 
 
 A Johanna 8 ditto ... 
 
 to 
 
 480 
 
 2 - — 
 
 A ducat ...... 
 
 19 
 
 114 
 
 - 9 6 
 
 A Venetian sequin - 
 
 19 
 
 114 
 
 - 9 6 
 
 Gold mohr., 15 Sic. rupees - . - 
 
 — 
 
 — 
 
 1 17 6 
 
 A Pagoda ------ 
 
 16 
 
 96 
 
 - 8 - 
 
 A Spanish dollar - - - - - 
 
 10 
 
 60 
 
 — 5 — 
 
 A rupee ------ 
 
 5 
 
 30 
 
 - 2 6 
 
 EnplUh shilling ..... 
 
 2 
 
 12 
 
 - 1 - 
 
 Copper coin ------ 
 
 
 2 
 
 - - 2 
 
 Q 2 
 
232 Colonial Currency. 
 
 And whereas it is important for the prosperity and welfare of this 
 Settlement that the exportation of all gold or silver currency should 
 he prohibited; and whereas the same has accordingly been forbidden 
 by several Proclamations issued from time to time, not only in 
 the Dutch Government, but also by the British Governors and 
 Commanders, I think proper to issue this Proclamation, strictly 
 prohibiting the exportation of any money or monies current in 
 this Settlement. Any person convicted of attempting to act 
 contrary to this regulation, and found guilty of having exported 
 a greater sum than to the value of 10/., will be punished by the 
 confiscation of the whole of the money or monies so exported, 
 one-third of which will be given to the informer." 
 
 This Proclamation, which was drawn up by a soldier on the 
 basis of a rating of 5 s. for the dollar (a rating in vogue at the 
 time in Canada, Newfoundland, and Australia), had no preten- 
 sions to a scientific accuracy in adjusting the rates at which gold 
 and silver coins could circulate concurrently with one another. 
 But the table of ratings is interesting as showing (i) the medley 
 of coins which were familiar at the Cape in 1806, as being the 
 stepping-stone to the East; (ii) the fact that specie was being 
 exported ; and (iii)^the existence of disputes relative to the equi- 
 valence of current coins in terms of the depreciated paper. As 
 regards the details, it is unnecessary to discuss the over-valuation 
 of gold or the relative prices put on the several coins. For the 
 time being, the doubloon was the standard coin ; but the real 
 interest for the future history of Cape currency is the fact, so 
 frequently appealed to some 20 years later, that the British 
 shillino- was rated at two skillings (in paper), and, conse- 
 quently, that the sterling valuation of the paper rix-dollar was 
 uniformly assumed to be 4 s. sterling, when at "par." 
 
 A further Proclamation, dated 12th June 1806, furnishes 
 evidence of the straits to which the colony had been reduced 
 even before 1806 for want of a metallic currency, and is valuable 
 as containing an official recognition of the paper money as the 
 local measure of value. The following is the text of this 
 further Proclamation : — 
 
 " Whereas it has been represented to me that the inhabitants 
 of this Settlement suffer considerable inconvenience for want of 
 some circulating medium of a small value ; and whereas with a 
 view to remedy this evil, the late Batavian Government had 
 coined and imported a silver coinage, but which had not been 
 issued at the period of the surrender of this Settlement ; now 
 having taken the same into my consideration, and being anxious 
 to contribute in every reasonable measure to the welfare of the 
 inhabitants, I do hereby direct that the same shall be forthwith 
 issued by His Majesty's Receiver General, and become current 
 in this Settlement, at the rate at which the Batavian Govern- 
 ment intended to have issued the same, namely : — 
 
 The quarter-guilder is to pass for six stivers currency, or 
 
 be equal in value to the present paper skilling. 
 
 The small coin of the value of the eighth part of the Dutch 
 
 guilder is to puss lor three stivers currency, or be equal 
 
 to half the present paper skilling. 
 
Ch. XXII. Cape of Good Hope. 233 
 
 And whereas a considerable number of English copper penny 
 pieces were imported into this Settlement during the last war ; 
 and whereas it has also been represented to us that, if they were 
 thrown again into circulation, it would be advantageous to this 
 Settlement in general, I do hereby revoke all former Proclama- 
 tions or Orders on the subject, and direct that those penny pieces 
 are henceforth to pass current in this Settlement for two stivers 
 currency, or the third part of a paper skilling." 
 
 Further, in 180(5, the British Colonial Government resumed 
 the convenient system of paying its expenses by means of 
 the printing press. On 15th November 180G lids. 80,000 
 in paper was issued for a colonial granary ; and the effects 
 of a depreciated currency soon made themselves felt so acutely 
 as to lead to the appointment of a committee in December 
 1807, to inquire into the inconvenient " scarcity of circulating 
 specie," which was traced not to the real cause, but to " usurious 
 practices." 
 
 • 
 
 But the above increase was trivial as compared with the 
 increase authorised by the Proclamation of Lord Caledon, the 
 Governor, on 14th June 1810, in connection with the addition to 
 the capital of the Lombard Bank. For this increase, which 
 amounted to a million paper rix-dollars in- all, one-half being 
 issued in 1810, and the remainder in instalments in 1812-13, 
 Lord Caledon pleaded that " the growing commerce and 
 augmented population of the colony required an addition to the 
 circulation to assist the industry of the inhabitants." The 
 inevitable result of this ruinous policy appeal's in the quotations 
 of the exchanges, which stand at 145 in 1811, 160 in 1812, 165 
 in 1813, and 180 in 1814, when the paper stood at nearly 
 Rds. 3,200,000. 
 
 In spite of the spirited efforts of the Government to float 
 paper, it appears that by 1822 private individuals were engaged 
 in humble but dangerous competition. Couched, therefore, 
 in terms of some asperity is the Proclamation by which 
 Governor Lord Charles Somerset, on 22nd May 1822, prohibited 
 this private enterprise: — "Whereas various notes, bills of 
 exchange, and drafts for money, for very small sums, under the 
 appellation of ' Good fors,' have been for some time circulated 
 or neo-ociated in the frontier districts of this Settlement and 
 elsewhere, to the great prejudice of trade and public credit ; 
 I order that all promissory or other notes, bills of exchange, 
 drafts, or undertakings in writing, being negociable or trans- 
 ferable, for the payment of any sum or sums of money less than 
 the sum of fifty rix-dollars, in the whole, which shall or may be 
 issued, at any time from and after the loth day of September 
 next 1822, shall be, and the same are hereby declared to be, 
 absolutely void and of no effect, any usage or custom to the 
 contrary notwithstanding." After fixing a fine of from 50 to 
 1,500 Rds. for transgression of the above provision, the Procla- 
 mation goes on to state that: " Whereas it has been made known 
 to me that the issue of the notes, bills, drafts, or undertakings 
 
234 Colonial Currexc Y. 
 
 aforesaid, has been attempted to be excused by a supposed want 
 of small currency in the distant districts; I have, therefore, 
 taken measures for the supply of the frontier with an adequate 
 proportion of small currency, and I have empowered the Land- 
 rost of the Albany district to exchange any notes of the Colonial 
 Treasury into small currency, in order that no plea whatever 
 may exist for a continuance of the prejudicial practices, which it 
 is the object of this Regulation to check and annihilate." 
 
 With regard to the Government issue, which remained at 
 about the same figure from 1814 on to 1825, though the practical 
 evils of an unredeemable paper currency were only too patent to 
 all, yet a hot controversy arose as to the causes. On the one 
 hand, the evil was traced to the issue itself; whilst, on the other, 
 it was explained on the basis of over-importations, creating an 
 unfavourable balance of trade, and so raising the premium on 
 sterling bills. If we allow 3 per cent, as the total cost of ship- 
 ment of specie from the Cape to England, the latter contention 
 is refuted forthwith. 
 
 It will be convenient here to record the successive stages of the 
 depreciation in sterling value of the paper rix-dollar from 1806 
 onwards, as shown by the exchanges : — 
 
 «. d. 
 
 1806-1810 -.-36 
 
 1811-1815 2 6 
 
 1816-1820 - - - 1 10 
 
 1821-1825 - - - 1 6 
 
 By the beginning of 1825 the total amount of paper afloat was 
 Rds. 3,096,204 in notes of from 1 to 500 rix-dollars, and in 
 smaller notes of 1, 2, and 4 skillings each. The only metallic 
 currency in circulation at the Cape now consisted of a trifling 
 amount in British pence, locally known as " doublejees," which 
 passed for 2 d. currency, or the 24th part of a rix-dollar. 
 
 Such was the deplorable state of the currency of the Colony 
 when in 1825 the Imperial Government issued the Order in 
 Council of 23rd March of that year (see page 23), the main 
 object of which was to introduce British silver coins into general 
 circulation throughout the British Colonies. The Treasury 
 Minute of 11th February 1825, upon which the Order was 
 founded {sec page 421), after remarking that " there is at present 
 no metallic circulation in the Colony," goes on to state that M the 
 nominal value of the rix-dollar is 4 s. ; but it has for many years 
 been at a very considerable discount in exchange for bills 
 on England; and its real value, with reference to those bills 
 has not, upon an average, been more than 1 s. 6 d. sterling." 
 As a preliminary step, therefore, to the contemplated introduction 
 of British token coins, a sterling value of 1 s, 6 d. was formally 
 placed upon the paper rix-dollar, " which shall be at all times 
 exchangeable at the will of the holder for bills upon the 
 
Oh. XXII. Cape of Good Hope. 235 
 
 Treasury at the rate of 103 /. in value of rix-dollars computed 
 at 1 s. 6 d. each for every 100/. bill." And all paper money so 
 paid in for bills was to be cancelled. A new era had now begun 
 lor the paper rix-dollar. It had received a sterling rating at 
 which it was readily exchangeable into sterling bills ; and 
 beginning with 1825, some efforts were made by the Colonial 
 Government to create a sinking fund for the ultimate withdrawal 
 of the issues outstanding. And the Colony had the benefits 
 arising from the large imports of British coin by the Com- 
 missariat, amounting to a net sum of nearly 300,000 /. between 
 1st July 1825 and 31st December 1839. 
 
 Local effect was given to the Imperial legislation of 1825 by 
 the passing of an Ordinance by the Governor in Council on 6th 
 June 1825, which came into operation on 1st January 1826, and 
 introduced sterling denominations of money into the public 
 accounts. There was a great outcry against the valuation of the 
 paper rix-dollar at so low a figure as Is. 6 d., and appeal was 
 made, with justice,* to the Proclamation of 1806, vvhereunder the 
 skilling had been rated at 6 d. But the Imperial Treasury 
 refused to alter a rate which was in accordance with the ascer- 
 tained facts of the exchanges for 1822 and 1823. And the 
 Treasury was supported by the reception given to the rating. For, 
 in the course of some 12 months from 1st January 1826, no less 
 a sum than Rds. 1,237,000 in paper had accumulated in the Com- 
 missariat Chest, or nearly one-half of the total outstanding issues. 
 In 1825 a sinking fund had been established, as mentioned above, 
 for the redemption of the paper ; but the assets of this fund were 
 diverted from 1829 to 1835 to meet ordinary Colonial expendi- 
 ture. The amount of paper collected by the Commissariat was 
 re-issued in the form of new stamped notes in 1830. 
 
 The only coins in circulation from 1825 onwards were British. 
 Spanish dollars had ceased to be of practical importance for the 
 purposes of currency, and were shipped off to Mauritius and 
 elsewhere as soon as they were received in the colony from 
 passing ships. According to Porter's Tables "foreign coins are 
 in very small proportion, and are not in use as a circulating 
 medium. They are principally Spanish dollars and a few rupees. 
 Their value depends almost entirely on the occasional demand 
 for them. The usual exchangeable value of the Spanish dollar 
 is from 3 s. 9 d. to 3 s. 10 d., or at most 3 s. 1 1 d., and that of the 
 Sicca rupee from 1 s. 6 d. to Is. 8id. Other rupees, when in 
 demand, are disposed of at 1 s. 6 d. each, but the general price 
 does not exceed 1 s. 1 d., 1 s. 2 d., or six paper skillings," 
 
 In 1835 it was ordered that the outstanding paper rix-dollars 
 should only be payable at the Colonial Treasury ; and in 1840 
 notice was given that such paper (then amounting to 202,698/.) 
 would not be paid or exchanged after 31st March 1841. In this 
 
 * u Fixing the value of the Rix-dollar at 1 i Gd. sterling by an Order in 
 Council is incompatible with the terms upon which the paper money was 
 originally issued." Letter of Lord Caledon of 2nd June 1825, quoted by 
 Ebden, page 17. 
 
236 Colonial Currency. 
 
 manner, after nearly 60 years, the currency of the Cape of Good 
 Hope was finally purged of the paper rix-dollar. It will be 
 observed that, closely parallel as was the history and fate of the 
 paper rix dollar in Ceylon and at the Cape, the latter colony 
 happily abstained from following the Ceylon precedent of striking 
 a metallic rix-dollar equivalent to the value in exchange of the 
 depreciated paper-money of the same denomination. 
 
 Relieved of its burden of paper, the currency of the Cape 
 entered on a healthy phase. Up to the end of 1839 no less a 
 sum than 288,043/. in coin (almost all British silver) had been 
 imported by the Commissariat, and there was an abundant supply 
 of that coin in circulation. And, moreover, the prosperity of the 
 colony was steadily increasing, so that the colony could command 
 an increasing share of the world's stock of coin. 
 
 There have been only two further legislative changes by 
 which the metallic currency of the Cape has been affected up to 
 the present day : — 
 
 (i.) In 1866, by Order in Council and Royal Proclamation of 
 10th November of that year {see page 29), the gold coins of the 
 Sydney Mint were declared legal tender in this and certain 
 other colonies. The Royal 'Proclamation was published, and so 
 brought into local operation, by the Government Notice, No. 31 
 of 1867, dated 24th January 1867. 
 
 (ii.) In 1881 the Coinage Act of 1870 (see page 448) was 
 applied in its entirety to the colony by Order in Council and 
 Proclamation (under the Act) of 29th November 1881, which 
 Avas brought into local operation as from the 10th February 
 1882, by the Proclamation of the Governor, dated the 3rd of the 
 same month. By this important measure the currency of the 
 Cape was placed on the sterling basis of gold, and tokens were 
 reduced to their proper subsidiary position as legal tender fo 
 sums not exceeding 40 s. 
 
 From 1857 to 1891 (inclusive) the total imports of specie at 
 the Cape amounted to 12,340,346 /., and the total exports to 
 3,584,830 /. ; hence the total excess of imports of specie was 
 8,755,516/., whilst the population is slightly over 1| millions (of 
 whom 377,000 only are Europeans). These figures give an 
 average of coin per head of the total population of 51. 16 s. 
 After deducting the banks' holdings, which amounted on 31 De- 
 cember 1891 to 2,589,724 /., the " active " circulation of coin 
 would slightly exceed 4 /. per head, on the above basis of recorded 
 specie movements*. But the figures derived from specie move- 
 ments are manifestly only approximate. Though many of the 
 natives hoard considerable sums in gold, yet it may fairly oe 
 premised that the unrecorded movements of specie across the 
 land borders of the colony have drained a large proportion 
 (perhaps one -half) of this large holding of coin out of the Cape. 
 
 p The Cape stood alone among the British Colonies (outside Australasia) 
 in taking advantage of provisions for exchanging pie- Victorian gold in 
 1800. The total sum ihipped to England was 14,15 > /. But though pre- 
 Victorian gold coins were exchanged, they still remain a legal tender in this 
 as in all other Colonies in which they were previously current by law. 
 
Ch. XXII. Cape of Good Hope. 237 
 
 Notes. 
 
 There remains the question of Note Issues in the colony since 
 1841. Though the Government paper had been withdrawn. 
 Issues by Banks under Charter were circulated ; and in 1864, 
 by local Act, No. 6. of that year, a duty of 1 /. 10 s. per cent, was 
 imposed by the Legislature, the basis for computation being the 
 sworn average issue of each year. And by Act No. 6 of 1875 
 it was provided that the minimum denomination of notes issued 
 by Joint Stock Banks should be 4 /., the old Proclamation of 1822 
 by Lord Charles Somerset {see above) being repealed. In 1879, by 
 Act No. II. of that year, an important step was taken in limiting 
 the amount of the issue by the Joint Stock Banks, it being 
 thereby provided that "it shall not be lawful for any Joint Stock 
 Bank established under the provisions of this Act to have in 
 circulation at any time notes of such bank to a greater amount 
 than its paid-up capital. And any such bank issuing, or having 
 in circulation, at any time, notes exceeding in value its paid-up 
 capital, shall forfeit and pay to Government a penalty equal to 
 such excess." And it should also be mentioned that in 1870 the 
 House of Assembly passed a Bill (which, however, did not pass 
 the Legislative Council) for re-establishing a Government Note- 
 Issue. The proposed issue, which was to consist of notes of 1 /., 
 51., 10/., and multiples of 10/., was to be secured (i.) by a 
 deposit of coin equal to the issue up to 20,000 /. ; (ii.) by a 
 deposit of 3 /. in coin for every 51. issued between 20,000/. and 
 100,000 /. ; and (iii, ) by a deposit of only 1 /. in coin for every 
 21. in notes issued between 100,000/. and 300,000/. 
 
 In the years 1890-91, heavy bank failures took place; the 
 Cape of Good Hope Bank, the Union Bank, and the Paarl Bank 
 closed their doors. As the notes of these banks were unpaid, 
 public confidence, especially among the Dutch colonists, was 
 shaken in notes generally ; and it became necessary (seeing that 
 a paper currency is considered indispensable in the sparsely-in- 
 habited area of the Cape, where the transport of specie is difficult) 
 to establish a note-issue which should command universal con- 
 fidence. And, in the second place, the difficulty of floating 
 Cape loans at a satisfactory price, disposed the Colonial Govern- 
 ment to view with favour the United States precedent of 
 allowing National Banks to issue notes against Government 
 stock. The banks were large holders of specie ; and it was seen 
 that the twofold object might consequently be secured (i) of 
 securing a market for Government stock, and (ii) of safeguarding 
 note issues. 
 
 The banking law of the colony was accordingly amended and 
 consolidated by the important Act, No. 6, of 1891. This Act 
 provides that " every bank desirous of issuing bank notes within 
 this colony shall deposit with and transfer to the name of the 
 Treasurer Government Securities to the amount of the intended 
 issue ; provided that it shall be optional for any such bank to 
 deposit Treasury Bills of the Government of the Cape Colony in 
 proportion of such securities to the amount of not more than one- 
 
238 
 
 Colonial CiiuiEXcr. 
 
 fifth of the intended issue, and provided further that no bank 
 registered, and having its head office in this colony, on the 1st 
 January 1891, shall be subject to the provisions of this section, 
 except at the option of such bank." On the deposit of secu- 
 rities with the Treasurer, he is to hand over to the bank note- 
 forms struck from dies held by him, the denominations of notes 
 being 1/., 51., 10/., and 20/. On the bank's completing the 
 forms so as to make them obligatory promissory notes payable in 
 gold on demand at its head office and such other places as may 
 be specified on the face of the note, " such bank may issue the 
 same as money, and the same shall be received at par in all parts 
 of the colony," except at the issuing or head office of the bank. 
 Should the bank fail to redeem its notes in gold on demand, the 
 Treasurer is to pay the notes " in gold, as presented by, and for 
 the account of Government," the Colonial Government being 
 vested not only with the securities deposited, but also with a first 
 lien on the bank's assets in case of default. Lastly, "no bank 
 shall be entitled to issue bank notes to an amount greater in 
 value than the paid-up capital and reserve of such bank," and 
 monthly returns of note circulation are to be transmitted to the 
 Treasurer. 
 
 As will be seen from the annexed table of banking statistics, 
 the notes in circulation on 31st December 1891, amounted to 
 483,000 /., or 6 s. per head. 
 
 Banking Statistics. 
 
 Date. 
 
 Coin 
 in Coffers. 
 
 Note 
 Circulation. 
 
 
 
 «£. 
 
 £. 
 
 1880, 30 June 
 
 - 
 
 1,595,576 
 
 718,347 
 
 „ 31 Dec. 
 
 _ 
 
 1,492,432 
 
 858,501 
 
 1881, 30 June 
 
 - 
 
 1,197,069 
 
 1,269,287 
 
 „ 31 Dec. 
 
 - - - 
 
 1,452,279 
 
 1,257,486 
 
 18K2, 30 June 
 
 _ 
 
 1,663,103 
 
 1,158,204 
 
 „ 31 Dec. 
 
 _ 
 
 1,717,124 
 
 942,208 
 
 1883, 30 June 
 
 - 
 
 1,832,343 
 
 797,720 
 
 „ 31 Dec. 
 
 _ 
 
 1,657,349 
 
 787,130 
 
 1884, 30 June 
 
 _ 
 
 1,514,0H7 
 
 734,378 
 
 „ 30 Dec. 
 
 
 1,537,489 
 
 708,797 
 
F ! 
 
 Ch. XXII. Cape of Good Hope. 239 
 
 Banking Statistics —continued. 
 
 Date. 
 
 Coin 
 
 Note 
 
 
 in Coffers. 
 
 Circulation. 
 
 
 £. 
 
 £. 
 
 1885, 30 June - 
 
 1,534,724 
 
 638,852 
 
 „ 31 Dec. - 
 
 1,353,427 
 
 529,628 
 
 1886, 30 June - 
 
 1,230,218 
 
 459,446 
 
 „ 31 Dec. - - | 
 
 1,064,562 
 
 506,532 
 
 1887, 30 June - 
 
 1,218,144 
 
 486,663 
 
 „ 31 Dec. 
 
 1,293,114 
 
 462,982 
 
 1888, 30 June 
 
 1,435,134 
 
 642,722 
 
 „ 31 Dec. 
 
 1,678,861 
 
 662,107 
 
 1889, 30 June - 
 
 2,313,816 
 
 835,674 
 
 „ 31 Dec. 
 
 2,049,316 
 
 1,034,849 
 
 1890, 30 June - 
 
 2,401,821 
 
 943,283 
 
 „ 31 Dec. 
 
 2,296,798 
 
 740,210 
 
 1891, 30 June 
 
 1,897,050 
 
 710,430 
 
 „ 31 Dec. - 
 
 2,589,724 
 
 483,000 
 
 1892, 30 June - 
 
 _ 
 
 449,441* 
 
 The Cape dominates the currency of the various British terri- 
 tories in South Africa : — 
 
 (i.) By the British Bechuanaland Proclamation No. 2 of 
 1885 (dated 6th October of that year), the laws then in 
 force in the Cape Colony were enacted en bloc for British 
 Bechuanaland. Consequently, as the Coinage Act of 1870 
 had previously been applied (in 1882) to the Cape, it 
 applies also to British Bechuanaland. 
 
 (ii.) Basutoland would not appear to have any legal 
 currency, but sterling coins monopolise the circulation. 
 
 * This amount represents the new " Legal Tender Notes," and is exclusive 
 of 304,898/. in " Other Notes in circulation." 
 
 The above sum of 449,441 I. in Legal Tender Notes was made up of the 
 following items: — (i.) Standard Bank, 322,030/., (ii.) Bank of Africa, 
 34,756/, and (iii.) African Banking Corporation, 92,055/. 
 
240 Colonial Currency. 
 
 (iii.) " Within the parts of South Africa bounded by 
 British Bechuanaland, the German Protectorate, the rivers 
 Chobe and Zambesi, the Portuguese Possessions, and the 
 South African Republic," it was provided by Sir Henry 
 Loch's Proclamation of 10th June 1891, that " the 
 standard coinage . . . from time to time in use in the 
 Colony of the Cape of Good Hope shall be the standard 
 coinage ... to be used within the said limits." This Pro- 
 clamation (with exceptions here irrelevant) was subse- 
 quently limited by Proclamation of 5th September 1891 to 
 that part of the Protectorate which is not administered by 
 the British South Africa Company. 
 
 (iv.) In Mashonaland, by Ordinance No. 3 of 1891, the 
 British South Africa Company have similarly adopted " the 
 standard coinage from time to time in use in the Colony of 
 the Cape of Good Hope." 
 
241 
 
 AUSTRALASIA. 
 
>42 Colonial Currency. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 New South Wales. 
 
 (1788.) 
 
 There is a marked parallel between the early history of the 
 currency of the senior Australian Colony and that of the Plan- 
 tations in the New World some two centuries previously. In 
 the first years of New South Wales, as of the American and 
 West Indian Plantations, there was a dearth of coin ; exchange 
 was by barter ; when coin did begin to flow into the colony it 
 was foreign, not sterling, coin, and this foreign coin ( which here, 
 as in the New World, was the Spanish dollar) was over- rated in 
 terms of sterling, and so originated a system of "denominational 
 currency," comparable in all respects with the " currency " 
 systems of the older colonies in the New World. The chief 
 difference lies in the prevalence of private promissory notes in 
 the early years of New South Wales. 
 
 The currency history of the colony may conveniently be divided 
 into four periods ; the first extending from its foundation in 1788 
 to 1822, the second from 1822 to 1829, the third from 1829 to 
 1851, and the fourth from 1851 to the present day. The first 
 period was an age of barter and tokens ; the second period was 
 marked by the supremacy of the Spanish dollar as the actual 
 standard and measure of value : the third saw the substitution of 
 a sterling standard ; and the fourth began with the discovery of 
 gold in Australia, and is characterised by the establishment of a 
 Branch of the Royal Mint at Sydney. 
 
 (i.) 1788-1822. 
 
 The early records of currency are meagre in the extreme ; a 
 circumstance readily explicable by the facts of the early settle- 
 ment of the colony. David Collins' " Account of the English 
 Colony in New South Wales" (1802), shows that a certain 
 amount of coin reached the colony through the military and the 
 free settlers. This coin was mainly of the denomination of 
 dollars, the universal coin of the day, with rupees and a few 
 Dutch coins.* 
 
 * 17'.»2. " Mary Burns was robbed of dollars to the amount of 11 I." 
 I 79 1. " The convicts have been seen playing at their favourite games (cribbage 
 
 and all fours) for six, eight, and ten dollars each game ; and those who were not 
 expert at these, instead t»f pence tossed up for dollars." 
 
 IT'.m'i. " Several articles having been brought for sale in the 'Marquis Corn- 
 wallis ' a shop was opened on shore. As money or orders on, or by, any of the 
 responsible officers of the colony, were taken at this shop for goods. an opportunity 
 was afforded to some knowing ones among the prisoners to play off not only base 
 money (as counterfeit Spanish dollars and rupees) but forged notes and orders." 
 
Ch. XXIII. New South Wales. 243 
 
 But the occurrence of these coins must not be taken as 
 evidence of their general circulation. The real currency of the 
 infant colony consisted of the Commissary's " store receipts," 
 given in acknowledgment of supplies furnished, and eventually 
 convertible into bills on the London Treasury at par. These 
 receipts passed from hand to hand and constituted a paper 
 currency which could be at any time exchanged for a sterling 
 bill. But even this currency did not circulate throughout the 
 whole community, for Government fixed in terms of sterling not 
 only the prices of convict labour, but also the prices of all common 
 articles ; hence exchange was by barter. 
 
 The first record of currency regulation in New South Wales 
 is the Governor's Proclamation of 19th November 1800, which 
 states that " whereas representation's of the want of small money 
 here have induced His Majesty to take into His gracious consider- 
 ation the immediate relief from this great inconvenience to all 
 classes alike of His Majesty's subjects in (his colony, a quantity 
 of copper coin has been received in His Majesty's armed vessel 
 ' Porpoise,'* and will be circulated by being paid for grain and 
 animal food supplied " (i.e., to the Colonial Government). The 
 Proclamation goes on to prescribe, that the coins weighing 1 oz. 
 were to pass at 2 d. each ; and in order " that no one may plead 
 ignorance of the rate or legality of this or any other of the coins 
 circulating in this colony (of which it does not appear that any 
 regular Proclamation has ever collectively been issued)," the 
 Governor published the following "table of all the species legallv 
 circulating in this Colony, with the rate attached to each at which 
 they shall be considered, and be, a legal tender in all payments 
 or transactions in this Colony. When a sufficient quantity of 
 copper coins is received in the Colony (of which notice will be 
 given), no private notes or cards will be allowed to circulate." 
 And in order to discourage the collection of the new copper 
 coin for large payments, a 5 /. limit of legal tender was imposed. 
 
 Table of specie current in New South Wales. 
 
 £. 
 
 s. 
 
 d. 
 
 Guinea - 1 
 
 2 
 
 
 Johanna - 4 
 
 — 
 
 - 
 
 Half ditto - 2 
 
 — 
 
 — 
 
 Ducat - - 
 
 9 
 
 6 
 
 Gold Mohur 1 
 
 17 
 
 6 
 
 Pagoda - - 
 
 8 
 
 — 
 
 s. 
 
 Spanish dollar - - 5 - 
 
 Rupee - - - - 2 6 
 
 Dutch Guilder - - 2 - 
 
 English Shilling - - 1 1 
 
 Copper Coin of 1 oz. - - 2 
 
 This extraordinary table was based on the assumption that a 
 dollar was really worth 5 s. in sterling, a rating which at the time 
 was in vogue in many British colonies, but Avas never understood 
 to imply that this coin was actually equivalent in value to the 
 
 * The amount of copper coin received in the " Porpoise " was only 550/. " The 
 circulation of this money would be attended with the most comfortable accommo- 
 dation to the people in their various dealings with each other,'' wrote David 
 Collins in 1799, when the arrival of the coin was "daily looked for." See 
 Macpherson's "Annals of Commerce," iv., 501, where a Vote of Parliament (697/. 7*.) 
 is mentioned as having been taken "for a coinage of copper for New South 
 Wales." 
 
244 Colonial Currency. 
 
 amount of sterling coin nominally denoted {see under Canada, 
 &c ). The equally conventional ratings of 2 s. 6 d. for the Sicca 
 rupee, and of eight dollars for the half-johannes {see under West 
 Indies), add to the confusion. The most over-rated coin was 
 the universal Spanish dollar ; but the economic conditions of the 
 colony render it futile seriously to examine the theoretical effects 
 of the several ratings. Barter, and the circulation of store- 
 receipts and private paper, continued to rule the currency. 
 
 On 3rd August 1803 the Governor issued a Proclamation 
 against forging private promissory notes. On 30th June 1810 
 Governor Macquarie was constrained to issue a further Procla- 
 mation, from which it appears that "the forgery of promissory 
 notes in writing for the payment of small sums of money hath 
 of late times been much practised, to the subversion of common 
 truth and justice, the prejudice of trade and credit, and to the 
 manifest injury of industrious individuals." It was now provided 
 that all promissory notes of 5 /. and under should be upon 
 printed forms. 
 
 Writing on 2nd October 1823, with reference to the currency 
 of New South Wales in these early years, Mr. J. M' Arthur 
 (after stating that there was no export until a few years before 
 1823, and that exchange was necessarily by barter in the first 
 instance) goes on to say, that "in process of time a currency, con- 
 sisting principally of personal promissory notes, was established 
 in the colony. The numerous issues, however, of these notes 
 caused great inconvenience from frequent failures and forgeries, 
 and much confusion in the different modes of buying and selling, 
 according as the payments were made in notes, entitled to greater 
 or less credit. With a view of diminishing these evils, General 
 Macquarrie imported a considerable quantity of dolars from 
 India, and substituted them as a currency." 
 
 The action of the Governor to which Mr. M' Arthur refers 
 was carried out by the Proclamation of 1st July 1813, the pre- 
 amble of which recites, that " it has been deemed expedient to 
 send a quantity of dollars* to this colony for the purpose of 
 assisting and improving the circulating medium thereof." The 
 Proclamation goes on to state, that the Governor had " thought 
 proper to direct that a small circular piece of silver shall be struck 
 out of the centre of every such dollar, which, together with the 
 remaining part of every such dollar (subsequently known as 
 the 'holey dollar') is intended to be issued and cir- 
 culated." It is next provided that " each such small circular 
 piece of silver (subsequently known as a 'dump'), on one side of 
 
 * Writing on 28th June 1813, Governor Macquarie reported that on 2t*>th 
 November 1812. 10,000 dollars had arrived from India by the '• Samarang." 
 •■ Having deemed it essentially necessary to adopt every possible precaution to 
 prevent this useful supply of dollars from being exported or carried out of the 
 Colony, I gave immediate direction for constructing a machine here for the purpose 
 of stamping, milling, and cutting a piece out of the center of each dollar, previous 
 to my circulating this specie in the Colony. . . 1 found it necessary to engage to 
 receive these coins bacS again into the Treasury here at their current value, at the 
 expiration of every two years, and to grant then hills for them on England, having 
 ascertained that the People here in general would not be satisfied to receive them 
 in payment at the value I have put upon them without my giving them this 
 assurance." 
 
Ch. XXIII. New South Wales. 245 
 
 which is impressed the figure of a Crown, the words ' New 
 South Wales' above such impression, and the figures 1813 
 beneath the same, and the other or reverse side thereof are 
 impressed the words ' Fifteen pence,' and having the edges 
 grained, shall be current within the territory for the sum of 
 fifteen pence of lawful money of the United Kingdom of Great 
 Britain and Ireland of English value and currency. Every such 
 larger piece of silver, on the upper part of one side of which are 
 impressed at its inner rim the words ' Five shillings,' and at the 
 lower part of the said coin on the same side is also impressed the 
 figure of a branch of laurel, and on the reverse side of which, at 
 the upper part of the said inner rim, are impressed the words 
 * New South Wales/ and at the lower part of the said rim the 
 figures ' 1813,' the edges of the said inner rim being grained on 
 both sides, shall be current within this Territory, and every part 
 thereof, for the sum of Five Shillings lawful money of the United 
 Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, of English value and 
 currency." 
 
 Under the same proclamation of 1813, every master of a vessel 
 was to enter into a bond of 200 I. not to export, or allow to be 
 exported, the new silver coin. And, more important than this, 
 after 31st December 1813, "it shall not be lawful for any 
 person or persons to issue or negotiate within this territory any 
 promissory notes whatsoever for any sum of money under the 
 sum of 2 s. 6 d." 
 
 "Government," says Mr. M 'Arthur, "was at all times 
 ready to receive these silver coins at their current price, and to 
 give in exchange bills on the Treasury for sterling money 
 payable 30 days after sight." v This statement has reference to 
 what was the dominant factor in the local currency, viz., that 
 Government, the great consumer, fixed from time to time the 
 rates at which it would purchase the commodities it required, 
 and paid for these commodities either in Treasury bills or in 
 current tokens (copper or cut silver), which could at any time be 
 exchanged for sterling bills at their current ratings. Con- 
 sequently, the assumed standard was sterling ; but the metallic 
 currency consisted solely of silver and copper tokens, maintained 
 at an exaggerated price by the extravagant rates at which 
 Government sold its sterling bills. In the words of a letter of 
 10th May 1822 from the Bank of New South Wales (which was 
 founded in 1817), "since the first establishment of the colony, 
 the purchases made by Government from the settler of the 
 provisions and other articles necessary for the service of the 
 Government have uniformly been paid for in money of sterling 
 denomination, the Government fixing the maximum price at 
 which they would make such purchases and such payments. 
 The Spanish dollar has hitherto circulated at the nominal value 
 of 5 s. sterling, being about 16| per cent, above its real sterling 
 value as bullion. When the dollars were few in number, and 
 received indiscriminately with the stamped Government 5 s. 
 token by the Commissary, who gave for the same bills on the 
 Treasury at their nominal and not real value, no injury or loss 
 
 72642. K 
 
246 Colonial Currency. 
 
 could be sustained by those persons who furnished the supplies 
 required from time to time by Government." 
 
 Side by side with the token coins which formed the whole of 
 the metallic currency of New South Wales prior to 1822, there 
 was, as has already been seen, a large and growing circulation 
 of private promissory notes. From proclamations of 27th 
 November 1813 and of 23rd and 25th November 1816, it appears 
 that " rings " were formed for the circulation of notes, and that 
 much of this so-called " currency " tended to express the " rate 
 of exchange," and so to create a " colonial currency " differing 
 from sterling. These practices were forbidden. From Mr. 
 M'Arthur's letter already quoted, it appears that the founda- 
 tion of the Bank of New South Wales in 1817 "had certainly 
 the good effect of putting an end to the • currency,' or issues of 
 personal promissory notes ; but some of the emancipated convicts 
 having become Directors by the desire of General Macquarrie, the 
 evil consequences soon became visible.'" 
 
 On 7th December 1816, "in consideration of the present state 
 and value of the copper money now in circulation," and with a 
 view to the complete establishment of " sterling " currency only, 
 the Governor ordered by proclamation that on and after 1st 
 January 1817 the British copper coins should pass at their face 
 value only ; but before that date they might be exchanged at 
 the Commissary's office in Sydney for three halfpence per penny. 
 The old 5 /. limit of legal tender for copper money was retained. 
 
 (ii) 1822-1829. 
 
 " Within these last three months," wrote the Bank of New 
 South Wales on 10th May 1822, " dollars to a very alarming 
 amoimt have been imported into the colony, the importers 
 induced no doubt by the knowledge that their circulating value 
 was greater here than in any other part of the world." This 
 statement has reference to an entirely new departxire in the regu- 
 lation of the local currencj' by the new Governor, Sir Thomas 
 Brisbane. With him originated what was known at the time as 
 the "dollar system." Sir Thomas Brisbane was an ardent 
 believer in the Spanish dollar, and believed that, in making it 
 the standard of value in the colony, he was placing the currency 
 on the soundest basis. The steps by which this important change 
 was effected were as follows : — In the first place a large importa- 
 tion of Spanish dollars (no less than $ 400,000, according to a 
 letter of loth August 1826 from the chairman of the Chamber 
 of Commerce) was made under contract from India. These 
 dollars were issued by the Commissary in payment for supplies 
 at the regulation rate of 5 s. per dollar. On 9th May 1822 a 
 general order was issued that colonial duties and Government 
 quit rents would be received in these coins at the like rate. 
 Thus, by stopping the sale of Government bills, and by payment 
 in the newly-imported dollars, a metallic circulation had been 
 established. This done, the Commissary put up his bills to 
 public tender, and " as the exports were still much less than the 
 imports " (or rather, because of the over- valuation of the dollar 
 
Ch. XXIII. New South Wales. 247 
 
 at 5s.), ''"the merchant was compelled to offer a high premium 
 for these bills. The first were sold from 2\ to 5 per cent., but 
 the premium rose in a few months to 20, and was in May 1823 
 at. 25 per cent," the latter rate being equivalent to about 4 s. 
 sterling per dollar, or about 4 per cent, below the sterling price 
 of the day in London. 
 
 Pursuing his new policy, Sir Thomas Brisbane sought, by the 
 repeal on 27th June 1822 of his predecessor's proclamations of 
 23rd and 25th November 1816, to put a stop to all barter in the 
 colony. And on 25th July 1822 he ordered by proclamation 
 that the "Government dollars" of 1813 should be exchanged at 
 their rate of issue, if tendered for exchange within six weeks. 
 On 15th November 1822, a further proclamation directed that 
 the " dump " might be presented within six months at the Com- 
 missariat for the purchase of bills, but that after that period they 
 would be current "for one-fourth part only of the Spanish 
 dollar," i.e., for six months, bills at par would be given for the 
 dump rated at 1 s. 3 d., but afterwards the dump would have to 
 compete with Spanish dollars for the purchase of bills at a 
 premium. The "holey dollar " of 1813 was re-issued at the end 
 of 1822, and passed current, under general order of 31st 
 December 1822, "for three-fourths of the Spanish dollar." 
 
 Had the Governor stopped here his policy would at least have 
 been consistent, if mistaken ; but, not content with dislocating 
 trade by a sudden change of the standard of value, he proceeded 
 to introduce an unjust and vexatious complication by the follow- 
 ing general order of 5th February 1823 : — 
 
 " The Spanish dollar will commence to be taken in payment 
 of the colonial dues, estimated in sterling money, at the highest 
 rate for which it may have been received by the latest public 
 tenders made to the Commissariat. Henceforward the accounts 
 of the naval officer and colonial treasurer will be kept in dollars 
 and cents ; and the salaries chargeable to the colonial revenue 
 will be converted into the currency at the exchange of five 
 Spanish dollars for every pound sterling. The copper coins of 
 Great Britain will in future pass in the colony for as many cents 
 as they are denominated to contain halfpence." This last regu- 
 lation made the " dollar system " intolerable. The same dollar 
 which was paid out by Government (i.) at 5 s. for purchases 
 (ii.) at 4 s. 8 d. to the troops, and (iii.J at 4 s. to public officers 
 for salaries, was received back by the Colonial Government at a 
 fluctuating exchan ore-rate. And the Bank declined to receive 
 the dollar for more than 4 s. 
 
 The inconvenience of the new " dollar system ", and the con- 
 comitant withdrawal of the benevolent rate of exchange 
 previously allowed, raised a loud outcry in the colony. As 
 early as 21st August 1822 (as appears from the " Sydney 
 Gazette " of the 30th of that month), a public memorial wan 
 addressed to Sir Thomas Brisbane against " the system lately 
 introduced by the Commissariat in paying for supplies required 
 by Government in Spanish dollars." The memorial goes on to 
 deprecate the importation of more Spanish dollars, and begged 
 
 R 2 
 
248 Colonial Currency. 
 
 for a return to the old system under which "store receipts" 
 were given, which were exchangeable at par for bills at 5 s. per 
 dollar. And, as the exchange rose by leaps and bounds till it 
 found its just level, the outcry grew louder still. After a pro- 
 longed resistance, worthy of a better cause, the Governor on 
 13th September 1824 appointed a committee to fix a definite 
 rate at which all the public offices should receive and pay the 
 Spanish dollar. On 21st September they reported that the 
 intrinsic value (i.e., on the obsolete " mint- price " of 5 s. 2 d. per 
 ounce) was 5179 d., and recommended a rating of 4 s. 4 d., the 
 British halfpenny and shilling to pass for 1 and 20 "cents." and 
 the colonial dump and holey dollar to pass for 25 and 75 " cents" 
 respectively.* 
 
 As a result of the introduction of the dollar into general cir- 
 culation, it became necessary in 1824 to pass an Act " to make 
 promissory notes and bills of exchange payable in Spanish 
 dollars availnble as if such notes and bills had been drawn 
 payable in sterling money of the realm." And it may here be 
 stated that in this year the total amount of British silver and 
 copper money together did not exceed (^by estimate) some 400/., 
 and this was rarely seen in circulation. The great mass of the 
 metallic currency was composed of Spanish dollars. 
 
 In 1825 (see page 23) the Imperial Government produced its 
 measures for introducing British silver into general circulation 
 in the colonies. The Treasury Minute of 11th February 1825 
 speaks of the variety of rates of currency of the dollar as '* highly 
 objectionable," and expresses the opinion that " it would be 
 expedient to provide that all debts which may be contracted, 
 and all engagements which may be made, after a day to be 
 named, for the payment of money in the colony, should be dis- 
 charged either in British silver money, or in Spanish dollars at 
 4 s. 4 (I. each, at the will of the debtor ; and that all engagements 
 contracted previously to the day to be so named, either by the 
 Government or by individuals, should be respectively discharged 
 and liquidated by the payment of 17 s. Ad. in the pound for the 
 nominal amount of the debt, either in British silver money, or 
 in dollars computed at 4 s. 4 d. each ; by which means a debt 
 already contracted will be discharged by the same number of 
 dollars as at present." 
 
 The Imperial scheme was brought into operation by the Order 
 in Council and Proclamation of 23rd March 1825 (see page 425). 
 The idea was cordially received by a public opinion now bitterly 
 opposed to the dollar. Accordingly, the Treasury suggestion 
 was adopted, and an Act passed on 12th July 1826 (i.) repealing 
 the Act of 1824 respecting notes, (ii.) prohibiting the issue of notes 
 of a less denomination than twenty shillings, and (iii.) enacting 
 that 4 s. 4 d. in sterling money — the mistaken rate, it will be ob- 
 served, which the colonial committee had hit upon independently 
 — should be deemed equivalent to a Spanish dollar. According to 
 
 * It has not been found possible to trace what action followed this recommen- 
 dation. The Imperial Scheme of a few mouths later may have obviated the 
 necessity for local action. 
 
Ch. XXIII. New South Wales. 249 
 
 a letter of 15th August 1826 from the chairman of the 
 Chamber of Commerce, " the largest estimate we are en- 
 abled to make of the amount of British sterling specie at the 
 present moment in the whole country would very little exceed 
 10,000 /., exclusive of about 20,000 /. in dollars at 4 s. 4 </." As 
 general bankruptcy seemed imminent, the Chamber asked for a 
 Government loan to aid the banks in granting accommodation, 
 and for paper issues ; but both these requests were refused. 
 The difficulty of providing a sufficiency of the British coins was 
 soon met by the importation of 55,000/. in British silver by the 
 Commissary. Of this sum, according to the Commissary's report 
 of 22nd October 1827, about 7,000/. was in general circulation 
 at that date, 14,000/. in the two banks, and over 33,000/. in 
 the military chest. 
 
 " Dollars," the Commissary reparted, " were kept for the 
 purpose of sending to China and exporting to foreign settle- 
 ments." This statement is dubious on grounds both of theory 
 and of the ascertained facts of 1829. For, as the dollar was 
 rated at 4 s. 4 d. sterling, whereas its intrinsic value in sterling 
 was only 4 s. 2 d., the 4 per cent, over-rating of the dollar would 
 naturally be supposed to drive out British silver. This view is 
 supported by the preponderance of non-sterling coins in the 
 military chest on 24th September 1829, as shown by the 
 following statement ; — 
 
 British silver coin - 
 British copper coin - 
 
 Ring dollars, 27,161 at 3 s. 3 d. 
 Spanish dollars, 3,432 at 4 s. 4 d. - 
 Rupees, 734 at 2 s. 1 d. - 
 Dumps, 10,103 at 1 s. 1 d. 
 
 This statement goes to show that, though the Commissary 
 might pay out sterling coins, it was in dollars and the colonial 
 tokens that he was paid the price of his bills. 
 
 (iii.) 1829-1851. 
 
 The difficulty of keeping British coins in circulation, in 
 competition with the dollar, led to a popular revolution in the 
 local currency at the end of 1829, which is chronicled, as 
 follows, in the annual return from New South Wales for 1830 : 
 " The coins in circulation are those of Great Britain and Spanish 
 dollars. On 23rd November 1829, the traders and shopkeepers 
 of Sydney came to an unanimous resolution of receiving the 
 Spanish dollar at 4*. 2d. and the rupee at 1.?. 9 d. only; and 
 since that time the rate at which the Spanish dollar is received 
 has been still further reduced, conventionally, to 4 s. sterling. 
 These resolutions having: come in aid of the various measures 
 adopted by Government since the year 1825, for improving the 
 circulating medium, the important object of these measures, that 
 of establishing an uniform sterling currency, may now be 
 considered as successfully accomplished. Since 1829 a great 
 
 £. 
 
 s. 
 
 d. 
 
 12 
 
 8 
 
 — 
 
 701 
 
 14 
 
 8 
 
 4,413 
 
 13 
 
 o 
 o 
 
 743 
 
 12 
 
 - 
 
 76 
 
 9 
 
 2 
 
 547 
 
 4 
 
 11 
 
250 Colonial Currency. 
 
 proportion of the Spanish dollars and other foreign coins, in 
 consequence of the reduction in their current rates, have been 
 exported, chiefly to the Mauritius; which has rendered the 
 currency of New South Wales more substantially British than 
 that perhaps of any colony under the Crown." From the same 
 return it appears that " upwards of 20,000 /. in gold sovereigns 
 are at present held by the two banks and the colonial treasury, 
 none of which coin was imported by the Government." And a 
 further indication of the soundness of the currency system which 
 had been established by the good sense of the community (in 
 opposition both to the Imperial and to the Colonial Govern- 
 ments), is furnished by the recorded fact that on 24th February 
 1832 the banks held 100,000/. in British coin, whilst 30,000/. 
 was in circulation. 
 
 In 1834 when the best private bills were selling at 2\ per cent, 
 discount, the Commissary, being unable to raise money at the 
 minimum rate of 1^ per cent, premium at which he was allowed 
 to sell his bills, was constrained to resort to the only official 
 alternative open to him, viz., to raise Spanish dollars by tender ; 
 and on these dollars he borrowed British silver from the Colonial 
 Government to the extent of 4 s. per dollar, the rate " at which 
 the few dollars now in circulation at this place pass current." 
 And when this resource had been exhausted, he was forced to 
 borrow 50,000 /. from the Colonial Government, under the 
 powers conferred upon it by an Act of 1834. Later, the 
 exchange rose, and the Commissary was flooded with coin in 
 exchange for his bills at 1£ per cent, premium. Thenceforth 
 his bills were put up to tender, and realised under competition 
 as much as 6£ per cent, in 1839. 
 
 The inflation of 1839, which followed on the abolition of the 
 system of assignment of convicts to free settlers in 1838, and 
 which only preceded by a year the total abolition of transporta- 
 tion of convicts to this colony, lasted until 1841. In the follow- 
 ing years the cessation of the Imperial expenditure on convicts 
 brought about a depression, which lasted during the remaining 
 years of this third period in the history of the currency of New 
 South Wales. Both the inflation and the subsequent reaction 
 are matters outside the scope of this work ; but, in view of the 
 gold discoveries with which the next period opened, it is of 
 interest to record the rates of exchange on England for the four 
 years ending with 1850. And in this connection it is to be 
 borne in mind that prior to 1851 the only, important export of 
 the colony was wool, which was shipped in the four months 
 November — February. During this period the Australian trade 
 *' consisted almost entirely of exports ; while during the remain- 
 ing eight months imports greatly preponderated." Hence there 
 were regular periodic fluctuations in the exchange : — 
 
 1847 - 2 per cent, discount to 2£ per cent, premium. 
 
 !848 - 1 „ „ „ H „ ,, „ 
 
 1849 - 1 „ „ „ par. 
 
 1850 - 3^ „ „ „ 2 per cent, premium. 
 
Ch. XXIII. New South Wales. 251 
 
 (iv.) 1851 tp the present Day. 
 
 At the beginning of 1851 the total circulation of the colony, 
 both in notes and coin, was estimated not to exceed some 
 300,000 /. The discovery of gold produced a sudden and 
 revolutionary change in the internal trade. In a country in 
 which a very small circulating medium had been required, in 
 proportion to its extent and wealth, in consequence of the 
 scattered condition of its population and the simplicity of their 
 mercantile transactions, the concentration of numbers of people 
 at the " diggings " gave rise to an active retail trade, and the 
 want of coined money was immediately felt. It was natural that, 
 with the means at hand in so great abundance for furnishing the 
 material of money, a demand should arise for a mint at which it 
 might be coined.* 
 
 Nearly hall-a-million pounds' worth of gold was gotten in New 
 South Wales alone during the first year of the " gold fever ; " 
 but there was not coin in the colony with which to buy all this 
 metallic wealth, and gold dust of over the standard fineness was 
 commonly sold in Sydney for about 3 /. per ounce. To meet 
 this crisis a committee was appointed on 18th November 1851 by 
 the Legislative Council, ** to report upon the expediency of 
 establishing in Sydney an assay office and mint." On 16th 
 December 1851 the committee reported (i.) that an assay office 
 would be of " little, if any, value to the colony," but that (ii.) " if 
 Her Majesty would be graciously pleased to establish a Mint, or 
 branch of the Royal Mint, in .Australia, at which unassayed 
 gold, or gold in bars or ingots, might be exchanged for the 
 current pc-ld coin of the realm, on payment of an established 
 charge, much good might be expected to result to the interests 
 of all producers of raw materials in the colony." 
 
 Acting on the recommendation of the above committee, the 
 Legislative Council addressed the following Petition, on 19th 
 December 1851, to Her Majesty the Queen : — 
 
 To Her Most Gracious Majesty the Queen. 
 
 The humble Petition of the Legislative Council of 
 New South Wales : 
 
 Showeth, 
 That large quantities of gold have recently been discovered 
 in Your Majesty's colonies of New South Wales and Victoria, 
 
 * The following are the maximum and minimum rates of exchange on London 
 1851-58 :— 
 
 1851 - lg per cent, premium to 5 a per cent, discount. 
 
 1852 - - 8 „ discount to 12 „ „ 
 
 1853 - par - - - - to 8 „ „ 
 
 1854 - - - 3 per cent, premium to £ » » 
 
 (The year of the Mint's opening). 
 
 1856 - - 1-J per cent, premium to lj per cent, discount. 
 
 1857 - 2 „ „ „ par. 
 
 1858 - $ „ „ i per cent discount. 
 
252 Colonial Currency. 
 
 by which the wealth of Your Majesty's subjects will be increased 
 by many millions of pounds sterling annually. That the attrac- 
 tion of labour to this new employment, and the rate of exchange 
 consequent upon the wonderful disproportion between the 
 colonial imports and exports, have seriously discouraged the 
 former staple productions of these colonies, and menace them 
 with destruction, which, Tour Majesty's petitioners humbly 
 represent, would be no less ruinous to individual flock-masters 
 than injurious to Your Majesty's Imperial interest. That this 
 evil might be diminished by the exercise of Your Most Gracious 
 Majesty's prerogative in the establishment of a branch of Your 
 Majesty's Royal Mint at Sydney. That the facility thus 
 afforded to Your Majesty's subjects of converting their gold into 
 current coin of the realm would give additional value to the 
 result of their labour in its discovery, and prevent the existing 
 unnecessary depreciation of the other produce of the colony, 
 without any undue interference with trade or the rights of any 
 portion of Your Majesty's subjects. That your petitioners 
 humbly conceive that the accident of their remoteness from the 
 seat of Your Majesty's Government, which has not diminished 
 their attachment to Your Majesty's person or their obedience to 
 Y r our Majesty's laws, ought not to deprive them of similar 
 advantages to those which flow from the exercise of Your 
 Majesty's authority in favour of Your Majesty's subjects residing 
 in Great Britain. That an increased facility of coining 
 Australian gold into current coin of the realm, by giving 
 encouragement and stability to the trade and commerce of Y r our 
 Majesty's Australian colonies, and additional value to Y"our 
 Majesty's possessions in that part of the globe, would serve to 
 perpetuate those feelings of gratitude for Your Majesty's con- 
 sideration and reliance on Your Majesty's justice which are the 
 surest bonds of connection between these colonies and the 
 British Empire. 
 
 Legislative Council Chamber, 
 
 Sydney, Charles Nicholson, 
 
 19 December 1851. Speaker. 
 
 Meanwhile, some of the principal bankers, &c. connected with 
 New South Wales had addressed Earl Grey, then Secretary 
 of State for the Colonies, who on 20th February 1852 informed 
 tJhe Governor that, if, after consulting with his Executive Council, 
 he should report that it was desirable to establish a mint at 
 Sydney, and that the expense of doing so could be provided for 
 without inconvenience to the colony, his Lordship would be 
 prepared to take the requisite steps for that purpose, it being 
 understood that the mint so to be established would be regulated 
 by Order of Her Majesty in Council, and would be considered 
 subordinate to the Royal Mint. Lord Grey at the same time 
 forwarded to Governor FitzRoy a Report of the Royal Mint, 
 furnishing two estimates, one for a mint consisting of a single 
 press, worked by animal power, capable of coining 5,000,000 
 pieceB annually (the estimated cost of which, including the 
 
Ch. XXIII. New South Wales. 253 
 
 building, was 10,000/.), and the other for a mint comprising 
 three presses, worked by steam, of a capacity calculated for the 
 coinage of "all the probable yield of gold in Australia," and 
 costing 30,000 I 
 
 The Executive Council advised on 26th July 1852 that the 
 establishment of a branch mint would be of the greatest 
 advantage to the interest of the colony ; the Governor con- 
 curred ; and the Legislative Council also strongly favoured the 
 proposal. As the assumption in the colony was that only one 
 branch mint would be established for the whole of Australia, the 
 larger establishment was preferred ; but in the first instance 
 only 10,000/. was remitted (in November 1852). 
 
 When Earl Grey wrote, on 20th February 1852, no intelli- 
 gence had been received in England of the discovery of gold- 
 fields in other colonies in Australia. But by the time that the 
 final expressions of opinion from New South Wales had been 
 received, the Home Government was not only aware that gold 
 had been found in large quantities in Victoria, but had received 
 a petition from the City of Melbourne protesting strongly 
 against the establishment at Sydney of the sole mint for 
 Australia. Consequently, as is explained in the Treasury 
 Minute of 22nd March 1853,* the Imperial Government, whilst 
 ready to fulfil the expectations already held out to New South 
 Wales, was " not prepared to assent at present to the establish- 
 ment of a central and common mint in any one of the colonies, 
 and they conceive that it will be proper, therefore, to confine the 
 arrangements to be now adopted to the apparatus and establish- 
 ment to be provided for the smaller mint, referred to by Sir John 
 Herschel (the Master of the Mint), as being of a capacity 
 calculated to fulfil the requirements of a coinage for the colony 
 in which the mint may be set up." Consequently, the new 
 branch mint was to consist of a " single press, worked by animal 
 power." 
 
 The Treasury Minute goes on io say that, " as the motive for 
 the establishment of the proposed mints is for the coinage of the 
 gold found in Australia, it will not be requisite to make provision 
 at present for striking any other description of coin ; but the mints, 
 when established, will be available for any coinage which Her 
 
 Majesty may direct, if a necessity for it should arise 
 
 With regard to the gold coins, as they will not, under the laws 
 of the United Kingdom, be legal tender in this countrv, it will 
 be necessary that they should be stamped in such manner as 
 may render them distinguishable at sight from coins of the 
 realm, with which, however, they will be identical in fineness, 
 weight, and denomination. My Lords, however, conceive that 
 it would not be expedient to confine their circulation to the 
 colony in which they may be issued, but that they should have 
 general currency throughout the colonies of Australasia."t 
 
 * Parliamentary Paper, No. 18 of 1853, see page 436 infra. 
 
 t It was originally proposed to make the Sydney coins legal tender in the 
 Eastern Colonies, Hong Kong, Ceylon, and Mauritius, and at the Cape ; but it was 
 subsequently decided, as stated in the Minute, to limit their currency to Australia 
 and New Zealand. 
 
254 Colonial Currency. 
 
 Meantime, the attention of the Home Government had been 
 drawn to the shortcomings of the monetary system prevailing in 
 the majority of the colonies, and the large exportation of silver 
 coin from England to Australia particularly attracted their 
 consideration. It was seen that in Australia, as in other 
 colonies, British silver tokens had remained since 1825 an 
 unlimited legal tender. It did not appear that any inconvenience 
 had arisen from the practice in Australia up to that date, but 
 the discovery of gold had occasioned an active internal commerce 
 which required an enlarged circulation ; and, in view of the 
 establishment of a mint, it became, essential that the monetary 
 system in the Australian colonies should be placed on a sound 
 basis. Consequently. an Order in Council and Royal Proclama- 
 tion were issued oh 1 6th October 1852 (see page 435) directing 
 that, from the date of publication of the Royal Proclamation in 
 the respective colonies in Australia, New Zealand, Ceylon, 
 Mauritius, and Hong Kong, " the coins of Our United Kingdom 
 shall pass current in the manner directed in the several Acts of 
 Parliament which regulate the currency of the same, and that 
 the silver coins of Our United Kingdom shall not be a legal 
 tender in payment of sums exceeding 40 s." 
 
 The colony of New South Wales objected, on constitutional 
 and other grounds, to publish the Royal Proclamation. After 
 considerable correspondence the colony, on its own initiative, 
 passed the Act No. XXXIX. of 1854, " to regulate the currency 
 in New South Wales of the gold and silver coin issued from the 
 branch of the Royal Mint in Sydney," which provided for a 
 gold coinage at Sydney identical with and equivalent to that 
 of the United Kingdom, and placed a 40 s. limit on " the silver 
 coin of England or the silver coin issued from the said branch 
 mint." This Act was to continue in force until the end of 1855 
 only. Before that date, and in connection with the authorisation 
 of the new mint, the colony passed the Act No. III. of 1855, " to 
 regulate the currency in New South Wales," which recites 
 (inter alia) that " it is deemed necessary to define and establish 
 by legislative enactment what shall in future be a legal tender 
 for payment within the colony of New South Wales." The 
 provisions of this Act, which remains in force in NeAv South 
 Wales at the present day, are as follows : — 
 
 " 1. The gold coin issued from Her Majesty's Mint in London, 
 and the gold coin issued from the branch of the Royal Mint in 
 Sydney, shall be and shall be considered to be the only legal 
 tender for payments, except as hereinafter provided, within the 
 colony of New South Wales, and the same respectively shall pass 
 and be received as lawful money at the value at which they are 
 or shall respectively be declared by Her said Majesty in Council 
 to be current. Provided always such coins shall hold the like 
 weight and fineness as are or shall for the time being be pre- 
 scribed by law for moneys of Her Majesty's Mint in London, and 
 with such allowance called the remedy as is given to the Master 
 of the said Mint in London." 
 
 " 2. A tender of payment made in the silver coin of the Royal 
 
Ch. XXIII. New South Wales. 255 
 
 Mint at London, or the silver coin (if any) issued from the branch 
 mint at Sydney, of any sum to the extent of 40 s. and no more 
 at any one time shall be reputed a tender in law or allowed to 
 be a legal tender within the colony of New South Wales, either 
 by tale or weight of such silver coin or otherwise howsoever." 
 
 The formal authority for the establishment of the colonial 
 mint is contained in the Imperial Order in Council of 19th August 
 1853, approving of a recommendation from the Imperial Treasury 
 that — 
 
 "(i.) A branch of the Royal Mint be established at or near 
 Sydney, in New South Wales ; that the chief officer thereof, 
 who shall be considered as a Deputy Master of the Roval Mint, on 
 being appointed by Her Majesty, be authorised and empowered 
 to coin gold and other coin, in accordance with the standards of 
 weight and fineness of the currency of this realm, and of such 
 designs as may from time to time be approved by Her Majesty, 
 and that the Master of the Royal Mint be authorised to prepare 
 and transmit dies for such coins, so long as the Lords Com- 
 missioners of Her Majesty's Treasury may think necessary, and 
 subject to such regulations as they may prescribe." 
 
 " (ii.) That it may be lawful for the Governor or officer 
 administering the government of the colony for the time being, 
 with the advice of his Executive Council, to frame regulations- 
 under which the mint shall receive gold bullion, and coin the 
 same ; and, unless other provision shall be made for the expenses 
 of the mint, to authorise the retention (without reference to any 
 charge which may be imposed for the expense of refining such 
 bullion) of such a proportion thereof, or of the coin struck there- 
 from, by way of a mint-charge or seignorage, as shall be 
 sufficient to raise a fund for defraying the expenses attending 
 the coinage, and to apply the same to such purpose." 
 
 The Order goes on to provide for the staff of the branch mint, 
 and for the rendering of monthly and other returns by the Deputy 
 Master to the Royal Mint. A double check on the standard of 
 coinage was imposed by requiring not only the Deputy Master, 
 but also the Governor, to send home specimen coins for such 
 examination as the Treasury may direct.* And, lastly, the 
 Governor was directed to order the inspection once a quarter of 
 the store of bullion and coin in the branch mint. 
 
 By Order in Council and Royal Proclamation of 18th October 
 1854 designs for the new sovereign and half-sovereign were 
 approved ; and by a further Order and Proclamation of like date 
 the two new gold coins were directed to be " current and lawful 
 money within all Our colonies in Australia, New Zealand, and 
 Van Diemen's Land, and shall pass and be received as current 
 and lawful money therein by the names aforesaid, and at the 
 values hereinbefore assigned to them" (see page 442). And it 
 may here be added that in October 1856 the Sydney coins were 
 made current in Hong Kong, Ceylon, and Mauritius. 
 
 * By Order in Council of 23rd November 1877 the provision relating to sending 
 specimens home was revoked, in so far as the Governor is concerned. Only the 
 pyx coins are now forwarded to London for examination 
 
256 Colonial Currency. 
 
 On 14th May 1855 the new mint commenced working. As 
 appears from its early statistics, New South Wales and Vic- 
 toria supplied all the gold received in 1855 and 1856 in almost 
 equal moieties. The supply from Victoria then fell away, whilst 
 that from New South Wales increased steadily up to 1862 (after 
 which it declined), with the result that on an average of the 
 years prior to 1872 nearly two-thirds of the gold received at the 
 Sydney Mint was produced in the home colony. The following 
 figures give the output of coin in the earliest year of the mint's 
 operations : — 
 
 £. 
 
 1855 (7. i months) - - 512,500^ 
 
 1856 1,220,000 . 
 
 1857 767,000 Averaging over a 
 
 1858 - - - - - 1,343,000 ™Uu>n a year. 
 
 1859 ----- 1,221,000 J 
 
 The result of the mint's operations was that, whereas between 
 1851 and May 1855 about 5,683,663 /. in raw gold was exported 
 from New South Wales, only 561,294/. was exported between 
 14th May 1855 and the end of 1859, whilst 3,655,148/. was 
 sent to the mint for coinage. The mint-charge, originally 
 | per cent., was increased to 1 per cent, on 28th June 1855, 
 except for deposits of over 10,000 oz. ; it represented about 8 d. 
 per ounce. By the local Act of 1857, 20 Vict., No. XVII., a 
 differential duty was imposed on uncoined gold, the rate being 
 2 s. 3d. per oz. standard on gold brought to the Mint to be coined, 
 as against 2 5. 6 d. at the Customs for bullion to be exported. 
 
 It was not long before the colony began to press for the 
 recognition of the Sydney gold coins as the legal equivalent of 
 the similar coins of the London Mint. Addresses of the Lepris- 
 lative Assembly and Legislative Council of New South Wales, 
 dated 17th December 1856 and 30th December of the same year, 
 and forwarded with the Governor's Despatch of 3rd January 
 1857, prayed that the Australian sovereign might be declared a 
 legal tender throughout Her Majesty's dominions. To these, 
 Mr. Labouchere, then Secretary of State for the Colonies, 
 replied, on 28th May 1857, that " Her Majesty's Government is 
 not prepared to recommend to Parliament any legislation upon 
 the subject. 1 ' For the time being the matter rested in statu quo, 
 the exports of Sydney coins being received in this country (and 
 indeed everywhere except in Australasia,* Ceylon, Hong Kong, 
 and the Mauritius) as mere bullion. But when in 1859, Victoria 
 applied for the establishment of a Mint at Melbourne, to issue 
 coins which should be legal tender equally with the British 
 sovereign, the Australian association in June of 1860,f again 
 pressed the Chancellor of the Exchequer for the adoption of the 
 Sydney sovereign as an Imperial coin. Finally, on 13th May 
 
 * Captain Ward's Report of 14th January 1860 (Parliamentary Paper, No. 358 
 of 1860) states that, " At first the iSydney Mint's receipts were somewhat checked 
 by the refusal of the Government of Victoria to proclaim the Sydney coins a legal 
 tender in their territory. Subsequently, through the urgent want of a metallic 
 currency, that step became a necessity, and was taken " ( in 1857, see page 263). 
 
 f Parliamentary Paper No, 421 of 1862 (pp. 86-88). 
 
Ch. XXIII. New South Wales. 257 
 
 1862, the House of Commons appointed a Select Committee "to 
 consider and report on the expediency of legalising the ch'culation 
 in the United Kingdom of the sovereigns coined at the branch 
 of the Royal Mint at Sydney." 
 
 The Master of the Mint having stated himself before this 
 Committee to be as much responsible for the coins struck at the 
 branch Mint at Sydney as for those struck at the Royal Mint, 
 the Committee recommended: — 
 
 1. That gold coin be issued from the branch Mint at Sydney 
 having currency in all parts of the British dominions where gold 
 minted in London is current. 
 
 2. That the coins struck at the Sydney Mint should have, as 
 nearly as possible, the same alloy, and the same quality of 
 execution and durability as that struck at the Royal Mint in 
 London. 
 
 3. That the coin should also have a Mint mark sufficient to 
 indicate, at least to bankers and others, the Mint whence it was 
 issued. 
 
 4. That an adequate Mint charge or seignorage* should continue 
 to be levied, and that the Imperial Government should stipulate 
 for its being kept at such an amount as to prevent any undue 
 inducement to the importation into the United Kingdom of gold 
 in coin rather than in bars. 
 
 5. That arrangements should be made for withdrawing from 
 circulation, as speedily as possible, the existing Sydney gold 
 coinage. 
 
 6. That the charge for the branch Mint should be provided for 
 by permanent appropriationf by the Legislature of New 'South 
 Wales, rather than by an annual vote. 
 
 The Report of the Select Committee was considered in the 
 Treasury Minute of 22ud June 1863,$ with the result that on 
 28th July 1863 the Imperial Act, 26 & 27 Vict. c. 74,§ was passed 
 "to enable Her Majesty to declare gold coins to be issued from 
 Her Majesty's branch Mint at Sydney, New South Wales, a 
 legal tender for payments ; and for other purposes relating 
 thereto." This Act, in addition to giving power to declare the 
 Sydney gold coins a legal tender in the United Kingdom only, 
 provided that, '' it shall be lawful for Her Majesty, by Proclama- 
 tion issued with the advice of Her Privy Council, from time to 
 time to impose on the coinage of gold at the said branch Mint at 
 Sydney a charge sufficient to defray the expenses of coinage, 
 
 * See page 462 for list of the charges successively imposed at the Sydney Mint for 
 the coinage of gold. 
 
 f This was done iu 1865 by the New South Wales Act 28 Vict., No. III., which 
 provided 15,000 I. a year for the expenses of the Mint "from the day upon which 
 a Proclamation issued by Her Majesty in England shall be duly published in this 
 colony declaring that the coin issued from the said Sydney branch is to be a legal 
 tender for payments within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland." 
 As it was anticipated in 1856 that the output of coin and bullion would be 
 1% millions per annum, and the expenditure about one per cent, on this amount, 
 the Colonial Vote was fixed at 15,000 I. 
 
 X Parliamentary Paper, No. 405 of 1863. § See page 442. 
 
258 Colonial Currency. 
 
 over and above the expenses of assay and refining ; and it shall 
 be incumbent on the said Deputy Master to coin gold at the 
 charge so imposed." 
 
 Under the above Act the Royal Proclamation of 3rd February 
 1866 was issued, declaring: — 
 
 (1.") That " coins made at the said branch Mint, of designs 
 approved by Us, at Sydney aforesaid, and being of the same 
 weight and fineness as are required by law with respect to gold 
 coins of the same denominations made at Our Mint in London, 
 shall be a legal tender for payments within the United Kingdom 
 of Great Britain and Ireland ; " and, 
 
 (2.) That "We do hereby, by and with the advice of Our 
 Privy Council, by this Our Royal Proclamation, impose on the 
 coinage of gold at the said branch Mint at Sydney the charge of 
 3 d. per ounce troy of gold of standard fineness, being a charge 
 sufficient to defray the expenses of coinage over and above the 
 expenses of assay and refining." 
 
 The Act of 1863 made no provision for the currency of the 
 Sydney coins in the colonies ; but in 1 866, when the question of 
 establishing the Melbourne Mint was under consideration, it was 
 thought expedient to provide by the Colonial Branch Mint Act, 
 1866 (see page 444), that gold coins struck at any colonial branch 
 Mints might be made a legal tender not only in the United 
 Kingdom but also in the colonies. Under this Act a Royal 
 Proclamation Avas issued on 10th November 1866 (see pajje 445), 
 declaring the Sydney sovereign and half-sovereign a legal tender 
 in the several colonies enumerated in the schedule to the Procla- 
 mation. The net result was that Sydney gold coins were now 
 put on an equality with the British sovereign and half-sovereign 
 throughout the Empire, with the exception of Canada and New- 
 foundland ; and on 14th May 1868 a Royal Proclamation was 
 issued admitting the Sydney coins to legal tender in these 
 American colonies. Lastly, in 1871, under Royal Proclamation 
 of 14th January of that year (see page 453), currency was given, 
 in this and the other Colonies specified in the Proclamation, to 
 coins of the same design as those coined at the Royal Mint in 
 in London.* The date of local publication of the Proclama- 
 tion in New South Wales was 15th June 1871. A subsequent 
 Proclamation (see page 454) was issued on 24th March 1871 
 declaring that, from the date of the local promulgation, the new 
 Sydney coins should be a legal tender in " Victoria and all or any 
 other of Our Colonies and Possessions wherein gold coins, issued 
 from Our Mint in London, are a legal tender, other than the 
 Colonies and Possessions specified in the Proclamation promul- 
 gated in pursuance of Our Order in Council of the 14th 
 January 1871." 
 
 Since British gold had formally been made a legal tender within 
 New South Wales in 1855, Melbourne gold coins were consti- 
 
 * The Sydney coins have; as a Mint mark, the letter "S " immediately above 
 the centre of the date in the case of coins of the George and Dragon design, and 
 within the " bow " on the reverse of shield coins. 
 
Ch. XXIII. New South Wales. 259 
 
 tuted a legal tender in this Colony under the previsions of the 
 Royal Proclamation of* 7th August 1869 (see page ). 
 
 The weight of gold brought to the Sydney Mint between 
 14to May 1855 and 31st December 1891 was 18,705,258*49 oz., 
 equivalent to a sterling value of 70,337,829/. 
 
 During the same period (1855-91) the Mint issued gold coin 
 and gold bullion in the following proportions : 
 
 (i.) Coin: £. £. 
 
 Sovereigns - - - 64,701,500 
 Half-sovereigns - - 2,497,500 
 
 67,199,000 
 
 (ii.) Bullion 2,942,468 
 
 Gross Total - - - £. 70,141,468 
 
 From this should be deducted the actual value of 
 758,074 /. in light gold received for re-coinage, 
 viz. 755,535* 
 
 Leaving a Net Total of - - - £. 69,385,933 
 
 The Mint charges for the same period were as follows : 
 
 (i.) On New South Wales gold - 272,414 
 
 (ii.) On "foreign" gold - 147,429 
 
 £. 419,843 
 
 Receipts " from silver," viz. ----- 64,600 
 
 And "from other sources," viz. - 62,869 
 
 Total Revenue - - - £. 547,312 
 
 Whilst the revenue has thus averaged 15,000/. f (in round 
 figures) for the whole period of the Mint's operations, it has 
 only slightly exceeded 10,000/. on an average of the 10 years 
 ended 31st December 1891 ; but since 1886 the receipts have 
 been steadily advancing, amounting in 1891 to 13,929/. This is 
 chiefly due to deposits brought from Mount Morgan in Queens- 
 land. 
 
 The agency of the Sydney Mint was first employed for the 
 issue of Imperial bronze coin in 1868, and of Imperial silver coin 
 in 1879. The total amounts issued up to the end of 1891 were 
 36,000/. in bronze, and 413,550/. in silver. The amount of worn 
 silver coin withdrawn (1873-1891) was of the nominal v«ilue of 
 121,079^. 5s. lid. 
 
 The following Table * gives an estimate of the coin in 
 (i.) Banks of Issue, and (ii.) private hands ; with amount per 
 inhabitant, at the close of each year 1880-91. The principle, 
 however, on whieh the Table computes the " total " coin as its 
 starting-point (viz., deduction of net exports of coin from the 
 
 * The deficiency on pre-Victorian gold was made good from Imperial funds. 
 f i. e., the amount of the annual colonial grant. 
 
260 
 
 Colonial Cuerency. 
 
 total coinage % of the local Mint) has been subjected to destruc- 
 tive criticism by the Deputy Master of the Melbourne Mint 
 (see under Victoria) ; and the a posteriori conclusions recorded 
 infra, conflict with the extravagant estimates of the four last 
 columns of the Table. 
 
 Year. 
 
 Coin in 
 
 Banks of 
 
 Issue. 
 
 Per 
 Inhabitant. 
 
 Coin in 
 Private 
 Hands. 
 
 Per 
 
 Inhabitant. 
 
 Total. 
 
 Per 
 Inhabitant. 
 
 1880 
 
 £. 
 3,637,568 
 
 £. *. 
 
 4 17 
 
 d. 
 3 
 
 £. 
 
 2,605,370 
 
 £. s. d. 
 3 9 8 
 
 £. 
 6,242,938 
 
 £. *. d, 
 8 6 11 
 
 1881 
 
 2,885,890 
 
 3 13 
 
 10 
 
 3,104,397 
 
 3 19 7 
 
 5,990,287 
 
 7 13 5 
 
 1882 
 
 2,672,799 
 
 3 5 
 
 7 
 
 3,128,415 
 
 3 16 9 
 
 5,801,214 
 
 7 2 4 
 
 1883 
 
 2,861,980 
 
 3 6 
 
 5 
 
 2,989,137 
 
 3 9 5 
 
 5,851,117 
 
 6 15 10 
 
 1884 
 
 3,863,873 
 
 4 5 
 
 4 
 
 2,988,744 
 
 3 6- 
 
 6,852,617 
 
 7 11 4 
 
 1885 
 
 4,069,840 
 
 4 5 
 
 8 
 
 3,250,082 
 
 3 8 5 
 
 7,319,922 
 
 7 14 1 
 
 1886 
 
 4,439,742 
 
 4 9 
 
 9 
 
 3,361,094 
 
 3 7 11 
 
 7,801,646 
 
 7 17 8 
 
 1887 
 
 5,108,996 
 
 5 - 
 
 2 
 
 3,745,980 
 
 3 13 5 
 
 8,854,976 
 
 8 13 7 
 
 1888 
 
 5,060,759 
 
 4 16 
 
 3 
 
 3,936,589 
 
 3 14 11 
 
 8,997,348 
 
 8 11 2 
 
 1889 
 
 5,161,011 
 
 4 15 
 
 5 
 
 3,874,058 
 
 3 11 8 
 
 9,035,069 
 
 8 7 1 
 
 1890 
 
 5,810,568 
 
 5 3 
 
 7 
 
 3,915,260 
 
 3 9 9 
 
 9,725,828 
 
 8 13 4 
 
 1891 
 
 4,861,310 
 
 4 5 
 
 8 
 
 4,012,493 
 
 3 10 9 
 
 8,873,803 
 
 7 16 5 
 
 The above estimate of the coin in the banks of issue and in 
 private hands on 31st December 1891 was made up as follows : 
 
 
 
 Gold. 
 
 Silver. 
 
 Bronze. 
 
 (i.) In Banks of Issue 
 (ii.) In Private Hands 
 
 £. 
 4,677 361 
 
 3,602,914 
 
 £. 
 180,962 
 
 380,087 
 
 £. 
 2,987 
 
 29,492 
 
 Total - - - £. 
 
 8,280.275 
 
 561,049 
 
 32,479 
 
 Of far the greater value than the above estimate, is the im- 
 portant statement made by Mr. T. A. Dibbs at the Inaugural 
 meeting of the N.S.W. Institute of Bankers on 29 January 
 1892f : — " The Bank of New South Wales, and the Australian 
 Joint Stock Bank, have furnished me with a return showing the 
 
 * From " The Wealth and Progress of New South Wales " by T. A. Coghlan 
 (Sydney 1891), except figures for 1891, which are taken from the 22nd Annual Report 
 of the Deputy Master of the Mint, 1891. (C. 6674, 1892.) 
 
 f See "Journal of the Institute of Bankers of New South Wales," Part I., 
 vol. i. (Sydney, 1892). 
 
Ch. XXIII. New South Wales. 261 
 
 average of the notes received during the year f891 by these 
 banks across the counter ; and a similar return has been pre- 
 pared by the Commercial Banking Company of Sydney, which 
 three banks do in New South Wales about two-thirds of the 
 entire banking business of this colony. These returns show 
 that for every 100/. of cash paid in this city 33% consisted of 
 coin, and 67°/ per cent, of notes." This would give (on the 
 basis of a note-circulation of 27 s. per head, as shown below) an 
 "active" circulation of 13.9. 6 d. in coin per head of the total 
 population. Thus the total currency in coin and notes amounts 
 to slightly over 2 /. per head, a figure which coincides exactly 
 with the estimates independently formed both for South 
 Australia and for Tasmania. It seems probable that 2 I. per 
 head, in varying proportions of coin and notes, represents the 
 currency in general circulation, outside the banks, throughout 
 Australia ; and it may be added that this figure tallies with the 
 conclusion arrived at for Canada Perhaps 5 s. may be taken as 
 the average per head in silver and bronze. 
 
 Bank Notes. 
 
 On 23rd September 1840, by the Act 4 Vict. No. 13, the 
 colony of New South AVales made provision " for the periodical 
 publication of the liabilities and assets of banks in New South 
 Wales and its dependencies, and for the registration of the names 
 of the proprietors thereof." This Act required every bank to 
 publish quarterly statements, showing (inter alia) the notes in 
 circulation and the coin and bullion in hand. 
 
 The tax on notes is 2°/ Q per annum. There is no general 
 Bank Act in New South Wales. 
 
 Section 22G of the Companies Act (37 Vict. No. 19) provides 
 that " no banking company claiming to issue notes shall be 
 entitled to limited liability in respect of such issue, but shall 
 continue subject to unlimited liability in respect thereof; and, if 
 necessary, the assets shall be marshalled for the benefit of the 
 general creditors, and the members shall be liable for the whole 
 amount of the issue, in addition to the sum for which they would 
 be liable as members of a limited company." 
 
 In the words of Coghlan's " Wealth and Progress of New South 
 Wales," " Banks trading under Act of Incorporation are allowed 
 a note circulation equal to the amount of their paid-up capital 
 and the coin and bullion in store. The banks have in no instance 
 availed themselves to the full extent of their privilege in this 
 regard ; indeed, if they were so disposed, such an issue of notes 
 would be impossible, as the currency required for the business of 
 the colony is scarcely more than the value of gold retained in 
 the vaults of the banks, and, at the same time, there is a marked 
 disposition on the part of the general public to use gold in 
 preference to notes for their ordinary transactions. The notes 
 current are not a legal tender ; a very necessary condition, as in 
 the present state of the law there is nothing to prevent any 
 company or person issuing notes, provided they can be yot into 
 circulation. Indeed, it would appear that the issue of paper 
 72642. S 
 
262 
 
 Colonial Currency. 
 
 circulation was contemplated by the Companies Act, since it 
 makes notes a first charge on such in the event of companies 
 being wound up. It will be seen from the following statement 
 that the issue of paper by the banks has been stationary for 
 about nine years." 
 
 Yearly averages of notes in circulation : 
 
 
 £. 
 
 
 
 £. 
 
 1871 - 
 
 694,344 
 
 1881 
 
 - 
 
 1,390,376 
 
 1872 - 
 
 789,544 
 
 1882 
 
 - 
 
 1,614,191 
 
 1873 - 
 
 920,620 
 
 1883 
 
 - 
 
 1,677,146 
 
 1874 - 
 
 - 1,005,639 
 
 1884 
 
 - 
 
 1,644,469 
 
 1875 - 
 
 - 1,080,088 
 
 1885 
 
 - 
 
 1,714,095 
 
 1876 - 
 
 - 1,093,862 
 
 1886 
 
 - 
 
 1,621,090 
 
 1877 - 
 
 - 1,129,279 
 
 1887 
 
 
 1,526,096 
 
 1878 - 
 
 - 1,167,519 
 
 1888 
 
 - 
 
 1,591,500 
 
 1879 - 
 
 - 1,123,123 
 
 1889 
 
 - 
 
 1,489,153 
 
 1880 - 
 
 - 1,173,663 
 
 1890 
 
 - 
 
 1,503,404 
 
 oughly, the Banks held 3 
 
 I. in gold 
 
 again s 
 
 t every 1 
 
 of 
 notes in circulation. For the first quarter of 1891 the note circu- 
 lation was 1,630,26 1 /., or 17. 75. .per head of the total population. 
 If the note-circulation be added to the estimate of coiu in private 
 hands, the total " active " currency amounts to 2 /. s. 6 d. per 
 head. 
 
Ch. XXIV. Victoria. . 263 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 Victoria. 
 
 In tracing the history of currency in Victoria, it is not 
 necessary to go back further than the gold discoveries of 1851. 
 Prior to that year this Colony had no currency history distinct from 
 that of New South Wales, the headquarters of administration. The 
 currency was wholly sterling, but a limit of legal tender for silver 
 coins was not in force until, on 18th October 1853, the Governor 
 published in the Colony the Royal proclamation of 16th October 
 1852 (see page 435 ) which formally made Imperial coins current, 
 and limited the tender of silver to 40 s. in any one payment, as 
 in the United Kingdom. 
 
 "When gold was discovered, the Colon v of Victoria was not so 
 prompt as New South Wales in applying to the Imperial Govern- 
 ment for the establishment of a Mint. New South Wales had 
 already remitted the money for Mint machinery before the 
 Imperial Government could consider the petition of the Legisla- 
 tive Council of Victoria forwarded by Lieutenant Governor 
 Latrobe on 31st July 1852, praying that a Mint might be 
 established at Melbourne either for the Australian Colonies 
 generally, or solely for the coinage of Australian gold. In the 
 summer of the same year the city of Melbourne petitioned, 
 representing that the produce of New South Wales was not a 
 third of that of Victoria, and that the establishment of a Mint at 
 Sydney, whilst useless to Victoria, would revive " the spirit of 
 discontent so long fostered by the subjection of Victoria " to the 
 senior colony. Though the Sydney coins were ordered to be 
 made current throughout Australasia by the Order in Council 
 and Proclamation of 18th October 1854 "(see page 441), it was not 
 until 14th July 1857 that, by proclamation of that date, Gover- 
 nor Sir H. Barkly gave effect in Victoria to the Imperial 
 legislation. And in the same year the Colonial Legislature 
 passed the Act 21 Vict. No. 15 making the Sydney coins 
 "current and lawful money within Victoria together with and in 
 like manner as current coins of the realm." (The same provision 
 was repeated in 1864, and again in 1890, as Section 29 of the 
 Banks and Currency Act, 1890, 54 Vict., No. 1164.) Prior to 
 1857 Sydney gold had been subject to an export duty in Victoria 
 as not being " current coin of the realm." * 
 
 Although under the terms of the Treasury Minute of 22nd 
 March 1853,f it was open to Victoria to press for a local Mint, 
 notwithstanding the opening of the Sydney Mint, no action was 
 taken for some years. In the words of Sir H. Barkly on 
 
 * See the preceding chapter, dealing with New South Wales, with refer- 
 ence to the delay of Victoria in recognising as legal tender the coins struck at 
 the Sydney Mint. 
 
 f Printed infra at page 436. 
 
 S & 
 
264 Colonial Currency. 
 
 16th December 1859,* "It was generally considered, indeed, 
 that Victoria would enjoy nearly all the advantages of a local 
 Mint, without the expenses attendant on its maintenance, which 
 it was anticipated would largely exceed the receipt, so soon as 
 the vacuum caused by the re-exportation of the enormous amount 
 of British geld coin sent to the Australian colonies in the early days 
 of the gold discoveries had been filled up by the Sydney coinage. 
 When however it appeared, by Parliamentary Returns, that, on the 
 contrary, the Sydney Mint was becoming not merely a self-support- 
 ing, but a profitable institution, the project was again discussed 
 here (i.e., in Victoria) ; and looking to the great increase of political 
 power conferred on the gold-fields by a recent Act, altering the 
 electoral divisions, it is not surprising that at the general election 
 a demand for a similar establishment in Melbourne became quite 
 irresistible, as proved by the unanimous assent of both Houses of 
 Parliament to the address now sent." The address in question, 
 which was dated 14th December 1859, prayed not only that a 
 branch Mint might be established at Melbourne, but also "that 
 gold coins issued from such branch of the Royal Mint may be 
 rendered legal currency throughout the British Empire." This 
 latter proposal was rejected by the Home Government at the 
 end of I860,f but was, conditionally, agreed to by the Imperial 
 Parliament in 1863, though in connection only with the Sydney 
 coins, by the passing of the Imperial Act 26 & 27 Vict. c. 74 (see 
 page 442), the principle being, however, extended to all colonial 
 branch Mints in 1866 by the Act 29 & 30 Vict. c. 65 (p. 444.) 
 
 While the question of the status of colonial gold coins was 
 being settled, the proposal for a Mint in Victoria remained in 
 abeyance. It was not till 1869 that, the Colony having in 1868 
 made permanent provision of 20,000 /. a year for its Mint by the 
 Act 31 Vict., No. 307,$ tlie Order in Council of 7th August 1869 
 (see page 29) was passed, authorising the establishment of a 
 branch of the Royal Mint at Melbourne to strike, under 
 Treasury control, "gold and other coin in accordance with the 
 standard of weight and fineness of the currency of this realm, and 
 of the same design." Also on 7th August 1869 a Royal Pro- 
 clamation (see page 447) was issued, under the provisions of the 
 Imperial Act 29 & 30 Vict. c. 65, declaring the gold coins to be 
 struck at the Melbourne Mint "a legal tender for payments 
 within all parts of Our Dominions in which gold coins issued from 
 Our Mint in London are at the date of the issue of this Our 
 Proclamation a legal tender." This Proclamation was published 
 by the Governor in the " Victoria Government Gazette " of 5th 
 November 1869, and so brought into local operation in Victoria. 
 Although it does not appear that the Proclamation was similarly 
 brought into operation in any other Colony; yet, inasmuch as 
 the Imperial Act itself prescribes that coins specified in Royal 
 Proclamations thereunder shall, "upon such Proclamation being 
 issued," become a legal tender in all Colonies where the British 
 sovereign was then a legal tender, it seems clear that local publi- 
 
 Parliamentary Paper No. 421 of 1862, pp. 81-2. 
 t Parliamentary Paper No. 421 of 1802, pp. 84-G. 
 X The Act now in force is the Consolidated Mint Act, 1890, 
 
Ch. XXIV. Victoria. 265 
 
 cation of the Royal Proclamation was not essential in order to 
 give legal currency to the new coin in the Colonies affected. 
 
 In 1871, by the Royal Proclamation of 24th March of that year 
 (seepage 453;, which Avas promulgated in the Colony on 21st June 
 1871, currency was given in Victoria to the new gold coins 
 ordered to be struck at the Sydney Mint. 
 
 Tne Colony had now obtained the formal recognition of the 
 two objects which it had had in view in 1859 ; and thenceforward 
 no legislation has been passed affecting the metallic currency, 
 with the exception of Imperial provisions for new designs of gold 
 coins and for the withdrawal of pre-Victorian gold. 
 
 The new Mint, of which the site cost 8,500 /., and the buildings, 
 &c, 68,350 /., opened on 12th June 1872. The charges made 
 for coinage were low, being only 3 d. per oz. for deposits of over 
 5,000 oz., whereas the Sydney charge at the time was 6 d. per 
 ounce standard for deposits of over 1,000 oz.,"in addition to the 
 charge of 3 d. per oz. imposed by Her Majesty's Proclamation of 
 February 1866 on the coinage of gold." At the end of 1873 (see 
 list of charges at successive dates, at page 463) the Mint charge 
 was reduced to 3 d. per oz. standard for all deposits over 1,000 oz., 
 and this charge was halved in 1875. Under the regulations of 
 7th October 1878, which are still in force, the charges are as 
 follows : — 
 
 Over 1,000 oz. 1^ d. per oz. 
 
 Under „ „ 2 d. ; minimum charge. 4 s. 
 
 These charges are calculated on the gross weight of the deposit 
 before melting. And here it may be remarked that Victorian 
 gold in the crude state is worth as much as 4 /. per oz., so that 
 the Mint charge is lighter than it would be if the charge were 
 per oz. standai'd worth 3 /. 17 s. 10 5 d. 
 
 The weight of gold brought to the Melbourne Mint between 
 12th June 1872 and 31st December 1891 was 12,829,772-88 oz., 
 equivalent to a sterling value of 51,352,820/. lis. Id. This 
 represents an average receipt per annum of some 658,000 oz., or 
 2,633,500 /., of which (roughly) |ths was the produce of Victoria 
 itself, and jth came from New Zealand. 
 
 During the same period of 19 J years the Mint issued gold coin 
 and gold bullion in the following proportions : — 
 
 (i.) Coin: £. 
 
 Sovereigns - 45,635,541 
 
 Half-sovereigns - - 555,614 £. 
 
 45,913,348 
 
 (ii.) Bullion - 5,436,599 
 
 Gross Total - - - £.51,349,947 
 
 From this should be deducted the light gold coin 
 
 remelted at the Mint, viz. - 34,989* 
 
 Leaving a Net Total of - - - £.51,314,958 
 
 * The deficiency on pre-Victorian coins withdrawn was made good out of 
 Imperial funds. 
 
266 Colonial Currency. 
 
 The Mint charges for the same period were as follows : — 
 
 £. 
 
 Mint charges on gold 88,183 
 
 From sale oi silver and other sources - " - 99,823 
 
 Total Revenue - - - £. 188,006 
 
 As the total cost of the Mint since 12th June 1872 to 31st 
 December 1891 has been 299,173/., whilst the total revenue has 
 only amounted to 188,006 /., the net cost of maintaining the Mint 
 has been 111,167 /., or 5,7001. per annum on an average. For 
 1891 the net cost to the Colony was 3,612 /. 
 
 The Deputy Master of the Melbourne Mint has made an 
 endeavour* to estimate the gold coin in Victoria on the basis of 
 the coinage, adding the imports and deducting the exports of 
 gold coin, from 1873 to 1891 inclusive. The "balance apparently 
 retained in the Colony " (in respect ot those years) is stated by 
 Mr. Anderson at 7,638,641 I. (or 16'91 per cent, of the total 
 coinage during the same period). He adds '* the amount actually 
 retained is probably much less than this, for considerable quan- 
 tities are taken away by passengers for Europe which do not 
 appear in the Custom House Returns, and which probably are not 
 counterbalanced by sums brought in by incoming passengers, the 
 former being only at the beginning and the latter at the end ot 
 their journey. Thus in Victoria the amount of all coined metals 
 held by banks on the 31st December 1891 was only 4,086,739/. 
 more than they held on the 31st December 1872, or only 53*5 per 
 cent, of the amount apparently retained in the Colonv since that 
 date ; and in a Colony where the practice of keeping bank accounts 
 is almost universal, and the circulation o + 'l /. bank notes very large 
 (the circulation of bank notes being nearly 1 /. 10 s. per head of 
 every man, woman, and child in the Colony), it is not probable that 
 the amount of gold coin in private hands is very large." 
 
 If the above figures are accepted, with the reserve suggested 
 by Mr. Anderson's weighty criticisms, the sum of 7,638,641 /. (in 
 gold alone) is equivalent to 6 /. 14 s. per head of the total popu- 
 lation, and if the increased Bank holding of 4,086,739 /. be 
 deducted therefrom, the remainder, or 3,551,902/., works out at 
 3 /. 2 s. 3 d. per head of "active" metallic currency in private 
 hands. It may well be doubted, however, on analogy with New 
 Soutli Wales, Tasmania, and South Australia, whether the 
 amount of coin in general circulation amounts to one-third of 
 this sum. 
 
 In 1873f the banks petitioned for the coinage of silver at the 
 Melbourne branch of the Royal Mint, and the Colonial Govern- 
 ment brought the matter before the Imperial Government. 
 AVhilst not unwilling to concede the privilege requested, the 
 Imperial Government pointed out the dangers attending the issue 
 
 * Twenty-second Annual Report of* the Deputy Master of ihe Mint. 1891 
 (C. 6074), page 134. 
 
 f (Victorian) Parliamentary Paper, No. 208 of 1890. . 
 
Ch. XXIV. Victoria. 267 
 
 of token coins, and the practical difficulties connected with with- 
 drawal and inter-colonial relations. For the time the matter 
 dropped. In 1891 it was re-opened by the Premier, Mr. .lames 
 Munro, who observed * that " the very large production of silver 
 in these Colonies altogether changes (one) aspect of the matter, 
 and renders it desirable now to reconsider the whole question, 
 and the particular difficulties before pointed out by the Lords of 
 the Treasury. A primary motive for re-opening this question is 
 the fact that the present coinage of gold at the Melbourne Mint 
 — the produce of which goes into the general circulation of the 
 Empire — is carried on at a loss, while the coinage of silver 
 supplied for circulation here yields a profit to the Imperial 
 authorities." After showing that the annual profit on silver to the 
 Imperial Government was about 11,000/. a year, and the annual 
 loss to the Colony on gold about 5,000/., Mr. Munro, whilst 
 deprecating the coinage of a mere Colonial token, formulated 
 proposals for dealing with the difficulties of over-issue, withdrawal, 
 &c. The matter was brought before the Imperial Government, 
 but no final decision has been arrived at. 
 
 Bank Notes. 
 
 The question of safeguarding the local issues had been con- 
 sidered in 1887 by the Royal Commission on the banking laws of 
 the Colony. f Rejecting a proposal that all issues in the Colony 
 should be fully covered by investment in Colonial Stocks, J on 
 the ground that such investment " would involve the withdrawal 
 of 1^ millions of money from the working capital of the country 
 without corresponding advantage," the Royal Commission con- 
 cluded that " the essential thing to be done is to give the 
 community an assurance of absolute safety for the paper currency. 
 This will be adequately accomplished, as all witnesses attest, by 
 making the notes a first charge on the assets." The Commission 
 also recommended that all issuing banks should have a paid-up 
 capital of 125,000 /, and that it should be made a misdemeanour 
 on the part of any bank to deposit its notes as security for 
 advances. § 
 
 The recommendations of the Royal Commission w T ere embodied 
 in the Banks and Currency Amendments Statute 1887, | which 
 (i) made bank notes issued in Victoria a first charge on the assets 
 in Victoria in case of the 'winding-up or insolvency of the issuing 
 bank ; (ii) requires the issue to be bond fide, and makes the 
 pledging of notes as security for an advance a misdemeanour ; and 
 (iii) prohibits all issues, unless (a) by a company or firm having a 
 subscribed capital of 250,000 /., and a paid-up capital of not less 
 than 125,000/. ; or (b) by an individual banker having a capital 
 of not less than 125,000/. These provisions were re-enacted in 
 the consolidating and amending Banks and Currency Act, 1890 
 
 * (Victorian) Paliamentary P?per, No. 81 of 1891. 
 f (Victorian) Parliamentary Paper, No. 65 of 1887. 
 
 \ This plan of a purely fiduciary issue, which originated in the United 
 States, has since been adopted by the Cape ( q-v.). 
 § Cf. Canada. 
 \ The original Banking Act (27 Vict., No. 194) was passed in 18G4. 
 
268 
 
 Colonial Currency. 
 
 (54 Vict., No. 1164), as was the 2 per cent, tax on the average 
 circulation originall}' imposed in 1876. 
 
 The note circulation of Victoria on 31st December 1891 was 
 1,414,216 /. (or about 25 s. per head of the population), and the 
 banks on the date held coin and bullion to the total amount of 
 7,124,497/., or nearly 61. 6 s. per head of the population, — as 
 shown in the following Table : — 
 
 BANK. 
 
 Australasia ... ... 
 
 Union, of Australasia - - - - - 
 
 New South Wales --..-. 
 Victoria ....... 
 
 Loudon Chartered, of Australia - 
 English, Scottish, and Australian Chartered 
 Colonial, of Australasia .... 
 
 National, of Australasia .... 
 
 Commercial, of Australia, Limited 
 City of Melbourne, Limited - 
 
 Federal, of Australia 
 
 Mercantile, of Australia, Limited 
 
 Royal, of Australia, Limited ... 
 
 New Oriental, Limited .... 
 
 South Australia, Limited .... 
 
 New Zealand ...... 
 
 Metropolitan, Limited • 
 
 Total - 
 
 Notes. 
 
 £. 
 
 181,753 
 
 93,835 
 
 101,974 
 
 173,154 
 
 192,225 
 
 47,012 
 
 138,483 
 
 172,310 
 
 196,213 
 
 67,631 
 
 23,713 
 
 12.420 
 
 6,484 
 
 1,113 
 
 5,896 
 
 1,414,216 
 
 Coin. 
 
 £. 
 
 1,030,683 
 
 727,104 
 
 838,228 
 
 673,884 
 
 465,523 
 
 358,887 
 
 330,871 
 
 597,102 
 
 921.980 
 
 395,823 
 
 145,369 
 
 96,298 
 
 41,632 
 
 17,471 
 
 83,576 
 
 70,697 
 
 6,861 
 
 6,801,989 
 
 Bullion. 
 
 £,. 
 31,445 
 113,838 
 13,485 
 33,847 
 11,318 
 
 22,527 
 ,30,384 
 31,985 
 31,741 
 
 1,938 
 
 322,508 
 
Ch. XXV. Tasmania. 269 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 Tasmania. 
 
 (1803.) 
 
 The early currency of Van Diemen's Land, as this Colony was 
 originally called, was identical with that of New South AVales.* 
 The standard coin was the Spanish dollar, rated at 5 s. currency ; 
 but the bulk of the circulatory medium was composed of the 
 promissory notes of private individuals. In his evidence before 
 the Committee of the Legislative Council of 1835 Mr. Gellibrand 
 stated that in 1824, "and for some years afterwards, the general 
 circulation consisted of dollar notes of private individuals, and of 
 notes so low down as 6 d. . . . The Spanish dollar passed at 
 5 s. in mercantile transactions; the public servants were paid it 
 as 4 s. ; the soldiers at 4 s. 2 d. ; the Sheriff would only take it at 
 4 «." 
 
 Such were the unsatisfactory conditions of currency which 
 led the Council in 1826 to pass the Act No. 3 of 7 Geo. 4, which 
 prohibited the issue of notes of a less denomination than 20 s. 
 The title of the Act declares that it was intended " to promote 
 the circulation of sterling money of Great Britain"; but this 
 object (which was evidently suggested by the Imperial 
 Order in Council and Proclamation of 1825, see page 23) 
 was defeated by the provision in the Act itself that Spanish 
 dollars, which " by common usage have hitherto passed current 
 within the Island as money, and have been generally paid 
 and recerved at 5 s. each," should pass as the equivalent in 
 sterling of 4 s. 4 d. each, a mistaken rating borrowed from the 
 Imperial legislation. 
 
 From the evidence taken by the Committee of Council in 
 1835 it appears that the effect of the Act was to drive out the 
 more worthless paper, and " for the last eight years we have had 
 a metallic currency both of British silver and dollars, but 
 principally of the latter," the supremacy of the Spanish dollar 
 being ensured by its being rated at 4 s. 4 d. sterling, whereas its 
 intrinsic value was only about 4 s. 2 d. The Committee reported 
 that the amount of British specie in circulation was wholly 
 inadequate, " by far the greater part of it being locked up either 
 in the military chest or in the three Banks at Hobart Town." 
 They pointed out that, in order to buy bills on the Treasury in 
 London at three per cent, premium {.sec page 25), British silver 
 was eagerly sought for at a premium of one to two per cent., and 
 
 * Hence the ; ' holey dollar" and "dump" of the senior colony were familiar in 
 Tasmania in the early years of this century. 
 
2? Colonial Currency. 
 
 that it was a question whether even dollars were not being 
 exported. The Committee recommended the legalisation of the sicca 
 rupee (at 2 s.), but not of the Bombay or Areot rupee, or of the 
 U.S. silver dollar. Not only had they no information concerning 
 the latter coin, but " ic does not appear to them that there is any 
 reasonable prospect of such a commercial intercourse being 
 established between this Colony and the North American States 
 as to render it expedient (for the present at least) to legalize the 
 circulation of their dollars in Yan Diemen's Land." The out- 
 come of the Committee's recommendations was that on 2nd 
 September 1835 a local Act was passed making the sicca rupee 
 legal tender at 2 s. This Act was disallowed by the Home 
 Government, and the Colony was left to a circulatory medium 
 mainly composed of dollars. The only change introduced at this 
 date was the legalisation of the South American dollar, which 
 had arisen in the place of the old Spanish dollar after the revolt of 
 the Spanish Colonies in America. The Governor's Proclamation 
 of 1st November 1834 had ordered that the dollar of the South 
 American States should be received and pass in the Public 
 Departments at 4 5. 4 d. on a par with the old Pdlar dollar of 
 Spain ; but, as the banks refused to regard the new coin as a legal 
 tender, an Act was passed on 28th November 1838 to legalize 
 "the dollars of the South American States and of Mexico." The 
 Home Government pressed for the amendment of this Act on the 
 grounds that it neither specified the South American States, nor 
 declared the proper weight and fineness of the coins. The final 
 result was that in 1842, following the example set in practice by 
 the trading community of New South \Y r ales some thirteen years 
 before, the Colony passed the Act 6 V^ict. c. 7, " to repeal the 
 laws now in force in this Island by which Spanish dollars, and the 
 proportional parts thereof, and South American and Mexican 
 dollars are made a legal tender therein." The only coin now 
 legally current in the Colony was sterling. 
 
 Up till 1853 there was no limit of legal tender for British 
 silver. A 40 s. limit was, however, imposed, in consequence of 
 the gold discoveries of 1851,* by the Order in Council and Royal 
 Proclamation of 16th October 1852 (see page 435), which was 
 published and brought into operation in the Colony on 1 9th 
 September 1853 (see Hobart Town Gazette of 20th September). 
 By Orders in Council and Royal .froclamations of 18th October 
 1854, and of 14th January 1871* {see page 453), the gold 
 coins of the Sydney Mint were declared a legal tender in 
 
 - According tu tin; 22nd Annual Report of the Deputy Master of the Mint, the 
 total value of the gold received from Tasmania for coinage at the two Australian 
 .Minis up to rhe end of 1S01 was as follows : — 
 
 £. 
 
 Received at Sydney - - 44.817 
 
 „ „ Melbourne 2,024,423 
 
 &. 2,069,240 
 
 j- This proclamation was published for general information in Tasmania 
 on 28th July 11571. 
 
Ch. XXV. Tasmania. 271 
 
 this as in other Colonies in Australasia. The coins of the Mel- 
 bourne Mint were declared a legal tender by Royal Proclama- 
 tion of 7th August 1869 (seepage 29), under the provisions of 
 the Imperial Act 29 & 30 Vict. c. lxv. (the Colonial Branch Mint 
 Act, 1866). From that day forward the only local legislation 
 affecting the metallic currency of Tasmania has had reference to 
 copper and bronze coins of the United Kingdom. By the Act 
 39 Vict. c. 15, the old British copper coins were demonetised, and 
 British bronze coins were declared a legal tender, the latter 
 provision being carried out by Proclamation of 11th October 1875 
 (see " Gazette" of 12th October). The metallic currency consists 
 exclusively of Australian and British gold, and of British silver 
 and bronze. 
 
 It is difficult to estimate with any degree of exactness the 
 amount of coin in general circulation, outside the banks. But 
 the insular position of Tasmania lends greater value to its import 
 and export statistics than to those of other Colonies in Aus- 
 tralasia. From 1871 to 1890 (inclusive) the statistics relating 
 to gold coin show a net surplus of imports amounting to 
 800,623 /., or at the rate of 40,000/. a year. This total which, 
 by itself, exceeds the banks' holdings (see infra) by 87,000/. (or 
 over 10s. per head of the total population), is exclusive of (i.) 
 gold in the Colony prior to 1870, and (ii.) of all silver and bronze 
 coins. According to the 20th Mint Report, the net imports of 
 silver and bronze coin into Tasmania since the beo-inning of 1872 
 amount to 28,277 /., or nearly 4 s. per head ; and it is difficult to 
 conceive that the amount of gold and other coin in the Colony 
 prior to 1871 did not amount to 30,000 /. On this hypothesis the 
 " active " circulation of coin is probably about 1 /. a head, of 
 which two-thirds may be conjectured to be in gold coin. It 
 should be added that this calculation (which, with the note-circu- 
 lation, gives an active currency of 2 /. per head) accords with the 
 estimate formed by Sir Henry Ayers with respect to South 
 Australia, and may perhaps be taken as fairly representative of 
 Australian Colonies generally (see New South Wales). 
 
 Bank Notes. 
 
 Section ccxiii. of the Consolidating and Amending Act 33 Vict., 
 No. 22 (Tasmanian Statutes, L, 251;, provides that "No Banking 
 Company claiming to issue notes in this Colony shall be entitled 
 to limited liability in respect of such issue, but shall continue 
 subject to unlimited liability in respect thereof, and if necessary 
 the assets shall be marshalled for the benefit of the general 
 creditors, and the members shall be liable for the whole amount 
 of the issue, in addition to the sum for which they w T ould be liable 
 as members of a limited company.' * 
 
 By the Act 46 Vic, No. 34, bank notes are not to be issued 
 without a licence, and bankers may issue and re-issue unstamped 
 notes on rendering accounts and paying a composition. 
 
 c Cf. the chapter on New South Wales for a similar provision. 
 
272 
 
 Colonial Currency/. 
 
 At the end of 1891, according to the certified returns pub- 
 lished in the Hobnrt Gazette, there were four banks of issue in 
 Tasmania circulating notes to the total amount of 149,075 /., 
 with a joint holding of specie and bullion at the same date of 
 713,010/., as follows : — 
 
 Bank. 
 
 Notes. 
 
 Coin and Bullion. 
 
 
 
 £. 
 
 
 £. 
 
 Bank of Australasia 
 
 - 
 
 25,453 
 
 
 194,849 
 
 Commercial Bank - 
 
 - 
 
 66,636 
 
 
 205,919 
 
 Bank of Tasmania - 
 
 - 
 
 39,624 
 
 
 60 5 351 
 
 Union Bank of Australia 
 
 - £. 
 
 17,362 
 
 
 251,891 
 
 Total - - 
 
 149,075 
 
 713,010 
 
 As the enumerated population of Tasmania on 31st March 
 1891 was 146,667, this issue is equivalent to a circulation of 
 1 /. s. 4 d. per head. This average is the lowest of all the 
 Australasian Colonies. 
 
Ch. XXVI. South Australia. 273 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 South Australia. 
 
 (1834.) 
 
 The most remarkable feature of the currency of South 
 Australia has been the invasion of the coining Prerogative by 
 the Colony in striking the so-called " Adelaide Sovereign." In 
 order to find a precedent, it is necessary to go back to the middle 
 of the 17 th century, when the " Plantations" of Maryland and 
 Massachusetts temporarily set up mints of their own, as men- 
 tioned in Chapter I. 
 
 The story of this coin may best be told in the words of the 
 Report of the Adelaide Chamber of Commerce for 1852 : — " For 
 more tha'i two years past there had been considerable over-trad- 
 ing, which was beginning to entail its usual consequences, such 
 as a glutted market, an undue amount of paper afloat, a system 
 of renewing bills, and of mutual accommodation, discounting on 
 change at usurious rates of interest, and all those shifts which are 
 
 generally premonitory of a coming crash But the crisis 
 
 which now threatened the Colony was incalculably aggravated 
 
 by the loss of our population There was a general arrest 
 
 of all business To add to the panic, the banks were sub- 
 jected to a steady and alarming drain of specie.* Every emigrant 
 carried away his savings in gold. The banks, being compelled 
 to redeem their notes in specie, were under the imperative neces- 
 sity of restricting their issues, and consequently their discounts, 
 if they would keep faith with their creditors. . . . At this 
 juncture, as if to mark with greater emphasis the signs of the 
 times, a vessel arrived at Port Adelaide from Melbourne with a 
 number of our colonists on board, who, after a few weeks' 
 successful digging at the gold-fields of Victoria, had brought 
 back with them to this colonv gold-dust to the value of 50,000 /. 
 
 *■' ii 
 
 This they were desirous of converting into money, but such was 
 the straitened condition of the money market, that purchasers 
 could not be found for it. A portion of it was eventually sold at 
 55 s. to 56 s. per oz., the price at Melbourne being 60 5. at the 
 time, and the remainder was carried back to Victoria. It was at 
 this time, when ruin was staring everyone in the face, and when 
 
 9 The total amount of coin in the colony on 31st December 1851 was esti- 
 mated at 128,114/., of which 114,114/. was in the banks, and only 14,000/. in 
 circulation. 
 
274 Colonial Currency. 
 
 there had already been unmistakable symptoms of an approach- 
 ing run on one of the banks," that the Chamber of Commerce 
 suggested the scheme of a Government Assay Office for the pur- 
 pose of assaying and stamping gold ingots to serve as a metallic 
 basis for the issue of notes by the banks.* This scheme, which 
 was unanimously adopted at a Special General Meeting of the 
 Chamber on 19th January 1852, was submitted by memorial and 
 deputation to the Governor, who forthwith convened the Legis- 
 ative Council. Meeting on the 28th January, the Council at 
 once passed " The Bullion Act" (No. 1, of 1852). By this Act 
 it was provided: — (i.) that an Assay Office should be established 
 by the Colonial Government to melt, assay, and stamp gold, at a 
 charge of 1 per cent.; (ii. ) that owners of such stamped gold 
 might demand notes from the banks against their gold at the rate 
 of 71 s. per oz. standard, the gold in such case to be handed over 
 by the Assay Office to the banks direct ; (iii.) that bank notes 
 were to be a legal tender, except by the banks ; and (iv.) that the 
 Act was to expire after 12 months. 
 
 " The effect of this measure," observed the Chamber of Com- 
 merce, " was little short of miraculous. Credit and confidence 
 were almost instantaneouslv restored ; the extreme tightness of 
 the money market was relieved. No one could have foreseen 
 that, in less than six months, we would not only be rescued from 
 impending ruin, but that our condition would be infinitely more 
 sound, healthful, and prosperous than ever it had been before ; 
 and yet such is indisputably the case." Comparison of the Bank 
 Returns immediately before and six months after the passing of the 
 Bullion Act, showed that "in the brief space of six months the paper 
 under discount had fallen from 606,826 /. to 387,048 /., or nearly 
 one-half; the deposits had increased from 211,007/. to 451,911/.; 
 and the (note) circulation from 84,605 /. to 233,025 /. ;" while the 
 stock of gold had risen from 97,600 /. in coin at the beginning of 
 the period, to 524,761 /. in coin and bullion at its close. 
 
 The Government notice of 4th February 1852 (see " South 
 Australian Government Gazette," of 5th February) provides 
 exclusively for " receiving gold dust for assay," and stamping 
 the " weight, purity, and value thereof upon the ingots of gold, as 
 required by the Act." So far, it will be observed, the Colony had 
 not proceeded to strike coins of its own. 
 
 The neighbouring Colonies (according to the Chamber of Com- 
 merce) viewed the South Australian Act with disfavour, repre- 
 senting that its primary object was to attract gold by offering so 
 high a price, and contending that the circulation of the stamped 
 ingots were a depreciation of the currency. But this latter argu- 
 ment assumed as the standard the Victoria price of 3 /. per oz. 
 (for gold-dust worth 4 /. per oz. in England), and was refuted by 
 the fact that in the middle of 1852 95 /. m South Australian 
 currency would buy a bank bill on London for 100 /. The 
 
 The main credit for the scheme is attributed to Mr. George Tinline, 
 then acting-manager of the Bank of South Australia. 
 
Ch. XXVI. South Australia. 275 
 
 truth was that the (relatively) liberal price and facilities offered 
 bv South Australia cut down the extravagant profits originally 
 extracted from gold-diggers by banks and specixlators, and so 
 served to attract about a million sterling in six months, in addi- 
 tion to ensuring the return of most of the emigrants from the 
 Colony. 
 
 Just before the Bullion Act expired, at the time when the 
 banks were preparing to meet the reviving obligation to cash their 
 notes in coin only, the rising market price of gold-dust enabled the 
 banks actually to raise their buying price for the crude gold, and 
 to offer 745., instead of 71*., per ounce. Consequently, though 
 the subsequent Act No. 14 of 1852 had provided for the con- 
 tinued assay of gold, and for the stamping of one pound tokens,* 
 in lieu of ingots, at the old price of 7L«. per oz., the Assay Office 
 stood idle at the opening of the year 1853. Finally, by the 
 Governor's Proclamation of 3rd February 1853,f it was closed 
 as from the 17th February. From its opening on 10th February 
 1852 to its closing a twelvemonth later, the Assay Office had 
 received in all the value of 1,529,410/. at 71s. per oz. standard. 
 Thus it was only the rising price of gold dust which put a stop 
 finally to the invasion of the coining Prerogative of the Crown 
 by the resourceful energy of South Australia. For, by the 
 operation of the laws of supply and demand, the Assay Office 
 had closed its doors before the Imperial Government had had 
 time to disallow the continuing Act, No. 14 of 1852, an Act 
 which could not be defended on those grounds of urgency and 
 exceptional circumstances, which had justified (as a temporary 
 measure) the passing of the earlier Act of the same year. Had- 
 the Assay Office continued to turn out " Tokens " weighing 
 5 dwts. 15 grs. standard, the pound currency of South Australia 
 would have been worth nearly 12 per cent, more than the 
 British sovereign, a relation which largely explains the selling 
 of bills on London at 5 per cent, discount in Adelaide in 1852, 
 at a time when a buyer of a similar bill in Melbourne had to 
 pay 110/. 
 
 With the exception of the above coining operations, the cur- 
 rency of South Australia has little or no history. It does not 
 
 * The Government Notice of 9th December 1852 (see " Gazette" of 16th 
 December 1852) provided that " upon the One Pound Gold Tokens about to 
 be issued there sliall be stamped the device next hereinafter set forth, that is 
 to say — On one side the Imperial Crown with the date ' 1852 ' below it, 
 surrounded by an ornamental border, outside of which are inscribed the words 
 'Government Assay Office, Adelaide' ; on the other side the words ' Value 
 One Pound,' surrounded by an ornamental border,, witli the inscription 
 ' weight, 5 dwt. 15 grs., 22 carats.' " The Act provided also for 2 I. and 5 I. 
 "tokens." Dies were actually struck for the 5 I. token, but not for that for 
 2 I. See pp 239 and 240 of Report of Royal Commission on the establishment 
 of a State Bank and Royal Mint (Adelaide, 1889), which gives figures of the 
 several dies, and, amongst other details, states the number of the 1 /. tokens 
 issued at 24,648, and shews a total net profit of 3,042/. for 1852-3 on the 
 Assay Office. Assays by the Royal Mint made the token worth 1 /. 1 5. 11 d. 
 
 f See " Gazette " of 10th February 1853. 
 
276 Colonial Currency. 
 
 appear that a local proclamation was issued, bringing into local 
 operation the Imperial Order in Council and Proclamation of 
 16th October 1852 (see page 435), establishing sterling and 
 limiting the legal tender of silver to 40s. in any one payment. 
 Nor have local proclamations been traced, giving currency in the 
 colony to Sydney gold coins in 1854 (see page 442). 
 
 On 7th June 1871, however, the Royal Proclamation of 14th 
 January of that year was promulgated in the Colony, and so 
 Sydney gold coins of the new design were made legally current. 
 As ffold coins struck at the London Mint were not a legal tender 
 in ISouth Australia in 1869, the Royal Proclamation of 7th 
 August of that year (see page 447) did not give legal currency 
 here to Melbourne gold. But the sole metallic money in cir- 
 culation is sterling. 
 
 In 1888 a Royal Commission was appointed (which reported in 
 1889) to consider, inter alia, the question of establishing a local 
 Mint; but the evidence taken led the Commission to report 
 against it, as entailing unnecessary expense. 
 
 A.s regards the amount of coin in general circulation, Sir 
 Henry Ayers, Chairman of the Trustees of the Savings Bank of 
 South Australia, stated in evidence before the Royal Commission 
 of 1888 that "the circulation of money among the people 
 amounts, in coin and notes, to (say) 2 /. per head of the popu- 
 lation." On this basis, seeing that the average note-circulation 
 is 1 /. 8 s. 8 d. per head (as shown, infra), the amount of" active" 
 coin (silver as well as gold) would stand at only lis. 4rf. 
 per head of the total population (320,000), or some 181,000 /. in 
 all. These figures are irrespective of the specie held by the 
 Banks, amounting to 1,528,020/. on 31st December 1891, 
 according to the official banking statistics. 
 
 Bank Notes. 
 
 The public legislation of South Australia, with regard to 
 banks, is limited practically to the Banking Companies Act, 
 1863 (26 & 27 Vict. No. 25), which provides that "Every 
 company, fimi, or individual publicly engaged in the ordinary 
 business of banking by receiving deposits and issuing bills or 
 notes, payable to the bearer, at sight or on demand," shall (i.) 
 prepare a weekly statement of assets and liabilities, and (ii. ) 
 prepare therefrom, and publish a half-yearly statement, one item 
 in which is " Notes in Circulation." By the amending Act, No. 
 5, of 1875, the statement was required to be made quarterly. 
 Under Royal Charter, or private Act, all issuing banks may 
 circulate notes of a denomination not less than 1 /., as is the case 
 in all other Colonies of Australasia. 
 
 On 31 December 1891 the total amount of notes in average 
 circulation in South Australia stood at 459,082 /.,* equivalent to 
 
 c For 1851 it was 70,580/. 
 
Ch. XXVI. South Australia, 
 
 277 
 
 1 /. 8 *. 8d. per head of the total population, the following being 
 the constituent details of the total issue (which is taxed 2°/ ) : 
 
 Banks. 
 
 Bank of South Australia - 
 Bank of Australasia - 
 Union Bank of Australia - 
 National Bank of Australasia - 
 
 English, Scottish, and Australian Chartered 
 Bank _______ 
 
 Bank of Adelaide ------ 
 
 Bank of New South W.iles - - - - 
 
 Commercial Bank of Australia - - _ 
 Bank of New Zealand - 
 Fedral Bank of Australia - 
 
 Notes 
 
 in 
 
 Circulation. 
 
 £. 
 
 107,631 
 
 33,618 
 
 17,228 
 129,246 
 
 41,441 
 52,155 
 39,381 
 21,402 
 
 3,388 
 13,587 
 
 s. 
 
 7 
 
 4 
 
 3 
 
 19 
 
 16 
 18 
 16 
 
 4 
 
 d. 
 
 8 
 
 7 
 
 11 
 
 3 
 
 8 
 
 1 
 
 6 
 
 11 
 
 7 
 
 Total Averages - 
 
 - 459,081 19 2 
 
 The Royal Commission of 1888 was appointed to enquire into 
 the policy of establishing not only a local Mint, but also a 
 Government Bank for the province of South Australia. The 
 Commission reported on this point, as follows : — " The question 
 of establishing a Government Bank has so wide a scope, and in- 
 volves such exceedingly grave issues ; upon which very few 
 financial experts or students of political economy are as yet 
 agreed; that we are unable to recommend the adoption of the 
 proposition ' That a Government Bank should at once be 
 established.' We have no example or experience such as might 
 be supposed to be afforded by the existence of a State Bank in 
 in full development under conditions precisely similar to those 
 that pertain to this province." The Commission proceed, how- 
 ever, to " call attention to the fact that the aggregate note circu- 
 lation, the issues of ordinary banks, freely circulates in the 
 community. The effect of this currency is that the public lend 
 at what is equivalent to a very low rate of interest, to these 
 banking institutions, in return for the conveniences they afford, 
 a sum of money nearly equivalent to the amount of the note 
 issue. It may be easily understood that the amount of the note 
 issue thus loaned must be of considerable advantage in supple- 
 menting available capital and facilitating financial operations. 
 Itis asserted in evidence that political economists who treat of the 
 subject of a paper currency, agree that all profits on the note issue 
 in any country belong as a matter of right, to the State, and not 
 to private individuals, who may, for the most part, be absentees." 
 And though the Royal Commission did not see its way to report- 
 
 72642. 
 
 T 
 
278 Colonial Currency. 
 
 ing in favour of a Government Bank, yet it advocated a limited 
 State Issue in the following words: " The Government could 
 with advantage to the general administration of public affairs, and 
 with relief to the taxpayer, issue a paper currency, by the con- 
 version of the imprest order system into a systematic issue of 
 Treasury notes, such notes being of fixed values, from 5 s. up to 
 10/.; and the same being made convertible, and a legal tender for 
 the payment of salaries and such Government obligations as may 
 arise within the limits of the province. These notes should 
 be received in payment of taxes and debts due to the State. It 
 might be arranged that for every 1,000/. worth of Treasury 
 notes issued there should be a deposit or reserve of Government 
 bonds to a corresponding amount, provided always that Parliament 
 shall determine the issue of such Treasury notes within a safe 
 and reasonable limit. ... It may be that various objections 
 will be raised to the issue of a State paper currency, even chough 
 in the modest form of Treasury notes, as there will necessarily be 
 a conflict of interests, and special privileges are usually held with 
 a tight grasp. But we take the liberty to advance the assertion 
 that the interests of the State are in all cases paramount, and 
 that whatever increment of advantage there may result from a 
 system supported and permitted by the people should be secured 
 for their benefit." Nothing appeal's to have come of the proposed 
 system of Treasury notes. 
 
Ch. XXVII. Queensland. 279 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 Queensland. 
 
 (1859.) 
 
 This Colony was not separated from New South Wales until 
 1859, i.e., subsequently to the passing of the New South Wales 
 Currency Act of 1855, which (i.) declared British or Sydney 
 gold the only (unlimited) legal tender in the Colony ; and 
 (ii.) imposed a limit of 40 s. on the tender of silver (see page 254). 
 Consequently, even from a date prior to its separation, the system 
 of currency legally in force in Queensland was that of Great 
 Britain, with Sydney sovereigns and half-sovereigns admitted to 
 concurrent tender. 
 
 In 1869 provision was made (prospectively) for the currency 
 of Melbourne gold coins in sterling-using Colonies, by the 
 Royal Proclamation of 7th August 1869 (see page 447), issued 
 under the provisions of the Imperial Colonial Branch Mint Act 
 of 1866 (see page 444). As British gold was a legal tender in 
 Queensland in 1869, Melbourne gold was admitted to tender in 
 this Colony by the Royal Proclamation (see page 29). 
 
 In 1871 the Royal Proclamation of* 14th January (see page 453) 
 made provision for the currency of Sydney gold coins of the 
 new design "from and after the promulgation of this Our 
 Proclamation by the Governor." The Royal Proclamation was 
 published in the Local Gazette of 17 June 1871. 
 
 Bank Notes. 
 
 The New South Wales Act respecting banking in force a 
 the date when Queensland was made a separate Colony, was the 
 Act of 1841 (4 Vict., No. 13), which required all banks to publish 
 quarterly Statements of assets and liabilities, showing (inter 
 alia) the notes in circulation, and the coin, &c, in hand. This 
 Act still remains in force in Queensland, as in New South Wales, 
 and applies to all banks, whether under Royal Charter or 
 Colonial Act. 
 
 The chartered banks doing business in the Colony are governed 
 by the terms of their charters, which were modelled on the lines 
 laid down by the Colonial Banking Regulations (see page ). 
 
 For the regulation of joint-stock, banks, Queensland passed the 
 Companies' Act of 1863 (27 Vict. No. 4), which provided, on 
 the lines laid down in the United Kingdom, that — 
 
 " No banking company claiming to issue notes shall be entitled 
 to limited liability in respect of such issue, but shall continue, 
 subject to unlimited liability in respect thereof, and, if necessary, 
 the assets shall be marshalled for the benefit of the general 
 
 T 2 
 
280 
 
 Colonial Currency. 
 
 creditois, and the members shall be liable for the whole amount 
 of the issue in addition to the sum for which they would be 
 liable as members of a limited company." Half-yearly State- 
 ments must be published, under the provisions of Section 43 of 
 the same Act of 1863. 
 
 Prior to 1866 schemes for the issue of " inconvertible Legal 
 Tender Notes " found considerable favour in the Colony, but, 
 fortunately, were not carried out in practice. Tn 1866 a modi- 
 fied scheme for a State Issue was laid down by the Act 30 Vict., 
 No. 1 1. The latter Act gave the Colonial Government power to 
 issue Notes (which were not to be a legal tender) for sums in 
 pounds sterling, payable in specie on demand at the Treasury ; 
 the issue was limited to the amount of coin and Treasury Bills 
 (of four years' currency, issued under Act No. 10 of the same 
 year) for the time being in the hands of the Colonial Treasurer , 
 and coin was to form at least one-third of the total amount of 
 coin plus Treasury Bills so held as a reserve against the Notes. 
 The immediate object of this enactment was " to render the 
 contemplated produce of the Treasury Bills more immediately 
 and conveniently available;"' it was also described at the time 
 as " the thin end Of the wedge," and the first step towards 
 establishing a Government Bank of Issue. It would not appear 
 that the success of this temporary measure was sufficient to 
 encourage its permanent adoption, as the Treasury Bills Act of 
 1869 dropped the special provisions of the earlier Act. 
 
 Bank notes are exempt from duty under Section 9 of the Act 
 30 Vict., No. 14, provided an annual composition is paid at 
 the rate of 3 per cent, on the average circulation. This rate 
 is the highest exacted by any of the Australasian Colonies. 
 
 The " Government Gazette" of 20th February 1892 gives the 
 following particulars, for the quarter ended 31st December 1891, 
 of the notes issued, and the specie held, by the 11 banks of the 
 Colony : — 
 
 Bank. 
 
 Notes. 
 
 Coin. 
 
 Bullion 
 
 and Stamp 
 
 Account. 
 
 Bank of Australasia 
 
 Union Bank of Australia (Limited) 
 Australian Joint Stuck Bank .... 
 Commercial Banking Company of Sydney 
 Bank of New South Wales .... 
 Queensland National Bank (Limited) 
 London Chartered Bank of Australia 
 Commercial Bank of Australia (Limited) 
 Royal Bank of Queensland (Limited) 
 Bank of North Queensland (Limited) 
 English, Scottish, and Australian Chartered 
 'lank. 
 
 £. 
 
 34,395 
 38,952 
 71.505 
 40.715 
 7H.255 
 298,198 
 11,510 
 
 2.909 
 32,368 
 23,486 
 
 3,553 
 
 £. 
 
 103,087 
 
 132,024 
 
 218,607 
 
 149,208 
 
 334,501 
 
 642.153 
 
 39,801 
 
 50,233 
 
 79,662 
 
 21,257 
 
 14,989 
 
 £. 
 
 18.321 
 
 28,026 
 
 22,780 
 
 19,950 
 
 216.339 
 
 4,350 
 
 22,321 
 14,306 
 
 Total - - - £. 
 
 636,846 
 
 1,785,522 
 
 346.393 
 
 Taking the population in round figures at 400,000, the above 
 note-circulation is equivalent to nearly 1 I \2s. per head. 
 
Ch. XXVII. Queensland. 281 
 
 There are no precise data on which to calculate the coin in 
 " active " circulation in the Colony. Analogy with New South 
 Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania, suggests that, taking 
 notes and coin together, the amount of currency in general 
 circulation (i.e., excluding the banks' holdings) should be about 
 2 I per head of the total population. It is shown above that 
 the amount of notes in circulation per head is 11. \2s., which 
 woidd leave, on the above basis, only 8 s. per head in coin. If, 
 on the other hand, the proportion of coin to notes be taken on the 
 New South Wales ratio of 1 to 2, the amount of coin per head in 
 Queensland would work out at 16 *., making a total currency, 
 in coin and paper, of 2 /. 8 s. for every man, woman, and child 
 in the Colony. 
 
 British New Guinea. 
 
 This Territory was constituted " a separate possession and 
 Government," by Letters Patent of 8th June 1888 (see Parlia- 
 mentary Paper c. — 5564. On 15th November 1889, the local 
 Ordinance No. 6 of 1889 was passed adopting (i.) certain specified 
 Acts and Statutes of the Colony of Queensland, and (ii.) all 
 Imperial Statutes and Laws in force in Queensland on 17th 
 September 1888. But, as no reference was made to Royal 
 Proclamations in force in Queensland, and as there were in 
 Queensland no Statutes concerning coins to adopt, this Adopting 
 Ordinance did not establish any legal currency ; nor does it 
 appear that any currency legislation has taken place in this new 
 Possession. 
 
282 Colonial Currency. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 Western Australia. 
 
 (1829.) 
 
 On 18th October 1830 Lieutenant Governor Stirling reported 
 as follows, respecting the earliest currency of this Colony : — " In 
 the absence of specie, I have been forced to issue in payment " 
 (of Government expenditure) " Promissory Notes. These have 
 been a beneficial temporary substitute fur a better currency ; but 
 I trust the continuance of the practice may soon become unneces- 
 sary by the receipt of specie from England." The demonina- 
 tions of money and, apparently, the few coins current, were 
 sterling ; dollars do not appear to have formed part of the early 
 currency of Western Australia. 
 
 On 2nd September 1831 a memorial of the inhabitants repre- 
 sented "the money resources of the settlers have been ex- 
 hausted," and proposed, " as the most effectual remedy," that, on 
 the lines of the Lombard Bank at the Cape, a bank should be 
 established at. the Swan River, " from which sums of money may 
 be advanced at a moderate rate of interest, upon the security of 
 the land, stock, crop, or other property of the individual requir- 
 ing such advance." So, also, on 2nd April 1832, Captain 
 Stirling reported that " the greatest evil attached to the present 
 lot of the settlers in this country in their want of money. There 
 is a considerable amount of property in the 1 ands of some per- 
 sons ; but they cannot convert it into money. It has, in fact, at 
 present no convertible value ; nor can these persons maintain or 
 extend their cultivation without." 
 
 Early in 1832 a Commissary arrived with 5,000 /. in cash. He 
 also raised money locally by sale of bills, but this probably indi- 
 cates the presence rather of Promissory Notes than of specie. 
 
 In 1833 Governor Stirling stated that a previous issue of 
 " Local Notes " (probably that of 1830), had been an unavoid- 
 able necessity. " The notes were prepared in the Secretary's 
 office, numbered and registered ; and, when signed and counter- 
 signed, by the Governor and Colonial Secretary, they were trans- 
 ferred to the Treasurer as cash." Unfortunately, the Colonial 
 Secretary's clerk " employed to write the notes, availed himself 
 of the confidence reposed in him ; and, as it subsequently proved, 
 he prepared duplicates of a great many of the numbers to which 
 he attached forged signatures. . . . On calling in the notes in the 
 course of last year, it was discovered that the Colonial Treasury 
 had been thus defrauded ro the amount of 288 /." 
 
 On 13th May 1833 the merchants and traders of Fremantle 
 memorialised the Governor respecting the " great inconvenience 
 
Ck XXVIII. Western Australia. 283 
 
 arising from the scarcity of silver and the difficulty of obtaining 
 Treasury Bills in exchange for the Notes of P. Brown, Esq., now 
 in circulation." They asked for the issue of Treasury Bills " to 
 the amount of 1,000 /., taking as security the before-mentioned 
 Notes, accompanied by such other additional security as may be 
 required in the present emergency. For the stability of the 
 Notes (they added), we have to express our entire confidence." 
 The Governor refused to issue the Bills ; but informed the 
 Colonial Office that Mr. P. Brown was withdrawing his notes, 
 "a step from which much public inconvenience and no little 
 private distress are generally anticipated." From the records of 
 1635 it appears that in some instances, even duties were received 
 by the Colonial Government in private Promissory Notes ; as a^re- 
 sult of " the absence of specie between the latter part of 1832 and 
 the beginning of this year." At a public meeting held at Perth on 
 the 16th February 1835, resolutions were passed in favour of the 
 establishment of a Representative Assembly and a Bank, and also 
 of the abolition of the police. "In my opinion," said the 
 Governor, " the immediate destruction of the Colony would be 
 the consequence of granting them the objects of their desires." 
 
 Once, again, the Colonial Government appears to have issued 
 Notes of its own. For, in 1835, the Local Commissary stated 
 that '•' Local One Pound Notes, issued as a temporary expedient 
 to carry on the public service " were indispensable, owing to 
 " the very limited quantity of specie received for Bills on the 
 Treasury ; " he added that "the quantity of silver which has been, 
 and still is, carried out of the Colony," would prevent him from 
 withdrawing the Notes from circulation, immediately. 
 
 The Commissary's balance on 8th October 1835 was made up 
 as follows : — 
 
 £. s. d. 
 
 In gold - - 148 - - 
 
 „ (If.) Notes - - - - - 214 - - 
 
 „ " Vouchers paid out of the Colonial 
 
 Fund" - 99 6 - 
 
 „ " Vouchers paid out of the Commissariat 
 
 Chest" - - - - - - 221 14 1 
 
 „ British silver, &c. - - - - 271 2 6| 
 
 £. 954 2 7± 
 
 The modern current history of this Colony may be regarded as 
 datino- from 17 December 1H53,* when the Proclamation under 
 the Order in Council of 16 October 1852 {see p. 435) was published 
 
 * See " Government Gazette" of 20 December 1863. The Order in Council 
 had been published for general information on 19 September 1853 (see 
 "Gazette" of 4 October 18-33), with a notification that the Proclamation 
 thereunder would be promulgated three months later. "Pending such pro- 
 mulgation the Commissariat will give gold for silver coin to such persons as 
 mav wish to effect the exchange." 
 
284 
 
 Colonial Currency. 
 
 locally, making " the coins of our United Kingdom current in the 
 manner directed in the several Acts of Parliament which regulate 
 the currency of the same," and placing a 40 s. limit on the legal 
 tender of silver. 
 
 On 26 July 1856 the gold coins issued by the new Mint at 
 Sydney were made legal tender by Proclamation giving eHect to 
 the Imperial Order in Council and Proclamation of 18 October 
 1854 {see page 441); and on 13 June 1871 the Governor 
 published, for general information in the Colony, the Royal Pro- 
 clamation of 14 January 1871 (s^e page 453), giving currency to 
 the new gold coins to be struck at the Sydney Mint. Melbourne 
 gold was made current by Royal Proclamation of 7 August 
 1869, issued under the provisions of the Colonial Branch Act 
 1666 [see page 447). 
 
 Bank Notes. 
 
 In 1837, the Act 8 Will. IV., No. 1, made it " lawful for any 
 number of persons united in copartnership to carry on the trade 
 of bankers in Western Australia, and to make and issue their 
 bills or notes, " &c. Sworn Returns were to be transmitted 
 quarterly to the Colonial Government, showing the average 
 amount of notes in circulation, &c. 
 
 To this Act the Home Government objected, on the ground 
 that it did not prohibit notes of a less denomination than 1 /. 
 " Such a prohibitory clause," replied Governor Hull, "already 
 formed part of the Western Australian Bank regulations. In obe- 
 dience, however, to instructions, I have the honour to enclose an 
 Act (2 Vict., No. 9), " passed in the last Session of the Legisla- 
 tive Council rendering the issue of any Bill, or note, payable on 
 demand, or otherwise, for a less amount than 20 s. illegal. To 
 have introduced a clause to the same effect into the original Act 
 would have required the latter to be reingrossed and reprinted, 
 the expense of which, with our very small means and the 
 enormous price of all labour, especially of an extra-official kind, 
 was with the Council a subject of serious consideration. 
 
 Untouched by this representation, the Home Government 
 pressed for further amendment, in order to prohibit notes of over 
 1 /. from being issued for " other sums than integral numbers of 
 pounds sterling," as having "a strong tendency to exclude coin 
 from ordinary circulation." This object was secured by the 
 amending Act (4 Vict., No. 5), which provided that notes should 
 not be " for any less amount than 1 /. sterling, or for any larger 
 amount which expresses any fractional part or parts of a pound 
 sterling." 
 
 On 22 July 1842 the Governor stated that there were *"' two 
 banks in the Colony ; one a branch of the Bank of Australasia, 
 established by Royal Charter ; and the other the Western Aus- 
 tralian Joint Stock Bank, established and supported entirely by 
 this Colony," which arose under the local Act of 1837,8 Will. IV., 
 No. 1. The average issue of this latter bank in 1841 were 
 2,261/., the deposits being 4,S78 /. 
 
Ch. XXVIII. Western Australia. 
 
 285 
 
 The following is a return of Coin and Bullion held by the 
 Banks in Western Australia, together with the Notes in circula- 
 tion, on the 31st day of December 1891 : — * 
 
 BANKS. 
 
 Notes in Circulation. 
 
 Coined Gold, Silver, 
 and other Metals. 
 
 Gold and Silver in 
 Bullion and Bars. 
 
 Western Australian Bank 
 National Bank of Australasia 
 Union Bank of Australasia 
 Bank of New South Wales 
 Commercial Bank of Australia 
 
 £. s. d. 
 18,751 12 5 
 
 32,288 9 3 
 
 25,960 8 2 
 
 2,348 15 5 
 
 11,172 9 3 
 
 £. s. d. 
 116,677 12 11 
 
 100,779 1 1 
 
 117,182 14 - 
 
 22,331 13 8 
 
 29,654 18 1 
 
 £. *. </. 
 216 3 7 
 
 1 15 - 
 
 8,924 - 1 
 
 12,598 2 4 
 
 Totals - - - £. 
 
 90,521 14 6 
 
 386,625 19 9 
 
 21,740 1 - 
 
 If the population, in round figures, on 31 of December 1891 
 may be assumed to have be«n only 50,000, the above note- 
 circulation (90.521 /.)f is equivalent to no less than 1 I. 16 s. per 
 head. This average would make it dubious whether the general 
 Australia estimate of the total " active "currency (coins and notes 
 together) at 2 /. per head, holds good for Western Australia. 
 For it is probable that silver and bronze alone would more than 
 make up the balance of 4 s., after deducting the above 36 s. in 
 notes. On the other hand, since on the preceding 31st March the 
 total Issue was only 63,640 /,, or 25 s. 7 d. per head of the 
 enumerated population (49,782), the December inflation of the 
 paper currency probable points to a marked increase in numbers, 
 as Avell as to commercial activity in " the coming Colony." 
 
 " The figures are extracted from the " Western Australian Government 
 Gazette " of the 14th January 1892. 
 
 f Ten years before, in 1881, the total Issue was only 22,505 I. 
 
286 Colonial Currency. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 New^ Zealand.* 
 
 (1840.) 
 
 Sterling was assumed to be the currency of the Colony in its 
 earliest days. In 1847, section 43 of the Paper Currency Act 
 (see infra) declared that " the word ' cash ' shall be taken to mean 
 the current sold and silver coin of the realm at the English Mint 
 prices." With this exception, it does not appear that there has 
 been any positive regulation of the currency. It has not been 
 found possible to trace the local publication of the Order in Council 
 and Proclamation of 16th October 1852 (see page 435), giving 
 currency to Imperial coins and limiting the legal tender of silver 
 to 40 s. Nor is there evidence of local publication of the subse- 
 quent Order in Council and Proclamation of 18th October 1854 
 (see page 441) respecting Sydney gold coins. 
 
 But, on 28th May 1858, by the Act 21 & 22 Vict., No. 2, 
 the General Assembly of New Zealand enacted that "the laws 
 of England as existing on 14th January 1840 shall, so far as 
 applicable to the circumstances of the said Colony of New 
 Zealand, be deemed and taken to have been in force therein on 
 and after that day, and shall continue to be therein applied in 
 the administration of justice accordingly." 
 
 Consequently, the Imperial Act of 1816 (56 Geo. III., c. 68) 
 would appear to have been adopted by, and still to be in force 
 in, the Colony of New Zealand. On this assumption, sterling 
 has been, since 1858, the legal currency of New Zealand, and 
 there has existed since that date a 40 s. limit on the legal tender 
 of British silver tokens. And as, on this assumption, gold coined 
 at the London Mint was a legal tender in New Zealand in 1869, 
 it follows that the Royal Proclamation of 7th August 1869 (see 
 page 447) applied to this Colony and made current therein the 
 gold coins struck at the Melbourne Mint. 
 
 On 21st June 1871 (see " New Zealand Gazette " of the 
 24th .Tune) there was promulgated in New Zealand the Royal 
 Proclamation of 14th January 1871 (see page 453), giving cur- 
 rency (here and in certain other specified colonies) to' the new 
 gold coins to be struck at the Sydney Mint. 
 
 In the Appendix to the Journal of the House of Represen- 
 tatives for 1873, will be found proposals (anticipating by a decade 
 those of Victoria) for coining silver at a Mint to be established 
 in New Zealand. Nothing came of these proposals, as it was 
 
 ° For information and assistance in connection with the currency of 
 New Zealund, I am indebted to Mr. Walter Ivenuaway, c.m.g., Secretary to 
 the London Agency of the Colony. 
 
Ch. XXIX. New Zealand. 287 
 
 felt that the expense would more than swallow up the antici- 
 pated profit. 
 
 Notes. 
 
 The history of the paper currency is of greater theoretical 
 interest than that of any other Australasian Colony. 
 
 " Since the recall of the debentures which were issued by 
 Captain FitzRoy," wrote the Secretary of State to Governor 
 Grey on 2nd February 1847,* " I am not aware that any 
 description of paper money has been in circulation in the Colony ; 
 but, judging from what has taken place in other British Colonies, 
 I can entertain no doubt that, with the increase of trade, a 
 demand for such a cheap and convenient medium of exchange 
 will speedily arise. Nor do I see any objection to the creation 
 of a paper currency ; on the contrary, provided it is properly 
 regulated, I am of opinion that such a mode of economising 
 capital, where capital is so greatly wanted, must be exceedingly 
 advantageous." 
 
 After stating that " the discussions which have taken place of 
 late years, and more especially the proceedings of Parliament 
 upon the occasion of the last renewal of the Bank Charter 
 {i.e. in 1841), have, I apprehend, in the judgment of those 
 whose authority is of most weight on this subject, finally settled 
 the principles upon which a paper currency ought to be regula- 
 ted," the Secretary of State proceeded to lay down " the most 
 correct principles ' upon which a paper currency should be 
 regulated, and decided definitely in favour of a State Issue. 
 For, " the business of banking, or of dealing in money, and that 
 of issuing paper money, I consider to have not merely no neces- 
 sary but no proper connection with each other. The former is a 
 branch of commercial business which should be left, like every 
 other, to private enterprise ; but to issue money, that is, to 
 furnish the authorised medium of exchange, is one of the peculiar 
 and not the least important functions of the Government." Earl 
 Grey proceeded to Jay down the Bank of England principle that, 
 beyond a prescribed minimum, notes should be wholly covered by 
 coin ; and he concluded that " in New Zealand a simpler and 
 more perfect system " {i.e. than that of the Bank of England) 
 might be established, by passing "a law authorising the issue of 
 a Colonial paper currency, which should be a legal tender in 
 payment of all sums exceeding 40 s." The notes were not to be 
 of a less denomination than 1 /. ; and " it would be advisable that 
 one-fourth of the specie received in exchange for it, should be 
 retained to meet any demands for payment which might be made, 
 and that the remainder should be invested so as to produce some 
 return to the Colony." Earl Grey was also of opinion that, in 
 view of the circulation of silver dollars " in the countries nearest 
 to New Zealand," silver coins " should be used in common Avith 
 gold for the payment of the Colonial paper money." 
 
 * See " Further Papers relative to the Affairs of New Zealand ; corre- 
 spondence with Governor Grey," presented to both Houses of Parliament 
 by Command in 1848. 
 
288 Colonial Currency. 
 
 " In compliance with the terms of your Lordship's Despatch," 
 wrote Governor Grey on 25th November 1847, " I submitted to 
 the Legislature of this Colony an Ordinance to authorise the 
 establishment of a Colonial Bank of Issue by the Government of 
 New Zealand." The Ordinance referred to, which was passed on 
 16th October 1847, and was confirmed by Her Majesty in Council, 
 was the New Zealand Ordinance, 11 Vict. No. 16, " To authorise 
 the establishment of a Colonial Bank of Issue by the Government 
 of New Zealand, to make and issue a paper currency, and to 
 prohibit the making and issuing of paper money by private 
 individuals." With the exception of the Union Bank of 
 Australia (which had " for some time been issuing its own bank 
 notes in the Colony "), no bank was allowed to issue notes ; 
 and the Union Bank was only to continue its circulation, at the 
 existing average amount, until 12 months' notice was given by 
 the Governor that the issue was to terminate. On 3rd June 
 1850 (see Sir George Grey's Proclamation of 12th April 1850), 
 offices of the " Colonial Bank of Issue " were opened at Welling- 
 ton and Auckland to issue on demand, in exchange for cash, notes 
 of 1 /. and upwards, which were " charged and chargeable upon 
 the general revenue of the Colony." 
 
 It was provided that " a tender of any such note or notes shall 
 be a legal tender to the amount expressed in such note or notes, 
 and shall be taken to be valid as a tender to such amount for all 
 sums above 2 /. on all occasions on which any tender of money 
 may be legally made." And, as regards redemption, it was pro- 
 vided that (i.) one-fourth of the amount of the notes for the time 
 being in circulation was always to be kept on hand in cash, and 
 (ii.) "the residue, or so much as the Governor may deem 
 expedient, shall from time to time be invested or placed out at 
 interest on good and sufficient security by or under the direction 
 of the Governor for the time being." Weekly and yearly state- 
 ments were to be published. 
 
 On 16th June 1854 the House of Representatives ordered 
 that a Select Committee should be " appointed to inquire 
 and report as to whether it be desirable to maintain the 
 present Bank of Issue, or to make any and what alteration 
 therein, or to substitute any and what Government bank in lieu 
 thereof." 
 
 The Committee, on 28th July 1854, reported that, according 
 to the Returns of the previous month, the Issue stood as 
 follows : — 
 
 £. 
 
 Wellington - 32,842 
 
 Auckland - 7,481 
 
 Total - - - £. 40,323 
 
Ch. XXIX. New Zealand. 
 
 289 
 
 Against the notes, the Bank of Issue held the following coin 
 and securities, the latter being in British Stocks : — 
 
 
 Securities. 
 
 Coin in Chest. 
 
 
 
 Wellington - 
 Auckland - 
 
 £. 
 
 15,000 
 1,000 
 
 £. 
 
 17,842 
 6,481 
 
 
 16,000 
 
 24,323 
 
 £. 40,323 
 
 The total expenses to 30th June 1854 amounted to 1,590 /., 
 as against a gross profit, to 5th July 1854, of 965 /., thus 
 showing a net loss of 625 /. 
 
 " The public of Auckland," said the Committee, "never appear 
 to have been very favourably disposed towards the circulation of 
 this paper, or inclined to use it generally for their trading 
 purposes, preferring the gold coinage. The original source 
 from which its circulation sprang was that of the Government 
 expenditure. In Auckland, especially, the- dealings of the 
 Bank (of Issue) are almost entirely confined to the Colonial 
 Treasurer and the Union Bank, one paying in the gold and the other 
 drawing it out. ... In Wellington the Bank seems always 
 to have maintained a better reputation ; its circulation there is 
 nearly five times that of Auckland, a difference so disproportioned 
 to the requirements of the two places, that it is only reconcilable 
 by presumption that some spirit of antagonism has prevailed in the 
 latter place from which Wellington has been free.'' 
 
 In the faith that " the commerce of the Colony requires a 
 currency, or representative of value, which should be both 
 creative and expulsive in its operations," the Committee 
 recommended the abolition of the Bank of Issue, "because they 
 are of opinion that the existence of any Government Bank 
 issuing its own paper exclusively is injurious to free commercial 
 enterprise. They are not, however, inclined to recommend its 
 immediate abolition, which would cause too sudden a derange- 
 ment ot the monetary affairs of the Colony ; it might be allowed 
 pradually to lapse in the natural course of events." 
 
 On 29 April 1856 the House of Representatives ordered 
 further evidence to be taken on the subject of the Bank of Issue. 
 The onlv witness examined was an Inspector of the Oriental 
 Bank, who was naturally of opinion that the business of banking, 
 including the issue of paper, should be left to private competition, 
 and who represented that the profitable privilege of issuing notes 
 would tempt banks to start business in the Colony. The Com- 
 mittee were " of opinion that it is necessary to afford facilities 
 for extending- Banking operations in this Colony, and that any 
 obstructions now existing should be withdrawn as speedily as 
 
290 Colonial Currency. 
 
 possible, for which purpose the prohibition of the issue of notes by 
 private banks should be forthwith repealed." 
 
 In 1856 was passed the Bank Paper Currency Act, 1856, 
 which made it lawful for the Governor in Council to authorise 
 the issue of notes in New Zealand (i.) by banks incorporated by 
 Royal Charter and empowered to carry on the business of 
 banking in New Zealand, and to issue and circulate notes therein 
 ("but subject to the provisions and restrictions in such Letters 
 Patent contained"), and (ii.) by the Union Bank of Australia, 
 provided that the notes of the latter bank " bear date at the 
 place of issue and be there payable in coin of the realm or 
 other coin lawfully current in New Zealand." Under this enact- 
 ment the Oriental Bank Corporation put its notes into 
 circulation; and at the end of 1857 the circulation was — 
 
 £ 
 
 Union Bank ----- 63,386 
 
 Oriental ,, 4,008 
 
 £.67,394 
 
 The Bankers' Returns Act, 1858, required all bankers to 
 prepare weekly statements of assets and liabilities, and to make 
 out therefrom and publish a quarterly statement, one item in 
 which was to be " Notes in Circulation." The above provi- 
 sions were consolidated in the Bank and Bankers Act, 1880 
 (No. 15). 
 
 It remains to be added that in 1884-5 the Dunedin Chamber 
 of Commerce memorialised the Colonial Government for a Com- 
 mittee " to investigate the whole subject of the currency, and the 
 practice of banking within the Colony." On 17th April 1885 the 
 Chamber defined the objects for inquiry as bHing (i.) " the effect 
 of the paper currency in use in the Colony being issued by private 
 banks,"' and (ii.) the question of establishing a State Bank of Issue. 
 In the same year a Bill was introduced in the Council for estab- 
 lishing such a bank ; but eventually the Bill was withdrawn, and 
 resolutions were passed on 18th June 1886 (by a majority of one), 
 affirming " that the issue of money, whether in the form of coin 
 of paper currency, is a sovereign prerogative of the State, and the 
 profit accruing therefrom belongs to the entire community," and 
 calling on the Government to " establish a State Bank of Issue, 
 or an Issue Department of the Colonial Treasury under proper 
 regulations — thus affording to the people the full profit accruing 
 from the circulation, which is certain in a few years to expand to 
 a large amount." But no legislation has been. passed to re- 
 establish a State Issue in New Zealand. 
 
 The following figures, taken from the " New Zealand 
 Gazette " of 28th January 1892, show the note-circulation and 
 
Ch. XXIX. New Zealand. 
 
 291 
 
 specie holdings of the six Banks of Issue in the Colony on 
 31st December 1891. 
 
 Name of Bank. 
 
 Notes. 
 
 Coin. 
 
 Bullion. 
 
 Bank of New Zealand 
 
 Union Bank of Australia (Limited) - 
 
 Bank oi New South Wales .... 
 
 National Bank of New Zealand (Limited) 
 Colonial Bank of New Zealand .... 
 
 £. 
 438,484 
 
 108,922 
 
 100,728 
 
 68,662 
 
 107,615 
 
 121,634 
 
 £. 
 539,346 
 
 649,911 
 
 389,957 
 
 270,542 
 
 186,077 
 195,409 
 
 £. 
 
 53,501 
 
 6,522 
 20,538 
 
 20,457 
 25,328 
 
 TOTAL - - - £. 
 
 « 
 
 946,045 
 
 2,231,242 
 
 126,346 
 
 Taking the total population at 634,058 on 31st December 
 1891, the above note circulation of 946,045 I. works to an 
 average of 29 s. 10 d. per head. Analogy with Australian 
 Colonies, such as New South Wales, Tasmania, and South 
 Australia, would suggest that the " active " circulation of coin 
 and notes together is 2 I. per head. Possibly, however, the 
 diffusion of the population over large areas, and the absence of 
 large urban populations in New Zealand, may be held to indicate 
 a somewhat larger " active " circulation than the above amount. 
 
292 Colonial Currency. 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 Fiji. 
 
 (1874.) 
 
 The natives of Fiji do not appear to have had any currency 
 of their own other than commodities. 
 
 In 1871, by the " Constitution Act of Fiji," it was declared 
 that the right of coining money and of regulating the currency 
 was vested in the newly-created King, acting by and with the 
 advice of his Ministers ; and on 23rd July 1872 an Act was 
 passed (" Cakobau Rex., No. 22 "') with a view " to establish and 
 define a legal tender of money in Fiji." After reciting the 
 issue of "Treasury Notes," (a) of 1, 5, 10, 25, and 50 dollars 
 and (b) of 25, 50, and 100 cents, which notes had been "of 
 great public convenience," the above " Legal Tender Act, 
 1872" proceeded to declare Treasury Notes a legal tender, and 
 to provide that " all genuine gold, silver, bronze or copper coin 
 issued by and with the authority of His Majestv, or any 
 Sovereign State, or the Government thereof, shall in like manner 
 as aforesaid be a legal tender according to their currency value." 
 Treasury notes were to be payable on demand in specie, or in 
 Government Debentures bearing 10 per cent, interest. 
 
 The issue of Treasury Notes on 30th June 1872 was 25,110 
 dollars ; on 31st May 1873 it stood at 31,189i dollars, a further 
 issue of 28,1 53^ dollars having been cancelled. On 30th September 
 1874, the issue stood at 200/. only, the Debentures floated by 
 the collapsed Constitutional Government amounting to 51,400/. 
 
 On 19th August 1873, the Schedule to a Fiji Order in Council, 
 which purported to give the Fiji Banking and Commercial Com- 
 pany the exclusive right of issuing Bank Notes (of a denomina- 
 tion not less than " 1 /. British money "), prescribed the following 
 concurrent ratings : — 
 
 American. 
 
 Dollar. — 4 s. 2 d. British current coin. (Other American 
 gold, silver, and copper coins at a proportionate value 
 in British current coin). 
 
 French. 
 
 Franc. — 10 d. British current coin. (Other French gold, 
 silver, and copper coins at a proportionate value 
 in British current coin). 
 
Ch. XXX. Fiji. 293 
 
 Under British rule, by the Governor's Proclamation of 13th 
 October 1874 (confirmed by Fiji Ordinance, No. 1 of 1875\ the 
 " Laws, Acts, or Statutes now in force within the Colony of 
 New South Wales — not expressly excepted by a Proclamation 
 of this Colony from affectingr the government of or administra- 
 tion of Justice within this Colony — are hereby adopted as the 
 Laws and Ordinances of this Colony, so far as the same shall be 
 applicable to the circumstances of this Colony and not repugnant 
 to, or inconsistent with, any Law or Proclamation now in force 
 in this Colony, or that may hereafter be made or promulgated." 
 It would, therefore, appear that from 13th October 1874 the 
 currency of Fiji was that of New South Wales, i.e., sterling with 
 a 40 s. limit of legal tender for silver. 
 
 On 16th October 1875 a local Proclamation was issued declar- 
 ing that, until 31st December 1875, the following foreign silver 
 coins would be received by the Colonial Government "in pay- 
 ment of revenue " at the following rates : — 
 
 s. d. 
 
 American dollar - - - - 3 6 
 
 German thaler - - - - 2 3 
 Chilian „ 
 
 French „ - - - -) 
 Bolivian half-dollar - - - 1 3 
 
 " No foreign coin of any denomination will be received after 
 the above date," adds the Proclamation in conclusion. 
 
 This Proclamation, which was confirmed by Fiji Ordinance 
 No. 1, of 1875, did not constitute in law, though it did in prac- 
 tice, a general regulation of currency. 
 
 After 1875, however, British silver, which had already ob- 
 tained a firm footing in the Colony, soon monopolised, the circu- 
 lation. 
 
 As it was held in 1881 that the currency of Fiji was unregu- 
 lated in law, and as the Coinage Act, 1870, was being applied at 
 the time to the Cape and Natal, Fiji was similarly brought under 
 the Act by Proclamation of 29th November 1881, which was 
 promulgated locally on 11th March 1882 (see "Fiji Royal 
 Gazette" of the same date). Consequently, the metallic currency 
 of Fiji was placed on the same basis as that of the United 
 Kingdom, and a 40 s. limit of legal tender was set upon British 
 silver coins. No foreign coins are legally current in the Colony. 
 
 In February 1884 it was stated that British silver to the 
 amount of about 14,000/. had been introduced into Fiji during 
 the preceding year, and that "the expanding internal trade of 
 the Colonv requires an addition of about 3,000/. in silver every 
 year." Apparently, however, only 3. 000 Z. has been added l>y 
 the Colonial Government to the currency from 1884 to the end 
 of 1891, inclusive. 
 
 According to local estimate, the amount of coin in the Colony 
 is 70,000 /., or over 1 1 s. per head of the total population. 
 
 72642. U 
 
294 Colonial Currency. 
 
 Indian immigrants use silver coins for bangles, belts, necklaces, 
 &c, and also melt them diwn in order to manufacture silver 
 ornaments. The silver coins thus withdrawn amount to a com- 
 paratively large amount 
 
 There are branches in Fiji of two Banks, viz., the Bank of 
 New Zealand, and the Union Bank of Australia (Limited). Both 
 of these Banks issue Notes, but details of the local circulation 
 are not forthcoming. 
 
[ 295 ] 
 
 THE MEDITERRANEAN. 
 
 {Note. — The three following Chapters are contributed by Mr. C. A. Harris.) 
 
 u2 
 
296 Colonial Currency. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI.* 
 
 Gibraltar. 
 
 (1704.) 
 
 Down to quite recent years, the essential feature in the currency 
 of Spain (which has dominated the actual currency of Gibraltar) 
 has been the over-valuation of gold. In the words of Sir Isaac 
 Newton, in 1717 : — " Gold is in Spain of 16 times more value 
 ihan silver of equal weight and allay. But this high price keeps 
 iheir gold at home in good plenty, and carries away the Spanish 
 silver into all Europe, so that at home they make their payments in 
 //old, and will not pay in silver without a premium. Upon the 
 coming in of a plate fleet, the premium ceases, or is but small; 
 but as their silver goes away, and becomes scarce, the premium 
 increases, and is most commonly about 6 per cent.'' In practice, 
 the gold doubloon was the standard coin, and the " dollar " of 
 account represented not the silver dollar (which bore a fluctuating 
 gold-price as merchandise) but the sixteenth of a gold doubloon. 
 
 1704-1825. Currency of Spanish Coin. 
 
 It was nearly half a century after the capture of Gibraltar 
 (1704) before matters of currency greatly troubled the garrison. 
 Whilst the Military Government, maintained sterling as the 
 money of account, their transactions were chiefly in the Spanish 
 doubloon and dollar ; and the small native and mercantile com- - 
 muuity trading daily with Spain adhered to the denomination of 
 account as well as to the coins of Spain. The purchases of the 
 garrison from the natives, and the daily use of Spanish coin, 
 produced a habit (in Gibraltar as in the American and West 
 Indian colonies) of roughly converting payments in this coin into 
 the denominations of sterling : the conversion was rough-and- 
 ready, and therefore incorrect, and a local "currency" was thus 
 established, the pounds shillings and pence of which did not 
 actually correspond to those of Great Britain. f 
 
 The chief error appears to have risen from the false rating of 
 the " real " at 6 d. In 171 1 the soldiers engaged on the fortifica- 
 tions were content to work for " one ryall only, or 6 d. per day, 
 in consideration of receiving their provisions free." And from 
 
 1 am indebted to Mr. Cavendish Boyle, c.m.g., Colonial Secret-try of 
 Gibraltar, and to bis staff, for early records of importance.— C.A.H. 
 
 f See page 4. That the Home Government wis not slow to take advantage 
 of the shortcomings of the local currency is shown l>y the following extract 
 Irom official records ot 1714 : — '• The money allotted to pay the Army at 
 Gibraltar (the Commissioned Officers excepted), is 2o,7'.'3/. 'is. 8d. p.a., 
 which sum is pail there with 16,913 moydors at 1 /. 10 8. 6 d. per nioydor, 
 these moidors being passed for 1 /. 17 s. 4 d. each, and at that rate paid the 
 Boldiers (which they really are), makes a sum of 31,5701. 18s. 8d., and leaves 
 in Spanish money 5,777/. Us., which makes about 4,178/. sterling per 
 annum '' 
 
Ch. XXXI. GlBllALTAK. 297 
 
 tlie very first days of the occupation, bills were regularly drawn 
 on the Home Government at the rate of 5 s. to the standard 
 Spanish-American dollar, which had, since 1686, been equal in 
 Spain to 10 provincial reals of " new plate."* 
 
 But the confusion did not end with the establishment of a local 
 " currency " in £. s. d. ; the error took a new form when, about 
 the middle of the century, the English garrison had got used to 
 the Spanish denominations, and began to make them the ordinary 
 money of account. Owing, apparently, to an attempt at adjust- 
 ing the early misrating of the provincial real, a new 'real" 
 arose, of which 12 instead of 10 went to the standard dollar, 
 although it was still divided into 16 cuartos. This was the 
 "real current" of Gibraltarf ; it was a money of account, not a 
 coin ; and was the basis of what is usually known as Gibraltar 
 currency, which was thus composed of an imaginary dollar (equi- 
 valent to eight of the new reals), an imaginary real, and the cuarto. 
 
 This " current dollar '' explains the constant use of the " hard " 
 dollar (= peso duro) in Gibraltar transactions to denote the 
 Spanish dollar. It also explains such statements as "$1,000 = 
 854/. 3 s. 4 c/.," which gives a dollar of 3 s. 5 d. in 1754, and 
 again, in a petition of 1783," 9,000 dollars, equal to about 1,400/. 
 sterling," which places the current dollar at 3s. \^d. A 
 Government notice in 1762 states that 'the exchange here has 
 for several years last past been from 37 d. to 38 d. the dollar." 
 
 Of actual coins, and especially those of a low denomination, 
 there appears to have been a dearth. 
 
 The want of decent token coin is among the earliest grievances 
 of the garrison, who allege, in 1713, that "the Jews bring in 
 brass money amongst us from Barhary, by which they get 500 
 per cent., and carry out in lieu of that all the Spanish money 
 that is going." This " BarbaryJ copper coin, commonly called a 
 fluce," of which four "are not nearly equal to a Spanish quart, 
 at which rate they have lately passed," was prohibited in 1751 
 by an Order which declared the values of the Spanish copper 
 coin in Gibraltar currency. 
 
 But when, in 1762, the currency of cut or diminished Spanish 
 silver coin was prohibited, ihe lack of small change was such 
 that it was- found necessary, by a later order 4£ months after- 
 wards, to confine the prohibition to " the .currency of the cut hard 
 dollar or cobb," all smaller pieces of Spanish silver coin whether 
 cut or uncut being left in circulation at existing rates. 
 
 In 1783 Genera! Elliott had issued a proclamation prohibiting, 
 
 Sec pa^e 392. Consequently, the ease of Gibraltar is not to be confused 
 with the 17th century rating of the real of Mexican Plate in Bermuda and 
 Jamaica as 'a Spanish sixpence." The cases are analogous. n<>t homologous. 
 
 f The records throw very little light on the history of this real it may, 
 however, fairly he conjectured that the British community finding that the 
 real was over-rated as 6d., and only produced 52 d. in exchange, tried to 
 restore the balance by counting 12 of them at or/, to the standaid dollar, as 
 rated in terms of " currency." In a similar manner, there were some half- 
 dozen " reals current " in different parts of Spain. 
 
 X Similarly we find in Malta that Barbary was the fountain of supply of 
 base grani about 1823. 
 
298 Colonial Currency. 
 
 under pain of forfeiture, the sending forth of any silver coin 
 from the garrison, which speaks to the difficulty of retaining 
 silver ; and in 181.) the lack of smaller coin is evidenced by 
 the Governor's description of the payment of labourers as a 
 fruitful source of drunkenness: — 
 
 "All men furnished as labourers to the engineer and other de- 
 partments are paid daily at evening gun-fire, and as small change 
 cannot be procured these men are formed into squads of six men 
 each, to whom a hard dollar value 12 reals is given . . . The six 
 soldiers so paid are under the necessity of proceeding to a wine- 
 house and in expend there part of the money received, to procure 
 change." 
 
 The governor at that time recommended that the Mint should 
 coin one-ieal and two-real pieces and send them out, and he 
 named 10,000 /. as the sum he needed. Meanwhile local mer- 
 chants took the matter into their own hands, and, in the absence 
 of sufficient copper money, issued pieces of the value of two 
 cuartos payable at their houses of business. 
 
 A similar difficulty seems to have existed in regard to gold 
 coin during the latter halt of the eighteenth century. An order 
 of the 30th of March 1762 recites that "the want of fixing a 
 standaid value on the Portugal gold, being the coin which the 
 troops of this garrison are paid in, has been attended with great 
 inconveniency to the private soldier:'' and it fixes the "half- 
 shiner"* at 11 dollars 2 reals; this rate was apparently due to an 
 arithmetical blunder : it was continued in August and abolished 
 in September; and the half-shiner passed at the market rate till 
 October 1771, when, "on account of the present great scarcity 
 of money in this garrison, the commanding officers of the several 
 corps . . . represented unto the Governor that there is a necessity 
 of introducing the gold coin of Portugal," and an Order was 
 promulgated fixing the half-shiner (not wanting above 5 grains 
 of its lull weight) at. 94 reals currency "the same being a just 
 relative value to the currency of the double pistole of Spain 
 established in this place." Yet in 1787 Spanish gold coin is 
 spoken of as "by far the greatest part of the circulation at this 
 time,'' when the doubloon was ratedf " at 16 Mexicos, or 21 
 dollars currency." 
 
 Thus, up to 1815, when it was denou ced by Proclamation, 
 Gibial ar had a money of account of its own, with Spanish de- 
 nominations evolved out. of an erroneous treatment of the ti ue 
 Spanish coins ; and for actual coins it depended on the Spanish 
 doubloon and Portuguese! coins in gold, the Spanish milled silver 
 dollar and certain Spanish copper coins supplemented by private 
 tokens. The doubloon, for the greater part of the period, was 
 practically the standard. 
 
 By the value attached to it, this must have heen. tlie Johannes, which was 
 Imlf the Dobra (see page SiJfi.) 
 
 f It is noteworthy that this rating was made l>y "His Majesty's Justices" 
 in response to n presentment of the Grand Jury, that ''the nnestahlished value 
 of the Spanish gold coin is highly inconvenient, and often attended with 
 disagreeable consequences to every person within this town, &c." 
 
Ch. XXXI. Gibraltar. 29 
 
 1825-1844. Attempt to introduce a Sterling Standard. 
 
 In 1825 came the Order in Council directing that in all the 
 colonies British sterling should be the legal tender and money of 
 account; this Order was promulgated in Gibraltar on the 16th of 
 June 1825 by the following Proclamation of the Lieut. -Governor, 
 Sir Geoive Don : — 
 
 " It is hereby ordered that, from the first day of July next 
 inclusive, the several provisions of the said Order of His 
 Majesty in Council, so far as the same apply to i his Garrison 
 and Territory, shall be strictly observed and enforced; and all 
 debts and all engagements for the payment of money shall be 
 discharged, either in British silver money or in Spanish hard 
 dollars at the rate of 4 shillings and 4 pence each, at the will of 
 the debtor. Provided thai British copper monev shall be a legal 
 tender for its due and proper proportions of British silver money 
 as by law established in Great Britain, but that no person be 
 compelled to take more than 12 pence in copper money at any 
 one payment. From the first day of July inclusive, all Govern- 
 ment Accounts will be kept and rendered in British money ; the 
 Spanish hard dollar will thenceforth be issued, in all Government 
 payments on account of Government, at the same rate of four 
 shillings and four pence each; and all rates and duties payable 
 to the Crown shall be paid, either in British silver money or in 
 Spanish hard dollars at the rate of four shillings and four pence 
 each, at the option of the person paying, according to the several 
 rates set forth in the printed Schedules put up in the respective 
 public offices. To prevent any frauds which might otherwise 
 be practised from uncertainty as to the relative current value of 
 the Spanish hard dollar and its proportions, and the British silver 
 money, it is hereby declared that, from the first day of July next 
 inclusive, the lawful silver coin of Great Britain shall be the only 
 standard measure of value in this Garrison and Territory, and 
 that the Spanish hard dollar and its proportions shall thenceforth 
 be current only as equivalent to British silver money, at the 
 rate of one dollar to four shillings and four pence." 
 
 The proclamation was followed up by an importation of British 
 coin; but, though the copper remained, " the bags of English 
 silver with the seal unbroken were bought as merchandise Avith 
 dollars at 52 pence, and sent back to England with a profit of 
 8 and 9 per cent." Apart from the fact that the remittance of 
 specie cost only 1 per cent., as against the premium of 3 per 
 cent, charged for Treasury Bills under the Imperial scheme, the 
 Governor remarks that, " the trade of Gibraltar being directly 
 connected with the manufacturing districts of England and 
 Scotland, the half-crowns and shillings are much sought after 
 to pav the workmen, whereby an additional inducement is 
 created for the transmission home of these coins." 
 
 Bv the 22nd of September, within three months after the Order 
 in Council came into operation. British silver had entirely disap- 
 peared, and once more the troops were being paid in Spanish 
 gold. 
 
300 Colonial Currency. 
 
 A memorial of the local merchants also attacked the Order In 
 Council on the ground that the Spanish currency was their 
 natural currency ; that there always existed in Gibraltar a great 
 abundance of good Spanish gold and silver coin ; that a fixed 
 value was given by the Proclamation to the hard dollar "although 
 in fact for ever fluctuating," and that it " fixed the limit of legal 
 tender of British silver in Gibraltar to an extent so widely dif- 
 fering from Great Britain." 
 
 Consequently on the 1st November the following Proclamation 
 superseded that of the 16th of June : — 
 
 " In virtue of instructions received from the Right Honourable 
 Earl Bathurst, one of His Majesty's Principal Secretaries of 
 State, it is hereby ordered and directed that, henceforward, 
 the several provisions of the Order of His Majesty in Council, 
 of the 23rd day of Marqh 1825, regarding the metallic currency 
 of the colonies, so far as the same apply to this garrison and 
 territory, shall be strictly observed and enforced ; and that, in 
 the liquidation and payment of all debts and engagements, a 
 tender and payment of British silver money, to the amount of 
 45. Aid., shall be considered as equivalent to the tender or pay- 
 ment of one Spanish dollar, and so in proportion for any greater 
 or less amount of debt. It is further ordered that British 
 copper money shall be a legal tender for its due and proper 
 proportions of British silver money, as by law established in 
 Great Britain ; but that no person be compelled to take more 
 than 12 pence in copper money at any one payment." 
 
 For four months in its history the garrison had as its nominal 
 standard British silver, and therefore in theory the pound sterling, 
 although, as a fact, hardly any British coin was seen. By the 
 second Proclamation Spanish money was rehabilitated as the 
 standard of value. But the accounts of the Government con- 
 tinued till the end of 1881 to be kept in £. s. d., notwithstanding 
 that these were only the denominations of coin concurrently 
 circulating with the standard. 
 
 The over valuation of the Spanish dollar at 4 s. 4 d. sterling 
 did not immediately attract attention at Gibraltar, seeing that 
 the real standard coin was not the silver dollar, but the gold 
 doubloon. But the presence of the British copper, introduced 
 in 1825 and now left practically a stranger in a foreign land, 
 produced a peculiar confusion and consequent grievance. Owing 
 to its name, size, and general appearance, the farthing was 
 adopted by the merchants as the equivalent of a cuarto. Thus 
 the penny piece passed in the market as 4 cuartos. Now 192 
 cuartos went to the Spanish dollar, and in this way, starting 
 Iroin below, 48 pence were commonly given for a dollar which 
 was by Order in Council to pass for 52 pence (is. -id. sterling). 
 The error had received countenance from the fact that, by way 
 of simplifying their accounts with the troops, the pay-sergeants 
 charged each cuarto of account as a farthing, and then deducted 
 ] d. in every Is. of pay for "currency." This explains the 
 earlier memorials against the 4 s. 4 d. rating, and the statement 
 that the dollar issued at -is. 4d. was current in the garrison at 4s. 
 
S&LIFO: 
 
 Ch. XXXI. Gibraltar. 30i 
 
 In 1835 a new complication was introduced by a Proclamation 
 intended to countervail the lightness of the doubloons in common 
 circulation. The coin is described as " a coin both base and light 
 used and washt and dipt to such an extent that most doubloons 
 want six grains of their weight, and all are concurrently passed 
 when they want no more than four grains." A premium of 
 2 per cent, was required on tender to the Treasury Chest for 
 Spanish dollars as against doubloons. Accordingly in this year 
 (1835) the Treasury issued an Order reducing the rate assigned 
 to the doubloon from 69 s. 4 d. to 66 s. As this Order under- 
 valued the doubloon relatively to the dollar, it was shortly 
 rescinded on the petition of the merchants of Gibraltar, who 
 urged, with regard to duties reserved in sterling, that it was 
 unfair to deprive them of the option of paying (in accordance 
 with the ancient monetary system of Spain) either 16 silver 
 dollars or one gold doubloon. But the dissatisfaction of the 
 troops continued ; and eventually an Order was issued for the 
 payment of the doubloon at 66 s. 8 d. instead of 69 s. 4 d. as from 
 the 1st of January 1843. This was equivalent to a rating of the 
 dollar (one-sixteenth of the doubloon) at 50d. or 4*. 2c?. And 
 after some discussion and at no great distance it was followed by 
 the Orders in Council and Proclamation of 3rd September 1844 
 and 26th April 1845, the latter of which merely amended the 
 Order of 1844 by demonetising the doubloon of Mexico and the 
 South American States. 
 
 1844-1870. Practical Recognition of Spanish Currency. 
 
 The Proclamation of 1844 was confused in terms, bearing on 
 its face a doubt as to the real standard of value in Gibraltar, and 
 rather implying that sterling was so, which was not the fact. 
 It also referred to the "coin denominated the quarto" which 
 had no very definite existence. Really, however, it left 
 Spanish money the standard, as it had been since 1825 ; but it 
 overlooked the fact that the doubloon was the real standard, that 
 this gold coin was worth only 64 .«., and that the introduction 
 of the irrelevant though correct rating of the silver dollar at 
 4 s. 2 d., must lead to an overvaluation of the doubloon, the six- 
 teenth part of which (or gold dollar ) was worth 4 s. only. British 
 money remained a legal tender, and the old trotible about British 
 copper was merely reduced in amount.* 
 
 Some effort had been made just previously to place the copper 
 coinage on a more satisfactory footing. The Governor in 1841 
 asked that 2,500 I. worth of British 2-quart, 1 -quart, and |-quart 
 pieces might be coined at the Mint with a view of taking the 
 place of the British coins which were not suitable, and the foreign 
 coins and counterfeits which were the subject of fraud. ?so special 
 Order in Council was thought necessary to bring into circulation 
 these new cuartos,. which were simply sent into circulation from 
 the Colonial Treasury. 
 
 ° The Civil servant? appealed without success against the new Order in 
 Council, on the ground of the reduction of the dollar. 
 
302 
 
 Colonial Currency. 
 
 At this time the currency of Gibraltar consisted of:— 
 
 Gold.— Doubloon, Half Doubloon, Quarter 
 Doubloon, One-eighth Doubloon, One- 
 sixteenth Doubloon. 
 
 Silver.— Pillared Dollar, Pillared J-Dollar, 
 and apparently some *South American 
 Dollars. 
 
 Copper. — British pence, halfpence, &c, and 
 British cuartos. 
 
 and on this basis the monetary transactions of the community 
 dragged on for some years without great complaints. But 
 gradually they passed into a new phase, of more peculiar 
 dependence on Spain, to which were due the difficulties and 
 changes, apart from the copper grievance, which hereafter arose 
 in regard to currency at Gibraltar. 
 
 In 1848 Spain had made the first move in the direction of 
 adopting a decimal currency. In that year the Spanish 
 Government began to replace the old doubloon with the Doblon 
 d'lsabel or 5-dollar piece, and the doblons of 4 escudos and 
 2 escudos,| apparently retaining the real as a money of account. 
 In 1864 a further step was made: the Government money of 
 account was changed to escudos and milesimos. The standard 
 was the silver escudo of 180.345 grains fine of 900 millesimal 
 fineness, the gold dollar being equivalent to 2 escudos. 
 
 Naturally the new money soon found its way to Gibraltar, 
 and in 1866 the inhabitants prayed for the adoption of the new 
 Spanish system, which had in practice superseded the Order in 
 Council of 1844, since the, currency of the territory now consisted 
 of the following coins : — 
 
 Gold. — The new Spanish gold coins, viz., the Doblon 
 d'lsabel, the 4-escudo and the 2-escudo pieces : as well as certain 
 much-worn old doubloons, half doubloons, four-dollar, two- 
 dollar, and one-dollar pieces. 
 
 Silver. — The double escudo and escudo, ^--dollar, ^-dollar, 
 '--dollar, and -j^-dollar; token pieces of inferior silver, 81-100ths 
 tine, of the denominations of 4 reals, 2 reals and 1 real. 
 
 Copper and brass. — British pence, halfpence and farthings : 
 Spanish brass pieces of the value of J-real, |-real ^g-real and 
 Jj-real, apparently belonging to two different periods : a miscel- 
 laneous collection of tokens described as " the refuse coins of 
 the whole world and old buttons," and again as " a quantity 
 of spurious coins varying from 4 to 60 per cent, below value." 
 The nominal value of the copper was computed at 15,000/. 
 
 * By Proclamation of 26th July 183G the dollar of the South American 
 States was to " be received and issued on the part of the Government 
 agents and authorities at the same rate as the old Pillared Dollars." On 
 the 10th of August in the same year the Governor reported that they were 
 at a premium of one-half per cent, as compared with gold. Yet the new 
 coins do not appear to have got any permanent hold on the public of 
 Gibraltar. 
 
 f The escudo was 10 reales, and 2 escudos went to the gold dollar or one 
 fifth part of the Doblon d'lsabel ; so that the silver " doblon de dos escudos " 
 was practically the representative of the old dollar. It may be well to 
 notice that the Spanish Government was not by any meaus immediately 
 followed by the Spanish people in its currency changes, and that old and 
 various practice still held ground in many parts of the peninsula. 
 
Ch. XXXI. Gibraltar. 303 
 
 The old Spanish dollar seems to have disappeared from circu- 
 lation, and the Mexican and South American coins had not 
 made their way in the Colony. 
 
 The evils which caused the inhabitants to memorialise the 
 Government appear to have been the reduction in the weight 
 of the new Spanish dollar (i.e., piece of 2 escudos*), which still 
 passed for the same amount against sterling as the old dollar ; 
 the trouble of calculation with an unsettled currency; but above 
 all the debased and unsatisfactory state of the copper token 
 coinage. In 1868 we read that " at the present time the dealers 
 are putting into circulation large quantities of defaced silver, 
 and spurious and condemned copper coins of all nations." 
 
 The latter trouble grew so serious that the Governor in 1866 
 issued a notice that importation of foreign coins not legalised by 
 Order in Council was a serious infringement of the Royal pre- 
 rogative, and rendered persons so importing them liable to severe 
 penalties. This, however, of itself had little effect, and the 
 community finally found its own remedy : the merchants decided 
 to refuse all foreign copper ; and the only question remaining 
 was who should bear the loss on the coin thus summarily 
 demonetised, estimated variously to amount in nominal value to 
 from 3,000 /. to 4,000 /. So strong was the feeling on the subject 
 of the copper tokens that in 1870 the Governor re-issued his 
 notice of the 20th June 1866, with the special view of preventing 
 the importation of the new light copper coins of Spain. 
 
 1872. Spanish Currency the Legal Standard. 
 
 The action of the Home Government was delayed owing to 
 the provisional adoption by Spain of the decimal system of the 
 Latin Union with the peseta as unit. But as the Spanish Govern- 
 ment showed no inclination to push the matter on, the Treasury 
 shortly proceeded with a new Order in Council, which was dated 
 2 1st February 1872, and came into operation in Gibraltar on the 
 1st of May in that year. 
 
 This Order for the first time gave Gibraltar as a British 
 possession a legal standard of value in accord with actual 
 conditions. It made the standard the Doblon dTsabel (weighing 
 128*7 grs. and of -^ rinenes3), or gold coin of that weight and 
 fineness by whatsoever denomination known. It legalised certain 
 other Spanish coins, gold and silver, but with a limit of tender 
 carefully set forth in the schedule to the Order. It provided for 
 contracts made in the old Gibraltar currency and in sterling ; 
 but British money was henceforth foreign coin. 
 
 The defect of the Order was that it provided for the adoption 
 of the existing Spanish coinage without anticipating the 
 possibility of an actual alteration of the standard coin, and so 
 it necessitated a new Order in Council ten years later. 
 
 No definite instruction was issued as to the keeping of the 
 
 The old Spanish dollar weighed 41G grains troy, the new 2-escudo piece, 
 though of like fineness, contained only 400 grains. 
 
304 Colonial Currency. 
 
 Government accounts,* and the old denominations of sterling 
 were used till 1881. 
 
 The demonetisation of the British copper created a small 
 crisis for the moment. It was mostly the old copper which had 
 been demonetised in England in I869.f Soon after the publica- 
 tion of the new Order there was a rush to the shops to buy 
 goods with British copper, but no one would readily receive it. 
 The Governor telegraphed for leave to withdraw the copper at 
 the Government expense ; and the Exchange Committee with 
 public spirit forthwith proceeded to exchange it at their own 
 charges in reliance on Government action. The Deputy Com- 
 missary General estimated the amount of British coin in circula- 
 tion at 4,500 /., of which 1,500/. was new bronze coinage issued 
 from the Treasury Chest. The Treasury agreed to withdraw 
 this copper at the charges of the Colonial Government for freight 
 and incidentals. But Her Majesty's Government declined to take 
 any responsibility in respect of the withdrawal of the old foreign 
 copper, which had been introduced illegally and without their 
 concurrence, though certain Government officers had occasionally 
 been driven to accept and pass it in an official capacity. 
 
 The settlement of 1872, however, was neither satisfactory or 
 final. Within a very short time the Order in Council was re- 
 ported to have been a dead letter. " It had been carefully 
 adhered to by all the Public Officers, but its provisions have 
 been practically disregarded by the Merchants and Traders of 
 Gibraltar who have elected to conduct all their operations of 
 purchase and sale, whether wholesale or retail, in the old Spanish 
 {i.e., Gibraltar) currency, i.e., in dollars, reals, and quarts as the 
 money of account.' 
 
 In 1878 matters were brought to a head by the scarcity of 
 gold. The Spanish Government appear never to have coined the 
 Doblon dTsabel in any quantity, and in 1876 they proceeded to 
 bring themselves under the system of the Latin Union ; l they 
 issued a new gold coin, the Alfonso or 25-peseta piece, of the 
 weight of 124*451 grains troy and T 9 ff fineness, and recalled the 
 more valuable Doblon dTsabel. The consequence was that this 
 latter coin first ran to a premium in Gibraltar, and then began 
 to disappear, so that the limit of tender on silver imposed by the 
 Order in Council was perforce disregarded on occasion even at 
 the Colonial Treasury. This was parallel to the facts in Spain 
 itself, where the new Alfonso had gone to a premium, and gold 
 did not circulate freely, in spite of the suspension of the free 
 coinage of silver in 1878. 
 
 At this time the only coins which were legal tender in 
 Gibraltar were said to be disappearing from circulation, and 
 
 * The collector of Customs complained, because all transactions in the 
 collection of revenue must now tirsi be converted from sterling or the old 
 currency into the new currency, and then be re-converted into sterling for 
 entry in the Government books. The local tradesmen appear to have declined 
 in most cases to comply with the instruction of 1815, and their books were 
 kept accordingly in the old currency of Gibraltar. 
 
 | See page 455. 
 
 j This had been originally projected by the Provisional Republican Go- 
 vernment of 1 808. 
 
Ch. XXXI. Gibraltar. 305 
 
 as the old coins of the earlier part of the century were still 
 current amongst the trading community, the circulation now 
 consisted of — 
 
 Gold. — The doubloon, half-doubloon, quarter-doubloon, and 
 " the old 2-dollar and dollar pieces," which were said to pass 
 current still in Spain at their nominal Value ;* the Doblon 
 d'Isabel and other gold coins of 1848 and 1864. 
 
 Silver. — The " Amadeo silver dollar of 5-pesetas," the new 
 5-peseta piece (the Alfonso dollar) and the peseta piece, "which 
 pass current by common consent, the former at 4*48 d., and the 
 latter 9',d. when tendered singly." 
 
 Copper. — British Tokens : — " the copper coins prescribed by 
 the Order in Council practically do not exist in Gibraltar." 
 
 The bronze coins of Spain were received with a distrust 
 apparently engendered of the idea that they Avouhi over-issue 
 them and run them down to a discount: "their great scarcity, has 
 rendered it necessary to have recourse to Algesiras, San Roque, 
 and even Cadiz in order to procure the requisite supply of 
 decimas and half decimas to meet the requirements of the public 
 offices." A decided preference was given by all classes of the 
 community to British bronze coins, and " in the ordinary daily 
 monetary transactions of the place and with the traders from 
 Spain 48 British pence are by general consent paid and received 
 as the equivalent of one Spanish gold or silver dollar or 5-peseta 
 piece." 
 
 The mercantile community urged the adoption of British sterling 
 as the standard. But the Imperial Government, after giving every 
 consideration to the proposal of the local committee, decided that 
 the failure ot the Order in Council of 1872 was really due to 
 the change in the Spanish system, and they recommended Her 
 Majestv to apply the new Spanish system to Gibraltar. The 
 Draft Order for that purpose was published for general informa- 
 tion in the "Gibraltar Chronicle" of 23rd October 1879, and it 
 ultimately t became the Order in Council of 1881. The old coins 
 found their way back to Spain, and a proclamation was issued 
 in 1887 demonetising the coins which had been called in by the 
 Spanish Government, viz., the Isabel silver dollars. 
 
 Thus the currency of Gibraltar was placed on an avowedly 
 " bimetallic" basis; the standard of value was to be the gold coin 
 of Spain, commonly called the Alfonso, or piece of 25 pesetas, 
 but the silver 5-peseta piece (which is identical with the 5-franc 
 piece of France), was made legal tender without limit. 
 
 But there is a marked difference in practice between the 
 currency of the Latiu Union and that of Spain. In Spain, the 
 issue of gold Alfonsos was limited, and inadequate, even in 
 
 * "Their exclusion as a legal tender has, no doubt, tended to maintain a 
 higher rate of exchange at which gold has been tendered for Treasury bills." 
 
 f Even before there had been time to mature this order the difficulty caused 
 to the Treasury Chest by the scarcity of gold had greatly increased, and there 
 was some talk of anticipating its operation by ordinance of the Governor, but 
 the proposal was not carried out, and the Order in Council eventually came 
 into operation as from 1st July 1881. 
 
306 Colonial Currency. 
 
 earlier years, to maintain at its full representative value the mass 
 of silver coins sent into circulation. Of late years, Spain has 
 steadily been losing her stock of gold, whilst continuing to coin 
 5-peseta pieces in silver. The result, also fully felt in Gibraltar, 
 has been that, by the natural action of an alternate standard, 
 silver has tended more and more to become the practical standard 
 and measure of value. The exchange proves this : according to 
 the mint-par, 25'22 gold pesetas are equal to 1/. sterling; and 
 the same proportion ought to hold good of silver 5-peseta pieces, 
 if these latter were shielded by sufficient gold. But, as a matter 
 of fact, the exchange per £ sterling had reached Ps. 26 in 
 1889, Ps. 27 in the middle of 1891, and Ps. 29 early in 1892. 
 That this result has been irrespective of the balance of trade, is 
 shown by the fact that British sovereigns* have uniformly 
 been tendered at par in Gibraltar for bills on London. Hence 
 the relative over-issue of silver is the disturbing cause, and its 
 effect is seen in the fact that the exchange value of the 
 5-peseta piece has dropped to about half-way between its repre- 
 sentative and its intrinsic value. f It has accordingly been sug- 
 gested that a limit of legal tender should be placed on Spanish 
 silver. The objection to such a limit is that it would differentiate 
 the currency of Gibraltar from that of Spain, and so remove the 
 Colony from the "currency area" to which it naturally belongs.^: 
 
 There is only one joint-stock bank in Gibraltar, formed by the 
 amalgamation of the late J. Saccane's banking business Avith a 
 branch of the Anglo-Egyptian Bank; but there are three private 
 banks, and several merchants carry on a banking business. 
 There is, however, no note-issue. Spanish and English bank- 
 notes are occasionally to be found in Gibraltar, but they are not 
 generally used. A proposal to issue (legal tender) notes is under 
 consideration. 
 
 The amount of coin in circulation was estimated, on 1st August 
 1892, at: 
 
 £. 
 British gold - 8,000 
 
 British silver - 500 
 
 Spanish silver - - - 70,000 
 Copper - 2,400 
 
 Total - - £. 80,900 
 
 This would give 41. 4 s. 9d. as the amount of coin per head of 
 inhabitant ; but the Bank reserves and other stocks must make 
 the " active " circulation very much lower. 
 
 * The troops in Gibraltar are nominally paid in sovereigns ; these are sold 
 for pesetas l>y paymasters, and the actual issue of pay is in Spanish silver. 
 
 f It is suspected locally that the recent issue of silver 5-peseta pieces, 
 bearing the effigy of the little King, and known as the " Bahy dollar," are 
 intrinsically inferior to previous issues. 
 
 ; '1 he present so-called currency troubles in Gibraltar do not fall within 
 the scope of these pages, being questions relating rather to prices than to 
 currency proper. 
 
Ch. XXXII. Malta. 307 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 Malta.* 
 
 (1797.)f 
 
 The Island of Malta has had a number of masters; the last 
 period of its history, prior to that which opened with British 
 rule, and excepting the brief occupation of the French, was that 
 of the domination of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, which 
 lasted from 1530 to 1797. As the knights were of different 
 nationalities, and drew their revenues from all parts of Europe, 
 it might have been expected that the Island would be a re- 
 pository for the coins of, at any rate, those nations which 
 bordered on the Mediterranean. This appears not to have been 
 the case. 
 
 1530-1800. The Native Maltese Coinage. 
 
 The Order of St. John had their own mint in Malta, and 
 issued their own coin. The oldest decree of the Council of the 
 Order with respect to the mint which has been traced bears date 
 the 20th August 1609, and provides for the coinage of gold, 
 silver, and brass pieces similar to those of the Kingdom of 
 Sicily ; which explains the Sicilian or Italian denomination of 
 the old Malta currency. 
 
 The Maltese unit of account was called the scudo ; and 
 
 1 scudo = 12 tari. 
 
 1 tari =20 grani. 
 
 The grano appears to have been sub- divided into piccioli. 
 
 " In the mint of Malta| were coined various pieces of gold and 
 silver; but formerly the fineness of the metal was not fixed, 
 but it depended on the will of the Grand Master, who sometimes 
 made the money finer, and sometimes with more alloy. In the 
 time of the Grand Master Pinto, as the money did not go out of 
 the country, all his coins almost varied, both gold and silver. 
 Zecchins of gold also, with the head of the Grand Master, were 
 occasionally coined, but in no great quantity. From the 
 beginning of the grand mastership of Rohan (1775 A.D.), and 
 since, the quantity of metal and alloy were fixed. But his 
 Louis d'or, being too valuable, soon disappeared ; and the few 
 that remain bear an agio of one scudo and more above their 
 nominal value." 
 
 9 1 am indebted to Sir Guiseppi Carbone, ll.d., k.O.m.g., for important 
 early decrees which he has been so good as to send me.— O.A.H. 
 
 f The histories appear not to be aware of this earlier date, but it is taken as 
 beinp; that appended to Captain Ball's decrees hereafter noticed. 
 
 X See Eton's Materials for a History of Malta, page 2fi6. 
 
308 
 
 Colonial Currency. 
 
 In 1778 Rohan decreed as law the following report from the 
 officers of the Mint : - 
 
 " We think that fine g^ld may be valued at 36 scudi the ounce, 
 and fine silver at 36 scudi the pound ; in this case gold of 22 
 carats should be fixed at the price of 3i scudi and gold of 17 
 carats at 26 J scudi the ounce- In the same manner Malta 
 silver, to be wrought by the silversmiths, of 1<H denari, should 
 be fixed at the price of 26| scudi the pound; that ol Home of 
 the fineness of 11 at 27^ scudi; and that of France of 1H at the 
 price of 28| scudi.'' 
 
 This was the basis upon which were coined most of the old 
 coins of Malta which were in existence at the time of the British 
 occupation. They were as follows* : — 
 
 Gold coins : 
 Double Louis d'or, passing for 20 scudi. 
 Single Louis d'or, „ „ 10 scwli. 
 
 Half „ „ „ „ 5 scudi. 
 
 Zecehino „ „ 4 scudi and 3 taxi. 
 
 Silver coins : 
 
 (a) containing 10 denari of fine silver. 
 
 30 tari piece = 2J scudi. 
 15 tari piece = l| scudi. 
 
 (b) containing 9 denari of fine silver. 
 
 2 scudi piece. 
 1 scudo piece. 
 
 Copper Coins : 
 
 4 tari piece. 
 2 tari piece. 
 1 tari. 
 
 10 grani piece (or carlino). 
 5 grani piece (or cinquina). 
 1 grano. 
 
 It does not appear that the brief occupation by the French 
 made any material alteration in the currency or introduced 
 French coins. 
 
 1800-1825. The Sicilian and the Spanish Dollar. 
 
 In 1797 Malta came under the protection of the English, and 
 one of the earlier acts of the new Government appears to have 
 resulted, quite unintentionally, in getting rid of a considerable 
 portion of the native coins. 
 
 "Sir Alexander Ball," savs Eton, "observing a scarcity of 
 coin in Malta, and wishing to make the circulating medium 
 more abundant, issued a decree by which foreign coins should 
 pass iii Malta for a greater number of scudi, tari, and grani than 
 they had hitherto done. The consequence was as he expected, 
 that more foreign coins actually did come to Malta, but what 
 he did not expect, all the Malta coin went to foreign countries, 
 particularly to Sicily, where the Grand Master's scudi were 
 melted, and came back to Malta in the form of Sicilian silver 
 coins with a gain of above 20 per cent." 
 
 Thus was the Sicilian dollar introduced into the currencv of 
 Aialla. The decrees referred to must have been those of May 
 and August 1797, which fixed the Sicilian piece of 12 carlini 
 at 30 tari, and the Sicilian gold ounce at six scudi three tari 
 
 ° This statement is based on Eton's account, which agrees with that given 
 in Kelly's Cambist, but portions of the original decrees do not tally with that 
 account. The history of the rating of these old coins, though not important 
 for the present purpose, needs further investigation. 
 
Ch. XXXII. Malta. 309 
 
 (75 tari). Writing apparently in 1803, Eton says already that 
 none* of the ancient national coin is to be found in Malta, 
 " except a few pieces which are preserved by the curious as 
 medals," and the scudo had really become merely a unit of 
 account. " The silver coin current in Malta " he proceeds, 
 " is the Sicilian ' Oncia d'argento,' and, according to the intrinsic 
 value of this piece of silver, the Malta scudo has acquired its 
 nominal value ; for this piece in Malta is fixed at two scudi 
 and-a-half, and as such passes in all payments. The real value 
 of this Sicilian piece (commonly called the Sicilian dollar) is 
 about four shillings sterling."! 
 
 Besides the Sicilian dollar, the Spanish dollar was evidently in 
 circulation at the beginning of the century.^ And it may be 
 gathered from the decrees relating to the currency of the doubloon 
 that the Spanish dollar was for a time commonly estimated, if 
 not formally rated, on a par with the less valuable Sicilian coin. 
 
 A decree of January 1801, following the old Spanish valuation, 
 directed that everyone should receive the doubloon as the equiva- 
 lent of 16 pillar dollars. But a Proclamation of 21st October 
 1806 reduced the rate of conversion, in deference to an idea that 
 " Spanish gold had a comparatively inferior value in Sicily," to 
 15£ dollars, or 38 scudi 9 tari, which is equal to a rating of the 
 dollar at 30 tari.§ 
 
 From returns of coin imported into Malta on Imperial 
 account it appears that from 1800 to 1805 the Sicilian ounce 
 formed the bulk of the specie imported; but in 1807 200,000 
 Spanish dollars were introduced in a large consignment of specie 
 from England, and for a time Spanish coin appears to have been 
 the favourite medium of circulation: " during the war and for 
 some years after the peace (i.e., of 1815), the Island abounded 
 in doubloons and dollars of Spain." And in a decree of 1812 it 
 is spoken of as " the principal money actually in circulation." 
 
 This decree of 1812, promulgated by Sir Hildebrand Oakes, 
 with a view to assimilate the value at which the Spanish dollar 
 passed to that at which it was current in Sicily, ordered that 
 
 * It is difficult to reconcile this statement with the later information that 
 in 1829 about one-fifth of the silver in circulation consisted of the old 
 Maltese silver, vide p. 312 adfinem. 
 
 f Eton observes that the immediate effect of the influx of Sicilian coin was to 
 reduce all salaries and payments stipulated for in scudi of Malta about 26 per 
 cent. ; and he proceeds to consider the expediency of coining a new Maltese 
 scudo, and leaving the Sicilian dollar to circulate concurrently. He also 
 states that the copper coin in circulation bears no sort of proportion to the 
 value of the metal ; and that much false coin was being introduced. And 
 he states that the amount of copper in circulation is calculated at about 
 25,000 l sterling. f 
 
 % Eton states that, although a lighter coin than the other, ihe Spanish 
 piastre was of greater fineness, and of the value of 2 scudi 3 tari 3 grani, 
 and 5 piccioli of Malia. He notes, however, that the piastres vary in value, 
 mentioning " those of the Crown, those of Peru, and those of two globes." 
 See page 391. 
 
 § From which it may be fairly inferred that from 1801 to 1806 the doub- 
 loon passed at 40 scudi of Malta. This was the rate at which it was legalised 
 in 1850: see page 320. The Governor at ihe latter date refers to the profit 
 which the Government in old days made out of this wrong rating. 
 
 72642. X 
 
310 Colonial Currency. 
 
 " the Hard Piece of Spain without distinction, whether Pillared 
 or Castile, should pass for 10 grains of Malta more than the 
 Piece of Sicily, so long as those two moneys continued to bear 
 the same relation one to another."* 
 
 On the 1st of January 1815, the Governor, having apparently 
 discovered that the decrees in force undervalued the Spanish 
 dollar, " fixed the difference between the Spanish and Sicilian 
 dollar at 2 1 r/.f in all payments to the army and navy, but left 
 the under-valuation of the Spanish dollar in all civil receipts and 
 payments." We also are told that in 1822 he contemplated 
 raising the rate at which the Spanish dollar passed current to 
 31^ tari in all payments and receipts. But this was not done, 
 and a good deal of ill-feeling was caused by the disappearance of 
 the Spanish coin. 
 
 In 1823 the growing discontent took shape. The merchants 
 of the Island memorialised the Government on the state of the 
 currency. The copper coinage they stated was depreciated more 
 than 95 per cent. The late extensive issue of that coin from 
 the Treasury had already been attended with great inconvenience. 
 The gold and silver coinage in circulation Avas stated to be, 
 though not so bad as the copper, yet inadequate to the necessities 
 of the Island. 
 
 The coins in circulation at this time appear to have been the 
 following : — 
 
 Copper. 
 
 
 4 tari piece. 
 *> 
 
 
 
 10 grani piece. 
 
 1 n ii 
 
 
 
 1 j» »» 
 
 Spanish pillar dollar. 
 Sicilian dollar, and parts. 
 I Maltese 30 tari piece. 
 »i 1** ii ii 
 
 Si/i 
 
 ■>er. 
 
 Maltese 9 scudi (24 tari) piece, 
 and other coins, as enume- 
 rated in the statement on the 
 next page.§ 
 
 Gold. 
 Some Old Maltese Louis d'Or and Zecchini. 
 
 • This episode in the history needs elucidation. All the obtainable 
 evidence, as well as the wording of Sir H. Oakes' decree, goes to show that 
 the valuation of the Spanish was thereby raised in comparison with the 
 Sicilian coin. Yet shortly afterwards the former evidently began to disappear. 
 The Colonial Secretary, writing in 1824, attributes this to the fact that the 
 order had '* fixed the exchange at 30^ tari per Spanish dollar, i.e., only 1 d. 
 currency between the Spanish and Sicilian dollars, whereas the intrinsic 
 difference (even taking the best of the Sicilian coin) is 2£ d." But this does 
 not explain the facts in the light of the previous ratings ; evidently other 
 causes were at work, probahly the change from war to peace. Pennington's 
 book is hopelessly confused on this subject 
 
 f There are traces of a local " currency " from the beginning of the British 
 occupation ; the scudo had in the days of the Grand Masters been intrinsically 
 worth a fraction under two shillings, and amongst the new comers it passed 
 for a two shilling piece. Its value was either really upset in the way 
 described by Eton on p. 807 ad wit., or declined steadily with abrasion and a 
 falling gold price for silver. Kelly, in 1821, makes it 1 s. 9^ d. The ratings 
 of 1825 assumed its sterling value as 1 s. 8d. ; and there is varied evidence to 
 show that the difference between amounts of sterling and of "currency" was 
 20 per cent, on the amount of sterling, i.e., 2£ d. sterling = 3 d. " currency." 
 This is the meaning of the passage cited ; it also explains the annoyance 
 alluded to on p. 321, at the reduction in nominal value of the scudo by making 
 half a scudo more go to the £ sterling. 
 
 % The 30 tari piece (2J scudi) went by the appellation of the "current 
 dollar." 
 
 § It may be of interest to reproduce an official statement which shows not 
 
Ch. XXXII. Malta. 
 
 311 
 
 and the commonest coins were Sicilian dollars, half dollars, and 
 quarters in silver, and the grains in copper or base metal. M The 
 present circulation consists almost entirely of Sicilian dollars, 
 half and quarter dollars, and other small Sicilian coins, all of 
 them much below their nominal value, and a great part of ex- 
 tremely old date, and reduced by use or clipping very far indeed 
 below it." And " were it not for the facilities afforded by the 
 two banks by their notes, .... and by checks, business 
 would be still more impeded.'* 
 
 " During the war," writes the Colonial Secretary, " in 
 February 1824, and for some years after the peace, this Island 
 abounded in doubloons and in Spanish dollars ; but at present not 
 one of the former is to be found, and very few indeed of the latter. 
 In fact Spanish dollars are become not a medium of circulation, 
 but an object of commerce, and any call for them raises the price 
 immediately in the Money Changing Market." The Imperial 
 Treasury was evidently in the habit of remitting large quantities 
 of Spanish dollars to the Island, and "in all payments in this Island 
 settled at home in sterling money the Spanish dollar is valued at 
 4 s. 6 (V * And the Commissary is found constantly disputing 
 with the other departments as to the exact rate of agio between 
 the Sicilian and Spanish dollar. 
 
 only the different mintage of the chief native coins, but also the variation of 
 the intrinsic content of several coins all rated on the same footing : — 
 
 STATEMENT of the Gross Weight of the Contents in Pure Silver (Troy Weight) of Maltese Silver 
 Coins remaining in Circulation in the Island of Malta and its Dependencies, Uken from an 
 Assay made by the Assayer and he Consul of Silversmiths, under the direction of the Treasurer 
 of Government. • 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Nominal 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Gross 
 
 Contend 
 
 Sterling 
 Value 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Weight 
 
 in 
 
 according to 
 the Rates 
 fixed for 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 of 
 
 Pure 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 the Coins- 
 
 Silver. 
 
 the British 
 Metall c 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Currency. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Grains. 
 
 Grains. 
 
 s. d. 
 
 
 Piece of 30 Tari 
 
 i X0, Majo r r reXit 
 
 452 
 
 310 12/16 
 
 4 2 
 
 \ 
 
 II 
 
 15 
 
 >> 
 
 ditto - 
 
 - of 1769 
 
 225 4/16 
 
 161 10/16 
 
 2 1 
 
 Supposed amount 
 in circulation 
 • 32,000 dollars, or 
 
 II 
 
 15 
 
 ii 
 
 Rohan - 
 
 - of 1781 
 
 225 8 16 
 
 184 9/16 
 
 2 1 
 
 l» 
 
 80 
 
 ii 
 
 ditto - 
 
 - of 1790 
 
 458 8/16 
 
 373 7/16 
 
 4 2 
 
 0,666/. 13*. id., 
 
 •l 
 
 30 
 
 ii 
 
 Hompesch 
 
 - of 1798 
 
 457 
 
 377 1416 
 
 4 2 
 
 at 4 .« . 2 d. 
 
 II 
 
 15 
 
 n 
 
 ditto - 
 
 - of 1798 
 
 228 
 
 192 6/16 
 
 2 1 
 
 j 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 Rohan - 
 
 - of 1777 
 
 13 16 
 
 10 8/16 
 
 - 1 8/12 
 
 , 
 
 '.' 
 
 4 
 
 
 ditto - 
 
 - of 1779 
 
 58 /16 
 
 89 1/16 
 
 - 6 8/12 
 
 1 Supposed amount 
 
 
 2 
 
 »* 
 
 ditto - 
 
 - of 1779 
 
 29 14/16 
 
 20 10/16 
 
 - 3 4/12 
 
 in circulation 
 > 10,000 dollars, or 
 
 
 6 
 
 
 ditto - 
 
 - Of 1780 
 
 88 8 16 
 
 68 4/16 
 
 - 10 
 
 ' 
 
 24 
 
 1 1 
 
 ditto - 
 
 - of 1796 
 
 70 
 
 268 4/16 
 
 3 4 
 
 j 2,083 1. 6 s. 8 d., 
 
 n 
 
 12 
 
 ii 
 
 ditto - 
 
 - of 1796 
 
 387 12/16 
 
 135 7/16 
 
 1 8 
 
 at 4*. Id. 
 
 Malta, 
 Treasury, IS June 1825. 
 
 (signed) 
 
 R. W. St. John, 
 Treasurer of Government. 
 
 * The sterling rating of the old " Piece of Eight,'' as laid down in 1717 by 
 Sir Isaac Newton ; see. page 6. * , 
 
 72642. 
 
 x 2 
 
312 
 
 Colonial Currency. 
 
 The remedy proposed by the merchants was an Island coinage 
 
 of:- 
 
 (a) Silver pieces of 30, 15, 12, 6, 3, and 1 tari to the total 
 amount of 275,000 scudi ; 
 
 (b) Copper coins of 10, 5, 2, and 1 grani ; 
 
 whilst the Colonial Secretary proposed to raise the rate of Spanish 
 dollars to the amount indicated by the Governor in 1815. 
 
 On the 10th of June 1824 the Governor adopted the last 
 suggestion and issued a Proclamation directing that from the 
 date thereof the Spanish pillar dollars should pass current 
 within the Island of Malta and its dependencies at the rate of 
 31 tari and 10 grani of Malta, at which rate they were to be 
 issued and received at the Treasury and other Government 
 offices. Arguing from the fact that the Sicilian dollar, which 
 was 30 tari, was issued to the troops for 4 s. 3^ d., this was equal 
 to a rating of rather over 4 s. 5^ d. for the Spanish dollar, or 
 rather less actually than the Treasury rating whicli it was in- 
 tended to introduce.* The Proclamation was said to be well 
 received by the merchants, as giving activity to capital which 
 was lying idle in Spanish dollars : " the only possible objection 
 to the measure is that it may tend to raise the sterling rate of 
 exchange." 
 
 1825-1834. Attempt to Introduce Sterling. 
 
 The project for a new coinage for Malta was not adopted, 
 owing to the decision of the Treasury in February 1825 to intro- 
 duce British silver and copper into all colonies where troops were 
 stationed, and to rate the Spanish dollar at 4 s. 4 d. sterling (see 
 page 23). On the 9th of June 1825 the Governor of Malta 
 proclaimed the rates in Maltese currency at which the British 
 coins should pass current after the 24th June, as follows: — 
 
 Silver. 
 
 Scudi. t. g. Grani. 
 
 The crown, or five-shilling 3 or 720 
 
 piece. 
 The half-crown, or two- 1 6 or 360 
 
 shilling and sixpenny 
 
 piece. 
 The shilling ... 
 
 The sixpence 
 
 
 
 7 4 or 144 
 3 12 or 72 
 
 Copper. 
 
 Grani 
 The penny ------- 12 
 
 The halfpenny ---... g 
 
 The farthing ------ | 
 
 At the same time he urged strongly that a coin of the denomi- 
 nation " grano," or one-third of a farthing, should be specially 
 coined, " as many articles of primary necessity are ofien sold 
 here to the value of one grano " ; and he proposed, on receiving 
 them, to withdraw as rapidly as possible the base grani then in 
 circulation. 
 
 The amount of coinage in the Island at that date was estimated 
 to be $2 10,000 in silver, of which #42,000 were represented by 
 the silver coins of Malta, the greater part, #32,000, being in 30 
 
 • According to a contemporary statement :—" In regard to the intrinsic 
 value of these two coins, according to the assay made here, there was found 
 a difference of value in favour of the Spanish dollar of very nearly 2 tari of 
 Malta, say 3d. sterling." Whereas the difference of rating for issue was 
 now at the most •Ijd., leaving an agio of l^d. in favour of each Spanish dollar. 
 
Ch. XXXII. Malta. 313 
 
 and 15 tari pieces, and 270,000 scudi in copper, the intrinsic 
 value of' which was computed at 10,800 scudi. 
 
 On the 11th October 1825 a local Proclamation, founded on 
 the Order in Council for all the colonies, was issued, making, as 
 from the 25th December 1825, the tender of a Spanish pillar 
 dollar equal to the tender of British sterling to the amount of 
 4 s. 4 d., and declaring that all debts and engagements might be 
 discharged in either at the option of the debtor; the tender of 
 copper being limited to 12 d. 
 
 The Government accounts were also ordered to be kept in 
 sterling from that date. 
 
 On the 22nd November a supplementary notice (not a procla- 
 mation having the force of law) declared that the Sicilian dollar 
 would still be received and paid at the Government Treasury 
 "at the same rate as at present," viz., 4s. 2d. 
 
 On 6th March 1826 British sovereigns and half-sovereigns were 
 proclaimed legal tender in Malta at 20 s. and 10 s. respectively. 
 
 On 3rd November 1827 a Proclamation ordained that " a 
 copper coin of a less value than the British farthing (now current 
 at the rate of three Malta grains each) should be provided for 
 the accommodation of this population," and the new " British 
 grain '' coined in England, and described in the Proclamation, 
 from the date of the Proclamation passed current " as of the value 
 of one grain of Malta money, and relative to, and in exchange 
 for, other British copper coin as follows, viz. : 
 
 12 for one penny. 
 6 for one half-penny. 
 3 for one farthing." 
 
 On the 6th of the same month a further Proclamation demo- 
 netised the old Malta copper coinage, and provided for its 
 exchange against the new coin. The amount of copper which was 
 sent from home for this operation was 4,400 /. in pence, half-pence, 
 and grains, of which only 2,400 /. was issued, and the total cost 
 of the withdrawal of the debased coinage was 17,610 /., which was 
 advanced by the Imperial Treasury. 
 
 This is admitted to have settled the copper coinage ; but the 
 state of the silver currency remained the subject of much dis- 
 cussion. The British silver which had been introduced some 
 2£ years previously, was, in March 1828, reported to have been 
 little else than a subject of merchandise : it did not circulate 
 generally ; and, as "there is now no other small silver coinage in 
 the Island, the want of it in circulation is much felt." The 
 amount imported by the Imperial Treasury was not great : for the 
 three years 1825-27 it had been 45,070 I. The Deputy Commis- 
 sary General, in order to supply himself with silver, was required 
 to give bills at a premium (at first of 3, later 1£ per cent., see 
 p. 25 - 6) for all British silver tendered to him ; and he was for- 
 bidden as far as possible to receive other coin. In default of 
 "being able to obtain these bills the merchants remitted to their 
 English correspondents in British silver. So that this silver was 
 in demand only for remittance, bearing an agio varying from 
 i to 5 per cent, over the Spanish and Sicilian dollars" which 
 
314 Colonial Currency. 
 
 continued to form the bulk of the circulation. For the commercial 
 intercourse of Malta with surrounding countries was said to be 
 " such that Spanish and Sicilian dollars inevitably compose its 
 principal circulating medium ; and unless both these coins have 
 a fixed legal value at Malta a considerable amount thereof would 
 become dead capital instead of being available at present ; " # 
 which last statement seems to mean that Malta must keep a 
 supply of dollars to pay for its supplies from neighbouring 
 countries ; and that meanwhile they may as well be used in 
 ordinary local transactions. 
 
 However nothing came of the proposal to deal with the silver 
 part of the currency. Apparently the British Treasury gave up 
 the attempt to import British silver, and the consignments of specie 
 to the Island consisted mostly of Spanish dollars. The local 
 merchants continued to keep their accounts in the old Maltese 
 currency ; and, " as the Maltese scudo had been commonly 
 called, and considered as 2 s. between retail buyers and sellers, 
 the former adhered to the old practice lest under the new system 
 he should in his purchases lose the difference (20 per cent.) 
 between the nominal and real value of the scudo."f 
 
 1834-1844. The South American Dollar. 
 
 On the 27th May 1834 was published the Order in Council 
 ordaining that the dollars of Peru, Bolivia, Chili, and Rio Plata 
 should pass current at Malta at 4 s. 4r/. sterling, equally with the 
 Spanish pillar dollar. The irregularity in the weight (and fine- 
 ness) of the new dollars, especially of those from the mints of 
 Guadalajara and Zacatecas, soon caused inconvenience. In 1838 
 British silver bore a premium for shipment to England, as did the 
 Spanish and Sicilian dollars for shipment to Italy and Sicily. 
 The lighter South American dollars Avere monopolising the 
 internal circulation of the Island. On the 10th June 1840 a 
 leading firm of merchants reported that two bags of 1,000 South 
 American dollars, for the most part quite new, proved to weigh 
 only 830^ ozs, each instead of 866 h ozs. This was the same 
 thing as a loss of l|rf. on each dollar; and the Government was 
 requested to take steps to prevent the further circulation of coin 
 of such inferior weight. As, however, the Treasury merely 
 inculcated caution in receipt of light dollars, very soon the local 
 Government became more urgent ; the heavier dollars — they 
 pointed out — were being withdrawn, and the lighter ones were 
 monopolising the circulation ; and serious embarrassment was 
 feared. The Treasury instruction to their officers was to receive 
 the South American dollars of the average weight of 866 ozs. for 
 
 • It is interesting in the light of subsequent facts to note that at this time, 
 in the course of the discussion respecting the demonetisation of dollars and 
 the introduction of a purely local coinage, the Commissary remarked that, 
 "notwithstanding Spanish and Sicilian dollars would have no legal value, 
 they would in any circumstances have a conventional odp, as Malta received 
 its regular supplies of the daily necessaries of lite from the surrounding 
 countries." 
 
 f See note on page 310. 
 
Ch. XXXII. Malta. 315 
 
 every 1,000 dollars; but when the large quantities were broken 
 up, the natural tendency was to garble and export the heavier 
 coins. And this went so far, that, " out of a payment of 20,000 
 dollars lately tendered to the Commissariat, 17,000 were refused." 
 The tendency of the South American coin to remain in Malta was 
 enhanced by its exclusion from France, Italy, Sicily, and the 
 Levant. The holder of South American dollars in Malta was 
 obliged to pay an agio of from \ to 2 per cent, in order to obtain 
 Spanish dollars for export ; or if he exported the South American 
 dollars he lost 4 to 5 per cent., and, if British silver, 8 or 10 per 
 cent, of its nominal value. 
 
 The " evils " of the Malta currency at this time were thus 
 summed up in a memorial from the leading firms : — 
 
 " 1. A depreciated British silver currency." 
 
 " 2. A currency of South American dollars unequal in 
 weight of alloy, constantly depreciating by reason thereof, 
 the more valuable dollars being collected for melting, and 
 those of less value left .... with a continual importation 
 of light dollars.''* 
 
 " 3. The continuance of monetary denominations of 
 account in a currency almost extinct causing the greatest 
 perplexity." 
 
 and they advocated Mr. Christian's! plan of replacing the whole 
 of the existing silver currency by special coins worth 4 s. each 
 " of the old silver standard." 
 
 The Treasury, after some four years' consideration and repeated 
 appeals, while combating the opinion that South American 
 dollars were on the whole inferior in weight to those of Spain, 
 admitted the over-valuation of the dollar as compared with 
 British money, and attempted to rectify matters by the Orders in 
 Council of 4th March 1844. 
 
 The first of these revoked the Order of 23rd March 1825, and 
 the Proclamations of the local government, and confirmed the 
 Proclamation and notices establishing British sterling as the 
 standard. The second rated the Spanish, Mexican, and Co- 
 lombian dollar at 4 s. 2 d. sterling. The Treasury further 
 impressed upon the Government the necessity of care in rejecting 
 light dollars. 
 
 This measure excited much consternation. When the Governor 
 received it, he reported that the South American dollars formed 
 at present the only circulating medium ; Sicilian dollars did not 
 
 * One special inconvenience of the prevalence of light dollars was their 
 refusal by the Commissariat in exchange for sterling bills on England, on the 
 supply of which commerce was stated to be very dependent. 
 
 f The currency difficulties of Malta were taken up and argued with much 
 ability by two leading residents, both engaged in Banking and Commerce, 
 Mr. Christian and Mr. Papaffy. Their chief contributions are contained in 
 pamphlets. 
 
316 Colonial Currency. 
 
 stay in the Island ; * and all British silver had been sent to 
 England as remittances " in consequence of the low rate of ex- 
 change." The action of the Government was thus looked upon 
 as a forced depreciation of the currency. It was calculated that 
 there must be a million of these dollars in Malta, giving a loss of 
 8,000/. or 9,000 /., which would, under the Order in Council, 
 fall on individuals. And it was alleged in a Petition of Merchants 
 forwarded by the Governor " that every kind of business has be- 
 come most difficult, no faith whatever being now placed in the 
 money which the Government is at present pleased to make legal 
 in these islands .... They do not hesitate to say that the actual 
 monetary situation of Malta is a positive calamity." 
 
 The first result was the presentation of a series of claims from 
 the banks and mercantile houses, grounded partly upon the reduced 
 rating of the South American coin, partly on the rejection of 
 dollars under 17 dwts. 8 grains in weight; but in Mr. Christian's 
 claim it was admitted that the depreciation of the South 
 American dollar had already taken place, since defective minting- 
 had been soon discovered, " and the reduction now made by 
 Government in its value had in part or entirely previously taken 
 place for all purposes of foreign trade. No claim is made for 
 Spanishf dollars, because they maintain their former value of 
 4 s. 4 d. to 4 s. 4± d." 
 
 In reply to these representations, the Treasury simply affirmed 
 their former position, and,in following it up with a large supply 
 of British currency remarked that " as the receipt of this coin by 
 the Commissariat and other public departments without limita- 
 tion as to its amount, as well as its availableness for remittance 
 to this country, will fully maintain its nominal value, Her 
 Majesty's Government see no reason to doubt that it will very 
 sufficiently answer all purposes of local currency, and that with 
 the addition of British gold coin and of dollars at their proper 
 weight and real intrinsic worth, there will be no want of an 
 ample circulating medium of well-ascertained value." The 
 Government further pi'oposed to legalise, at its intrinsic value, 
 the Sicilian dollar, which, notwithstanding that it was not legal 
 tender, was now rapidly replacing the Mexican dollar, and was 
 readily received by all classes at its previous value of 4 s. 2 d., 
 or 2 sc. 6 tari. 
 
 8 Although they were conventionally overvalued. Evidently the lightness of 
 the South American coins was such that they were more overvalued than the 
 Sicilian coins. As soon as their legal value in Malta was reduced, while they 
 could he pas-ed elsewhere (see next page ad med.) at the higher rate, they 
 rapidly left the island. 
 
 It will be observed that in Malta, unlike Gibraltar, the new dollars 
 had rapidly taken a hold on the community ; and distrust of them appears 
 to have been the result of actual facts quite apart from the reduction of 
 rating. 
 
 f The proportion of this latter coin held by the banks on the 31st July 
 J 844 was declared to be : — 
 
 Bank of Malta. Anglo-Maltese. 
 
 Spanish pillar dollar - - 11,633 - - 18,(532 
 
 Mexican dollar - - - - 118,244 - - 80,385 
 
Ch. XXXII. Malta. 317 
 
 The liability of British silver to be withdrawn for remittance 
 to England, had one very inconvenient result; it "had often 
 deprived the inhabitants of the quantity of small silver necessary 
 either to tender in payment of minor purchases in the shops and 
 markets, or to give in exchange for larger coins.* It is but a 
 few months ago that the whole bulk of the British silver almost 
 entirely disappeared from circulation, and the supplies which 
 have since been thrown in may be expected to follow as soon as 
 the South American dollars, which are leaving the island very 
 quickly, shall have been sent entirely away.t At this period 
 (October 1844) so great is the scarcity of British silver that 
 persons pay from 1 to 1| per cent, for it in Sicilian dollars to 
 enable them to pay the customs, &c ; thus enhancing the 
 amount of the rents, &c, payable to Government. A great 
 portion of the silver issued was kept back for remittance to 
 England when the exchange with that country is unfavourable. 
 
 " It would be fallacious to expect that Mexican dollars can 
 ever remain in circulation here at 4 s. 2 d., and of a weight not 
 under 17 dwts. 8 grs.: so unequal is the mintage of that coin that 
 to make up 1,000 not under that weight, the weight of the whole 
 will average 890 ozs., being 24 ozs. above the legal average 
 weight .... All Mexican dollars are still current in 
 the Ionian Islands at the rate of 4 s. 4 d., and find an equal 
 value in Greece." 
 
 1845-1855. Sicilian Dollar Monopolises Circulation at 
 
 an Illegal Rate. 
 
 With these considerations before him, the Governor reverted 
 to the proposal for a special coinage of silver for the islands, and 
 at the same moment pressed for the legalisation of the Sicilian 
 dollar, which now absorbed the currency of the island, as equiva- 
 lent to 4 #. 2 d., as it was " the only coin now in Malta which 
 really circulates without being subject to the agiotage of the 
 money changers,":}: and he urged that "nothing can be more para- 
 lysing to trade than having nearly the whole currency of the 
 island consisting of a coin that is not a legal tender." 
 
 The Governor himself took the responsibility of authorising 
 the receipt of Sicilian dollars at 4 s. 2 d. for Government rents 
 at Gozo, as otherwise the rents could not have been paid. 
 
 On receipt of the result of the assay, and the proposal of Her 
 Majesty's Government to legalise the Sicilian dollar at 4 s., the 
 merchants and the banks entered into an agreement " to receive 
 and pay reciprocally the Sicilian dollar at the rate of 4 s. 2 d. for 
 the term of six months from the 4th of March 1845, notwith- 
 standing any law that may be made to the contrary." The 
 Anglo-Maltese bank in protesting against the proposal in its 
 bare form suggested the simultaneous limitation of the tender of 
 
 Yet the Governor requested that British silver not lower than 6 d. might 
 be sent. Many 3 c?., 6 c?., and 4 d. pieces had been received, but were not in 
 favour, copper being better liked for such amounts. 
 
 + See note " on page 316. 
 
 J As of course was probable seeing that it was over-valued in Malta and came 
 in naturally in the course of trade. 
 
318 . Colonial Currency. 
 
 British silver to 40 s., and the calling in of the " old depre- 
 ciated coinage of the Knights of Saint John." 
 
 The reply of the Home Government was that their action was 
 prompted by a desire for a more effectual assimilation " of the 
 standard of value at Malta to that of the United Kingdom." An 
 Order in Council was issued to legalise the Sicilian dollar at 4 s., 
 and the Governor was instructed to take measures for withdrawing 
 the whole of the coins of the Order of St. John " from circulation 
 at as early a period as the state of the Treasury may admit, by 
 retaining such as may be paid into the public chests, and by 
 fixing a period limited to a few days for the exchange at their 
 present value of such as may be held by individuals for coins 
 legally current." * 
 
 The action of the Home Government, however, failed to set 
 matters on a right basis. Large supplies of British silverf were 
 not acceptable to the mercantile community at Malta, who could 
 only use it to pay for their imports from Sicily (and neighbour- 
 ing places), by the round about process of remitting it to London 
 in return for Spanish dollars. At the same time, as we have 
 seen, it was in demand for payment of taxes and dues, and for 
 remittances. Thus it might happen at the same time that the 
 importers were seeking dollars to pay to their foreign agents, 
 and other persons were seeking British silver to pay taxes ; and 
 this appears to be the explanation of the statement made by 
 Mr. Papaffy in August 1845, that " at this moment no less than 
 six different coins are a legal tender in the island, and there is 
 not one of them which could be procured at its legal rate ; they 
 are all at a premium varying from 1 to 4 per cent., viz. : — 
 
 Maltese silver coins - - agio § per cent. 
 British „ „ % „ 
 
 British gold sovereigns - - „ 3£ d. each. 
 Spanish pillar dollars „ 2^ 2 d. „ 
 
 South American - - - „ 1J d. „ 
 
 Sicilian - - - „ 2 d. „ 
 
 " thus in every transaction the contracting parties are compelled 
 to make a separate agreement with regard to the coin and the 
 rate at which the payment is to be made. This is the actual 
 state of our currency, arising from the arrangements made by 
 Her Majesty's Government." And Mr. Papaffy, who appre- 
 hended a large influx of British silver, and a fiercer struggle of 
 the agios, urged that some limitation on the issue of British 
 silver was desirable. 
 
 No action was taken on this, and the old Maltese coinage remained till 
 1880 {see p. 824;. 
 
 ■f The Home Government was not unnaturally puzzled that British silver 
 should circulate freely without a limit of tender in the British West Indies, 
 while the Maltese merchants kept speaking of it as a "depreciated" currency. 
 Tliey did not fully appreciate the difference of circumstance. In their trade 
 and associations the Maltese were largely foreign at that time, and by practical 
 experience they knew that British silver did not go every where as easily a* the 
 British sovereign- Yet nothing could he more curious than the fact that this 
 coin, over which they grumbled, actually bore an agio as against the (abo over- 
 rated) dollars, being in steady demand for remittance to England. 
 
Ch. XXXII. Malta. 319 
 
 Practical effect was given to the views promulgated by Mr. 
 Papaffy, in the Convention of 29th August 1845, by which the 
 Presidents of the banks and others, merchants and traders, 
 " feeling- the inconvenience which arises to commerce from the 
 legal valuation of the Spanish and Sicilian dollar, established by 
 the Proclamations of the 18th July 1844 and 16th July 1845, 
 whilst British silver money continues an unlimited legal tender 
 (although as compared with the legal valuation of the said coins, 
 it is of 10 per cent, inferior worth), have resolved to continue 
 the agreement of the 4th March last reciprocally to receive the 
 said Sicilian dollar at 4 s. 2 d. each or 30 tari of Malta currency, 
 and to extend the same to receive reciprocally the Spanish 
 pillar dollar at 4 s. 4 d. or 31 tari and 4 grani each, and the Maria 
 Theresa dollar at 4s. 2d. or 30 tari each. This agreement to hold 
 good until the 31st December 1846, unless the British or Local 
 Government should by an authentic and legal act ordain that no 
 one shall be compelled to receive in any one payment more than 
 40 s. of British silver, in which case the present agreement shall 
 be considered cancelled and of no effect, at the expiration of 30 
 days from the date of such authentic act of Government." 
 
 This convention was intended '' to oppose an effective barrier 
 to the too great influx of Biitish silver, for though it could not 
 prevent its entrance into the island, it diverted it into a reservoir, 
 there to remain till the wants of remitters took it away to send 
 back to England," and this result was claimed for it as otherwise 
 " the Spanish and Sicilian dollar being considerably undervalued 
 as relative to British silver, and even in comparison with pounds 
 sterling, expressed in bills on England, would have been all ex- 
 ported in a few weeks." 
 
 The agreement was renewed from year to year, and Mr. 
 Christian, in 1849, complained that " the island's monetary system 
 is now in a state of confusion, more confounded than it was in 
 1844, or previously thereto." " The prices of all commodities 
 are regulated by the current rate of the major part of the cir- 
 culation, which consists of dollars of 4s. ±d. and 4s. 2d. each, 
 whilst the payment to the sailor and soldier is supposed to be 
 given at their intrinsic value in gold, or 4 per cent, less ; it 
 would, of course, be otherwise, if for 4 s. of pay due they received 
 one (Sicilian) dollar, but this never happens, for the Commissary 
 never receives dollars, and consequently has none to give. 
 British silver has no circulation whatever in traffic of any kind, 
 wholesale or retail. The local Government receives its Customs 
 dues, &c, in British silver, because it is more advantageous for 
 those who are debtors to the Local Government to pay in British 
 coin, even with an agio of 2 to 2| per cent., than to pay in 
 dollars at a difference of 4 per cent, below their value in mercan- 
 tile operations, or in the estimation of the shopkeepers. In like 
 manner the Commissary of the troops has British silver only 
 tendered to him against his bills on England for which he has of 
 late obtained a premium of 5 s. to 10 s. on every 100/. in bills, 
 whilst to the taker of the bills they cost 21. 5 s. to 2 1. 15 s. 
 premium, by reason of the agio he has to pay to the money" 
 changers for collecting British silver. Thus, in this little island, 
 there are two distinct currencies, one for all purposes connected. 
 
320 
 
 Colonial Currency. 
 
 with the Government, and another for all the transactions of 
 foreign and domestic commerce."* 
 
 The st.ite of things alluded to produced a special difficulty in 
 regard to small change. There were no §- or ^-dollars of Spain 
 in Malta in 1849, and but few Sicilian ^-dollars. English 
 shillings and sixpences were hoarded or bought up to pay- 
 Government dues. " It frequently happened that a shopkeeper 
 refused to sell the value of sixpence or a shilling, or he insisted 
 on one, two or more pence to change a dollar." Petitions were 
 made to the Government and no relie^ obtained. So that the 
 Chamber of Commerce made interest with the Government of 
 Naples, and, in return for Spanish dollars, brought to Malta 
 138,000 pieces of 2 carlini or 8§d. each, and 12,000 pieces 
 of 1 carlino or 4^rf. each. These afforded "a great (but 
 temporary) relief, for even this small coin does not escape the 
 avidity of traffickers in agio." 
 
 The British Government were finally persuaded to take action 
 on these repeated representations, by a memorial of the Chamber 
 of Commerce of February 1850. The Chamber alleged that 
 their convention answered its purpose as regards foreign com- 
 merce, but there was a scarcity of silver in change : and the appeal 
 turned on the agio on this silver and its results. In November 
 1850 two Orders in Council and Proclamations were issued. 
 The first Order in Council mid Proclamation, after reciting that 
 "the coins current in Our Island of Malta, . . . consist 
 partly of the current coins of the United Kingdom and partly of 
 the gold and silver coins of Foreign States," gave the five-franc 
 piece currency at 3 s. 1 1 d. The second Order in Council enacted 
 that from and after the date of the publication of these presents 
 the following coins should pass current at the following rates 
 in Maltese currency in substitution for those enacted by the 
 Order in Council of 1844 : — 
 
 Coins. 
 
 Rate in 
 
 the Maltese Currency. 
 
 British : 
 
 Scudi. 
 
 Tari. 
 
 Grani. 
 
 Sovereign - 
 
 12 
 
 6 
 
 — 
 
 Half-sovereign - - - - 
 
 6 
 
 3 
 
 — 
 
 Crown - 
 
 3 
 
 1 
 
 10 
 
 Half-crown - - - - - 
 
 1 
 
 6 
 
 15 
 
 Shilling 
 
 - 
 
 r- 
 t 
 
 10 
 
 Sixpence - 
 
 - 
 
 3 
 
 15 
 
 Fourpence - - - - - 
 
 - 
 
 o 
 
 10 
 
 Threepence - - - - - 
 
 - 
 
 1 
 
 17* 
 
 Penny ------ 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 121 
 
 Foreign : 
 
 
 
 
 Doubloon of Spain, Mexico, and 
 
 
 
 
 South America - - - - 
 
 40 
 
 — 
 
 
 
 Dollar of Spain, Mexico, and South 
 
 
 
 
 America ----- 
 
 2 
 
 7 
 
 5 
 
 Dollar of two Sicilies - 
 
 2 
 
 6 
 
 
 Five-franc piece of France 
 
 2 
 
 5 
 
 7J 
 
 it also placed a limit of 2 /. or 25 scudi on the tender of silver. 
 • From Mr. Christian's pamphlet of 1861. 
 
Ch. XXXII. Malta. 321 
 
 The admission of the doubloon and South American dollar 
 into the schedule caused a protest from the Governor, who 
 delayed publication of the Order ; but he was overruled on the 
 ground that the mere rating of a coin could not bring it into cir- 
 culation if it was already excluded, and the Order was published 
 on the 10th of March 1851. 
 
 The other effect of the Order, which seems to have caused some 
 heartburning, was the apparent effect on the nominal value of 
 the scudo caused by raising the rating of the sovereign from 12 
 scudi to 12^ scudi.* 
 
 Although this Order in Council for the first time established 
 the currency of Malta on a sound basis, viz., that of English gold 
 with foreign coins accurately rated for concurrent circulation, it 
 did not immediately find favour with the merchants as a body. 
 A week after the promulgation of the Order they signed an 
 agreement on the lines of the previous convention of 1845 and 
 succeeding years, whereby they decided to receive and pay — 
 
 s. d. 
 The Spanish pillared dollar - - - at 4 4 
 The Sicilian ,, „ - - - „ 4 2 
 
 The Maria Theresa „ - - -,,42 
 The five-franc piece - - - - „ 3 11| 
 
 It is not quite clear on what grounds this convention recom- 
 mended itself to the majority of the merchants, who had obtained 
 the object stated as the motive of the former convention, viz. : 
 the limitation of British silver. But a local view of the matter 
 is given in the following extract: 
 
 " That the Convention of 1851, sanctioned by the Chamber of 
 Commerce, was like its predecessors readily accepted by the 
 public at large, is however no matter of surprise for anyone 
 acquainted with the circumstances of Malta. Two causes con- 
 tributed to that effect: 1st, the strong influence of the higher 
 class of merchants on shopkeepers and other small traders . . . 
 2nd, the temporary and slight confusion caused in the retail trade 
 among the lower classes, by the unavoidable alteration of the value 
 Of the British shilling and penny as compared to Maltese money 
 . . . no coin being in existence corresponding to half a grano." 
 
 The convention was renewed, aud was still in force in June 
 1852, -f- when the Governor called attention to the nullity of the 
 Order in Council, and to the fact that the convention really 
 regulated the currency. British silver having become a glut, 
 there was 51,000/. in the Treasury alone which he was anxious 
 to exchange for gold, as the troops were said to suffer. In con- 
 sequence of the continuance of this state of things, and as a result 
 of a report of the Auditor-General in 1855, the Order in Council 
 of 13th August 1855 (which was proclaimed in the colony 4th 
 October 1855) made British coins the sole legal tender in the 
 islands. 
 
 * See note on page 310. 
 
 f The convention appears not to have been formally renewed after this 
 date, but the merchants acted upon it and the public followed them. 
 
322 Colonial Currency. 
 
 1855-1886. Sicilian Dollar Holds its Ground though 
 Demonetised by Law. 
 
 But the new Order in Council made no difference. Except in 
 the payments of and to the Government the circulating medium 
 remained the Sicilian dollar at 4 .<?. 2 d. 
 
 In 1865-6 the subject of the currency was actively discussed 
 in the local press without result. In 1872 Mr. Papaffy called 
 attention to the danger of the continuance of this conventional 
 currency. " It is notorious," he wrote, " that all the Sicilian 
 dollars at present in circulation were imported into the island 
 by a few merchants exclusively for their own benefit." He 
 foresaw the fall of silver in value, and pointed out the danger of 
 having as the ordinary currency a coin as to which the Govern- 
 ment of Italy had already in 1861 provided that it should only 
 continue to pass current for a time at 5 lire 10 centesime. The 
 local Government were struck by his representations, and the 
 question of prohibiting the further importation of Sicilian dollars as 
 a preliminary step to getting rid of them was raised in the Council. 
 The Government reported that the proposal w T as well received by 
 the inhabitants generally, but objected to by the merchants. 
 
 " Retail dealers, naturally enough, refused to exchange a 
 Sicilian dollar for British silver without a payment equal to the 
 agio on British currency," which at this time is stated to have 
 been 7 d. to 9 d. per 1 /., or from 3 to 5 per cent. " Government 
 servants being charged the same prices, whether they pay in 
 British or Sicilian coins, exchange the money they receive from 
 Government at the money changers at a profit of between 5 d. 
 or 7 d. per 1 I. sterling. Government contractors do the same, 
 but pay their wages in the Sicilian dollar." Thus a workman 
 entitled to 4 s , and receiving from his employer a Sicilian dollar, 
 is required to return 2 d. on the latter, but going to the market 
 for necessaries has to suffer a loss. It also appears that the 
 Sicilian coins, equal to one-sixth of a dollar — equivalent to 8 d. 
 and 4 grs. — are by the shopkeepers and others exchanged for 8d. 
 and a farthing, i.e., one grain less than it should be." 
 
 But what between the opposition of the interested parties, and 
 the stringency of the interference advocated by the Governor and 
 his advisers, nothing was done at this time ; and it took a real 
 crisis 13 years later to rudely wake the mercantile community 
 out of their complacent reliance on the old Sicilian dollar. 
 
 On the 13th of October 1885 the Italian Government issued a 
 notice that as from the 16th instant certain gold and silver 
 Bourbon and Papal coins, not on the decimal system, should cease 
 to be a legal tender. Amongst the silver coins named were in- 
 cluded " the coins struck in Sicily under the old denomination of 
 ' onze ' as regards gold, and of ' tari ' as regards silver." Up to 
 the 31st of December 1885 the Government would exchange the 
 demonetised coins for legal coins. 
 
 A month later the Malta Chamber of Commerce became aware 
 of the resolution of the Italian Government, and they imme- 
 diately appealed to their own Government for aid. The dollars 
 in the hands of the banks would, of course, be shipped for ex- 
 
Ch. XXXII. Malta. 323 
 
 change without difficulty. But large numbers of Sicilian dollars 
 were spread throughout Malta and Gozo, and most of them were 
 in the hands of illiterate persons, who hoarded large numbers. 
 It was clear that the great bulk of any loss would fall on 
 the poorer people. The coin was intrinsically worth only about 
 3 s. 4 d. t as against the As. 2 d., for which it had been convention- 
 ally received and paid in Malta. 
 
 The Government acted with promptitude ; the banks and the 
 ecclesiastical authorities worked heartily with them. A special 
 organisation was arranged with the aid of the two banks for col- 
 lecting, testing, counting, and shipping the coin. The efforts of 
 money-changers in collecting the dollars at a discount were thus 
 thwarted by the Government.* 
 
 On the 24th November a notice was issued that the Govern- 
 ment would undertake to receive Sicilian dollars and to send 
 them to Italy for exchange, that the Government would as soon 
 as possible pay to the depositor of Sicilian dollars the amount 
 of British currency realised by the exchange, deducting share 
 of expenses and loss ; that a receipt would be issued from the 
 Treasury undertaking to pay to depositor or bearer the amount to 
 which it entitled him according to the number of dollars therein 
 stated. The notice concluded with a very clear reminder that 
 British currency alone was the currency of Malta. 
 
 Immediately afterwards an order was passed to prohibit the 
 importation of the Sicilian dollar. The 10th of December was 
 the day fixed for closing the collection of the demonetised 
 coins ; and on the 15th the Governor reported that he had 
 shipped to the ports of scrutiny 1,842,530 dollars besides large 
 amounts shipped by private individuals. It was afterwards 
 ascertained that the latter amounted to not less than 968,603 
 dollars. Thus the Maltese community sent altogether 2,811,133 
 dollars to Italy to be changed, or about one-eighth of the whole 
 number sent in.f 
 
 Meanwhile in order to anticipate the embarrassment caused by 
 sudden withdrawal of the circulating medium and to prevent the 
 importation of large quantities of Italian lire and other foreign 
 coins, efforts were made both by the Government and the 
 banks lo import British silver, and to make all payments in 
 that coin. But for a short time it ran up to a premium of 8 d. 
 in the £., or 3^ per cent., as against gold. For the same reason 
 when the dollars were changed by the Italian Government (at 
 5 fr. 10 c. each), arrangements were made with the Banca 
 Nazionale dTtalia to give credit for the value by bills on London. 
 The amount paid being equal to 4 s. 0*5233 d. per dollar, the 
 Government was enabled to pay the depositors 4 s. on each. 
 
 e " Arrangements will doubtless be made by private enterprise," wrote the 
 Secretary of State, " to take charge of the exchange of the coins at a trifling 
 cost." " I regret to have to state,'' replied the Governor, with a touch of 
 grim humour, " that private enterprise has been devoted to making as much 
 money as possible out of the situation, and that if the Government had not 
 interfered the population in geneial would have been victimised for the benefit 
 of a few capitalists." 
 
 j- Out of the whole number only two were found false. Certain foreign 
 coins were included in the shipment. 
 
324 Colonial Currency. 
 
 Thus with very little loss to the community this episode ended 
 and British silver became the actual as well as the legal 
 currency of the colony. 
 
 1886 onwards :— British Sterling the Sole Currency. 
 
 To complete the improvement thus obtained, the Order in 
 Council of 1886, after reciting that " it is desirable that it 
 should be placed beyond doubt that the coins of this realm are 
 the sole legal lender for payment within the said island and its 
 dependencies," definitely enacted that all British coins which 
 then were or might hereafter become legal tender in the United 
 Kingdom should pass current and be the only legal tender, thus 
 demonetising the old Maltese coinage, which was received up to 
 a certain date, and withdrawn by the local Government. The 
 Order also made a special concession to alleged local conditions 
 by raising to 5 I. the limit of the legal tender of silver. 
 
 Bank Notes. 
 
 There are three banks in Malta, two of which have been 
 established since the years 1809 and 1810, respectively. These 
 two essentially Maltese banks enjoy great credit and hold the 
 bulk of the savings of the community. Both issue notes, and 
 some years back the note circulation was on the average little 
 less than 60,000 /. a year ; but when, in 1886, they discontinued 
 their charge of 5 1. a year for keeping an account, many new 
 accounts were opened, and the use of cheques was introduced ; 
 the effect was to curtail the note circulation, which has fallen away 
 to about 26,000 /., about equally divided between them. The 
 note issue of the Malta branch of the Anglo-Egyptian Bank, 
 which used to average about 8,000 /., has been discontinued. 
 
 The local notes are believed to be chiefly held by illiterate 
 persons, and not by the trading community. Certain money 
 changers have made an effort amongst these people to put their 
 own promissory notes into competition with those of the banks. 
 
 The amount of coin and notes in circulation in Malta and 
 Crozo is estimated as in the following table : 
 
 Coin : £■ £. 
 
 English gold - .... 305,000 
 
 „ silver 120,000 
 
 „ bronze* - 5,000 
 
 430,000 
 
 Foreign gold (Napoleons) ----- 50,000 
 
 „ silver (five franc pieces) - - - - 10,000 
 
 60,000 
 
 400,000 
 Bank notes ; 
 
 Local - - .--... 26,000 
 
 English and foreign ----- 5,000 
 
 31,000 
 
 Total - 521,000. 
 
 This gives close on 3/. 3*. 9d. per head of the population, of 
 which 3/. is in coin and 3*. 9d. in notes ; but the habit of hoard- 
 ing is inveterate in this community, and when the hoards and the 
 holdings of the bank are deducted, the " active " circulation 
 must be much less. 
 
 ° The only coin peculiar to Malta is in bronze, viz., the 'grain' or one-third 
 of a farthing. From 1866 to the end of 1891, the Island has received 55GI. 
 in this coin from the Royal Mint. 
 
Ch. XXXIII. Cyprus. 325 
 
 « 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 Cyprus.* 
 
 It is hardly necessary to consider the monetary history of 
 Cyprus earlier than the date of the British occupation. As it 
 passed from the Templars to the Venetians and then to the 
 Turks, it left behind the era of besants, sequins, and ducats ; 
 three centuries of Turkish rule left only the debased Turkish 
 coinage and depreciated paper. 
 
 The nominal scheme of the ordinary Turkish currency appears 
 to have been as follows : — 
 
 40 paras = 1 piastre (silver), 
 
 20 piastres = 1 mejidie (ditto). 
 
 5 mejidie = 1 lira (gold). 
 
 but, in fact, it had become much more complicated. f 
 
 In July, 1878, the currency of the Island consisted of the 
 following Turkish coins : — 
 
 Gold. Metallique (i.e., Plated). % 
 
 5-lira piece. 1st issue : — 
 * " » 6-piastre piece (the altilik). 
 
 i „ „ 3 „ „ or half altilik. 
 
 Silver. 1J „ „ or quarter-altilik. 
 
 1 Mejidie. 
 
 2nd issue : — 
 
 5-piastre piece (the beshlik). 
 2-piastre piece. . 
 
 I .. .. ~ 4 " " 
 
 i 
 
 a » 
 
 i. 
 
 4. )) 
 
 i » „ 1 
 
 Copper. 
 1 -piastre. 
 £ „ (also called 20-para piece) 
 
 (also called 20-para 
 piece). 
 
 (also called 10-para 
 
 8 >> v >> ^ )> »i piece) 
 
 all of which were in actual circulation, besides napoleons and a 
 few sovereigns. 
 
 There was also a considerable amount of inconvertible paper 
 called in Turkish " Caime,"§ which is practically equivalent to 
 
 I have to express my acknowledgments to Mr. Thompson, the Colonial 
 Secretary, and to Mr. Taylor, the Receiver General, for interesting information. 
 
 t The vagaries of Turkish currency produced five different piastres : gold, 
 silver, plated, copper, and paper. The •' goM piastre" often referred to was 
 never a coin ; it was gold accounted for in piastres at the rate of 100 to the 
 lira, which gives 111^ "gold piastres" to the 11. sterling. A "para," there- 
 fore, in fact might mean any one of five different money-values. 
 
 £ The metallique coinage was of two descriptions : the coins of the altilik 
 class issued in 1833 and containing from '4<5-5 to - 480 of silver, the beshlik 
 and its suh-divisions issued during 15 years prior to 1843, and containing only 
 l(')(] to "172 of silver. 
 
 The word alti is Turkish for six, and besh for five ; lik is a termination of 
 general import and various uses, one of which is to attach a concrete meaning 
 to any luea. 
 
 The word miri, which is found used in connection with thess coins, means 
 simply " belonging to the Government." 
 
 § The word ka'im, plur. ka'ime, in Turkish, means " upright," and comes to 
 be used for a bond, hence for the Treasury note. 
 
 72642. Y 
 
326 Colonial Currency. 
 
 '* Treasury notes." The face value of these ranged from 1 to 
 100 piastres. 
 
 It will be seen that there Avere practically four different kinds 
 of coins bearing the name " piastre "* : — a silver piastre of 18.6 
 grains weight and 830 millesimal fineness ; two kinds of plated 
 piastre ; and a copper piastre. 
 
 The most ordinary coin in general use was the last named ; 
 there was no limit on the amount for which it might be tendered, 
 and the actual result was exactly that which currency laws 
 demanded, viz., the larger the sum to be paid the greater was the 
 number of copper piastres demanded for a given amount of 
 silver. Thus: — 
 
 1 silver piastre exchanged for 1 copper piastre 15 paras. 
 
 1 mejidie - „ „ 30 ,, „ i.e., 1 c. p. 20 paras per silver piastre. 
 
 1 lira „ „ 160 „ „ i.e., 1 p. p. 24 paras per silver piastre. 
 
 These progressive additions to the rate at which larger sums 
 exchanged for copper piastres appear to have been more or less 
 arbitrary — e.g., for the 5-lira piece they were reckoned at the same 
 rate as for the lira, and according to the value assigned to the 
 Napoleon, they were taken at a slightly lower rate than for the 
 lira. This may be due to the better credit of the mint from 
 which the Napoleon issued. 
 
 In fact there was no one definite value for any coin, and there 
 were different rates ruling at the branches of the Ottoman Bank 
 and in the bazaars ; the depreciation of copper having gone further 
 in the open market. Thus — 
 
 c. piast. paras. c. p. paras. 
 
 Mejidie = at the Bank 20 10 and in the Bazaar SO 
 
 Silver Piastre =. „ „ 1 O ,, ,, 1 lOf 
 
 Altilik = „ „ 6 „ „ 8 
 
 Beshlik = „ „ 5 ., „ 6 30 
 
 The sovereigns and napoleons which were in circulation at the 
 time of the occupation were current, as follows : — j 
 
 1 sovereign = 115 silver, or 175 copper piastres. 
 
 1 napoleon = 93 ,. or 140 ,. „ 
 
 1 gold lira = 105£ to 10C£ silver, or 100 copper, piastres. 
 
 The Napoleon appears to have been pretty common, as the 
 tithe farmers, six months after the occupation, are said to have 
 had a large quantity of them. Of sovereigns there were but 
 few, 
 
 The total amount of coin was estimated at 30,000 /., and of 
 caime at 1,000/. The great bulk of the coin was in copper 
 piastres and their fractions, and plated coins. The latter were 
 almost exclusively the currency of the Limassol and Papho 
 districts, the rest of the Island being dominated by the copper. § 
 
 The piastre of Turkey is the illegitimate descendant of the piastre or 
 pillared dollar of Spain, reduced by a series of debasements from the sterli g 
 value of 4 s. 'I d. to that of 2 d. 
 
 f It varied from 1 p. 10 paras to 1 p. 20 paras. It will be noticed thai the 
 Bank, 1 ke the Turkish Government, counted all piastres alike. 
 
 + The valuation of the gold coins at the Turkish Government Treasury 
 and Telegraph Office seem? to have been lower. 
 
 ^ See note to p. 331. 
 
Ch. XXXIII. Cyprus. 32? 
 
 Reform of Currency under British regime. 
 
 The first act* of the British Government in regard to currency 
 at Cyprus was the instruction of the Board of Treasury that for 
 the purpose of issue from the Treasury chest for the pay of the 
 troops, &c. 
 
 s. d. 
 The napoleon should be taken at - 15 10 
 
 The Turkish lira at - - - 18 - 
 
 The mejidie at -----37 
 
 This rating for issue naturally determined the rates at which 
 the military authorities supposed that they were to receive the 
 mejidie as compared with the lira, but the High Commissioner 
 was quick lv advised to disregard the instruction so far as it 
 related to the mejidie, which was over- valued by more than a 
 1 d., and he fixed the value of that coin for receipt at 3 s. 6 d. 
 
 It was necessary for a time to continue to receive in the 
 depreciated paper certain taxes which had been customarily so 
 received : but it was proposed to unload such paper and other 
 depreciated Turkish money as might accumulate in the Treasury 
 as part of the payment which would have to be made to the 
 Porte under the Convention of 1878. Grasping at once the 
 inconveniences of the changeable Turkish currency, the High 
 Commissioner made certain proposals for getting rid of the worst 
 of the current coin and urged the introduction of the British 
 currency system. 
 
 The Treasury pointed out that to introduce at once into 
 Cvprus what was practically a foreign currency system would 
 be unwise, and that for the present the new administration must 
 work on the basis of the existing system. But they approved of 
 the proposals intended to drive out the debased coin : and, with 
 the concurrence of the Treasury as to the rating of the 
 sovereign and lira, the High Commissioner, in October 1878, 
 issued a notice determining the rates at which gold and silver 
 coins should be received" in payment of Customs dues as 
 
 follows : — - 
 
 s. d. 
 English sovereigns = 20 - - 120 silver piastres, or 180 copper ditto. 
 
 1 
 
 !■> 2 5> 
 
 = 10 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 00 
 
 •>■> 
 
 „ 90 
 
 it 
 
 «J 
 
 ,, shillings 
 
 = 1 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 fj 
 
 ii 
 
 „■ » 
 
 )» 
 
 )> 
 
 French napoleon 
 
 = 15 
 
 10 
 
 - 
 
 95 
 
 5' 
 
 „ 1424 
 
 >5 
 
 »> 
 
 i 
 
 ,» 2 >» 
 
 = 7 
 
 11 
 
 - 
 
 47,- 
 
 >5 
 
 „ 71* 
 
 >5 
 
 >' 
 
 Turkish lira 
 
 = 18 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 108 
 
 »' 
 
 „ 100 
 
 » 
 
 V 
 
 mejidie 
 
 = 3 
 
 6 
 
 - 
 
 21 
 
 »J 
 
 „ 30 
 
 >' 
 
 1? 
 
 „ piastre 
 
 = - 
 
 o 
 
 - 
 
 ] 
 
 » 
 
 „ H 
 
 J? 
 
 5» 
 
 This table was not absolutely accurate. The rating of the 
 sovereign appears to have been purely empirical, based on its 
 
 8 When the troops proceeded to take over the Island, the Home Govern- 
 ment telegraphed to the Staff Paymaster who accompanied the force, and 
 ,had. charge of the Treasury chest, to take British sovereigns, not Australian 
 coins or half-sovereigns. It was subsequently explained that the Australian 
 sovereigns would prubaolybe looked on with distrust, and that half-sovereigns 
 were unknown in the Levant. 
 
 72642. y 2 
 
328 Colonial Currrncy. 
 
 fine content as compared with the lira, and, as a fact, the lira 
 was undervalued as compared with the sovereign by 5 of 1 rf. : 
 but this was favoured as tending to keep sovereigns in the 
 Island. The mejidie was rated too high, and as that coin began 
 to flow into the Treasury, the notice was amended so as to reduce 
 the rating to 3 s. 4 d. or 20 piastres. 
 
 The more important point, however, was the valuation of 
 sterling in the copper piastres which formed the bulk of the 
 currency. The copper piastre was more depreciated in value in 
 Constantinople than it was in Cyprus, and the liras which were 
 received in exchange for 160 copper piastres in Cyprus were 
 shipped to Constantinople and exchanged fur 177 copper piastres 
 so that it was profitable to export Turkish gold, and impossible 
 to keep it in circulation in the Island. The same operation was 
 not so readily performed in regard to the sovereign, and the 
 tendency to export it was checked by the Goverument rating ; 
 as the sovereign could be purchased for 175 copper piastres in 
 the bazaars, and the people made a sufficient profit on paying it 
 into the Treasury at the advertised rate. 
 
 It soon became apparent that stability demanded another 
 change, the substitution of a British for a Turkish copper piastre. 
 For, on the one hand, the natives in their ordinary dealings 
 declined to take the sovereign for more than 175 copper piastres 
 and the shilling for more than 8| ; on the other, in Constanti- 
 nople, the sovereign was worth a varying number of copper 
 piastres which at this time was pretty steady at 197. 
 
 Meanwhile certain progress was being made in the direction of 
 clearing out the debased coinage. Bv the 7 th of November, or 
 within about three months of the occupation, the High Commis- 
 sioner had reported that the inconvertible paper had disappeared 
 from circulation ; no one would receive it, except the Govern- 
 ment, to the extent above referred to, and only up to the 1st of 
 April 1879 ; so that the paper portion of the currency was thus 
 disposed of. On the 1st of January 187U notice was given that 
 the importation of the plated coinage was prohibited after the 
 15th of January. 
 
 A little later the Government agreed to the proposal to strike a 
 new bronze piastre, half-piastre, and quarter-piastre, for Cyprus; 
 they concurred in Sir Garnet Wolscley's view above quoted, that 
 the time was opportune, and they accepted without question 
 his suggestion that 180 of the new piastres should go to the 1/. 
 sterling. At this rating one copper piastre equals l$d., and as 
 a penny weighs 145-833 grains, the proportionate weight of the 
 new piastre should have been 194*444 grains. The authorities, 
 however, decided to fix the weight at 180 grains. This did, in 
 fact, more nearly correspond with the value of the copper piastre 
 at Constantinople, and was obviously a convenient approxima- 
 tion, but it at first caused some disappointment to the local 
 authorities, the new coin being smaller* than that which it 
 replaced, and viewed therefore with some suspicion by the 
 ignorant. On the obverse of the coin was the effigy of the 
 Queen, with the words " Victoria Queen," and date; and on the 
 
 't \u fact being about the size of the Turkish half-piastre. 
 
Ch. XXXIII, Cyprus. 329 
 
 reverse the numeral 1, £-, or ], as the case might be, with 
 " Cyprus" above, and ''Piastre" below. 
 
 On receiving the Imperial decision, Sir G. Wolseley at once 
 issued a notice that, after the 13th of March 1879, no metallique 
 (plated) piastres would be received at the Government Trea- 
 suries; and, after the 31st of March, none of the other plated 
 coins (beshliks and altiliks) nor caime ; the latter had just 
 been repudiated by the Forte. 
 
 This notice aroused the apprehension and evoked the protest 
 of the Limassol district, where the plated coins were the 
 chief medium of circulation; but on investigation it turned 
 out that the excitement was solely the work of the money 
 changers who had made a good thing of the fluctuation in value 
 of the plated coinage, and of the necessity of obtaining copper 
 piastres for business with ether parts of the Island. The poor 
 themselves were easily affected by any suspicion because they 
 had been led by Turkish rule to expect constant extortion. The 
 only outward sign of agitation was the closing of the front doors 
 of the shops of certain merchants, business being carried on at the 
 back of the premises as usual. 
 
 The rapid changes in the value of currency at Constantinople 
 at this time impressed on the British Government the necessity 
 of speed v measures to place the currency of Cyprus on a firm 
 basis. With the repudiation of the caime the value of the 
 copper piastre rose sharply*, the lira exchanging for 140 of 
 these coins instead of 182 within a few days ; the value of silver 
 mejidies was also rising, and this appreciation of the Turkish 
 coins at their centre was favourable to the efforts of the British 
 Government to displace them. But the High Commissioner, 
 while he favoured the idea of legalising only the money of Great 
 Britain and the local piastres, deprecated at present any final 
 proclamation making certain coins a r legal tenderf . He referred 
 to the suspicious nature of the people, and proposed to observe 
 in the course of a short period which of the coins received at the 
 Treasury they preferred in their dealings with one another. 
 
 On the arrival of the new copper in April 1879 a notice was 
 issued that Turkish copper would be exchanged, against English 
 coins or received in payment of taxes up to the end of August, 
 and to no later date. But the Cyprus bronze did not at once 
 
 Up to 10 or 12 years prior to the occupation of Cyprus, the silver and 
 copper piastres ran pretty evenly together ; silver at 101-3, copper at 107-10 
 to the lira. Gradual overcoinage of copper brought the latter down to 137 to 
 the lira, and at this they stood at the time of the issue of the caime (1876) ; 
 the caime were issued at 130, and then both copper and er.ime declined 
 gradually to 160. Caime were over-issued, till in 1878 they had fallen to 
 315-25. Their repudiation was followed by over-coinage of copper, which 
 brought the copper piastre down to 600 to the lira in spite of the prohibition 
 of its importation into the ports of the Empire. 
 
 t The Home Government substantially agreed in the local proposals, but 
 took exception to the adoption of £. s. d. as the money of account hy the local 
 Government, and an interesting controversy arose round the question of the 
 piastre as a currency unit, due to a failure to apprehend the fact that as long 
 as the piastre was a Turkish denomination with no fixed value it was 
 naturally an impossible unit ; as soon as a new and definite British copper 
 piastre was introduced it became possible to have the money of account as 
 £. s. and c. piastres. 
 
330 Colonial Currency. 
 
 make its way in popular favour ; and a good deal of the Turkish 
 coin remained in ordinary circulation. Accordingly when the 
 Porte met the rise in the value of their copper coin by coining 
 more copper, which immediately began to fall, certain merchants 
 smuggled large quantities into Cyprus, and unloaded them on 
 the poorer and more ignorant part of the population. The bakers 
 of Nicosia threatened to close their shops as no one would pay them 
 in anything but Turkish copper. The Government therefore 
 furnished police guards to the bakers for their protection, and 
 informed the people that they had had the opportunity of 
 exchanging their Turkish copper up to the 31st August, that 
 its importation had been illegal, and the Government could not be 
 responsible for the loss they were suffering by using it. This 
 little incident gave the English copper a better start. 
 
 Meanwhile a fresh apprehension had arisen from the large 
 quantities of silver in the Island, to the tender of which there 
 was no limit ; the sovereign bore an agio even against British 
 silver. The chief danger arose from the rupee. Its value 
 in exchange at the Government Treasuries had been fixed 
 at 1 s. 8d.; and a fall in its gold-price elsewhere brought a 
 quantity into the Island, the Banks being able to land them in 
 Cyprus at a net cost ot less than 1 s. 7 d., and so to gain about 1 d, 
 on exchanging each rupee. In these circumstances the High 
 Commissioner reduced the rating of the rupee to 1 s. 7 d., pending 
 its demonetisation by the notice of 31st July {see below) ; and 
 on the 26th July, 6,000 /. of silver specie was shipped to England, 
 Further, " in order to raise the value of silver and copper,'* 
 which meant no doubt in order to prevent the British coins 
 from being unduly depreciated, he ordered that these coins 
 should be received without limit in payment of taxes. Con- 
 currently, the Turkish mejidies were flowing out to Constantinople, 
 where, as mentioned above, their value had considerably risen. 
 So that towards the end of July 1879, it was stated that "'the 
 money transactions of the Island are taking place almost 
 entirely in English coinage." 
 
 On the 31st July, the following notice was issued with a view 
 of putting things on a sound basis : — 
 
 " From and after the 1st September 1879 the following coins 
 and no others will be received into and paid out ot the Treasuries 
 in Cyprus. 
 
 Gold Coins. 
 
 All English gold coins. 
 
 All Turkish 
 
 All French „ 
 
 Silver Coins. 
 
 All English silver coins. (Except the half-crown and the 
 fourpenny piece.) 
 
 The Turkish medjidie and its fractions, including the silver 
 piastre and its tractions. 
 
 N.B. — The rupee and its fractions will not be accepted at the 
 
 Treasury. 
 
 Copper Coins. 
 
 The new English piastre and its fractions. 
 
Ch. XXXIII. Cyprus. 331 
 
 The rate at which these coins will be received and issued by 
 the Treasuries will be regulated by the following table : — 
 
 Gold. 
 English sovereign - = 20 shillings. 
 
 ,, half sovereign = 10 ,, 
 
 Turkish lira - - — -rr 18 „ 
 French 20-franc piece - = 15 -L£.v. (or 15 s. and 7£ 
 
 English copper piastres). 
 
 Silver. 
 
 Medjidie - - = 3£ s. (or 3 s. and 3 English 
 
 copper piastres). 
 
 Florin - - - = 2 s. 
 
 Shilling - - - z= 9 English copper piastres. 
 
 Sixpence ---,?= 4£ ,, „ „ 
 
 Threepence = 2| „ „ „ 
 
 Silver piastre - - rr 1^ „ „ „ 
 
 Copper. 
 
 English piastre - = 40 paras. 
 
 ., half piastre = 20 paras. 
 
 „ quarter - = 10 paras. 
 
 The English copper piastre and all English silver coins Avill be 
 received up to any amount into the Treasuries in payment for 
 the taxes of the current year. 
 
 Up to the 3lst August next English copper coins (pennies 
 and halfpennies) and Turkish copper piastres* will be received 
 into the Treasuries in payment of taxes or in exchange for other 
 coins at thejr tariff values, but they will not be received after 
 that date. 
 
 His Excellency hereby directs that on and after the 6th 
 August 1879 the importation of silver or copper coins into any 
 of the ports of Cyprus is prohibited." 
 
 The half-crown was not legalised because the natives were 
 found to confuse it with the florin. In view of the decision to 
 coin a bronze (copper) piastre, British pence and halfpence were 
 wisely withdrawn as rapidly as possible. 
 
 By the end of the first quarter of 1880 the High Commissioner 
 could claim complete success for his efforts. He pointed to the 
 mejidie as having [just] been depreciated 5 per cent, by the 
 Sultan. He reported lhat the new quarter-piastre was begin- 
 ning to go off well, so that the bronze coinage had got well hold 
 of the people, and during the two succeeding years the only 
 feature in currency history was the recurring requisitions for 
 more bronze coin, half-piastres and quarter-piastres as well as the 
 piastre. 
 
 * By a subsequent notice, dated 22nd August 1879, the words "and 
 Turkish copper piastres" were struck out, as a great amount of smuggling 
 was taking place in those coins. 
 
332 
 
 Colonial Currency 
 
 The following Table shows the movement of gold in Cyprus 
 to the end of 1881:— 
 
 
 IMPORTS. 
 
 EXPORTS. 
 
 
 British. 
 
 Turkish. 
 
 Napoleon. 
 
 British. 
 
 Turkish. 
 
 Kapoleou. 
 
 
 £. 
 
 £. 
 
 £. 
 
 £. 
 
 £ 
 
 £. 
 
 1878 - 
 
 67,000 
 
 14,000 
 
 751 
 
 7,300 
 
 7,000 
 
 27,000 
 
 1879 - 
 
 56,192 
 
 5,370 
 
 17,497 
 
 21,131 
 
 6,102 
 
 19,390 
 
 1880 - 
 
 43,231 
 
 4,626 
 
 5,179 
 
 17,155 
 
 5,943 
 
 5,747 
 
 1881 - 
 
 78,436 
 
 3,254 
 
 5,966 
 
 15,905 
 
 8,662 
 
 15,811 
 
 £. 
 
 244,859 
 
 27,250 
 
 29,393 
 
 61,491 
 
 27,707 
 
 67,948 
 
 From this it appears that English gold was steadily forming a 
 larger part of the circulation of the Island, apparently driving 
 out the French napoleon. And when the question of the coins 
 to be legalised was finally being considered, " the Manager of 
 the Anglo-Egyptian Bank deprecated making the lira and 
 napoleon a legal tender on the ground that bills drawn in 
 Cyprus expressed in these coins might then be paid in English 
 gold at a lower rate than the actual rate of exchange prevailing 
 in the market," a statement which goes to show that the sovereign 
 bore an agio as compared with the foreign gold. 
 
 It should be noted that the course of the trade of Cyprus is 
 with gold-using countries, chiefly England, France, and Egypt. 
 
 On the 12th of June 1882 the satisfaction of the Government 
 with the existing position of the currency was marked by the 
 publication of Her Majesty's Order in Council of 3rd May 
 1882, whereby as from the 1st of August 1882 the following 
 coins became a legal tender at the rates and for the amounts 
 subjoined : — 
 
 
 
 Value in Cyprus 
 Piastres and Paras. 
 
 Limit of Tender. 
 
 
 Gold. 
 Sovereign - 
 Half ditto - 
 Turkish Lira 
 French 20-Frauc piece- 
 
 - 
 
 180 
 
 90 
 
 162 
 
 142 
 
 20 
 
 \ - None. 
 
 Silver. 
 Florin - - - - 
 
 
 18 
 
 
 1.3 /. = 540 Piastres. 
 
 Shilling 
 
 Sixpence - 
 
 Threepence - 
 
 _ 
 
 9 
 4 
 o 
 
 20 
 10 
 
 Bronze. 
 Piastre - 
 Half Piastre 
 
 (Quarter ditto 
 
 - 
 
 — 
 
 40 
 20 
 10 
 
 3 s. = 27 Piastres 
 
Cli. XXXIII. Cyprus. 333 
 
 " Provided always that in all contracts made previously to the 
 day to be fixed by Proclamation ... in which any sum of 
 money was expressed in silver piastres, it shall be lawful to 
 discharge the debts created by such contracts in gold coin at the 
 rate of 120 silver piastres to the sovereign, and so on in propor- 
 tion," and a similar saving as to contracts in other coin, chiefly 
 viewing the metallique. 
 
 At the same time it was proposed to remove the prohibition on 
 the import of (British) silver. This could, probably, now have 
 been done with safety as the tender was limited. Previously 
 there would have been no certainty that a large supply of British 
 silver would not have depreciated the coin in the eyes of the 
 Cy pilots, who, of course, were not aware that its issue was limited 
 in London, and were only alive to the positive fact that British 
 silver is not accepted in the Levant, and elsewhere, except at a 
 discount. As a matter of fact, however, the prohibition still 
 remains in force. 
 
 Thus, the Cyprus currency settled down on the British basis, 
 with the substitution of their own copper tokens for the pence of 
 the United Kingdom. 
 
 O 
 
 The only trouble which has since occurred in regard to it is 
 the persistence with which the traders of Lunassol and Papho 
 decline to recognise the newyuastre in their accounts. Although the 
 metallique and silver piastres, and their fractions, have practically 
 disappeared,* they still cling to their old money of account, fearing 
 that the bronze piastre might have the effect of lowering the 
 prices they receive for their goods. t Thus in Limassol all trans- 
 actions are conducted in piastres of the nominal value of 132 to 
 the £ 1 sterling, at Papho in piastres of 120 to the £ 1. This 
 obviously gives an opening for a considerable amount of juggling 
 with values in which the smarter calculators get the better of 
 the English people and their servants.^ 
 
 ° These coins had ceased to circulate by 1880; they were exported in 
 greater or less quantities up to 188f>, when they disappeared altogether. 
 
 f Mr. Taylor recollects a villager coining into the bazaar at Papho to 
 buy an oke of nails. The first man he went to asked 4£ copper piastres ; 
 his rival next door heard it and said he would let him have the same nails 
 for 3 piastres (meaning silver). There was no time to explain the trick to 
 the villager, who bought the nails at 3 piastres, but, of course, gained 
 nothing. The man who had adopted the copper rate came to the conclusion 
 that it lost him custom, and that, rate " has never had a chance in Papho 
 since." 
 
 X Mr. Taylor, Receiver General, states that " the argument of the inhabi- 
 tants of these two districts was that the legal Turkish currency was the metallic, 
 and that the copper piastre was a debased currency which was only intended 
 to be used to supplement the metallic, and provide small change for small 
 transactions. It became so common at last that most of the districts in the 
 Island found it convenient to use the copper piastre as the standard ; but this, 
 so Limassol and Papho argued, was strictly illegal, and they declined to be led 
 away by the evil example of the rest of the Island. 
 
 " When metallic became so depreciated as to cause great inconvenience (at 
 the end of 1878, or beginning of 1879, I think), the merchants of Papho held 
 a meeting and decided to conduct all their transactions in silver piastres at 120 
 to the £. The question of adopting the copper piastre rate was suggested, 
 but, I believe, unanimously disapproved of. 
 
 "The arguments now used against any change are the inconvenience that 
 would be caused in transactions which are still pending, the opening that 
 
334 Colonial Currency. 
 
 The Government called attention to the matter by a Notice of 
 loth November 1884, stating that the consideration in contracts 
 should never be expressed in silver or metallique piastres, or 
 their parts. Their action produced notices from the principal 
 traders of Limassol and Papho in the following form : — 
 
 •' We, the undersigned, promise that on and after the 1st of 
 January 1885 we will carry on our transactions in accordance 
 with the order of our respected Government, dated the loth 
 November, which fixes the pound sterling at 180 Cyprus piastres, 
 whereas up to the 31st December our transactions are, as is 
 known, carried on with the £. at the rate of 132 [far Papho 120] 
 piastres." This, however, did not settle the matter ; the con- 
 ventional piastre still holds its ground. Legislation was suggested, 
 but Avas, of course, impracticable, as dealing in an imaginary 
 denomination is no offence against law, and docs not affect the 
 actual currency of the Island. 
 
 The coins now usually seen are British gold and silver 
 (excepting of course the half-crown), and the Cyprus piastres and 
 their fractions ; a few French 20-franc pieces occur, but Turkish 
 liras are rare ; the half and quarter lira, which at one time were 
 common, have now disappeared. 
 
 There is no note-issue current in the Island. 
 
 The only Bank is the Imperial Ottoman Bank. It had been 
 established in Cyprus for some years prior to the British occupa- 
 tion and bought out in 1890 the business of the branch of the 
 Anglo-Egyptian Bank established at the time of the occupation, 
 thus securing a monopoly of the banking business. The 
 Imperial Ottoman Bank now has branches at Larnaka, * 
 Limassol, and Nicosia, with agencies at Famagusta, Papho, and 
 Kyrenia ; its head office is at Constantinople. Its note-issue 
 does not circulate in Cyprus. 
 
 The amount of coin in circulation is estimated as being : — 
 
 £. 
 In English Gold ----- 310,000 
 „ Foreign Gold ----- 23,000 
 „ English Silver - 62,000 
 
 „ Cyprus Copper - 8,000f 
 
 Total - - £. 403,000 
 
 or about 2 /. per head of population, inclusive of the bank's 
 holding. 
 
 would be given to unscrupulous persons to take advantage of the ignorant 
 villager during the change, and the probable reduction in the rate of wages, 
 and price of produce." 
 
 This statement, however, is not quite consistent with one from another 
 source, tLat copper was current in all parts of the Island till a few weeks prior 
 to the occupation, when the people of Limassol and Papho began to refuse it. 
 This was the only branch exising under Turkish rule. 
 
 ■[-According to the "Twenty-second Annual Report from the Deputv 
 Master of the 'Mint," the total nominal value of the special bronze coinage 
 struck for Cyprus, up to the end of 1891, has been »,4!)l A, of which 4,74'.)/. 
 was in piastres, 2,901 /. in half-piastres, and 841 /. in quarter-piastres.' 
 
[ 335 ] 
 
 THE EAST. 
 
336 Colonial Currency. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 
 India.* 
 
 The history of the currency of India would require for its 
 adequate treatment not a single chapter, but many volumes. 
 The following pages do not purport to do more than to give a 
 review of Indian currency history since the closing years of the 
 last century, supplemented here and there by such historical and 
 other notes as seem to be required in order to understand the 
 currency of India at the present day. 
 
 The earliest monetary systemf of India, as of China, appears to 
 have consisted of weights of fine metal, silver, gold, or copper, with 
 silver as the accepted standard. The unit of weight was the rati 
 (1'75 grs. troy), which was the seed of the Abrus precatorius, or 
 " wild liquorice." A hundred ratis(175 grs.) formed the familiar 
 sata-raktika, a weight of fine metal v\hich on the one hand can be 
 
 traced back almost to the Vedic epoch, whilst in modern times it 
 has developed into the rupee of the British Government. Though 
 gold has played a considerable part in the currency of India, 
 especially in the South, silver has formed the gencal standard 
 and measure of value, and it is therefore with the silver rupee 
 that an account of the currency of India naturally begins, gold 
 (the mohur and pagoda) and paper being reserved for subsequent 
 discussion. 
 
 (i.) The Rupee. 
 
 From the standard weight of 100 ratis originated in 1542 the 
 rupyam (or silver coin) of Sher Shah, weighing some 176 grs., soon 
 to be followed by a multitude of local rupees, each with its own 
 a\ eight and fineness. The earliest English rupee:}: was the 
 '• Rupee of Bombaim " of 1677, weighing 167*8 grs. But it was 
 not till the establishment of British rule in 1758 that British 
 
 '' For much valuable information relating to the currency of India, more 
 particularly in its modern aspects, I am indebted to Mr. Henry Waterfield, 
 c.B.. of the India Office. 
 
 f See E. Thomas, Ancient Indian Weights in " Numismata Orientalia " 
 (London, Triibner and Co., 1874). 
 
 \ Queen Elizabeth in lCOO had coined "portcullis pieces of eight," with her 
 own effigy, for circulation in India, folding says hereon : — " Some coinage of 
 this sort was necessary ; for the Queen, when she first incorporated the East 
 India Company, would not permit them to transport the King of Spain's 
 silver coins to the East Indies, though she was frequently solicited by the 
 merchants. The reason which they assigned to induce her to grant this 
 permission determined her to strike coins for the particular purpose of circu- 
 lation in Asia. They represented to Her Majesty that her silver coin and 
 stamp were not known in the East Indies, which they supposed would induce 
 her to grant them a license to send thither what silver they pleased. The 
 Queen and her Privy Council replied that, for the very reason alleged, it was 
 
Ch. XXXIV. India. 337 
 
 rupees were largely coined. Prior to 1835 these rupees were of 
 three main* types, the Sicca rupee in Bengal, the Surat rupee in 
 Bombay, and the Arcot rupee in Madras, f 
 
 (a.) From 1773 onwards the Sicca\ rupee of Bengal, to 
 prevent discount by the money-changers, was stain ped 19 San 
 Sikkah {i.e. " struck in the 19th year" of Shah Alam, the last of 
 the Moguls). This coin, weighing nearly 180 grs. and containing 
 17G grs. of fine silver, persisted, with trifling changes, until 1836, 
 when, by Act XIII, 1836, its coinage was discontinued in view 
 of the introduction of the Company's rupee, the Sicca rupee 
 ceasing to be legal tender on 1st January 1838. 
 
 (b.) The Old Bombay rupee was slightly lighter than the Sicca 
 rupee, but contained a fraction more fine silver. The (native) 
 Surat rupee ought to have been of the same weight and fineness 
 but being struck of less intrinsic value drove out the British 
 coins, and so led at the close of last century to the cessation of the 
 coinage of the latter for twenty years. In 1801 the new Bombay 
 rupee was ordered to be struck, weighing 179 grs. gross and 
 nearly 165 grs. fine, or almost the proportions of the rupee of 
 to-day. In 1824 Bombay adopted the Madras standard. 
 
 (c) Prior to 1818 the Madras Arcot rupee, of the Fort St. 
 George Mint, as distinguished from other Arcot rupees of 
 native coinage, contained 166*477 grains of fine silver. Owing 
 to the over-valualion of gold, and also owing to the coinage of 
 native Arcot rupees of low standard, the silver rupee in Madras 
 was less important than either the gold pagoda (see infra) or the 
 silver fanam.§ Government ordered the pagoda to pass for either 
 3 1 Arcot rupees or 45 fanams. Since 45 fanams contained, 
 according to the Court of Directors in 1806, 574 - 38 grs. fine, 
 whilst Sh Arcot rupees contained 582*669 grs., the rupee was 
 undervalued 1*422 per cent, as against the nominally subordinate 
 fauam. Under an earlier scheme, by which 42 fanams went 
 
 her fixed and unalterable resolution not to permit them to send the coin of 
 the King of Spain, or any foreign prince, to India ; and that no silver should 
 be exported by her merchants, but only such as should be coined with her 
 effigies and picture on the one side, and the portcullis on the other, of the 
 just weight and fineness of the Spanish pieces of eight and pieces ol four 
 rials. Her prudent reason for this was, that her name and effigies might be 
 hereafter respected by the Asiatics, and she be known as great a prince as the 
 King of Spain." (See Sir George Birdwood's " Early Records of the India 
 Office'' for Charter provisions as to coining.) 
 
 Section 14 of Bengal Regulation XXXV of 1793 specifies no less than 
 27 varieties of rupees as " current in the several districts," and rates them in 
 terms of sicca rupees. 
 
 f Accounts were commonly kept in "Current rupees" (chaldni), taken as 
 2s. each in the Company's financial reports to Parliament; 116 Current, 
 rupees were equal to 100 Sicca rupees, or 106§ Company's rupees. 
 
 % From the Arabic siltka, a coining-die, whence also Zecchino or Sequin, and 
 the old Anglo-Indian " chick " (4 rupees). 
 
 § The word funam is probably an Arabic version of the Tamil panam 
 meaning '* money." Originally it was a gold sixteenth of a pagoda. 
 
 Prior io 1818 the monetary scheme in Madras was 80 copper cash = 1 silver 
 fanam ; 12 fanams ==? 1 rupee; 42 fanams (or 3£ rupees) = 1 star pagoda; 
 but the bazaar exchange fluctuated from 35 to 45 fanams. (See Thurston's 
 " History of the Coinage of the E. I. Co." (Madras, 1890) and Zay, pp. 269- 
 360). 
 
338 Colonial Currency. 
 
 to a star pagoda, the amount of fine silver in the latter number" 
 of fanams was onl} T 536'88 grs., or nearly 8 per cent, worse than 
 the fine content of 3^ Arcot rupees. 
 
 In 1806 directions were sent out from home thai the standard 
 coin of Madras should be a silver ruoee weighing; 180 errs, moss* 
 and 165 grs. fine, the fineness being 11 12ths.f But it was not 
 until 7th January 1818 that a proclamation was issued in Madras 
 giving currency to the new standard coin, in lieu of the gold 
 pagoda, at the rate of 350 rupees to 10<~> pagodas. 
 
 (d.) Though it was the intention as early as 1806 of the East 
 India Company to put an end to the losses and inconvenience 
 resulting from the " circulation of so manv denominations of gold 
 and silver coins of different values in different districts," by estab- 
 lishing " one general system for the formation of the coin for the 
 currency of the whole of our possessions on the continent of 
 Asia," yet it was not until a generation later that this intention 
 was finally carried out. Convinced, as they expressly stated, by 
 Lord Liverpool's "Letter" that a single standard was necessary, 
 the Company decided in 1806 that in India '"such coin must be 
 of silver;" but it was not until 1835, that, by Act No. XVII. of 
 that year, one uniform silver rupee was declared the standard 
 coin of the whole of British India. 
 
 The type chosen for the new " Company's rupee " of 1835 
 was the Madras rupee of 1818, weighing 180 grs., 1 1 - 1 2 1 h s fine, and 
 therefore containing 165 grs. of fine silver. The weight and fine- 
 ness of this standard coin have remained unaltered to the present 
 day, though in 1862 (by Act No. XIII. of that year) i the 
 Queen's effigy was introduced in lieu of the Company's arms, 
 and the name of the coin was declared to be ''the Government 
 rupee." The Act now in force is the consolidating and amend- 
 ing Indian Coinage Act of 1870 (No. XXIII). 
 
 Subordinate to the rupee are the following coins: — 
 
 (ci) Silver : 
 
 1. Half rupee. 
 
 2. Quarter rupee, or 4-anna piece. 
 
 3. An eighth of a rupee, or 2-anna piece. 
 
 All these coins are of the same fineness as the standard rupee, 
 and of proportionate weight. 
 
 The half-rupee, like the rupee itself, is legal tender to anv 
 amount ; " the quarter rupee and eighth of a rupee shall be legal 
 tender only for the fractions of a rupee." 
 
 No silver coins are legal tender if " clipped or filed, or defaced, 
 or diminished, otherwise than by use": and, further, the rupee 
 
 This weight was chosen as being " the nearest to the sicca weight in 
 whole nuinl ers," the sicca weight of the Mogul mints being ascertained to 
 be 179§ troy grains. 
 
 t The fineness was adopted from the Report of a Committee of Council of 
 January L803 on the London Mint. They approved the British gold standard 
 of ll-12tiia tine, and t lie Court thought that the standard " would he equally 
 proper for silver coin. ' 
 
 £ This A<'t also rescinded an inoperative- clause in the Act of 183"), 
 authorising a double rupee. 
 
(I.. XXXIV. India. 339 
 
 and half-rupee must not have " lost more than 2 per cent, in 
 weight/' 
 
 (/)) Copper: 
 
 1. A double pice, or half-anna. 
 
 2. A pice, or quarter-anna. 
 
 3. A half-pice, or one-eighth of an anna. 
 
 4. A pie, being one- third of a pice, or 1-1 2th of an anna. 
 
 The weight of the double pice is 200 grs., that of the other 
 copper coins being proportionate. Copper coins (like the silver 
 quarter and eighth rupee) are a legal tender only for fractions 
 of a rupee. 
 
 The Indian mints are open to the " free coinage" * of silver, in 
 quantities of not less than 1,000 tolas (of 180 grs. each). The 
 coinage charge is 2 per cent, (in addition to *1 per cent, for melt- 
 ing charges) for silver of the Indian standard (91*6 per mille); 
 a refining charge is also made if the silver be of worse standard 
 or unfit for coinage. On delivery of silver at the mints for 
 coinage, the owner receives " a receipt which shall entitle him to 
 a certificate from the assay master for the net produce of such 
 bullion or coin payable at the general Treasury." 
 
 In 1876 (by Act No. IX. of that year) the Government of 
 India was empowered " to declare certain coins of Native States 
 to be a legal tender in British India," provided that such coins 
 (whether of gold, silver, or copper) (i) are identical in weight 
 and fineness with coins of British India, and (ii) are coined at 
 British mints, and provided further that for 30 years the Native 
 State abstains from coinage on its own account. Power is also 
 given to limit the coinage under the Act for each Native State. 
 So far the only Native States which have availed themselves of 
 the provisions of the Act of 1876 are Ahvar, Dhar, and Dewas, 
 
 The coins of Portuguese India are coined by the Government 
 of British India under Act XVII. of 1881, and are legal tender 
 equally with the coins of British India. 
 
 According to official statistics! the nominal value of the total 
 silver coinage (including re-coinages) in the mints of the three 
 Presidency towns, from 1835-6 to 1890-91, inclusive, was 
 3,302,500,837 rupees, made up as follows: — 
 
 Whole rupees - - - - Rs. 3,149,857,487 
 
 Half „ 50,462,090 
 
 Quarter „ - 60,598,730 
 
 Eighth „ - 41,582,530 
 
 Total silver - - - Rs. 3,302,500,837 
 For the same period the copper coinage 
 
 was ------- 54,768,980 
 
 Total silver and copper - - Rs. 3,357,269,817 
 
 • This provision of" free coinage" has heen the chief point of attack by 
 Indian currency reformers, other than " bimetal lists." {See, e,g., the Final 
 Report of the Gold and Silver Commission, dated October 1888.) 
 
 •j- Finance and Revenue Accounts and Miscellaneous Statistics relating' to the 
 Finances of British India, 1891, Part III., page 200. 
 
340 Colonial Currency. 
 
 Taking the population of British India at 220,000,000, the 
 above total gives an average of 15$ rupees per head in respect of 
 the silver and copper coinage since 1834-5. 
 
 In the Economic Journal for December 1891 and June 1892, 
 Mr. F. C. Harrison* has arrived, by an elaborate system of 
 practical investigation, at the conclusion that the circulation of 
 the rupee itself may " be taken to be about 115 crores," of "which 
 " in ordinary years the coin held by Government and the banks 
 would be about 20 crores. 1 ' Mr. Harrison estimates 3£ crores 
 mure for copper (" agricultural India is still in the copper age, 
 and this metal forms the currency of the poor to a greater extent 
 than silver"), and adds "a crore for the circulation of other than 
 Government coin, and seven crores for small silver." If these 
 latter figures be added to the above estimate of 1 15 crores, the 
 total amount of coin in general circulation and in the banks, &c, 
 is Rs. 1,265,000,000, or Rs. 5| per head of the population. If 
 the 20 crores in the banks, &c, be excluded, the " active " 
 metallic circulation stands at Rs. 1,065,000,000, or Rs. 4*84 per 
 head, i.e., less than one-third of the total coinage since 1834-35. 
 
 (ii) Gold. 
 
 (a.) The Mohur. 
 
 Like the silver rupee, the gold mohur (Pers. muhr "a seal") 
 represents the old Indian -weight of 100 rutis, or 175 grains, of 
 fine metal. In the 14th century (perhaps in order to adjust the 
 ratio of gold to silver), the coined mohur was for a time raised 
 to some 200 grains, but reverted to (approximately) the ancient 
 weight of the sataraktika. After 1758 the East India Companv 
 endeavoured to make gold the standard of India. The history 
 of the mohur is best known in Bengal, though in its present form 
 the mohur (like the rupee) originated in Madras (in succession 
 to the pagoda) in 1818. 
 
 In Bengal, in the language of Regulation XXXV. of 1793, 
 " Under the Native administrations, and until the year 1766, the 
 gold mohur was not considered a legal tender of payment in any 
 public or private transaction, nor was the number of rupees for 
 which it was to pass current ever fixed by the Government. It 
 was struck for the convenience of individuals, and the value of it 
 in the markets fluctuated like other commodities, silver being the 
 
 At the moment of going to press, I find in the " Calcutta Review " for 
 July 18'J2 an important article hy the same writer, entitled "Early Annals 
 of the Indian Mints," from which the following is a quotation : — "I am of 
 opinion that ahout 38 crores of rupees were circulating in 18.35, viz , 7 crores 
 in Lower Bengal, 6£ in Upper India, 5 in Madras, 2£ in Hyderabad, 2 in the 
 Punjab, and 15 elsewhere. The difference of 37 crores between this amount 
 and the net issues has either been melted, or hoarded, or exported. To the 
 quantity so disappearing should be added 5 crores or so on account of issues 
 prior to 1800. In other words, the yearly waste due to these causes averajed 
 about H crores." Mr. Harrison estimates the gross silver coinage from 1800 
 to 1835 at 1 10 crores of rupees, lie is also " disposed to the opinion that the 
 rupee commences to wear fight at the rate of "07 grains a \ear and that this 
 rate shrinks to a little more than # 05 grains during its old a«je. In other 
 words, a rupee wears light in less than GO years." (See also Mr. Harrisons's 
 article in the Economic Journal for March 1893.) 
 
Cli. XXXIV. India. 341 
 
 metal which was the general measure of value throughout the 
 country. In the year 1766 the value of the gold coin with 
 respect to the silver was first fixed, and the former coin declared a 
 legal tender of payment. A gold mohur was struck, and ordered 
 to pass for 14 sicca rupees. But, as this coin (calculating; accord- 
 ing to the relative value of the two metals) was much below the 
 worth of the silver in the number of rupees for which it was 
 ordered to pass, it was found impossible to render it current ; and 
 it was accordingly called in, and a new gold mohur, being that 
 now current, was issued in 1769, which was directed to pass as 
 a legal tender of payment for 16 sicca rupees." Sir James 
 Steuart's observation * is, " The Company was obliged to make 
 a new regulation in 1769, little better than the former. At last 
 this gold currency fell altogether to many per cent, below its 
 intrinsic value, according to the saying, — 
 
 Dum vitant stulti vitia in contraria currunt." 
 In Bombay, according to Kelly's Cambist, "in 1774 the gold 
 mohur was ordered to be made of the same weight as the silver 
 rupee, and to be equal in fineness to a Venetian sequin ; by this 
 the proportion of gold to silver in the Bombay coins was nearly 
 as 15 to 1. When the Surat rupees, however, were introduced 
 into circulation, this proportion ceased ; and gold, coined according 
 to the 1774 Regulation was exchanged for only thirteen times its 
 weight in silver. In order to remedy this, it was settled in 1800 
 that the mohur should be of the same weight and fineness as the 
 Bilver rupee, and that it should pass for 15 such rupees." 
 Apparently this Bombay mohur circulated only as bullion, and 
 not as a coin of legal tender. 
 
 The Bengal Regulation XLV. of 1803 declared that "gold 
 mohurs shall be permitted to be circulated in the Ceded Provinces 
 as heretofore, according to the value which individuals receiving 
 and paving the same shall determine; but gold mohurs shall not 
 be considered to be a legal tender of payment in any public or 
 private transaction, nor shall they bear any fixed rate of value 
 compared with reference to the silver coin . . . established 
 by this regulation." When the currency of India was under 
 consideration in 1806 the Company laid down the following 
 principles with regard to gold : — " Although we are fully 
 satisfied of the propriety of the silver rupee being the principal 
 measure of value and the money of account, yet we are by no 
 means desirous of checking the circulation of gold, but of estab- 
 lishing a gold coin on a principle fitted for general use. This 
 coin, in our opinion, should be called a gold rupee, and be made 
 of the same standard as the silver rupee, viz. 180 troy grains 
 gross weight, and 165 troy grains fine gold, also divided into 
 halves and quarters, that the coins of both gold and silver should 
 be of the same denomination, weight, and fineness." This was 
 done in Madras in 1818, the " gold rupee '' being paid and 
 received by all public officers " at such rate as mag he determined 
 by the proclamation of Government. The present rate, until 
 
 * " Principles of money applied to the present stale of the coin of Bengal " 
 (1772). 
 
 72642. Z 
 
342 Colonial Currency. 
 
 altered by proclamation, will be that of 1 gold rupee for 15 silver 
 rupees." In Bengal, in the same year, Regulation XIV. of 
 1818, which raised the ratio of gold to silver from 1:14*861 to 
 1:15 and reduced the fineness to 22 carats, expressly stated that 
 " the gold mohur will still continue to pass current at the rate of 
 16 rupees." Subsequently, when the principles of 1806 were 
 finally adopted for British India, Act XVII. of 1835 enacted 
 that " no gold com shall henceforward be a legal tender of payment 
 in any of the territories of the East India Company."* 
 
 (b.) The Pagoda. | 
 
 This gold coin of Southern India is the native varalia or hun, 
 the former word indicating- the " Boar " avatar of Vishnu figured 
 on Southern coins from the 5th or 6th century onwards under the 
 Chalukya dynasty, whilst hun (gold) is their later Mahommedan 
 name. From the 16th century onwards, if not earlier, it was to 
 this coin that the Portuguese gave the name pardao de ouro.% 
 
 In Madras prior to 1818 the standard coin was the Govern- 
 ment pagoda, bearing the eponymous device of a " star," and 
 containing by law 42*048 grains of fine gold. This star pagoda 
 (worth 7 s. 5\d., but commonly valued at 8 s.) was reckoned to be 
 of 10 per cent, less value than the earlier and finer coin with a 
 crescent and three figures, one of which represented SwfirnT (or 
 Krishna) and hence gave the name " swamy-pagoda."' Parallel 
 coins were the Pondicherry § and Porto Novo pagodas, with regard 
 to which Kelly states that the latter was about 20 per cent, worse 
 than the star pagoda, whilst the Pondicherry pagoda (originally 
 equal to the star p;igoda) proved on ass;ty to contain only 37*2 
 grains fine gold, and hence was worth only 6 s. 7 d. All these 
 three varieties were familiar at the beginning of the present 
 century throughout the India currency area, which then included 
 not only Ceylon and Mauritius, but the Cape and St. Helena, 
 then mere stepping-stones from Europe to the East. Even in 
 *]Mew South TV ales, in 1800, the pagoda Avas proclaimed a legal 
 tender. 
 
 In 1806, when the Court of Directors of the East India 
 Company reviewed the monetary system of British India, and 
 
 c This provision is retained as Section 12 of ihe Tndia Coinage Act, 1870 
 "No gold coin shall be a legal tender in payment or on account." 
 
 j- "They are Indian and Heathenish money with the picture of a Diuell 
 upon them, and therefore are called Pagodas" {Linschoten, 1506). And Fra 
 Paolino, in his Viapgio of 1796, says : "La Bhagavadi, moneta d'oro, die ha 
 l'iinmagine della dea Bhagavadi, noine corrotto in Pagodi o Pagode dagli 
 Europei." 
 
 Tne Sk. word bhagavat (= holy) is a frequent style of Hindu gods. But 
 Ovington in 1689 derived the word from Persian words meaning " idol- 
 temple," and Dr. Burnell held the same view. 
 
 I I venture to think that this Portuguese name " pardao '* is not to be traced 
 to the Sk. pratdp (majesty) through pertrib (= a half varalia in 1544),. 
 Rather, it appears to he = bk. pudo (or '• quarter ") which is known (from the 
 Pali Jiltakas, &c.) to have been the common name of an Indian coin. And, 
 in support of this view, it will he ohserved that the tine content of the star 
 pagoaa approximated to a quarter of the old standard Indian weight of 100 
 ratis, or 175 grains. If this view be correct, the pagoda has the same origin 
 ultimately as the rupee and the mohur. 
 
 § Zay, p. 298 et seq. 
 
Ch. XXXIV. India. 343 
 
 decided to introduce the silver rupee of 165 grains fine as "the 
 principal measure and the money of account" with a "gold 
 rupee" coined of like fine weight and "left to find its own level 
 according to the usefulness it may possess as a coin," it was felt 
 that some modifications were necessary " in Madras, where gold 
 coins are the principal currency, money of account, and the 
 measure by which the pay of the troops is generally calculated. 
 It is not by any means our wish to introduce a silver currency 
 to the exclusion of the gold, where the latter is the general 
 measure of value, any more than to force a gold coin where silver 
 is the general measure of value ; but, wherever the pagoda is the 
 general curreney, to substitute in its place the quarter gold rupee, 
 which we are of opinion should be paid and received on all occa- 
 sions as the pagoda, both in regard to the calculation and receipt 
 of revenue, as also in the issues of money for the purchase of 
 investment. The quarter gold rupee would contain of fine gold 
 41£ troy grains; the star pagoda contains of fine gold 42-048 
 troy grains ; the difference between these coins is 1'897 per cent, 
 less fine gold in the former than in the latter. This difference 
 does not appear so material as to induce us to entertain any doubt 
 of the quarter gold rupee answering every purpose of the star 
 pagoda in respect to the revenues and investment ; neither does 
 it appear to us inapplicable to the pay of the Army." 
 
 The view held in 1806 was modified in 1810, owing mainly to 
 the larger importations of silver than of gold, whereby the cur- 
 rency of Madras began to pass automatically to a silver standard. 
 It was in this year that the Company, disapproving of the multipli- 
 city of coins in the Presidency (viz., double and single pagodas in 
 gold, and, in silver, half and quarter pagodas, double, single, half, 
 quarter, and eighth rupees, together with coins of one, two, three, 
 and five fanams), peremptorily stopped the coinage of double, 
 half, and quarter pagodas, double rupees, and fanams. As regards 
 the pagoda itself, its circulation was to be limited to " what may 
 be rendered necessary by the payments of gold coin into your 
 treasuries for revenue, &c, and what may be required to be 
 coined by individuals." Finally, by Proclamation of 7th January 
 1818, at Madras, the coinage of the gold pagoda was discontinued 
 altogether, in view of the establishment of the silver rupee as 
 the standard coin of the Presidency. 
 
 (c.) Gold in India since 1835. 
 
 For the period from 1800 to 1835 Mr. Harrison (" Calcutta 
 Review" for July 1892) estimates "the total mintage of gold in 
 India at 3,845,700 ounces of fine gold." 
 
 It has been shown above that in 1835 silver monometallism 
 was definitely established for the whole of British India. But 
 subsequently to 1835 steps have been taken from time to time to 
 introduce gold into circulation. The first step * was taken as 
 early as 1841, when, by proclamation of 13th January, treasurers 
 were " authorised freely to receive these gold coins {i.e., those 
 
 ° Apart from the reduction of the rate of seignorage from 2 to 1 per cent. 
 in 1837 (see page 8 of Parliamentary Paper, No. 254 of 1860). 
 
 72642. z 2 
 
344 Colonial Currency. 
 
 issued in accordance with the Act of 1835) at the rates, until 
 further orders, respectively denoted by the denomination of the 
 pieces,"* i.e., a mohur was to be received as the equivalent of 
 15 silver rupees. At first no inconvenience resulted from this 
 measure. So strong was the native preference for the purer 
 mohur issued before 1835, that there was a cessation of gold 
 coinage. It was in vain that the seignorage on gold was lowered; 
 in 1847 gold formed "no part of the currency." With the gold 
 discoveries of California and Australia, however, the position 
 was speedily changed. Speculators hastened to pour gold into 
 India at the ratio of 1 to 15 established by the Government 
 proclamation of 1841, and by the end of 1852 some 50 lakhs had 
 accumulated in the Government treasuries. Consequently, in 
 self-defence, the Government of India issued the notification of 
 22nd December 1852, providing that after 1st January 1853 
 " no gold coin will be received on account of payments due, or in 
 any way to be made, to the Government in any public treasury 
 within the territories of the East India Company." Gold might 
 still be brought to the mints for coinage ; but the mint certifi- 
 cates for gold deposited were to be " discharged in gold only, and 
 no such certificate will be accepted in any public treasury." 
 
 A few years later, when experience had shown that there was 
 no startling fall in the silver-price of gold, proposals were again 
 made for the introduction of gold coins into the currency of 
 India ; and amongst other schemes there was one for the circu- 
 lation of the British sovereign as the equivalent of 10 rupees 
 (with a 20-rupee limit of tender).^ " The most striking feature 
 of this movement," said Sir Charles Trevelyan in 1864,1 "is its 
 universality. There are differences of opinion as to the mode in 
 which the object is to be attained, but all agree that there ought 
 to be a gold currency." Eventually, on 23rd November 1864, 
 the Government of India issued a notification directing that 
 " sovereigns and half-sovereigns coined at any authorised Royal 
 Mint in England or Australia, of current weight, shall, until 
 further notice, be received in all the treasuries of British India 
 and its dependencies in payment of sums due to the Govern- 
 ment as the equivalent of 10 and 5 rupees respectively ; and that 
 such sovereigns and half-sovereigns shall, whenever available at 
 any Government treasury, be paid at the same rates to any 
 person willing to receive them in payment of claims against the 
 Governmenr." (Another Notice of the same date provided that 
 the metallic reserve of the Government^ currency notes {see 
 infra) might consist of the same gold coins at the above rates, up 
 to one-fourth of the total issue represented by coin or bullion.) 
 After three months' experience of this plan, the Bank of Bengal 
 communicated to the Government their opinion that " the time 
 has come when sovereigns and hal ('-sovereigns of full weight may, 
 with safety and advantage, be declared legal tender at the respec- 
 tive rates of 10 and 5 rupees; " and that " the introduction of the 
 
 House of Commons Paper, No. 152, of 1858. 
 
 j- House of Commons Paper, No. 183, of 1860 (containing Mr. James 
 Wilson's Minutes of 1859). 
 
 % House of Commons Paper, No. 79, of 1865. 
 
Ch. XXXIV. India. 345 
 
 sovereign Into the currency of India will be generally welcomed 
 as a great public boon.'* 
 
 Though the plan of 1864 resulted in " the accumulation on the 
 hands of the Government of a certain amount of gold coin for 
 which there is no demand," the Calcutta Chamber of Commerce 
 in 1866 recommended the adoption of a gold currency; and the 
 Government appointed the Mansfield Commission to inquire 
 into the monetary system of India.f On 4th October 1866 the 
 Commission reported, m'ging the Government, in view of " the 
 general wish of the country/ 1 to " persevere in the policy which 
 was recommended for the approval of the Secretary of State 
 two years ago, viz., to cause a legal tender of gold to be a 
 part of the currency arrangements of India," subject to the 
 adjustment of the rupee-price of the sovereign in the first 
 instance. " The price of the gold mohur, or Government piece 
 of Us. 15, as fixed by Act XVII. of 1835, is as nearly as pos- 
 sible the average market rate of the price of coined gold of 
 the present day. That price . . . seems to be the legitimate basis 
 on which to found a gold legal tender coinage for India, con- 
 sisting of pieces of 10 and 5 rupees respectively, the 10-rupee 
 piece having the Aveight of 120 grains, and the 5-rupee piece 
 60 grains troy." 
 
 In accordance with the recommendations of the Commission, 
 and in expectation of the early introduction of gold as a legal 
 tender in India, the Government, on 28th October 1868, issued a 
 notification that British and Australian sovereigns and half- 
 sovereigns would thenceforward be "' received in all the treasuries 
 of British India and its dependencies, in payment of sums due to 
 the Government, as the equivalent of 10 rupees 4 annas, and 
 5 rupees 2 annas, respectively ; and that such sovereigns shall, 
 whenever available at any Government treasury, be paid at the 
 same rates to any persons willing to receive therri in payment of 
 claims against the Government. The gold pieces stated in 
 Section 7 of Act XVII. of 1835, will also henceforth be received 
 as above according to the values stated in that Act," i.e., the 
 mohur as 15 rupees. 
 
 With the rise in the silver-price of gold from 1873 onwards, 
 the question of a gold currency of India was abandoned for the 
 time. On 15th July 1876, when a motion in favour of a gold 
 standard was brought forward in the Bengal Chamber of Com- 
 merce, it " was temporarily withdrawn, in deference to the feeling 
 apparent among members present." Subsequently, proposals 
 have been brought before the Government, but not adopted, for 
 establishing a gold standard, whilst retaining the present silver 
 currency. The scheme would appear to have been either to raise 
 the seignorage on, or to limit the coinage of, silver so as to raise 
 artificially the exchange value of the coined rupee to 2 s., and 
 eventually to introduce the sterling system J. It only remains 
 
 * House of Commons Paper, No. 308, of 1865. 
 
 t House of Commons Paper, No. l-itf, of 1866. 
 
 t See an article (over the initials A. M. I,.) in The Banker's Magazine for 
 August 18U2, entitled " Three Plans for establishing a Gold Standard in India ;'' 
 Mr. Clarmont Daniell's Industrial Competition, of Asia ; and Mr. Leslie 
 Probyn's paper read before the Institute of Bankers in December 1892. 
 
346 Colonial Currency. 
 
 to add that for the past decade the policy generally favoured by 
 the Government of India has been to pass from silver monometal- 
 lism to " bimetallism," provided a stable ratio could be secured 
 by a general, or even a limited, international agreement.* 
 
 Deducting exports, the net imports of gold into India from 
 1835-36 to 1891-92 (inclusive) have amounted to Rx. 151,302,992 
 or Rx. 2,654 438 per annum; the total coinage of gold to 31st 
 March 1891 amounting in all to only Rx. 2,420,644. 
 
 III. — Paper Currency. 
 
 Mr. James Wilson, the Financial Secretary to the Govern- 
 ment of India, and previously Financial Secretary to Her 
 Majesty's Treasury, may be styled the founder of the paper 
 currency of India. His minute of 1859f laid down the principles, 
 though he did not live to formulate all the details, of the Act 
 No. XIX. of 1861, "to provide for a Government paper currency," 
 a measure which was mainly based on the Imperial Bank Acts 
 1844-5, though adapted to the conditions of British India by 
 making a Government Department the representative of the 
 " Issue Department " of the Bank of England. 
 
 As from 1st March 1862 the Act permitted the right of note 
 issue to the Government, establishing a " Department of Issue " 
 (the representative of the Issue Department of the Bank of 
 England) under a head commissioner at Calcutta, with com- 
 missioners in Madras and Bombay, each in charge of a district 
 called a " Circle of Issue." Other " Circles of Issue " might be 
 established, under the charge of deputy commissioners. At one 
 place in each " Circle of Issue " currency notes of Rs. 10 and 
 upwards were to be issued on demand in exchange for the amount 
 thereof (a) in current silver coin of the Government of India, 
 or (b) in silver bullion or foreign silver coin of the Indian 
 standard computed at 1,000 tolas per Rs. 979,$ or (c) notes of 
 other denominations but of the same " Circle," or (d) gold coin or 
 bullion, at rates to be from time to time fixed, provided that the 
 issues against gold Avere limited to one-fourth of the total issues 
 against coin and bullion. 
 
 Of the coin and bullion received in exchange for notes issued, 
 the whole was to be retained as a metallic reserve, with the 
 exception of " such an amount, not, exceeding 4 crores of rupees, 
 as the Governor-General in Council with the consent of the 
 Secretary of State for India, shall from time to time fix," which 
 amount was to be invested in " Government Securities."' Thus, 
 on the lines of the Bank of England issue, the currency notes 
 of the Government of India were («) to be fiduciary within the 
 (anticipated) minimum circulation, but (])) to be fully secured by 
 a metallic reserve beyond such minimum. 
 
 The notes were declared a Ie<ral tender within their own Circle 
 
 '»' 
 
 See House of Commons Paper, 449 of 1881, and Parliamentary Papers 
 47!>7 <>t' 1886, 5512 of 1H88 (Gold and bilver Commission's Final Report). 
 f See House of Commons Paper, No. 183, of 18130. 
 % i.e. deducting the coining and melting charges of 2*1 per cent., see supra. 
 
Ch. XXXIV. India. 347 
 
 of Issue except by the Government of India at any office or at 
 the Issue Department. 
 
 By Act XXIV of 1861, the Government, of India provided for 
 the employment of the Banks of Bengal, Madras, and Bombay, 
 as agents for the note issue ; but, owing to the Secretary of 
 State's objection to the arrangement, the Act was not put into 
 force, and it was repealed in 1871. 
 
 In order to avoid a run on the Mints for coin, it was provided 
 by Act No. I. of 1866, that the issue of notes in exchange for 
 bullion, or foreign coin, might be delayed until the bullion could 
 be converted into coin. By Act No. XXX. of 1867, power was 
 taken to transfer, for the purposes of the Paper Currency, any town 
 from one Presidency to another ; Act No. XV. of 1870 raised from 
 four to six crores the fiduciary issue;; and Act No. III. of 1871 con- 
 solidated the law on the subject, and at the same time reduced from 
 Rs. 10 to Rs. 5 the minimum denomination of the notes. 
 
 The main Act in force at the present time is the Indian Paper 
 Currency Act, 1882 (No. XX. of 1882), which extended the Paper 
 Currency to British Burmah and established Agencies within 
 Circles of Issue. 
 
 The denominations of Government Currency Notes are 5, 10, 
 20, 50, 100, 500, 1,000, and 10,000 rupees. 
 
 During 1862-3 and 1863-4, the only " Circles of Issue" were 
 Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay. In 1864-5, other circles were 
 established, viz., Allahabad, Lahore, Calicut, Trichinopoly, 
 Vizagapatam (afterwards termed Cocanada), and Nagpore. 
 Kurrachee was added in 1865-6, Akolah in 1868-9, and Rangoon 
 in 1883-4. The Trichinopoly Circle was merged in Madras in 
 1873-4, and Cocanada in 1832-3 ; and the Nagpore and Akolah 
 Circles were amalgamated with Bombay in 1882-3. The 
 average circulation, which was Rs. 41,000,000 in 1862, had more 
 than doubled itself bv 1866-7, and was quadrupled in 1888-9, 
 when it stood at Rs. "'164,316,290. At the close of 1890-1 the 
 average circulation amounted to Rs. 256,904,490, namely: — 
 
 Bengal - Rs. 118,019,160 
 
 Bombay - 94,530,510 
 
 Madras - 39,057,390 
 
 Rangoon - - - - 5,297,430 
 
 Rs. 256,904,490 
 
 For 1890-91 the reserve held against the Note Issue was as 
 follows : — 
 
 • Silver coin - - - Rs. 179,020,800 
 
 „ bullion - - - 7.883,730 
 
 Securities - - - 69,999,960 
 
 Rs. 256,904,490 
 
 By Act No. XV. of 1890, the maximum fiduciary issue was 
 increased from 60 to 80 millions of rupees, the minimum circulation 
 having increased more than 50 per cert, since 1870. At the close 
 of 1891 the amount of securities held was raised to this maximum. 
 
348 Colonial Currency. 
 
 Taking the total population at 220,000,000 this total is equiva- 
 lent to an average per head of Rs. 1£, of which about one rupee 
 is in general circulation. This would make, with the " active " 
 circulation of Rs. 484 in coin (as shown above) a total active 
 currency of slightly under Rs. 6 per head of the population. 
 
 Up to 31st March 1890, the Government of India had 
 received a net profit of Rs. 45,371,440 from the Paper Currency 
 Department. 
 
[ 349 ] 
 
 CHAPTER XXXV. 
 
 Ceylon. # 
 
 (1795.) 
 
 It is outside the scope of this work to discuss the ancient cur- 
 rency of Ceylon prior to its occupation by Europeans ; informa- 
 tion on this interesting but complicated subject, Avill be found 
 in the monograph by Professor Rhys Davids in " Numismata 
 Orientalia " (London, 1877). But it is essential to note that, as 
 might naturally be expected from the Island's history and geo- 
 graphical position, the early monetary system of Ceylon was that 
 of Southern India. The standard coin of Southern India was 
 the gold pagoda (see page 342): but the standard denomination 
 was the fanam. The gold pagoda was finally supplanted by the 
 silver Madras rupee in 1818, and in 1835 Madras was merged in 
 the larger currency area of British India, with the natural result 
 that Ceylon also was drawn into the new consolidated area. 
 With the exception of the eleven years between 1825 and 1836 
 (during which artificial conditions prevailed in the Island), the 
 currency of Ceylon has been dominated by that of South India, 
 alike before and during European rule. 
 
 (i.) Portuguese Period. 
 
 As regards the currency of Ceylon under the Portuguese, who 
 were dominant in the Island for a century and a half prior to 
 1658, Professor Rhys Davids is of opinion that "no coins are 
 known to have been struck by the Portuguese in or for Ceylon." 
 This statement does not imply that Portuguese coins were not 
 current in the Island ; for Captain Robert Knox f expressly 
 states that, besides larins^. and pounums (fanams), there were in 
 circulation during his twenty years' captivity in the Island other 
 pieces of silver money ''coined by the Portugals ; the king's 
 arms on one side, and the image of a friar on the other, and by 
 the Chingulays called tangom massa. The value of one is nine- 
 pence English ; poddl tangom, or the small tangom, is half as 
 much." There does not, however, appear to be distinct evidence 
 
 ° For valuable information in connection with the currency of Ceylon, I 
 am indebted to the scholarship and official knowledge of Mr. J. A. Swet- 
 tenham. cm.g., Auditor-General of the Island. 
 
 f " Historical Relation of the Island of Ceylon in the East Indies " 
 (London, 1G81J. 
 
 \ For information concerning this " Hook money " from Lar, see Rhys 
 Davids (op. cit., pp. 34-5). Sec also Sir Walter Elliot's "Coins of Southern 
 India" (London, 1886). 
 
350 Colonial Currency. 
 
 that these Portuguese coins were coined expressly for Ceylon, 
 as distinguished from Goa. The coins current in the Island at 
 the earlier date of 1554 are stated in the " Subsidios para a 
 historia da India Portugueza " (Lisbon, 186b) to have been — 
 
 1. " Fanao (ouro muito baixo,' r i.e., very base gold). 
 
 2. " Portuguez de ouro cortia por 15 Xerafins." 
 
 It is also stated that the Xerafin (equal to " pardao de tangas ") 
 was worth " 30 fanaes da terra," the latter words indicating 
 that the gold fanam was (i) the popular unit and (ii) of non- 
 Portuguese coinage. 
 
 (ii.) Dutch Regime (1658-1796.) 
 
 One of the earliest acts of the Dutch administration was to put 
 an interdict (1660) on the currency of Portuguese coins, and to 
 introduce here, as elsewhere throughout their possessions, 
 (i) Dutch denominations of money and (ii) — in part — Dutch coins. 
 The accounts of the Dutch Government in Ceylon were uniformly 
 kept in gulden (florins) and stuivers, but private accounts were 
 generally kept in rylisdn alders, equivalent to 3 gulden each. The 
 value of the copper stuivers was regulated from time to time by 
 the Dutch Government, and these coins by progressive over- 
 valuation constituted the ordinary medium of internal circulation, 
 readily exchangeable at the Dutch Treasury for bills on Holland. 
 In spite, however, of the introduction of Dutch denomina- 
 tions of money and the Dutch stuiver, the localsystem of currency 
 Avas carefully adjusted to correspond with that of the mninland, 
 so that Ceylon under Dutch rule practically formed part of the 
 continental currency area. This result was achieved by the 
 simple device of adopting the fanam as a quarter-gulden, or one- 
 twelfth of the original metallic rix-dollar ; the number of stuivers 
 which were declared equivalent to a fanam being adjusted in 
 accordance with the stages of debasement through which the 
 coined fanam passed in South India. Consequently, the central 
 point in Ceylon currency under the Dutch was the fanam re- 
 presenting on the one hand a fixed fraction of the gulden and 
 of the rix-dollar, and on the other hand a varying multiple of the 
 coined stuiver. 
 
 With reference to (circa) 1725, Valentyn in his work on the 
 East Indies gives the following as the coins then in circulation in 
 Ceylon: — 
 
 Ryksdaalder - - equals 60 Stuivers. 
 
 Moorish Ducat 
 
 Provincial Dollar* - 
 
 Rupees - - - 
 
 Pagodas 
 
 Pan am - - - 
 
 Xerafyn 
 
 Ducats - 
 
 Valentyn also states that the pagoda and the (small ) fanam 
 were of the above values on the Coromandel Coast, showing that 
 
 *The Ducatoon. 
 
 5> 
 
 2± Rds. 
 
 55 
 
 L& Rds. 
 
 55 
 
 24 to 30 Stuivers. 
 
 5> 
 
 6 Gulden or 120 Stuivers 
 
 55 
 
 1 ^ 
 
 ? 35 55 " 5? 
 
 >i 
 
 1 ,5 ,5 20 „ 
 
 ii 
 
 6 „ and 12 „ 
 
Ch. XXXV. Ceylon. 351 
 
 the Ceylon currency of the day was identical in essentials with 
 that of the mainland. Half a century later the following was 
 the Trincomalee Cashier's Return of 11 August 1777 : 
 
 " In Larger Safe : Florins. 
 
 1,300 Gold Pagodas - - worth 6,565 
 
 1,005 Silver Rupees „ 1,507.10 
 
 1,150 „ Ducatoons „ 4,600 
 
 2,490,868 Copper Duijten - - „ 31,210.17 
 
 In Smaller Safe : 
 
 Copper Duijten (11,580 Rcls.) „ 27,792." 
 
 From this Return it will be seen that about 80 per cent, of the 
 balance was in copper, in the form of doits (= quarter-stuivers) : 
 that the rix-dollar had sunk to be a mere denomination, repre- 
 senting 48, instead of 60, stuivers — i.e., 2§, instead of 3, florins 
 or guldens of account. 
 
 " In 1785," according to Bertolacci's View of Ceylon (London, 
 1817), " the financial difficulties of the Island induced Governor 
 Vandergraaf to issue Treasury notes, called credit brieven, payable 
 on presentation in Ceylon copper coin at the rate of 48 stivers for 
 each rix-dollar. There was no particular coin for the rix-dollar ; 
 it was merely an ideal one, divided into 12 fanams, and each fanam 
 into 4 stivers." Bertolacci is in error in stating that these Krediet 
 brieven were convertible on demand into coin; they were only ulti- 
 mately to be redeemed. His words apply strictly only to the cash 
 notes (of from 1 to 10 Ryksdaalders) which were subsequently 
 issued under the decree of December 1795. The results of these 
 paper issues is best described in the words of Governor North in 
 1799, " for the ten years before our Conquest (i.e., 1795) there 
 was no specie in the country." 
 
 (Hi.) British Rule. 
 
 (a) From 1795 to 1825. 
 
 The currency of Ceylon in 1795, when the East India Com- 
 pany entered into possession, consisted of copper and paper. 
 The East India Company took no steps towards redeeming the 
 paper. f "The circulation," wrote Governor North in 1799, "is 
 carried on in copper, of which too great a quantity has been 
 thrown into the country, which quantity will go on increasing 
 and can never diminish, as it is not in currency on the Coast. 
 The Dutch stuiverj is of the same value as our pice, I believe of 
 the same real value ; though the Dutch pretend that the copper 
 of it is not so good ; but to judge of that, the two coins must be 
 assayed. Four of these stuivers make a fanam, so that the 
 
 * At the surrender of Colombo tlie British officers guaranteed 3 percent- 
 on the nominal value of the Krediet Brieven, and since then the Government 
 has purchased most of them at fiO per cent, discount. Very few now remain 
 outstanding, Precisely the same treatment was extended to the cash notes 
 of 179o. 
 
 t Thirty-six stuivers were cut from a Dutch pound in the closing years of 
 Dutch rule— i.e., 33 stuivers weighed 1 lb. avoirdupois. 
 
352 Colonial Currency. 
 
 Arcot rupee, which is twelve fanams, is counted as the rix- 
 dollar, which is an imaginary coin, merely used for keeping 
 accounts, and at all times {sic) consisting of eight and forty 
 stuivers." Governor North also states that " before our occupa- 
 tion of the Island the nominal value of the rupee was 30 stuivers, 
 though its real value was nearlv that at which we have since fixed 
 it, that is, at 48 stuivers, or even higher." And, incidentally, 
 after stating that " it w r as one of my principal objects to diminish 
 the circulation and raise the value of the copper currency," he 
 mentions that he has " agreed to receive the value of 30,000 
 pagodas in copper, which the Governor General in Council has 
 offered to send me from Madras." 
 
 On 18 February 1801 Governor Xorth wrote : — " The great 
 inconvenience of circulating copper money (which is the estab- 
 lished currency of these Settlements) induced me in the month of 
 March last to issue promissory notes on the Public Treasury to 
 the amount of 30,000 rix-dollars. The convenience and utility of 
 these notes were soon perceived, not only by the Europeans, but 
 the native inhabitants of the Colony, w r hich induced me to make 
 a further issue to the extent of 45>000 rix-dollars, making in all 
 K.D. 75,000. These notes are generally 25, 50, & 100 rix-dollars 
 each, bear no interest, but are merely considered as the 
 substitute of so much copper money, and made exchangeable at 
 the Treasury for their amount on demand. 45 fanams or 
 3| rix-dollars make one star pagoda,* and consequently the 
 total amount of paper currency issued is star pagodas 20,000. 
 . . . The terms on which copper money is paid into the 
 Treasury for Bills on Bengal has never been under par, that is 
 3| R.D. per pagoda ; but it sometimes can now be procured at 
 the rate of 4 rix-dollars, or 48 fanams, per pagoda, and being 
 issued at 45 fanams in the public disbursements leaves a gain 
 of 3 fanams on each pagoda to Government. . . . The 
 exchange on Bengal has for some time past been 360 Arcot 
 rupees per 100 star pagodas, and the drafts' payable at 30 days' 
 sight." 
 
 The first coinage under the Company's rule was of stuivers, 
 struck partly in the Island and partly in England. " The copper 
 bars," wrote the Governor in December 1801, "which had been 
 lying undisposed of in the Company's godowns for four years to 
 the amount of 62,000 lbs. worth about 9,600 star pagodas, was, 
 as I wrote to the Court of Directors, given over at the end of 
 April last to an individual to be coined into stuivers, 48 of 
 which make one rix-dollar. Some old cannon has also been 
 broken up for the same purpose at Trincomalee." 
 
 " Directions," continued the Governor, " have been given to the 
 Agent of the Colony in London to procure 100,000 pounds 
 
 Seeing that in Madras the fanam was current at the rate of 45 to a star 
 pagoda, the East India Company fixed the exchange for the distinct fanam 
 of Ceylon at the same rate, so that 180 stuivers or 3£ rix-dollars were 
 regarded as equivalent to the star pagoda. And as " in the years 1801, 2, 
 and 3 the Exchange at Madras remained fixed at 2h star pagodas — or 112j 
 fanams — for 1 /. sterling," and as "112^ lanams make rix-dollars 9|, that 
 standard was taken as the rate of exchange between England and Ceylon." 
 
CI). XXXV. Ceylon. 353 
 
 Weight of copper in similar coins in England, and to send them out 
 to Ceylon as soon as an opportunity can he found. Fifteen of 
 the coins being equal at the established exchange to 8 d. sterling, 
 the sum total Avill leave a profit of about 10 per cent, to Govern- 
 ment." With reference to this coinage Bertolacci observed in a 
 memorandum of 1813 that "some of the copper coin sent out 
 from England in 1802 weighed at the rate of 46 or 47 for 1 lb. 
 English." 
 
 Also in 1801, Governor North wrote that "the want of some 
 circulating medium less cumbersome than copper has induced 
 me also to direct the agent to procure a quantity of silver not 
 exceeding 8,333 /. 6 s. 8 d. in value, to be coined into rix-dollars, 
 having each the intrinsic value of 20 d. sterling, and intended 
 to be circulated at the rate of somewhat more than 25 \d., fifteen 
 rix-dollars being equal to 32 s." Apparently, this was the silver 
 which was coined in the Island in 1803 by Adrian Pietre Blume, 
 under contracts dated 4th February and 8th June of tha.t year. 
 " Very few rix-dollars," says a memorandum by Bertolacci of 
 1813, "were coined according to the weight'' prescribed by the 
 earlier contract, which was 50 rix-dollars to the Dutch pound, 
 the fineness being described as " the standard of 10 " (i.e., dwts. fine 
 per oz.), or 833 J per mille. The bulk of the coinage may there- 
 fore be assumed to have been struck under the provisions of the 
 second contract, which provided that Spanish dollars to be supplied 
 by the Government were to be coined (without alteration of 
 standard) into whole and half rix-dollars,—" one English pound 
 of silver (or 17 Spanish dollars) to produce 50 rix-dollars, or 100 
 half rix-dollars." Thus the new silver coins were 2 per cent, 
 better than one-third of a Spanish dollar. Taking the sterling 
 value of the Spanish dollar at 4 s. 2d., the sterling equivalent of 
 the new rix-dollar was only 1 s. 4§ d., i.e., 14-4 rix-dollars were 
 intrinsically equivalent to 1 /, sterling. But, nevertheless, up till 
 1805, the fixed exchange at which the Colonial Government sold 
 their bills (3^ rix-dollars to the star pagoda and 9§ rix-dollars to 
 the pound sterling) maintained at " par' 1 (a) their silver and copper 
 tokens, and (b) their paper issues. When, however, at the end 
 of 1805 the Colonial Government, suddenly altering their policy 
 with regard to the sale of their bills, invited public tenders at 
 competition rates, the currency of the Island, deprived of its 
 artificial safeguards, was speedily stripped of all coins other than 
 its own tokens (now become standard coins), and apprehension 
 was felt that even the silver rix-dollar might be exported. Ac- 
 cordingly, a remedy was sought by lowering the standard of this 
 latter coin. The contract of the Government with Blume, dated 
 17th February 1808, provides that "one English pound of pure 
 silver, and one-fifth of alloy of .Japan copper added thereto shall 
 produce to Government sixty rix-dollars ;"* i.e., the weight of June 
 1803 was retained, but the millesimal fineness was reduced to 
 833^, as in February of the latter year. The depreciation at 
 once drove out the old rix-dollars, which were intrinsically more 
 valuable, and even the oldest and heaviest of the copper coins. 
 
 * Apparently 692,159 rix-dollars in all were struck. 
 
354 Colonial Currency. 
 
 In this connection, it is to be observed that in 1803 the Colonial 
 Government had coined stivers (or pice, as they were now com- 
 monly called) at the rate of 50 to 1 lb. English, instead of 36 of 
 them making 1 lb. Dutch" (i.e., 33 stivers per lb. av. ). Thus the 
 bimetallic currency of Ceylon was depreciated in respect both of 
 its silver and of its copper coins ; and the Government paper, 
 being redeemable in current coin, necessarily suffered the same 
 depreciation as the metallic money of the Island. 
 
 On 14th November 1812, a further coinage of rix-dollars, was 
 ordered to be struck in the Island at a Mint established and 
 conducted by Mr. Bertolacci, where copper coins would also 
 appear to have been struck. By Proclamation of 10th March 
 1812, the sterling rate of issue of the rix-dollar was fixed at 
 1 s. 9 d.* but by the end of 1813 the exchange had fallen to 
 Is. l^d. Practically, by this time, all the silver and the heaviest 
 of the copper coins had been exported. The Governor's Minute of 
 16th July 1814, after speaking of the inconvenience resulting 
 "from the diminished quantity of silver and copper in circulation,"' 
 states that " no better expedient has presented itself than that of 
 following the measure lately adopted in the Mother Country of 
 issuing tokens." Consequently, silver "fanam tokens" were issued 
 to pass current at 12 to the rix-dollar, though intrinsically the 
 latter coin was worth 16 of the new tokens. " The issue will be 
 but limited (not exceeding 110,000 rix-dollars in the whole), and 
 the tokens will always be receivable at the General Treasury and 
 Cutcheries of the Island at their full nominal value." It was 
 anticipated that this measure, whilst shielding the tokens from 
 " being carried off the Island or melted," would " not have the 
 effect of lowering the present value of our currency." A Govern- 
 ment advertisement of 16 July 1814 gave currency to the tokens 
 accordingly. 
 
 Inconvertible paper, with subsidiary coins, now formed the 
 local standard of value. Nor was the currency permanently 
 changed by the Treasury order to the Koyal Mint (1st December 
 1814) to coin 100,000 silver rix-dollars and 200,000 rix-dollars in 
 copper coins ; for only the copper coins were issued in 1815. f 
 The amount of paper currency in 1 820 was nearly 2i millions of 
 rix-dollars. On 9th October 1821 the dearth of metallic money 
 led the Treasury, on behalf of the Commissariat, to order from 
 
 c The copper was coined at the old rate of 50 stivers to the pound of 
 copper, out of the demonetised Tower half-pence. The details of the coinage 
 were as follows : — 
 
 JRix Dollars. 
 Pieces of two stivers or half-fanams - - 80,000 
 
 Stivers 60,000 
 
 Half-stivers - 25,0U0 
 
 Quarter-stivers 25,000 
 
 One-eighth stivers 10,000 
 
 Total value - - Rds. 200,000 
 
 f As regards the silver, the Home Government did '' not think it would be 
 expedient to sanction the same." The matter was to be considered '' when- 
 ever the state of the bullion market shall render such coinage expedient." 
 
Ch. XXXV. Ceylon. 355 
 
 the London Mint a further supply of 400,000 silver rix-dollars, 
 each weighing 138§ grains (i.e., one-third of the accepted weight 
 of the Spanish dollars from which they were struck) ; and the 
 fineness being that of the dollar, then regarded as 891 f per 
 mille by the Mint. Consequently, as the Spanish dollar was 
 worth about 50 d., each rix-dollar was intrinsically worth under 
 1 s. 5 d., though ordered to pass current as the equivalent of 
 1 s. 9 d. sterling. In 1820 and 1822 " Anchor money '' (see |>age 
 21), was coined in England for use of the colonies generally, 
 and a consignment was made to Ceylon of these silver fractions 
 of a Spanish dollar. 
 
 On 22 March and 31 December 1823, the new Madras rupee 
 and quarter rupee (marked in Ceylon with a crown) were declared 
 current by local proclamation at ij rix dollars for the rupee, and 
 4 Ceylon fanams for the smaller coin. 
 
 (b.) From 1825 to 1836. 
 
 The state of the currency in 1825 is discussed at considerable 
 length in the Treasury Minute of 11th February 1825 (seepage 
 422). In that year the paper currency, which had been shrinking 
 since 1820, stood at 1,561,669 rix-dollars ; and, as a result of this 
 and other circumstances, the price realised on the sale of Treasury 
 Bills on London was about 15 rix-dollars per £., or 1 s. 4 d. per 
 rix-dollar at this time. 
 
 In accordance with the Order in Council of 23rd March 1825 
 (page 23), and under Regulation No. 8 of 1825, sterling denomina- 
 tions of money were introduced ; the old paper money was to be 
 called in ; and the value of the silver and paper rix-dollar was 
 fixed at 1 s. 6 d. At the same time, pending the arrival of the 
 British subsidary coins, which it was the policy of 1825 to intro- 
 duce into the British colonies generally, the Governor on 4th July 
 1825 ordered by Proclamation that the Spanish dollar should pass 
 for 4 s. 4 d., the sicca rupee for 2 s. 1 d., and the rupees of Bombay 
 and Madras at 1 s. 11 d., the sicca rupee being on 14th December 
 1833 reduced to 2 $., the Bombay or Madras rupee to 1 s. 10 d., 
 and the Spanish dollar to 4 s. 2 d. Between 1825 and 1833 (both 
 inclusive) 111,895/. was imported in British silver; over a 
 million and a-half sterling in bills on London being sold in the 
 same period at the regulation rates laid down by the Treasury in 
 i825 and 1827.* Also, by Regulation 8 of 1827, the old paper 
 rix-dollars were cancelled, and convertible Treasury notes (now 
 liquidated) were issued to the amount of 90,000/. (=1,200,000 
 rix-dollars at 1 s. 6 d. each). This paper currency, which stood 
 at 110,858 /. on 11th April 1830, was reduced to 87,427 /. on 20th 
 August 1832. The currency of the Island now consisted mainly of 
 British silver, with paper rix-dollars also freely convertible into 
 Bills on the Treasury in London. In copper, pence, half-pence, 
 and farthings were in circulation, with | and \ farthings imported 
 
 * Experience having taught the Imperial Government that 3 per cent, was 
 an excessive premium to exact on the scale of their Sterling Bills, the official 
 rate was reduced in 1827 to 101 /. 10 s. per 100 /. Bill (see p. 26). 
 
356 Colonial Currency. 
 
 in 1839-40 to the value of 2,000 L, and "the Dutch challies taken 
 as prize in Kandy." 
 
 (c.) From 1836 onwards. 
 
 A fundamental change now ensued. The exchange in Calcutta 
 on London being depressed in 1836 to Is. lid. per sicca rupee (for 
 six months' bills), sicca rupees were imported wholesale into Ceylon, 
 and exchanged at 2 s. each for local currency, wherewith bills on 
 London were purchased at 30 s. premium per 100/. bill. British 
 silver was thus driven from circulation. Later, when the Calcutta 
 exchanges became favourable, the imported rupees were exported 
 and the Colony was left without metallic money. In vain did 
 the Colonial Government import rupees. As these coins were 
 imported, not in the legitimate current of trade settlements, but 
 merely to defray the expenditure of the Colonial Government 
 (which regularly outstripped the local : revenue),* the balance of 
 trade compelled their exportation, and the Colony continued to 
 suffer from the inconvenience of insufficient metallic money. It 
 was under these circumstances that the Governor issued the 
 important Minute of 26th September 1836, rating the new 
 " Company's rupee " at 2 .<?., like the old sicca rupee. The result 
 was that, dating from 1836, the Island practically adopted the 
 Company's rupee as its standard coin, and so reverted to the 
 Indian currency area to which it naturally belongs. The (con- 
 vertible) Government paper and some British copper coins still 
 continued, however, to circulate with the rupee, as did a few silver 
 rix-dollars rated at 1 s. 6 d. By the Order in Council and Pro- 
 clamation of 16th October 1852, British gold coins were made a 
 legal tender in the Island, and Australian gold coins admitted by 
 the Order in Council and Proclamation of 22nd October 1856. 
 But these enactments were ineffectual ; the Indian rupee remained 
 the local standard of value, though its legality rested solely on 
 the Governor's Minute of 26th September 1836. 
 
 Mainly at the instance of Governor Sir Hercules Robinson, 
 the local currency was regularised by the Order in Council and 
 Proclamation of 18th June 1869. This measure revoked in 
 Ceylon the Order in Council of 1825, and the Regulations of the 
 Island Government, No. 8 of 1825, and No. 8 of 1827, and 
 formally established the Company's rupee of India, with its silver 
 sub-divisions (§, \, g), as the sole legal unlimited tender. As a 
 temporary measure, pending the introduction of decimal tokens, 
 the following copper coins Were admitted to tender up to half a 
 rupee, viz. : — 
 
 The penny at the rate of § 
 
 ,, halfpenny „ 
 
 ,, farthing ,, 
 
 ,, Ceylon fan am ,, 
 
 „ ,, stiver or pice „ 
 
 ,, ,, challie 
 
 55 
 
 f§ 
 
 anna, 
 
 or 
 
 8 pie 
 
 I 
 
 95 
 
 
 •i „ 
 
 1 
 s 
 
 55 
 
 
 2 „ 
 
 1 
 
 55 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 3 „ 
 
 4 
 
 55 
 
 
 1 
 
 Is 
 
 )5 
 
 
 1 „ 
 
 But, by the Governor's Proclamation of 23rd August 1871 
 
 ° Nearly a million sterling was received from England to supplement 
 Colonial Revenues between 1810 and 1824. 
 
Ch. XXXV. Ceylon. 357 
 
 (under tlie Order in Council and Proclamation of 1869) the 
 above copper coins were rated as the ^, Jg, J 6 , ~fc, ^, 
 and T ^ ¥ parts of a rupee, new copper tokens beiny, authorised 
 in the denomination of cents (5-cent, 1-cent, and £-cent pieces).* 
 The new tokens were authorised as from 1st January 1872. A 
 4-cent was authorised by the Governor on 14th September 1872. 
 Finally, by the Governor's Proclamation of 17th March 1874, the 
 old Ceylon fanam, stiver, and pice were demonetised as from 
 17th September of the same year; and thus the last link was 
 broken which connected the modern with the old currency. 
 
 The currency system of Ceylon from 1872 to 1891 was 
 analogous to that oi the United States in combining a binary 
 with a decimal system for coins subordinate to the standard. In 
 1891 the Indian silver coins of two annas were abandoned, and the 
 decimal system was introduced (practically) in its entirety! under 
 the Order in Council of 1892. Under this consolidating and 
 amending Order (i. ) the rupee of Portuguese India was admitted to 
 unlimited legal tender equally with the rupee of British India, and 
 (ii.) decimal silver tokens of 10, 25, and 50 cents (of 800 millesimal 
 fineness) were authorised to be struck, and to be legal tender up to 
 five rupees, the limit for copper coins remaining one-half of a 
 rupee. Power was also taken to coin other tokens, if required 
 subsequently ; and it may be anticipated that under this provision 
 bronze coins may be hereafter issued in lieu of (e.g.) the expen- 
 sive and unwieldy 5-cent piece now current. The Indian 
 £ rupee and £ rupee are retained as a legal tender, but only as 
 subsidiary coins with a five-rupee limit. 
 
 The metallic currency of Ceylon thus consists of Indian and 
 Portuguese silver with a subsidiary coinage proper to the Island, 
 as is also partly the case with Mauritius. The amount of coin in 
 the island on 31st December 1891 is estimated to have been as 
 follows : — 
 
 (i.) Silver : 
 
 (a.) In hands of Government against Rs. Rs. 
 
 Currency Notes, and as 
 Kutchery balances - - 4,500,000 
 (b.) In banks at Colombo - - 3,000,000 
 (c.) In country banks and private 
 
 hands - 4,000,000 
 
 11,500,000 
 
 (ii.) Copper - 948,966 
 
 Total (say) - - - Rs. 12,500,000 
 
 As the total population of Ceylon in 1891 was 3,000,000 (in 
 
 8 The weights of these coins (which are of pure copper) were taken 
 (approximately) from the old British copper penny, farthing, and half- 
 farthing. Hence, intrinsically, the cent is the quarter, not the fifth, of the 
 5-cent pieces. 
 
 f Strictly speaking, a 20-cent piece should have taken the place of the repre- 
 sentative of the Indian £ rupee (tour annas), as in Mauritius. Compare also 
 the 20-cent pieces of the Straits, Hong Kong, and Newfoundland. Canada, 
 following the United States, now affords a parallel to the 25-cent piece of 
 Ceylon. 
 
 72642. A A 
 
358 Colonial Currency. 
 
 round figures), this total would give Rs. 4£ in coin per 
 head. Without the Government holding (which is practically 
 all ear-marked against the note issue), the metallic circulation of 
 the Island stands at Rs. 2§ per head. And if, further, the 
 banks' reserves be struck out, and the coin in private hands be 
 taken at Rs. 3,500,000 in silver, and Rs. 1,000,000 in copper, the 
 " active " metallic circulation of Ceylon works out at Rs. 1£ per 
 head of the total population. 
 
 Notes. 
 
 There remains the important question of notes in circulation. 
 The failure of the Oriental Bank in 1884 had led to the guarantee 
 by the Governor of the bank's notes then in circulation ; and this 
 step occasioned the establishment of a Government note issue in 
 Ceylon on the model of that already existing in Mauritius. By 
 Ordinance No. 32 of 1884 it was provided that " currency notes," 
 of the denomination of 5, 10, 50, 100, 500, and 1,000 rupees, 
 should be issued as from 1st January 1885 by a Board of (three) 
 Commissioners of Currency. These notes, which are legal tender, 
 and payable on demand in " silver rupees of India.* .... 
 but no other coin," are issuable on demand •' in exchange for the 
 amount thereof in silver rupees of India." The Commissioners 
 are to hold a " reserve in silver coin of one-half, at the least, of the 
 amount of currency notes in circulation ;" and a sum not exceeding 
 one-half of the circulation may be " invested in Indian Govern- 
 ment securities, and such securities of the Government of the 
 United Kingdom, or of the Government of any British Colony 
 other than Ceylon, as may from time to time be approved by the 
 Secretary of State for the Colonies ; provided that not more than 
 one-half of such sum shall be invested in Indian Government 
 securities, except by the express sanction of the Secretary of 
 State;" but if, by shrinkage of the circulation, the specie reserve 
 should fall below the standard of one-half of the notes in circula- 
 tion, it is not incumbent on the Commissioners of Currency to 
 realise their securities until the specie falls to one-third of the 
 notes in circulation ; but no new investments must be made until 
 the specie exceeds one-half of the circulation. One per cent, of 
 the dividends is set aside to form a " depreciation fund," which, 
 however, may at any time be discontinued with the approval ot 
 the Secretary of State. 
 
 Ceylon Government currency notes were brought into circula- 
 tion on 1st January 1885. The folloAving figures give the total 
 issue on 31st December of each subsequent year up to the present 
 
 time : — D 
 
 tiupees. 
 
 1885 4,192,165 
 
 1886 ------- 5,012,165 
 
 1887 - - - - - - 5,171,705 
 
 1888 5,529,705 
 
 1889 6,444,375 
 
 1890 6,294,375 
 
 1891 ------- 7,537,375 
 
 * Hence, apparently, the Portuguese rupee, which was made legally current 
 in 1892, is not a legal tender in payment of currency notes. 
 
Ch. XXXV. Ceylon. 359 
 
 The note circulation of Ceylon is, therefore, equivalent to 
 Us. 2 1 per head of the total population. The "active" metallic 
 circulation being Rs. 1| per head, the total metallic and paper 
 currency of the Island amounts to Rs. 4 per head, which is almost 
 the estimated total of the coin in the Island, apart from notes. 
 
 The abstract account published by the Currency Commissioners 
 for the month ending 31st December 1891, showed that the 
 "reserve " {i.e., the assets) of the note issue was as follows : — 
 
 Rs. c. 
 
 (i.) " Silver in the vault " .... 4,478,58180 
 
 (ii.) Sums invested : Rs. c. 
 
 (a.) In Indian 4 per cent. 
 
 paper - - - 1,778,807 70 
 (b.) In sterling debentures, 
 &c, of Australia, 
 Canada, and the 
 Cape - - - 1,279,985 50 
 
 3,058,793 20 
 
 Total - - Rs. 7,537,375 00 
 
 Calculated at the latest market rates, the rupee-value of the 
 above investments was as follows: — 
 
 Rs. c. 
 
 (a.) Indian 4 per cent, paper ... 1,933,152 87 
 
 (b.) Sterling securities - 1,379,465 51 
 
 Total - - Rs. 3,312,618 38 
 
 Thus the original investments had improved by Rs. 253,825. 18c, 
 or about 8 per cent, in value. The "Depreciation Fund" at 
 the same date stood at (in round figures) Rs. 200,000, of which, 
 roughly, one-half was in Indian securities, one-quarter in sterling 
 Colonial Stocks, whilst the balance was uninvested. 
 
 The net profits amounted, for 1891, to Rs. 121,759. 9c, of which 
 Rs. 25,073. 12c was placed to the credit of the Depreciation 
 Fund, whilst Rs. 86,68o. 97c went to swell the Colonial revenue. 
 In the seven years ending 31st December 1891, the Colonial 
 revenue had received a net profit of Rs. 467,878, or Rs. 66,839 
 per annum on an average, in respect of the Government Issue. 
 
 72642, AA2 
 
360 Colonial Currency. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVI. 
 
 Mauritius. 
 (1810.) 
 
 " Mauritius," in the words of Mr. Lucas,* "is an instance of 
 a country in which geography and history have, to a certain 
 extent, run counter to each other. Geographically it belongs to 
 Africa, but the course of its history . . . has closely connected it 
 with Asia." Lying on the highway round the Cape to India, and 
 ruled successively by the two European powers who have built up 
 an Indian Empire, Mauritius necessarily formed its chief trading 
 relations with India. With the opening up of Australia, Mauritius 
 grew to be a great entrepot for the East and the rising Australian 
 Colonies, and for a time the gold discoveries in Australia 
 threatened to make gold permanently the standard in Mauritius, 
 but the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, whilst dealing a 
 heavy blow at the commerce of the Colony, swept the Island 
 back into the Indian "currency area;" and so, in spite of 
 Imperial efforts to introduce sterling into circulation, this African 
 island is dominated to-day, as it was dominated at the beginning 
 of the century, by the currency system of India. The history of 
 currency in Mauritius furnishes an instructive lesson in the 
 futility of arbitrary, if well-meant, endeavours to substitute an 
 alien scheme of currency for that prescribed by trade relations. 
 
 Before passing to the detailed history of the island's currency, it 
 may be v\ ell to point out that the key to the study is the " cur- 
 rent or colonial dollar." Identical, at the close of the 18th 
 century, with the universal Spanish dollar of 370*9 grains fine, 
 the ' dollar' (of 10 colonial livres) became mere money of account 
 about 1810, sinking to the level of two sicca rupees, containing 
 352 grains fine. Though legally declared in 1826 to be equiva- 
 lent to 4 s. in sterling coins, this " colonial dollar " continued to 
 be valued popularly at two rupees ; but, as the sicca rupee of 176 
 grains fine had disappeared in 1833 to make room for the Com- 
 pany or Government rupee of 165 grains fine, this popular rating 
 of the " colonial dollar" involved a further shrinkage of over 6 per 
 cent, in its intrinsic value. .Finally, in 1876, after half-a-cen- 
 tury's futile endeavours to introduce sterling as the local 
 currency, the rupee was established by law as the island standard 
 of value, and the "colonial dollar" was dispensed with as a 
 needless complication. 
 
 The history of currency in Mauritius may thus be conve- 
 niently divided into four periods: (i.) prior to 1810; (ii. ) from 
 
 * ' Historical Geography of the British Colonies," Vol. 1, p. 1G7. 
 
Ch. XXXV [. Mauritius. 361 
 
 1810 to 1825; (iii.) from 1826 to 1876; and (iv.) from 1876 
 onwards. 
 
 (i.) Prior to 1810. 
 
 With regard to the currency of the island under French rule * 
 it will be sufficient to state that the real metallic standard of the 
 18th century was the Spanish dollar; that the old paper issues 
 were withdrawn in 1786-90 ; f that the subsequent Revolutionary 
 paper was "retire en entier sur le pied de 2,000 francs (i.e., 
 livres coloniales) pour une piastre en 1803, epoque de l'arrivee 
 du General de Caen ; " and that this officer in 1810 attempted to 
 reduce the " dollar " to the level of a five-franc piece by coining 
 the island dollar which bears his name. J 
 
 It is important also to bear in mind that in this French Colony 
 accounts and calculations were invariably expressed in " livres 
 coloniales," reckoned 10 to the dollar, and therefore' equivalent 
 to the familiar Spanish real, or to half the French livre. A 
 decimal system was, therefore, in existence before British occu- 
 pation ; but the " colonial dollar " was worth somewhat less than 
 the Spanish dollar. On the other hand, there was a dearth of 
 coin, resulting in part from war and the Revolution, which 
 militated against exact ratings. 
 
 (ii.) 1810-1825. 
 Soon after the capture of the island the Governor issued the 
 Notice of 6th December 1810, declaring the Spanish dollar equal 
 to 2 sicca, or 2£ Arcot, rupees, the gold mohurs of Bombay and 
 Bengal being rated at 7 5 and 9 "dollars" respectively.! For 
 some two or three years this tariff, which undervalued the Spanish 
 dollar some 6 per cent., appears to have worked well, so long as few 
 sicca rupees were in circulation. But by 1813 the Indian coins 
 had become so abundant that the Spanish dollar bore a premium 
 of 3 to 4 per cent. " C'est a, cette epoque qu'il faut reporter la 
 difference qui a commence a s'etablir entre la piastre courante 
 ou coloniale de dix livres et la piastre effective d'Espagne."1T The 
 
 c ' A series of articles by M. Roussellet in Le Mouvement a V lie Maurice- 
 from 5th February to 9th April 1892, deal with the old currency of the 
 island in interesting detail. 
 
 f See le Meglement sur le papier of 28th July 1790. 
 
 It was the paper money which depreciated the local livre of account. At 
 the beginning of 1777 the Spanish dollar was rated at 7| livres. In the course 
 of the next seven years the quotation rose to 10 livres, and sometimes as high 
 as 12. Before 1810 all rupees alike are stated to have passed as four livres 
 coloniales, or two-fifths of a Spanish dollar, a rating which undervalued even the 
 Arcot rupee about 11 per cent., and. consequently, rendered impossible the con- 
 current circulation of the dollar and rupee. And the dearth of coin in 
 circulation is recorded by de Caen (Zay, p. 263). 
 
 J Gross weight 413*164 grains, fineness ten-twelfths, fine content 344*3 grains, 
 or a slight fraction under the fine content of the five-franc piece. This coin 
 had been made legal tender by General de Caen's Arrele of 8th March 1810. 
 The silver f o • the coinage came from the booty of the " Oviedor,'' captured in 
 this year. {See Ti&y, pages 261-5). 
 
 || The issue of interest-bearing Treasury Bills on 19th April 1811 is not 
 important from a currency point of view. 
 
 % Letter of 21st August 1824, from the Bank at Port Louis to the Colonial 
 Government. 
 
362 Colonial Currency. 
 
 practical standard of value was now the sicca rupee, which readily 
 conformed to the decimal system in vogue, as the equivalent of 
 five livres coloniales. Thfi island currency was placed on a basis 
 which met with the general approval of the inhabitants. 
 
 The chief deficiency in the circulatory medium was in coins 
 subordinate to the sicca rupee, and larger than the copper sol 
 marque (see infra). To meet this want, the Colonial Govern- 
 ment applied to England in 1817 for a supply of small silver 
 coin for the island, and issued temporarily small Treasury notes 
 of the denominations of a half and a quarter dollar, and a further 
 issue was made in these and in much higher denominations (up 
 to $ 500) in 1818. As no coins came from England, the Colony 
 in 1818 imported 1,600,000 pices from India at 64 to the sicca 
 rupee ; and, to prevent their exportation from the island, each 
 pice w y as ordered to pass as a cent (i.e., at the rate of 100 to 
 the colonial dollar of two sicca rupees), or at a premium of some 
 28 per cent. But, as excessive issues of paper resulted in an 
 agio of over 28 per cent, on specie about 1820, these overrated 
 coins did not escape export to Bourbon and elsewhere. The 
 renewed inconvenience of having no small change was met in a 
 novel fashion. Special " tokens " in base silver were struck 
 for the island at the Calcutta Mint of the denominations of 50 
 and 25 sous, i.e., 25 and 12£ cents of a colonial dollar, respec- 
 tively, and were issued under the Notice of 19th March 1822. 
 Their intrinsic value being under 6\d. and 3| d. each, the over- 
 rating was nearly 90 per cent. ; and naturally, therefore, 
 these insular coins (of which 286,251 of the larger size, and 
 311,498 of the smaller, were struck) remained in circulation in 
 Mauritius. Meantime, the Home Government in 1820 had 
 directed 50,000 Spanish dollars to be bought and coined into quar- 
 ters, eighths, and sixteenths of dollars for the service of the island. 
 These fractions, which were unsuitable because they were not 
 decimal parts of the dollar, Avere " struck with the device (of the 
 anchor) adopted for the coin of the British Colonies," and were of 
 dollar fineness and proportionate weight.* They are the earliest 
 "anchor money " {see page 21). Pence and halfpence were also 
 requested, but their coinage was not executed.f 
 
 In 1821, 20,000 I. worth of silver was purchased by the Com- 
 missariat to be coined " into halves, quarters, eighths, and six- 
 teenths, for the service at the Mauritius." These coins were 
 struck in 1822 on the former plan, 10,000/. in half-dollars, 
 4,000 1. in quarters, 4,000 I. in eighths, and 2,000 I. in sixteenths. 
 On 24th September 1822, the Commissariat officer wrote that 
 " the colonial paper money in exchange for the metallic currency 
 bears a discount of 29 per cent., and for Spanish dollars 33 per 
 cent." And on the same date, under Treasury directions, the 
 general officer commanding rated the coins in circulation, for 
 
 • Of the quarters, weighing 104 grains, 99,792 were struck. 
 „ eighths „ 52 ' „ 119,696 
 
 „ sixteenths ,, 1V> „ 161,536 „ 
 
 t Copper fractions of the dollar were actually struck a ypar or two later 
 for Mauritius, the West Indies, Sierra Leone, &c, ; but the coinage was 
 melted down, before issue, at the end of 1825, 
 
Ch. XXXVI. Mauritius. 
 
 363 
 
 issue to the troops, on the basis of a 4 s. 8 d. rate of issue for the 
 familiai* Spanish dollar. The chief feature of his silver ratings 
 was the reduction of the sicca rupee from 2 s. 4rf. to 2 .s. 2\ d., 
 making- therefore the "colonial dollar" worth 4 s. 5f/. for issue 
 to the troops. In 1821 a serious effort was made to purge the 
 currency of paper, and by Proclamation of 25th June in that 
 year, the existing issues were called in, and demonetised as from 
 24th December 1824. In view of the " approaching return to 
 a metallic currency," the Governor on 10th December 1824, 
 issued a notice rating in cents of a " current dollar of the value 
 of two sicca rupees," the undermentioned coins in common cir- 
 culation for the purposes of receipt and issue by the Colonial 
 Government : — 
 
 SILTEB, 
 
 
 GOLD. 
 
 Sicca rupee 7 
 
 50 cents. 
 
 Bengal mohur ... 
 
 8 current dollars. 
 
 Madras „ .... 
 
 47 „ 
 
 Madras „ ... 
 
 7 
 
 Bombay „ .... 
 
 47 „ 
 
 Bombay „ ... 
 
 7 
 
 Spanish dollar - - - - 
 
 108 „ 
 
 Sovereign .... 
 
 5 
 
 English colonial dollar 
 
 106 „ 
 
 Twenty-franc piece - 
 
 4 
 
 Decaen dollar .... 
 
 98 „ 
 
 Doubloon - 
 
 17 
 
 Five-franc piece - 
 
 99 „ 
 
 
 
 Austrian dollar - 
 
 98 „ 
 
 
 
 This regulation, though not destined to be long in force, 
 was important for its rating of the sovereign as five colonial 
 dollars, on the erroneous basis of the Mint price of 5 s. 2 d. 
 per oz. of standard silver. The starting point for these (round) 
 figures was the sicca rupee; the ^old ratings were subsequently 
 deduced from their home equivalence to the silver coins of their 
 own currency systems. The Spanish dollar was designedly 
 overrated about 2 per cent., in order to retard its exportation to 
 Bourbon, where it passed for 11 colonial livres or 110 cents. 
 
 (iii.) 1826-1843. 
 
 Throughout this period the " Colonial dollar " continued to be 
 regarded as equal to 2 sicca rupees ; but this, as will be seen, 
 was conventional only. In 1825 {see page 23), the British 
 Government formulated, and proceeded to carry out, its scheme 
 for making; British silver and bronze tokens the circulating; 
 medium of British colonies. On receipt of the Treasury circular 
 letter of 12th February of this year, the Governor issued on 22nd 
 September a notice (on the lines of the 1824 rating of the 
 sovereign as five colonial dollars), whereby the shilling was 
 rated for Army and other Government purposes at 25 cents, 
 the penny at 2 cents, and other British tokens proportionately. 
 And, after the receipt of the Order in Council of 23rd March 
 
364 
 
 Colonial Currency. 
 
 1825 (see page 417), the important Ordinance No. 3 was passed 
 by the Governor in Council on 25th November 1825, introducing 
 sterling as the denomination for public accounts, as from 1st 
 January 1826, and declaring that " a tender and payment of four 
 shillings British silver money or British silver and copper money 
 shall in this colony and its dependencies be considered equivalent to 
 and a legal tender and payment of one current dollar of the colonial 
 money of account of Mauritius." No other coins were actually 
 made legal tender ; but the public offices were directed, until 
 further notice, to pay and receive foreign coins at the following 
 rates, derived partly from the Treasury Circular, and partly from 
 the Government notice of 1824 : — 
 
 GOLD. 1 
 
 £. s. a. 
 
 Sovereign - - - 1 - - 
 
 20-franc piece - - - - - 16 - 
 
 DouWooq - - - - - 3 9 4 
 
 Bengal Mohur - - - - 1 13 4 
 
 Madras 18 9 
 
 Bombay 189 
 
 COPPER. 
 
 Sol Marque - 1- - - - - - -f 
 
 Cashe or pice - - - - - - -£ 
 
 SILVER. 
 
 n »» 
 
 !> » 
 
 5-franc piece 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 Spanish and U. S. dollar 
 
 Sicilian dollar ... 
 
 Austrian „ ... 
 
 Decaen „ 
 
 Sicca rupee - 
 
 Madras, Bombay, or Surat 
 rupee ----- 
 
 Colonial half-dollar, &c. 
 
 £,. s. d. 
 
 - 4 - 
 
 - 1 8 
 
 - - 10 
 
 - 4 4 
 
 - 4 1 
 
 - 4 - 
 
 - 4 - 
 
 - 2 1 
 
 1 11 
 
 2 2 
 
 The most important features of the above ratings of foreign 
 coins for concurrent circulation with sterling were (1) the under- 
 valuation of sterling relatively toother coins; (2) the overrating 
 of the doubloon, worth only 64 5. sterling ; (3) the over-rating of 
 the single and double francs relatively both to sterling and to 
 the 5-franc piece ; and (4) the over-valuation of the sicca rupee. 
 
 In 1826, 1827, and 1828, a total sum of 60,200/. in British 
 silver, and of 1,000 /. in copper coins, was poured into Mauritius 
 by the Imperial Government. And it is stated that, about 1830, 
 dollars and rupees were imported into the island from New South 
 Wales as a result of the prohibitive rating popularly estab- 
 lished in that Colony in 1829-30. Consequently, in 1828, the 
 question of the over-rated "tokens "of 1822, and copper coins 
 (pices and marques), claimed the consideration of the Colonial 
 Government. (i) The pices were collected and remitted to 
 India to the number of 1,393,515. (ii) The "tokens" in the 
 
 * It is curious that the Pagoda is never mentioned in these tables. That 
 it circulated, is shown by the inventory referred to on the next page, from 
 which it appears that, in 183!), the Pagoda "' k, Pabeille," was rated at 4 dollars, 
 the Star Pagoda at TG5 dollars, and the Porto Novo Pagoda at P35 dollars. 
 
 t This coin was sent out from France under the Royal Edict of October 
 1738. and was issued for 2 sous. To restrain exportation, the Avis du Hoi 
 of December 1771 raised its currency value to 8 sous. Thus from 1771 they 
 passed at 663 to the dollar. Bv the Ordinance of 1825, 64 went to the 
 Colonial dollar, or 4s. sterling. (See Zay, pp. 77-9). 
 
Ch. XXXVL Mauritius. 365 
 
 first place were called in by the Governor's Proclamation of 11th 
 May 1831 to be "exchanged for other money according to the 
 value at which it was formerly issued." Of these coins, the 
 equivalent of 414,616 "shilling" tokens was received, or only 
 27,384 less than the Avhole issue. And by Proclamation of 4th of 
 August 1831 they were re-issued at 8 d. and 4 d. respectively; 
 this figure representing their intrinsic value plus original expenses 
 of mintage, freight, &c. Thus the whole token was reduced, 
 at the expense of the Colonial Government, from the quarter to 
 the sixth of a current dollar, and the half token in proportion, 
 (iii) On legal grounds, the question of the marques was left 
 over for the time. 
 
 The flooding of the island with British silver, and the un- 
 restrained issue of Bills on London by the Commissariat for 
 such coins {see page 25), had diverted official, if not private, 
 attention from the premium placed in 1825 upon the doubloon 
 and the smaller silver coins of France. Very large importations 
 of doubloons* having been made, and the Treasury having on the 
 19th June 1835 reduced the Army rate of issue for the doubloon 
 to 66^., the Colonial Government passed a corresponding Ordi- 
 nance on 14th January 1836, substituting a rating of 66 s. for 
 the 1825 rating of 69 s. Ad. Private remonstrances were 
 powerless to procure the disallowance of the local Ordinance, 
 which, strictly speaking, repealed not a law, but a mere office 
 regulation. Speculation was now diverted to French silver coins. 
 By the end of 1837, as the result of large and profitable impor- 
 tations, francs and two-franc pieces formed about two-thirds of 
 the coin in circulation in Mauritius ; and this led to a general 
 refusal to accept these coins in payment at the excessive rates 
 laid down in 1825 for their receipt and issue in the Government 
 offices. Accordingly, the Ordinance of 14th March 1838, 
 provided that these coins " shall be received and paid at the 
 public offices at the rate of five one franc pieces for 4 s., and of 
 five two-franc pieces for Ss. ; nevertheless, the said pieces cannot 
 be received in sums of less than 4 s." 
 
 After the legislation of 1836 and 1838, and after the abolition 
 in India of the Sicca rupee in 183fi, the cheapest tender of 
 payment was in Spanish dollars and Company rupees, correctly 
 rated (with reference to each other) at 4s. Ad. and Is. lid. 
 respectively. British silver and gold, being undervalued re- 
 latively both to these coins and to the doubloon, had no general 
 circulation, being either returned, as soon as it was issued, to 
 the Commissariat for the purchase of Bills on London, or shipped 
 wholesale to the Cape. 
 
 This unsatisfactory position of the sole coins that were strictly 
 le^al tender in Mauritius led the colony in 1839 to ask for 
 20,000/. in shillings and sixpences to be stamped "Mauritius," 
 
 * M. Roussellet quotes in Le Mouvement a Vile Maurice of (1th February 
 1892, an interesting inventory, dated 27 July 183!), of the contents of a strong 
 box, showing a total of 11 ,1)56 dollars all in gold. Of this 2,375 dollars was in 
 bullion at 20 dollars the ounce, and of the remainder over 80 per cent, was in 
 doubloons, some 9 per cent, being in Portuguese Johannes, and the reat 
 principally in French gold and Pagodas. 
 
366 Colonial Currency. 
 
 and to circulate exclusively in the island ; but the Treasury 
 refused to sanction a local coinage. The dearth of small change 
 due to the withdrawal of the marques in 1837-38 had been 
 obviated by the importation of 9,000 /. in small British silver 
 coins (6 d., 3 d., 1£ d.) and of 1,000 I. in pence, halfpence, and 
 farthings. In 1840-41, in connection with the slave indemnity, 
 about 150,000 /. in British silver was received in the island. But 
 even this large importation was inetfectual to detach Mauritius 
 from the Indian currency area of which it still formed a part. 
 Like previous consignments, the coins introduced in 1840-41 
 either flowed out of the island to England and the Cape, or were 
 retained as counters for the specific purpose of buying Treasury 
 Bills on London. 
 
 j (iv.) 1843-1876. 
 
 The remedial legislation of 1838 for the West Indies {see 
 p. 27) was extended to Mauritius in 1843. The provisions 
 of the Order in Council and Proclamation of 1st February of 
 that year were embodied in the Local Ordinance No. 9 of 1843, 
 which provided that no foreign or Indian coins would be received 
 at the public offices or considered as a legal tender except the 
 following, at the undermentioned rates for concurrent circulation 
 with sterling : — 
 
 Gold. 
 
 s. 
 
 Doubloon of Spain, Mexico, or the States of 
 
 South America - - - - - - 64 - 
 
 Mohur 29 2 
 
 20 -franc piece - - - - - - 15 10 
 
 Silver. 
 
 Dollar of Spain, Mexico, and South America 4 2 
 
 Company's rupee - - - - - -110 
 
 5-franc piece, or pieces of 1 and 2 francs to the 
 
 same amount, viz., 5 francs - - - - 3 10| 
 
 But, notwithstanding the above Imperial and Colonial enact- 
 ments, the Colonial dollar of account was still regarded as consisting 
 of two rupees, and was, therefore, worth about 3 s. 8«7. sterling for 
 the greater part of this period. Thus the rupee held the field till 
 about 1850 against sterling and other coins even at the popular 
 over valuation of 2 &■. British coins, bearing a premium on 4 s. 
 of from 4 to 6 per cent, as against two rupees, were used only 
 for the puipose of paying Colonial dues and buying Treasury 
 Bills. By popular custom the franc was rated at 10 d., the 
 2-franc piece at Is. l^d., and the 5-franc piece at 4s., or 
 
 1 " dollar " of two rupees. 
 
 On 17th October 1850, an important Government Committee 
 in Mauritius recommended the rating of the rupee by law at 
 
 2 s. ; but, before action was taken, the great gold discoveries of 
 
Ch. XXXVI. Mauritius. 367 
 
 the middle of this century revolutionised for a time the monetary- 
 conditions of the island. Gold began to flow in from Australia ; 
 and the rising price of sugar brought gold and silver coins from 
 England. In 1852 (see page 367) an Order in Council was passed 
 placing a 40 s. limit in Mauritius and certain colonies on the legal 
 tender of British silver. With abundance of sterling coins, the 
 rupee was driven from the island, the almost exclusive medium 
 of trade, other than the local notes, consisting of British and 
 Australian coins.* Soon after 1860 the current of gold set out- 
 wards from the island again. By 1866 gold bore a premium of 
 4 to 5 per cent., and once again rupees flowed in, passing, as 
 before, as the equivalent of a florin. The currency of Mauritius 
 was now in the unsound condition (1) of having two ratings for 
 the dominant rupee (viz., Is. ]0d. legally, and 2s. by popular 
 agreement), and (2) of violating the law by giving in practice 
 unlimited tender to British silver. 
 
 The position became more and more strained, when soon after 
 1870 the gold price of silver began to fall. And now the gold 
 liability of the Colonial Government, with regard to their notes, 
 became so grave that a remedy was imperatively demanded. It 
 will be necessary at this point to revert to the history of the paper 
 money. 
 
 From 1825 until the crisis of 1847 the issue of notes was in 
 ihe hands of the Mauritius and Commercial Banks. In 1847 the 
 Mauritius Bank failed, and the Commercial Bank's paper sank 
 into discredit. It was accordingly decided to place the issue of 
 paper currency in the hands of the Local Government. In 1849, 
 under Ordinance No. 9 of that year, a Government Currency 
 Board was established, and notes for 10 and 5 rupees were issued, 
 and made a legal tender. The sterling ratings of the rupee at 
 1 s. 10 d. (as in India at the same date), as opposed to the con- 
 ventional rating of 2 s., was immaterial while rupees circulated 
 to the exclusion of British silver ; but when, in 1850, the rupee 
 began to be driven out by the shilling, inconvenience arose from 
 the conflict between the legal and conventional ratings of the 
 rupee notes. It was not until 1861,f however, that, under 
 Ordinance No. 7 of that year, these notes began to be withdrawn 
 in favour of (unsecured) sterling notes, of such denominations 
 and in such amounts as the Governor might decide. After much 
 correspondence, Ordinance No. 10, of 1864, was passed, pro- 
 viding that the Currency Commissioners might invest any sum 
 in excess of half the amount of notes in circulation, either 
 wholly in Imperial securities, or, to a maximum of one half of 
 the investment, in Mauritius 6 per cent, debentures. The Com- 
 missioners were to realise when the amount of specie in their 
 
 * 5-franc pieces served solely for the Madagascar trade ; and the Mexican 
 dollars, which were previously employed for thia purpose, were shipped at 
 once to the East. It may he added that by Order in Council of 16th July, 
 1870, the new francs and 2-franc pieces were confined to a 40 s. limit of 
 tender. 
 
 fin 1857 an Order in Council was passed authorising the issue of notes 
 by private banks; but it was never promulgated, and the Colonial Govern- 
 ment continued to monopolise the issue. 
 
368 Colonial Currency. 
 
 hands fell to below one-third of the circulation. The legal question 
 as to paying the notes in gold involved in 1865-9 much difficulty, 
 as in 1867 gold was demanded for export to India at a profit of 
 5 to 6 per cent. But by an ingenious arrangement on the part of 
 the Colonial Government, the bulk of the circulation was con- 
 fined to 1 1, and 10 s. notes, and thus it was strictly legal to cash 
 them exclusively in silver. The 5 /. notes payable in gold were 
 held by the Banks, and fear of forcing on a financial crisis made 
 them keep these notes out of circulation as an ultimate reserve. 
 Out of this difficulty first arose the distinct demand on the part 
 of the Colonial Government for the demonetisation of sterling 
 and the establishment of a rupee standard, a demand which was 
 accentuated by the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, and the 
 consequent supersession of Mauritius as an entrepot for the Cape 
 and Australasia. 
 
 (v.) 1876 onwards. 
 
 Passing over a local Ordinance of 1875 (No. 30), which pro- 
 posed to legalise the Indian Government rupee at 2 s., but was 
 disallowed by the Imperial Government, the stage is reached at 
 which the currency system of Mauritius was finally placed on a 
 sound basis. The inconvenience of a sterling currency in the 
 Mauritius began to be acutely felt now that the rupee had left 
 the island, and that gold ceased to flow in. And. popular in- 
 convenience had its counterpart in the alarm of the Colonial 
 Government at the prospect of having to pay their notes in gold 
 according to law, and to forgo the profit on their issue. By 
 Order in Council and Proclamation* of 12th August 1876, all 
 previous Orders in Council and Proclamations were revoked, 
 and the Indian rupee (with its silver subdivisions of propor- 
 tionate intrinsic value, consisting of the £, \, and Jth) was 
 established as the only legal tender of payment in Mauritius and 
 its Dependencies. Provisionally, however, British bronze coins 
 were made legal tender up to half a rupee at the rate of 
 
 4 cents (of a rupee) to a penny ; and power was given to coin 
 subsidiary tokens in silver or bronze to be legal tender up to five 
 rupees. 
 
 It will be observed that the convenient decimal system of 
 Mauritius was an inheritance from the days of French rule, the 
 cent being the lineal descendant of the sou of account. The 
 change of form in 1876 was to substitute the single rupee for the 
 colonial dollar of (conventionally) two rupees,! and consequently 
 to make the new cent half the value of the old. The local 
 subsidiary coins expressed in these denominations are (1) the silver 
 pieces of 20 and 10 cents, and (2) the bronze pieces of 1,2, and 
 
 5 cents. Of these coins, which were first struck in 1877, the 
 
 • This was brought into operation in the island (as from 1st January 
 1877) X>y the Governor's Proclamation of 25th November lH7l>. 
 
 | The old habit of treating the rupee a* 2 s. sterling survives in the 
 local method of quoting the exchanges on London on the basis of a nominal 
 par of 100 rupees = 10 /., and adding the requisite number of rupees '' per 
 cent, premium." 
 
Ch. XXXVI. Mauritius. 369 
 
 following have been coined at the Royal Mint, and the Mint, 
 Birmingham, up to 31st December 1891 : — 
 
 Us. 
 
 Silver - 
 Bronze 
 
 20 cents. 
 
 118,000 
 
 10 
 
 )> 
 
 143,000 
 
 5 
 
 >j 
 
 32,500 
 
 2 
 
 >> 
 
 32,500 
 
 Cents. 
 
 32,500 
 
 
 Rs. 
 
 358,500 
 
 Thus there is a subsidiary circulation of almost exactly a 
 rupee per head of the population. It has not been found 
 possible to ascertain the amount of coin in general circulation. 
 The specie reserve held by the Government against the note- 
 issue amounted to 1§ millions of rupees, or over Rs. 3 per head, 
 irrespective of the banks and the " active " circulation. 
 
 Notes. 
 
 With the change of the metallic standard from the sovereign 
 to the rupee, a corresponding change was made in the law 
 regulating the local paper currency. Ordinance No. 28 of 1876 
 (1) authorised the issue by the Currency Commissioners of 
 demand notes of 5, 10 and 50 rupees in exchange for silver 
 rupees of India, and (2) directed that the old sterling or " dollar " 
 notes should cease to be a legal tender. " But any person 
 holding any such notes shall have right to demand and receive 
 payment of the lawful value thereof from the Commissioners of 
 Currency until the 31st December 1877." (3) The old pro- 
 visions as to investment were re-enacted in these words : — 
 
 "A sum not exceeding one-half of the amount of notes in 
 circulation at any time may be invested in securities of the 
 Imperial Government, provided that any fraction of such sum 
 not exceeding one-fourth part of the notes in circulation as 
 aforesaid, may likewise be invested in debentures of the Mauri- 
 tius Government or in Mauritius Registered Stock." (4) The 
 Commissioners are not bound to realise their securities (except 
 by the special directions of the Governor) until the specie in 
 their hands has fallen below one-third of the circulation at the 
 time. (5) The profits of the issue go to swell colonial revenue ; 
 but, (6) subject to the decision from time to time of the Governor, 
 1 per cent. " on the interest yielded by the investments," goes to 
 a special " Depreciation Fund,"* to be payable to the Currency 
 Commissioners, and to be invested by them against shrinkage 
 of the capital value of the investments. (7) The Commissioners 
 are bdund to publish a statement every month showing (a.) the 
 amount of notes in circulation on the last day of the preceding 
 month, and (b.) the amount of securities and specie in their 
 hands at the time being. For a number of years the average 
 circulation has been about 3 millions of rupees, or roughly about 
 
 * This provision originated in Article 5 of Ordinance No. 19 of 1865, 
 which was subsequently repealed by Ordinance No. 20 of 1874. 
 
370 Colonial Currency. 
 
 8 rupees per head of the population. On 31 December 1891 
 the issue stood at Rs. 2,668,250, or about Us. 1\ per head. 
 
 At the end of 1891 the assets of the note issue were stated as 
 follows : — 
 
 Rs. 
 " 1. Specie in hands of Commissioners " - 1,124,000 
 
 " 2. Amount disbursed for remittances up 
 
 to 31st December 1891 - 1,544,250 
 
 Total - - - Rs. 2,668,250 
 
 In conclusion, it may be stated that in 1886, when the gold- 
 price of silver was low, and when there was a partial demand in 
 Mauritius for a gold standard, a colonial committee was appointed 
 to report on the monetary system of Mauritius. The valuable 
 report of the committee, which is dated 14th September 1888, 
 fi.) traced the evils complained of to the price of sugar, and (ii.) 
 arrived at the sound conclusion that it was to the interest of the 
 colony to maintain the existing system, " aussi longtemps du 
 moins que ce systeme sera celui de l'lnde, qui est le pays auquel 
 notre situation geographique, nos besoins, et la nature de nos 
 relations commerciales, rattachent plus intimement Maurice."* 
 
 * It has been urged that the arguments which apply to Mauritius do not 
 apply to one of its Dependencies, the Seychelles, the trade of those islands 
 being mainly with gold-using countries. 
 
r 371 ] 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVII. 
 
 Hong Kong. 
 
 (1841.1 
 
 In 1841 the island of Hong Kong, then described as a mere 
 barren rock sparsely inhabited by fishermen, was ceded by China 
 to Great Britain; by 1888 the total imports and exports 
 exceeded 40 millions sterling. The history of the currency of 
 this important colony is thus comprised within the past half- 
 century. But, though Hong Kong is thus one of the youngest 
 of British Colonies, its existing currency recalls the earliest 
 phase of currency in the 17th century ''Plantations in America.'' 
 For, just as the old silver " Piece of Eight " was the dominant, 
 coin nearly three centuries ago in the ancient West Indian 
 Colonies, so the Mexican dollar (the lineal descendant and modern 
 representative of the Piece of Eight) dominates the currency 
 of Hong Kong at the present day. This result, which the 
 Imperial Government sought in vain to prevent, is due to the 
 silver tradition so long held and so rigidly maintained by the 
 Chinese ; Hong Kong, as being the chief commercial entrepot for 
 the foreign trade of China, has naturally and necessarily been 
 drawn into the Chinese " currency area.'' 
 
 The silver dollar, in its earliest Spanish form, had been familiar 
 at such Chinese ports as Canton, Xingpo, and Amoy, since 1571, 
 in connection with Spanish commerce from the Philippines. 
 And in 1596 Linschoten, in his Intinerarie Voyage, stated that 
 at Goa " there are likeAvise Eialles of eight {i.e., dollars) which 
 are brought from Portingall, and are ' Pardawes de Reales ' worth 
 at their first coming out 436 Reyes of Portingall ; and after are 
 raised by exchange, as they are sought for when men travelt for 
 China" Consequently, both the Spaniards at Manila and the 
 Portuguese at Goa (and Malacca, see under Straits Settlements) 
 familiarised the Chinese with the dollar more than three centuries 
 ago. 
 
 At the date of cession of Hong Kong, the Chinese, who are 
 characteristically fastidious in the choice of coins according to 
 device, had come to accept the Spanish dollars of Ferdinand VII. 
 as the standard silver coin, but still preferred the " Carolus 
 Dollar," struck by Charles IV. {i.e., prior to 1808). Taking 
 the Ferdinand Dollar as " par," the dollars of Mexico and South 
 America (dating from about 1820) were regarded with suspicion 
 
372 Colonial Currency. 
 
 as innovations, and passed at a discount of from 3 to 7 per cent. ; 
 whilst the superior antiquity* of the dollar of Charles IV. com- 
 manded a premium ranging from 4 to as much as 15 per cent. 
 All these dollars, however, were intrinsically of equal weight 
 and fineness. A like preference for the Carolus Dollar existed 
 till recent years in Shanghai, and exists to-day in the Malay 
 Peninsula {see page .) where the Mexican dollar is still 
 unknown, and the " Pillar " dollar holds the field. 
 
 On 29th March 1842, Sir Henry Pottinger, Plenipotentiary and 
 Chief Superintendent of the trade of British subjects in China, 
 issued a Proclamation prescribing that for bazaar purchases, &c, 
 but not for mercantile transactions, the following coins were to 
 be deemed legal tender, viz. : Spanish, Mexican, and other 
 dollars, and their component parts, the East India Company's 
 rupees and their component parts, and " Cash,"f or the copper 
 coins current in China. 
 
 1 dollar=2| rupees. J 
 1 dollars 1,200 cash. 
 1 rupee = 533 cash. 
 
 Two months later, on the 27th April 1842, Sir Henry Pot- 
 tinger issued a further Proclamation making " Mexican and 
 other Republican dollars " the standard in all government and 
 mercantile transactions at Hong Kong, &.c. 
 
 The policy adopted in these two Proclamations was sound, in 
 so far as it established the Mexican dollar as the standard, and 
 disregarded sterling ; though the wording was loose in not defining 
 the dollar, in view of the varying weights, e.g., of the Mexican and 
 United States dollars. 
 
 The authorities at home, who since 1825 had striven to intro- 
 duce British silver coins into circulation in the Colonies, viewed 
 the action taken in 1842 with disfavour, and insisted on applying 
 their uniform panacea. Accordingly by Royal Proclamation, 
 under Order in Council of 28th November 1844, Sir Henry Pot- 
 tinger's Proclamations were revoked, and token British silver 
 
 • When in 1871 the device of the Mexican dollar was altered from the Cap 
 to the " Scale," bommeree with the Chinese was dislocated by the refusal of 
 the latter to recognise the upstart coin. So likewise with the " Maximilian " 
 coinage. 
 
 f This word is derived, through the Portuguese form caixa, from the Sk. 
 harsha (an Indian weight of 80 ratis, or 140 grains, according to Thomas, 
 Ancient Indian Weights, in Num. Or., London, 1874). Linschoten, in 1596, 
 says that " in Sunda (or Java) there is also no other kind of money than 
 certain copper mynt called caixa, of the bigness of a Hollades doite, but not 
 half so thicke, in the middle whereof is a hole to hang it on a string, for that 
 commoruie they put two hundreth or a thousand upon one string." Houtman, 
 in 1609, says, Chinese "nionnoye est appellee cas." It is suggested by Yule 
 and Burnell (" Glossary of Anglo-Indian Words") that the distinct English 
 word caxh (=caisse or strong-box) may have affected the above corruption. 
 
 J On the basis of fine content (according to Mint standards) the rupee 
 contains lfio grains, and the Mexican dollar 877*18 grains. Hence, by law, 
 $1 = Rs. 2*2856. But, in India, the coined rupee is 2*1 per cent, more 
 valuable than its own silver content by reason of the Mint charge. 
 
Ch. XXXVII. Hong Kong. 373 
 
 established as the nominal standard, with the following coins 
 rated for concurrent circulation, viz. : 
 
 £. s. d. 
 East India Company's gold Mohur (coined since 
 
 1st September 1835) - - - - - 1 9 2 
 
 Rupee - - - - - - - --110 
 
 Dollar of Spain j 
 
 Mexico i- - - - - - 4 2 
 
 55 
 
 53 
 
 South America 
 
 288 " Cash " - - - - - - - 1 - 
 
 The limit of legal tender was fixed, (i.) at 20 s. for British 
 silver coins of lower denomination than the shilling, and for 
 Indian silver coins lower than the rupee ; and (ii.) at 1 s. for 
 British copper coins and Chinese " Cash." 
 
 It was anticipated in 1844 that agreements at Hong Kong to 
 pay dollars would be discharged by the payment of shillings at 
 the rate of 24 cents, and that the coins and money denominations 
 of the mother country would be established in the new settle- 
 ment without disturbing existing contracts, and with as little 
 interference as possible with the prejudices and habits of the 
 people. 
 
 The Home Government herein reckoned without the Chinese. 
 In China fine, or Hai-Kwan, Sycee, silver had always been 
 reckoned not by tale but by weight, the standard measure being 
 the " Tael " weighing some 580 grains, subdivided decimally 
 into 10 mace* or 100 candareens. Of the only Chinese coins 
 (copper " Cash"), one thousand ^each weighing one mace) were 
 originally equivalent to one tael of fine or Sycee silver. But 
 owing to adulteration (with sand, &c), and to illicit coinage, as 
 many as 1,400 cash sometimes passed for a tael. 
 
 Now, as for all but petty transactions the Chinese used silver 
 and measured that silver by its fine weight and not by tale,f the 
 introduction of token British silver coins which represent fractions 
 of a gold sovereign, proceeded on a fundamental misconception ; 
 and the Royal Proclamation of 1844 remained a dead letter. All 
 accounts (except those of the Government) were kept in dollars, 
 and the sole instrument and medium of exchange, both at Hong 
 Kong and at all the open ports (except Shanghai) continued to 
 be the silver dollar, weighed in Hong Kong at 1,000 dollars to 
 717 taels, i.e., nearly 416 grains per dollar. 
 
 As a result of the gold discoveries in Australia in 1851, the 
 
 ° Mace=Sk. mdsha (the bean of the Phaseolus), apparently through the 
 Malay. The Malay taeL-weight was divided into 10 Mace each of 20 candareens 
 (called cumduryns by Nunez in 1554) ; and it was hence that the names which 
 were familiar tor centuries at Malacca, came to be applied later to the decimal 
 subdivisions of the Chinese tael- weight. 
 
 Like " mace " the word " tael" ia of Indian origin, being the representative 
 of the Hindu tola, which comes from the Sk. tula, a balance. 
 
 ■f Cf. VHistoria del Gran Regno delta China (a translation published at 
 Venice in 1587 of Mendozza's Spanish work) : " La moneta, che corre nel regno, 
 . . . none coniata, pero si spende a peso, et ognuno porta i pesi seco, et alcuni 
 piccioli pezzetti d'oro et d'argento per coprar quello, che gli bisogna." 
 
 72642. . Bb 
 
374 Colonial Currency. 
 
 legal tender of British silver was limited in 1852 to 40 s. for 
 Australasia by the Royal Proclamation* of 16th October 1852. 
 This measure also applied to Hong Kong, Ceylon, and Mauritius, 
 as it was anticipated at that time that India and the East 
 generally would adopt a gold standard. The Royal Proclama- 
 tion was brought into operation in Hong Kong, as from 1st October 
 1853, by Government notification of 27th April 1853. Hence- 
 forth, therefore, Hong Kong in theory enjoyed a gold currency 
 with silver and copper tokens in subsidiary circulation ; and the 
 Imperial Government conceived that sterling was as much the 
 actual currency of Hong Kong as of the United Kingdom. 
 
 As a matter of fact, however, except for unfortunate officials, 
 the Royal Proclamation of 1844 was from the outset inoperative. 
 In 1854 it was practically repealed, by a decision of the Colonial 
 Chief Justice, that " when contracts were made in dollars, pay- 
 ment must be made in such coins and not in those specified in the 
 Queen's Proclamation of 1844." The Colonial Government 
 readily accepting this decision, the dollar was established, by a 
 legal decision, if not by law, as the local standard of value both 
 for the official and the mercantile communities. And as the 
 stock of old Spanish dollars decreased pari passu with the in- 
 crease of trade, and as time matured the Mexican dollar in the 
 eyes of the Chinese, the latter coin became established about 
 1853 as the standard coin of the colony. 
 
 In 1861, when Peru dollars were depreciated and Spanish 
 dollars rare, negociations were opened by Sir Hercules Robinson, 
 then Governor of this Colony, to place the currency of Hong 
 Kong on a sounder legislative footing, and to introduce a sub- 
 sidiary coinage. By Royal Proclamation, under Order in Council 
 of 9th January 1863, all existing Proclamations were repealed ; 
 and " the dollar of Mexico, or other silver dollar of equivalent 
 value," as authorized from time to time, was made the only 
 unlimited legal tender. Provision was made for striking at the 
 Royal Mint in London: (i) copper cents and mils (or cash), 
 respectively representing one hundredth and one thousandth of 
 a dollar, and (ii) silver tokens representing multiples of the cent. 
 This Proclamation was published in the Hong Kong Gazette of 
 2nd May 1863,f and embodied in a Local Ordinance No. 1 of 
 1864. The limit of legal tender for token subsidiary coins was 
 fixed by the Proclamation at 2 dollars for silver, and 1 dollar for 
 copper or bronze. 
 
 Thus, Hong Kong was finally and formally recognized as 
 being outside the currency area of Great Britain. 
 
 But, though Hong Kong essentially forms part of the currency 
 area of China, and recognises this by adopting silver as its 
 standard of value, the actual units or measures of value are not 
 those of China. China having no silver coins but only weights, 
 the simplest course would have been to adopt Chinese weights 
 for the colonial standard, and so to compute (as at Shanghai) 
 by the tael of fine silver, using stamped weights of silver on the 
 
 • See page 28 and 435. 
 
 f Bringing the Royal Proclamation into force as from 10th February 18G4, 
 
Ch. XXXVII. Hong Kong, hlo 
 
 Chinese system. But this course has not been taken. Instead, 
 a coin has been used with equal economy, the Mexican dollar 
 passing current as a weight of fine silver ; precisely as in 
 England, with a standard weight of fine gold known as a 
 sovereign, the gold coins of France, the United States, and 
 other countries pass at their bullion value according to the 
 number of grains of fine gold they contain. 
 
 European adherence to the dollar, instead of the Haikwan 
 tael of fine silver, has resulted in the coinage of dollars by the 
 Chinese themselves. In 1890 the Mint at Canton struck silver 
 dollars, half-dollars, and pieces of 20, 10, and 5 cents, the 
 millesimal fineness of which (i.) was nominally 900 for the dollar, 
 860 for the half-dollar, and 820 for the smaller coins, but (ii.) 
 was actuallv found on assay by the Royal Mint* to be respec- 
 tively 884-2' for the dollar, 848'2 for the half-dollar, 807 '3 for 
 the 20-cents, 808 for the 10-cents, and 81 1/1 for the 5-cents. 
 The weights of the coins were fairly correct, though the dollars 
 were fully half a grain lighter than the nominal standard of 
 '72 taels per dollar. It seems very doubtful whether these unre- 
 liable coins will ever succeed in supplanting the Mexican dollar 
 in China, though small silver coins are now gladly taken by the 
 Chinese in lieu of the debased " cash." 
 
 The latter observations have anticipated the order of time, and 
 it is necessary to go back to the important further step taken by 
 the Colonv in 1864, after establishing the silver dollar as the 
 local standard. 
 
 As local feeling, especially among bankers, was strongly in 
 favour of the policy of having a British dollar, and as the estab- 
 lishment of Branch Mints in the colonies had already been 
 agreed to by the Imperial Government in the case of New South 
 Wales, the Colony of Hong Kong decided to establish a local 
 Mint to coin a British dollar, which was to extend the sphere of 
 British influence in the far East, and to provide a " clean " cur- 
 rency which would defeat the exactions of compradors. Ordi- 
 nance No. 2 of 1864, was passed, providing for the new Mint ; 
 machinery was bought by the colony in London at a cost of 
 about $ 71,500 ; and the Mint opened on 7th May 1866. Under 
 the Treasury Regulations of 20th October 1866, the standard 
 
 * See page 53 of the 21st Mint Report. 
 
 From its opening (for silver coinage) on 22nd May 1890 to 31st December 
 1891, the total output at the Canton Mint was as follows : 
 
 Nos. 
 Dollars 43,933 
 
 50-cent pieces - 17,8-17 
 
 20-cent pieces - - 5,667,381 
 
 10-cent pieces - - 16,098,579 
 
 5-cent pieces ----- 1,158,945 
 
 And from 1st January to 14th May 1892 the further output has been : 
 
 Nos. 
 
 20-cent pieces 2,250,000 
 
 10-cent pieces ----- 4,450,000 
 5-cent pieces ----- 100,000 
 
 In addition, about half-a-million '"cash " are struck per diem. 
 
 72642. B b 2 
 
376 Colonial Currency 
 
 coin (modelled on the familiar Mexican dollar) was the dollar 
 weighing 410 grains * of 900 millesimal fineness. A half-dollar 
 Avas subsequently added of like fineness and of half the above 
 weight. Subsidiary silver coins were to be struck, of 800 
 millesimal fineness, and of weights "in proportion to their 
 nominal value, referred to the dollar." Such token coins struck 
 were the 5 cent, piece, and the 20 cent, piece, the latter being 
 substituted for a standard quarter-dollar originally proposed by 
 the colony. Copper cents and mils (or "cash") were also 
 sanctioned, but not actually struck. 
 
 Great things were hoped from the new Mint ; but low ex- 
 changes and a mint charge of 2 per cent, resulted in its failure. 
 The Chinese on the mainland could not be got to take the new 
 dollar (though in intrinsic value it was identical with the current 
 Mexican dollars) unless at a discount of 1 per cent. Daunted 
 by the first reception of the new coin by the Chinese, and un- 
 willing to pay for the privilege of striking a British dollar, and 
 of educating China into the use of coin instead of bullion, the 
 Colonial authorities decided to close the Mint. Accordingly, 
 after just two years from its opening, the Mint was closed, and 
 the machinery sold at the end of the year to Japan. The experi- 
 ment did not extend over a time commensurate with the prejudices 
 of the Chinese. In two or three years from the closing of the 
 Mint the new dollar was accepted at par with the Mexican ; and 
 the subsidiary coins, which were at first only accepted at 35 per 
 cent, discount, first reached par by virtue cf their convenience, 
 and soon were eagerly sought after at a substantial premium on 
 their nominal value. 
 
 In concluding this episode of the local Mint, it remains to state 
 that its total output of coins was as follows : — 
 
 Dollars 2,108,054 
 
 Half dollars ------ 58,587 
 
 20-cent pieces ------ 445,429 
 
 10 „ 2,479,216 
 
 5 „„----- 1,313,303 
 
 Of all these 6^ million coins, representing over 2.| million 
 dollars, none now remain in circulation in the colony. 
 
 Under the Royal Proclamation and Order in Council of 9th 
 January 1863, and the local Ordinance No. 1 of 1864, provision 
 was made for the Governor to admit " other silver dollars of 
 equivalent value " to legal tender. That power Avas acted upon 
 on 14th September 1866, Avhen the Governor proclaimed the 
 dollar and half-dollar of the Hong Kong Mint a legal tender, 
 equally with the Mexican dollar. On 1st April 1873 the United 
 States struck " trade dollars," Aveighing 420 grains,f of 900 
 
 * Before these regulations came into force there had been tin issue of dollars 
 of 419*052 grains, and of halt-dollars of 20i)o grains. (/See Part 2 of first 
 Schedule to the Straits Order in Council of 21st October I8i)0, printed in 
 the 21st Annual Report of the Deputy-Master of the Mint.) 
 
 | Apparently this weight was arrived at by taking (from Tate's Cambist} 
 the treaty weight of tlie tael at 588-3 grains, and by multiplying this figure by 
 72>\ the Canton equivalent of 1,000 dollars in Canton taels. 
 
Ch. XXXVII Hong Kong. 377 
 
 millesimal fineness, or 378 grains fine, for the purpose of trade 
 with the East. And Japan had established a Mint at Osaka 
 (with the Hong Kong plant), from which were issued silver yens, 
 which were the counterparts of the Hong Kong Mint dollar, 
 weighing 416 grains of 900 millesimal fineness,* or 374*4 grains 
 fine. At meetings of the Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce in 
 January and February 1874 it was proposed that both the trade 
 dollar and the yen should be admitted to tender ; but the proposal 
 was set aside in favour of the old policy of a " British dollar. "f 
 This the Home Government declined to sanction, on the score of 
 cost.J On 30th June 1878 the United States ceased to strike 
 the ambitious, but ill-advised trade dollar ; and no action was 
 taken in Hong Kong to legalise the yen. Further action was 
 taken, however, in 1890 under the Order in Council of 1863, and 
 Local Ordinance, No. 1 of 1864, by authorising a token half- 
 dollar, or 50-c'ent piece, of 800 millesimal fineness. 
 
 The coins in leg;il circulation in the colony are therefore as 
 follows (omitting the rare Hong Koni»' coinage) : 
 
 Silver. 
 
 - Unlimited legal tender. 
 
 - Legal tender to $2. 
 
 5' >> » 
 
 >> » J> 
 
 "> )> >> 
 
 Bronze. 
 
 - Legal tender to $1. 
 
 It is difficult to state with any precision the average number 
 nf Mexican dollars poured annually into Hong Kong.§ But 
 vast numbers of subsidiary coins have hitherto been poured 
 annually into the island, and thence into China, where these 
 tokens are supplanting the debased, copper "Cash" of the 
 Chinese, particularly in connection with douceurs at the new 
 year, &c. From the Twenty-second Annual Beport of the 
 Deputy Master of the Mint it appears that up to the end of 1891 
 no less than .^7,336,800 in subsidiary coins had been struck in 
 England for the colony, $1,125,400 being in 10 cent pieces, and 
 $2,088,000 in 5-cent pieces. But the beginning of 1892 was 
 marked net only by the cessation of all outside demand, but by 
 
 See Second Report of the Deputy Master of the Mint, paxje 72 
 f See also the speech of Mr. Samuel Montagu, m.p., in the House of 
 Commons on Oth November 1888. 
 
 X On the general subject of the supply of Mexican dollars, and of the 
 establishment of a local Mint, see the Fifth Annual Report of the Deputy 
 Master of the Mini. 
 
 § From 1880 to 1890 (both inclusive) ahout 45 millions of dollars would 
 appear to have been shipped from London to Hong Kong, Shanghai, and 
 Japan. The proportion for Hong Kong csinnot be distinguished, and it is 
 impossible to say what was shipped from San Francisco and elsewhere. 
 
 Mexican dollar 
 
 50 cent 
 
 piece - 
 
 20 „ 
 
 ?5 
 
 10 „ 
 
 « 
 
 5 „ 
 
 >J 
 
 Cent 
 
 — 
 
 Mil, or 
 
 " Cash 
 
378 Colonial Currency. 
 
 the wholesale introduction of Canton tokens into Hong Kong 
 itself by compradors, native bankers, &c, all stimulated by the 
 fact that the Chinese authorities at Canton were supplying the 
 Canton subsidiary coins at a discount of from 10 to 20 per cent. 
 On the other hand, "cents" are becoming much sought after on 
 the mainland (as being more convenient than the Canton " cash "), 
 though in Hong Kong itself they are at a discount when tendered 
 in bulk, as compared with the more portable dollar or dollar- 
 note ; for small transactions they command their full nominal 
 value. 
 
 In conclusion, a word is required as to the practice of " chop- 
 ping " dollars. This practice appears to be peculiar to the 
 province of Canton, and to be unknown in the north. Native 
 Chinese merchants stamp or sign ('chop'*) every coin as it 
 comes into their possession. No Chinaman will take back 
 a dollar on which his stamp cannot be pointed out, though 
 by the multitude of successive stamps a chopped dollar 
 not only loses its "ring," but gradually becoms so obliterated 
 that any individual stamp cannot be distinguished in one 
 case out of a hundred. The state of a dollar long in circula- 
 tion in Hong Kong is deplorable, but it seems impossible 
 to overcome the Cantonese practice. On the contrary, " chop- 
 ping " has been legally recognised in Hong Kong by the 
 Governor's Proclamation, published in the " Gazette " of 
 21st October 1865, under the Local Ordinance No. 10 of that 
 year. In 1890, when the Canton coinage was being introduced, 
 the Chinese authorities were urged to prohibit the practice, but 
 they expressed themselves powerless in I he matter. The con- 
 sequence is that "clean " (i.e., unchopped) dollais for the northern 
 ports command a premium of 1 per cent, or more, according to 
 demand and supply at the time being. 
 
 It was estimated that the amount of coin in the colony on 
 31st December 1891 was $10,600,000, of which $10,000,000 
 was held by the European banks, and $200,000 by the Chinese 
 banks. | Taking the population at 220,000 in round numbers, 
 and the " active " circulation of coin at the net total of $400,000 
 (as deduced from the above estimate), the average metallic 
 circulation works out at $1*8 per head, irrespective of nearly $27 
 per head in the form of bank notes, as shown subsequently. 
 
 • The word "chop" comes from the Hindi chhap, a seal-impression, and 
 can be traced back in European languages as far as 1 53", when a Portuguese 
 treaty states that a Nizam " sealed an agreement with his chop " (" eo cliapo 
 de sua chapa"). The origin of the "pigeon-English" name chop-house for 
 Customs-station is explained by John Fryer in his "New Account of East 
 India ana I Persia " (London, 1698), as follows : — " The Custom-house has a 
 good Front, where the chief customer appears at certain hours to chop, that 
 is to mark, goods outward bound." 
 
 Hence "first chop" is analogous in origin to "A 1." 
 
 f The smallness of this sum is explained by the fact that Chinese have no 
 safe places in which to keep dollars in large quantities. Consequently they pay 
 their money into the European banks, or exchange coin for notes, at the 
 earliest opportunity, 
 
Ch. XXXVII. Hong Kong. 379 
 
 Notes. 
 
 There has never been a Government issue in Hong Kong,* but 
 notes issued by banks are in circulation. Of the three banks of 
 issue on 31 December 1891, two (the Chartered Bank and the Mer- 
 cantile Bankf ) are governed by Royal Charters, whilst the third 
 ( the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank was constituted by Local Or- 
 dinance No. 5 of 1866. The total issues of all the three banks are 
 limited to the amount of their paid-up capital, which stands at 
 800,000/. for the Chartered Bank}, at 750,000/. for the Mercantile 
 Bank, and at $10,000,000 for the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank. 
 These total issues have reference to the circulation not in any one 
 colony alone, but in all places where the banks are empowered 
 to carry on business. 
 
 The security of the issue of the Hong Kong and Shanghai 
 Bank stands on a peculiar footing. Section XII. of the 
 Ordinance of 1866 provides that, — 
 
 " It shall be lawful for the company to make, issue and circu- 
 late notes or bills payable to bearer on demand in coin lawfully 
 current in the colony and to re-issue the same, provided that no 
 such notes shall be issued for any other sums than the sum of 
 5 dollars, or some multiple of such sum, or other equivalent 
 amount, unless the issuing of notes of other amounts shall be 
 sanctioned by the governor ; provided also that nothing herein 
 contained shall exempt the company from the operation of any 
 existing or future laws of the colony or of any port, city, town, 
 or place beyond the limits of the colony where they may estab- 
 lish banks or branch banks, restricting or regulating the issue of 
 such notes, by banks established therein ; and provided also that 
 the shareholders of the company shall be subject to unlimited 
 liability in respect of all or any such issues or issue of notes, 
 and, if necessary, the assets of the company shall be marshalled 
 for the benefit of the general creditors of the company and the 
 shareholders shall be liable for the whole amount of such issue, 
 in addition to the sum for which they are liable under the other 
 and general provisions of this Ordinance." 
 
 As a reserve against notes issued, each of the three banks is 
 required to keep specie to the extent of one-third at least of the 
 circulation. But, whilst the Chartered and the Mercantile Banks 
 are required by their Charters to keep this proportion of specie 
 in each colony in Avhich they issue notes, the Hong Kong and 
 Shanghai Bank is only required to keep in Hong Kong the total 
 reserve against the total of its issues, wheiher in Hong Kong or 
 elsewhere. 
 
 The lowest denomination of note allowed by Royal Charter to 
 the Chartered and the Meicantile Banks is $5. 
 
 ~ Some few years back a proposal was considered, but subsequently- 
 dropped, for the issue of $ 1 notes by the Colonial Government. 
 
 •j- This latter Bank is stated to be under reconstruction as a limited liability 
 company, a reconstruction which, if carried out, would forfeit the chartered 
 Issue. 
 
 | Each dollar of issue is calculated at 4 «,, making the maximum issue 
 $4,000,000. 
 
380 
 
 Colonial Currency. 
 
 The issue of $1 notes by the Hong Kong and Shanghai 
 Bank was sanctioned by the Colonial Government in 1872 under 
 the 12th Section of the Bank's Ordinance of 1866. These small 
 notes are highly popular as a substitute for " clean " dollars, and 
 as a means of escaping the impositions of compradors, &c. 
 
 The following table gives the local note circulation on 31st 
 December of 1881 and of 1891 : 
 
 Bank. 
 
 1881. 
 
 1891. 
 
 Oriental Bank - 
 
 Mercantile Bank - 
 
 Chartered Bunk - 
 
 Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank - 
 
 807,133 
 
 649,568 
 
 589,388 
 
 1,640,290 
 
 $ 
 
 Nil. 
 1,438,745 
 1,382,665 
 3,078,447 
 
 Total - - $ 
 
 3,686,379 
 
 5,899,857 
 
 The circulation of bank notes at the present day therefore 
 averages $26.8 per head of the population of Hong Kong (alone). 
 But, in this connection, it is to be noted that the usje of bank 
 notes is not only fast supplanting the Mexican dollar in Hong 
 Kong itself and in Canton, but is growing popular in the 
 interior. Portable, and requiring no " shroffing " like the dollar, 
 notes carry at the present time a premium over coin. 
 
[ 381 ] 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVIII. 
 
 Straits Settlements.* 
 
 Of the three Settlements which unite to form this Colony, 
 Singapore is the chief at the present day. It was also the chief 
 in the loth century according to Joao de Barros, who, writing in 
 1553,** expressly states — in words which aptly depict the pre- 
 sent condition of Singapore — that " before the foundation of 
 Malacca, at this same Singapura . . . flocked together all the 
 navigators of the seas of India from West to East." f 
 
 With the beginning of the 16th century Malacca, in the hands 
 of the Portuguese, rose to be the great entrepot for European 
 trade in the far East, a position which half a century later was 
 partly shared by the Philippines. And it is of interest to note 
 that, speaking of " Melequa" in 1498, the " Roteiro da Viagem 
 da Vasco da Gama " records that the native money was com- 
 posed of the staple commodity of the Straits, namely, tin. J With 
 the arrival of the Portuguese, however, and with the discovery 
 of the Philippines by the Spaniards, § silver coin — and more 
 particularly the dominant Spanish dollar — established a supre- 
 macy in the Straits which, as the trade has moved eastwards, has 
 been retained and strengthened by the Mexican dollar, the lineal 
 descendant of the old Spanish dollar. 
 
 It is a far cry from the beginnings of Portuguese colonisation 
 at Malacca to the rise of British rule in what are now the Straits 
 Settlements. In the interval Malacca, like many other Por- 
 tuguese Colonies, had passed from Portuguese into Dutch 
 hands ; and its trade was already on the wane. The first 
 British possession was not Malacca, but Pulau-Pinang, which 
 was re-christened Prince of Wales Island by the East India 
 
 * I am indebted to Mr. W. Maxwell, Colonial Secretary, for valuable infor- 
 mation respecting the currency of this Colony. 
 
 ** Decadas da Asia. 
 
 | Curious to a modern reader is the statement of A. Hamilton in his " New 
 Account of the East Indies " (1727) : — " In Anno 1703 I called at Johore on 
 my way to China, and he treated me very kindly and made me a present of 
 the Island of Sincapure ; hut I told him it could be of no use to a private 
 person, though a proper place for a company to settle a colony in, lyin°- in 
 the centre of trade, and being accommodated with good rivers (! !) and safe 
 liarbours, so conveniently situated that all winds served shipping, both to ^o 
 out and come in." 
 
 I " Tin of which they make money ; but the money is of large size and little 
 value, so that it takes three farzalas of it to make a crusado." Tin coins are 
 still in use in Malay States of the East Coast of the Peninsula (Pahang, &c). 
 The tin and lead coins of Achin are described in '* Recherches sur les 
 Monnaies des Indigenes de l'Archipel Indien et de la Peninsule Malai" " bv 
 Millies (La Have, 1871). 
 
 § See under Hong Kong, page 371. 
 
382 Colonial Currency. 
 
 Company, on its cession in 1786. For this settlement, which 
 soon tended further to oust Malacca as a commercial entrepot, 
 the Company in 1787 and 1788 struck a silver coinage consisting 
 of rupees, with half and quarter rupees, and copper cents, half- 
 cents and quarter cents, a further issue of which was fruitlessly 
 recommended by Lieut.-Governor Farquhar in 1805.* There 
 were also " pice," here usually of tin. For, on 22nd March 
 1809 a Government advertisement states that, " Whereas large 
 quantities of spurious pice are now in circulation in this Settle- 
 ment, and Government having ordered a new coinage of pice 
 to the amount of 4,000 dollars ; which with those that have been 
 before been coined at different times, by order of Government, 
 will be sufficient for the purpose of general circulation ; notice 
 is hereby given that on and after the first of next month no pice 
 will be received into the treasury of this island, except such as 
 have been coined by the orders of Government, as before 
 mentioned, so that 100 of which (sic) pice shall not weigh less 
 than 4f catties of pure tin." 
 
 Though the Company had established the rupee as the standard 
 coin in Penang, the trade relations of the settlement constrained 
 the mercantile community to adopt as their standard, not the 
 Indian coin, but the universal Spanish dollar, the coin familiar 
 to the conservative races with whom they had commerce. 
 Therefore, from the earliest days of Penang, the dollar, not the 
 rupee, was the recognised standard of value. Writing of this 
 island, Kelly says, in his " Universal Cambist " of 1825 : — 
 " Accounts are kept in Spanish dollars, copangs,f and pice, 
 10 pice making a copang, and 10 copangs one Spanish dollar. 
 The current pice are coined in the island ; they are pieces of tin, 
 16 of which weigh the catty, or 1^ lb. English. On the exchange 
 of dollars into pice there is a loss of 2 per cent. ; on dollars with- 
 out the King's head,! 10 per cent. ; and from 5 to 10 per cent, on 
 all dollars defaced (i.e. ' chopped. '") § 
 
 The old " Carolus," or " Pillar Dollar,"|| of Spain is to this 
 day the standard coin in certain of the neighbouring Malay and 
 Siamese- Malay States. In Achin and in the States of Raman, 
 
 o 
 
 Journal of the Indian Archipelago, v. 418. In 1810 the Royal Mint 
 coined 25 tons of copper for Penang into pieces weighing respectively, 160 
 grains and 80 grains, and therefore comparable with the cent and half-cent 
 of 1847. In 1813-14 there was a tin coinage issut-d in Java hy the British 
 Government. See Netscher Moneten van Nied. Indie ( Batavia, 18(53). 
 
 f This word is still used in the island of Penang to signify 10 cents of a 
 dollar, though it is unknown in the neighbouring Settlements of Singapore 
 and Malacca. The Memorandum of 180.5 by Lieutenant-Governor Farquhar 
 (Journ. Ind. Arch., v. 418) speaks of u doublekies or cupangs," the 
 " doubleky " being the Dutch coin of 2 stuvvers, or 10 duits. 
 
 % Le., " Republican" dollars struck in Mexico, &c, after 1810. Compare 
 the earlier preference of the Chinese for the old Spanish coins at Hong Kong. 
 
 § Atkins mentions copper '• cents, half-cents, and 2-cents" as having been 
 coined for Prince of Wales Island in 1825 to 18 18, presumably on the model 
 of the coinage of 1810. 
 
 I The Malays, like the Arabs of North Africa (see page 301), call these 
 coins " cannon dollars," mistaking the Pillars of Hercules for the recognised 
 pioneers of European civilisation. 
 
Ch. XXXVIII. Straits Settlemenns. 383 
 
 Lege, Patani, and (to a less extent) Kelantan, none but pillar 
 dollars are accepted by the natives. 
 
 As to Malacca, which after being restored to the Dutch in 
 1818 had been finally taken over by the East India Company 
 in 1825, Kelly states that " accounts are kept in rix-dollars of 
 8 schillings of 48 slivers ; the stiver is subdivided into 4 duits.* 
 The rix-dollar is an imaginary money in which all contracts for 
 goods are made ; but the principal current coins are rupees,f 
 Dutch schillings, Dubbeltjes, 2-stiver pieces, and doits. The 
 Spanish dollar is from 25 to 40 per cent, better than the rix- 
 dollar of account; hence at a medium the rix-dollar is worth 
 3s. 4c?. sterling. A Dutch ducatoon passes for 13 schillings; 
 an English crown for 10 schillings; a Bombay or Surat rupee 
 for 5 schillings ; a Madras or Arcot rupee for 4 schillings, more 
 or less. A stamped Japan copang J passes for 10 rix-dollars. 
 
 It was in 1826 that, Singapore having been ceded finally in 
 1824, the three settlements of Malacca, Penang, and Singapore 
 were united under one government with its seat at Penang. 
 Not until 1837 did Singapore supplant Penang. 
 
 The currency of the Straits Settlements is thus described in 
 Low's " Dissertation on Penang, &c," in 1836 : — " The dollar is 
 the favourite coin in the Straits. It exchanges in the bazaars 
 for a number varying from 100 up to 120 pice. At present it is 
 pretty steady at 106. Indian rupees are also in circulation, but 
 gold coins are hardiy ever seen. There are also half dollars, and 
 the divisions of the Sicca rupee. A Sicca rupee exchanges in 
 the bazaar for 50 pice on an average." And, similarly, Newbold, 
 in his " Account of the British Settlements in the Straits of 
 Malacca" (London, 1839), after mentioning that the Spanish 
 dollar was the merchants' standard, and that Indian coins were in 
 circulation, goes on to say that " guilders and half-guilders, and 
 other Dutch coins are disappearing " (he is probably referring 
 here to Malacca in particular). " The most current copper coins 
 are the cent, the half and quarter cent, the doit, the wang, the 
 wang bhara, § and Indian pice." 
 
 In 1835 the Company revised its currency legislation for the 
 whole of its territories, which included the Straits Settlements, 
 and made no exception in favour of the dollar-using colony when 
 
 ° 5 doits went to the stu^ver of Holland, as against 4 to the stuyver of 
 Dutch India. 
 
 f In Dutch India the guilder or florin was, and is to this day, spoken of as 
 a "rupee ;" so that Kelly's statement need not refer to Indian coins, though 
 the position of the word " Dutch " after " rupees " points this way. 
 
 X This gold coin of Japan is not to be confused with the copper coins of 1 and 
 2 capangs coined for Malacca in 1835 by the East India Company. Marsden's 
 Malay Dictionary of 1812, says " keping '' is "a copper cuin, 400 of which 
 are equal to a Spanish doilar." 
 
 § '• These are Malay words. The wang was the Netherlands Indian stijver 
 = 4 duits, and the wang bhara was the European stijver, = 5 duits. Twenty- 
 two years ago, when I was magistrate of Malacca, I often heard the expression 
 wang bhara used to signify 2\ cents of a dollar, though there was no corre- 
 sponding coin. This is similar to the use of the word Kapang in Penang," 
 (Note communicated by Mr. W. Maxwell), 
 
384 Colonial Currency. 
 
 enforcing the establishment of the rupee as the standard coin, 
 with pice in subsidiary circulation. The first concession which 
 the Company made to the requirements of Straits currency was 
 in 1847, when by Act No VI. of that year it was provided that 
 the Indian Regulations " shall not be deemed to apply to copper 
 currency of the Settlements of Penang, Singapore, and Malacca. 
 From and after 1st January 1848 the following copper coins onlv 
 shall be received at or issued from any Government Treasury 
 within the said Settlements (i) acent, weighing 144 grains troy; (ii) 
 a half-cent, weighing 72 grains ; and (iii) a quarter-cent, weigh- 
 ing 36 grains." These copper coins* were to be legal tender only 
 for fractions of a dollar, and " the circulation in the said Settle- 
 ments after the said day of all copper coins or tokens, not being 
 the authorised le^al coinage of any British or foreign Govern- 
 ment, is prohibited," under penalty of not more than Us. 10. 
 
 But. this concession was withdrawn in 1855. The preamble of 
 Act No. XVII. of that year reads as follows : " Whereas the 
 Company's rupee is by Act XVII. of 1835 a legal tender in the 
 Setlements of Prince of Wales Island, Singapore, and Malacca, 
 but no copper coin, exeept the half-pice issued under the Act XI. 
 of 1854,t is now by law legal tender for fractions of a rupee 
 in that Settlement; and it is expedient to remedy this defect in 
 the law ; and Avhereas besides the rupee the dollar is by custom 
 current in the said Settlement ; and it is expedient to provide 
 that the copper currency which will be legal tender in the said 
 Settlement for fractions of a rupee shall also be legal tender in 
 the said Settlement for fractions of a dollar ; " — it was enacted 
 that from 1st July 1855, — 
 
 A pie should be a legal tender in the Straits for 
 
 423 
 
 A Half-pice „ „ „ - Jm 
 
 A. a ice ,, „ ,, - jj 5 
 
 A Double Pice „ „ „ - J g 
 
 Commenting on this Act in 1803, Sir Hercules Robinson 
 reported to the Imperial Government, as follows : "In 1854, I 
 believe, the Government of India adopted measures for forcing 
 the rupee into general circulation in the Straits Settlements, and 
 for making it the only legal tender in all transactions. With 
 this view the copper currency, consisting of cents of a dollar, 
 half-cents, and quarter-cents, previously supplied under the pro- 
 visions of the Act of 1847, was withheld, and the Indian copper 
 money, which cannot conveniently be adapted to a dollar cur- 
 rency, was substituted in its place. But great inconvenience 
 having been experienced, and public demonstrations against the 
 change having taken place, the authorities at home were appealed 
 
 : They were struck at the Calcutta Mint, and were stated in 1863 to have 
 " a wide circulation beyond the Settlements in many parts of the Malayan 
 Peninsula and Indian Archipelago, being preferred by the natives to the 
 Dutch doit, which is nearly the only other small money known to them." 
 
 j- When this new coin was authorised by the above Act, it was made "a 
 legal tender in any part of the territories of the Government of the East 
 India Company." 
 
Ch. XXXVIII. Straits Settlements. 385 
 
 to, and the project was countermanded."* After pointing out 
 that the new Indian Currency Act, No. 13 of 1862, made the 
 Indian coins legal tender in the Straits, as in all other Indian 
 territories, whereas no measure had ever been passed giving legal 
 currency to the real and sole measure of value in the colony, Sir 
 Hercules Robinson exposed the absurdities of the existing regu- 
 lations in the following words : 
 
 " All accounts throughout the Straits Settlements, except 
 those of the Government, are kept in dollars and cents, but the 
 public accounts are kept in the denomination of rupees, annas, 
 and pie, causing thereby much neediest labour and confusion in 
 the financial departments. With the exception of the receipts 
 from stamps, which it is optional with the public to pay for either 
 in rupees or dollars, the whole of the public revenue is required 
 to be paid in dollars, but it is brought to account in rupees at a 
 par of Rs. 224 8a. 6 T 4 ° p. for every $100 received at Singapore 
 and Malacca, and at a par of 220 rupees at Penang. All pay- 
 ments from the local treasuries are made in dollars, but disburse- 
 ments to the public are charged in the public accounts in rupees 
 at a par of Rs. 224 8a. 6 4 gp. in Singapore and Malacca, at a par 
 of 220 rupees at Penang ; whilst the salaries of all public servants, 
 civil as well as military, which are fixed in rujiees, are paid at 
 all the Settlements in dollars at a par of 220 rupees. Thus the 
 sum of 100 dollars is received at the Singapore Treasury, is 
 brought to account of revenue as Rs. 224 8a. 6 40 5 p., and is paid 
 away to an official for 220 rupees, the account being balanced by 
 an entry of " loss by exchange," Rs. 4. 8a. 6 T 4 o D p. The confusion 
 is still greater as regards the transactions under the Indian 
 Stamp Act, for the values of the stamps being expressed in 
 rupees and annas, a Government Regulation had to be issued 
 under the authority of a special Act of the Indian Legislature, 
 No. 28 of 1863, declaring that dollars would be received at the 
 local treasuries in payment for stamps at the rate of $100 for 
 Rs. 227 4a. 4 ] 4 T p., equivalent to 2| cents per anna. Thus stamps 
 representing Rs. 227 4a. 4 1 4 T p. are sold at the stamp office for 
 $100, which $100 is brought to account in the treasury books as 
 a receipt Rs. 224 8a. 6A° ff p., and is paid away to a public official 
 for 220 rupees. Again, another arrangement is in force as 
 regards postage labels, upon which the values are also inscribed 
 in annas, whilst the labels are sold to the public for dollars, as 
 has been before observed, at the rate of Rs. 224 8a. 6 T 4 ° a p. for 
 $100. But these labels are accepted in payment of British 
 postage at the rate of one anna for three halfpence, which at a 
 par of 4 s. 2 d. to the dollar is equivalent to a par of Rs. 208 5a. 4p. 
 for $100 ; that is, the postage labels are sold by the Government 
 at a low valuation, and are accepted back in payment of postage 
 at a high one ; or, in other terms, labels representing 
 Rs. 224 8a. 6 jVop. are sold to the public for $100, whilst labels 
 representing only Rs. 208 5a. 4p. are accepted from the public 
 
 * See Parly. Paper of 1866, " Correspondence respecting the transfer of the 
 control of the Strait9 Settlements from the India Office to the Colonial 
 Department." 
 
386 Colonial Currbxc?. 
 
 in payment of ^100 of British postage ; and the difference of 
 Re. 16. 3a. l T 6 °oP'> equivalent to upwards of 7 per cent., is lost to 
 the local Government." 
 
 " In short, the whole system under which coins not in circulation 
 are declared by law a legal tender, and the public accounts are 
 required to be kept in the denomination of one currency, whilst 
 the real monetary transactions of both the Government and the 
 public are conducted in another, is unsound, and productive of 
 nothing but needless labour and confusion." 
 
 For some years the merchants of Singapore had advocated the 
 coinage of a British dollar. The opening of the new Mint at 
 Hong Kong in 1866 met this demand, and all that was now 
 needed was to make dollars the legal, as they had always been 
 the actual, standard of value in the Straits. This salutary change 
 Avas effected as part of the transfer of the Colony from the 
 Indian to the Imperial Government under the Act 29 & 30 Vict, 
 cap. 115, which was brought into operation as from the 1st of 
 April 1867 by Order in Council of 28th December 1866. No 
 time was lost by the new local Legislature in reforming the cur- 
 rency system. Under date 1st April 1867, " The Legal Tender 
 Act of 1867 "* was passed, repealing all laws for making Indian 
 coins legal tender, and declaring that from 1st April " the dollar 
 issued from Her Majesty's Mint at Hong Kong, the silver dollar 
 of Spain, Mexico, Peru, and Bolivia, and any other silver dollar, 
 to be specified from time to time by the Governor in Coitncil, 
 shall be the only legal tender in payment, or on account of any 
 engagement whatever, except as is hereinafter mentioned (i.e., 
 as to subsidiary silver coins) within this Colony and its Depen- 
 dencies ; provided that no dollar shall be a legal tender unless it 
 be of the same fineness and intrinsic value as the Hong 1 Kong 
 dollar, and be not less than 415 grains troy weight, and be not 
 injured or defaced." The Act goes on to place limits of tender 
 of $2 and $} respectively, on silver coins (to be coined by a 
 British Mint, and (ii) on " such copper or bronze coins as may 
 now be current in this Colony and its Dependencies under Act 
 No. 6 of 1847 of the Indian Legislature, as well as such copper 
 or bronze coins as may be issued from Her Majesty's Mint, or 
 any branch thereof, representing the cent or one-hundredth part, 
 the half-cent or two-hundredth part, and the quarter-cent or four- 
 hundredth part of the dollar, f 
 
 So long as the Hong Kong Mint was working, no question 
 could arise as to the supply of suitable subsidiary coins in silver 
 and copper, provision for the currency of which had been made 
 
 " The Imperial Government had proposed to proceed bv Imperial Order in 
 Council, &c. under the Imperial Act. Indeed, an Order and Proclamation, prac- 
 tically identical with the local Act, was passed on 17th May 1807, but, being 
 forestalled by the local measure, was never promulgated. 
 
 t The standard of value having now been satisfactorily fixed, the Colonial 
 Legislature proceeded, by Act No. 5 of 18G7, to provide for the conversion of 
 rupees in all payments by or to the Government, and for the keeping of the 
 public accounts in dollars, &c. The rate at which the conversion of the old 
 into the new currency was to be effected was 220 rupees per$100. 
 
Ch. XXXVIII. Straits Settlements. 387 
 
 in the Act of 1887. But, as the Hong Kong Mint was closed in 
 1868, only two years after its opening, and as the tokens struck 
 at that Mint were speedily absorbed, it became necessary for 
 the Straits to provide their own subsidiary coinage. This the 
 Colony proceeded to do in 1871, under the provisions of the 
 local Act of 1867 ; the highest denomination for the first fifteen 
 years being the 20-ceut. piece. On the model of Hong Kong, 
 the silver tokens of the Straits were of 800 millesimal fineness. 
 In 1886, a token half-dollar was added, of the same standard. 
 The details of the coins struck for the Straits from 1871 to 1891, 
 inclusive, will be found in the 22nd Annual Report of the 
 Deputy Master of the Mint, the total being given as •2,684,850 
 dollars. If the population of the Straits Settlements on 31st 
 December 1891 be taken in round numbers at 513,000, the above 
 total coinage of silver and copper tokens for the Colony is 
 equivalent to 5*23 dollars per head ; but this figure represents 
 a maximum, rather than an actual circulation. For, a consider- 
 able number of Straits tokens are carried off (though not, to the 
 extent prevailing in the case of Hong Kong) for circulation in 
 neighbouring countries. 
 
 To revert to the standard coin, it is to be noted that, by Order 
 of the Governor in Council of 10th January 1874 (under the 
 Ordinance of 1867), the American trade dollar and the Japanese 
 yen (which was coined on the model of the Hong Kong dollar, 
 with the Hong Kong machinery) were admitted to unlimited 
 legal tender, equally with the Mexican dollar. 
 
 For some years before 1890 the Colony was flooded with the 
 copper coins of the North Borneo Company. As the law on the 
 subject was not deemed sufficiently stringent to deal with the 
 evil, it was decided in 1890 to consolidate and amend the currency 
 legislation of the Colony. This was done by the Order in Council 
 of 21st October 1890, which came into force on 1st January 1891, 
 the text of which will be found in the 21st Annual Report of 
 the Deputy Master of the Mint. In essentials, it left the local 
 system of currency unaltered. 
 
 In concluding this survey of the history of metallic money in 
 the Colony, it remains to be added that, as compared with Hong 
 Kong, the Straits Settlements are less influenced bv the vagaries 
 of the Chinese. " Chopping " is not in vogue here, and the 
 weight and fineness of each coin tendered is not so suspiciously 
 scrutinised as in Hong Kong. In fact, currency is practically 
 by tale in the Straits, as in Europe. It will be noticed that the 
 dislike of s * chopped " dollars in the Straits dates back to at least 
 before 1825 {see page 382, supra) ; at the present day " chopped " 
 dollars are never seen in the Straits Settlements. 
 
 Bank Notes. 
 
 At no time has there been a Government issue in the Straits 
 Settlements. The notes in circulation are those of the three 
 banks which monopolise the note-circulation in Hong Kong, and 
 are issued Tinder like conditions. 
 
388 
 
 Colonial Currency. 
 
 The amount of paper currency* in local circulation, none being 
 a lesral tender, was as follows on 31st December 1891: — 
 
 Bank. 
 
 Singapore. 
 
 Penang. 
 
 Malacca. 
 
 Mercantile - 
 Chai-tered - 
 Hong - Kong and Shanghai 
 
 $ 
 
 $ 
 
 573,095 
 
 1,328,439 
 1,390,557 
 
 $ 
 
 428,875 
 
 1,490,873 
 540,594 
 
 $ 
 179,400 
 
 
 3,298,091 
 
 2,472,342 
 
 179,400 ■ 
 
 Thus the total amount of bank notes in circulation was 
 5,949,833 dollars, or 11*2 dollars per head of the population. 
 
 * In 1884, when the Oriental Banking Corporation collapsed, the other 
 Straits Banks were constra ned, in seli-defence, to cash notes of the local 
 issue (amounting to over $ 300,y00) of the bankrupt Corporation. 
 
[ 389 J 
 
 APPENDIX A, 
 
 72642. C c 
 
390 Colonial Currency. 
 
 APPENDIX A. 
 
 COINS CURRENT. 
 
 (1.) The Spanish and Mexican Dollar. 
 
 (Synonyms : — Pieza de a ocho, Piastre, Piece (or Reall) of Eight, 
 Colonato, Peso Duro, " Cob," Gourde,f Escudo de Plata.) 
 
 It is apparently upon the authority of Zedler's Universal-Lexicon (1745) 
 that the Spanish " dollar " (or '• piece of eight " reals) is generally traced 
 back, in substance as well as name, to the thaler. A translation of Zedler's 
 statement is as follows : — 
 
 " Thaler, Tahler, Reichsthaler, Jochimsthaler, Thalerus Imperialis, 
 Joachimicus Vallensis : The first coins on this foot were struck as early 
 as the fifteenth century, and were known as ' Gulden groschen,' as in the 
 case of those of Maximilian the First in 1479, J of Duke Sigismund in 
 1484, or Friedrich of Saxony in 1500. 
 
 " But since the Counts of Schlick caused a great number of these coins to 
 be struck in 1517 § in the little town of Jochimsthal in Bohemia, they 
 came to be called ' Jochimsthaler.' (These thalers are also called 
 1 Josepher,' from the effigy of Joseph, which they bear with that of 
 St. Joachim.) In later years such coins were struck elsewhere also, with 
 but slight variation, such as tbe Cross or Albertsthaler, the Burgundian, 
 the Dutch, the Spanish ' Philipps-und-Dickethaler,' the French,|| &c." 
 
 But 20 years before the minting of these thalers, or dollars, in the 
 " Thai " (or Dale) of St. Joachim, Ferdinand and Isabella had issued their 
 Edicts of 13th June 1497, of which the following is a translation : — 
 " Moreover, we ordain and command that in each of the said mints there 
 shall be struck silver money to be called 'reals' (i.e., 'royals'), weighing 
 67 to the mark, and not less, arid 11 dineros 4 granos* fine, and no less ; 
 and that there shall be struck reals, half -reals, quarter-reals, and eighths 
 of reals." And, further, the real of their Catholic Majesties was identical 
 in fineness, and practically identical in weight, with the real of John II., 
 
 * The name "Piastre," commonly derived from the Italian piastro (a plaster), 
 the Latin (em)plastrum , and the Greek (in)ir\a<JTpov, suggests the pilasters or 
 pillars (see infra) so characteristic of the coins struck in Spanish-America for 300 
 years, dating from the beginning of the sixteenth century. But the form of the 
 word seems Italian, and Ducange notices piastra as an old form of piastre. 
 
 Piastra d'Argento is explained by John Florio, in his " Worlde of Wordes, or 
 most copious and exact Diotionarie in Italian and English " (London, 1598), as 
 " a coine or plate of silver used in Spaine." "Piastra " alone, Florio calls " any 
 kind of plate or leaf of mettal." 
 
 In 1674 Blount, in his " Glossographia," says, " Piastre, a coyn in Italy, about 
 the value of our crown." 
 
 t Littre's Dictionary derives this French name for the dollar from the Spanish 
 " gordo, gros : cette piece etant dite une grosse piece." 
 
 % 1472, according to page 15of the first volume of Becher's "Das Oesterreichisclic 
 Miinzwescn" (Wien, 1838). 
 
 § 1518, according to Becher, vol. i., page 17. The coins were 15 loths fine, and 
 8 to the Cologne mark. Hence they weighed slightly over 451 grains troy, and 
 were of 937'5 millesimal fineness. At Augsburg, in 1566, the fineness was reduced 
 to 875 for the Reichsthaler, or rix-dollar. 
 
 || The silver ecu was not struck until 1641. 
 
 % Cited at page 324 of the first volume of Heiss' Monedas Hisjjano-Cristianas 
 (Madrid, 1865). 
 
 ** Equal to 930 - 5 millesimal fineness. 
 
App. A. Coins Current. 391 
 
 who in his Ordinance of 1442 professes to be maintaining an old standard. 
 Pedro the Cruel, indeed, would appear to have been the first to coin the 
 real, which thus dates from before 1369. (Heiss, I., 61 ; and page 9 of the 
 " Breve Resena Historico-critica de la Moneda Espaiiola," printed as an 
 appendix to the " Resumen de los Informes sobre la cuestion Monetaria," 
 Madrid, 1862). 
 
 Thus it will be seen (i.) that from the outset in Spain it was not the 
 ;i peso," but the real, which was the unit ; (ii.) that the standard real of 
 Spain, and its multiple the piece-of -eight-reals, is a century and a half older 
 than the " thaler "; and (iii.) that the " piece-of -eight " was of a less weight 
 and fineness than the reichsthaler or rix dollar (prior to the Leipziger 
 Fuss of 1690, when the intrinsic content became nearly the same in both 
 coins). 
 
 Though specific provision was not made in 1497 for multiples of the real, 
 yet pieces of four and of eight reals, struck in the reign of Ferdinand and 
 Isabella (1497-1516), are known, though rare. The relation, in short, of 
 the peso to the real is strictly comparable to that of the English crown to 
 the shilling. 
 
 In 1518, the year after the great coinage of thalers in Joachimsthal, 
 Mexico was conquered by Cortes ; and six years later followed the conquest 
 of Peru by Pizarro, the rich mines of Potosi being discovered in 1545. 
 Consequently, on the coins of the Emperor Charles V. (I. of Spain), 
 " first appears the type of the pillars of Hercules, with the modern device 
 plus ultra, in lieu of the ancient nou plus ultra, because Cristobal Colon had 
 proved that there were other lands and other worlds beyond the limits set 
 by Hercules "^(Heiss). Many of these "pillar" coins are shown by the 
 mint mark M ° to have been struck in Mexico. According to Jose 
 Caballero.f cited by Heiss (op. cit., p. 149), "it was only in the Indies 
 that silver money was coined by order of the Emperor (Charles V.) with 
 the device of the pillars of Hercules rising over waves of the sea." The 
 (crowned) pillars are united by a scroll with the legend (in whole or part) 
 plus ultra. The legal weight and fineness of the " piece-of-eight," as it was 
 commonly, and properly, called in olden times, until (after 1690) practical 
 equivalents of value with the rix-dollar encouraged the general adoption 
 of the name " dollar," tally with those prescribed in 1497, for the standard 
 real of which it was a multiple. 
 
 Up to 1728 the " piece-of-eight " was commonly referred to four types 
 both in England and in the colonies, viz., " Seville, Mexico, Pillar, and 
 Peru." The distinction is not uniformly clear. But (i.) in no case (until 
 after 1821) did the coins struck in Spain bear the pillars, or have the 
 additional legend et Indiarum after Bex Hispaniarum ; and ( ii.) " cobs," or 
 formless lumps J of stamped bullion, marked on one side by a cross like 
 the arms of a windmill,^ were known as "Peruvians," though frequently 
 they were struck in other colonies. In Spain, according to Heiss, they 
 received the name of " duros cortados, cap de barra, piastras cuadradas," &c; 
 (iii.) Mexican coins prior to 1728 rarely bore pillars ; and hence, (iv.) by 
 a process of exhaustion. " pillar pieces " appears to have been the name for 
 all round coins struck in America, and bearing the characteristic pillars, 
 even when the legend was " Potosi el Peru," as on Peruvian coins {e.g.) of 
 1652 and 1691. 
 
 From the Royal Ordinances of 1650 and 1653, it appears that in the reign 
 of Philip IV. there " occurred a scandalous falsification in the fineness of 
 the silver moneys coined in our Peruvian mints." This accounts for their 
 practical demonetisation in the British colonies in the last half of the 
 seventeenth century. In 1717 Sir Isaac Newton reported on Peru pieces 
 of eight as " of uncertain allay." 
 
 * These emblems, which represent the Straits of Gi braltar, were mistaken in 
 Morocco for cannon ; whence the Arabic name for this coin, Abu Madfa, " father of 
 cannon." See also p. 382 note. 
 
 j- " Breve Cotejo y balance de las pesas y medidos." 
 
 t Speaking of these piastres, Damoreau, in his Traite" of 1727, says, " Dans le 
 Perou ou ne prend pas a present la peine de les bien former." 
 
 § Whence their Mexican name, " maquina de papalote y cruz," or " windmill 
 and cross money." 
 
 c c 2 
 
392 Colonial Currency. 
 
 Passing over Spanish reals of "new plate" and "provincial" money, 
 the standard weight and fineness of the piece-of-eight remained unaltered 
 until the beginning of the eighteenth century. On 9th June 1728, under 
 
 the Bourbons, the millesimal fineness was lowered from 930-5 to 916*6, and 
 the Castilian mark was ordered to be coined into 68, instead of 67, reals.f 
 At this time the Spanish-American " piece-of-eight," or dollar, began to 
 bear the additional device of two globes resting on the waves between the 
 pillars ; whence the name " globe-dollar " in later times. 
 
 In 1772 a great recoinage was carried out, with a further reduction of 
 the millesimal fineness to 902-7 (10 din. 20 gr.), though the gross weight 
 remained unaltered.*}; And at this date the familiar device appears of the 
 Spanish arms between pillars, in lieu of the two globes. 
 
 The weight and fineness of 1772 continued in Spain until 1848, and 
 remain to this day as the standard of the " Mexican dollar," the lineal 
 descendant, and chief existing representative, of the old " piece of eight."§ 
 (Another notable representative of the dollar of 1772, besides the dollar 
 of the Philippine Islands, is the United States silver dollar] (and, 
 indirectly, the gold dollar also), which in 1785 was avowedly modelled on 
 the average Spanish dollar in circulation). In latter days the Mexican 
 (Republican) dollar has served in its turn as a model for new dollars, viz., 
 the Hong Kong Mint dollar, the Japanese yen, the ill-fated American 
 trade dollar, the French Piastre de Commerce (1878, Zay, p. 116), and the 
 new Canton dollar. The " Carolus," or old "pillar dollar" of Spain, remains 
 the standard coin in the Malay and Siamese-Malay States of the interior, 
 the inhabitants of which (almost all Chinese) do not come into general 
 relations with white men or with the natives of the British Protected 
 States. In the States of Rhaman, Lege, Patani, and (to a less extent) 
 Kelantan, no dollar but the "pillar dollar" is accepted by the natives, 
 although prolonged circulation has worn many of these so much that the 
 mpression is almost obliterated. It would seem to be the fate of the 
 dominant coins of Europe to find, when discarded or superseded at home, 
 a last resting place among Oriental peoples. Just as the early sequin of 
 Venice passed into Turkey, and the later gold ducat of the Empire into 
 Barbary, so the Spanish dollar has degenerated into the piastre of Turkey 
 and Egypt. 
 
 Between the old Spanish and the modern Mexican dollars there was a 
 hiatus in the coinage, occasioned by the Revolutionary wars. Apart from 
 hammered and cast dollars, the distinct non-Spanish issue dates from 1822, 
 when Iturbide became Emperor, or (better) from 1824, when the Republic 
 of Mexico was established. The designs of the Mexican dollar have been 
 three in number, known as " old die," " Maximilian," and " new die." The 
 original " old die " was set aside some 30 years ago for the effigy of the 
 Emperor Maximilian, and again in 1868-69 for the "new die," which 
 introduced the eponymous device of a pair of scales. But, as the " scale 
 
 * " New plate." as opposed to " Mexican plate," arose first from the financial 
 exigencies of Philip IV., who by Pragmatica of 23rd Deeember 1642, debased the 
 Peninsular real, and ordered that the (American) piece-of-eight should pass as a 
 piece of ten new reals. But "new plate" practically dates from the Pragmatica 
 of Hth October 1686 of his successor Charles the Second. It is with reference to 
 this latter Pragmatica that Newton spoke in 1702 of the "Piastre of 8 reaux 
 now raised to 10." 
 
 f Ostensibly to pay for the increased cost of manufacture of the more artistic 
 coins now struck. 
 
 \ Paragraph 5 of the Pragmatica of 29th May 1772 declared that the weight 
 and fineness were to remain unchanged. " This," says the Br ere Resefla, " is what 
 was stated to the public. But at the mint quite a different announcement was 
 maie." Here the fineness was ordered to be reduced to 10 din. 20 gr. fine, i.e., by 
 1*4 per cent. 
 
 ^ It was only on 1st July 1890, under the provisions of the Decree of 2nd 
 December 1889, that the rral was abolished in Mexico to make room for a decimal 
 system, an I consaquently that bhe Mexican dollar ceased to be in fact a "piecc-of- 
 eight." 
 
 || S a e infra, page 398, and " A Monograph of the Dollar," by J. L. Riddell (New 
 Orleans, 1815), dealing with Spanish and American varietie*', including counter' 
 feits, then in circulation. 
 
App. A. Coins Current. 
 
 393 
 
 dollar " was unfavourably received in China, the chief market for Mexican 
 dollars, a return was made to the "old die," which is that exclusively in use 
 at the present day. 
 
 As has been pointed out above, the modern Mexican dollar still retains 
 (practically) the legal weight and fineness assigned in 1772 to the earlier 
 Spanish dollar, the standard weight being 27 - 073 grammes, and the 
 millesimal fineness being 902*7. But the common system of coinage is to 
 allow 2(33 grammes of alloy to 2444 grammes of fine silver, and to coin the 
 total gross weight of 27 - 07 grammes into $ 100. Consequently, each dollar 
 is coined to weigh 27*07 grammes (or 417 J grains) gross, and to have a fine 
 content of 24-44 grammes (or 377-13 grains), the fineness being 902-&44 per 
 mille ; but the fineness stamped on the dollar is 902-7, or 10 din. 20 gr. in 
 earlier fashion. Apparently, the difference between the old Spanish and 
 modern Mexican standards of weight, arises from the fact that the Castilian 
 mark, as used in Spain, was a small fraction lighter than the mark in use in 
 Mexico. 
 
 According to American assays the fineness of the Spanish pillar dollar 
 averaged 900 from 1772 to 1808, and fell to 898 from 1808-25, a result 
 which tallies with the fine content of 370 - 9 grains, assigned by Kelly to the 
 coin in 1820. The weight and fineness of the Republican dollar have 
 varied with the respective mint and the date of coinage. The average fine 
 content from 1824-35 was found on assay to be 371 '84 grains ; from 
 1836-41, 374 grains, rising subsequently to 375 grains. In 1873 a somewhat 
 heavier coin began to be received (containing 375f grains fine), and the 
 upward movement continued. In 1879, 800 dollars were obtained, 100 from 
 each of the seven principal mints, and 100 from the various other mints. 
 The following remarkable results were derived from this investigation: — 
 
 Mint Mark.* 
 
 Average 
 Weight. 
 
 Average 
 Fineness. 
 
 Average 
 Fine Content. 
 
 
 Gra ins. 
 
 Per Mille. 
 
 Grains. 
 
 D°. Durango - 
 
 417849 
 
 907-7 
 
 379-281 
 
 C A . Chihuahua - 
 
 417-235 
 
 905-6 
 
 377-848 
 
 G A . Guadalajara ... 
 
 417-590 
 
 903-2 
 
 377-167 
 
 o 
 
 M. Mexico - 
 
 417-547 
 
 903-2 
 
 377-128 
 
 P 1 . San Luis Potosi -'.'?- 
 
 417619 
 
 902-2 
 
 376-775 
 
 G°. Guanajuato - 
 
 417-748 
 
 901-7 
 
 376-683 
 
 Z 8 . Zacatecas .... 
 
 416-995 
 
 901-5 
 
 375-920 
 
 Various .... 
 
 417-000 
 
 904-2 
 
 377-051 
 
 Average - - - 
 
 417-448 
 
 903-7 
 
 377-247 
 
 It will be observed (1) that the average weight is remarkably uniform, 
 being in no case 3-4ths of a grain less than standard, and averaging 3-10ths 
 of a grain less, and (2) that the fineness, whilst never falling more than 1^ 
 per mille below standard, and whilst rising 5 per mille above standard in one 
 case, is no less than 1 per cent, above standard on an average of the total 
 number of 800 coins examined. 
 
 In 1891 the Royal Mint f conducted an elaborate investigation into the 
 weight and fineness of an average sample of 11,846 Mexican dollars 
 
 * The coins of the following five mints were preferred at the northern ports of China in the 
 following order: (1) Guanajuato ; (2) Zacatecas; (3) Mexico ; (4) Guadalajara ; and (5) San Luis 
 Potosi. The first-named is the '' Sun dollar," or Shanghai dollar, No. 1. 
 
 t See the 22nd Report of the Deputy Master of the Mint. 
 
394 
 
 Colonial Currency. 
 
 procured in the London market. It was found in 1891, as in the previous 
 examitiation of 1879, that fully three-quarters of the coins had been struck 
 withiti the previous six years. The following table gives the details of the 
 investigation, classified under the 11 mints : — 
 
 Mint Mark. 
 
 Percentage 
 of Total 
 Number. 
 
 Average 
 Weight. 
 
 Average 
 Millesimal 
 Fineness. 
 
 Average 
 Amount of 
 Fine Silver. 
 
 Average 
 Amount of 
 Fine Gold 
 per Coin. 
 
 • 
 
 
 Grains. 
 
 
 Grains. 
 
 Grains. 
 
 M (Mexico) - 
 
 2977 
 
 417-659 
 
 902-7 
 
 377-021 
 
 0-040 
 
 ZS (Zacatecas) - 
 
 21-71 
 
 417-056 
 
 901-5 
 
 375-976 
 
 0-126 
 
 GO (Guanajuato) - - - - 
 
 17-81 
 
 417-459 
 
 899-4 
 
 375-463 
 
 0174 
 
 Pi (San Luis Potosi) - 
 
 10-26 
 
 417-470 
 
 903-3 
 
 377-101 
 
 0-140 
 
 O (Chihuahua) - 
 
 7-67 
 
 417-427 
 
 901-3 
 
 376-227 
 
 0-143 
 
 GA (Guadalajara) ... 
 
 3-91 
 
 417-180 
 
 901-3 
 
 376-004 
 
 0-402 
 
 DO (Durango) .... 
 
 \ 
 
 
 
 
 
 AS (Alamos) .... 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 CN (Culiacan) .... 
 
 1 8-67 
 
 417-177 
 
 902-9 
 
 376-669 
 
 0-179 
 
 Ho (Hermosillo) - 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 OA (Oaxaca) .... 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Adjusted Average of the whole ) 
 
 10000 
 
 417-394 
 
 901-647 
 
 376-342 
 
 0-129 
 
 It will be observed that Mexico supplies nearly a third of the total 
 number of coirjs, and that the fineness of the Mexico coins is that of the 
 standard, whilst the weight shows a remarkably close approximation to the 
 standard of 417-8 grains. 
 
 The Mexican Mint Report of 1889 gives the following particulars : — 
 
 I. Total silver coinage in the financial year 1887-88, $25,862,977, of 
 which no less than $ 25,281,599 was in " piezas de a un peso," or " Mexican 
 dollars." 
 
 II. Relative proportion of silver coined by each of the 11 mints : — 
 
 Alamos - 
 
 - 
 
 2-24 per cent 
 
 Culiacan - 
 
 . 
 
 2-95 
 
 Chihuahua 
 
 . 
 
 - 10-22 „ 
 
 Durango - 
 
 - 
 
 4-02 
 
 Guadalajara 
 
 - 
 
 3-90 
 
 Guanajuato 
 
 - 
 
 - 17-52 • „ 
 
 Hermosillo 
 
 - 
 
 0-69 „ 
 
 Mexico 
 
 - 
 
 - 27-56 „ 
 
 Oaxaca 
 
 - 
 
 0-43 „ 
 
 San Luis Potosi 
 
 - 10-61 „ 
 
 Zacatecas 
 
 
 - 19-86 „ 
 
 
 100-00 
 
 III. Total silver coinage from 1537 to 30th June 1888, #3,193,215,137-92, 
 distributed as follows : — 
 
 Colonial epoch, 1537—1821 
 Independence, 1821—1888 
 
 ■ 2,082,260,657-44 
 - 1,110,954,480-48 
 
 $ 3,193,215,137-92 
 
 And to this output the decade from 1st July 1878 to 30th June 1888 had 
 contribute^ 4250,946,013-2 
 
App. A. Coins Current. 395 
 
 (2.) The Spanish Pistareen.* 
 
 In the Spanish Wars of Succession, at the beginning of the eighteenth 
 century, a quantity of " base " coins representing two reals, or $ \, of 
 " new plate," were issued by the rival claimants, with a profitable 
 reduction of the millesimal fineness. The revenue accruing to the King 
 from the new coins led to their issue in still greater profusion in later 
 years. Though nomiually "provincial " coins, intended for the Peninsula 
 only, aud passing there as the fifth of the old piece-of-eight, they rapidly 
 travelled to the New World, and particularly to the Britisjj Colonies in 
 the West Indies. 
 
 The first notice of the pistareen's appearance in this country is con- 
 tained in the following letter, of the 16th January 1712-13, from Sir Isaac 
 Newton, then Master and Worker of the Mint, to " Mr. Chancellour": — 
 
 " Our Assay Master being out of Town and his Clerk sick in bed, I got 
 the Two Spanish Peices Assayed at Goldsmith's Hall. The Peice of King 
 Charles weighed 3d. w l . 12 s r . and in fineness was four Peny Weight worse 
 than standard.f The Value thereof in English Money is 10 d. and 3-5ths 
 of a Peny. The Peice of King Philip weighed 4 dwt. £ grain, and was 
 One Ounce worse than Standard % and in Value II d. half Peny English. 
 They seem to be Quarter Peices of Eight of the New Species and, in the 
 nearest Round Numbers, Five of them may be reckoned worth a Mexico 
 or Pillar Piece of Eight." 
 
 The coins which puzzled Sir Isaac Newton were destined to play an 
 important part in the history of the British colonial currency. They 
 appeared at the juncture when, mainly under stress of Queen Anne's 
 Proclamation of 1704, the West Indian Colonies wex-e passing from a silver 
 to a gold standard. The " piece-of-eight " was being driven from circu- 
 lation, and there was great need of a silver coin larger than the real for 
 ordinary internal circulation. The pistareen filled the gap. Being of 
 base silver, it was enabled to hold its ground in concurrent circulation 
 with gold, and thus, like the modern token shilling which it resembled, it 
 served for internal and subsidiary circulation under cover of a gold 
 standard. 
 
 Whilst, in connection with the dominant rating of the dollar at 5 s., the 
 pistareen had a legitimate sphere as the denominational " shilling," its 
 importation was favoured less creditably by the facility with which it 
 could be passed off on the unwary as an " unpillared quarter."^ In the 
 United States these coins passed for 20 cents until 1827, when, in 
 consequence of a Report by the United States Mint, they fell to 17 cents. 
 In the West Indies they were driven out by British silver after 1825 ; and 
 Canada, following the lead of the United States, demonetised these coins 
 soon afterwards. The pistareen thus lost the importance which it had 
 enjoyed in colonial currency for more than a century, and became, in fact 
 as well as in name, a " provincial " coin, circulating in the Peninsula. Its 
 modern representative is the Spanish peseta, equal to the franc of the 
 Latin Union. 
 
 (3.) The Doubloon. 
 
 Like the dollar, this coin was not a unit but a multiple, as is indicated 
 by one of its many names, " doblon de a ocho." The silver piece-of-eight 
 was a multiple of the real, and the escudo was the correlative of the real 
 in gold. In 1537 Da. Juana and the Emperor Charles V. enacted, that 
 " the coronas and escudos which we have commanded, and shall command, 
 to be struck, shall be 22 carats fine, and shall weigh 68 to the mark of 
 gold of our kingdoms of Castille, which is the fineness and weight of the 
 larger escudos of Italy and of those which are coined in France." The 
 multiples of the escudo were the pistoles or double-escudo (hence 
 "doblon"), the double pistole, and the quadruple pistole, known to us as 
 
 * This word may be connected (like peseta) with peso, but is not a regularly- 
 formed diminutive. More probably it is a sort of "camp Spanish" for "little 
 piastre," as is suggested by the form " piastereen." 
 
 ■j- i.e., 908 - 3 millesimal fineness. 
 
 j i.e., 841 - 7 millesimal fineness. 
 
 § See under Bahamas. 
 
396 Colonial Currency. 
 
 the doubloon. In Spain this latter coin was also known as the " onza de 
 oro," and, after 1730, as the " peso duro de oro," from its identity in 
 weight with the silver dollar. The weight remained unaltered from 1537 
 to 1848, but the fineness was reduced to 21| carats in 1772 and to 
 21 carats in 178G (in both cases not by a public law but by a " Real orden 
 reservada," addressed to the Casas de Moneda). 
 
 In the monetary system of Spain a gold escudo was the equivalent in 
 value of two silver dollars, or " escudos de plata." In the words of Sir 
 Isaac Newton, " a Spanish pistole was coined for 32 reas, or four pieces 
 of eight reas^usually called pieces-of -eight, and is of equal allay, and the 
 16th part of the weight thereof. Gold is, therefore, in Spain of 16 times 
 more value than silver of equal weight and allay. But this high price 
 keeps their gold at home in good plenty, and carries away the Spanish 
 silver into all Europe, so that at home they make their payments in gold, 
 and will not pay in silver without a premium. Upon the coming in of a 
 plate-fleet the premium ceases, or is but small, but as their silver goes 
 away and becomes scarce, the premium encreases, and is most commonly 
 aboat 6 per cent." 
 
 Gold was unimportant in the British colonies in the seventeenth century ; 
 but when, at the beginning of the next century, the. West Indies adopted 
 a gold standard, the principal gold coins they saw were Spanish pistoles 
 and doubloons ; and, with the coins, they naturally adopted the Spanish 
 ratio, and consequently shared with Spain the experiences arising from 
 the over- valuation of gold. It was this Spanish ratio of 16 dollars — 
 1 doubloon, which helped to defeat the measures taken by the Imperial 
 Government in 1825 (see page 23). 
 
 As in the case of the dollar, there was a rude coinage in gold prior to 
 1728 known as " cob doubloons," but far more reliable in weight and 
 fineness than " Peru pieces-of-eight." Spanish and other doubloons are 
 regularly quoted in the weekly lists of bullion brokers, and still find a 
 currency in Newfoundland, certain West African Colonies, Trinidad, and 
 some other places. 
 
 (4.) The Moidore and Joannese. 
 
 In the seventeenth century the familiar Portuguese coin was the 
 " Moidore," i.e., the Lisbonine, or double " Moeda de Ouro " (gold money) of 
 the Portuguese monetary system. This " Moidore " (subdivided into 10 
 gold cruzados) was the fifth of a dobrao, and was originally worth 4,000 
 reis, raised by 20 per cent, (like the rest of the series) to 4,800 in 1688. The 
 importance of this coin was rather European than colonial. It formed 
 practically the whole of Irish currency in the early part of the eighteenth 
 century, and was plentiful in the West of England about 1700, until its 
 rating was reduced from 28 s. to 27 s. 6rf., as explained by Sir Isaac 
 Newton in 1717. But, as the moidore series of coins was not struck later 
 than 1732, and as the " joannese" series from 1722 onwards rapidly sup- 
 planted ic, the moidore was losing its importance when the West Indian 
 colonies adopted a gold, instead of a silver standard. 
 
 Far more important in colonial currency was the Joannese, or " joe," 
 coinage, which originated in 1722 on the basis of the dobra weighing a 
 Portuguese onca of gold. The series was formed by dividing this coin 
 by two down to the cruzado, or l-32nd part of the dobra ; strictly 
 speaking, the half-dobra of 6,400 reis was the whole joannese, but in 
 America and the West Indies this coin was universally known as the 
 "half -joe." With the Spanish doubloon, the Portuguese "half -joe" 
 dominated the metallic currency of the New World, and particularly 
 Barbados and the Windward Islands. The popularity of the joannese, as 
 of the moidore, in the eighteenth century, was due to their uniform good- 
 ness both in weight and in fineness. To the same cause was due the 
 clipping and sweating of the "joe" in the West Indies (to secure 
 concurrent circulation with the baser doubloon), whilst the good repute 
 of Portuguese gold led to the wholesale manufacture of counterfeit joes 
 in North America and Birmingham at the end of last century. With the 
 revolution of 1822 in Brazil, the gold currency of Portugal rapidly lost 
 its importance. The Brazilian mines are now in English hands, and the 
 gold currency of Portugal consists mainly of British sovereigns. 
 
App. A. Coins Current. 397 
 
 (5.) The Barbary Ducat. 
 
 Shortly before 1700 this coin became prevalent in some of the West 
 India Islands. 
 
 In 1699 an Act of Antigua rates the " Arabiane chequine,"® and as will 
 be seen under the head of Leeward Islands, the same coin was still in 
 circulation therein 1740 as a "zequeen" or ''Barbary ducat." In the 
 Bermudan Act of 1707, the same coin is mentioned as a *' chicquin " of 
 gold weighing 2dwt. 3gr., and is rated (with "half-pistoles") at two 
 pieces of eight. 
 
 The " Barbary ducat " reached the West India Islands from the planta- 
 tions on the mainland. Speaking of Virginia before 1708, Oldmixon says 
 " the chief of their coins are either gold of the stamp of Arabia " (or Spanish 
 money, &c); and he gives the Yirginian rating of the " Arabian chequin " 
 as 10 s., i.e., double the denominational value of the piece-of-eight, as in 
 the Leeward Islands. Perhaps the introduction of these coins of the 
 corsairs may be traced to pirates. For, writing from the (Roman Catholic) 
 colony of Maryland to the Board of Trade on the 5th December 1701, 
 Mr. George Larkin tells of the escape of certain comrades of the notorious 
 Captain Kidd with their booty into (Quaker) Pennsylvania, and complains 
 that these escaped pirates " have been hugg'd and caressed after a very 
 strange manner by the Religious people of Pensylivania ; no money to be 
 seen amongst them now but Arabian Gold." 
 
 In 1717 Sir Isaac Newton gave the assay of " a Barbary ducat, with 
 Arabic letters on both sides in square tablets, without any effigies or 
 escutcheon" ;+ but his weight of 61^ grains (of 818 millesimal fineness) 
 points to a different coin to that seen in the Xew World. The assay in 
 1740 by the mint of the " Barbary ducat or chequin," gives the weight as 
 51 grains, like the Bermudan Act of 1707, and this weight approximates to 
 the standard ducat or sequin weight of 53| grains. The low standard of 
 these coins (875 per mille in 1740), while it favoured their introduction 
 into the colonies about 1700, led to their being discarded later, when the 
 gold standard had been adopted in the West Indies, and when fineness was 
 scrutinized as keenly as gross weight. With the second half of the 
 eighteenth century, the " Barbary ducat " passed out of colonial currency. 
 
 (6.) Coins of France. 
 
 On 31st March 1640, a " Declaration du Roy " of Louis XIII, ordered 
 that, in place of the (gold) ecu of 23^ carats fine, there should be struck a 
 louis d'or of 22 carats fine. As Le Blanc points out in his Traite Historique, 
 the edict gives the name of " louis d'or " to what is commonly called the 
 half louis of five livres, in the same confused way in which the name 
 " moidore " was given to the double " moeda de ouro." 
 
 Subordinate to the old ecu in gold, was the silver quart-d'ecu (11 dwts. 
 fine), familar in England as the " cardecue." j With the introduction of 
 the new louis d'or, Le Blanc states that Louis XIII " on 23rd December 
 1641, ordered the fabrication of a new silver coin (also 11 dwts. fine) under 
 the name of louis d'argent or piece of 60 sols, which we commonly call 
 Escu Blanc." These coins, which were practically the first milled money 
 of France, retained their standard of fineness up to the Revolution ; but 
 they underwent a bewildering succession of increases in their nominal 
 value in livres and sols ; and the endeavour to adjust the ratio between 
 silver and gold to the changing relations of the two metals in outside 
 
 * The Italian name Zecchino is derived from the Zccca, or Mint of Venice, which 
 word is derived (like the " Sicca " rupee) from the Arabic Sikkct " a coining die." 
 
 f In obedience to the Qu'ran, no effigy appears on Mahommedan coins. 
 
 j In was in these silver coins that Charles I received in lt>25 the whole of the 
 dower (800,000 crowns) of his consort Henrietta Maria of France. They were 
 made current for a time at 1 s. 7{ d., but owing to counterfeits, &c, were 
 demonetised the next year(Ruding; and Macpherson's "Annals of Commerce," II., 
 337). 
 
398 Colonial Currency. 
 
 markets, led to a like succession of alterations in their weight. It will also 
 be observed from the tables infra, that the liberal " remedies " allowed at 
 the royal mints of France considerably reduced below standard the fine 
 content of the coins issued. The louis d'or issued after 1709, it may here 
 be noted, was frequently called the " French guinea," its sterling value, 
 according to Sir Isaac Newton, being a fraction over 1 I. 
 
 When, after the Revolution, the gram system of weights was introduced, 
 ths weight of the ecu was l'educed by about one-sixth, so as to make the 
 new silver franc (900 fine) equal to one gram. The necessary adjustment 
 as regards gold coins was made in 1803, when, after eight years' cessation 
 of gold coinage, the gold napoleon was struck as the equivalent of 20 francs. 
 In 1866, when the Latin union was formed, silver coins below the five franc 
 piece were reduced in millesimal fineness from 900 to 835, and converted 
 into tokens. The " bimetallism " of France, and of the old Latin union, 
 rests therefore exclusively on the five-franc piece ; but though this coin 
 remains unlimited legal tender, its issue is carefully watched, and like the 
 silver dollar of the United States, it is practically an expensive subsidiary 
 coin for internal circulation. It is because of the gold reserve (sometimes 
 called the " War Chest ") in the Bank of France, that the London 
 quotations of five-franc pieces remained steady at about one-quarter of 
 that of a gold 20-franc piece during 1890, in spite of fluctuations 
 amounting to 20 per cent, in the gold-price of silver during the year. 
 And it is because of the absence in Spain of a sufficient stock of gold to 
 maintain the five-peseta piece at its representative value, that this Spanish 
 five-franc piece is dropping to its intrinsic value {see under Gibraltar). 
 
 (7.) Coins of the United States. 
 
 The monetary model adopted by the United States in 1785f was the silver 
 Spanish dollar with which they were familiar. But for the weight of 
 their new coin, they took, not the full standard of Spanish dollars, but 
 the average of coins in circulation. Hence the new dollar of the United 
 States was made to contain only 375-64 grains of fine silver, or less by about 
 two grains than a Spanish dollar of full weight. In 1792 Congress further 
 reduced the fine silver in the dollar to 371-25 grains (in order to institute 
 a ratio of 15:1 between silver and gold) ; and this content of fine silver (the 
 scale of fineness having been reduced to 900 in 1837) remains in the United 
 States silver dollar of to-day under the " Bland Act," weighing 412-5 grains 
 gross. 
 
 Side by side with the silver dollar, which was intended to repre. ent the 
 familiar Spanish dollar, the Resolution of Congress of 6th July 1785 declared 
 that there should be a gold coinage of five-dollar and ten-dollar pieces, the 
 latter containing 246'268 grains of fine gold. In 1792, acting upon the 
 advice of Mr. Alexander Hamilton, Secretary of the Treasury, who was 
 strongly of " opinion that a preference ought to be given to neither of the 
 metals for the money unit," Congress by the Act of 2nd April 1792, set aside 
 
 * In France the name franc had for centuries been synonymous with livre. 
 The earliest mention of a "franc " in Le Blanc, is with reference to the year 1360, 
 when King John struck." un Franc cl' Or fin qui pesoit une drachma trebuchant. 
 Elle fut ainsi nominee & cause quelle valoit un Franc ou une livre, c'est a dire 
 20 sols." In connection with a similar coin of Charles V in 13G.">, Le Blanc says 
 "on luy donna le nom A cause que la manifere de compter par livre, composce de 
 20 sols, doit son origine aux Francois." Thus in its franc of 20 sous the Revolu- 
 tion preserved, and acknowledged the authorship of. the scheme of the 
 Frankish King Charlemagne in the eighth century, whereunder "12 uncial 
 libram 20 solidos eontinentem erticiunt, et duodecim denarii solidum reildunt." 
 
 t See American Stnte Papers (Finance), Vol. I., p. 91 (cited at p. 352 of the 
 Preliminary Report of the Decimal Coinage Commission, 1857) ; Report of the 
 Royal Commission on International Coinage, 1868, p. 313 ; Fourth, Eighth, and 
 Twenty-First Reports of the Deputy Master of the Mint; Felt's "Massachusetts 
 Currency," 183i) ; Linderman's "Money and Legal Tender in the United States," 
 1877, &c. 
 
App. A. Coins Current. 399 
 
 the 1785 ratio of gold to silver of 1:15^, and reduced it to 1:15, by reducing 
 the fine content of the silver dollar and by raising the (bitherto theoretical) 
 ten-dollar piece, or Eagle, to 2475 grains of fine gold. In 1834, by Act of 
 Congress of 28th June, the amount of fine gold was diminished to 232 
 grains, the ratio of gold to silver being thus altered to 1: 16002. 
 
 In 1837 a further charge was made by increasing the fine gold in the 
 Eagle to 232 - 2 grains (the gross weight being 258 grains and the millesimal 
 fineness 900), with the result that the ratio finally became 1:15988. 
 
 But, as the European ratio was 1:15'5, it was found to be impossible to 
 retain the silver coins in circulation ; and by the Act of 21st February 1853 
 it was provided that the silver coinage subsidiary to the dollar should be 
 converted into a token currency by reducing its silver content from 371 "25 
 to 345 - 6 gr. per dollar ; that is to say, a ratio of 1:14888 (= 63*357 d. per 
 ounce) was established for token silver. Manifestly, this latter change 
 could not save the silver whole dollars ; and so the bimetallism of 1792 passed 
 into practical monometallism. Indeed, at the International Monetary 
 Conference of 1868 at Paris, it was the representative of the United States 
 who pressed most strongly for gold as the sole standard.! Pointing to the 
 fact that of the five millions of silver dollars coined in, the seventy years 
 ending 1867, " nearly all have disappeared from circulation," whilst the same 
 fate had attended all of the .9131,000,000 of subsidiary silver coins coined 
 before 1853, Mr. Ruggles, the United States Delegate, "felt justified in 
 claiming, and insisting, that the double standard now existed in the United 
 States only in form, and not in fact." In the light of these facts, it is 
 intelligible w r hy in 1873 Congress omitted the silver dollar from the coins 
 authorised to be struck in the mints of the United States. By this step 
 the country formally adopted gold as the sole standard and measure of value. 
 But five years later, i.e., in 1878, the " Bland Act" was passed, restoring the 
 silver dollar as a standard coin of unlimited legal tender, and prescribing, 
 not indeed the " free coinage " of silver originally embodied in the Bill, but 
 a limited coinage of not less than ,$2,000,000, and of not more than 
 $4,000,000, every month. Of these dollars only about one in seven is in cir- 
 culation, the remainder being stored in vaults to the extent on 1st 
 November 1892 of £354,740,3«0, legal tender " Silver Certificates " being 
 issued against £324,552,532 on the same date. 
 
 The legislation of 1878 was a partial return, though chiefly in form, to 
 " bimetallism.'' A further step was taken in 1890 when an Act was passed 
 requiring, not the coinage, but the purchase (under certain conditions), of 
 silver equal to at least 4,5uO,0(JO ounces a month, against which silver certi- 
 ficates were to be issued. J On 1st November 1892, the United States 
 Treasury held silver bullion bought for £91,829,247, against which theie 
 were in circulation Legal Tender Notes to the nominal value of £114,567,4 1'.>. 
 which are rrdeemed in gold by the Government. In 1892 Congress re- 
 jected a Bill to prescribe the "'free coinage" of silver. Like the five-franc 
 piece of France, the silver dollar (with its paper representative) is practically 
 an expensive token. The enormous area of the United States, and the volume 
 of its internal transactions, enable the country legitimately to absorb a vast 
 amount of silver (or silver-paper) currency. But the currency of the 
 United States rests ultimately on a stock of gold adequate to meet its 
 international obligations and to shield its silver, seeing that on 1 November 
 1892 the gold-price of the silver in a silver dollar was only £*665, i.e., one- 
 third under its nominal value. It only remains to be added that the United 
 States have been the proposers of two International Monetary Conferences, 
 one of which met at Paris in 1881. whilst the other has recently been held 
 at Brussels ; and that Canada, which enjoys the United States gold standard 
 in conjunction with token silver, has no leanings to " bimetallism.'' 
 
 * As a matter of fact, after the revolutionary war, specie payments were 
 suspended and not resumed until 1875. 
 
 •j- See Mr. Ruggles' Report, printed at p. 197 of the Report of the Royal 
 Commission on International Coinage, 1868. 
 
 X See analysis of the Act in the Twenty-first Report of the Deputy Master 
 the Mint. 
 
400 Colonial Currency. 
 
 (8.) Sterling. 
 
 In the reign of William the Conqueror, the (Tower) pound-weight of 
 standard silver was coined into '20 shillings, *and thus the idea of the 
 " pound sterling " f had direct reference to silver as the sole standard. In 
 1601, after many vicissitudes, the pound weight of standard silver was 
 ordered by Queen Elizabeth to be struck into 62 shillings. But the 
 "pound" by tale, still consisting (as at the present day) of 20 silver 
 shillings, continued in the popular mind to refer to silver. 
 
 But though silver was regarded as the standard of value, gold was equally 
 admitted to tender (at varying ratios) ; and sc by law bimetallism prevailed, 
 with the " free coinage " J of gold and silver. For present purposes it will 
 be sufficient to go back in the history of gold coinage no further than 1660, 
 when the guinea was first struck. § This coin was originally issued as the 
 equivalent in gold of a (silver) '• pound sterling," or 20 s. But the resulting 
 ratio between gold and silver rapidly denuded the country of the new 
 guineas, and entailed a B.nyal Proclamation, raising the value of the guinea 
 to 22 s.. and thereby establishing a ratio which gave a greater relative value 
 to gold than that ruling in the mercantile centres of Europe, notably 
 Amsterdam. The resuk was that the undervalued silver coins were clipped 
 and sweated. Before 1696. indeed, silver was so much degraded that the 
 guinea passed current for 28 s. and even 30 s. || By the Act 7 & 8 Will. 3, 
 c. 10, the rating of the guinea was reduced to 26 s., and to 22 s. by the 
 further Act 7 & 8 Will. 3. c. 19. It should be added that in the previous 
 year the Act 6 & 7 Will. 3, c. 17, had prohibited the exchange of silver 
 money for more than its value, and the purchase of sale of clippings. 
 After the great re-coinage of 1696-9 "the value of the guinea," according 
 to McCulloch, •' was estimated by the pubhc at 21 s. 6 d., a premium of 10 d. 
 
 in favour of the guinea The new silver coins began to be 
 
 exported .... The growing scarcity of silver consequent on this 
 exportation being in the end productive of considerable inconvenience, an 
 attempt to stop it in 1717 H by reducing by Proclamation the value of the 
 guinea from 21 s. 6 d. to 21 s. The guinea was still overvalued °° as com- 
 pared with silver, by about id. in the guineas, or ljf per cent. And, as the 
 value of silver compared with gold continued to increase for most part of 
 last century, it became considerably greater. Hence gold became f f . . • 
 in practice what silver had formerly been, the sole legal tender ; and during 
 the lengthened period from 1717 down to 1816 no silver coins of the legal 
 weight and purity would remain in circulation, but were either melted 
 down or exported, the silver currency consisting entirely of light 
 worn coins." Consequently, it may be concluded that from 1660 onwards 
 gold has been the real standard of value in England, and that the Act of 
 1816, whereby silver coins were reduced to tokens subordinate to the gold 
 sovereign, was a formal recognition of the long-standing supremacy of gold 
 in England. Bearing in mind the co-existence of the gold standard in fact, 
 
 * The scheme of 1 libra=20 solidi=240 denarii, dates back to Charlemagne, as 
 stated in note * on the preceding page. 
 
 t As to the origin of " sterling " (probably from Easterling mintmen), see p. 13 
 of M-Culloch's •' Select Tracts on Money " (London, 1866), and Ruding's Annals of 
 the Coinage. 
 
 X The actual charge for seignorage was abolished by Act of Parliament in 1666. 
 Previously gold and silver brought to the Mint was converted into coin at a small per- 
 centage. " This Act was made perpetual by the Act 9 Geo. 3, c. 25, and its provisions 
 in respect to gold have ever since continued in force." First Mint Report, 1871. 
 
 (j It was adopted by Charles II. at the Restoration from the " Laurel " or gold 
 20 s. piece of James I. The name is attributed to the coinage of the first guineas 
 out of gold from Guinea. 
 
 || Pari passu the price of Spanish silver coins in London went up : " Pillar 
 dollars go at seven shillings and a peny per ounce, and Sevil and Mexico dollars 
 at seven shillings per ounce." Lowndes, " Essay for the amendment of the Silver 
 • '.ins," (London, 1695). See also Locke's "Further considerations concerning, 
 raising the Value of Money" (2nd Edition, London, 1695). 
 
 fin consequence of the " representations " of Sir Isaac Newton, reprinted in 
 M'Culloch*s " Select Tracts on Money." 
 
 **'• By the course of trade and exchange, between nation and nation in all 
 Europe, fine gold is to fine silver as 14| or 15 to 1 ; and a guinea at the same 
 rate is worth between 20 *. 5 d. and 20 s. 8£ d." (Sir Isaac Newton in 171 7). 
 
 ■ff M'Culloch should have said "continued. " 
 
App. A. — Coins Current. 401 
 
 and of the silver standard in accepted theory, from the middle of the 17th 
 century onwards, together with the concomitant lightness of the silver coins 
 up to 1816, it will readily be understood that foreign silver coins (i.) were 
 measured in gross, or wholesale, by their gold-price, according to intrinsic 
 content of fine silver, and (ii.) passed by tale above their true gold price, 
 in order to correspond with the lightness of the clipped and worn silver 
 coins in circulation in England. This discrepancy between wholesale and 
 retail transactions in money, between weight and tale, is at the root of most 
 of the monetary polemics of the 17th and 18ch centuries, and had a most 
 important bearing, as will hereafter be seen, on the denominational rating 
 of foreign silver coins in terms of sterling in the British Colonies. 
 
 The legal establishment of gold as the sole standard may be traced back 
 to the Commission appointed in 1798, on an Address from the House of 
 Commons, to consider and report upon the coins of the realms. Of this 
 Commission the Earl of Liverpool was Chairman, and in his " Letter to the 
 King " (not published till 1805), " the advantages of a single measure of 
 value, and of gold as that measure, are set forth with a force and clearness 
 beyond all praise." Lord Liverpool's proposals (which had been anticipated 
 in great part in 1757 by Joseph Harris of the Mint in his "Essay upon 
 Money and Coins ") inspired in 1816 a Committee of the Privy Council, 
 which recommended that, while no change should be made in the standard 
 of either the gold or silver coins, the former should be made the sole 
 standard of value, and the latter converted into a token coinage by coining 
 the pound of silver into 66 intead of 62 shillings. The original idea was to 
 keep the guinea and impose a two-guinea limitt on the legal tender of the 
 new token silver. But in the Act 58 Geo. III., cap 68 (which definitely 
 declared gold coin, made according to the Indentures of the Mint, the sole 
 standard measure of value and legal tender for payment without any 
 limitation of amount), provision was made (Section 2) for gold coins of 
 other denominations than the guinea, provided they were of like fineness 
 and proportionate weight. As it was felt to be inadvisable to retain a coin 
 which did not tally with the money of account, the guinea was abolished 
 and the present sovereign, or 20 .<?. piece in gold, was struck and issued under 
 the Proclamation of 1st July 1817. Also the limit of legal tender was 
 fixed at 21. (instead of 21. 2 s.), this limit being chosen because it was 
 in contemplation to make the double sovereign, or 2 I. piece, the monetary 
 unit. No Proclamation has ever been issued under Section 9 of the above 
 Act, to provide that the public may take silver to the Mint for coinage, 
 and receive back 62 out of the 66 shillings, into which each pound troy is 
 cut ; the purchaser of subsidiary coins (and the Bank of England is the only 
 purchaser that need be considered in connection with the United Kingdom) 
 has to pay a gold sovereign for every twenty shillings in token silver, and 
 the State has never recognised any obligation to redeem its tokens in gold. 
 
 In Appendix B. will be found the Coinage Act of 1870, and the 
 amending Acts of 1889 and 1891, with the Orders and Proclamations 
 under the two latter Acts, providing for the demonetisation in the United 
 Kingdom of pre-Victorian gold and for the exchange of light Victorian 
 gold at its nominal value. 
 
 It may here be noted that for silver and bronze coins there is no least 
 current weight fixed, and that shillings, &c, of 1816 onwards remain a 
 legal tender. The Royal Mint has, for some years, shipped silver coin to 
 Colonial Governments free of any charge beyond payment of its nominal 
 value, and replaces worn silver with new coin also without cost to the 
 Colony, in accordance with the Regulations printed infra, page 455 (see 
 Ninth Mint Report). 
 
 Proposals have from time to time been made to decimalise the British 
 monetary standard, but the redundant florin is the only practical result. 
 Successive Chancellors of the Exchequer have hesitated to alter either the 
 penny or the pound.J 
 
 t* Locke in 1695, whilst declaring for a single standard, thought silver should be 
 the standard for the future, as it had been in the past. See also Sir William 
 Putty's " Quantulumcunque " (1682). 
 ■{• The limit had been 25 /. under the Act 14 Geo. Ill, cap. 42. 
 I See Bagehot's Universal Money, and various Reports of Commissions. 
 
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t «is J 
 
 APPENDIX B. 
 
414 Colonial Currency. 
 
 APPENDIX B. 
 
 IMPERIAL LEGISLATION, &c. 
 
 (i.) An Act for Ascertaining the Rates of Foreign Coins in Her Majesties 
 Plantations in America. (6 Anne, cap. 57, 1707.)'-' 
 
 Whereas for Remedying the Inconveniencies which had arisen from the 
 different Rates at which the same Species of Foreign Silver Coins did Pass 
 in Her Majesties several Colonies and Plantations in America, Her most 
 Excellent Majesty has thought fit by Her Royal Proclamation, bearing Date 
 the Eighteenth Day of June, One thousand seven hundred and four, and in 
 the Third Year of Her Reign, to Settle and Ascertain the Currency of 
 Foreign Coins in Her said Colonies and Plantations, in the manner and 
 words following : 
 
 " We having had under Our Consideration the different Rates at which the 
 same Species of Foreign Coins do Pass in Our several Colonies and Planta- 
 tions in America, and the Inconveniencies thereof, by the indirect Practice 
 of Drawing the Money from one Plantation to another, to the great 
 Prejudice of the Trade of Our Subjects ; And being Sensible, That the 
 same cannot be otherwise Remedied, than by Reducing of all Foreign Coins 
 to the same Current Rate within all Our Dominions in America ; And the 
 Principal Officers of Our Mint having laid before Us a Table of the Value 
 of the several Foreign Coins which usually Pass in Payments in Our said 
 Plantations, according to their Weight, and the Assays made of them in 
 Our Mint, thereby shewing the just Proportion which each Coin ought to 
 have to the other, which is as followeth, viz. Sevill Pieces of Eight, Old 
 Plate, Seventeen Peny-weight Twelve Grains, Four Shillings and Six Pence ; 
 Sevill Pieces of Eight, New Plate, Fourteen Peny-weight, Three Shillings 
 Seven Pence One Farthing ; Mexico Pieces of Eight, Seventeen Penny- 
 weight Twelve Grains, Four Shillings and Six Pence ; Pillar Pieces of 
 Eight, Seventeen Peny-weight Twelve Grains, Four Shillings and Six Pence 
 Three Farthings ; Peru Pieces of Eight, Old Plate, Seventeen Peny-weight 
 Twelve Grains, Four Shillings and Five Pence, or thereabouts ; Cross 
 Dollars, Eighteen Peny-weight, Four Shillings and Four Pence Three 
 Farthings ; Ducatoons of Flanders, Twenty Peny-weight and Twenty-one 
 Grains, Five Shillings and Six Pence ; Ecu's of France, or Silver Lewis, 
 Seventeen Peny-weight Twelve Grains, Four Shillings and Six Pence ; 
 Crusadoes of Portugal, Eleven Peny-weight Four Grains, Two Shillings and 
 Ten Pence One Farthing ; Three Gilder Pieces of Holland, Twenty Peny- 
 weight and Seven Grains, Five Shillings and Two Pence One Farthing ; 
 Old Rix Dollars of the Empire, Eighteen Peny-weight and Ten Grains, 
 Four Shillings and Six Pence ; The Halfs, Quarters and other parts in 
 Proportion to their Denominations, and Light Pieces in Proportion to their 
 Weight : We have therefore thought fit for Remedying the said Inconveni- 
 encies, by the Advice of Our Council, to Publish and Declare, That from 
 and after the First Day of January next ensuing the Date hereof, no Sevill, 
 Pillar, or Mexico Pieces of Eight, though of the full Weight of Seventeen 
 Peny-weight and an half, shall be Accounted, Received, Taken, or Paid 
 within any of Our said Colonies or Plantations, as well those under 
 Proprietors and Charters, as under Our immediate Commission and 
 Government, at above the Rate of Six Shillings per Piece Current Money, 
 for the Discharge of any Contracts or Bargains to be made after the said 
 
 *,Cap. 30 in Ruffhead. 
 
App. B. Imperial Legislation, &c. 415 
 
 First Day of January next, the Halfs, Quarters, and other lesser Pieces of 
 the same Coins to be Accounted, Received, Takeu, or Paid in the same 
 Proportion : And the Currency of all Pieces of Eight of Peru, Dollars, and 
 other Foreign Species of Silver Coins, whether of the same or Baser Alloy, 
 shall, after the said First Day of January next, stand Regulated, according 
 to their Weight and Fineness, according and in Proportion to the Rate 
 before Limited and Set for the Pieces of Eight of Sevill, Pillar, and 
 Mexico ; So that no Foreign Silver Coin of any sort be permitted to Exceed 
 the same Proportion upon any Account whatsoever. And We do hereby 
 Require and Command all Our Governors, Lieutenant-Governors, Magis- 
 trates, Officers, and all other Our good Subjects, within Our said Colonies 
 and Plantations, to Observe and Obey Our Directions herein, as they Tender 
 Our Displeasure." 
 
 And whereas notwithstanding the said Proclamation, the same indh'ect 
 Practices as are therein mentioned, are still Carried on within some of the 
 said Colonies or Plantations, and the Money thereby drawn from one 
 Plantation to another, in Prejudice of the Trade of Her Majesties Subjects ; 
 Wherefore for the better Inforcing the due Execution of Her Majesties 
 said Proclamation throughout all the said Colonies and Plantations, and for 
 the more effectual Remedying the said Inconveniencies thereby intended to 
 be Remedied, Be it Enacted by the Queens most Excellent Majesty, by and 
 with the Advice and Consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and 
 Commons in this present Parliament Assembled, and by the Authority of 
 the same, That if any Person within any of the said Colonies or Plantations, 
 as well those under Proprietors and Charters, as under Her Majesties 
 immediate Commission and Government, shall, after the First Day of May, 
 which shall be in the Year of our Lord, One thousand seven hundred and 
 nine, for the Discharge of any Contracts or Bargains to be thereafter made, 
 Account, Receive, Take or Pay any of the several Species of Foreign Silver 
 Coins mentioned in the before-recited Proclamation, at any greater or 
 higher Rate than at which the same is thereby Regulated, Settled and 
 Allowed, to be Accounted, Received, Taken or Paid, every such Person so 
 Accounting, Receiving, Taking or Paying the same contrary to the Direc- 
 tions therein contained, shall suffer Six Months Imprisonment, without 
 Bail or Mainprize ; Any Law, Custom or Usage in any of the said Colonies 
 or Plantations to the contrary hereof in any wise notwithstanding ; And 
 shall likewise Forfeit the Sum of Ten Pounds for every such Offence, One 
 Moiety thereof to Her Majesty, Her Heirs and Successors, the other Moiety 
 to such Person or Persons as shall Sue for the same, to be Recovered with 
 full Costs of Suit, by Action of Debt, Bill, Plaint or Information, in any of 
 Her Majesties Courts of Justice within any of the said Plantations, or in 
 any of the Courts of Justice of the Charter or Proprietary Governments 
 where such Offence shall be committed. 
 
 Provided nevertheless, and it is hereby Declared, That nothing in the 
 before-recited Proclamation, or in this Act Contained shall Extend, or be 
 Construed to Compel any Person to Receive any of the said Species of 
 Foreign Silver Coins, at the respective Rates in the said Proclamation 
 mentioned. 
 
 Provided also, and it is hereby further Declared, That nothing in this Act 
 Contained shall Extend, or be Construed to Restrain Her Majesty from 
 Regulating, and Settling the several Rates of the said Species of Foreign 
 Silver Coins within any of I he said Colonies or Plantations, in such other 
 Manner, and according to such other Rates and Proportions as Her Majesty 
 by Her Royal Proclamation for that purpose to be Issued, shall from time 
 to time judge proper and necessary, or from giving Her Royal Assent to any 
 Law hereafter to be made in any of the said Colonies or Plantations, for 
 settling and Ascertaining the Current Rates of such Coins within the said 
 Colonies or Plantations ; But that such further Regulations may be made, 
 and such Assent given, in as full and ample manner, to all intents and 
 purposes, as the same might have been done in Case this Act had not been 
 made, and not otherwise ; Any thing herein before contained to the contrary 
 hereof in any wise notwithstanding. 
 
416 Colonial Currency. 
 
 (ii.) Imperial Act 13 Geo. III. c. 57 (1773).* 
 
 Whereas by an Act, passed in the Fourth Year of His present Majesty's 
 Reign, (intituled, An Act to prevent Paper Bills of Credit, hereafter to be 
 issued in any of His Majesty's Colonies or Plantations in America, from 
 being declared to be a legal Tender in Payments of Money, and to prevent 
 the legal Tender of such Bills as are now subsisting from being prolonged 
 beyond the Periods limited for calling in and sinking the same), it is 
 enacted, That from and after the First Day of September, One thousand 
 seven hundred and sixty-four, no Act, Order, Resolution, or Vote of 
 Assembly, in any of His Majesty's Colonies or Plantations in America, 
 shall be made for creating or issuing any Paper Bills, or Bills of Credit, of 
 any Kind or Denomination whatsoever, declaring such Paper Bills or Bills 
 of Credit to be legal Tender in Payments of any Bargains, Contracts, 
 Debts, Dues, or Demands whatsoever ; and that every Clause and Provision 
 which should thereafter be inserted in any Act. Order, Resolution, or Vote 
 of Assembly, contrary to the said Act, shall be null and void : And 
 whereas the Want of Gold and Silver Currency in several of His Majesty's 
 Colonies and Plantations in America may make it necessary, as well for the 
 publick Advantage as in Justice to those Persons who may have Demands 
 upon the publick Treasuries in the said Colonies for Services performed, 
 that such publick Creditors should be secured in the Payment of their just 
 Debts and Demands, by Certificates, Notes, Bills, or Debentures, to be 
 created and issued by the Authority of the General Assemblies within the 
 said Colonies, on the Securities of any Taxes or Duties given and granted 
 to His Majesty by the said General Assemblies, for and towards defraying 
 Expences incurred for publick Services ; and that such Certificates, Notes, 
 Bills, or Debentures, should be made chargeable on the publick Treasurers 
 of the said Colonies, and received and taken by them as a legal Tender in 
 Discharge of any such Duties or Taxes, or of any Debts whatsoever, due to 
 the publick Treasuries of the said Colonies, in virtue of Laws passed in 
 the said Colonies : And whereas Doubts have arisen, whether, under the 
 said recited Statute, such Provision as aforesaid can lawfully be made ; may 
 it therefore please Your most Excellent Majesty that it may be enacted ; 
 and be it enacted by the King's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the 
 Advice and Consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in 
 this present Parliament assembled, and by the Authority of the same, 
 That, from and after the First Day of September, One thousand seven 
 hundred and seventy-three, any Certificates, Notes, Bills, or Debentures, 
 which shall or may be voluntarily accepted by the Creditors of the Publick 
 within any of the Colonies in America, as a Security for the Payment 
 of what is due and owing to the said publick Creditors, may be made 
 and enacted by the several General Assemblies of the said Colonies 
 respectively to be a legal Tender to the publick Treasurers in the said 
 Colonies, for the Discharge of any Duties, Taxes, or other Debts what- 
 soever, due to, and payable at. or in the said publick Treasuries of the 
 said Colonies, in virtue of Laws passed within the same, and in no other 
 case whatsoever ; any Thing in the aforesaid recited Statute in the 
 Fourth Year of His present Majesty to the Contrary thereof in any-wise 
 notwithstanding. 
 
 Provided always, That nothing in this Act shall extend to. alter, or repeal 
 an Act, passed in the Twenty-fourth year of the Reign of His late Majesty 
 King George the Second, (intituled, An Act to regulate and restrain Paper 
 Bills of Credit in His Majesty's Colonies or Plantations of Rhode Island 
 and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, The Massaehusets Bay, and New 
 Hampshire, in America, and to prevent the same being legal Tenders in 
 Payments of Money). 
 
 • This Act was repealed, as to the whole of er Majesty's Dominions, upon the 
 passing of the Coinage Act of 1870. 
 
App. B. Imperial Legislation, &c. 417 
 
 (iii.) 38 Geo. III., Cap. LXVII. 
 
 An Act to prevent the Exportation of Base Coin to His Majesty's 
 Colonies in the West Indies and America (21 June 1798). 
 
 Whereas Various Base Copper Coins made to the Besemblance and 
 Similitude of the Foreign Copper Coins, called Tempes, and Sous Marques, 
 have been exported from this Kingdom to the Island of Martinique in the 
 West Indies, under the Denomination of Wrought Copper : & whereas 
 Base Coins made to the Similitude and Resemblance of the Foreign Gold 
 and Silver Coins, called Johannes and Dollars, have been circulated in His 
 Majesty's Islands in the West Indies, & in other His Majesty's Colonies in 
 America, to the great Injury of the Inhabitants of the said Islands and 
 Colonies : For preventing the like and similar Evils in future, be it enacted, 
 &c, That all Copper Coin whatsoever, not being the legal Copper Coin of 
 this Kingdom, and all Counterfeit Gold or Silver Coin made to the 
 Similitude or Resemblance, or intended to resemble, any Gold or Silver 
 Coin, either of this Kingdom or of any other Country, which shall, under 
 
 any Pretence, Name, or Description whatsoever, be exported 
 
 from this Kingdom to the said Island of Martinique, or any of His 
 Majesty's Islands or Colonies in the West Indies or America, shall be for 
 feited, &c. 
 
 II. And be it further enacted, That every Person who shall so export, or 
 shall so ship, lay, or put on board any Ship, Vessel, or Boat, in order to be 
 60 exported, or shall cause or procure to be so exported, shipped, or put 
 on board any Ship, Vessel, or Boat, or shall have in his or her custody, in 
 order to be so exported, any such Coin, as aforesaid, shall, for every such 
 Offence, forfeit the Sum of Two hundred Pounds, & double the Value of 
 such Coin, to be recovered by Bill, Suit, Action, or Information, in any of 
 His Majesty's Courts of Record at Westminster. 
 
 (iv.) Treasury Minute, dated 11th February 1825. 
 
 My Lords have under their consideration the State of the Currencies 
 in the several British Colonies and Possessions abroad, as they affect the 
 expenditure for the Public Service, both military and civil. 
 
 They consider it as being highly expedient that they should avail them- 
 selves of the present period of peace, and of the means which appear to 
 be now at their disposal, for introducing a fixed and uniform medium of 
 exchange for all transactions connected with the public service, in the 
 place of the various, fluctuating, and auomalous currencies which have 
 been created under the pressure of temporary emergency, or with views 
 of local and peculiar expediency, in many of these Colonies and Posses- 
 sions during the war, and which have been productive of much private and 
 public inconvenience. 
 
 In these Colonies the Spanish dollar has generally been the prevalent 
 current coin, and the standard by which the value of other currencies, 
 whether metallic, or paper, has been determined. 
 
 That coin has been the medium of payment to the troops on Foreign 
 Stations geuerally ; but the rate in sterling money at which it has been 
 issued to the Army has not been the same at all of those stations, nor has 
 that rate in any case been fixed in conformity with the intrinsic value of 
 the coin. 
 
 In the AVest Indies, in America, on the Western Coast of Africa, at the 
 Cape of Good Hope, at the Mauritius, and at New South Wales, it has 
 been reckoned in payment to the Army at 4s. 8c/. ; while at Gibraltar and 
 in the Mediterranean it has been issued at 4s. Qd. 
 
 At some of these places payments are made to the forces in other 
 coins than Spanish dollars ; but in those cases the value of such coins has 
 been regulated by the Spanish dollar, assuming the value of the latter at 
 the Army-rate fixed for each station. 
 
 These established rates are of long standing, and many of them founded 
 upon authorities, of the origin of which there are no distinct records in 
 this office. . 
 
418 Colonial Currency. 
 
 The intrinsic value of the Spanish dollar, as compared with British 
 standard silver, at the Mint price of 5 s. 2d. the ounce, is about 4s. 3 - 79rf., 
 or something less than 4.s. id. ; and at the market prices of silver, which 
 have prevailed for some time past, it is scarcely above 4 s. 
 
 It appears, therefore, that the prices at which dollars are now issued to 
 the British troops abroad are considerably higher than the real value of 
 the coin, or its value in British money at the Mint price of silver ; and 
 the Army would have cause to complain if they had not antecedently, 
 during a great length of time, enjoyed the advantage of receiving that 
 coin at a rate much below the value into which it was convertible in 
 British currency through the medium of the exchanges. 
 
 Remonstrances have, however, proceeded from several of the Foreign 
 Stations, on behalf of the Army, on account of the rates at which the 
 dollar is now issued ; and although the change by which a more correct 
 issue of the pay of the troops abroad must be introduced, will unavoidably 
 be attended with a considerable increase of expense, my Lords deem it 
 just and necessary to adopt measures for that purpose. 
 
 They must at the same time observe, that by the regulations adopted 
 for the pay of the regimental officers, that valuable class of the public 
 servants, who would otherwise be the most seriously affected by the dis- 
 advantages of this Army rate of exchange, are wholly freed from its 
 inconveniences, as they have for many years past enjoyed the option of 
 receiving their pay either from the Military Chest, at the station where 
 they are serving, or through their agents in England ; by which means they 
 have the full benefit of the state of the exchange when it is more favourable 
 than the Army rate, and the advantage of the Army rate when it is less so. 
 The inconvenience has, therefore, since that regulation, been confined to 
 the officers on the staff, and some others who, as well as the private men, 
 receive their pay from the military chest alone, and who are in some 
 degree indemnified by the mode in which those supplies in kind are pro- 
 cured for them, which, to a certain extent, are defrayed by stoppages 
 from their pay. 
 
 In considering this subject, with a view to the introduction of a better 
 mode of paying the Army abroad, my Lords advert to the circumstances 
 which affect the supply of the Spanish dollar at the present time. Some 
 difficulties in procuring it in sufficient quantities are occasioned by the 
 diminished produce of the mines ; while, on the other hand, the established 
 character of that coin, on account of its formerly well-known uniformity 
 of weight and fineness, has been materially affected by diversities lately 
 introduced in the coinage in America, whereby it has been rendered less 
 fit for the payments which are now under consideration. 
 
 Under these circumstances, it appears to my Lords that the fittest 
 medium for the payment of the forces, and the best standard of circulation 
 for the British colonies and possessions where these anomalies have hitherto 
 prevailed, will be the silver and copper currencies now in circulation in 
 this country, provided the same be made convertible, at the will of the 
 holder, into the standard gold currency of the United Kingdom, by 
 means of bills of exchange, to be given at a rate to be fixed for each 
 station by the officer in charge of the military chest, or some other public 
 authority. 
 
 Owing to the rate at which silver is by the Act, 56 Geo. 3, c. 68, con- 
 verted into coin at the Mint (which is considerably above its general 
 market value, as well as its former Mint price,) this currency would not 
 be liable to be withdrawn by private speculation, from the colonies ; 
 while, on the other hand, its ready convertibility, by the means above 
 mentioned, into that money which is the legal tender for large payments 
 in this country, would secure its circulation at the same value in the 
 colonies. 
 
 As there would exist no inducement to export a currency of this 
 description to foreign countries, so, on the other hand, if the rate at 
 which bills would be obtainable for it upon England, be fixed in such manner 
 as to be about equal to the expense and risk of bringing it to England, the 
 danger of any inconvenience from its re-importation into this country, 
 would in like manner be avoided. 
 
 This rate my Lords conceive to be about 3 per cent, from almost all of 
 
App. B. Imperial Legislation, &c. 419 
 
 the stations to which these measures would be applicable ; and they would 
 therefore direct, in the first instance generally, that the officer in charge 
 of the commissariat should give a bill for 100 I. on this Board for every 103 /. 
 in British silver currency ; such rate being subject to future regulation in 
 any case in which it may, on experience, be found to be too high, or too 
 low, for the purpose which it is intended to secure. 
 
 Upon these grounds, therefore, my Lords will direct supplies of silver 
 coin to be prepared for remittance to the several stations abroad, so as to 
 furnish a sufficiency for the probable wants of each as speedily as possible. 
 They desire that the agent for commissariat supplies will take the 
 necessary steps for that purpose. 
 
 But as the substitution of this currency for the Spanish dollar, even in 
 the payments from the military chest to the troops, can only be gradually 
 effected, and as it may, in many cases, be still expedient to employ that 
 coin as a medium of payment, at a fixed rate as compared with British 
 currency, my Lords are of opinion that it should (when necessary) be 
 issued at the rate of 4 s. 4 d. the dollar, being a fraction of a farthing only 
 above its intrinsic value at the rate of 5 s. 2 d. the ounce of standard silver ; 
 and also, that all other coins in use in the colonies should, if used under 
 any special expediency for making payments from the military chest, be 
 issued at the same rate, as nearly as may be, with reference to their 
 intrinsic value as compared with that of the Spanish dollar. 
 
 Their Lordships desire that letters be written to the commanders of the 
 forces, and to the officers in charge of the commissariat, on each station 
 abroad, conveying to them the necessary instructions for carrying this 
 measure into execution, and directing that the rate at which the Spanish 
 dollar and other coins are hereafter to be issued for the pay of the troops 
 be adopted from the 24th of the month next succeeding the receipt of the 
 instructions. 
 
 Let the attention of the Commanders of the Forces be called to the rates 
 at which certain allowances in money are made within their respective 
 commands for forage, lodging, &c, &c, which, having been fixed in British 
 money with reference both to the expense of the articles, and to the value 
 of the currency in w r hich the payments were made, will require a revision 
 upon the introduction of the changes hereby directed. They desire 
 therefore, that boards may be appointed at each station for inquiring into 
 the subject of these allowances, and for reporting what alterations should 
 be made in their nominal sterling rates, so as to keep the real amount of 
 them at least as low as they are at present, for which purpose the 
 reduction must in all cases be equal to the difference between the present 
 Army-rate of the dollar and the proposed new rate of 4 s. Ad. for that 
 coin. 
 
 Let the officer in charge of the commissariat be also instructed that all 
 unliquidated engagements with contractors or other persons are to be 
 completed according to the terms of those engagements ; but that in all 
 future contracts the commissariat should reserve to itself the option of 
 paying the contractor either in British silver or in bills upon this board, 
 at the rate above stated of 100/. in such bills for every 103 I. in money: 
 And, further, my Lords desire that the commissaries be directed not 
 to grant bills on any occasion for British money at any other rate. 
 
 If at any time there should not be a sufficiency of British silver at the 
 disposal of any commissary, for carrying on the service at his station, 
 he is then to advertise for Spanish dollars or other coins, by public com- 
 petition, for his bills on this board, and is to accept the lowest tender ; 
 the dollars or coins so purchased to be issued invariably to the troops at 
 the rate of 4s. id. for the Spanish dollar, and at proportionate rates for 
 other coins, according to their intrinsic values as compared with the 
 Spanish dollar valued at that rate. 
 
 Let copies of this Minute be transmitted to the Commander-in-Chief of 
 the Forces, and to the Comptrollers of Army Accounts, for their 
 information ; and also to the Master-General and Board of Ordnance, and 
 to the Lords of the Admiralty ; in order that the former may give 
 instructions for the issue of pay to the officers and men of the several 
 establishments under their orders abroad, in conformity with these regula- 
 tions ; and that the latter may give similar directions, through the pay- 
 
420 Colonial Currency. 
 
 master of the Marines, with respect to the detachment stationed at 
 Bermuda ; to whom it appeals that their pay is now issued in dollars at 
 the rate of 4/5^ sterling per dollar. My Lords presume that the Board of 
 Admiralty will think it right to put that detachment upon the same 
 footing hereafter as the troops of the line, with respect to the issue of 
 their pay, and the stoppages to be made from it. 
 
 Transmit copy of this Minute also to Mr. Wilmot Horton, for the 
 information of Lord Bathurst ; and request he will move his Lordship to 
 cause the necessary communications of the measures hereby directed to be 
 made to the Governors of the several colonies, together with such instruc- 
 tions as may appear to his LorJship to be proper for ensuring a due 
 attention on the part of those Governors to the execution of them. Desire 
 also that he will move Lord Bathurst to point out to the Governors of 
 Nova Scotia andDemerara the expediency of taking some measures for the 
 gradual reduction of the paper circulation, issued for colonial purposes 
 and under colonial authority in those colonies, and of making it 
 exchangeable, until it be finally reduced to that which it purports to 
 represent. 
 
 With respect to the currencies which now constitute the chief circulating 
 medium at New South Wales, Sierra Leone, the Mauritius, Ceylon, and the 
 Cape of Good Hope, some more special directions appear to be necessary, 
 in order to the introduction of the measures which are the subject of this 
 Minute into those colonies. 
 
 New South Wales. 
 
 The accounts are kept in the British denomination of money, namely, 
 pounds, shillings, and pence, but there are few, if any, British coins circu- 
 lating. The Spanish dollar being the next ordinary and common medium 
 of exchange, and which passes at various values with reference to the 
 pound sterling, according to the transaction to which it is applied. The 
 Spanish dollar in private transactions of trade and commerce, is rated 
 at-.- - - - - - - - - - -5 s. 
 
 In payment to the troops - - - - - - 4 a. 8 d. 
 
 In payment of salaries to civil servants - -4 s. 
 
 In payment by the Government for supplies - - 5 s. 
 
 In payment to the Government, for duties, at the average rate of 
 exchange. 
 This state of things appears to my Lords to be highly objectionable ; and 
 they are of opinion that it would be expedient to provide that all debts 
 which may be contracted, and all engagements which may be made, after 
 a day to be named, for the payment of money in the Colony, should 
 be discharged either in British silver money, or in Spanish dollars 
 at 4s. Ad. each, at the will of the debtor ; and that the Spanish dollar 
 should also be issued and paid, in all Government transactions, at the 
 same rate. 
 
 That all engagements contracted previously to the day to be so named, 
 either by the Government or by individuals, shall be respectively dis- 
 charged and liquidated by the payment of 17s. id. in the pound for the 
 nominal amount of the debt, either in British silver money or in dollars 
 computed at 4 s. 4d. each ; by which a debt already contracted will be 
 discharged by the sam number of dollars as at present. If at any time 
 it should be absolutely necessary to introduce into circulation any other 
 description of coin than British or Spanish dollars and their proportions, 
 the value at which it should be taken should be accurately fixed with 
 reference to the quant Jy of line silver contained therein, as compared to 
 the quantity contained in British standard silver at 5a. 2d. per ounce, or in 
 Spanish dollars at 4s. -Id. each, a statementf of which, with respect to 
 several of the coins, my Lords have caused to be extracted from the tables 
 of assay recently made at the Mints, both of London and Paris, and which 
 have been found to verify each other. 
 
 * Debt of 1002. discharged by 400 dollars at 5*. each. Debt of 100 1, to be 
 paid at 1 7 s. 4 d. in the pound, would amount to 86Z. 13*. 4 d. and which debt 
 would require 400 dollars for its discharge, computed at 4 s. 4 d. each. 
 
 + This statement has been printed infra, after this Minute. 
 
App. B. Imperial Legislation, &c. 421 
 
 Sierra Leone. 
 
 The accounts are kept, as at New South "Wales, in the British denomina- 
 tions of money, and the dollar is in all transactions of commerce taken at 
 5 s. ea,ch, and is issued to the troops at 4 s. 8 d. My Lords are therefore of 
 opinion that it would be expedient to provide that all debts which may be 
 contracted, and all engagements which may be made, after a day to be 
 named, for the payment of money, should be discharged either in British 
 silver money, or in Spanish dollars at 4 s. 4d. each, at the will of the 
 debtor ; and the latter coin should after that day be issued and received in 
 all Government payments on account of Government, at the same rate of 
 4s. \d. each. But it should be provided, that all engagements already 
 contracted, either by the Government or by individuals, should be respec- 
 tively discharged and liquidated by the payment of 17 s. Ad. in the pound 
 for the nominal amount of the debt, either in British silver money, or 
 dollars computed at 4 s. 4 d. each, by which the debt already contracted 
 will be discharged by the same number of dollars as at present. 
 
 Mauritius. 
 
 The currency has chiefly been Spanish dollars, and paper dollars sup- 
 posed to be of the same value as Spanish dollars ; but these paper dollars 
 have been at various times considerably depreciated. Instructions, how- 
 ever, have recently been transmitted to the Mauritius, which provide, if 
 not for the immediate liquidation of the whole of the paper dollars, at 
 least for raising their value to that of the Spanish dollar, and for their 
 gradual reduction. It may, therefore, be stated that the general circula- 
 tion is Spanish dollars and various coins of India ; and when the dollar 
 is quoted with reference to British money it is called equal to 5 s. The 
 various coins of India are valued in circulation with reference to the 
 Spanish dollar at that rate. 
 
 The Spanish dollars (and other coins in proportion) are issued to the 
 troops at 4 s. 8d., and to the civil servants at the same rate. 
 
 My Lords are of opinion that currency should be given to the British 
 silver coin, and that any debt in dollars should be considered as discharged 
 by a payment in Spanish dollars, or in British money at the rate of 4 s. id. 
 British money for each dollar ; and that in all cases where it may be 
 necessary to issue Spanish dollars to civil or military servants, for sala- 
 ries or otherwise, they should be issued at the rate of 4s. 4td. each ; and 
 that all other silver coins usually circulating at the Mauritius, should be 
 issued at a fixed value, with reference to their intrinsic value as compared 
 with British standard silver, at 5s. 2d. per oz. troy, or with Spanish dollars 
 at 4 s. 4<7. each. It further appears to my Lords that it would be 
 expedient to form tariffs of the duties now payable to the Crown in British 
 money, and to impose all new duties in the same currency, leaving the 
 parties to pay the same in any other coin authorised to circulate in the 
 Mauritius at the established rates by which the accounts of the Govern- 
 ment may be immediately kept in the denomination of British money. 
 A provision should also be made, similar to that proposed with respect 
 to New South Wales and Sierra Leone, for payment of any debts which 
 may liave been contracted previously to a day to be named, in money of 
 British denomination, but which debts are by usage payable in dollars at 
 5 s. each. 
 
 Cape of Good Hope. 
 
 The Spanish dollar was formerly issued to the troops at this station 
 universally, and at the rate of 4 s. 8d. each, but they never obtained any 
 considerable general circulation ; and latterly their use has been almost 
 discontinued in issues to the troops, who have been paid in the paper 
 rix dollar computed at the current rate of exchange. There is, in fact, 
 at present no metallic circulation at this Colony, and the paper money is 
 not exchangeable against any metallic money, nor has it any real fixed 
 value with reference to metallic money. The nominal value of the rix 
 dollar is 4 s., but it has for many years been at a very considerable discount 
 
 72642. E E 
 
422 Colonial Currency. 
 
 in exchange for bills upon England, and its real value, with reference to 
 those bills, has not, upon an average of two or three years, been more 
 than 1 .s\ 6 d. sterling. My Lords feel that it would be inexpedient, if not 
 impossible, to introduce a metallic currency into this Colony, without either 
 providing for the immediate payment of the whole of this paper money, or 
 fixing a rate at which it should be received both in public and private 
 transactions, and made exchangeable by the Government, at the will of the 
 holder, for metallic money, or for bills upon this Board. With reference to 
 the average rate of exchange, as above stated, it appears to my Lords that 
 Is. 6d. per rix dollar may be considered as a fair rate, and they are therefore 
 of opinion the rix dollar should be declared equal to 1 s. 6 d. in British silver 
 money ; and with a view to prevent it from falling below that rate, that it 
 shall be at all times exchangeable, at the will of the holder, for bills upon 
 this Board, at the rate of 108 /. in value of rix dollars computed at 1 s. 6 d. 
 each for every 100 /. bill ; and that after the arrival of a sufficient amount 
 of British metallic money in the colony, no paper brought in to be exchanged 
 for bills upon this Board should be re-issued, but that such paper money 
 should be cancelled, and wholly withdrawn from circulation, and that none 
 other in lieu thereof should thereafter be issued. And it is their Lordships' 
 opinion, that the paper money withdrawn from circulation should be sent 
 to this country, as vouchers for the bills which may be drawn on account of 
 it. By this measure, it is presumed that the value of the paper money 
 will be maintained at its fixed rate, with reference to British money. 
 
 The number of paper rix dollars in circulation, which have been from 
 time to time issued at the Cape of Good Hope, is about 3,108,000 ; and the 
 total amount of bills upon this Board, if the whole were to be exchanged 
 for such bills, would therefore be about the sum of 226,000 I. But as a part 
 of those rix dollars was issued by a Government establishment, called the 
 Lombard Bank, upon various securities, the sums which may from time to 
 time be paid upon these securities should be applied towards the liquidation 
 of this paper money. It is not, however, their Lordships' intention that any 
 compulsory measures should be taken to withdraw the whole of the paper 
 money from circulation ; but that such portions only should be cancelled as 
 may from time to time be brought in by individuals in exchange for bills 
 upon this Board ; and that the paper money which may be received for 
 rates, taxes, or other revenues, should be again issued in payment of the 
 current expenditure, except such paper money as may represent a less sum 
 than 10 rix dollars, which should not, after the arrival of British metallic 
 money, be re-issued, but should be cancelled, and sent home as vouchers to 
 the accounts, as should also rix dollars equal in amount to the sum paid to 
 the Lombard Bank, in liquidation of the debts due to that establishment. 
 
 As the rates, taxes, &c, are at present imposed in this colony in rix 
 dollars, and as it appears to my Lords that it would be extremely convenient 
 to introduce into all the colonies belonging to the United Kingdom the same 
 description of money, my Lords are of opinion that it would be expedient 
 to establish a new schedule of rates, duties, &c, payable to the Crown, in 
 which schedule the present rates in rix dollars, and the new rates in British 
 money, at the proposed fixed rate of the rix dollar, should be specified; and 
 that all collectors and other officers of Government at the Cape of Good 
 Hope should be required to render their accounts in British money. 
 
 Ceylon. 
 
 The currency of this Island is very various, and consists of rix dollars 
 coined in England for its use, of many of the coins of India, of Spanish 
 dollars, and of paper rix dollars. 
 
 The rix dollar coined in England expressly. for the use of Ceylon is rated 
 very much above its intrinsic worth, measured by British currency : and 
 neither that nor the paper rix dollar is exchangeable at the will of the holder, 
 at its nominal rate against British money, or any other description of coin. 
 The consequence naturally is, that in all transactions of exchange, the silver 
 rix dollar is rated with reference to its intrinsic and not to its nominal 
 value, and a very considerable depreciation of this coin appears to exist. 
 Of this depreciation, numerous complaints have been made from the civil 
 and military servants of the colony, who receive their salaries in this 
 
App. B. Imperial Legislation, &c. 423 
 
 description of currency at its nominal rate ; but, as some compensation for 
 the loss which they sustain, they are permitted to exchange a certain portion 
 of their salary, or rather to receive it, in debentures or in bills payable in 
 Great Britain, which are granted at the nominal par. The rix dollars last 
 coined in Great Britain were equal in weight and fineness to one-third of a 
 Spanish dollar ; consequently, taking the Spanish dollar at 4.9. 4d., they are 
 worth only 1 s. 5f d., although they are nominally rated at 1 s. 9 d. It 
 appears to my Lords that the value of the rix dollar should be rated more 
 nearly to its intrinsic worth as compared to the Spanish dollar, and that the 
 silver rix dollar, as well as the paper rix dollar, should be made exchange- 
 able at the will of the holder, at such reduced value, either for British coins 
 or for bills upon this Board. My Lords are therefore of opinion that the 
 value of the silver and paper rix dollar should be fixed at 1 s. 6 d. ; and in 
 order to prevent the paper rix dollar from falling below that value, that an 
 authority should be conveyed to the Governor to draw bills upon the agent 
 of the Island in England, in sums of not less than 100/. for any amount of 
 paper rix dollars which may be tendered at the colonial treasury, at the rate 
 of 103/. value of rix dollars for every 100 /. bill; and that instructions 
 should be sent to the Governor that the paper rix dollars so brought in for 
 bills should be cancelled, and transmitted to this country as vouchers for 
 the bills drawn ; and that none other in lieu thereof should be issued to 
 replace the paper money thus withdrawn from circulation, by which 
 measure, it is to be presumed that the value of this paper money, while any 
 part of it remains in circulation, will be maintained at its fixed rates with 
 reference to British money, and will be gradually paid off and cancelled. 
 
 The number of paper rix dollars in circulation and issued upon the credit 
 of the Government, and the amount of debentures bearing various rates of 
 interest, which have been issued in exchange for those rix dollars, is about 
 4,041,900 ; and the total amount of the bills to be drawn, if the whole were 
 to be exchanged for such bills, would be about the sum of 29B,000 /. ; but a 
 part of that sum will be supplied from the funds appropriated as sinking 
 fund for the redemption of those rix dollars, and even the remainder will 
 be gradually drawn for, as it is not their Lordships' intention that any 
 compulsory measures should be taken to withdraw the whole of the paper 
 money from circulation ; and that the paper money which may be received 
 by Government for rates, taxes, &c, should be again issued in payment of 
 the current expenditure. 
 
 It appears to my Lords that, after the promulgation of these orders, 
 neither the civil nor military servants of the colony should receive bills 
 upon England upon any other terms than other individuals, namely, for 
 Spanish dollars or other coins at the current or market rate of exchange ; 
 and for British money, or for metal or paper rix dollars, at the rate of 
 a bill of 100/. for every 103/. of British silver coin, or metal or paper rix 
 dollars. 
 
 The rates, taxes, &c., in this Island being at present imposed in rix 
 dollars, my Lords deem it expedient that the same arrangement should be 
 adopted in respect thereof as that proposed for the Cape of Good Hope, 
 namely, that a new schedule of all the rates, duties, &c, payable to the 
 Crown, should be framed ; in which Schedule the present rates in rix 
 dollars, and new rates in British money, at the proposed fixed rate of the rix 
 dollar, should be specified, and that all collectors and other officers of the 
 government at Ceylon should be required to render their accounts in British 
 money. 
 
 My Lords further think that, from the date of the receipt of their 
 instructions, no debenture bearing interest payable in Ceylon or in this 
 country should upon any account be granted ; and that the Governor 
 should be instructed to transmit an account of those now outstanding, 
 distinguishing those the interest of which is payable in Ceylon from those 
 the interest of which is payable in Great Britain ; and specifying also the 
 conditions upon which the debentures were issued, and the periods when 
 they will become payable, in order that such arrangements may be made, 
 with the aid of the sinking fund established for the liquidation of these 
 debentures, as may ensure their liquidation at the time they may respectively 
 become due. 
 
 E E 2 
 
424 
 
 Colonial Currency. 
 
 Transmit copy of this Minute to Mr. "Wilmot Horton, for the information 
 and consideration of the Earl Bathurst ; and request he will inform 
 my Lords if his Lordship concurs in the proposed measures ; and, if so, 
 whether, in his opinion, application should be made for an Order of His 
 Majesty in Council, for giving effect to these arrangements in the colonies 
 of New South "Wales, Mauritius, Ceylon, Cape of Good Hope, and Sierra 
 Leone ; or whether the same may be more conveniently carried into 
 effect by his Lordship's directions to the Governors of these several 
 colonies to issue proclamations for carrying these arrangements into 
 effect. 
 
 Table of the Gross "Weight of the Contents in pure Silver, and of the 
 Value, computed at the Rate of 5 s. 2 d. per oz. Troy, British Standard 
 Fineness, of the undermentioned Silver Coins, taken from Assays made at 
 the Mints at Paris and London, together with the Rate at which those 
 Coins are to be issued (when British Coin is not in the Military Chest) 
 for the Pay of the British Troops in the Colonies : — 
 
 
 Gross 
 
 Weight 
 
 of the 
 
 Coins. 
 
 Contents 
 
 in 
 
 pure 
 
 Silver. 
 
 Value, at 
 5 s. 2 d. 
 per oz., 
 Standard. 
 
 To be 
 issued to 
 
 the 
 
 Troops 
 
 at 
 
 
 French : 
 
 Grains. 
 
 Grains. 
 
 s. d. Dec. 
 
 s. d. 
 
 Piece of 5 francs - 
 
 385 
 
 344 9 
 
 4-16 
 
 4 - 
 
 „ 2 ditto - 
 
 155 
 
 138 8 
 
 1 7 38 
 
 1 8 
 
 Franc ------ 
 
 77* 
 
 69 4 
 
 - 9 69 
 
 - 10 
 
 Sicilian : 
 
 
 
 
 
 Dollar or scudo - - - - 
 
 422 
 
 348 2 
 
 4-62 
 
 4 1 
 
 Piece of 40 grains - - - - 
 
 141 
 
 117 5 
 
 1 4 40 
 
 1 5 
 
 „ 20 ditto - 
 
 72 
 
 59 1 
 
 - 8 25 
 
 - 9 
 
 Spanish : 
 
 
 
 
 
 Dollar 
 
 416 
 
 370 9 
 
 4 3 79 
 
 4 4 
 
 United States of America : 
 
 
 
 
 
 Dollar ------ 
 
 416 
 
 370 1 
 
 4 3 68 
 
 4 4 
 
 East Indies : 
 
 
 
 
 
 Calcutta, rupee - 
 
 192 
 
 175 9 
 
 2-56 
 
 2 1 
 
 Bombay \ 
 
 or >ditto - 
 Burat -J 
 
 179 
 
 164 7 
 
 1 11 10 
 
 1 11 
 
 * Tl e Colonial Office preferred a» Order in Council. 
 
App. B. Imperial Legislation, &c. 425 
 
 (v.) Order in Council of 23rd March 1825. 
 
 Whereas it has been represented to His Majesty at this Board, by the 
 Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury, that they have given 
 directions that His Majesty's troops serving in the several British colonies 
 and possessions abroad should, in certain cases, be paid in British silver and 
 copper money ; and that, with a view of securing the circulation of such 
 money in those colonies, it would be expedient that an Order in Council 
 should be issued declaring that in all those colonies where the Spanish 
 dollar is now, either by law, fact, or practice, considered as a legal tender 
 for the discharge of debts, or where the duties to the Government are rated 
 or collected, or the individuals have a right to pay, in that description of 
 coin, that a tender and payment of British silver money to the amount of 
 4 s. 4 d. should be considered as equivalent to the tender or payment of one 
 Spanish dollar, and so in proportion for any greater or less amount of debt : 
 And whereas it has been further represented by the Lords Commissioners 
 of His Majesty's Treasury that, with respect to the Cape of Good Hope, 
 where there are not any Spanish dollars in circulation, but where the 
 circulation consists entirely of paper rix dollars and its proportions, and 
 with respect to Ceylon, where the circulation consists of silver and paper 
 rix dollars, as well as of a variety of other coins which are generally 
 received and paid with relation to their value as compared with rix dollars, 
 it would be expedient that a tender and payment of 1 s. 6 d. in British 
 silver money should be considered as equivalent to a tender and paymeut of 
 one such rix dollar so current at the Cape of Good Hope and Ceylon 
 respectively, and so in proportion for any greater or less sum ; and also that 
 British copper should be made a legal tender in all the British colonies, for 
 its due and proper proportions of British silver money, as by law established 
 in Great Britain, but that no person should be compelled to take more than 
 12 d. in copper money at any one payment : His Majesty, having taken the 
 said representation into consideration, is pleased, by and with the advice of 
 His Privy Council, to approve of what is therein proposed ; and the Right 
 Honourable the Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury, and the 
 Right Honourable Earl Bathurst, one of His Majesty's Principal Secre- 
 taries of State, are to give the necessary directions herein, as to them may 
 respectively appertain. 
 
 (vi.) Circular Letters (2) to Colonies of loth September 1838. 
 
 No. 1. 
 
 Sir, Downing-street, 15 September 1838. 
 
 The state of the currency in the West Indies has, for some time past, 
 engaged the serious attention of Her Majesty's Government. 
 
 The very unsatisfactory state of the monetary system in those colonies, 
 the almost total disappearance of the Spanish dollar from the ordinary 
 channels of circulation, the substitution of mutilated coins, or of parts of 
 coins, and the difficulty of preserving even these, defective as they are, in 
 sufficient quantity for the purposes of domestic interchange, warranted the 
 apprehension that in the constitution and structure of the colonial currency 
 there exists some original error, without the correction of which that 
 currency cannot be placed on a just foundation, or retained in a sound and 
 satisfactory state. 
 
 From the inquiry instituted on this subject it appears that the main 
 error of the system, the principal source of the actual inconvenience, 
 consists in the over-valuation of the gold coins in circulation relatively to 
 those of silver. 
 
 In the general market of the commercial world the proportionate value 
 of silver to gold is very nearly 15*8 to 1. 
 
426 Colonial Currency. 
 
 In the West Indies, although the nominal currencies of the different 
 islands vary considerably from each other, the doubloon of Mexico and 
 South America, whatever may be the law in particular islands, is in 
 practice taken to be equivalent to lb' dollars ; which makes the pro- 
 portionate value of fine silver to fine gold, as nearly as can be 
 computed from the average weight and fineness of those coins, as 
 ascertained by the Assay Master of Her Majesty's Mint, very nearly 16-48 
 to 1. 
 
 This over-valuation of the doubloon has rendered gold the ultimate 
 standard to which all money contracts in the West Indies have reference ; 
 for although, according to the original meaning of the terms in which the 
 money of account is expressed, silver is the commodity intended to be 
 conveyed in all pecuniary contracts, yet the words which were once under- 
 stood to mean a certain quantity of silver now mean either that quantity 
 of silver or a certain quantity of gold ; and as a debtor always chooses 
 to acquit himself of his obligation by a payment in the cheaper metal, 
 or in coins of that metal which are overrated with reference to those of the 
 other, both parties to the contract must, at the time of entering into it, have 
 contemplated a payment in gold. 
 
 Under the circumstances which I have stated the dollar and the doubloon 
 cannot be maintained in concurrent circulation at the proportionate rate of 
 16*48 to 1 assigned to them by law or practice. 
 
 In the general market of the world the relative value of the two coins is 
 understood to be in the proportion of about I03 to 1. 
 
 In London the value of a Mexican dollar, estimated in the gold currency 
 of the United Kingdom, is now, and has been for some time past, very nearly 
 4s. 2d. 
 
 The value of a doubloon, at the Mint price of 3 I. 17 s. 10£ d. per oz. for 
 gold of the British standard (assuming the doubloon to contain 362 grains of 
 fine gold), is very nearly 64 s. 
 
 The proportion of 4 s. 2d. to 64 s. is as 1 to 15*36. 
 
 This proportion Her Majesty's Government have taken as the basis of 
 the alteration which, with the view of rendering the concurrent circulation 
 of the dollar and the doubloon practicable, they have deemed it proper to 
 make. 
 
 In the application of this rule of proportion to the currencies of the 
 different islands of the West Indies it will be necessary to make such an 
 alteration of the present nominal rates of the dollar and the doubloon as 
 will render the nominal proportions commensurate with the actual pro- 
 portions. 
 
 As all existing contracts have reference to the overrated gold coins, it 
 will be proper to retain the present denomination of the doubloon, and to 
 raise the present denomination of the dollar in the proportion of 1536 
 to 16. 
 
 The effect of the alteration will be to give to 15*36 dollars the same 
 current denomination as is now given to one doubloon, and to render 15'36 
 dollars and one doubloon equivalent tenders of payment for the same amount 
 of nominal currency. 
 
 Her Majesty has been pleased to revoke the Order in Council made on 
 the 23rd day of March 1825, and by a new Order to approve a Proclamation 
 declaring that in her colonial possessions in the West Indies and America 
 4 s. 2d. and 64 s. of British silver shall be deemed legal tenders for one dollar 
 and one doubloon respectively. Hence, whatever may be the current 
 denominations of the two coins in any of the colonies referred to in the 
 Order, the same denominations will be applicable to 4 x. 2 d. and 64 s. of 
 British silver. 
 
 In those islands where 64 English shillings and one doubloon are at 
 present conventionally regarded as equivalent tenders of payment, no other 
 practical alteration will be made than to give a new denomination to the 
 silver of Mexico and South America, on the principle and in the manner 
 which I have above described. 
 
 I have, &c. 
 
App. B. Imperial Legislation, &c. 427 
 
 No. 2. 
 
 Sir, Downing-street, 15 September 1838. 
 
 In obedience to the commands of Her Majesty in Council, I herewith 
 transmit to you two Orders in Council, dated respectively the 7th and the 
 14th instant, with the Royal Proclamation to which the last of those Orders 
 refers. The Order of the 7th instant revokes the Order in Council of the 
 23rd of March 1825 so far as it relates to the West Indian and North 
 American colonies. The Order of the 14th instant approves the Proclama- 
 tion by which Her Majesty has been pleased to determine the proportionate 
 rates at which the Spanish dollar and the doubloon are hereafter to pass 
 current in the British West Indies. 
 
 In my accompanying Circular Despatch of this date I have stated, for your 
 information, the principles by which Her Majesty's Government have been 
 guided in the introduction of these changes in the current value of foreign 
 coins in the West Indian colonies. The object of the present communica- 
 tion is to point out to you the measures which it will be your duty to adopt 
 on receiving the Royal Orders and Proclamation. 
 
 I trust that, when the principles and objects of the measure shall be 
 distinctly understood, there will be no reason to apprehend any serious or 
 extensive objection to it. On the other hand, the subject is one on which 
 misapprehensions are so readily conceived and propagated, that it is neces- 
 sary to be prepared for some popular delusion as to the possible effects of 
 these changes in the colonial currency. You will observe, therefore, that 
 Her Majesty in Council has been pleased to declare that, until actually 
 promulgated by you, the Proclamation of the 14th instant shall not take 
 effect within the colony under your government. It will be in your power, 
 therefore, to defer the publication of it for some short interval, which 
 you might advantageously employ in communicating with the principal 
 merchants, landed proprietors, and other leading persons in the colony on 
 the subject. 
 
 You will avail yourself of that opportunity of explaining the motives 
 by which Her Majesty's Government has been guided, and for removing any 
 erroneous impressions which may at first be formed respecting the 
 character and tendency of this measure. The interval of delay cannot, 
 however, I apprehend, be much protracted ; for as the Orders and Procla- 
 mation must appear in the public " Gazette " in this country, and will 
 therefore be universally known, and as their official promulgation in any 
 one of the colonies to which they apply will render the same course 
 inevitable in all the rest, it cannot be deferred for more than a short time 
 in any. 
 
 You will, of course, observe that the Royal Proclamation is framed with 
 reference only to the sterling money of Great Britain. But as the 
 pecuniary transactions of the West Indian colonies are all entered into 
 with reference to the various local currencies or moneys of account, the 
 measure will be incomplete and comparatively inefficient if the effect of 
 the change in the relative values of the British and foreign coins should 
 not be authoritatively stated in the terms of that conventional currency. 
 But, after the most careful inquiry, it has been found impracticable to 
 ascertain the relation of current and sterling money throughout all the 
 different West Indian colonies with the exactness and precision which 
 would be requisite if the Royal Proclamation were so framed as to embrace 
 that branch of the subject. I find that in the year 1825 the same difficulty 
 existed. It was at that time overcome by delegating to the respective 
 Governors the duty of proclaiming in the various colonies the rates at 
 which the Spanish dollar should pass current in the different local moneys 
 of account. Instructions to that effect were conveyed by Earl Bathurst in 
 his Circular Despatch accompanying the Order in Council of March 1825 
 In pursuance of those instructions various Proclamations have been issued 
 for this purpose by the Governors, which Proclamations are still in force. 
 It is proposed to follow this precedent on the present occasion. 
 
 You will, therefore, upon promulgating the Royal Proclamation, publish 
 a subsidiary Proclamation, declaring what is the sum of money of 
 account in the colony under your government to which the British shilling, 
 the dollar, and the doubloon, are respectively equivalent. Her Majesty 
 
428 Colonial Currency. 
 
 does not delegate to you any discretionary authority for determining the 
 relative values of these coins in the terms of the local currency, but 
 merely confides to you the duty of expressing with accuracy in those terms 
 ihe proportions established between them by the Royal Proclamation. The 
 meaning will perhaps be rendered more clear by the following illustration. 
 Let it be supposed that in the colony under your government the doubloon 
 is equivalent in money of account to five pounds six shillings and eight 
 pence (5/. 6 s. 8d.). The consequence will be, that the dollar will be 
 equivalent to six shillings eleven pence and one-third of a penny 
 ((is. ll^d.) of the money of account, and that the British shilling will be 
 equivalent to one shilling and eight pence (Is. 8d.) of the same money of 
 account. 
 
 The accuracy of these statements is readily shown by exhibiting in the 
 usual arithmetical form the proportions which subsist between the sums to 
 which I have referred. For 6s. ll^d. : 51. 6s. 8d. :: 4s. 2d. : 64s., and 
 Is. 8V/. : 6s. liy.:: Is. : 4s. 2d. 
 
 Or, if it be supposed that, in the colony under your government, the 
 doubloon is equivalent in money of account to eight pounds (8/.), then, 
 according to the same rule of proportion, the dollar and the British shilling 
 will be equivalent to ten shillings and five pence (10s. 5d.) and two 
 shillings and sixpence (2s. 6 d.) respectively, of the same money of 
 account. 
 
 The assumptions as to the value of the doubloon in the local money of 
 account may not coincide with the fact in the case of any one colony. 
 They are stated merely by way of hypothesis and illustration, and will 
 serve to show the principle on which the proportionate value of the British 
 shilling, the dollar, and the doubloon, may be calculated in each colony, for 
 the purpose of promulgating in each the subsidiary Proclamation by which 
 the rules laid down by Her Majesty in Council will be expressed in the 
 terms of the various local currencies. When you shall have issued any 
 such Proclamation you will communicate it to me, in order that it may 
 receive Her Majesty's ultimate sanction and confirmation. 
 
 I have, &c. 
 
 (vii.) Order in Council of 7th September 1838. 
 
 Whereas by an Order of His late Majesty King George the Fourth, 
 made with the advice of His Privy Council, and bearing date the 23rd of 
 March 1825, after reciting, amongst other things, that it had been repre- 
 sented to His Majesty at the Council Board, by the Lords Commissioners 
 of His Majesty's Treasury, that they had given directions that His 
 Majesty's troops serving in the several British colonies and possessions 
 abroad should, in certain cases, be paid in British silver and copper 
 money ; and that, with a view of securing the circulation of such money 
 in those colonies, it would be expedient that an Order in Council should 
 be issued declaring that in all those colonies where the Spanish dollar was 
 then, either by law, fact, or practice, considered a legal tender for the 
 discharge of debts, or where the duties of the Government were rated or 
 collected, or the individuals had a right to be paid, in that description of 
 coin, that a tender and payment of British silver money, to the amount of 
 4s. 4d., should be considered as equivalent to the tender or payment of 
 one Spanish dollar, and so in proportion for any greater or less amount 
 of debt ; His said late Majesty was pleased to approve of what was proposed 
 in the said representation. 
 
 And whereas it is expedient that the said recited Order in Council should 
 be revoked, so far as respects Her Majesty's colonies and possessions in 
 America and the West Indies, be it, therefore, and it is hereby ordered, by 
 the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice of Her Privy 
 Council, that so far as respects Her Majesty's colonies and possessions in 
 America, and in the West Indies, the said recited Order shall be, and the 
 same is hereby rescinded. 
 
 And the Right Honourable Lord Glenelg, one of Her Majesty's Prin- 
 cipal Secretaries of State, is to give the necessary directions herein 
 accordingly. 
 
App. B. Imperial Legislation, &c. 429 
 
 (viii.) Order in Council and Royal Proclamation of 
 14th September 1838. 
 
 Whereas there was this day read at the Board the draft of a Procla- 
 mation regulating the rate at which certain foreign coins are to pass current 
 in Her Majesty's West India colonies : Her Majesty, having taken the same 
 into consideration, was pleased, by and with the advice of Her Privy 
 Council, to approve thereof, and to order, as it is hereby ordered, that the 
 said Proclamation do take effect and come into force, in each of Her 
 Majesty's said colonies, upon and from and after such day as shall be, for 
 that purpose, limited by the Governor or officer administering the govern- 
 ment of each of the said colonies respectively, by any Proclamations to be 
 by them respectively, for that purpose, issued in each of such respectn e 
 colonies. 
 
 And the Right Honourable Lord Glenelg, one of Her Majesty's Prin- 
 cipal Secretaries of State, is to give the necessary directions for causing 
 publication to be made hereof within Her Majesty's said colonies. 
 
 By the Queen, a Proclamation. 
 
 Whereas the coin current in Our West India colonies, including Our 
 province of British Guiana, consisting partly of the current coin of the 
 United Kingdom, and partly of Spanish, Mexican, and Columbian gold 
 coin, called doubloons, and of Spanish, Mexican, and Columbian silver coin. 
 called dollars ; and it is expedient that the rate at which the said doubloons 
 and dollars shall circulate in Our said colonies should be ascertained and 
 fixed : Now therefore We, by the advice of Our Privy Council, have 
 thought fit to declare and ordain, and by the advice aforesaid We do 
 declare and ordain, that throughout the whole of Our said colonies the said 
 doubloon shall circulate and be received in payment as being of the full 
 value of 64 s. sterling, current money of the United Kingdom, and 
 the said dollar shall circulate and be received in payment as being of 
 the full value of 4s. 2d. sterling, like current money of the United 
 Kingdom. And in all payments to be made in any of Our said colonies, 
 tender of payment in doubloons and dollars, or either of them, at the 
 rate aforesaid, shall be deemed and taken to be a lawful tender, in the 
 same manner as if such tender had been made in the current coin of the 
 United Kingdom. 
 
 Given at Our Court at Windsor, this Fourteenth day of September 
 One Thousand Eight Hundred and Thirty-eight, and in the 
 Second Year of Our Reign. 
 
 God save the Queen. 
 
 (ix.) Regulations and Conditions for the Observance of which 
 Provision should be made in Charters or Legislative 
 Enactments relating to the Incorporation of Banking 
 Companies in the Colonies. (1840.)° 
 
 1. The amount of Capital of the Company to be fixed, and the whole 
 of such fixed amount to be subscribed for within a limited period not 
 exceeding eighteen months from the date of the Charter or Act of 
 Incorporation. — (*.) 
 
 2. The Bank not to commence business until the whole of the Capital is 
 subscribed, and a moiety at least of the subscription paid up. — {0.) 
 
 3. The whole amount of the Capital to be paid up within a given time 
 from the date of the Charter or Act of Incorporation, such period, 
 unless under peculiar circumstances, not to exceed two years. — (~.) 
 
 4. The debts and engagements of the Company on Promissory Notes, or 
 otherwise, not to exceed at any time thrice the amount of the paid-up 
 
 * The italicised numbers in brackets at the end of clauses refer to the clauses 
 of the later Regulations of 1846 {infra), and have been inserted in order to 
 facilitate comparison. 
 
430 Colonial Currency. 
 
 Capital, with the addition of the amount of such deposits as may be made 
 with the Company's Establishments by individuals in specie or Government 
 paper. — (IS.) 
 
 5. All Promissory Notes of the Company, whether issued from the 
 Principal Establishment or from Branch Banks, are to bear date at the 
 place of issue ; aud to be payable on demand in specie at the place of 
 date. — (IS.) 
 
 o. No Promissory or other Xotes to be issued for sums under 1 J. sterling 
 (or in the North American Colonies 1 /. Halifax currency), or the equiva- 
 lent thereof in any other local currency ; and not for fractional parts of 
 that amount. — (Uf.) 
 
 7. Suspension of specie payments on demand at any of the Company's 
 establishments for a given number of days (not in any case exceeding (50) 
 within any one year, either consecutively or at intervals, to forfeit the 
 Charter.— (18.) 
 
 8. In event of the Assets of the Company being insufficient to meet its 
 engagements, the Shareholders are to be responsible to the extent of twice 
 the amount of their subscribed Shares (that is, for the amount subscribed 
 and paid-up, and for an additional amount equal thereto.) — (17-) 
 
 9. The Company shall not hold Shares in its own Stock, nor make 
 advances on the security of those Shares. — (10.) 
 
 10. The discounts or advances by the Company on Securities bearing the 
 name of any Director or Officer thereof, as Drawer, Acceptor, or Endorser, 
 shall not at any time exceed one-third of the total advances and discounts 
 of the Bank. — ( .) 
 
 11. The Company shall not advance money on the security of lands or 
 houses or ships, or on pledge of merchandize, nor hold lands or houses, 
 except for the transaction of its business, nor own ships, or be engaged in 
 trade, except as dealers in bullion or bills of exchange ; but shall confine 
 its transactions to discounting Commercial Paper and Negotiable Securities, 
 and other legitimate Banking Business. — (g.) 
 
 12. The Dividends to Shareholders are to be made out of profits only, 
 and not out of the Capital of the Company. — (12). 
 
 13. The Company to make up and publish periodical statements of 
 its Assets and Liabilities (half-yearly or yearly), showing under the 
 heads specified in the annexed Form the average of the amount of its Notes 
 in circulation and other liabilities at the termination of each week or month 
 during the period to which the statement refers, and the average amount of 
 specie or other Assets that were available to meet the same. Copies of 
 these statements are to be submitted to the Government of the Colony 
 within which the Company may be established, and the Company to be pre- 
 pared, if called upon, to verify such statements by the production, as 
 confidential documents, of the weekly or monthly balance sheets from which 
 the same are compiled : and also to be prepared, upon requisition from the 
 Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury, to furnish in like manner 
 such further information respecting the state or proceedings of its Banking 
 Establishments as their Lordships may see fit to call for. — (^9.) 
 
 14. No bye-law of the Company shall be repugnant to the conditions of 
 the Charter or Act of Incorporation, or to the law of any Colony in which 
 the Company's Establishments maybe placed. — (I/.) 
 
 15. The Charter or Act of Incorporation may provide for an addition to 
 the Capital of the Company within specified limits, with the sanction of the 
 Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury ; such additional Capital, 
 and the shares and subscriptions that may constitute the same, being 
 subject in every other respect, from and after the date of the above- 
 mentioned sanction, to conditions and regulations similar to those applying 
 to the original Capital. — ( .) 
 
 16. In all cases in which shares in the Company's Stock are transferred, be- 
 tween the period of the grant of the Charter or Act of Incorporation and the 
 actual commencement of business by the Bank, the responsibility of the 
 
App. B. Imperial. Legislation, &c. 
 
 431 
 
 original holder of the transferred shares shall continue for six months at 
 least after the date of the transfer. — (8.) 
 
 17. As the insertion in Charters or Acts of Incorporation of provisions 
 relating to the detailed management of the business of the Corporation has, 
 in several instances, been found to render the documents complicated and 
 unintelligible, and has been productive of great inconvenience, it is desirable 
 that such insertion should be avoided, and that the provisions of such 
 Charters or Acts should be confined, as far as practicable, to the special 
 powers and privileges to be conferred on the Company, and the conditions 
 to be observed by the Company, and to such general regulations relating to 
 the nomination and powers of the Directors, tbe institution of bye-laws, 
 or other proceedings of the Company as may be necessary with a view to 
 the public convenience and security. — (s.) 
 
 FOEM of RETURN referred to in REGULATION" No. 13. 
 
 Return of the Average Amount of Liabilities and Assets of the Bank of during 
 
 the period from (1st January) to (3uth June) lbi , viz. : — 
 
 Promissory Notes in circulation 
 
 £ 
 
 Coin and Bullion ... 
 
 £ 
 
 not bearing Interest 
 
 
 Landed or other Property of the 
 
 
 Bills of Exchange in Circulation 
 
 
 Corporation - 
 
 
 not bearing Interest 
 
 
 Government Securities 
 
 
 Bills and Notes in circulation 
 
 
 Promissory Notes or Bills of 
 
 
 bearing Interest - 
 
 
 other Banks - - - - 
 
 
 Balances due to other Banks 
 
 
 Balances due from other Banks 
 
 
 Cash Deposits not bearing In- 
 
 
 Notes and Bills discounted, or 
 
 
 
 
 other debts due to the Corpora- 
 
 
 Cash Deposits bearing Interest - 
 
 
 tion not included under the 
 foregoing heads ... 
 
 
 Total Average Liabilities - £ 
 
 Total Average Assets - £ 
 
 (x.) Regulations respecting the Incorporation of Banking Companies 
 
 in the Colonies. (1846.; 
 
 (Circular.) 
 Sir, Downing Street, 30th May 1846. 
 
 On the 4th of May 1840 Lord J. Russell transmitted to you a copy of 
 certain Regulations,' 5 the observance of which, in all Charters or Legislative 
 enactments relating to the Incorporation of Banking Companies in the 
 Colonies, Her Majesty's Government then considered of much importance. 
 
 The Correspondence which has since taken place on subjects of this 
 nature, and the arrangements adopted by Parliament in regard to Banks of 
 Issue in the United Kingdom, appear to Her Majesty's Government to have 
 rendered necessary some modification of those Regulations, with a view to 
 bring them into exact accordance with the principles on these subjects 
 established in this Country. I accordingly transmit to you herewith a series 
 of Regulations, revised with that object, to be substituted for those of May 
 1840. 
 
 These Regulations are forwarded to you, not, of course, as inflexible rules 
 to be in all cases insisted on, but as embodying the general principles to be 
 observed in the preparation of Colonial Acts for the Incorporation of 
 Banking Companies ; and Her Majesty's Government consider a compliance 
 with all the more material conditions and restrictions as of much importance 
 to the security of the communities in which such Banks may be established, 
 and more especially to the poorer classes of such communities. I must, 
 therefore, desire you to take care that in any Ordinances or Bills introduced 
 into the Legislative Council of the Colony under your Government, for the 
 Incorporation of Banking Companies, these conditions and restrictions be 
 inserted. 
 
 I have the honour to be, Sir, 
 
 Your most obedient Servant, 
 
 * i.e„ the foregoing Regulations of 1810. 
 
432 Colonial CurrencI". 
 
 Regulations and Conditions for the Observance of which Provision should be 
 made in Charters or Legislative Enactments relating to the Incorporation 
 of Banking Companies in the Colonies.* 
 
 I. The amount of the Capital of the Company and number of shares to 
 lie determined ; and the whole of such determined amount to be subscribed 
 forwitliin a limited period, not exceeding eighteen months from the date of 
 the Charter or Act of Incorporation. — (1.) 
 
 2. Shareholders to be declared a Body Corporate, with common seal and 
 perpetual succession, and other usual corporate powers ; and with any 
 requisite proviso that judgment against the Corporation shall attach to all 
 additional liability of the Shareholders, as well as to paid-up Capital and 
 other property of the Company. — (New.) 
 
 3. Provision to be made, either by Recital and Confirmation of any Deed 
 of Settlement in these respects or otherwise, for the due management of 
 the Company's affairs by appointment of Directors, and so forth, so far as 
 shall seem necessary for the security of the Public. — (17.) 
 
 4. No by-law of the Company to be repugnant to the conditions of the 
 Charter or Act of Incorporation, or to the Laws of any Colony in which 
 the Company's establishments may be placed. — (l4.) 
 
 5. The Corporate Body thus constituted to be specially empowered, sub- 
 ject to the conditions hereafter mentioned, to carry on for and during a 
 limited term of years (not to exceed twenty-one years unless under 
 particular circumstances), and within the Colony or Colonies specified in 
 the Charter or Act of Incorporation, but not elsewhere, the business of 
 banker ; and for and during the like term to issue and circulate within the 
 said Colony or Colonies, but in such manner only as shall not be at variance 
 with any general Law of the Colony, Promissory Notes payable in Specie on 
 Demand. — (New.) 
 
 6. Such Banking Business or Issue of Notes not to commence or take 
 place until the whole of the fixed capital of the Company has been sub- 
 scribed for, and a moiety, at least, of the subscription paid up.— (2.) 
 
 7. t • The remaining moiety of the Capital to be paid up within a given 
 period from the date of the Charter or Act of Incorporation, such period not 
 in general to exceed two years. — (3.) 
 
 8. In all cases in which Shares in the Company's Stock are transferred 
 between the period of the grant of the Charter or Act of Incorporation and 
 the actual commencing of business by the Bank, the responsibility of the 
 original holder of the transferred Shares to continue for six months at least 
 after the date of the transfer. — (16.) 
 
 9. The Company not to advance money on security of lands or houses or 
 ships, or on pledge of merchandise, nor to hold lands or houses, except for 
 the transaction of its business, nor own ships, or be engaged in trade, except 
 as dealers in Bullion or Bills of Exchange ; but to confine its transactions to 
 discounting Commercial Paper and Negotiable Securities, and other legiti- 
 mate Banking Business. — (H). 
 
 10. The Company not to hold Shares in its own Stock, nor to make 
 advances on the security of those Shares. — (U. ) 
 
 II. The Discounts or Advances by the Company, on Securities, bearing the 
 name of any Director or officer thereof, as drawer, acceptor, or endorser, not 
 
 * The italicised numbers in brackets at the end of sections refer to the sections 
 of the earlier Regulations of 1840 (supra), and have been inserted in order to 
 facilitate comparison. 
 
 t This section is merged in the foregoing section (No. C) in these Regulations 
 as printed in the " Colonial Office List." 
 
App. B. Imperial Legislation, &c. 433 
 
 to exceed at any time one-third of the total Advances and Discounts of the 
 Bank.— (20.) 
 
 12. The Dividends to shareholders to be made out of profits only, and not 
 out of the subscribed Capital of the Company. — (/£.) 
 
 13. The total amount of the Debts and Liabilities of the Company, whether 
 upon Bonds, Bills, Promissory Notes, or otherwise contracted, over and above 
 the amount of Deposits on Banking Accounts with the Company's Establish- 
 ments, not to exceed at any time, three times the amount of the Capital 
 Stock subscribed and actually paid up. — (4.) 
 
 14. No Promissory or other Notes to be issued for sums under 1 1, sterling 
 (or in the North American Colonies 1 /. Halifax currency), or the equivalent 
 thereof in any other local currency, and not for fractional portions of such 
 Pound or other equivalent amount. — (6.) 
 
 15. All Promissory Notes of the Company, whether issued from the 
 Principal Establishment or from Branch Banks, to bear date at the place of 
 issue, and to be payable on demand in Specie at the place of date. — (5.) 
 
 16. The total amount of the Promissory Notes payable on demand, issued 
 and in circulation, not at any time to exceed the amount of the Capital 
 Stock of the Company actually paid up.** — (New. ) 
 
 17. In the event of the assets of the Company being insufficient to meet 
 its engagements, the Shareholders to be responsible to the extent of twice 
 the amount of their subscribed Shares (that is, for the amount subscribed, 
 and for a further and additional amount equal thereto). — (8.) 
 
 18. Suspension of Specie Payments on Demand at any of the Company's 
 Banking Establishments, for a given number of days (not in any case 
 exceeding sixty) within any one year, either consecutively or at intervals, or 
 other breach of the Special Conditions upon which the Company is empowered 
 to open Banking Establishments or to issue and circulate Promissory Notes, 
 to forfeit those privileges, which shall cease and determine upon such 
 forfeiture as if the period for which they had been granted had expired. — (7.) 
 
 19. The Company to make up and publish periodical Statements of its 
 Assets and Liabilities half-yearly or yearly ; showing, under the heads specified 
 in the annexed form, the average of the amount of its Notes in circulation, 
 and other Liabilities, at the termination of each week or month, during the 
 period to which the statement refers, and the average amount of Specie or other 
 Assets that were available to meet the same . Copies of these statements to 
 be submitted to the Government of the Colony within which the Company 
 may be established ; and the Company to be prepared, if called upon, to 
 verify such Statements by the production, as confidential documents, of the 
 Weekly or Monthly Balance Sheets from which the same are compiled. And 
 also to be prepared, upon requisition from the Lords Commissioners of Her 
 Majesty's Treasury, to furnish, in like manner, such information respecting 
 the state or proceedings of its Banking Establishments as their Lordships 
 may see fit to call for.f — (^.)f 
 
 20. The Charter or Act of Incorporation may provide for an addition to 
 the Capital of the Company within specified limits, with the sanction of the 
 Lords Commissioners of the Treasury ; such additional Capital, and the 
 Shares and Subscriptions that may constitute the same, to be subject in 
 every respect, from and after the date of the signification of such sanction, 
 to conditions and regulations similar to those applying to the original 
 Capital — (/5.) 
 
 * In the " Colonial Office List " this section now concludes with the imp n'tant addi- 
 tional provision : — " A. reserve of Specie always to be maintained equal to one-third 
 of the amount of Notes at any time in circulation." 
 
 f The Regulations in the " Colonial Office List " add :— "The Governor to be also 
 empowered to verify the statements of the Company of the amount of Specie held by 
 them," 
 
434 
 
 Colonial Currency. 
 
 FORM of RETURN referred to in REGULATION No. ly. 
 
 Retihn of the Average Amount of Liabilities and Assets of the Bank of 
 
 the period from (1st January) to (30th June) 184 , viz. 
 
 Liabilities. 
 
 Assets. 
 
 Promissory Notes in circulation 
 
 
 Coin and Bullion ... 
 
 £ 
 
 nut bearing Interest 
 
 £ 
 
 Landed or other Property of the 
 
 
 Bills of Exchange in circulation 
 
 
 Corporation - 
 
 £ 
 
 not bearing Interest 
 
 £ 
 
 Government Securities 
 
 £ 
 
 Bills and Notes in circulation 
 
 
 Promissory Notes or Bills of 
 
 
 bearing Interest ... 
 
 £ 
 
 other Banks - - - - 
 
 £ 
 
 Balances due to other Banks 
 
 £ 
 
 Balances due from other Banks - 
 
 £ 
 
 Cash Deposits not bearing 
 
 
 Notes and Bills discounted, or 
 
 
 
 £ 
 
 other Debts due to the Corpo- 
 
 
 Cash Deposits bearing Interest - 
 
 £ 
 
 ration, not included under the 
 
 
 To Shareholders 
 
 
 foregoing heads, and exclusive 
 
 
 for Capital paid 
 
 
 of Debts abandoned as bad 
 
 £ 
 
 up - - - £ 
 
 
 
 
 To Ditto for Ad- 
 
 
 
 
 ditions declared 
 
 
 
 
 to Shares (if 
 
 
 
 
 any) - - £ 
 
 
 
 
 To Ditto for Divi- 
 
 
 
 
 dends remain- 
 
 
 
 
 ing unpaid (if 
 
 
 
 
 any) - - £ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Total Average Liabilities - 
 
 £ 
 
 Total Average Assets - 
 
 £ 
 
 (xi.) Treasury Minute, dated 12th October 1852. 
 
 The Chancellor of the Exchequer calls the attention of the Board to the 
 subject of the circulation of British silver coins as an unlimited tender in 
 the Colonies. 
 
 The question engaged the consideration of the late Board of Treasury in 
 reference to the West India Colonies ; and Despatches are now before my 
 Lords from the Governors of those Colonies, containing their views 
 regarding the probable effect of such an alteration of the existing system 
 as had been proposed in the interest of the communities under their 
 respective administrations. The opinions stated in these Despatches differ 
 greatly from one another ; and, although the conclusions at which the 
 Chancellor of the Exchequer has arrived coincide with those entertained 
 by the late Board regarding the general impolicy of a practice which is 
 opposed to sound principles of currency, there are difficulties attending the 
 question in the West Indies, from the existence of local laws on the subject, 
 and also from the commercial position of many of the Islands, which would 
 render doubtful the expediency of attempting a revision of their cunency 
 at the present time. Mr. Disraeli therefore recommends the postponement 
 of the consideration of any measures for this purpose in regard to the 
 West Indies. 
 
 He states, however to the Board that his attention has been drawn to 
 the effects of this system in another quarter, in consequence of the large 
 exportation of silver coin which has recently taken place to Australia. In 
 the Colonies in that country the usage has prevailed (as in other Colonies) 
 of admitting British silver into circulation as an unlimited tender, though 
 without the sanction of any law. 
 
 It does not appear that any inconvenience has arisen from the practice up 
 to the present time ; but the discovery of the gold mines has occasioned an 
 active internal commeice which requires an enlarged circulation ; audit 
 becomes important that the currency of these Colonies should be placed on 
 a sound basis. 
 
App. B. Imperial Legislation, &c. 435 
 
 The Chancellor of the Exchequer proposes, therefore, to the Board that 
 the Lords of the Privy Council should be requested to submit a Procla- 
 mation to the Queen at the next Council, declaring that the coins of the 
 Realm shall circulate in Australia according to the regulations by law 
 established in this country, and that the silver coins shall be legal tender 
 for payment of sums only which do not exceed Forty Shillings. He 
 proposes also that the measure should be extended to the Colonies of New 
 Zealand, Ceylon, Mauritius, and Hong Kong, in none of which any reasons 
 exist for the continuance of the usage which has prevailed regarding the 
 circulation of British silver as an unlimited tender. 
 
 He lays before the Board drafts which he has caused to be prepared of a 
 Proclamation and Order in Council for carrying this measure into effect. 
 
 My Lords concur in the suggestion of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, 
 and direct that a communication be made to the Clerk of the Council 
 accordingly, transmitting to him the Draft Proclamation and Order in 
 Council, with my Lords' request that the Lords of the Privy Council will 
 submit the same to Her Majesty for confirmation. 
 
 (xii.) Order in Council of 16th October 1852. 
 
 Whereas there was this day read at the Board the draft of a Procla- 
 mation regulating the currency of the coins of the United Kingdom in 
 Her Majesty's colonies in Australia, New Zealand, Ceylon, Mauritius, 
 and Hong Kong : Her Majesty, having taken the same into consideration, 
 was pleased, by and with the advice of Her Privy Council, to approve 
 thereof, and to order, and it is hereby ordered, that the said Proclamation 
 do take effect and come into force in Her Majesty's said colonies, or any 
 of them, from and after the date of the publication thereof by the 
 Governor, Lieutenant Governor, or other officer administering the govern- 
 ment of the same respectively. 
 
 And the Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury, and the 
 Right Honourable Sir John Pakington, Bart., one of Her Majesty's 
 Principal Secretaries of State, are to give the requisite directions herein 
 accordingly. 
 
 Proclamation by the Queen. 
 
 Whereas it has been represented to Us that in Our colonies in Aus- 
 tralia, New Zealand, Ceylon, Mauritius, and Hong Kong the silver coins 
 of Our United Kingdom pass current as an unlimited tender for payments, 
 and it is expedient that the regulations which govern the circulation of 
 the coins of Our United Kingdom, as by law established, should be 
 enforced in Our said colonies : Now therefore We, by the advice of Our 
 Privy Council, have thought fit to declare and ordain, and by the advice 
 aforesaid We do hereby declare and ordain, that within and throughout 
 Our colonies in Australia, New Zealand, Ceylon, Mauritius, and Hong 
 Kong the coins of Our United Kingdom shall pass current in the manner 
 directed in the several Acts of Parliament which regulate the currency of 
 the same, and that the silver coins of Our United Kingdom shall not be a 
 legal tender in payment of sums exceeding Foi ty shillings. 
 
 (xiii.) Order in Council, &c, of 19th August 1853 (U.S. Gold).* 
 
 Whereas there was this day read at the Board the Draft of a Procla- 
 mation regulating the rates at which certain foreign coins are to pass 
 current within Her Majesty's West India Colonies : Her Majesty, having 
 
 * By a subsequent Order in Council an<l Proclamation of 9th March 18n4 it was 
 ordained (i.) that multiples of the Eagle should be rated proportionately to the Eagle, 
 and (ii.) that the provisions of the Order and Proclamation of 1853, as now amended, 
 should extend to British Guiana. 
 
436 Colonial Currency. 
 
 taken the same into consideration, was pleased, by and with the advice of 
 Her Privy Council, to approve thereof and to order, and it is hereby 
 ordered, that the said Proclamation do take effect and come in force in 
 each of Her said Colonies, upon and after such day as shall be for that 
 purpose limited by the Governor or Officer administering the Government 
 of each of the said Colonies respectively, by any Proclamations to be by 
 them respectively issued for such purpose in each of such Colonies. 
 
 And the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury, and the Most Noble 
 the Duke of Newcastle, one of Her Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State, 
 are to give the necessary directions herein accordingly. 
 
 Draft Proclamation.* 
 
 Whereas by Our Proclamation given at Our Court at Windsor on the 
 14th day of September 1838, and in the second year of Our Reign, rates 
 were fixed at which certain coins of foreign countries shall circulate and 
 be received in payment in Our West India Colonies ; and whereas it has 
 been represented to us by the Commissioners of Our Treasury that it is 
 expedient that, in addition to the coins named in Our said Proclamation, 
 the rates at which the gold coins of the United States of North America 
 should circulate in Our said Colonies shall be ascertained and fixed ; Now, 
 therefore, We, by the advice of Our Privy Council, have thought fit to 
 declare and ordain, and by the advice aforesaid We do hereby declare and 
 ordain, that throughout Our said Colonies the gold coins of the said United 
 States of the denominations hereinafter mentioned shall circulate and be 
 received in payment as being of the full value and equivalent to current 
 money of Our United Kingdom, at the rates hereinafter specified, that is 
 to say : — 
 
 The Eagle at the rate of forty-one shillings sterling. 
 
 The Half-Eagle at the rate of twenty shillings and sixpence sterling. 
 
 The Quarter-Eagle at the rate of ten shillings and threepence sterling. 
 
 The Gold Dollar at the rate of four shillings and one penny. 
 
 And in all payments to be made in our said Colonies tender and payment 
 in the said coins, or either of them at the respective rates aforesaid, shall 
 be deemed and taken to be a lawful tender in the same manner as if such 
 tender had been made in the current coin of our United Kingdom. 
 
 (xiv.) Copy of Treasury Minute, dated 22nd March 1853.f 
 
 My Lords have before them the whole of the correspondence re- 
 lating to the produce of the gold fields of New South Wales and 
 Victoria, and the proposal to establish branches of the Royal Mint in 
 those colonies ; and they more particularly advert to the correspondence 
 noted in the margin. 
 
 A petition to Her Most Gracious Majesty the Queen from the Legisla- 
 tive Council of New South Wales, dated on the 19th December 1851, 
 praying that Her Majesty would exercise Her prerogative by the establish- 
 ment of a branch of Her Royal Mint at Sydney, was forwarded to Earl Grey, 
 Her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for Colonial Affairs, by Governor 
 FitzRoy on the lGth January 1852. 
 
 Meanwhile some of the principal bankers and other persons connected 
 with New South Wales, in the City of London, had suggested the adoption 
 
 * By a subsequent Order in Council and Proclamation of 9th March 1854, it 
 was provided (i.) that multiples of the Eagle should be rated proportionately to 
 the Eagle, and (ii.) that the above Proclamation of 1853, as now amended, should 
 extend to British Guiana. 
 
 f See House of Commons Taper, No. 18 of 1853. 
 
App. JB. Imperial Legislation, &c. 437 
 
 of the same measure to Earl Grey, who, after communicating with this 
 Board, informed Governor FitzRoy, by a Despatch dated on the 
 20th February 1852, that if, after consulting with his Executive Council, 
 he should report that it was desirable to establish a Mint at Sydney, and 
 that the expense of doing so could be provided for without inconvenience 
 to the colony, his Lordship would be prepared to take the requisite steps 
 for that purpose ; it being understood that the Mint so to be established 
 would be regulated by Order of Her Majesty in Council, and would be 
 considered subordinate to the Royal Mint in this country, and would be 
 framed for the sole purpose of coining gold. Lord Grey at the same time 
 forwarded to Governor FitzRoy a Report from the Master of the Mint, 
 furnishing two estimates, one for a Mint consisting of a single press, 
 worked by animal power, capable of coining five millions of pieces 
 annually, the estimated cost of which, including the building, was 10,000 /., 
 and the other for a Mint comprising three presses, worked by steam, of a 
 capacity calculated for the coinage of all the probable yield of gold in 
 Australia, and costing in all 30,000/. 
 
 In reply to this Despatch Governor FitzRoy forwarded to Earl Grey, 
 on the 12th of August 1852, a Minute of proceedings of his Executive 
 Council, dated the 26th July 1852, in which he expressed his entire con- 
 currence. The Executive Council stated in this Minute that, after giving 
 to this question all the consideration which its importance demanded, 
 they had arrived at the conclusion that the establishment of a branch 
 Mint would be of the greatest advantage to the interests of the colony. 
 
 With respect to the scale on which the proposed Mint should be 
 established, the Council were of opinion that the larger establishment 
 detailed in Sir John Herschel's Report should be undertaken, assuming 
 that it was the intention of Her Majesty's Government to establish at 
 Sydney, as the seat of the General Government of the Australian colonies, 
 a single Mint for the whole of those colonies ; and the Council then pro- 
 ceeded to describe the detailed practical arrangements recommended by 
 them, with a view to the establishment, at the earliest practicable period, 
 of a branch of the Royal Mint at Sydney, on the above-mentioned hypo- 
 thesis, that there would be only one Mint for all the Australian colonies, 
 and that such Mint would be at Sydney. 
 
 The Executive Council stated, in conclusion, that, on receiving the final 
 decision of Her Majesty's Government on this matter, the Local Govern- 
 ment would be prepared to make immediately the necessary remit- 
 tances for the cost of the machinery and tools, and the expense of the 
 conveyance to the colony of the part of the establishment which the 
 Council proposes should be selected in this country by the Master of the 
 Mint. 
 
 An Address from the Legislative Council stating their opinion that it is 
 expedient that a branch of the Royal Mint on the larger scale described 
 by the Master of the Mint should, without delay, be established at Sydney, 
 was forwarded to the Secretary of State by Governor FitzRoy on the 2nd 
 September 1852. 
 
 By a further Despatch from Governor FitzRoy, dated the 2nd November 
 1852, the Secretary of State was apprised that a remittance of 10,000/. 
 had been made to the Colonial Agent General for the purchase of the 
 machinery and apparatus requisite for the establishment of a branch of 
 the Royal Mint at Sydney, and that sum is now at the disposal of Her 
 Majesty's Government for the purpose. 
 
 On the 31st July 1852 Mr. Latrobe, Lieutenant Governor of Victoria, 
 forwarded to Her Majesty's Secretary of State for Colonial Affairs a 
 petition to Her Most Gracious Majesty the Queen from the Legislative 
 Council of Victoria, praying, for reasons therein stated, that Her Majesty 
 would be graciously pleased to establish a branch of Her Royal Mint at 
 Melbourne, the capital of Victoria, either for the Australian colonies 
 generally, or for the coinage of the gold of Victoria only, as Her Majesty 
 might be pleased to determine. 
 
 In a Despatch from Sir Henry Young, Lieutenant Governor of South 
 Australia, dated 2nd October 1852, an Address to Her Majesty was trans- 
 mitted from the Legislative Council of that colony, praying for the 
 establishment of a branch of the Royal Mint at Adelaide. In the same 
 
 72642. F p 
 
438 Colonial Currency. 
 
 Despatch Sir Henry Young reports the issue, under the Bullion Act, No. 1 
 of 1852, of gold tokens in such a form as it is expected will supply a 
 satisfactory metallic currency until a Mint for the issue of sovereigns is 
 established at Adelaide. 
 
 My Lords approach this subject necessarily with imperfect information, 
 owing to the great distance of Australia from this country, and the con- 
 sequent lapse of time in the interchange of communications ; and they 
 must deal with it upon a consideration of the expressed wishes of the 
 colonies immediately interested, without the advantage of such modifica- 
 tions of their views as further experience might induce. 
 
 At the time when Lord Grey's Despatch of the 20th February was 
 written to the Governor of New South Wales no intelligence had been 
 received in this country of the discovery of gold fields in other parts of 
 Australia, and the offer to establish a Mint at Sydney, on condition of the 
 expense being provided for by the colony, was made with reference only 
 to the circumstances which were then known to exist in that colony. 
 
 As the Executive Council of New South Wales has, after full considera- 
 tion of the subject, expressed its opinion that the establishment of a 
 branch Mint, subordinate to the Royal Mint, would be of the greatest 
 advantage to the interests of the colony, and has engaged to defray all the 
 costs of the undertaking, and as their opinion has, moreover, been confirmed 
 by an Address of the Legislative Council, it appears to my Lords that the 
 colony is entitled to claim the fulfilment of the expectations held out in 
 the Despatch of Earl Grey. 
 
 But the principle which led to this proposal in the case of New South 
 Wales would apply equally to other colonies in which gold fields have been 
 discovered, and which may be desirous of undertaking the cost of Mint 
 establishments for the coinage of their own gold. And although the 
 question has been raised whether it may not be desirable, for the sake of 
 the general interests of the Australian colonies, that one Mint only should 
 be formed for a common coinage, my Lords feel that Her Majesty's 
 Government is not in a position to decide upon the conflicting claims 
 which have been advanced for this privilege, and that, if such a measure 
 should be ultimately adopted, the consideration of it must be deferred 
 until further experience may afford the colonies the opportunity of coming 
 to a mutual understanding on the subject, or may enable the Government 
 to assert the prerogative of the Crown with greater certainty for their 
 common benefit. 
 
 In the meantime my Lords will be prepared to deal with the applica- 
 tions of the several colonies as they arise ; and in framing regulations 
 on the subject will stipulate for such conditions and restrictions only as are 
 necessary on Imperial considerations. 
 
 These are as follows : — 
 
 First. There must be no charge, actual or prospective, on the British 
 Treasury. 
 
 Second. There must be an absolute central control, carried to such a 
 point that Her Majesty's Government may be enabled fully to satisfy 
 themselves in regard to the use to be made of the Queen's effigy, 
 the fineness and weight of the coin to be issued from the local 
 Mints, according to its denomination and the impression to be 
 stamped upon it. 
 
 In order to carry these principles into effect, my Lords would recom- 
 mend the adoption of measures of which the following is a general 
 outline. 
 
 When it is determined to establish a Mint in any one colony, the 
 necessary arrangements shall be provided under the authority of an Order 
 of the Queen in Council, which shall constitute such Mint as a branch of 
 and subordinate to the Royal Mint, and prescribe the duties and functions 
 of the principal officers to be appointed to conduct it. The Order shall 
 contain provisions for the coinage and issue therefiom of such coins as Her 
 Majesty may authorise to be struck from dies to be furnished by the 
 Master of the Mint in London. It shall contain precise directions as to the 
 fineness and weight of the coin to be struck, which shall correspond in these 
 
App. B. Imperial Legislation, &c. 439 
 
 respects with the coin of the realm. In order to ensure this correspondence, 
 the Order shall provide for the transmission to this country from time to 
 time, at the expense of the colony, of a certain proportion of the coins 
 struck at the branch Mint, selected in a prescribed manner, that they may 
 be assayed and tested by the Master of the Mint, whose Reports to this 
 Board shall be communicated to the Governor. The Order shall leave to 
 the Governor in Council of the colony such power of direction as to the 
 issue of the coins, and as to the regulation of the establishment, as shall 
 be consistent with the foregoing fundamental rules. It shall take effect 
 in the colony from such time as may be fixed by Proclamation of the 
 Governor, and it shall give power to the Governor to close or suspend the 
 operations of the Mint by Proclamation. 
 
 The principal officers shall be appointed by the Crown, and shall hold 
 their appointments during pleasure, and subject to such Orders as may be 
 issued by the Governor in Council respecting the continuance of the 
 Mint. The Warrant of appointment of the Deputy Master or Superin- 
 tendent shall direct him to obey the instructions of the Governor in all 
 matters which are not provided for by the Order in Council, or by 
 directions founded thereon by the Master of the Mint, with the sanction 
 of this Board. To provide against illness, the principal officers shall be 
 empowered to nominate deputies, with the sanction of the Governor ; and 
 in case of the death of any of those officers the Governor shall have power 
 to appoint successors to them provisionally, until Her Majesty's pleasure 
 shall be known. 
 
 As the motive for the establishment of the proposed Mints is for the 
 coinage of the gold found in Australia, it will not be requisite to make 
 provision at present for striking any other description of coin ; but the 
 Mints, when established, will be available for any coinage which Her 
 Majesty may direct, if a necessity for it should arise. 
 
 With regard to the gold coins, as they will not, under the laws of the 
 United Kingdom, be legal tender in this country, it will be necessary that 
 they should be stamped in such manner as may render them distinguish- 
 able at sight from the coins of the realm, with which, however, as above 
 provided, they will be identical in fineness, weight, and denomination. 
 With a view to this object, and also to render each establishment respon- 
 sible for the integrity of its coins, the particular local Mint from which 
 they are issued should be legibly denoted on the coin. My Lords, however, 
 conceive that it would not be expedient to confine their circulation to the 
 colony in which they may be issued, but that they should have general 
 currency throughout the colonies of Australasia. 
 
 When the devices of the coins shall have been determined, it will be 
 proper to issue a Proclamation by the Queen describing them, and specifying 
 the denominations for which they shall pass current in the said colonies, 
 so long as they shall continue of legal weight. It will be expedient, also, 
 by the same or a separate Proclamation, to authorise, as by the law in force 
 in the United Kingdom, the cutting and defacing of any coin of deficient 
 weight which shall be tendered for payment. These Proclamations should 
 be promulgated in the several Australian colonies previously to the issue 
 of any coins from the Mints. 
 
 In the present state of the Australian colonies, my Lords apprehend 
 that it will be essential to the efficient working of the proposed Mints 
 that Government establishments shall be instituted in connection with 
 them for melting, refining, and assaying the rough gold, previously to its 
 delivery to the Mint for coinage. But it will be a question for the colonial 
 authorities to consider, whether it may not be desirable that these 
 operations should be carried on in a separate though contiguous building, 
 in order that, in the event of its being found expedient hereafter to 
 discontinue the Government assay of bar gold, and to leave the operation 
 to private enterprise, the building and machinery may be disposed of 
 without disturbing the Mint establishment. The arrangements for the 
 Government refinery may, my Lords conceive, be left entirely to the 
 management of the local Government, but their Lordships will be 
 prepared to offer such suggestions for establishing it in connection with 
 the Mint as may be reported by the Master of the Mint to be desirable, 
 with a view to the efficient fulfilment of the functions of the latter 
 
 PF2 
 
440 Colonial Currency. 
 
 establishment, and -also to take such measures as may be reported by 
 the Master to be desirable, with this view, in regard to providing the 
 necessary apparatus, and for engaging competent persons in this country 
 to work it. Amongst the arrangements connected with the refinery which 
 my Lords conceive may be left to the discretion of the Local Government 
 will be the fixing a scale of charges to be levied from persons bringing 
 gold to be melted and assayed ; but any suggestions which the Master of 
 the Mint may have to offer on this subject may be communicated to the 
 local Government. 
 
 My Lords propose that it should also be left to the discretion of the 
 Local Government whether, in addition to the charge for melting and 
 assaying, any seignorage or duty should be levied for the separate expense 
 of the coinage, or whether that expense should be covered by the profits 
 of the Assay Department, or be otherwise provided for. In order, however, 
 to enable the Executive Council to exercise such discretion, provision must 
 be made, in the Order of the Queen in Council for the establishment of the 
 Mint, to authorise the levying a duty of this description of limited amount, 
 and for applying the proceeds thereof to the expenses of the Mint 
 establishment, or of the coinage. 
 
 The foregoing regulations and suggestions will apply to any Mint which 
 it may be found expedient to establish in Australia, and, according to the 
 principle they have proposed, my Lords will be prepared to give effect to 
 them in the case of any colony in that country which may show, from its 
 production of gold, a reasonable ground for the establishment of a Mint, 
 and which, by sending to this country money for the payment of any pre- 
 liminary charges wbich may be required here, may give a distinct earnest 
 of its intention to meet the demand of the Treasury for an indemnity from 
 charge on behalf of the British people. 
 
 My Lords are now in a position to undertake this service in the case of 
 the colony of New South Wales, the Government of which has remitted 
 and placed at the disposal of Her Majesty's Government 10,000 /. for the 
 purchase of machinery, &c. 
 
 This sum was fixed with reference to the estimate contained in the 
 Report of the Master of the Mint, of the 7th January 1852, of the cost to 
 be incurred in this country for the machinery of the larger Mint which he 
 contemplated, and which the Executive Council of New South Wales wish 
 to have established, with a view to a general coinage in that country for 
 the whole of the Australian colonies. My Lords have already given 
 reasons why they are not prepared to assent at present to the establish- 
 ment of a central and common Mint in any one of the colonies, and they 
 conceive that it will be proper, therefore, to confine the arrangements to 
 be now adopted to the apparatus and establishment to be provided for 
 the smaller Mint, referred to by Sir John Herschel, as being of a capacity 
 calculated to fulfil the requirements of a coinage for the colony in which 
 the Mint may be set up. Their Lordships, however, observe that even 
 this smaller Mint was calculated for the coinage of 5,000,000 gold pieces 
 annually, and as the average coinage in the Royal Mint of London during 
 the last 37 years has not exceeded 3,225,500 pieces annually, my Lords 
 have every hope that even this smaller Mint, when organised in New 
 South Wales, will be in a condition, partially and for a time at least, 
 to meet the wants of other colonies which have expressed the desire for 
 Mints of their own. The necessary delay which will occur in giving effect 
 to their wishes will give them the opportunity of further considering that 
 desire, and they will be enabled to judge from the practical effects of the 
 establishment of a Mint at Sydney how far a similar institution will be 
 advantageous to them. 
 
 My Lords propose, in conformity with the request of the Executive 
 Council of New boutli Wales, to select, in concert with the Master of the 
 Mint, the principal officers and skilled workmen necessary for the proposed 
 establishments, at such rate of remuneration as may be considered 
 necessary and proper : but n.y Loids conceive that it will be right to 
 apprise the persons so selected that Her Majesty's Government, acting at 
 tno request of the Executive Council, can only assign to them their salaries 
 tor a limited period, and subject to any ulterior arrangements which the 
 colonial authorities may adopt. 
 
App. B. Imperial Legislation, &c. 441 
 
 Transmit copy of this Minute to the Master of the Mint, and 
 request that he will report to my Lords in detail the arrangements 
 which he would propose for carrying into effect the measures which 
 their Lordships contemplate for the establishment of a branch Mint in New 
 South Wales. 
 
 Transmit also copy thereof to Mr. Merivale, for the information of the 
 Duke of Newcastle with reference to the several communications on the 
 subject of the establishment of Mints in Australia, referred to in the first 
 part of the Minute. 
 
 (xv.) Order in Council of 18th October 1854. 
 
 "Whereas by an Order in Council, bearing date the 19th day of August 
 1853, Her Majesty thought fit to order that a branch of the Royal Mint 
 should be established at or near Sydney, in New South Wales. 
 
 And whereas there was this day read at the Board a representation from 
 Sir John Frederick William Herschel, Baronet, the Master of Her Majesty's 
 Mint, dated the 25th day of August last, in the words following, viz. : — 
 
 " In pursuance of Your Majesty's gracious commands, that dies for an 
 Australian sovereign and half-sovereign (intended to be struck in the 
 Branch of Your Majesty's Mint at Sydney, in New South Wales) should be 
 prepared, according to a pattern which the Master of Your Majesty's Mint 
 had the honour to submit for Your Majesty's approbation, I humbly beg to 
 lay before Your Majesty a description of the impression intended to be 
 struck on the said Australian sovereign and half-sovereign, viz. : — 
 
 " For the obverse of the sovereign, the effigy of Your Majesty, with the 
 inscription ' Victoria D : G- : Britanniar : Regina F : D :' and the date of the 
 year. For the reverse, the word ' Australia ' placed in the centre of the 
 piece, encircled by a laurel wreath and surmounted by the Royal Crown, 
 with the inscription ' Sydney Mint, One Sovereign,' and with a graining 
 on the edge. 
 
 " And for the half-sovereign, the obverse in every respect similar to the 
 sovereign ; and for the reverse, the same word ' Australia ' in the centre, 
 encircled and surmounted in like manner, but for the inscription the woi'ds 
 ' Sydney Mint, Half-Sovereign,' and a graining on the edge. 
 
 "Should it please Your Majesty to approve of the said impression to be 
 struck on the Australian sovereign and half-sovereign, I humbly request 
 Your Majesty will be graciously pleased to signify Your Majesty's commands 
 thereon, that the coinage may be proceeded with as soon as the said Sydney 
 Branch of the Royal Mint shall come into operation." 
 
 Her Majesty, having taken the said representation into consideration, was 
 pleased, by and with the advice of Her Privy Council, to approve of the 
 therein described impression to be struck on the said Australian sovereign 
 and half-sovereign. And the Right Honourable the Lords Commissioners 
 of Her Majesty's Treasury are to give the necessary directions herein 
 accordingly. 
 
 (xvi.) Order i» Council and Proclamation of 18th October 1854. 
 
 Whereas there was this day read at the Board the draft of a Proclama- 
 tion declaring the rates at which certain gold coins, to be called Australian 
 sovereigns and half-sovereigns, intended to be struck at Her Majesty's 
 branch of the Royal Mint at Sydney, in New South Wales, are to pass 
 current in all Her Majesty's Colonies in Australia, New Zealand, and Van 
 Diemen's Land : Her Majesty, having taken the same into consideration, 
 was pleased, by and with the advice of Her Privy Council, to approve 
 thereof, and to order, and it is hereby ordered, that the said Proclamation 
 do take effect and come into force in each of Her Majesty's said Colonies 
 and Possessions upon, and from and after, the promulgation thereof by the 
 Governors or Officers administering the government of the said Colonies 
 respectively. And the Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury, 
 and the Right Honourable Sir George Grey, Baronet, one of Her Majesty's 
 Principal Secretaries of State, are to give the necessary directions therein 
 accordingly. 
 
442 Colonial Currency. 
 
 Draft Proclamation. 
 
 Whereas by an Order in Council, bearing date the 19tb day of August 
 1853, We have thought fit to Order that a Branch of Our Royal Mint should 
 be established at or near Sydney, in New South Wales. 
 
 And whereas, in the 18th year of Our reign, by an Order in Council dated 
 the 18th day of October 1854, We have thought fit to order that certain 
 pieces of gold money should be coined at the said branch of our Royal 
 Mint, to be called respectively Australian sovereigns and Australian half- 
 sovereigns, and to be of the same respective weights, fineness, and values 
 with the sovereigns and half-sovereigns now current within this Our 
 realm. 
 
 And whereas, pursuant to and in virtue of the powers given in Our- said 
 Orders in Council, it is provided that a coinage of the said Australian 
 sovereigns and half-sovereigns shall be made, and that every such Australian 
 sovereign shall have for the obverse the effigy of Her Majesty, with the 
 inscription " Victoria D : G : Britanniar : Regina F : D: " and the date of the 
 year ; and for the reverse, the word " Australia " placed in the centre of 
 the piece, encircled by a laurel wreath and surmounted by the Royal 
 Crown, with the inscription " Sydney Mint, One Sovereign,"' and with a 
 graining on the edge. And that every such Australian half-sovereign shall 
 have the obverse in every respect similar to that of the sovereign, and for 
 the reverse, the same word " Australia " in the centre, encircled and 
 surmounted in like manner, but for the inscription the words " Sydney 
 Mint, Half-Sovereign," and a graining on the edge. 
 
 And whereas pieces of gold money of the above descriptions will be 
 coined at Our said branch of the Royal Mint, in pursuance of Orders issued 
 and to be issued by Us, We have, therefore, by and with the advice of Our 
 Privy Council, thought fit to issue this Our Royal Proclamation : and We do 
 ordain, declare, and command that the said pieces of gold money so to be 
 coined shall be current and lawful money within all Our colonies in Australia, 
 New Zealand, and Van Diemen's Land, and shall pass and be received as 
 current and lawful money therein, by the names aforesaid, and at the values 
 hereinbefore assigned to them. 
 
 (xvii.) Sydney Branch Mint Act, 1863 (26 & 27 Vict. c. 74). 
 
 An Act to enable Her Majesty to declare Gold Coins to be issued from 
 Her Majesty's Branch Mint at Sydney, Neio South Wales, a legal Tender 
 for Payments ; and for other Purposes relating thereto. 
 
 [28th July 1863.] 
 Whereas by an Act of the Fifty-sixth Year of the Reign of His late 
 Majesty King George the Third, Chapter Sixty-eight, intituled An Act to 
 provide for a new Silver Coinage, and to regulate the Currency of the Gold and 
 Silver Coins of this Realm, it is amongst other things provided, that after 
 the date of the passing of that Act the gold coin of the Realm should be 
 the only legal tender for payments (except the silver coin of the Realm 
 to the extent of forty shillings) within the United Kingdom of Great 
 Britain and Ireland : And whereas by the same Act it is declared that the 
 gold coin of the Realm should hold such weight and fineness as are 
 prescribed by an Indenture therein referred to, and made with His Majesty's 
 Master and Worker of the Mint for making gold monies at His Majesty's 
 Mint in London, and with such allowance called the remedy as is given to 
 the said Master by the said Indenture, which weight and fineness are by 
 the said Act declared to be the Standard of the lawful Gold Coin of the 
 Realm, so far as relates to the gold coins of the denominations in use at 
 the time of the passing of the said Act and specified in the said Indenture : 
 And whereas gold coins of the weight and fineness and of the denomi- 
 nations mentioned in the said Act, and specified in the said Indenture, have 
 from the date of the said Act up to the present time continued to be 
 issued from Her Majesty's Mint in London, and to be the only legal tender 
 for payments, except as aforesaid, within the United Kingdom : And 
 whereas Her Majesty has by Proclamation established at Sydney, in New 
 
App. B. Imperial Legislation, &c. 443 
 
 South Wales, a Branch of the Royal Mint for making gold coins of the 
 same weight and fineness and of the same denominations as the gold 
 coin issued by Her Majesty's Mint in London, and has appointed a Deputy 
 Master of the said Branch Mint ; and it is expedient that power should be 
 given to Her Majesty to make the gold coin so issued by Her Majesty's 
 Mint at Sydney a legal tender for payments in the United Kingdom : Be 
 it therefore enacted by the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty, by and with 
 the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, 
 in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, 
 as follows : — 
 
 1. It shall be lawful for Her Majesty, by Proclamation issued with the 
 Advice of Her Privy Council, to declare that, after a date specified in such 
 Proclamation, gold coins made at the said Branch Mint, of designs 
 approved by Her Majesty, at Sydney aforesaid, and being of the same 
 weight and fineness as are required by Law with respect to gold coins 
 of the same denominations made at Her Majesty's Mint in London, are to 
 be a legal tender for payments within the United Kingdom of Great 
 Britain and Ireland ; and upon such Proclamation being issued, gold coins 
 made of such designs, and being of such weight and fineness as aforesaid, 
 shall be a legal tender for payments accordingly. 
 
 2. It shall be lawful for Her Majesty, by Proclamation issued with such 
 advice as aforesaid, from time to time to impose on the Coinage of Gold 
 at the said Branch Mint at Sydney a charge sufficient to defray the 
 Expenses of Coinage, over and above the expenses of assay and refining ; 
 and it shall be incumbent on the said Deputy Master to coin gold at the 
 charge so imposed. 
 
 3. This Act may be cited for all purposes as " The Sydney Branch Mint 
 Act, 1863." 
 
 (xviii.) Royal Proclamation of 3rd February 1866. 
 
 Whereas by an Order in Council, bearing date the nineteenth day of 
 August, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, We have thought fit 
 to order that a Branch of Our Royal Mint should be established at or near 
 Sydney, in New South Wales. 
 
 And whereas in the eighteenth year of Our reign, by an Order in 
 Council dated the eighteenth day of October, one thousand eight hundred 
 and fifty-four, We have thought fit to order that certain pieces of gold 
 money should be coined at the said branch of Our Royal Mint, to be called 
 respectively Australian sovereigns and Australian half-sovereigns, and to 
 be of the same respective weights, fineness, and values with the sovereigns 
 and half-sovereigns now current within this Our realm. 
 
 And whereas, pursuant to, and in virtue of, the powers given in Our said 
 Orders in Council, it is provided that a coinage of the said Australian 
 sovereigns and half-sovereigns shall be made, and that every such Australian 
 sovereign shall have for the obverse Our effigy, with the inscription 
 " Victoria, D.G., Britanniar. Regina, F.D.," and the date of the year, and 
 for the reverse the word " Australia," placed in the centre of the piece, 
 encircled by a laurel wreath and surmounted by the Royal Crown with the 
 inscription, " Sydney Mint, One Sovereign," and with a graining on the 
 edge : and that every such Australian half-sovereign shall have the obverse 
 in every respect similar to that of the sovereign, and for the reverse the 
 same word " Australia," in the centre, encircled and surmounted in like 
 manner, but for the inscription the words, " Sydney Mint, Half-Sovereign," 
 and a graining on the edge. 
 
 And whereas pieces of gold money have been and will be coined at Our 
 said branch of the Royal Mint, in pursuance of orders issued and to be 
 issued. 
 
 And whereas by an Act made and passed in the twenty-sixth and twenty- 
 seventh years of Our reign, entitled An Act to enable Her Majesty to 
 declare gold coins to be issued from Her Majesty's Branch Mint at Sydney. 
 New South Wales, a legal tender for payments, and for other purposes 
 relating thereto, it is provided, that " It shall be lawful for Her Majesty, 
 
444 Colonial Currency. 
 
 by Proclamation, issued with the advice of Her Privy Council, to declare 
 that, after a date specified in such Proclamation, gold coins made at the 
 said Branch Mint, at Sydney aforesaid, of designs approved by Her 
 Majesty, and being of the same weight and fineness as are required by law 
 with respect to gold coins of the same denominations made at Her Majesty's 
 Mint, in London, are to be a legal tender for payments within the United 
 Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland ; and upon such Proclamation being 
 issued gold coins made of such designs, and being of such weight and 
 fineness as aforesaid, shall be a legal tender for payments accordingly." 
 
 And whereas by the same Act it is further provided, that " It shall be 
 lawful for Her Majesty, by Proclamation issued with such advice as 
 aforesaid, from time to time to impose on the coinage of gold at the said 
 Branch Mint at Sydney a charge sufficient to defray the expenses of 
 coinage, over and above the expenses of assay and refining ; and it shall 
 be incumbent on the said Deputy Master to coin gold at the charge so 
 imposed." 
 
 We, therefore, by and with the advice of Our Privy Council, have thought 
 fit to issue this Our Royal Proclamation, and We do ordain, declare, and 
 command, that from and after the date of the publication of this Our 
 Proclamation in the " London Gazette " coins made at the said Branch 
 Mint, of designs approved by Us at Sydney aforesaid, and being of the 
 same weight and fineness as are required by law, with respect to gold coins 
 of the same denominations made at Our Mint in London, shall be a legal 
 tender for payments within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and 
 Ireland. 
 
 And We do hereby, by and with the advice of Our Privy Council, by this 
 Our Royal Proclamation, impose on the coinage of gold at the said Branch 
 Mint at Sydney the charge of threepence per ounce troy of gold of 
 Standard fineness, being a charge sufficient to defray the expenses of 
 coinage over and above the expenses of assay and refining. 
 
 Given at Our Court at Osborne House, Isle of Wight, this third day 
 of February, in the year of Our Lord, one thousand eight 
 hundred and sixty-six, and in the twenty-ninth year of Our 
 Reign. 
 
 God save the Queen. 
 
 (xix.) The Colonial Branch Mint Act, 1866 (29 & 30 Vict. c. 65). 
 
 An Act to enable Her Majesty to declare Gold Coins to be issued from 
 Her Majesty's Colonial Branch Mints a legal Tender for Payments ; and 
 for other Purposes relating thereto. [6th August 1866.] 
 
 Whereas by an Act of the Fifty-sixth Year of the Reign of His late 
 Majesty King George the Third, Chapter Sixty-eight, intituled An Act to 
 provide for a ?iew Silver Coinage, and to regulate the Currency of the Gold and 
 Silver Coins of this Realm, it is amongst other things provided, that after 
 the date of the passing of that Act the gold coin of the Realm should be 
 the only legal tender for payments (except the silver coin of the Realm to 
 the extent of forty shillings; within the United Kingdom of Great Britain 
 and Ireland : 
 
 And whereas by the same Act it is declared, that the gold coin of the 
 Realm should hold such weight and fineness as are prescribed by an Indenture 
 therein referred to, and made with His Majesty's Master and Worker 
 of the Mint for making gold monies at His Majesty's Mint in London, and 
 with such allowance called the remedy as is given to the said Master l>y 
 the said Indenture, which weight and fineness are by the said Act declared 
 to be the Standard of the lawful gold coin of the Realm, so far as relates 
 to the gold coins of the denominations in use at the time of the passing of 
 the said Act, and specified in the said Indenture : 
 
 Aud whereas gold coins of the weight and fineness and of the denomina- 
 tions mentioned in the said Act, and specified in the said Indenture, have 
 from the date of the said Act up to the present time continued to be issued 
 from Her Majesty's Mint in London, and to be a legal tender for payments 
 
App. B. Imperial Legislation, &c. 445 
 
 as well in the United Kingdom as in divers of Her Majesty's Possessions 
 abroad : 
 
 And whereas Her Majesty by Proclamation hath established or may 
 hereafter establish in* divers of Her Majesty's said Possessions Branches 
 of the Royal Mint, for making gold coins of the same weight and fineness 
 and of the same denominations as the gold coin issued by Her Majesty's 
 Mint in London, and it is expedient that power should be given to Her 
 Majesty to declare the gold coin so made and issued by such Colonial Branch 
 Mints a legal tender for payments in any part of Her Majesty's Dominions 
 in which gold coin issued from Her Majesty's Mint in London may from 
 time to time be a legal tender : 
 
 Be it therefore enacted by the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty, by and 
 with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and 
 Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of 
 the same, as follows : 
 
 1. It shall be lawful for Her Majesty from time to time, by Proclamation 
 issued with the advice of Her Privy Council, to declare that for such period 
 and subject to such conditions as may be specified in such Proclamation, 
 gold coins made at any such Colonial Branch Mint, of designs approved by 
 Her Majesty, and being of the same weight and fineness as are required by 
 law with respect to gold coins of the same denominations made at Her 
 Majesty's Mint in London, are to be a legal tender for payments within any 
 part of Her Majesty's Dominions to be specified in such Proclamation in 
 which gold coins issued from Her Majesty's Mint in London shall at the 
 date of the issue of such Proclamation be a legal tender, and upon such 
 Proclamation being issued gold coins made of such designs, and being of 
 such weight and fineness as aforesaid, shall be a legal tender for payments 
 accordingly. 
 
 2. It shall be lawful for Her Majesty, by Proclamation issued with such 
 advice as aforesaid, from time to time to impose on the coinage of gold at 
 any such Branch Colonial Mint as aforesaid a charge sufficient to defray 
 the expenses of coinage over and above the expenses of assay and refining ; 
 and it shall be incumbent on the Deputy Master of any such Mint to coin 
 gold at the charge so imposed. 
 
 3. Any Proclamation issued under authority of this Act may be revoked 
 by Her Majesty, with the advice of Her Privy Council. 
 
 4. This Act may be cited for all purposes as " The Colonial Branch Mint 
 Act, 1866." 
 
 (xx.) Order in Council and Royal Proclamation of 
 10th November 1866. 
 
 Whereas there was read, this day, at the Board, the Draft of a Procla- 
 mation declaring Gold Coins made at the Branch of the Royal Mint at 
 Sydney, New South Wales, a legal tender in certain of Her Majesty's 
 Possessions abroad specified in a Schedule attached to the said Draft 
 Proclamation. 
 
 Her Majesty having taken the same into consideration was pleased, by 
 and with the advice of Her Privy Council, to approve thereof, and to Order, 
 and it is hereby Ordered, that the said Proclamation do take effect and come 
 into force in each of Her Majesty's Possessions abroad specified in the afore- 
 said Schedule, upon and from and after such day as shall be for that 
 purpose limited by the Governor or Officer administering the Government 
 of each of the said Possessions by any Proclamations to be by them for that 
 purpose issued in each of such Possessions. 
 
 And the Right Honourable the Earl of Carnarvon, one of Her Majesty's 
 Principal Secretaries of State, is to give the necessary directions for causing 
 publication to be made hereof within Her Majesty's Possessions abroad. 
 
446 Colonial Currency. 
 
 BY THE QUEEN. 
 
 A Proclamation. 
 
 For declaring Gold Coins made at the Branch Mint at Sydney, New South 
 Wales, a legal tender throughout such parts of He*r Majesty's Dominions 
 as are specified in the Schedule hereunto annexed. 
 
 Whereas by an Order in Council, hearing date the nineteenth day of 
 August, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, We have thought fit to 
 order that a Branch of Our Royal Mint should be established at or near 
 Sydney, New South Wales. 
 
 And whereas, in the eighteenth year of Our Reign, by an Order in Council, 
 dated the eighteenth day of October, one thousand eight hundred and fifty- 
 four, We have thought fit to order that certain pieces of Gold money should 
 be coined at the said Branch of Our Royal Mint, to be called respectively, 
 Australian Sovereigns and Australian Half-Sovereigns, and to be of the 
 same respective weights, fineness, and values with the Sovereigns and Half- 
 Sovereigns now current within this Our Realm. 
 
 And whereas, pursuant to and in virtue of the powers given in Our said 
 Orders in Council, it is provided that a coinage of the said Australian 
 Sovereigns and Half-Sovereigns shall be made, and that every such 
 Australian Sovereign shall have for the obverse, Our Effigy, with the 
 inscription " Victoria " D. G. Britanniar : Regina F. D." and the date of 
 the year, and for the reverse, the word " Australia," placed in the centre of 
 the piece, encircled by a laurel wreath, and surmounted by the Royal 
 Crown, with the inscription "Sydney Mint, One Sovereign," and with a 
 graining on the edge ; and that every such Australian Half Sovereign shall 
 have the obverse in every respect similar to that of the Sovereigns, and for 
 the reverse the same word " Australia " in the centre, encircled and sur- 
 mounted in like manner, but for the inscription the words " Sydney Mint, 
 Half-Sovereign," and a graining on the edge. 
 
 And whereas pieces of gold money have been and will be coined at Our 
 said Branch of the Royal Mint in pursuance of orders issued and to be 
 issued. 
 
 And whereas by an Act passed in the twenty-ninth and thirtieth years of 
 Our Reign, entitled " An Act to enable Her Majesty to declare Gold Coin 
 to be issued from Her Majesty's Colonial Branch Mints a legal tender for 
 payments, and for other purposes relating thereto," it is provided, that 
 " It shall be lawful for Her Majesty from time to time by Proclamation, 
 issued with the advice of Her Privy Council, to declare that for such period, 
 subject to such conditions as may be specified in such Proclamation, Gold 
 Coins made at such Colonial Branch Mint, of designs approved by Her 
 Majesty, and being of the same weight and fineness as are required by law 
 with respect to Gold Coins of the same denominations made at Her 
 Majesty's Mint in London, are to be a legal tender for payments within 
 any part of Her Majesty's Dominions, to be specified in such Proclamations, 
 in which Gold coins issued from Her Majesty's Mint in London shall, at the 
 date of the issue of such Proclamation, be a legal tender, and upon such 
 Proclamation being issued Gold Coins made of such designs, and being of 
 such weight and fineness as aforesaid, shall be a legal tender for payments 
 accordingly." 
 
 And whereas Gold Coins issued from Our Mint in London, are at present 
 a legal tender in such parts of Our Dominions as are specified in the Schedule 
 hereunto annexed. 
 
 We, therefore, by and with the advice of Our Privy Council, have thought 
 fit to issue this Our Royal Proclamation, and we do ordain, declare, and 
 command that, from and after the date of the publication of this Our 
 Proclamation by the Governor or other Officer administering the Govern- 
 ment of such part or parts of Our Dominions as are specified in the Schedule 
 hereunto annexed, Coins made at the said Branch Mint, of designs approved 
 by Us, at Sydney aforesaid, and being of the same weight and fineness as 
 are required by law with respect to Gold Coius of the same denominations 
 made at Our Mint in London, shall be a legal tender for payments within 
 such part or parts of Our Dominions as are specified in the said Schedule, 
 until such period as this Our Royal Proclamation shall be revoked, by and 
 with the advice of Our Privy Council aforesaid. 
 
App. B. Imperial Legislation, &c. 447 
 
 Schedule of Her Majesty's Possessions abroad referred to in the Order in 
 Council, dated 10th day of November 1866, and in the Draft Pro- 
 clamation, the issue of which is ordered by the said Order in Council. 
 
 Antigua. 
 
 Barbados. 
 
 Bahamas. 
 
 Bermuda. 
 
 Cape of Good Hope. 
 
 British Columbia. 
 
 Dominica. 
 
 Falkland Islands. 
 
 Gold Coast. 
 
 Gambia. 
 
 Gibraltar. 
 
 British Guiana. 
 
 Grenada. 
 
 Honduras. 
 
 Jamaica. 
 
 Lagos. 
 
 Malta. 
 Montserrat. 
 Nevis. 
 Natal. 
 St. Helena. 
 Sierra Leone. 
 St. Vincent. 
 St. Lucia. 
 Trinidad. 
 
 Turk's and Caicos Islands. 
 St. Christopher and its Depen- 
 dencies. 
 Tobago. 
 
 Vancouvers Island. 
 Virgin Islands. 
 
 (xxi.) > Royal Proclamation of 7th August 1869. 
 
 For declaring Gold Coins made at the Branch Mint, at Melbourne, in 
 Victoria, a Legal Tender within all parts of Her Majesty's Dominions in 
 which Gold Coins issued from Her Majesty's Mint in London are now a 
 Legal Tender. 
 
 Victoria R. 
 
 Whereas by an Order in Council, bearing date the seventh day of 
 August, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, We have thought fit to 
 order that a Branch of Our Royal Mint should be established at or near 
 Melbourne, in Victoria : 
 
 And whereas by the said Order We have thought fit to order that certain 
 pieces of gold money should be coined at the said branch of Our Royal 
 Mint, to be of the same designs, and of the same respective weights, fineness, 
 and values with the sovereigns and half-sovereigns now current within this 
 Our realm : 
 
 And whereas pieces of gold money will hereafter be coined at our said 
 branch of the Royal Mint, in pursuance of Orders to be issued : 
 
 And whereas by an Act made and passed in the twenty-ninth and thirtieth 
 years of Our reign, intituled, "An Act to enable Her Majesty to declare 
 gold coins to be issued from Her Majesty's Colonial Branch Mints a legal 
 tender for payments, and for other purposes relating thereto," it is provided 
 that " It shall be lawful for Her Majesty from time to time, by Proclamation 
 issued with the advice of Her Privy Council, to declare that for such 
 period, and subject to such conditions as maybe specified in such Proclama- 
 tion gold coins made at any such Colonial Branch Mint, of designs approved 
 by Her Majesty, and being of the same weight and fineness as are required 
 by law with respect to gold coins of the same denominations made at Her 
 Majesty's Mint in London, are to be a legal tender for payments within 
 any part of Her Majesty's dominions, to be specified in such Proclamation, 
 in which gold coins issued from Her Majesty's Mint in London shall at 
 the date of the issue of such Proclamation be a legal tender ; and upon 
 such Proclamation being issued gold coins made of such designs, and being 
 of such weight and fineness as aforesaid, shall be a legal tender for pay- 
 ments accordingly." 
 
 We, therefore, by and with the advice of Our Privy Council, have thought 
 fit to issue this Our Royal Proclamation, and We do ordain, declare, and 
 comrnaud, that from and after the date of the publication of this Our 
 Proclamation in the " Loudon Gazette," coins made at the said Branch 
 Mint, of designs approved by Us, at Melbourne aforesaid, and being of the 
 same weight and fineness as are required by law with respect to gold coins 
 
448 
 
 Colonial Currency. 
 
 of the same denomination, made at Our Mint in London, shall be a legal 
 tender for payments within all paits of Our Dominions in which gold coins 
 issued from Our Mint in London are, at the date of the issue of this Our 
 Proclamation, a legal tender. 
 
 Given at Our Court at Osborne House, Isle of Wight, this seventh day 
 of August, in the year of Our Lord one thousand eight hundred 
 and sixty-nine, and in the thirty-third year of Our Reign. 
 
 God save the Queen. 
 
 Short title. 
 
 Definitions of 
 terms. 
 
 Standard of 
 coins. 
 
 Legal tender. 
 
 Prohibition of 
 other coins and 
 tokens. 
 
 (xxii.) An Act to consolidate and amend the law relating to the Coinage 
 and Her Majesty's Mint (33 & 34 Vict. c. 10). 
 
 [4th April 1870.] 
 
 Whereas it is expedient to consolidate and amend the law relating to 
 the Coinage and Her Majesty's Mint : 
 
 Be it enacted by the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the 
 advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in 
 this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as 
 follows : 
 
 1. This Act may be cited as " The Coinage Act, 1870." 
 
 2. In this Act— 
 
 The term " Treasury " means the Lord High Treasurer for the time 
 
 being, or the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury for the time 
 
 being, or any two of them ; 
 The term " the Mint," means, except as expressly provided, Her 
 
 Majesty's Royal Mint in England ; 
 The term " British possession " means any colony, plantation, island, 
 
 territory, or settlement within Her Majesty's dominions and not 
 
 within the United Kingdom ; and 
 The term " person " includes a body corporate. 
 
 3. All coins made at the Mint of the denominations mentioned in the 
 first schedule to this Act shall be of the weight and fineness specified in 
 that schedule, and the standard trial plates shall be made accordingly. 
 
 If any coin of gold, silver, or bronze, but of any other denomination 
 than that of the coins mentioned in the first schedule to this Act, is 
 hereafter coined at the Mint, such coin shall be of a weight and fineness 
 bearing the same proportion to the weight and fineness specified in that 
 schedule as the denomination of such coin bears to the denominations 
 mentioned in that schedule. 
 
 Provided that in the making of coins a remedy (or variation from the 
 standard weight and fineness specified in the said first schedule) shall be 
 allowed of an amount not exceeding the amount specified in that schedule. 
 
 4. A tender of payment of money, if made in coins which have been 
 issued by the Mint in accordance with the provisions of this Act, and 
 have not been called in by any proclamation made in pursuance of this 
 Act. and have not become diminished in weight, by wear or otherwise, so 
 as to be of less weight than the current weight, that is to say, than the 
 weight (if any) specified as the least current weight in the first schedule to 
 this Act, or less than such weight as may be declared by any proclamation 
 made in pursuance of this Act, shall be a legal tender — 
 
 In the case of gold coins for a payment of any amount ; 
 
 In the case of silver coins for a payment of an amount not exceeding 
 
 forty shillings, but for no greater amount ; 
 In the case of bronze coins for a payment of an amount not exceeding 
 one shilling, but for no greater amount. 
 Nothing in this Act shall prevent any paper currency which under any 
 Act or otherwise is a legal tender from being a legal tender. 
 
 5. No piece of gold, silver, copper, or bronze, or of any metal or mixed 
 metal, of any value whatever, shall be made or issued, except by the Mint, 
 as a coin or a token for money, or as purporting that the holder thereof is 
 
App. B. Impekial Legislation, &c. 
 
 449 
 
 currency. 
 
 entitled to demand any value denoted thereon. Every person who acts in 
 contravention of this section shall be liable on summary conviction to a 
 penalty not exceeding twenty pounds. 
 
 6. Every contract, sale, payment, bill, note, instrument, and security for Contracts, &c. to 
 money, and every transaction, dealing, matter, and thing whatever relating ^, < ;,"!f„ d „ e TT in 
 to money, or involving the payment of or the liability to pay any money, 
 which is made, executed, or entered into, done or had, shall be made, 
 executed, entered into, done and had according to the coins which are 
 
 current and legal tender in pursuance of this Act, and not otherwise, unless 
 the same be made, executed, entered into, done or had according to the 
 currency of some British possession or some foreign state. 
 
 7. Where any gold coin of the realm is below the current weight as Defacing light 
 provided by this Act, or where any coin is called in by any Proclamation, gold coiu - 
 every person shall, by himself or others, cut, break, or deface any such coin 
 tendered to him in payment, and the person tendering the same shall bear 
 
 the loss. 
 
 If any coin cut, broken, or defaced in pursuance of this section is not 
 below the current weight, or has not been called in by any Proclamation, 
 the person cutting, breaking, or defacing the same shall receive the same in 
 payment according to its denomination. Any dispute which may arise 
 under this section may be determined by a summary proceeding. 
 
 8. Where any person brings to the Mint any gold bullion, such bullion Coining of 
 shall be assayed and coined, and delivered out to such person, without any bllllinn taken to 
 charge for such assay or coining, or for waste in coinage. e m ' 
 
 Provided that — 
 
 (1.) If the fineness of the whole of the bullion so brought to the Mint 
 is such that it cannot be brought to the standard fineness under 
 this Act of the coin to be coined thereout, without refining some 
 portion of it, the master of the Mint may refuse to receive, 
 assay, or coin such bullion : 
 
 (2.) Where the bullion so brought to the Mint is finer than the standard 
 fineness under this Act of the coin to be coined thereout, there 
 shall be delivered to the person bringing the same such additional 
 amount of coin as is proportionate to such superior fineness. 
 
 ' No undue preference shall be shown to any person under this section, and 
 every person shall have priority according to the time at which he brought 
 such bullion to the Mint. 
 
 Purchase of 
 bullion. 
 
 Payment of 
 profits, &c. to 
 Exchequer. 
 
 9. The Treasury may from time to time issue to the master of the Mint, 
 out of the growing produce of the Consolidated Fund, such sums as may be 
 necessary to enable him to purchase bullion in order to provide supplies of 
 coin for the public service. 
 
 10. All sums received by the master of the Mint, or any deputy master or 
 officer of the Mint, in payment for coin produced from bullion purchased 
 by him, and all fees and payments received by the master or any deputy 
 master or officer of the Mint as such, shall (save as otherwise provided in 
 the case of any branch mint in a British possession by a proclamation 
 respecting such branch mint) be paid into the receipt of the Exchequer, and 
 carried to the Consolidated Fund. 
 
 11. It shall be lawful for Her Majesty, with the advice of Her Privy Eeguiations by 
 Council, from time to time by Proclamation to do all or any of the following Proc iamation. 
 things ; namely, 
 
 (1.) To determine the dimension of and design for any coin : 
 
 (2.) To determine the denominations of coins to be coined at the 
 Mint : 
 
 (3.) To diminish the amount of remedy allowed by the first schedule 
 to this Act in the case of any coiu : 
 
 (4.) To determine the weight (not being less than the weight, if any, 
 
450 Colonial Currency. 
 
 Specified in the first schedule to this Act) below which a coin, 
 whether diminished in weight by wear or otherwise, is not to be 
 a current or a legal tender : 
 
 (5.) To call in coins of any date or denomination, or any coins coined 
 before the date in the Proclamation mentioned : 
 
 (6.) To direct that any coins, other than gold, silver, or bronze, shall 
 be current and be a legal tender for the payment of any amount 
 not exceeding the amount specified in the Proclamation, and not 
 exceeding five shillings : 
 
 (7.) To direct that coins coined in any foreign country shall be current, 
 and be a legal tender, at such rates, up to such amounts, and in 
 such portion of Her Majesty's dominions as may be specified in 
 the Proclamation ; due regard being had in fixing those rates to 
 the weight and fineness of such coins, as compared with the 
 current coins of this realm : 
 
 (8.) To direct the establishment of any branch of the Mint in any 
 British possession, and impose a charge for the coinage of gold 
 thf reat ; determine the application of such charge ; and deter- 
 mine the extent to which such branch is to be deemed part of 
 tho Mint, and to which coins issued therefrom are to be current 
 and be a legal tender, and to be deemed to be issued from the 
 Mint : 
 
 (9.) To direct that the whole or any part of this Act shall apply to and 
 be in force in any British possession, with or without any modi- 
 fications contained in the Proclamation : 
 
 (10.) To regulate any matters relative to the coinage and the Mint 
 within the present prerogative of the Crown which are not 
 provided for by this Act : 
 
 (11.) To revoke or alter any Proclamation previously made. 
 
 Every such Proclamation shall come into operation on the date therein in 
 that behalf mentioned, and shall have effect as if it were enacted in this 
 Act. 
 
 Trial of the pyx. 12. For the purpose of ascertaining that coins issued from the Mint have 
 been coined in accordance with this Act, a trial of the pyx shall be held at 
 least once in every year in which coins have been issued from the Mint. 
 
 It shall be lawful for Her Majesty, with the advice of Her Privy Council, 
 from time to time, by Order, to make regulations respecting the trial of the 
 pyx and all matters incidental thereto, and in particular respecting the 
 following matters ; viz., 
 
 (1.) The time and place of the trial : 
 
 (2.) The setting apart out of the coins issued by the Mint certain coins 
 for the trial : 
 
 (3.) The summoning of a jury of not less than six out of competent 
 freemen of the mystery of goldsmiths of the city of London or 
 other competent persons : 
 
 (4.) The attendance at the trial of the jury so summoned, and of the 
 
 proper officers of the Treasury, the Board of Trade, and the 
 
 Mint, and the production of the coins so set apart, and of the 
 standard trial plates and standard weights : 
 
 (5.) The proceedings at and conduct of the trial, including the nomi- 
 nation of some person to preside thereat, and the swearing of 
 the jury, and the mode of examining the coins : 
 
 (G.) The recording and the publication of the verdict, and the custody 
 of the record thereof, and the proceedings (if any) to be taken 
 in consequence of such verdict : 
 
 Every such Order shall come into operation on the date therein in that 
 behalf mentioned, and shall have effect as if it were enacted in this Act, 
 but may be revoked or altered by any subsequent Order under this section. 
 
App. B. Imperial Legislation, &c. 451 
 
 13. The Treasury may from time to time do all or any of the following Regulations by 
 
 things :— Treasury. 
 
 (1.) Fix the number and duties of the officers of and persons employed 
 in the Mint : 
 
 (2.) Make regulations and give directions (subject to the provisions 
 of this Act and any proclamation made thereunder) respecting 
 the general management of the Mint, and revoke and alter such 
 regulations and directions. 
 
 Master and Officers of J fin t. 
 
 14. The Chancellor of the Exchequer for the time being shall be the Master of Mint. 
 master, worker, and warden of Her Majesty's Royal Mint in England, and 
 governor of the Mint in Scotland. 
 
 Provided that nothing in this section shall render the Chancellor of the 
 Exchequer incapable of being elected to or of sitting or voting in the House 
 of Commons, or vacate the seat of the person who at the passing of this 
 Act holds the office of Chancellor of the Exchequer. 
 
 All duties, powers, and authorities imposed on or vested in or to be 
 transacted before the master of the Mint may be performed and exercised 
 by or transacted before him or his sufficient deputy. 
 
 15. The Treasury may from time to time appoint deputy masters and Deputy masters 
 other officers and persons for the purpose of carrying on the business of aui1 officers. 
 the Mint in the United Kingdom or elsewhere, and assign them their 
 
 duties, and award them their salaries. 
 
 The master of the Mint may from time to time promote, suspend, and 
 remove any such deputy masters, officers, and persons. 
 
 Standard Trial Plates and Weights. 
 
 16. The standard trial plates of gold and silver used for determining custody, &c. of 
 the justness of the gold and silver coins of the realm issued from the standard trial 
 Mint, which now exist or may hereafter be made, and all books, documents, v ,lates - 
 
 and things used in connection therewith or in relation thereto, shall be in 
 the custody of the Board of Trade, and shall be kept in such places and in 
 such manner as the Board of Trade may from time to time direct ; and the 
 performance of all duties in relation to such trial plates shall be part of 
 the business of the Standard Weights and Measures Department of the 
 Board of Trade. 
 
 The Board of Trade shall from time to time, when necessary, cause new 
 standard trial plates to be made and duly verified, of such standard fineness 
 as may be in conformity with the provisions of this Act. 
 
 17. The standard weights for weighing and testing the coin of the realm standard weights 
 shall be placed in the custody of the Board of Trade, and be kept in such for coin - 
 places and in such manner as the Board of Trade may from time to time 
 
 direct ; and the performance of all duties in relation to such standai'd 
 w r eights shall be part of the business of the Standard Weights and Measures 
 Department of the Board of Trade. 
 
 The Board of Trade shall from time to time cause weights of each coin 
 of the realm for the time being, and of multiples of such of those weights 
 as may be required, to be made and duly verified ; and those weights, when 
 approved by Her Majesty in Council, shall be the standard weights lor 
 determining the justness of the weight of and for weighing such coin. 
 
 The master of the Mint shall from time to time cause copies to be made 
 of such standard weights, and once at least in every year the Board of 
 Trade and the master of the Mint shall cause tuch copies to be compared 
 and duly verified with the standard weights in the custody of the Board of 
 Trade. 
 
 All weights which are not less in weight than the weight prescribed by 
 the first schedule to this Act for the lightest coin, and are used for weighing 
 coin, shall be compared with the said standard weights, and if found to be 
 just shall, on payment of such fee, not exceeding five shillings, as the Board 
 of Trade from time to time prescribe, be marked by some officer of the 
 Standard Weights and Measures Department of the Board of Trade with a 
 
452 
 
 Colonial Currency. 
 
 mark approved of by the Board of Trade, and notified in the " London 
 Gazette ; " and a weight which is required by this section to be so compared, 
 and is not so marked, shall not be deemed a just weight for determining 
 the weight of gold and silver coin of the realm. 
 
 If any person forges or counterfeits such mark, or any weight so marked, 
 or wilfully increases or diminishes any weight so marked, or knowingly 
 utters, sells, or uses any weight with such counterfeit mark, or any weight 
 so increased or diminished, or knowingly uses any weight declared by this 
 section not to be a just weight, such person shall be liable to a penalty not 
 exceeding fifty pounds. 
 
 All fees paid under this section shall be paid into the Exchequer, and 
 carried to the Consolidated Fund. 
 
 Summary 
 procedure. 
 
 Legal Proceedings. 
 
 18. Any summary proceeding under this Act may be taken, and any 
 penalty under this Act may be recovered, — 
 
 In England, before two justices of the peace in manner directed by the 
 Act of the session of the eleventh and twelfth years of the reign of Her 
 present Majesty, chapter forty-three, intituled " An Act to facilitate the 
 " performance of the duties of justices of the peace out of sessions within 
 " England and Wales with respect to summary convictions and orders," and 
 any Act amending the same. 
 
 In Scotland, in manner directed by The Summary Procedure Act, 18G4. 
 
 In Ireland, so far as respects Dublin, in manner directed by the Acts 
 regulating the powers of justices of the peace or the police of the Dublin 
 metropolis, and elsewhere in manner directed by The Petty Sessions 
 (Ireland) Act, 1851, and any Act amending the same. 
 
 In any British possession, in the courts, and before such justices or 
 magistrates, and in the manner in which the like proceedings and penalties 
 may be taken aud recovered by the law of such possession, or as near 
 thereto as circumstances admit, or in such other courts, or before such other 
 justices or magistrates, or in such other manner as any Act or Ordinance 
 having the force of law in such possession may from time to time provide. 
 
 Extent of Act. 
 
 Repeal of Acts 
 and parts of Acts 
 in Second 
 Schedule. 
 
 Miscellaneous. 
 
 19. This Act, save as expressly provided by this Act, or by any Procla- 
 mation made thereunder, shall not extend to any British possession. 
 
 20. The Acts mentioned in the first part of the Second Schedule to this 
 Act are hereby repealed to the extent in the third column of such Schedule 
 mentioned, and those mentioned in the second part of the same Schedule 
 are hereby repealed entirely. 
 
 Provided that, — 
 
 (1.) This repeal shall not affect anything already done or suffered, or 
 any right already acquired or accrued : 
 
 (2.) All weights for weighing coin which have before the passing of 
 this Act been marked at the Mint or by any proper officer shall 
 be deemed to have been marked under this Act : 
 
 (3.) Every branch of the Mint which at the passing of this Act issues 
 coins in any British possession shall, until the date fixed by any 
 proclamation made in pursuance of this Act with respect to 
 such branch Mint, continue in all respects to have the same 
 power of issuing coins and be in the same position as if this Act 
 had not passed, and coins so issued shall be deemed for the 
 purpose of this Act to have been issued from the Mint : 
 
 (4.) The said Acts (unless relating to a branch Mint and unless in the 
 said schedule expressly otherwise mentioned) are not repealed so 
 far as they apply to any British possession to which this Act 
 does not extend until a Proclamation directing that this Act or 
 any part thereof, with or without any modification contained in 
 the Proclamation, shall be in force in such British possession 
 comes into operation. 
 
App. B. Imperial Legislation, &c. 
 
 453 
 
 SCHEDULES. 
 
 First Schedule.* 
 
 Denomination of Coin. 
 
 Standard Weight. 
 
 Imperial Metric 
 Weight. Weight. 
 
 Grains. Grams. 
 
 Least Current Weight 
 
 Imperial 
 Weight. 
 
 Grains. 
 
 Metric 
 
 Weight. 
 
 Grams. 
 
 Gold : 
 
 Five Pound 
 Two Pound 
 Sovereign - 
 Half Sovereign 
 
 Silver : 
 Crown 
 
 Half Crown 
 
 Florin 
 
 Shilling - 
 
 Sixpence - 
 
 Groat or Fourpence • 
 
 Threepence 
 
 Twopence 
 
 Penny 
 
 BROXZE : 
 Penny 
 Halfpenny 
 Farthing - 
 
 616-37239 
 
 3994028 
 
 246-54895 
 
 15-97611 
 
 123-27447 
 
 7-98805 
 
 6163723 
 
 3-99402 
 
 436-36363 
 
 28 . 2 7 
 
 218-18181 
 
 14-13795 
 
 174-54545 
 
 11-31036 
 
 87-27272 
 
 5-6551S 
 
 43-63636 
 
 2-82759 
 
 29-09090 
 
 1-88506 
 
 21-81818 
 
 1-41379 
 
 14-54545 
 
 0-94253 
 
 7-27272 
 
 0-47126 
 
 145-83333 
 
 9-44984 
 
 87-50000 
 
 5-66990 
 
 43-75000 
 
 2-83495 
 
 612-5 'i 
 
 I 
 1-22-S 
 
 61-12500 
 
 38935 f 
 37574 ) 
 
 39-6893, 
 
 15-8: 
 7-93787 
 3-96083 
 
 Standard 
 Fineness. 
 
 Remedy Allowance/) 
 
 Weight per Piece. 
 
 Imperial Metric 
 Grains. Grams. 
 
 Millesimal 
 Fineness. 
 
 Eleven-twelfths 
 fine gold, one- 
 twelfth alloy ; 
 or millesimal 
 
 fineness 916-66. 
 
 Thirty-seven 
 fortieths fine 
 silver, three- 
 fortieths alloy ; 
 or millesimal 
 fineness 925 
 
 Mixed metal, 
 
 copper, tin, and 
 
 zinc. 
 
 1 
 
 1-00000 
 
 0-4 
 
 Hamuli 
 
 o-ioooo 
 
 1-81818 
 0-90909 
 0-727,27 
 0-36363 
 0-18181 
 0-12121 
 0-09090 
 0-06060 
 0-03030 
 
 2-91666 
 
 175 i 
 
 0-87500 
 
 0-06479 
 0-02592 
 0-01296 
 0-00648 
 
 0-11781 
 0-05890 
 0-04712 
 0-02356 
 0-01178 
 0-00785 
 0-00589 
 000392 
 0-00196 
 
 0-18899 
 0-11339 
 0-05669 
 
 f 
 
 0-002 
 
 > 0-004 
 
 Xone. 
 
 The weight and fineness of the coins specified in this Schedule are according to what is provided by the Act fifty-sir 
 George the Third, chapter sixty-eight, that the gold coin of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland should 
 hold such weight and fineness as were prescribed in the then existing Mint indenture (that is to say), that there should 
 be nine hundred and thirty-four sovereigns anil one ten shilling piece contained in twenty pounds' weight troy of 
 standard gold, of the fineness at the trial of the same of twenty-two carats fine gold and two carats of alloy in the 
 pound weight troy : and further, as regards silver coin, that there should be sixty-six shillings in every pound troy of 
 standard silver of the fineness of eleven ounces two pennyweights of fine silver and eighteen pennyweights of alloy in 
 every pound weight troy. 
 
 
 (xxiii.) Eoyal Proclamation of 14th January 1871. 
 
 For giving Currency to G-old Coins made at the Branch Mint at Sydney, 
 New South Wales, of the like designs as those approved for the 
 corresponding Coins of the Currency of the United Kingdom. 
 
 Victoria R. 
 
 Whereas by an Order in Council bearing date the fourteenth day of 
 January one thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, We have thought 
 fit to order that the designs for gold coins to be coined at the Sydney 
 Branch of Our Royal Mint, pursuant to Our Order in Council of the 
 nineteenth day of August, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, 
 establishing the said Branch of Our Royal Mint at Sydney, should be the 
 like designs as now are and from henceforth may be from time to time 
 approved by Us, and in force for the corresponding coins of the currency of 
 this realm : And whereas, in pursuance of the said Order in Council, it is 
 provided that a coinage of gold coins in accordance with the standards of 
 weight and fineness of the various coins of the currency of this realm, and 
 of the designs aforesaid, shall be made at the said Sydney Branch of Our 
 Royal Mint : And whereas, pieces of money of the above descriptions will 
 be coined at the said Branch of our Royal Mint, in pursuance of Orders 
 issued and to be issued by Us ; We have, therefore, by and with the advice 
 
 * The Second and Third Schedules, relating to repeals of earlier Acts, are omitted, 
 •j- See Schedule to the Coinage Act of 1891 {infra) for revised remedy allowances to be substituted 
 for those of 1870. 
 
 72642. G G 
 
454 
 
 Colonial Currency. 
 
 of Our Privy Council, thought fit to issue this Our Royal Proclamation 
 and We do ordain, declare, and command, that from and after the publica- 
 tion of this Our Proclamation in the London Gazette, all the said pieces of 
 money so to be coined shall be current and lawful money within the United 
 Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland ; and that from and after the 
 promulgation of this Our Proclamation by the Governors or Officers 
 administering the Government of the hereinafter-mentioned Colonies and 
 Possessions respectively, that is to say : — 
 
 Antigua. 
 
 Bahamas. 
 
 Barbados. 
 
 Bermuda. 
 
 British Columbia. 
 
 British Guiana. 
 
 Canada. 
 
 Cape of Good Hope. 
 
 Dominica. 
 
 Falkland Islands. 
 
 Gambia. 
 
 Gibraltar. 
 
 Gold Coast, 
 
 Grenada. 
 
 Honduras. 
 
 Jamaica. 
 
 Lagos. 
 
 Malta. 
 
 Mauritius. 
 
 Montserrat. 
 
 Natal. 
 
 Nevis. 
 
 Newfoundland. 
 
 New South "Wales. 
 
 New Zealand. 
 
 Prince Edward Island. 
 
 Queensland. 
 
 St. Christopher and its Dependencies. 
 
 St. Helena. 
 
 St. Lucia. 
 
 St. Vincent. 
 
 Sierra Leone. 
 
 South Australia. 
 
 Tasmania. 
 
 Tobago. 
 
 Trinidad. 
 
 Turk's and Caicos Islands. 
 
 "Virgin Islands. 
 
 Western Australia. 
 
 all the said pieces of money so to be coined shall be current and lawful 
 money in Our said several Colonies and Possessions, and shall pass and 
 be received as current and lawful money, and be a legal tender in the 
 United Kingdom and the said Colonies and Possessions respectively, from 
 the times aforesaid, at the like values and by the like names as the corre- 
 sponding coins of the currency of this realm, and concurrently with any 
 coins now current in the United Kingdom and the said Colonies and 
 Possessions respectively. 
 
 Given at Our Court at Osborne House, Isle of Wight, this fourteenth 
 day of January, in the year of Our Lord one thousand eight 
 hundred and seventy-one, and in the thirty-fourth year of Our 
 
 Reign. 
 
 God save the Queen. 
 
 (xxiv.) Royal Proclamation of 24th March 1871 . 
 
 For giving Currency in certain Colonies to Gold Coins made at Sydney, 
 New South Wales, of the like designs of those approved for the corre- 
 sponding Coins of the Currency of the United Kingdom. 
 
 Victoria R. 
 
 Whekeas, in pursuance of Orders issued and to be issued by Us, a 
 coinage of Gold Coins, in accordance with the Standards of Weight and 
 Fineness of the Coins of the Currency of the United Kingdom of Great 
 Britain and Ireland, and of the like designs as now are and from henceforth 
 may be from time to timo approved by Us, and in force for the corre- 
 sponding Coins of the Currencv of the said United Kingdom, is being or 
 will be made at the Sydney Branch of Our Royal Mint, We have, by and 
 with the advice of Our Privy Council, thought fit to issue this Our Royal 
 Proclamation. And We do Ordain, Declare, and Command that, upon and 
 
App. B. Imperial Legislation, &c. 455 
 
 from and after the promulgation thereof by the respective Governors or 
 Officers administering the Governments of Our Colony of Victoria and all 
 or any other of Our Colonies and Possessions wherein Gold Coins, issued 
 from Our Mint in London, are a legal tender, other than the Colonies and 
 Possessions specified in the Proclamation promulgated in pursuance of Our 
 Order in Council of the 14th January 1871, relating to the aforesaid Gold 
 Coins, all the said pieces of Gold money so coined or to be coined shall be, 
 and shall pass, and be received as current and lawful money, and be a legal 
 tender for payments in Our said Colony of Victoria, and Our said other 
 Colonies and Possessions respectively from the times aforesaid, at the like 
 values and by the like names as the corresponding Coins of the Currency 
 of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and concurrently 
 with any Coins now current in the said Colony of Victoria, and the said 
 other Colonies and Possessions respectively. 
 
 Given at Our Court at Windsor, this Twenty-fourth day of March, 
 in the Year of Our Lord One Thousand Eight Hundred and 
 Seventy-one, and in the Thirty-fourth Year of Our Reign. 
 
 God save the Queen. 
 
 (xxv.) Order in Council and Proclamation of 24th March 1876. 
 
 Whereas by Her Majesty's Royal Proclamation bearing date the 
 thirteenth day of May one thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, Her 
 Majesty did, with the advice of Her Privy Council, declare and command 
 that no copper monies whatsoever, other than and except such bronze 
 monies as were then or are now current by virtue of Her Majesty's 
 Proclamation bearing date the seventeenth day of December one thousand 
 eight hundred and sixty, or any Proclamation dated subsequently to the 
 said seventeenth day of December one thousand eight hundred and sixty, 
 should be allowed to pass or be current in any payment whatsoever within 
 the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the thirty-first day 
 of December one thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine ; and whereas it 
 hath been represented unto Her Majesty in Council by the Lords Com- 
 missioners of Her Majesty's Treasury that it would be expedient that the 
 provisions of the said Proclamation, bearing date the thirteenth day of 
 May one thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, should be extended to 
 certain of the Colonies and Possessions ; and whereas there was this day 
 read at the Board a Draft of a Proclamation extending the provisions of 
 the said Proclamation bearing date the thirteenth of May one thousand 
 eight hundred and sixty-nine, accordingly Her Majesty, having taken the 
 same into consideration, was pleased, by and with the advice of H^r 
 Privy Council, to approve thereof, and to order, and it is hereby ordered, 
 that the said Proclamation do take effect and come into force in such of the 
 said Colonies, Possessions, and Dominions wherein proclamation shall have 
 been made or shall be made for decrying the same copper monies from the 
 date named in such last-mentioned Proclamation. 
 
 And the Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury and the Rig! it 
 Honourable the Earl of Carnarvon, one of Hei Majesty's Principal Secre- 
 taries of State, are to give the requisite directions for causing publication 
 to be made thereof in Her Majesty's said Colonies and Possessions, and for 
 the other purposes referred to therein accordingly. 
 
 GG2 
 
456 Colonial Currency. 
 
 BY THE QUEEN. 
 
 A Proclamation. 
 Victoria R. 
 
 Whereas by Our Royal Proclamation bearing date the thirteenth day of 
 May one thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, after reciting that "We had 
 taken into consideration the state of the copper coin of this Kingdom, and 
 had deemed it expedient, with the advice of Our Privy Council, that all 
 copper monies of this realm, commonly called a penny, a half-penny, a 
 farthing, and a half-farthing, coined at our Mint and current in Our 
 Dominions by virtue of any Proclamation prior to the seventeenth day of 
 December one thousand eight hundred and sixty, should be called in and 
 re-coined : And further reciting that considerable quantities of the said 
 copper monies before-mentioned had been received and exchanged at Our 
 Mint, so that only a small portion of such monies was remaining in circu- 
 lation at the date aforesaid, "We did, with the advice of Our Privy Council, 
 declare and command that no copper monies whatsoever (other than and 
 except such bronze monies as were then and are now current by virtue of 
 Our Proclamation bearing date the seventeenth day of December one 
 thousand eight hundred and sixty, or any Proclamation dated subsequently 
 to the said seventeenth day of December one thousand eight hundred and 
 sixty), should be allowed to pass or be current in any payment whatsoever 
 within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the thirty- 
 first day of December one thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine. 
 
 Now, therefore, by this Our Royal Proclamation, and with the advice of 
 Our Privy Council, We do think proper to declare and command, and We 
 do hereby declare and command accordingly, that, in whatsoever of Our 
 Colonies, Plantations, Possessions, and Dominions there be current copper 
 monies of this realm, commonly called a penny, a half-penny, a farthing, 
 and a half -farthing, other than and except such bronze monies as aforesaid, 
 such copper monies be no longer allowed to pass or be current in any 
 payment whatever within any of the said Colonies, Plantations, Possessions, 
 and Dominions wherein proclamation shall have been made or shall 
 be made for decrying the same copper monies from the date named in such 
 Proclamation. 
 
 (xxvi.) Regulations for the Supply of British Silver and Bronze 
 
 Coinage to the Colonies. 
 
 21st February 1881. 
 New silver and bronze coin (half-crowns, florins, shillings, sixpences, 
 and threepences, and pence, halfpence, and farthings) can be supplied to 
 Colonial Governments from the Royal Mint on the following conditions : — 
 
 1. On receiving an application from the agent of the Colonial Govern- 
 ment in London, the Master of the Mint will cause to be packed, and held 
 to his order, such an amount of silver or bronze coin as may be required 
 on behalf of the Colony. 
 
 2. The Master of Mint will undertake the payment of all expenses, 
 including packing, freight, and shipping charges, connected with the ship- 
 ment of sdver and bronze coin to the port in the Colony agreed upon by 
 the Master of the Mint and the agent of the Colony in London. 
 
 3. The agent of the Colonial Government will .be required to pay to the 
 account of the Master of the Mint at the Bank of England, on or before 
 the delivery of the coin, the sum representing the nominal value of the 
 new silver or bronze coin ordered. 
 
 4. The Colonial Government will be required to make such arrangements 
 as may be deemed necessary for the withdral of worn silver coin from 
 
App. B. Imperial Legislation, &c. 457 
 
 circulation, and to cause the coin so withdrawn to be forwarded to the Mint 
 or one of its branches (at Sydney or Melbourne), for recoinage. The 
 Master of the Mint will defray all expenses, including freight and shipping 
 charges, incurred in the transmission of worn coin to London, Sydney, or 
 Melbourne, fiom a port of shipment to be agreed upon by the Master of 
 the Mint, or the Deputy Master at Sydney or Melbourne, and the agent of 
 the Colony. 
 
 5. The Imperial Government will pay to the Colonial Government, or 
 its agent, the nominal value of the worn coin so withdrawn from circu- 
 lation, as soon as it is received at the Royal Mint or one of its branches. 
 
 (xxvii.) Royal Proclamation of 13th May 1887. 
 
 Victoria R. 
 
 Whereas by an Act passed in the thirty-third year of Our reign, 
 intituled " An Act to consolidate and amend the law relating to the 
 Coinage and Her Majesty's Mint," it is amongst other things enacted, 
 
 That We, by and with the advice of Our Privy Council, shall from time 
 to time, by Proclamation, determine the design for any coin. 
 
 We have, therefore, thought fit to order that certain of the coins made 
 at the Mint, mentioned in the first schedule to the aforesaid Act, of the 
 weight and fineness specified in that schedule, shall bear designs as 
 follows : — 
 
 That every Five Pound Piece should have for the obverse impression 
 Our effigy, with the inscription '• Victoria D. G. Britt : Reg: F. D.," and 
 for the reverse the image of Saint George armed, sitting on horseback, 
 attacking the Dragon with a sword, and a broken spear upon the ground, 
 and the date of the year, with a graining upon the edge : and that every 
 Two Pound Piece should have the same obverse and reverse impression 
 and inscription in all respects as the Five Pound Piece, with a graining 
 upon the edge ; and that every Sovereign should have the same obverse and 
 reverse impression and inscription in all respects as the Five Pound Piece, 
 with a graining upon the edge ; and that every Half-Sovereign should 
 have for the obverse impression the aforesaid effigy, with the inscription 
 "Victoria Dei Gratia," and for the reverse the ensigns armorial of the 
 United Kingdom contained in a garnished shield surmounted by the Royal 
 Crown, with the inscription " Britanniarum Regina : Fid : Def : " and the 
 date of the year, with a graining upon the edge : and that every Crown 
 should have the same obverse and reverse impression and inscription in all 
 respects as the Five Pound Piece, with a graining upon the edge ; and that 
 every Half-Crown should have for the obverse impression the aforesaid 
 effigy, with the inscription " Victoria Dei Gratia," and for the reverse the 
 ensigns armorial of the United Kingdom contained in a plain shield sur- 
 rounded by the Garter, bearing the motto " Honi soit qui mal y pense," 
 and the Collar of the Garter, with the inscription " Britanniarum Regina 
 Fid : Def :" and the date of the year, with a graining upon the edge ; and 
 that every Florin should have for the obverse impression the aforesaid 
 effigy, with the inscription " Victoria Dei Giatia," and for the reverse the 
 ensigns armorial of the United Kingdom contained in four shields arranged 
 crosswise, each shield crowned, and between the shields four sceptres 
 surmounted by orbs, a thistle, and a harp, and a Star of the Garter in the 
 centre, with' the inscription "Britt: Reg: Fid: Def:" and the date of 
 the year, with a graining upon the edge ; and that every Shilling should 
 have for the obverse impression the aforesaid effigy, with the inscription 
 " Victoria Dei Gratia Britt : Regina F. D.," and for the reverse the ens ; gns 
 armorial of the United Kingdom, contained in a plain shield surrounded 
 by the Garter, bearing the motto "Honi soit qui mal y pense," and the 
 date of the year, with a graining upon the edge ; and that every Sixpence 
 
4o8 Colonial Currency. 
 
 should have the same obverse and reverse impression and inscription in all 
 respects as the Shilling, with a graining upon the edge ; and that certain 
 other pieces of silver money called " The Queen's Maundy Monies," of 
 fourpence, threepence, twopence, and one peuny, should have for the 
 obverse impression the aforesaid effigy, with the inscription " Victoria Dei 
 Gratia Britt : Regina F. D.," and for the reverse the respective figures 
 " 4," " 3," " 2," " 1 " (according to the denomination or value of the piece) 
 in the centre, with the date of the year placed across the figure, and 
 encircled by an oak wreath surmounted by the Royal crown, with a plain 
 edge : 
 
 And whereas by the aforesaid Act it is also enacted that it shall be 
 lawful for Us, by and with the advice of Our Privy Council, from time to 
 time, by Proclamation, to determine the denominations of coins to be 
 .coined at the Mint, and it is by the said Act provided that any coin of 
 gold, silver, or bronze, of any other denomination than that of the coins 
 mentioned in the first schedule to the aforesaid Act, which is hereafter 
 coined at the Mint, shall be of a weight and fineness bearing the same 
 proportion to the weight and fineness specified in that schedule as the 
 denomination of such coins bears to the denominations mentioned in that 
 schedule. 
 
 We have, therefore, further thought fit to order that a new coin, to be 
 called a Double Florin, should be coined, of the standard weight of 
 349'09090 grains, and of the fineness of thirty-seven fortieths fine silver 
 and three-fortieths alloy, and should pass and be received as current and 
 lawful money of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland at the 
 rate of four shillings, or One-fifth of a Pound ; and that every such coin 
 should have the same obverse and reverse impression and inscription in all 
 respects as the Florin, with a graining upon the edge. 
 
 And whereas pieces of money of the above descriptions respectively have 
 been coined at Our Mint, and will be coined there in pursuance of orders 
 which We have given for that purpose, We have, therefore, by and with 
 the advice of Our Privy Council, thought fit to issue this Our Royal Procla- 
 mation ; and We do hereby ordain, declare, and command that the said 
 pieces of money respectively so coined and to be coined as aforesaid shall 
 be current and lawful money of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and 
 Ireland, and that this, Our Royal Proclamation, shall come into operation 
 on the date hereof. 
 
 Given at Our Court at Windsor, this Thirteenth day of May, in the 
 Year of Our Lord One Thousand Eight Hundred and Eighty-seven, 
 and in the Fiftieth Year of Our Reign. 
 
 God save the Queen. 
 
 (xxviii.) Coin&ge Act, 1889 (52 & 53 Vict. c. 58). 
 
 An Act to amend the Coinage Act, 1870, as respects Light Gold Coins. 
 
 [30th August 1889.] 
 
 33<t34Vict. Whereas by section seven of the Coinage Act, 1870, it is enacted as 
 
 c. io. follows : — 
 
 " Where any gold coin of the realm is below the current weight as 
 provided by this Act, or where any coin is called in by any Proclamation, 
 every person shall, by himself or others, cut, break, or deface any such coin 
 tendered to him in payment, and the person tendering the same shall bear 
 the loss:" 
 
 And whereas the said section has failed to maintain the integrity of the 
 gold coinage of the realm, and it is expedient to provide for the exchange 
 
App. B. Imperial Legislation, &c. 
 
 459 
 
 as to 
 
 of a portion of such gold coins as, owing to fair wear and tear, are below 
 the least current weight without charging the holders thereof for the 
 loss: 
 
 Be it therefore enacted by the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty, by and 
 with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and 
 Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of 
 the same, as follows : 
 
 1. — (1.) Any gold coin of the realm coined before the reign of Her Provision as 
 present Majesty which is below the least curreut weight as provided by the pre- Victorian g ' 
 Coinage Act, 1870, may, within the time and in the manner from time to gold coin8. 
 time directed by Her Majesty the Queen in Council, be tendered for 
 exchange, and, if it has not been illegally dealt with, shall (notwithstanding 
 anything in section seven of the Coinage Act, 187G) be exchanged or paid 
 for by or on behalf of the Mint at its nominal value : 
 
 (2.) Any expenses incurred by reason of such exchange or payment 
 shall be defrayed out of moneys provided by Parliament. 
 
 (3.) For the purposes of this Act a gold coin shall be deemed to have 
 been illegally dealt with, where the coin has been impaired, diminished, 
 or lightened otherwise than by fair wear and tear, or has been defaced 
 by having any name, word, device or number stamped thereon, whether 
 the coin has or has not been thereby diminished or lightened : 
 
 (4.) In a gold coin loss of weight exceeding the amount specified in 
 that behalf in the schedule to this Act shall for the purposes of this 
 Act be prima facie evidence that the coin has been impaired, diminished, 
 or lightened otherwise than by fair wear and tear. 
 
 2. This Act may be cited as the Coinage Act, 1889. Short titles. 
 
 This Act and the Coinage Act, 1870, may be cited together as the Coinage 
 Acts, 1870 and 1889. 
 
 SCHEDULE. 
 
 Loss of Weight which is to be evidence of Coin being illegally dealt with. 
 
 Description of Gold Coin. 
 
 A sovereign or half-sovereign coined before the reign 
 of Her present Majesty. 
 
 Amount of Loss of Weight 
 in each Coin, which is to 
 
 be evidence that the 
 
 Coin has been illegally 
 
 dealt with. 
 
 Loss exceeding four 
 grains from the 
 standard weight. 
 
 Xote-~In the case of any coin of higher denomination than a sovereign, a loss on 
 each coin, proportionate to that on the sovereign, shall be evidence that the coin 
 has been illegally dealt with. The standard weight of a sovereign is I2327447 
 "•rains, and the standard weight of a half -sovereign is 61'63723 grains. 
 
460 Colonial Currency. 
 
 (xxix.) Eoyal Proclamation- of 22nd November 1890. 
 
 Whereas by " The Coinage Act, 1870," We are empowered, with the 
 advice of Our Privy Council, by Proclamation to call in coins of any date 
 or denomination, or any coins coined before the date in such Proclamation 
 mentioned. 
 
 And whereas by " The Coinage Act, 1889," it was provided that any 
 Gold Coin of the realm, coined before Our Reign which should be below 
 the least current weight as provided by " The Coinage Act, 1870," might, 
 within the time and in the manner, from time to time, directed by lis in 
 Council, be tendered for exchange, and if it had not been illegally dealt 
 with, should be exchanged or paid for by or on behalf of the Mint at its 
 nominal value. 
 
 And whereas We, by Orders in Council made, pursuant to " The Coinage 
 Act, 1889," on the thirteenth day of December, one thousand eight hundred 
 and eighty-nine, and eighth day of February, one thousand eight hundred 
 and ninety, ordered that the time within which any coin mentioned in 
 section one of " The Coinage Act, 1889," might be tendered for exchange 
 should be the thirty-first day of March, one thousand eight hundred and 
 ninety, and in the manner in the said Orders respectively mentioned. 
 
 And whereas a large number of Gold Coins coined before Our Reign 
 have been so exchanged or paid for, and a few only remain in circulation, 
 and it is expedient to call in all such coins. 
 
 Now therefore We do, with the advice of Our Privy Council, and in 
 pursuance of "The Coinage Act, 1870," and of all other powers enabling 
 Us in this behalf, by this Our Royal Proclamation, call in by the twenty- 
 eighth day of February one thousand eight hundred and ninety-one all 
 Gold Coins of the realm coined before Our Reign', and declare and command 
 that, from and after such twenty-eighth day of February, one thousand 
 eight hundred and ninety-one, such coins shall not be current or legal 
 tender within Our United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. 
 
 (xxx.) Coinage Act, 1891 (54 & 55 Vict. c. 72). 
 
 An Act to amend the Coinage Act 1870. [5th August 1891.] 
 
 Be it enacted by the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the 
 advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in 
 this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as 
 follows : 
 
 revision as to 1. — (1.) It shall be lawful for Her Majesty, by Order in Council, to 
 
 xehange of lipht direct that gold coins of the realm which have not been called in by Procla- 
 
 3 & 34 Vict. mation and are below the least current weight as provided by the Coinage 
 
 . io. Act, 1870, shall, if they have not been illegally dealt with, and subject to 
 
 such conditions as to time, manner, and order of presentation, as may be 
 
 mentioned in the Order, be exchanged or paid for by or on behalf of the 
 
 Mint at their nominal value. 
 
 (2.) For the purposes of this Act a gold coin shall be deemed to have 
 been illegally dealt with where the coin has been impaired, diminished, or 
 lightened otherwise than by fair wear and tear, or has been defaced by 
 having any name, word, device, or number stamped thereon, whether the 
 coin has or has not been thereby diminished or lightened. 
 
 (3. ) In a sovereign or half sovereign loss of weight exceeding three 
 grains from the standard weight shall, for the purposes of this Act, be 
 prima facie evidence that the coin has been impaired, diminished, or 
 lightened otherwise than by fair wear and tear. 
 
 (4.) Towards meeting the expenses to be incurred in pursuance of this 
 section the sum of four hundred thousand pounds shall bo charged on and 
 
 * By Order in Council of -1st March 1890, pre-Victorian gold coins were allowed 
 to be presented Eor exchange at the Sydney and Melbourne Mints up to 3uth 
 April lSid) 
 
App. B. Imperial Legislation, &c. 
 
 461 
 
 issued from the Consolidated Fund in the year ending the thirty first day of 
 March, one thousand eight hundred and ninety-two, and, so far as not 
 immediately required, may be invested in such manner as the Treasury 
 direct; and any interest thereon shall be applied for the purposes of this 
 section. 
 
 2. The remedy allowances for gold, silver, and bronze coins shall be sucli 
 as are specified in the schedule to this Act ; and in all copies of the 
 Coinage Act, 1870, printed after the passing or this Act, the First Schedule 
 to that Act shall be printed so as to give effect to the amendments made by 
 this section. 
 
 3. — (1.) This Act may be cited as the Coinage Act, 1891. 
 
 (2.) This Act and the Coinage Act, 1870, may be cited together as the 
 Coinage Acts, 1870 and 1891. 
 
 (3.) Expressions used in this Act have the same meaning as in the 
 Coinage Act, 1870. 
 
 Remedy ! 
 allowances for 
 
 coin. 
 
 Short titles ami 
 construction. 
 
 SCHEDULE. 
 
 
 
 Standard Fineness. 
 
 Eemedy Allowance. 
 
 Denomination of Coin. 
 
 Weight per Piece. 
 
 M 
 F 
 
 illesimal 
 
 
 Imperial 
 
 Metric 
 
 ineness. 
 
 
 
 
 Grains. 
 
 Grams. 
 
 
 
 Gold : 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Five-pound - 
 Two-pound - 
 
 :] 
 
 Eleven-twelfths fine gold, 
 
 f 1-00 
 J 0-40 
 
 0-06479 
 0-02592 
 
 1 
 
 
 Sovereign - 
 
 one-twelfth alloy ; or mil- 
 
 I 0-20 
 
 0-01296 
 
 > 
 
 2 
 
 Half-sovereign - 
 
 lesimal fineness 916-6. 
 
 I 0-15 
 
 0-00972 
 
 1 
 
 
 Silver : 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Crown ... 
 
 
 
 / 2-000 
 
 0-1296 
 
 \ 
 
 
 Double-florin 
 
 - 
 
 
 1-678 
 
 0-1087 
 
 
 
 Half-crown 
 
 - 
 
 
 1-264 
 
 0-0788 
 
 
 
 Florin ... 
 
 - 
 
 Thirty-seven fortieths fine 
 
 0-997 
 
 0-0646 
 
 
 
 Shilling 
 
 : 
 
 silver, three-fortieths al- 
 
 J 0-578 
 
 0-0375 
 
 \ 
 
 4 
 
 Sixpence ... 
 
 loy ; or millesimal fine- 
 
 1 0-346 
 
 0-0224 
 
 < 
 
 Groat or Fourpence - 
 
 . 
 
 ness 925. 
 
 0-262 
 
 0-0170 
 
 
 Threepence 
 
 - 
 
 
 0-212 
 
 0-O138 
 
 
 Twopence - 
 
 . 
 
 
 0-144 
 
 0-0093 
 
 
 
 
 -/ 
 
 
 I 0-087 
 
 0-0056 
 
 ) 
 
 
 Bronze : 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Halfpenny - 
 
 :} 
 
 Mixed metal, copper, tin, 
 and zinc. 
 
 r 2-91666 
 1 1-75000 
 
 0-18899 
 0-11339 
 
 } 
 
 None. 
 
 Farthing ... 
 
 -/ 
 
 I 0-87500 
 
 0-05669 
 
 1 
 
 
 (xxxi.) Order in Council of lGth March 1892. 
 
 Whereas by the Coinage Act, 1891, it is enacted as follows : — 
 
 (1.) It shall be lawful for Her Majesty, by Order in Council, to direct 
 that gold coins of the realm which have not been called in by proclamation 
 and are below the least current weight as provided by the Coinage Act, 
 1870, shall, if they have not been illegally dealt with, and subject to such 
 conditions as to time, manner, and order of presentation as may be 
 mentioned in the Order, be exchanged or paid for by or on behalf of the 
 Mint at their nominal value : 
 
 (2.) For the purposes of this Act a gold com shall be deemed to have 
 been illegally dealt with where the coin has been impaired, diminished, or 
 lightened otherwise than by fair wear and tear, or has been defaced by 
 having any nan e, word, device, or number stamped thert-on, whether the 
 coin has or has not been thereby diminished or lightened. 
 
 And whereas it is expedient to provide for the exchange of such gold 
 coins : 
 
462 
 
 Colonial Currency. 
 
 Now, therefore. Her Majesty, by and with the advice of Her Privy 
 Council, in pursuance of the said Act, and of all other powers enabling 
 Her Majesty in this behalf, is pleased to order, and it is hereby ordered, as 
 follows : — 
 
 Any gold coins of the realm which have not been called in by procla- 
 mation and are below the least current weight as provided by the Coinage 
 Act, 1871*, shall at any time after the seventeenth day of March 1892, if 
 they have not been illegally dealt with, be exchanged or paid for by or 
 on behalf of the Mint at their nominal value, subject to the condition that 
 they must be tendered during business hours at the Bank of England in 
 London, in parcels of a nominal value of not less than one hundred pounds 
 each, and must be left there for such time before the exchange or payment 
 as may be reasonably necessary for examination and weighing in order to 
 ascertain whether any coin has been illegally dealt with within the meaning 
 of the said Act. 
 
 And the Master of Her Majesty's Royal Mint is hereby directed to carry 
 into effect the provisions of the said Act for exchanging or paying for at 
 their nominal value all such coins as are so tendered, and have not been 
 illegally dealt with. 
 
 (xxxii.) Charge for Coining Gold at the Sydney Mint. 
 
 Date or 
 
 REGULATION'S. 
 
 Charge. 
 
 Remarks. 
 
 10 May 1S55 - 
 
 | per cent. ; not less than 1,000 oz. 
 receive!. 
 
 " The Sydney Mint is not open for melt- 
 ing and refining plate and jewellery 
 or bullion which has been previously 
 wrought, or for converting such into 
 coin. Unsuitable importations will 
 be returned." 
 
 28 June 1855 - 
 
 From 10,000 oz. upwards, f per cent. 
 Under 10,000 oz., but above 12 oz., 
 1 per cent. 
 
 An additional J per cent, charged in 
 cases requiring early payment (within 
 three days of delivery at Mint). 
 
 22 September 1855 
 
 From 1,000 oz. upwards, § per cent. 
 Under 1,000 oz. but above 12 oz., 1 
 per cent. 
 
 An additional J per cent, charged in 
 cases requiring early payment (within 
 two days of delivery). 
 
 24 October 1859 - 
 
 A reduction of § per cent, made from 
 the foregoing charge in favour of 
 gold produced in any other part of 
 Australasia than New South Wales. 
 
 
 14 August 1866 - 
 
 Over 1,000 oz. 6d.* per oz. standard. 
 Under 1,000 oz. 8 d. peroz.* standard. 
 (Minimum weight received, 12 oz.) 
 
 A reduction of 3 d. per oz. made in 
 
 favour of gold from other countries 
 than New South Wales. 
 
 30 June 1869 
 
 Over 1,000 oz. 6d. * per oz. standard. 
 Under 1,000 oz. 8 d.* per oz. standard. 
 (Minimum weight received, 10 oz.) 
 
 Ditto - - - ditto. 
 
 23 August 1870 - 
 
 Over 1,000 oz. Gd. a per oz. standard. 
 Under 1,000 oz. 8d. s per oz. standard. 
 | -Minimum weight received, 10 oz.) 
 
 Ditto - - - ditto. 
 All silver over 2 per cent, will be paid 
 for at 5 s, per oz. fine. 
 
 18 August 1874 - 
 
 Over 5,000 oz. 4<i. per oz. standard. 
 1,000 to 5,000 OZ. 6 ■/. per oz. standard. 
 1 Oder 1,000 OZ. 8<J. per nz. standard. 
 
 (Minimum weight received, 10 oz.) 
 
 Gold from other countries : 
 Over 1,000 oz. 3 J. per oz. standard. 
 Under 1,000 oz. bd. per oz. standard. 
 Silver over 2 per cent, paid for at 5 1. 
 per oz. 
 
 13 November 1875 
 
 Ditto - - - ditto 
 
 Ditto - - - ditto. 
 Light gold coin received without any 
 charge. Silver over 2 per cent, paid 
 for at 6 /. per o*. fine. 
 
App. B. Imperial Legislation, &c. 463 
 
 (xxxii). Charge for Coining Gold at the Sydney Mint— (continued). 
 
 Date of 
 Regulations. 
 
 Charge. 
 
 Remakes. 
 
 24 August 1876 - 
 
 Over 5,000 oz. 4 d . per oz. standard. 
 1.000 to 5.000 oz. 6r/. per oz. standard. 
 Under 1,000 oz. Sd. per oz. standard. 
 Under 12 oz. 8 s. 
 
 Sold from other countries : 
 Over 1,000 oz. 8<t. per OZ. standard. 
 12 to 1,000 oz. 5 i/. per oz. standard. 
 Under 12 oz. 5*. Silver over 2 per 
 cent pai.l for at a rate to be from time 
 
 to time notified in the Gazette. 
 
 2 October 1876 
 
 Ditto - - - ditto 
 
 Gold from other countries : 
 Over 5,000 oz. 2d. per oz. standard. 
 l.ooo to 5,000 oz. 3(/. per oz. standard. 
 12 to J.000 oz. 5<Z. per oz. standard. 
 Under 12 oz. 5 s. Silver over '.' per 
 cent, paid for at a rate to be from 
 time to time notified in the Gazette. 
 
 2ti September 1879 
 
 Over 5,000 oz. 2 d. per oz. standard. 
 500 to 5,000 oz. 4 d. per oz. standard. 
 Under 500 o . 6d. per oz. standard. 
 Under 12 oz. 6 s. 
 
 A reduction of 1 d. per oz. from the 
 New South Wales charge made in 
 favour of golil from other countries, 
 5 s. being charged for deposits under 
 12 oz. Light gold coin received free, 
 if of 50/. nominal value. Silver over 
 2 per cent, paid for at 4 s. per oz. 
 
 10 August 1886 - 
 
 Ditto - - - ditto 
 
 Ditto - - - ditto. 
 Silver over 2 per cent, paid for at a 
 rate to he from time to time notified 
 in the Gazette.f 
 
 * These charges are described as 3 d. and 5 d. per oz. standard, " in addition to the charge of 3 d. 
 per oz. imposed by Her Majesty's Proclamation of the 3rd of February 1866 on the coinage of gold." 
 
 + By Gazette notice of 10th August 1886 the rate, which had been 4 s. per oz. since 31st August 
 1876, was fixed at 3*. 6 d. the oz. fine. By Government notice of 13th April 1892 this allowance was 
 reduced to 3 J. 3 d. per oz. fine. 
 
 (xxxiii.) Charge for Coining Gold at the Melbourne Mint. 
 
 Date of 
 Regulations. 
 
 Charge. 
 
 Remarks. 
 
 12 June 1872 
 
 Over 5,000 oz. 3d. per oz. Under 
 5,000 oz. 4£ d. per o . Under 20 oz. 
 7s. Gd. 
 
 Calculated on the gross or on the 
 standard weight, whichever is greater. 
 
 29 December 1873 
 
 Over 1,000 oz. 3d. per oz. Under 
 1,000 oz. 5 d. per oz. 
 
 Calculated on the standard weight of 
 deposit. 
 
 19 April 1875 
 
 Over 1,000 oz. l£rf. per oz. Under 
 1,000 oz. 3d. per oz. Minimum 
 charge 7 s. 6 d. 
 
 Ditto - - - ditto. 
 
 7 October 1878 
 
 Over 1,000 oz. 1J</. per oz. Under 
 1,000 oz. 2d. per oz. Minimum 
 
 charge 4 s. 
 
 Calculated on the gross weight of 
 deposit before melting. 
 
464 Colonial Currency. 
 
 (xxxiv.) Royal Proclamation of 30th January 1893. 
 
 Whereas by an Act passed in the thirty-third year of Our reign, 
 intituled. " An Act to consolidate and amend the law relating to the 
 Coinage and Her Majesty's Mint," it is amongst other things enacted : 
 That We, by and with the advice of Our Privy Council, shall from time 
 to time by Proclamation determine the design for any coin : 
 
 We have, therefore. thought fit to order that certain of the coins made 
 at Our Mint, mentioned in the first schedule to the aforesaid Act, of the 
 weight and fineness specified in that schedule, shall bear designs as 
 follows : — 
 
 That every Five Pound Piece should have for the obverse impression 
 Our effigy, with the inscription "Victoria: Dei : Gra : Britt : Regina : 
 Fid : Def : Ind : Imp : " and for the reverse the image of Saint George 
 armed, sitting on horseback, attacking the Dragon with a sword, and a 
 broken spear upon the ground, and the date of the year, with a graining upon 
 the edge ; and that every Two Pound Piece should have the same obverse 
 and reverse impression and inscription in all respects as the Five Pound 
 Piece, with a graining upon the edge ; and that every Sovereign should 
 have the same obverse and reverse impression and inscription in all 
 respects as the Five Pound Piece, with a graining upon the edge : and that 
 every Half-Sovereign should have the same obverse and reverse impres- 
 sion and inscription in all respects as the Five Pound Piece, with a 
 graining upon the edge ; and that every Crown should have the same 
 obverse and reverse impression and inscription in all respects as the 
 Five Pound Piece, and on the edge - of the piece in raised letters 
 " Decus et Tutamen Anno Regni," the year of the reign being in Roman 
 numeral letters ; and that every Half-Crown should have for the obverse 
 impression the aforesaid effigy, with the inscription " Victoria : Dei : Gra : 
 Britt : Reg. : " and for the reverse the ensigns armorial of the United 
 Kingdom contained in a shield surmounted by the Royal Crown, and 
 surrounded by the Collar of the Garter, with the inscription "Fid: Def : 
 Ind : Imp : " together with the words " Half-Crown " and the date of the 
 year, with a graining upon the edge ; and that every Florin should have 
 the same obverse impression and inscription in all respects as the Five 
 Pound Piece, and for the reverse two Royal sceptres in saltire behind 
 three shields, the shield on the dexter, in bend, bearing the Arms of 
 England, that on the sinister, in bend sinister, Scotland, and that in base, 
 Ireland ; between them the three emblems, the rose, the thistle, and 
 the shamrock, each shield surmounted by the Royal Crown, the 
 Garter, bearing the motto " Honi soit qui mal y pense," underlying the 
 whole, and the words " One Florin : Two Shillings," and the date of the 
 year, with a graining upon the edge ; and that every Shilling should have 
 the same obverse impression and inscription in all respects as the Five 
 Pound Piece, and for the reverse three shields, that on the dexter bearing 
 the Arms of England, that on the sinister Scotland, and that in base Ireland, 
 each surmounted by the Royal Crown ; between them the three emblems, 
 the rose, the thistle, and the shamrock, the Garter, bearing the motto " Honi 
 soit qui mal y pense," underlying the whole, and the words " One Shilling," 
 and the date of the year, with a graining upon the edge ; and that every 
 Sixpence should have the same obverse im; ression and inscription in all 
 respects as the Five Pound Piece, and for the reverse the words " Six 
 Pence " placed in the centre of the piece, having an olive branch on one 
 side and an oak branch on the other, surmounted by the Royal Crown, and 
 the date of the year between and below the branches, with a graining upon 
 the edge ; and that certain other pieces of silver money called " The Queen's 
 Maundy Monies," of Fourpence, Threepence, Twopence, and One Penny, 
 should have the same obverse impression and inscription in all respects as 
 the Five Pound Piece, and for the reverse the respective figures "4," " 3," 
 (i 2^' " i » (according to the denomination or value of the piece) in the 
 centre, with the date of the year placed across the figure, and encircled by 
 an oak wreath surmounted by the Royal Crown, with a plain edge. 
 
App. B. Imperial Legislation. 465 
 
 And whereas pieces of money of the above descriptions respectively have 
 been coined at Our Mint, and will be coined there and, so far as relates to 
 gold coins, at Our Branch Mints, in pursuance of Orders which We have 
 given for that purpose, We have, therefore, by and with the advice of Our 
 Privy Council, thought fit to issue this Our Royal Proclamation, and We do 
 hereby ordain, declare, and command that the said pieces of money 
 respectively so coined, and to be coined as aforesaid shall be current ano 
 lawful money of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and 
 that this Our Royal Proclamation shall come into operation in the United 
 Kingdom from the date on which it is published in the London Gazette, 
 and in the Colonies of New South Wales and Victoria from the date ou 
 which it is published by the Governors of those Colonies respectively. 
 
 * It will be observed that the Proclamation purports to be strictly limited in its 
 application. 
 
t 466 ] 
 
[ «7 ] 
 
 I N D E X. 
 
 Page 
 Act of Parliament, 18 Chas. II., 
 
 cap. 5 - 3S 
 
 i) n 6 Anne 57 
 
 (17 7), 
 
 rat i n g 
 
 coins, used in 
 
 Plantations, 
 
 in sterling 
 
 15, 17, 39. 
 
 100, 414, 415 
 
 13 Geo. III., 
 cap. 57 
 (1773), re- 
 gulating 
 Paper Cur- 
 rency in 
 Plantations 416 
 
 14 Geo. III., 
 cap. 18 - 106 
 
 38 Geo. III., 
 cap. 67 
 
 (1798), to 
 prevent ex- 
 portation of 
 base coin to 
 America 
 and West 
 Indies gene- 
 rally - 20, 417 
 26 & '27 Vict. 
 cap. 7 4 
 (1863) "Syd- 
 ney Branch 
 Mint Act" 
 
 [28. 257, 442 
 „ 29 6c 30 Vict, 
 
 cap. 6 5, 
 " Colonial 
 Branch Mint 
 Act, 1866" - 444 
 „ 29 & 30 Vict. 
 
 cap. 115 - 41 
 
 „ „ 33 & 34 Vict, 
 
 cap. 10, 
 " The Coin- 
 age Act. 
 1870," 448-453 
 
 „ „ 50 & 51 Vict. 
 
 cap. 54 - 41 
 
 „ „ 52 & 53 Vict, 
 
 cap. 5 8 
 (Coinage 
 Act, 1889'-) 45S 
 
 „ ,, 54 & 55 Vict, 
 
 cap. 7 2 
 (/'Coinage 
 Act, 1891") 460 
 
 Page 
 Acts of Parliament regulating cur- 
 rency ------ 40 
 
 " Adelaide Sovereign " - - 273,275 
 African Colonies - - - 207-240 
 i) D West, adoption of 
 sterling deno- 
 minations - 27 
 Albertsthaler 390 
 
 Althorp. Lord - - . - 32 
 
 American Colonies, North, gee Plan- 
 tations. 
 ■ Anchor Money," in Barbados, 
 „ Ceylon 
 
 Angl 
 
 Anne 
 
 Grenada 
 
 55, 56 
 
 - 355 
 
 84, 88, 
 [89 
 
 - 109 
 Is- 
 
 76 
 362 
 
 -Indian 
 
 Queen. 
 
 1, Jamaica 
 
 „ Leeward 
 
 lands 
 , Mauritius 
 
 , Mauritius and 
 
 West Indies 21, 
 
 [22 
 
 „ St. Helena - 224 
 
 , St. Lucia - 88 
 
 , St. Vincent 
 
 (1831) - 89 
 Trinidad 119, 121 
 Coins, weight and 
 , fineness of 
 
 v a rious 
 issues of - 406 
 Proclamation by, 
 1704 - 14, 68, 206 
 Antigua, see also Leeward Islands. 
 
 „ Act of 1699 - - 66, 67 
 ,, Gold coins current by 
 weight, silver by tale - 
 „ insufficient coinage in 
 „ rating of various coins in, 
 1699 - 
 Army Bills, in Canada - 
 
 Assay Office, established in South 
 
 Australia (1852) - 274 
 Australasia - 242-294 
 
 „ forty shillings limit of 
 
 tender for silver coin 
 adopted (1852) - - 435 
 Australia— Paper currency issued by 
 
 private persons - - 23 
 Australian Gold Coin, legal tender of, 253 
 » in Bar- 
 
 74 
 76 
 
 67 
 
 182 
 
 bados 
 
 57 
 
 Cape of 
 Good 
 Hope - 236 
 
468 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Page 
 Australian Gold Coin, legal tender of, 
 in certain 
 Colonies 
 (1866) - 446 
 
 Jamaica - 112 
 
 Leeward 
 
 Islands - 78 
 
 i! )i n r> 
 
 Tobago - 96 
 
 Trinidad - 122 
 
 United 
 Kingdom 
 (1866) 
 
 443, 444 
 
 Windward 
 Islands - 92 
 
 Bahamas - - - -161—169 
 „ coins which are legal 
 
 tender in - - 167 
 
 „ copper pence for (1806) - 164 
 „ note issue - - - 36 
 „ notes and coin per head of 
 
 population - - - 168 
 „ practically part of United 
 
 States currency area - 30 
 ,, rating of gold coin in 
 
 (1750 and 1788) - 162,163 
 „ sterling denominations 
 
 adopted - - - 27 
 „ United States gold coin 
 
 over- valued - - 167 
 
 Bank Acts of 1844-45 - - 32, 33 
 " Bank Circulation Bedemption 
 
 Fund" in Canada - - 36 
 Bank of Nassau ... 836, 16 
 Banking policy of England - - 32 
 „ regulations for Colonies, 
 1840 and 
 1846 - 429-434 
 „ „ in Hong Kong, 379 
 
 „ „ „ New South 
 
 Wales - 261 
 
 ,, „ „ Queensland 279 
 
 „ ,, Tasmania 271 
 
 „ „ „ Victoria 267,268 
 
 » » !> Western 
 
 Australia 284 
 „ statistics in Western Aus- 
 tralia - - - - 285 
 Bank Notes. See Notes. 
 Banks, control of exchanges by - 31 
 „ in Colonies, regulations re- 
 garding - - - 32, 33 
 Barbados - - - - 46-59 
 „ Act of 21 August 1848 - 57 
 „ coin ami notes per head 
 
 of population - - 85 
 ,, currency history of spe- 
 cial interest - - 46 
 
 Page 
 Barbados, dearth of coin in - 49, 50, 51 
 „ demonetisation of dol- 
 
 lars in ... 58 
 
 „ denominational currency 
 
 [48-58 
 „ light and debased coins 
 
 in 50, 51 
 
 „ merchants raise rating of 
 
 Doubloon - - - 55 
 „ m e t a 1 1 i c standard 
 
 adopted - - 47, 49 
 „ paper currency - 51, 52 
 
 „ price of gold bullion in - 51 
 
 „ probable hoards of coin 
 
 in 58 
 
 „ rating of Beal - - 19 
 
 „ „ sugar in - - 47 
 
 „ tokens the only metallic 
 
 currency - - - 58 
 Barbary Ducat, account of - - 397 
 Barter in British Colonies 5, 6, 10, 46, 
 
 [50, 60-63 
 See also under the following : 
 
 Beaver-skins. Indigo. 
 
 Codfish'. Logwood. 
 
 Commodities. Mahogany. 
 
 Corn. Molasses. 
 
 Cotton. Muscovado sugar. 
 
 Cotton-wool. Bum. 
 
 Empty bottles. Skins. 
 
 Fur. Timber. 
 
 Fustick wood. Tobacco. 
 
 Ginger. Wampompeag. 
 Grain. 
 
 Barter in Bermudas 
 „ „ Canada - 
 „ „ Gambia - 
 „ „ Newfoundland 
 
 - 151 
 
 - 175 
 
 - 220 
 
 - 170 
 „ „ New South Wales - - 242 
 
 [243, 244 
 
 Basutoland 239 
 
 Bay Shillings (see Boston Shillings, 
 
 also New England coinage) 
 Beaver-skins, as money, in Canada 175 
 Bechuanaland, British, currency of 239 
 Bengal Furukhabad Rupee - - 406 
 Berbice (see also British Guiana) - 125, 
 
 [126 
 „ paper currency of - - 125, 
 
 [134, 135 
 ,, scarcity of coin in - - 125 
 
 Bermudas, The - - - 150-160 
 „ coin per head of popu- 
 
 lation - - - 160 
 
 „ pennies for - - 157, 158 
 
 „ rating of various coins 
 
 in - - 155, 156, 157 
 „ special coin struck for 
 
 (1616) - - - 150 
 „ stock of coin in - - 160 
 
 "Bits," in Antigua ... 76 
 
 „ „ Barbados - 53, 55, 56 
 
 „ ,, British Guiana - - 137 
 „ „ Demerara and Essiquibo 127 
 „ „ Dominica, stamped - 75 
 „ „ Grenada - - 82, 83 
 
INDEX. 
 
 469 
 
 Page 
 " Bits," in Grenada, limited, legal 
 
 tender of - - - 83 
 „ „ Jamaica (1773) - 105, 108 
 „ Jamaica (4j d.) - - 111 
 „ St. Helena - - -222 
 „ St. Vincent - - - 86 
 
 » 
 
 » 
 
 Trinidad 
 Virgin Islands 
 West Indies - 
 
 - 114-121 
 
 - 80 
 
 - 19 
 „ Windward Islands - 82 
 
 „ piece of four-and-a-half - 86 
 
 „ round, in St. Vincent - 85 
 
 Bonds, circulation of, in Jamaica - 106 
 
 Boston Mint - - - ... 9 
 
 „ (or Bay) shilling - 9, 64 
 
 Bottles, as money, in British Guiana 136 
 
 Brass coin in Gibraltar - - - 297 
 
 „ tokens in Virgin Islands - 81 
 
 Brazilian coin in Sierra Leone - 210 
 
 ,, silver coin in Falkland 
 
 Islands - - - - 149 
 British coin, attempt to introduce 
 
 into Sierra Leone 208, 
 
 [209 
 
 „ „ in Newfoundland 170, 171, 
 
 [172 
 „ „ introduced into Cape 
 
 of Good 
 Hope - 235 
 ., Falk- 
 land 
 Islands 148 
 „ „ » » Jamaica 
 
 » New 
 South 
 
 Wales 249 
 „ „ rating in Maltese cur- 
 
 rency (1825) - - 312 
 „ scarce in St. Vincent 85 
 „ „ „ m Virgin Is- 
 
 lands - - 79 
 „ sole legal tender in 
 
 Malta - - 321, 322 
 British Columbia - - - - 198 
 „ copper coin in St. Vincent - 89 
 H „ „ demonetised in 
 
 Jamaica - 113 
 
 British Guiana (see also Berbice, 
 Demerara, and 
 Essiquibo) -124-138 
 
 f| „ and West Indies, 
 
 Fourpences for 137 
 
 M „ bank notes - - 137 
 
 „ „ coin and notes per 
 
 head of popula- 
 tion --- 138 
 ■ dollar demone- 
 
 tised (1876) - 136 
 
 „ „ Dutch paper cur- 
 
 rency in - - 22 
 
 M „ only silver coins 
 
 and notes in 
 circulation - 137 
 
 M „ paper currency 23, 35 
 
 „ stock of coin and 
 
 notes - - 137 
 
 72642. 
 
 Page 
 British Guiana uniform coinage 
 for whole colony 
 (1836) - - 134 
 British Honduras - - - 139-146 
 » „ absence of notes 
 
 in - - - 146 
 m ,, adoption of 
 
 Jamaica cur- 
 rency - - 140 
 i) „ bronze cent for - 145 
 
 „ i, coin per head of 
 
 population - 146 
 ii „ gold standard 
 
 adoption pro- 
 posed (1891) - 146 
 n „ Guatemalan dollar 
 
 as standard - 30 
 n „ Jamaica currency 
 
 in - - 140, 142 
 n „ logwood currency 
 
 in - - 139, 140 
 ii „ merchants fix rat- 
 
 ings of coins 
 (1885) - - 144 
 ii „ official ratings of 
 
 coins not ob • 
 served, 141, 142, 144 
 „ „ proposed silver 
 
 certificates - 146 
 „ „ silver coins circu- 
 
 lating in, in 
 1870 and 1876 143 
 „ „ silver standard 
 
 adopted - - 145 
 „ „ stock of coin in - 146 
 
 „ „ various successive 
 
 standards of 
 value - - 139 
 British India, see India - 
 British silver and copper coin, Trea- 
 sury Minute and Order in Council 
 directing use of throughout Colo- 
 nies (11 Feb. and "23 March, 
 1825) .... 417-425 
 
 British silver coin, attempt to in- 
 troduce into Bardados - - 55, 56 
 Bermudas - 158, 159 
 Canada - - - 184 
 Ceylon - - - 355 
 Colonies - 23, 24, 25, 29 
 Demerara and Essi- 
 quibo; unsuccess- 
 ful - - 131,132 
 Gibraltar - - - 299 
 Hong Kong - 372, 373 
 Leeward Islands - 77 
 Malta - - - 312 
 Mauritius - 363-365 
 Nova Scotia - 188, 189 
 St. Lucia - - 90 
 
 St. Vincent - - 89 
 Tobago - 95 
 
 Windward Islands - 88 
 introduced into Ba- 
 hamas - 165 
 „ ,, British 
 
 Hon- 
 duras 141 
 
 Hh 
 
 11 
 
 II 
 
 11 
 
 11 
 
 11 
 
 II 
 
 11 
 
 1" 
 
 11 
 
 II 
 
470 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Page 
 British silver introduced into Grenada 89 
 „ „ i> ii Jamaica 110 
 
 ii ii >» »- Lagos 
 
 [216,217 
 „ „ Trinidad 
 
 [119, 120 
 
 M „ legal tender limit of 
 
 40 s. extended to 
 
 certain Colonies 
 
 (1852) - - - 254 
 
 M „ limit to legal tender 
 
 of, in West Indies 31, 
 [32, 57 
 „ „ Malta - 324 
 
 „ coin over-rated in Ja- 
 maica - - - 110 
 „ „ rating of. in dollars in 
 
 Nova Scotia (1860) 191 
 „ „ in Windward Islands 
 
 (1838) - 90 
 
 „ South Africa Co., currency 
 
 of territory of - - - 240 
 Bronze cents for Canada (1858) - 188 
 „ coin, in Gambia - - - 220 
 „ „ „ Lagos, discount on - 217 
 „ „ „ Sierra Leone - - 211 
 „ „ regulations for supply 
 
 of, to Colonies - 456 
 
 Brown, P., notes issued by, in West- 
 ern Australia ... - 283 
 Buccaneers increase the stock of 
 
 coin in Jamaica - - - - 97 
 Burgundian Thaler - - - 390 
 
 Caicos Island, demonetisation of 
 
 copper coin in- - - -113 
 " Caime " (Turkish) in Cyprus 325, 329 
 
 Canada 175-206 
 
 „ Act, 34 Vict, cap. 4 - - 198 
 „ adoption of dollar and cent 
 
 system of currency - 187 
 „ Australian gold coin legal 
 
 tender in 29 
 
 „ "bank circulation re- 
 demption fund " - - 203 
 „ coin per head of population 
 
 in Canada - - - 199 
 „ coinage - - 188,198,199 
 „ coins and notes per head of 
 
 population ... 206 
 „ Dominion of - - 197-206 
 „ exchange between London 
 
 and, complicated mode of 206 
 „ French currency of - 175, 176 
 „ gold dollar as standard - 30 
 „ introduction of British cur- 
 rency ratings (1765) - 178 
 „ note issue - - - - 36 
 „ paper currency - - 199-205 
 „ private notes, amount in 
 
 „ „ circulation - 204 
 
 „ „ „ conditions of 
 
 issue 202, 203, 204 
 „ „ „ per head of 
 
 population - 204 
 „ ratings of various coins 
 
 in- - - - 178,186 
 
 !! 
 
 II 
 
 >l 
 
 )l 
 
 H 
 
 II 
 
 11 
 
 II 
 
 11 
 
 II 
 
 11 
 
 !> 
 
 Page 
 
 Canada, summary of currency 
 
 of ... 205,206 
 
 „ total circulating currency 
 
 of 206 
 
 „ United States dollar in - 30 
 „ „ „ silver dollar 
 
 as standard of - - 187 
 „ Upper and Lower - 175-188 
 Canadian quarter dollar in Barbados 58 
 Canton Mint, coins of, imported into 
 
 Hong Kong - - 378 
 „ „ total output of - - 375 
 
 Cape of Good Hope - - 230-240 
 „ „ „ banking statis- 
 
 tics of - - 239 
 „ „ „ coin per head 
 
 of population 236 
 „ „ „ coin rated in 
 
 depreciated 
 paper cur- 
 rency - 231,232 
 „ ,, „ Dutch paper 
 
 currency in - 22 
 note issue - 36 
 notes per head 
 
 of population 238 
 paper currency 35 
 rating of various 
 coins in 
 
 (1806) - - 231 
 „ „ „ Treasurv Minute 
 
 (11 Feb., 1825) 
 respecting in- 
 troduction of 
 British silver 
 and copper 
 coin - 421,422 
 " Card " money (French), in 
 
 Canada - - - - 176, 177 
 Caroline (1 765) (German), rating of, 
 
 in Canada ----- 178 
 
 Carolus, English, in Antigua - - 67 
 
 „ Spanish - 392 
 
 Cart are t. Lord - - - - 100 
 
 " Cash," in Hong Kong - - 372-378 
 
 „ Bating of, in sterling, in 
 
 Hong Kong - - - 373 
 Cash reserves against private notes, 
 
 in Canada - - - 202, 203, 204 
 Cent, bronze, for British Honduras 
 
 145, 146 
 „ „ for Canada (1858) - 188 
 
 „ „ struck for Frince Ed- 
 
 ward Island - 197 
 
 „ copper, in Straits Settle- 
 ments - - - 383, 384 
 „ Danish, in Virgin Islands - 80 
 „ of a rupee (Ceylon) - - 357 
 „ „ (Mauritius) 368, 369 
 
 Certificates, silver, proposed issue, in 
 British Honduras - - - 146 
 
 Ceylon 349—359 
 
 „ attempt to introduce British 
 
 coin .... 355 
 
 „ Australian gold coin, ega. 
 
 tender (1856) - - - 35« 
 „ British gold coin, legal , 
 
 tender (1852) - - - 356 
 
INDEX. 
 
 471 
 
 Page 
 
 Ceylon, British silver coin exported 
 
 from (183(5) - - - 356 
 „ coin per head of population 
 
 in 358 
 
 „ coins in circulation in, in 
 
 1725 and 1777 - 350,351 
 
 „ copper coinage for (1815) - 354 
 ,, depreciated currency of 
 
 (1803) .... 354 
 „ Dutch coins in - - - 350 
 „ „ paper currency in 22, 351 
 
 „ forty shilling limit of tender 
 for British silver coin ex- 
 tended to (1852) - - 435 
 „ gold standard impracticable 30 
 „ Government guarantees pri- 
 vate notes - - 35, 36 
 „ Indian currency adopted 
 
 (1869) - - - - 356 
 „ issue of Government notes 
 
 358, 359 
 ,, ,, Treasury notes 
 
 (1801) and (1827) 
 
 352, 355 
 „ notes per head of population 359 
 „ paper currency - - 35, 352, 
 [355, 358, 359 
 „ Portuguese coins in - 349, 350 
 „ rupee divided into cents 
 
 (1872) ... - 357 
 „ Treasury Minute (11th Feb- 
 ruary 1825) respecting in- 
 troduction of British sil- 
 ver and copper coin - 422, 423 
 Challies, in Ceylon - - - 356 
 
 Chequin, Arabian, wBarbary ducat 397 
 " Chopped " dollars in Hong Kong 378 
 " Circles of Issue " for British In- 
 dian notes 347 
 
 Circular Letters, 15th September 
 1838, transmitting Orders in Coun- 
 cil, of 7th and 14th September 
 1838, to Colonies - - 425-428 
 
 " Clean " dollars, in Hong Kong - 378 
 
 Clipped coin, Barbados - 49, 53, 54 
 
 „ „ Jamaica - - 98, 100 
 [102, 105, 107 
 „ „ Leeward Islands 66, 68 
 „ „ St. Vincent - 84, 85 
 „ „ as standard of value - 8 
 „ „ circulation of, affects 
 ratio between gold 
 and silver - 72, 73 
 „ gold coin in West Indies - 20 
 „ Johannes, in Windward Is- 
 lands - - - 82 
 
 7-10 
 standard coin 
 in Jamaica 100 
 „ silver coin, no longer cur- 
 rent in Barbados - - 54 
 „ Spanish coin - - - 17 
 Clipping coin, punishments for - 65 
 " Cob " ... 390, 391, 396 
 
 „ in Jamaica (1773) - - 105 
 Codfish, as money 6 
 
 Codrington, Christopher 9, 10, 47, 49, 65 
 
 Pieces-of-Eight 
 
 
 
 Page 
 
 Coin and commodities ; a dual stand - 
 
 
 ard - 
 
 - 60 
 
 >) 
 
 „ notes, 
 
 stock of, in Barbados 58 
 
 >> 
 
 ii 
 
 „ British 
 
 Guiana 137 
 
 n 
 
 ii 
 
 „ Jamaica- 113 
 
 )> 
 
 ii 
 
 „ New- 
 found- 
 land - 174 
 
 11 
 
 ii 
 
 Trinidad, 123 
 
 11 
 
 ii 
 
 Wind- 
 ward 
 Islands 93 
 
 Coin, 
 
 per head of population, 
 
 
 
 in Bahamas - 168 
 
 
 
 Bermudas - 160 
 
 )i 
 
 ii 
 
 Canada - 199 
 
 !l 
 
 ii 
 
 Ceylon- - 358 
 
 )! 
 
 ii 
 
 Cyprus - 334 
 
 11 
 
 ii 
 
 Fiji - - 293 
 
 )l 
 
 ii 
 
 Gibraltar - 306 
 
 11 
 
 ii 
 
 Gold Coast - 215 
 
 !) 
 
 ii 
 
 Hong Kong - 378 
 
 1) 
 
 » 
 
 India - - 340 
 
 !> 
 
 ii 
 
 Malta - - 324 
 
 11 
 
 ii 
 
 Mauritius - 369 
 
 11 
 
 ii 
 
 St, Helena - 227 
 
 11 
 
 ii 
 
 Straits Settle- 
 
 ments - 387 
 Coin, rated in terms of commodities 62 
 
 Coinage Act, 1870 - - - 448-453 
 „ „ application of, to 
 
 Colonies - 43 
 
 applied to Bar- 
 bados - 42, 58 
 „ „ applied to Cape 
 
 of Good Hope 236 
 „ „ applied to Fiji - 293 
 
 
 Leeward Is- 
 lands - 
 Natal - 
 
 - 78 
 
 - 229 
 power to apply 
 
 to Colonies 40, 42 
 Coinage Act, 1889, withdrawal of 
 
 pre- Victorian gold coin - - 458 
 Coinage Act, 1891, light gold coin 
 exchanged at nominal value, and 
 new " Remedy " allowances - 460 
 Coinage, a Royal prerogative - 38, 39 
 
 „ bronze cents, for British 
 
 Honduras, 1 45, 1 46 
 „ „ „ for Prince 
 
 Edward 
 Island 
 „ executed at Hong Kong 
 
 Mint .... 
 „ for Canada 
 „ „ Hong Kong 
 
 „ „ Mauritius - 
 
 „ „ New Brunswick - 
 
 „ „ Newfoundland - 
 
 „ fourpences, for British 
 
 Guiana, &c. - 
 „ guilders „ „ „ 129-132 
 
 „ of copper cents for Ceylon 
 
 (1872) - - - -357 
 ii of i i, i T ' 8 dollars • - 21 
 H H 2 
 
 197 
 
 376 
 199 
 374 
 369 
 194 
 173 
 
 - 137 
 
472 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Page 
 Coinage of Rix dollars for Ceylon 353, 
 
 [354, 355 
 „ Sierra Leone - - - 208 
 „ token, for Canada 188, 198, 199 
 Coined money, scarcity of, in plan- 
 tations ----- 5 
 Coining, in New England - 9, 10 
 
 Colonato 390 
 
 Colonial Bank - 57, 78, 91, 95, 112, 113 
 
 137 
 " Colonial Bank of Issue," New 
 
 Zealand - - 287-290 
 " Colonial Branch Mint Act, 1866 " 
 
 29, 444 
 Colonial currency, historical evolu- 
 tion 3 
 „ „ history divided 
 
 into three epochs 3 
 „ gold standard coin, only 
 
 instance of - - - 30 
 „ Laws recognised by Home 
 
 Government - - - 39 
 „ Ordinance can over-rule 
 
 Royal Proclamation, &c. 43 
 Colonies, banks in - - - 32, 33 
 „ list of, showing the various 
 
 monetary standards - 30, 31 
 „ proposed uniform currency 
 
 for (1728) ... 17 
 „ with power to regulate 
 
 currency - - 40, 41 
 Commodities and coin, a dual 
 
 standard - - 60 
 
 „ as money - 5, 6, 10, 
 
 [46, 47, 50, 60, 61, 62, 63 
 
 See also under the following : 
 
 Barter. Indigo. 
 
 Beaver-skins. Logwood. 
 
 Codfish. Mahogany. 
 
 Corn. Molasses. 
 
 Cotton. Muscovado sugar. 
 
 Cotton-wool. Rum. 
 
 Empty bottles. Skins. 
 
 Fur. Timber. 
 
 Fustick wood. Tobacco. 
 
 Ginger. Wampompeag. 
 Grain. 
 
 Commodities as money in Barbados - 46 
 „ „ „ Bermudas 
 
 151, 152 
 „ „ „ Canada 175, 176 
 
 „ „ „ Jamaica 99, 100 
 
 ,, „ ,. Nova Scotia 
 
 (1846) - 190 
 „ „ „ TheBemru- 
 
 das - 151, 152 
 „ „_ „ not generally 
 
 used in Ja- 
 maica - 97 
 „ „ „ superseded by 
 coin in Lee- 
 ward Islands 63 
 „ „ „ use of, illegal 
 in Jamaica 
 (1751) - 102 
 " Copangs," in Penang - - 382,383 
 
 Page 
 
 Copper and bronze coins demonetised 
 
 in Jamaica- - - - 113 
 bars, as money, in St. Helena 
 (1683) - - - - 221 
 „ cents for Ceylon (1872) - 357 
 „ coin, demonetised in Colo- 
 nies (1876) - 455, 456 
 „ „ disliked by Negroes, in 
 
 Jamaica, 110, 113 
 
 ii i) )) >) m 
 
 Trinidad - 118 
 „ „ for Plantations - - 18 
 
 „ „ for The Bermudas, 157, 158 
 
 „ „ in Newfoundland - 172 
 
 „ „ „ Nova Scotia - 190, 191 
 
 „ „ legal tender of, in 
 
 British Guiana - 136 
 „ „ rating of, in Canada 
 
 (1765) - - - 179 
 „ „ refused by Negroes in 
 
 Gold Coast - - 215 
 „ „ shipped to New South 
 
 Wales (1800) - - 243 
 „ coinage for Ceylon (1815) - 354 
 „ „ ' „ St, Helena (1821) 223 
 
 ,, pence, for Bahamas, refusal 
 of Negroes to use 
 (1806) - - - 165 
 „ „ for Bahamas (1806) 
 
 164, 165 
 „ piastres (British) for Cyprus 
 
 328-334 
 Corn as money, see also Commodities 6 
 
 Cotton as money, see also Com- 
 modities 46 
 
 Cotton-wool as money, see also Com- 
 modities - - - - 6, 61, 62 
 Counterfeit coin, act to prevent 
 shipment of, to 
 American Plan- 
 tations and West 
 Indies (38 Geo. 
 III., cap. 67) - 417 
 „ „ importation of, in- 
 
 to West Indies - 20 
 „ „ in Demerara and 
 
 Essiquibo 130, 131 
 „ „ Jamaica - 104, 105 
 
 [106, 108 
 „ „ Trinidad - 118 
 
 „ Johannes - 396 
 
 „ notes in New South 
 
 Wales (1803) - - 244 
 
 „ Pieces-of-Eight - - 49 
 
 Cowries, in Gambia ... 220 
 
 „ Gold Coast - - 213, 215 
 
 „ Lagos - 217 
 
 Credit, bills of, see Paper Currency. 
 
 Crimbal 51, 55 
 
 Cross Thaler 390 
 
 Crown Colonies, mode of currency 
 
 legislation - - 40,41,42 
 „ English, in Antigua - - 67 
 „ „ Canada, 180, 181, 184 
 
 [185, 186 
 ii „ Malacca - - 383 
 
 „ „ Nevis, in 1740 - 72 
 
INDEX. 
 
 473 
 
 " Page 
 
 Crown, English, in New Brunswick, 192 
 
 [193,194 
 „ „ Newfoundland 
 
 (1845) - - 171 
 „ „ Nova Scotia, 188, 191 
 
 „ „ St. Vincent 
 
 (1798) - - 85 
 „ „ weight and fineness 
 
 of (1870) - - 453 
 „ French (see also ficu). 
 „ „ in Bardados - - 48 
 
 „ „ rating of, in Canada 
 
 179, 180 
 „ „ „ New 
 
 Bruns- 
 wick 
 
 192, 193 
 „ „ „ St. He- 
 
 lena 
 
 223, 224 
 „ German, rating of, in St. 
 
 Helena - 223,224 
 Crusado, Portuguese, rating of, in 
 
 Nevis - 72 
 
 „ „ weight and 
 
 fineness of - 408 
 Cuartos, British, for Gibralter (1841) 
 
 301, 302 
 
 " Currency area " of Great Britain - 27 
 
 „ „ of Spanish dollar 24 
 
 " Currency areas " - - - - 30 
 
 Currency, Colonies with power to 
 
 regulate - - - - 40, 41 
 " Currency Notes," in Ceylon - 358 
 
 " Currency Ratings." (See Denomi- 
 national Currency.) 
 Cut and " round " dollars rated 
 
 equally, in Trinidad - - 117, 118 
 Cut Bits, in Barbados - - - 55 
 Cut Dollar, demonetised in Gibral- 
 tar (1762) - - - 297 
 „ , r in Dominica - - 75 
 
 „ „ Grenada - - - 84 
 „ „ St. Vincent - - 86 
 „ „ Trinidad - - - 117 
 Cut Money abolished in St. Lucia 
 
 (1851) - 91 
 
 „ ,, in Demerara and Essi- 
 
 quibo - - - 127 
 „ „ „ Dominica and Virgin 
 
 Islands- - - 79 
 „ „ Gambia - - - 219 
 
 ii 
 
 Leeward Islands 
 
 75 
 
 „ „ „ New South Wales 
 
 (1813) - - 244, 245 
 „ „ „ Plantations - 20, 21 
 „ „ „ St, Lucia - 87, 88, 90 
 
 „ „ „ St. Vincent (1797) - 84 
 „ „ „ Sierra Leone - - 209 
 „ n » Tobago - - - 95 
 „ „ ,, Virgin Islands - 80 
 
 „ „ „ West Indies - 23, 26 
 „ „ „ Windward Islands - 82 
 
 Cyprus 325-334 
 
 „ coin per head of population, 334 
 „ coins current in, in 1890 - 334 
 „ copper Piastres (British), 
 
 struck for - - 328-334 
 
 ii ii 
 
 ii ii 
 
 Page 
 Cyprus imports and exports of gold 
 
 coin (1878-81) - - 332 
 „ local rajtings of British coin 
 
 in - - - - 333, 334 
 „ rating of various coins in 
 
 (1878) - - 327 
 „ coins current in 
 
 (1879) - - 331 
 „ coins current in 
 
 (1882) - - 333 
 Turkish coins in circulation 
 (1878) - - - 325, 326 
 
 Danish coin in Demerara and Essi- 
 
 quibo - - - 130, 131 
 „ currency in Virgin Islands - 79 
 „ 3, 5, 10, and 20 cent pieces - 80 
 Danzic Skelling, rating of, in Nevis, 
 
 in 1740 ----- 72 
 Debased and clipped coins, chief 
 
 currency in Plantations 20 
 „ and mutilated coin in St. 
 
 Vincent - - 85, 86 
 
 Debased coin in Barbados - - 53 
 
 ,, currency of Jamaica 104, 105 
 
 „ „ „ Tobago - 94, 95 
 
 „ „ „ Virgin Islands 79 
 
 Decimal divisions of a rupee - - 357 
 
 Demerara and Essiquibo. See also 
 
 Brit. Guiana 126- 
 [133 
 Scarcity of 
 small 
 change in, 129, 
 [131, 133 
 special gold 
 and silver 
 coins pro- 
 posed for 128- 
 [132 
 Demonetisation of copper and bronze 
 coins in Jamaica, 
 Turks and Caicos 
 Islands - - 113 
 „ „ copper coin in 
 
 colonies (1876) 455, 
 [456 
 „ „ cut money, in 
 
 Gambia - - 219 
 „ „ dollar, «kc. in Gold 
 
 Coast - - 214 
 „ „ dollar in British 
 
 Guiana (1876) - 136 
 „ „ dollar in Jamaica 113 
 
 „ „ dollars in Lagos. 
 
 • effect of - 216, 217 
 „ „ dollar in Sierra 
 
 Leone (1880) - 211 
 „ „ foreign coin in 
 
 St. Helena - 226 
 „ „ gold dust and 
 
 nuggets in Gold 
 Coast (1889) - 215 
 ii ii Pegged gold 
 
 coin in Tobago 
 (1821) - - 96 
 
 II >! I! 
 
 !l 1! I) 
 
474 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Demonetisation 
 
 Page 
 of pre-Victorian 
 gold coin - 43, 460 
 „ „ silver dollars in 
 
 Gambia - - 220 
 Denominational Currency, abol- 
 ished in 
 Grenada 
 and St. 
 Vincent 
 (1839 and 
 1840) - 90 
 „ „ Halifax 
 
 Currency, 
 &c. - - 183 
 „ „ French, in 
 
 St. Lucia 
 
 87, 88, 90 
 „ „ in Barba- 
 
 dos 48-57, 58 
 „ „ in Gibral- 
 
 tar 296, 297, 298 
 „ „ in Gold 
 
 Coast - 213 
 „ „ in Lee- 
 
 ward 
 
 Islands - 77 
 „ „ in St. Vin- 
 
 cent, aban- 
 donment 
 proposed - 90 
 „ „ in West 
 
 Indies - 27 
 „ „ present 
 
 survival of 
 in Baha- 
 mas - 168 
 "Department of Issue," British 
 
 Indian ... - 346-348 
 Depreciated currency in Prince Ed- 
 ward Island - - - - 195 
 Designs, new, for coinage. Pro- 
 clamation, 13 May 1887, 457 
 „ „ 30 Jan. 1893 - - 464 
 „ of gold coin struck at 
 Sydney Mint of same 
 design as those struck 
 in London - 453 
 
 " Doblon d'Isabel," standard coin of 
 
 Gibraltar (1872) - - - 303 
 DobrSo (Portuguese), weight and 
 
 fineness of - - - - - 408 
 "Dogs," Black, importation into To- 
 bago illegal (1807) 95 
 „ in Antigua - - - 76 
 „ „ Dominica and Vir- 
 gin Islands - 79, 80 
 „ Leeward Islands 75, 77 
 , Maryland - - 12 
 
 „ St. Lucia (1840) - 91 
 „ ,, St. Vincent 84, 85, 89, 90 
 Doit, see Duit. 
 Dollar, account of (see also Piece-of- 
 
 Eight) - - 390-394 
 
 „ adoption of the term - 16 
 
 „ as bullion, in Jamaica - 109 
 
 West Indies 16 
 
 
 ii 
 
 i> 
 
 ii 
 
 Page 
 
 Dollar, as denomination, not coin 19 
 „ Austrian, rating of, in 
 
 Mauritius (1824) 363, 364 
 „ British, struck at Hong 
 
 Kong Mint, 376, 392 
 „ „ in Straits Settle- 
 
 ments - - 386 
 „ Canton - . - - - 392 
 
 „ Carolus, in China and 
 
 Malay Peninsula, 371, 372 
 [373, 374, 382, 392 
 „ Central and South Ameri- 
 can, rating of, in 
 Canada (1841) - - 186 
 „ Chilian, in Brit. Honduras 144, 
 
 [145 
 „ " chopped," in Hong Kong 378 
 „ „ not current in 
 
 Straits Settle- 
 ments - - 387 
 „ " clean," in Hong Kong - 378 
 "Colonial" - - - 360 
 „ rating of in 
 Mauritius 
 (1824) ' - 363 
 „ „ weight and 
 
 fineness of 
 (1726) - 404 
 „ Colombian, demonetised 
 
 in Bahamas 167 
 Barbados 58 
 
 British 
 
 Honduras 145 
 Cross, rating of - - 67 
 
 cut and stamped in Do- 
 minica - 75 
 „ „ in West 
 
 Indies - 21 
 
 „ in Leeward Islands 75, 
 
 [76, 77 
 
 „ St. Vincent - 86 
 
 "De Caen," in Mauritius 361, 
 
 [363, 364 
 
 decimalised in terms of 
 
 livres, in St. Lucia - 88 
 
 „ in Mauritius - - 360 
 
 demonetised in Gold Coast 214 
 
 „ Jamaica - 113 
 
 „ Leeward 
 
 Islands - 78 
 St. Helena 226 
 
 Sierra 
 Leone 
 
 (1880) - 211 
 „ „ Tasmania 
 
 (1842) - 270 
 
 Tobago - 96 
 
 „ „ Trinidad 
 
 121, 123 
 „ „ Windward 
 
 Islands - 92 
 „ disappearance of from 
 Western 
 Colonies 28 
 „ „ from Wind- 
 
 ward Islands 92 
 
 ii 
 
 ii 
 
INDEX. 
 
 475 
 
 Page 
 Dollar, divisional pieces of, called 
 
 " Anchor 
 Money." 
 (See also 
 " Anchor 
 Money") 21,22 
 „ „ „ in copper 22 
 
 „ *' Dogg," in Maryland - 12 
 
 „ exported from Bahamas to 
 
 England (1816) - - 165 
 „ fractional parts of, as stand- 
 ard of value - - - 139 
 „ fractions of, scarcity in 
 
 Colonies - - - - 23 
 „ Globe .... 392 
 
 „ Gold, of Newfoundland - 173 
 „ „ United States, (see 
 
 aim Eagle), 28, 31, 398 
 „ Honduras, in British Hon- 
 duras - - - 144, 145 
 „ Hong Kong - - - 30 
 „ importation of, at profit, 
 
 into British Guiana - 136 
 
 in Barbados - 55, 56, 57 
 
 „ Dominica - - - 74 
 „ Falkland Islands - 147, 148 
 „ Lagos - - - 216, 217 
 „ Sierra Leone - 210, - 211 
 
 »> 
 
 11 
 »l 
 
 11 
 
 »» 
 
 II 
 
 Windward Islands - 
 
 82 
 
 legally adopted as standard 
 in Straits Settlements 
 (1861) - - - - 386 
 „ Lyon, rating of - - - 67 
 „ Mexican .... 392 
 „ „ assayed at Royal 
 
 Mint - 393, 394 
 
 „ „ demonetised in 
 
 Bahamas (1881) 167 
 „ „ &c, import duty 
 
 on, in Bahamas 167 
 „ „ fractional pieces 
 
 in Jamaica - 109 
 „ ,, in Barbados - 58 
 
 „ „ „ Bermudas - 154 
 
 „ „ „ British Hon- 
 
 duras 143, 
 [144, 145 
 „ „ „ demone- 
 
 tised 
 (1889) 145 
 „ Gold Coast • 214 
 „ Hong Kong 
 
 371,372 
 „ Jamaica - 98, 99, 
 [105, 112 
 „ Straits Settle- 
 ments - - 386 
 „ Virgin Islands - 79 
 
 rated at 99 
 "currency" 
 cents in Vir- 
 gin Islands - 79 
 rating of, in 
 
 Canada 179, 
 [185, 186 
 it ii in 
 
 Nova Scotia - 190, 191 
 
 ii 
 
 Page 
 Dollar, Mexican, rating of, in 
 
 Trinidad 116 
 „ Middle piece of (St. Lucia) 
 
 85,87 
 „ Paper, of M. Vernet, in 
 
 Falkland Islands - - 147 
 „ Pillar, see also " Piece of 
 
 Eight"- 48,49,391 
 „ „ in Dominica - 74, 75 
 
 „ „ Jamaica - 98, 99 
 
 „ proposed as standard for 
 
 "West Indies - - - 21 
 „ rated at bullion value in 
 
 West Indies - - - 27 
 „ rating of, in Cape of Good 
 
 Hope (1806) - 231 
 ii ,, „ Bahamas - 164 
 
 it „ „ Bermudas - 159 
 
 „ „ „ British Guiana 
 
 (1838) 133 
 ii ii ii ii Hon- 
 
 duras - 141 
 „ „ „ Gambia - 219 
 
 „ „ „ Gibraltar - 297i 
 
 [298, 299 
 „ „ ., Gold Coast - 212 
 
 „ „ „ Grenada - 83, 89 
 
 „ „ „ Jamaica - 98, 99- 
 
 [105, 107- 
 [108, 111 
 ,, „ „ Leeward Is- 
 
 lands -73, 76, 
 [77, 78 
 „ „ „ St. -Helena 
 
 [222-225 
 „ ., „ St. Lucia - 87, 
 
 [90, 91 
 ,, „ „ St. Vincent - 85, 
 
 [86, 89 
 „ „ Tasmania - 269 
 „ „ Tobago - - 95 
 
 „ „ Trinidad 114-121 
 
 „ „ Virgin Islands 76 
 „ „ Windward 
 Islands 
 (1838) - 90 
 Ring, in St. Vincent - - 86 
 „ profit on manufacture 85 
 Rix, at Cape of Good Hope, 
 rating of, under Trea- 
 sury Minute of 11 
 Feb. 1825- - 421, 422 
 „ coinage of, at Royal 
 
 Mint (1821) 355 
 n „ in Cevlon 
 
 '353, 354 
 „ in Barbados - - 48 
 
 „ „ Cape of Good Hope 
 
 230, 231 
 „ „ Ceylon 21, 350, 353, 354 
 
 „ „ Malacca - - - 383 
 „ (Paper), depreciation 
 of, in Cape of Good 
 Hope - - 234, 235 
 „ rating, in St. Helena - 224 
 "Round" and "cut" in 
 
 Trinidad 117,118 
 
 it 
 
476 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Page 
 Dollar, round, rating in St. 
 
 Lucia (1830) - 90 
 „ „ in St. Vincent - 85 
 
 „ Sierra Leone Currency - 208 
 „ Sicilian, in Malta - 317-323 
 „ „ ,, after de- 
 
 monetisation, 322, 323 
 „ „ introduced in 
 
 Malta - 308, 309 
 „ „ rating, of, in Malta 
 
 308, 309 
 „ „ „ under 
 
 Treasury Minute 
 of 11th Feb. 1825 424 
 „ „ withdrawn from 
 
 circulation in 
 Malta (1885) - 323 
 „ side piece of (or Moco) - 87, 88 
 „ South American, current in 
 
 Gibraltar 302 
 „ „ „ in Falk- 
 
 land Is- 
 lands - 149 
 „ „ ,, „ Malta - 
 
 314-317 
 ,, ,, ,, ,, bt. He- 
 
 lena - 226 
 „ „ „ rated on 
 
 equality 
 with 
 Spanish 
 dollar 
 
 (1834) - 26 
 n n » rating of in 
 
 Nova Scotia 190, 191 
 „ Spanish (see also Piece-of- 
 
 Eight). 
 ,, „ concurrent circula- 
 
 tion with British 
 coins - 24, 25, 26 
 „ „ demonetised in Ba- 
 
 hamas (1881) - 167 
 „ „ diminished circu- 
 
 lation of - - 24 
 in Berbice - - 125 
 „ Barbados - - 58 
 „ Canada - 175, 178, 
 180,181,183, 185,186 
 „ „ „ Ceylon - - 355 
 
 „ „ „ Demerara and 
 
 Essiquibo 127, 131 
 „ „ „ Malta - 309-312 
 
 „ „ „ Mauritius 361, 363, 
 
 [364 
 ,, „ „ New Brunswick, 192, 
 
 [193 
 „ „ ,, Newfoundland, 
 
 171, 172 
 „ „ „ New South 
 
 Wales, 243, 246- 
 
 [249 
 
 „ „ „ Nova Scotia - 188, 
 
 [190, 191 
 „ Penang - ' - 382 
 „ Prince Edward 
 
 Island - - 195 
 ,, Sierra Leone - 208 
 ,. Virgin Islands - 79 
 
 n 
 
 » 
 
 
 Page 
 Dollar, Spanish, legal tender of - 40 
 
 „ „ milled, in St. 
 
 Vincent - - 86 
 
 „ „ over-valuation of, 
 
 in Leeward 
 
 Islands - - 77 
 
 „ „ undervalued in 
 
 Jamaica - - 107 
 
 ii n various ratings in 
 
 United States 
 (1782) - - 18 
 
 „ „ various ratings in 
 
 Windward Is- 
 lands (1825) - 88 
 
 ii „ weight and fine- 
 
 ness of various 
 issues - 402, 403 
 
 „ stamped, in Virgin Islands - 79 
 
 „ Sub-divisions of, in Jamaica 112 
 
 Sun 
 
 393 
 
 „ " System," in New South 
 
 Wales - - - 246-249 
 „ Token fractions of, proposed 26 
 „ "Trade" (United States) -376, 
 
 [377, 392 
 
 n i) »» >! 1Q 
 
 Straits Settlements 387 
 „ under-rated in Nova Scotia 
 
 189, 190 
 „ United, States, account of 
 
 392, 398 
 
 „ „ „ in Barbados 57 
 
 n „ „ „ Canada 175 
 
 [181, 185, 186 
 
 ii „ „ „ Jamaica 110, 
 
 [112 
 » ,, » „ Leeward 
 
 Islands 78 
 >. ii » n New 
 
 Bruns- 
 wick - 103 
 ii ii ii i, N e w- 
 
 found- 
 land - 172, 
 [173, 174 
 i» ii ,, ii Prince 
 
 Edward 
 Island, 196 
 „ „ „ rated in 
 
 1825 ; 424 
 „ „ „ weight and 
 
 fineness of 
 various 
 
 issues of - 405 
 „ Uruguayan, in British Hon- 
 duras .... 145 
 „ Venezuelan, in British Hon- 
 duras .... 145 
 Dollars and cents of account 
 
 in British Honduras 
 
 143, 145 
 
 ii 
 ii 
 
 Canada 
 New Bruns- 
 
 188, 198 
 
 wick - 193,194 
 „ Newfoundland 
 
 (1872) - - 172 
 „ Nova Scotia 
 
 (1859) 190, 191 
 
INDEX. 
 
 477 
 
 Page 
 
 Dollars 
 
 and cents of account in 
 
 
 Prince Edward Island - 197 
 
 „ and reals of 
 
 account in 
 
 
 
 British Hon- 
 
 
 
 duras - - 142 
 
 Dominica (see also Leeward Islands). 
 
 i» 
 
 coins stamp 
 
 ed with letter 
 
 
 D. 
 
 - 75 
 
 >> 
 
 cut money 
 
 - 79 
 
 n 
 
 dollars in 
 
 - 74 
 
 » 
 
 rating of shillings - - 77 
 
 r> 
 
 ., various coins in 74 
 
 " Dominion " Notes, in Canada 36, 199- 
 
 
 
 [201 
 
 Double-florin, Proclamation ith 
 
 
 May 1887 - - 458 
 
 Doubloon 
 
 - 19 
 
 n 
 
 account of - - 395, 396 
 
 n 
 
 as standard, in Barba- 
 
 
 dos - 
 
 - 57 
 
 i) 
 
 "Cob" 
 
 - 396 
 
 n 
 
 demonetised in Bermudas 160 
 
 II 
 
 i? 
 
 „ St. Helena 226 
 
 l! 
 
 in Barbados, Merchants 
 
 
 
 raise rating 
 
 
 
 of - - 55 
 
 II 
 
 ii ii 
 
 overvalued 56 
 
 II 
 
 „ Bermudas - 158, 159 
 
 II 
 
 „ British Honduras - 139, 
 
 
 
 ri41, 143, 144 
 
 jl 
 
 ,. Falkland Islands, 147, 148 
 
 II 
 
 ,, Grenada - - - 83 
 
 II 
 
 „ Jamaica - 98, 99, 103, 
 
 
 [104, 
 
 106, 107, 108, 111 
 
 t) 
 
 „ Lagos 
 
 - 216, 217 
 
 II 
 
 „ Leewan 
 
 1 Islands, 76, 77 
 
 ,, 
 
 „ Sierra Leone - - 210 
 
 jj 
 
 „ Virgin 1 
 
 [slands - - 80 
 
 !) 
 
 „ West Indies (1825) - 25 
 
 )J 
 
 rated at 
 
 bullion value 
 
 
 in West Indies - 
 
 )t 
 
 rating of, 
 
 in Antigua - 67 
 
 If 
 
 n 
 
 ,, Bahamas - 164 
 
 11 
 
 ii 
 
 „ Barbados - 54, 
 [56, 57, 58 
 
 )) 
 
 ii 
 
 „ British 
 Guiana 
 (1838) - 133 
 
 )) 
 
 ii 
 
 „ Canada - 179, 
 
 [181,182,187 
 
 11 
 
 ii 
 
 „ Cape of 
 Good 
 Hope 
 (1806) - 231 
 
 ,, 
 
 ii 
 
 „ Dominica - 74 
 
 II 
 
 ii 
 
 „ Gibraltar - 298 
 [300, 301 
 
 
 ii 
 
 „ Gold Coast 212 
 
 
 ii 
 
 „ Grenada - 89 
 
 II 
 
 ii 
 
 „ Leeward 
 
 Islands 77, 78 
 
 II 
 
 ii 
 
 „ Mauritius 
 (1824, 
 1825, and 
 1843) - 363, 
 [364, 366 
 
 II 
 
 i> 
 
 ., Nevis, in 
 
 1740 - 72 
 
 Page 
 Doubloon, rating of, in New 
 
 B r u n s- 
 w i c k 
 (1805) - 192 
 „ „ „ Newfound- 
 
 land - 170, 
 [171, 172 
 ii „ >i Nova 
 
 Scotia - 189, 
 [190, 191 
 ii ,, ,. Prince 
 
 Edward 
 Island 
 
 196, 197 
 „ „ „ St. Helena, 223, 
 
 [224, 225 
 „ „ „ St. Lucia, 87, 91 
 
 ii i, ii St. Vin- 
 
 cent - 86, 89 
 ii „ » Tobago - 95 
 
 „ „ „ Trinidad - 114, 
 
 [115, 120,121, 
 [122 
 ,, „ „ various 
 
 Colonies, 25, 
 [26,27 
 „ „ ,, Windward 
 
 Islands 
 (1838) - 90 
 „ Spanish, in Gibraltar - 27 
 „ standard in West Indies 27 
 „ overrated, in West In- 
 dies - - - 25, 26 
 „ weight and fineness of 
 
 various issues - - 407 
 
 Dual standard, Coin and Commodities 60 
 
 Ducat, Barbary, account of - - 397 
 
 „ rating of, in Antigua - - 67 
 
 „ „ Cape of Good Hope 
 
 (1806) - - 231 
 „ „ Ceylon - - 350 
 
 „ ,, New South Wales 
 
 (1800) - - 243 
 
 Ducatoon (Dutch) weight and fine- 
 ness of 405 
 „ Cape of Good Hope - 230 
 „ Malacca ... 383 
 „ rating, in Ceylon - - 350 
 „ ,', St. Helena - 222, 
 [223, 224, 225 
 " Dudoes," in St. Helena - - 223 
 Duits, in Ceylon - 351 
 ,, Straits Settlements - - 383 
 " Dumps," in New South Wales 
 
 (1813) - 21, 244, 245, 247, 248 
 
 Dutch coin in Ceylon ... 350 
 
 „ „ Gold Coast - 213, 214 
 
 „ „ Malacca - - - 383 
 
 „ money of account in British 
 
 Guiana .... 124 
 „ money of .account in Cape of 
 
 Good Hope - - - 230 
 „ money of account in Ceylon, 350 
 „ notes in Ceylon - 351 
 
 „ paper currency, in British 
 
 Colonies - - - - 22 
 „ subsidiary coin in Cape of 
 
 Good Hope (1806) - - 232 
 
478 
 
 INDBX. 
 
 Eagle in Bahamas 
 
 „ Barbados - 
 
 „ Canada 
 
 ,, Gold Coast 
 
 „ Jamaica 
 
 „ Lagos 
 
 „ Leeward Islands 
 
 „ Newfoundland 
 
 Page 
 
 - 167 
 57, 58 
 
 181, 185, 186 
 
 - 212, 214 
 
 - 112 
 
 - 216,217 
 
 - 78 
 
 - 172 
 
 „ New Brunswick, 192, 193, 194 
 „ Prince Edward Island - 196 
 „ Sierra Leone - 210 
 
 „ weight and fineness of 
 
 various issues - - 410 
 
 Ecu, account of 397 
 
 „ in Canada .... 175 
 
 „ „ Jamaica - - - - 99 
 
 „ legally current in Leeward 
 
 Islands - - - 65, 66 
 
 „ rating of, in Nevis, in 1740 - 72 
 „ weight and fineness of, - - 404 
 Empty Bottles, as money, in British 
 
 Guiana ----- 136 
 Escalin (or Bit) in St. Lucia - - 87 
 Escudo de Plata - - - - 390 
 Escudo, weight and fineness of 
 
 various issues - - - 407. 408 
 Essiauibo, see also British Guiana 126- 
 
 [133 
 Estampees, in Tobago - - - 95 
 Exchange between Canada and 
 
 London - - - 206 
 „ on London, rates of, in 
 
 New South "Wales 
 (1847-1858)- -250,251 
 
 Falkland Islands - - - 147-149 
 „ „ scarcity of coin 147, 148 
 
 „ „ various coins cir- 
 
 culating in - 149 
 Fanam, in Ceylon - - 349, 350, 354 
 n ,, demonetised 357 
 
 „ ,, India - 337, 338 
 
 „ „ St. Helena - - - 222 
 Farthing (bronze), weight of (1870) 453 
 „ in Leeward Islands - 65 
 
 Fiduciary basis for note issue 33, 34 
 „ „ in Bahamas - - 168 
 
 „ „ Canada 36, 187, 200, 
 [201 
 Fifty-shilling limit of tender for 
 British coins in New 
 Brunswick - - - 194 
 „ pounds limit of tender for 
 
 silver coins in Nova Scotia 189 
 
 Fiji 292-294 
 
 „ Coinage Act, 1870, applied to - 293 
 „ coin per head of population - 293 
 „ rating of various coins in (1875) 292, 
 
 [293 
 „ Treasury Notes in - - - 292 
 Fine silver, coins received by weight 
 
 of, in Hong Kong - - - 373 
 
 Fipence (3d.) in Jamaica - 110,111 
 
 Five-franc piece of " Latin " Union 398 
 
 „ „ in Bahamas - - 166 
 
 „ „ „ Canada (1841) - 186 
 
 Page 
 Five-franc piece in Gambia - 219, 220 
 „ „ „ Gold Coast - 212 
 
 „ „ „ Lagos - - 216 
 
 „ „ „ Mauritius (1824, 
 
 1826, and 
 1843) 363, 364, 366 
 „ „ „ Prince Edward 
 
 Island - 196, 197 
 ,i „ „ Sierra Leone210, 211 
 
 „ „ „ St. Helena - 224 
 
 „ „ under Treasury 
 
 Minute of 11 
 February 1825 - 424 
 „ „ weight and fine- 
 
 ness of - - 404 
 Five-pound limit of legal tender for 
 silver token coins 
 proposed 
 in British 
 Guiana 30,32, 
 [111,136 
 ,, „ „ coins in 
 
 Malta - 324 
 „ shilling notes in Bahamas - 168 
 Florin, weight and fineness of - 453 
 Fond, rating, in St. Lucia (1840) - 91 
 Foreign coins in British and French 
 colonies overvalued 
 (1704) ... 14 
 „ „ in use in Plantations, 
 
 Act of Parliament 
 fixing ratings (6 
 Anne, cap. 57) 414, 415 
 „ „ rating of, in West 
 
 Indies - 20 
 
 „ gold coins, absence of rating 
 
 for, in colonies 15, 
 [16, 24 
 „ „ in Plantations, 
 
 rated at one- 
 third more than 
 sterling value - 17 
 „ standards, colonies using - 30 
 Forty-shilling limit of legal tender 
 
 of silver 
 token 
 
 coins - 30 
 „ ,, tender for 
 
 certain 
 British 
 silver 
 coins in 
 Jamaica, 112 
 ,, „ tender for 
 
 silver 
 coin ex- 
 tended to 
 certain 
 colonies 
 (1852) -254, 
 [434, 435 
 Forty-shillings limit of legal tender 
 
 extended to 
 Hong Kong 374 
 „ „ for British sil- 
 
 ver, proposed 
 adoption of, 
 in Trinidad - 121 
 
,INDEX. 
 
 479 
 
 Page 
 Fourpences, for British Guiana and 
 
 West Indies - 58, 137 
 
 „ for Leeward Islands - 78 
 
 „ in Barbados - - 58 
 
 „ „ Windward Islands 92 
 
 Franc, synonymous for livre - - 398 
 
 „ weight and fineness of 
 
 (1803-92) - - - 404 
 
 Free banking - - - - 32 
 
 „ coinage of gold and silver in 
 
 England (1666) - 400 
 
 „ „ of silver in India - 339 
 
 French Canadian coins - - 176, 177 
 
 „ coins, in use in British 
 
 >> 
 
 Colonies - 397, 398 
 
 „ Gambia - 219, 220 
 
 „ Lagos - 216, 217 
 
 „ Leeward Islands 65, 
 
 [67 
 
 „ „ „ West African 
 
 Colonies and 
 
 Mauritius - 27 
 
 „ „ rating of, in Canada 180, 
 
 [181, 184 
 „ ,, legal tender of, in 
 
 Bahamas - - 166 
 „ crowns, in Leeward Islands 71 
 „ currency, superseded by 
 
 British, in Canada - - 178 
 „ denominational currency in 
 
 St. Lucia abolished (1840) 91 
 „ gold coin, rating of, in Gold 
 
 Coast - - - 212, 214 
 „ silver coin, demonetised in 
 
 Upper Canada 184 
 
 in Trinidad - 121 
 
 standard in 
 
 Lower Canada 183 
 
 Fur, as money, in Canada - - 175 
 
 Fustick-wood, as money, see also 
 
 Commodities - - - - 46 
 
 
 Gambia 
 
 Orders in Council 
 
 - 219, 220 
 - 41 
 
 Georgia, see Plantations 
 Gibraltar .... 296-306 
 „ adoption of sterling de- 
 nominations - - - 27 
 „ attempt to introduce 
 
 British coin - - - 299 
 „ " Bimetallic " standard - 30 
 „ coin per head of popula- 
 tion - - - - 306 
 ,, coins current in, in 1841 
 
 and 1844 302 
 „ in 1878 305 
 
 in 1892 306 
 copper cuartos (British) 
 struck for - - 301, 302 
 „ dollar in, as bullion only 27 
 „ rating of Spanish coins in 296, 
 
 [297 
 „ scarcity of small coin in - 297, 
 
 [298 
 „ Spanish currency adopted 
 
 [303-306 
 
 
 I) 
 
 Page 
 Gibraltar Spanish doubloon in - 27 
 „ under- valuation of British 
 
 coins (1825) - - - 25 
 Ginger, as money, see also Commo- 
 dities ----.. 6 
 
 Globe dollar 392 
 
 Gold, charge for coining, at Mel- 
 bourne 
 Mint 265, 
 [463 
 „ ,, „ at Sydney 
 
 Mint, 28, 29, 
 [256-259,443, 
 [444, 462, 463 
 Gold Coast .... 212-215 
 ,, coin per head of popula- 
 
 tion in 215 
 
 „ demonetisation of gold 
 
 dust and nuggets - 215 
 
 ,, export of gold dust from 215 
 
 Orders in Council - - 41 
 
 rating of gold dust and 
 
 nuggets in - - - 214 
 
 „ stock of coin in - - 215 
 
 Gold coin, absence of, in West Indies 31 
 
 „ (Australian), legal tender 
 
 in Ceylon (1856) - 356 
 ,, British, legal tender in 
 
 Ceylon (1852) 356 
 ,, „ weight and fine- 
 
 ness of, 400, 412 
 „ chief currency in Lee- 
 
 ward Islands (1739) - 68, 
 [69 
 „ earliest record of, in 
 
 Colonial Enactments - 98 
 „ French, rating of, in Can- 
 
 ada 178-187, 
 „ „ „ in Gold 
 
 Coast 212 
 [214 
 „ „ „ in Lagos 216 
 
 „ „ „ in St. 
 
 Helena 223, 
 [224, 225 
 „ „ „ in Sierra 
 
 Leone 210 
 ,, in Barbados, proportional 
 
 ratings - - 54, 55 
 „ „ Bahamas - - 162, 163 
 „ „ Bermudas, rating of - 157 
 „ „ British Honduras, scar- 
 city of - - 143, 144 
 „ „ Canada, few in circula- 
 tion - 198, 205 
 „ „ „ list of, legal 
 tender by 
 weight 
 (1841) - 187 
 „ „ India, legal tender of, 
 
 suggested (1866) - 345 
 „ „ Leeward Islands 66, 72, 73 
 ,, „ Plantations, absence of 
 
 Imperial rating for 16,17 
 „ „ St. Vincent - - 84 
 
 „ „ Victoria, amount in cir- 
 culation - 266 
 „ „ West Indies - 15, 16 
 
480 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 1! 
 
 II 
 
 » 
 
 l> 
 
 II 
 
 11 
 
 l» 
 
 »l 
 
 II 
 
 II 
 
 Page 
 Gold coin light, withdrawn and ex- 
 changed at its nominal 
 value- - - 458-462 
 „ Newfoundland - - 173 
 
 „ pre-Victorian, demone- 
 
 tised (1890) 460 
 „ „ from Cape 
 
 Colony,ex- 
 changed - 236 
 „ „ withdraw- 
 
 al of - 458 
 
 „ rare in colonies in 17th 
 
 century - - - 10 
 
 „ Spanish and Portuguese, 
 
 ratings in Jamaica 
 (1774) - - - 106 
 „ (Sydney Mint) legal ten- 
 
 der in certain colonies 
 (1866) - - - 446 
 „ United States, legal tender 
 
 in Canada 198 
 „ Gambia 220 
 „ Gold 
 
 Coast 212 
 „ Jamaica 112 
 „ Lagos - 216 
 „ Leeward 
 
 Islands 78 
 „ ,, „ Sierra 
 
 Leone 210 
 ii ii » West 
 
 Indies 
 (1853) 435, 
 [436 
 „ (Melbourne Mint), legal 
 
 tender of - - - 447 
 Gold, discovery and production of, 
 
 in Australasia 27, 28 
 „ dust and nuggets, in Gold 
 
 Coast, demonetised (1889) 215 
 „ legal tender in Lagos - 217 
 imports of, into India - - 346 
 monometallism, adopted by 
 
 England - - - - 21 
 over-valuation of. in Spain - 296 
 standard, adoption proposed 
 
 in B. Honduras 146 
 „ in India - - 345 
 „ failure of, in Hong 
 
 Kong, &c. - 30 
 
 „ in Barbados - 52, 53 
 „ „ Bermudas - 154 
 
 „ „ Canada - - 198 
 
 „ „ Leeward Is- 
 
 lands - - 68 
 ., „ Newfoundland - 173 
 
 „ Tobago - - 94 
 „ „ West Indies 11, 16, 
 
 [19 
 „ "tokens," struck and issued 
 
 in South Australia - - 275 
 
 " Good fors," in Cape of Good Hope 233 
 
 "Goods," issue of, in Berbice- - 126 
 „ „ „ Demerara and 
 
 Essiquibo 127-130, 
 [133 
 
 ii 
 ii 
 
 
 Gourde - 
 
 in St. Lucia 
 
 Page. 
 - 390 
 87,88 
 
 Government, British, first interven- 
 tion in colonial cur- 
 rency - - - 11 
 ,, note issue, in Barbados 51 
 
 „ „ Ceylon 358, 
 
 [359 
 „ „ Mauri- 
 
 tius - 367 
 „ „ New Zea- 
 
 land - 288 
 „ „ Prince 
 
 Edward 
 Island- 195 
 „ notes in Canada, see 
 
 Notes " Provincial" 
 'and " Dominion." 
 Grain, as money, in Canada - - 175 
 
 " Grain," in Malta - - - - 324 
 
 Grenada Act of 21st March 1787 - 82 
 „ „ 24th August 1840 - 90 
 „ and St. Vincent denomi- 
 national currency 
 abolished (1839 and 
 1840) ... 90 
 „ British silver coin intro- 
 duced - - - - 89 
 coins stamped G - 82, 83 
 cut and debased money in 82, 83 
 demonetisation of dollar 92 
 fourpences in (1891) - 92 
 scarcity of coin (1814) - 84 
 
 See Fourpence. 
 Guatemalan dollar, see also Dollar, 
 „ „ in British Hon- 
 
 duras - 143, 144 
 „ „ standard of 
 
 value in 
 
 British Hon- 
 duras - 139, 145 
 ,, silver coins in British 
 
 Honduras - - 143 
 " Gubbers," gold, in St. Helena - 222 
 Guilder of account in British 
 
 Guiana - - - - 124 
 „ rating of, in Berbice (1816) 125 
 „ „ „ St. Helena 224, 225 
 
 „ „ „ New South 
 
 Wales (1S00) 243 
 „ token, in Barbados - - 58 
 ,, ,, British Guiana 124, 
 
 [125, 129-132 
 Guinea, account of - -• - 400 
 „ a "pound sterling" (1660) 400 
 „ French - - - - 398 
 „ in Barbados - 51, 53, 54 
 
 „ rating of , in Antigua - - 67 
 „ „ „ Bahamas 
 
 (1788) - 163 
 „ „ „ Bermudas - 156 
 
 „ „ „ Canada 178, 179, 
 
 [181, 185 
 „ „ ,, Cape of Good 
 
 Hope (1806) 231 
 „ „ „ Grenada - 83 
 
 Groat. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 481 
 
 Page 
 Guinea, rating of, in Jamaica 101, 104, 
 
 [108 
 „ „ „ Nevis, in 1740 72 
 
 „ „ „ New Bruns- 
 
 wick (1786) 192 
 „ „ „ New South 
 
 Wales - 243 
 
 „ „ „ St. Vincent 84, 86 
 
 Gulden and stivers, in Ceylon - 350 
 
 „ groschen - 390 
 
 Half-crowns, in Newfoundland - 172 
 „ worn, proposed impor- 
 
 tation into Falkland 
 Islands - - - 148 
 ., weight and fineness of 
 
 (1870) - - - 453 
 Half -farthings in Ceylon - - 355 
 Half -Johannes - - 19. 20, 396 
 „ standard in Lee- 
 ward Islands - 74 
 Halfpenny (bronze) weight of, 1870 453 
 " Half-Shiner," rating of, in Gibral- 
 tar 298 
 
 Halifax currency - - 7, 179, 183 
 Hammered coins in Jamaica 102, 104, 105 
 
 Hoarded coin in Barbadoes - - 58 
 ., „ Jamaica - 98, 113 
 
 „ „ Lagos - - - 218 
 
 „ „ Sierra Leone - 215 
 
 „ „ Windward Islands 93 
 
 " Hogge " money, in the Bermudas 
 
 (1616) 151 
 
 "Holey dollar" - - - - 21 
 „ „ and " dumps," in 
 
 Tasmania - - 269 
 „ „ in New South Wales 
 
 (1813) - 244, 247 
 „ money, in British Honduras 146 
 Honduras, British. See British Hon- 
 duras. 
 Hong Kong - 371-380 
 
 „ „ adoption of sterling de- 
 nominations - - 27 
 „ „ attempt to introduce 
 
 British silver coin 372, 373 
 „ „ coinage for - - - 374 
 „ „ coin per head of popula- 
 tion - - - - 378 
 „ „ coins in circulation 
 
 (1842 and 1892) 372, 377 
 >, coinsreceived by weight 373 
 „ forty shilling limit of ten- 
 der for British silver 
 coinextended to(l 852)435 
 „ gold standard impracti- 
 cable ... 30 
 „ legal adoption of silver 
 
 standard (1863) - 374 
 ( , Mint. See also Mint 375, 376 
 „ notes per head of popu- 
 lation - - - 380 
 „ subsidiary coins for 374-378 
 „ theoretical gold stan- o 7 i 
 dard of (1853) - 
 
 5) 
 )» 
 
 )» 
 
 »> 
 )> 
 
 Page 
 
 Imperial coins in colonies, legal by 
 
 special enactment only - 40 
 „ Government, control over 
 
 colonial currency - 41, 42 
 Indentures, Mint - - - - 38 
 
 India 336-348 
 
 „ British, paper currency of - 4 
 ,, „ currency distinct from 
 
 that of other col- 
 onies, «fec. - - 3, 4 
 „ „ weight and fineness of 
 
 various coins - - 406 
 „ coins current in, since 1870 338, 339 
 „ „ of Native States and Por- 
 
 guese India - - 339 
 „ free coinage of silver - - 339 
 „ gold coins - 340-346 
 
 „ imports of gold - 346 
 
 „ notes per head of population - 348 
 „ paper currency of - - 346-348 
 „ security for note issue of 346, 347 
 „ silver and copper coin per head 
 
 of popu- 
 lation - 340 
 ,, „ ,, „ struck 
 
 1835-91 339 
 „ sovereigns rated at 20 rupees in 334 
 Indigo, as money. See also Commo- 
 dities 6, 61, 62 
 
 Ingots, gold, assayed and stamped in 
 
 Adelaide 274 
 
 Ireland, moidores in 396 
 
 Irredeemable paper currency in 
 
 Berbice - 125 
 „ „ ,, Cape of Good 
 
 Hope 230—236 
 „ „ ,, Ceylon- 351 — 355 
 
 „ „ „ currency of 
 
 Demerara 
 and Essi- 
 quibo - 133 
 Isle du Vent, or Crimbal Bits 51, 55 
 
 Jacobus, English, rating of in An- 
 tigua ------ 67 
 
 Jamaica ----- 97, 113 
 
 „ Act 3 Vic. cap. 39 - - 111 
 „ „ o „ ,, 28 - - 112 
 
 40 - - 112 
 7 „ „ 5 - - 112 
 ,, British currency adopted 111 
 „ bullion business of, 97, 109, 112 
 „ „ centre of British 
 
 Possessions 97, 109 
 „ clipped coin, a standard in, 100 
 „ coin, instead of commodi- 
 ties, used in - - 97 
 „ „ stamped " G. R." - 103 
 
 „ currency, in British Hon- 
 duras - - - 140, 142 
 ,, forty shilling limit for 
 certain British silver 
 coins - - - - 112 
 
 „ Government, bankrupt con- 
 dition of (1838) - - 111 
 „ large stock of coin in - 97 
 „ notes issued by Government 35 
 
 » 6 v 
 
482 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 fi 
 
 » 
 
 it 
 
 » 
 
 Page 
 Jamaica, rating of real - - - 19 
 „ sterling denominations 
 
 adopted - - -27 
 
 Three-halfpenny pieces - 26 
 Turks Island and Caicos 
 Island, copper and bronze 
 coins demonetised - -113 
 ,, under-valuation of coin in 98, 
 [104, 107, 110 
 Jochimsthaler - 390 
 
 Joes. See Johannes. 
 Johannes, account of - - - 396 
 „ as standard, in Wind- 
 
 ward Islands - - 82 
 „ clipped, in West Indies 1 9, 20 
 
 „ double, in St. Vincent 
 
 (1798) - 84 
 
 „ in Bahamas - 162, 163 
 
 „ „ Barbados - 53, 54 
 
 „ Bermudas - - 157 
 „ Canada - 178,179, 181 
 „ Cape of Good Hope 
 
 (1806) - 231 
 „ Demerara - - 126 
 
 „ Dominica - - 74 
 
 „ Grenada - - - 83 
 „ Jamaica 106, 108, 109 
 „ „ Nevis, in 1740 - 72 
 
 „ „ New Brunswick 
 
 (1786) - - 192 
 
 „ „ New South Wales 
 
 (1800) - - 243 
 
 „ „ St. Helena - 224, 225 
 
 „ St. Vincent - 86, 89 
 „ Tobago - 94 
 
 „ Trinidad - - - 116 
 „ West Indies (1825) - 25 
 light, in St. Vincent - 85 
 „ „ standard coin of 
 
 Leeward Is- 
 lands - - 73 
 „ scarcity of, in St. Vin- 
 cent (1798) - - 84 
 „ succeeded by Doubloon 
 
 in Leeward Islands - 76 
 
 Lagos 216-218 
 
 „ importation of dollars - - 216 
 „ Orders in Council - - 41 
 
 „ stock of coin in - - - 218 
 " Latin " Union, " bimetallism " of - 398 
 „ „ currency of, adop- 
 
 ted in Gibraltar - 305 
 Laws, Colonial, recognised by Home 
 
 Government - - - 39 
 „ (Currency), Imperial, do not 
 
 necessarily relate to Colonies 40 
 Leeward Islands - - - 9, 60-81 
 „ „ Act of 1694, regu- 
 
 lating currency 
 
 65,66 
 ,, „ Commodities su- 
 
 perseded 
 by coin 
 as money 63 
 
 » 
 
 75, 76 
 
 Page 
 Leeward Islands, Commodities the 
 chief medium 
 of exchange - 62 
 ,, „ currency legisla- 
 
 tion - - 78 
 
 „ „ Metallic currency 
 
 of - - - 64 
 „ cut coins in - 
 „ depleted of Pieces' 
 
 of-Eight, &c. - 68, 
 [69,70 
 „ gold coins in - 66 
 ,, gold coin, the 
 chief currency 
 in - - 68, 69 
 y , legal tender, 
 
 limit of com- 
 modities in - 63 
 ,, metallic currency 
 
 introduced 62, 63 
 „ metallic currency 
 of, first Law 
 relating to - 64 
 „ Notes and token 
 coins the 
 sole cur- 
 rency - 78 
 „ „ per head of 
 
 popula- 
 tion - 81 
 „ Bating of coins 
 cur- 
 rent 
 in 
 
 (1740) 72 
 „ „ Dollar 
 
 and 
 Doub- 
 loon - 78 
 „ Eeal - 19 
 scarcity of coin in 68 
 uniform rating of 
 gold in - - 71 
 „ „ United States gold 
 
 coin current - - 78 
 Legal tender, forty shilling limit 
 of, for British 
 Silver coin, exten- 
 ded to certain 
 Colonies (1852) - 435 
 „ „ limitof British Silver 
 
 in Malta, 51. - 324 
 
 „ „ „ Bermudas - 159 
 
 „ „ limits for Commodi- 
 
 ties, in Leeward 
 Islands - - 63 
 
 „ „ limits of, of token 
 
 coins - - 30, 31 
 
 „ „ unlimited, of British 
 
 Silver 
 coin in 
 West 
 Indies, 
 &c. - 32 
 „ „ „ of token 
 
 coins 30,31 
 Legislation, Currency, initiated by 
 
 Colonies - 39 
 
 >> 
 
INDEX. 
 
 483 
 
 » » 
 
 Page 
 Legislation, Currency, Mode of, 38-43 
 Light coins, as standard of value - 8 
 „ „ current by weight in 
 
 Leeward Islands 67, 70 
 in Barbados 50, 51, 52, 53 
 „ Bahamas (1750) - 162 
 ,, Bermudas - - 159 
 paid for in lottery 
 tickets, in Jamaica 
 (1773) - - - 107 
 „ „ withdrawn and ex- 
 changed at its nominal 
 value - - 458-462 
 
 Lira (Turkish), in Cyprus - 325-334 
 Lisbonine, weight and fineness of - 408 
 Liverpool, Lord, " Letter to the 
 
 King" .... 4, 38 
 
 Livre, in St. Lucia - - 87, 88 
 "Logwood Currency" in British 
 
 Honduras - - - 139,140 
 
 Long's History of Jamaica - 103-108 
 
 Louis d'Or 397 
 
 „ rating of, in Antigua - 67 
 „ „ „ Barbados - 54 
 
 „ „ „ Canada - 178, 
 
 [179, 181, 182 
 „ „ „ St. Helena 
 
 224, 225 
 „ ,, Nevis, in 
 
 1740 - 72 
 „ „ „ New Bruns- 
 
 wick (1805)- 192 
 „ weight and fineness of 
 
 409, 410 
 Lucknow Rupee, weight and fine- 
 ness of 406 
 
 " Maccaroni " pieces, in British Hon- 
 duras - 141 
 „ „ Jamaica 109, 110 
 
 Macuta currency - 208 
 
 Mahogany, as money, see also Com- 
 modities - 6 
 „ „ in British 
 
 Honduras 
 
 139, 140 
 
 Malacca - 381-388 
 
 „ Dutch coins in - - 383 
 
 Malta 307-324 
 
 „ adoption of sterling denomi- 
 nations - - - - 27 
 „ attempt to introduce British 
 
 silver coin - - - 312 
 „ British coin, the sole legal 
 
 tender (1855) - - 321, 322 
 „ coin and notes per head of 
 
 population - - 324 
 
 „ „ in circulation in, in 1797 308 
 „ in 1823 310 
 „ in 1844 320 
 in 1845 318 
 
 )» ?! II II 
 
 II II >l V 
 
 „ issue of one-third farthings - 313 
 , Merchants fix valuation of 
 
 various coins (1845) - - 319, 
 [320, 321 
 
 Page 
 Malta, old Maltese coins in circula- 
 tion in 1825 - - - 311 
 „ Sicilian dollar in - - 308, 309, 
 
 [317-323 
 „ Spanish coin in - - 309, 310 
 ,, Silver token coins, legal 
 
 tender in - - - - 30 
 „ two concurrent currency 
 
 systems (1851) - 319, 320 
 Maltese coins, demonetised in 1886 324 
 Maria Theresa Thalers, rating, in 
 St. Helena 224 
 
 Marqu6 (Mauritius) - - 364, 365 
 
 Maryland, see also Plantations 
 
 „ coin struck in - - 5 
 
 „ " Dogg " dollars in - 12 
 
 „ Mint in - - - 5 
 „ scarcity of coins in 
 
 (1702) ... 13 
 
 Mashonaland, currency of - - 240 
 
 Massachusetts Mint (see Boston 
 
 Mint). 
 Mauritius .... 360-370 
 „ Anchor Money in - - 21 
 „ British coin drives out 
 
 rupee (1851)- . . 367 
 „ coin per head of popula- 
 tion - - - - 369 
 „ coinage of i. \, £, and ^ 
 
 dollars for - - - 362 
 „ forty shilling limit of 
 tender for British silver 
 coin extended to (1852) 435 
 „ French and East Indian 
 
 coins in - - 27 
 
 „ Indian currency adopted 
 
 (1876) - - - 368 
 
 „ large importation of 
 francs and 2-franc 
 (1837) - - - 365 
 
 „ Notes issued by Govern- 
 ment - - 35 
 „ „ per head of popula- 
 tion - - -370 
 „ ratings of coins in (1843) 366 
 ,, „ „ in 1824 
 
 and 1826 - 363, 364 
 „ rupee, as standard - - 30 
 „ „ divided into cents 
 
 368, 369 
 „ Rupees replaced in cir- 
 culation (1866) - - 367 
 „ Spanish dollar overrated 
 
 in (1824) - - - 363 
 „ sterling denominations 
 
 adopted - - - 27 
 „ "tokens" of 50 and 25 
 
 sous (1822) - 362 
 , „ withdrawn and 
 
 re-issued (1831) - 365 
 „ Treasury Minute (11th 
 February 1825) respec- 
 ting introduction of 
 British silver and copper 
 coin - - - - 421 
 MedjidiS, rating, in Cyprus (1878) 
 
 327, 328 
 
484 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Page 
 Melbourne Mint (see Mint, Mel- 
 bourne). 
 Merchants of Barbados, raise rating 
 
 of Doubloon - - 55 
 „ British Honduras, ad- 
 
 vertise ratings of 
 coins (1885) - - 144 
 „ Dominica overrule 
 
 Proclaimed ratings 
 for coins . - 74 
 ,, Malta fix valuation of 
 
 various coins 
 
 (1845) - 319, 320, 321 
 „ fix rating of dollar in New 
 
 South Wales (1829) - 249 
 Merchants' tokens, in Gibraltar - 298 
 Mils, for Hong Kong - 374, 376, 377 
 
 Mint Charge, at Melbourne Mint 
 
 265, 463 
 
 „ at Sydney Mint 28, 29, 
 
 [256-259, 443, 
 
 [444, 462, 463 
 
 „ for coining gold at 
 
 Colonial Mints - 445 
 Mint, examination of gold coins 
 
 from Plantations by - 17 
 
 „ Hong Kong - - - - 30 
 
 „ Indentures - - - - 38 
 
 „ in American plantations, pro- 
 posed 12, 13 
 „ in Barbados, proposed - - 49 
 „ „ Jamaica, proposed - - 99 
 „ „ Maryland - - - 5 
 „ „ New England - - 9, 10, 11 
 „ „ New Zealand, proposed - 286 
 " Mint Mark " on Sydney Mint 
 coins ------ 257 
 
 Mint, Master and officers of - - 451 
 „ Melbourne, charge for 
 coining 
 
 gold - 265, 463 
 „ „ establishment 
 
 proposed - 264 
 „ „ gold coins, 
 
 legal ten- 
 der of 264, 447 
 „ „ opened - - 28 
 
 „ „ operations of 
 
 265, 266 
 „ „ proposed coin- 
 
 age of silver 
 at - 266, 267 
 „ of Knights of St. John, in 
 
 Malta - - - - 307 
 
 „ Sydney, charge for coining 
 
 gold at - 462, 463 
 „ „ gold coins legal 
 
 tender in certain 
 colonies (1866) - 446 
 „ „ gold coins legal ten- 
 
 der in the United 
 Kingdom (1866) 
 
 443, 444 
 
 opened - - - 28 
 operations of- 256, 259 
 Order in Council 
 establishing - 255 
 
 >> >> 
 
 Page 
 
 Mint, Sydney, papers relating to 
 the establish- 
 ment, &c, of 
 
 436-447 
 „ „ Proclamation 
 
 (1871). Gold 
 coins of same 
 design as those 
 struck in London 
 to be current 29, 
 [258, 453 
 „ „ Proclamation 
 
 (1871) Gold 
 
 coins of, to be 
 current in Vic- 
 toria, &c. - - 454 
 „ „ proposed establish- 
 
 ment of - - 251, 
 [252. 253 
 ii „ pyx coins of- - 255 
 
 „ „ Select Committee 
 
 of House of 
 Commons on 
 coins of - - 257 
 „ „ silver and bronze 
 
 coin put into 
 circulation by - 259 
 „ „ coins, current in 
 
 Hong Kong, 
 Ceylon, and 
 Mauritius - - 255 
 Mints, Australian, legal tender of 
 
 coins struck at - - - 28, 29 
 Minute, Treasury, see Treasury. 
 Mocos, in Leeward Islands - - 79 
 „ St. Lucia - 87, 88, 90, 91 
 
 „ Jamaica - - - - 109 
 
 Moeda de Ouro - - 396, 408 
 Mohur, account of - - 340-342 
 
 „ Bengal, Madras, and Bom- 
 bay, rating of, in 
 Mauritius - - 363,364 
 „ rating of, in Bombay - - 341 
 „ „ ,, Cape of Good 
 
 Hope (1806), 231 
 „ „ „ sterling, in 
 
 Hong Kong - 373 
 u „ „ Mauritius 
 
 (1843) - - 366 
 
 New 
 
 South 
 
 Wales (1800) 243 
 „ „ „ St. Helena - 223, 
 
 [224, 225 
 „ various issues, weight and 
 
 fineness of 411, 412 
 
 Moidore. See also Moeda de Ouro. 
 „ and " Joes " in the Ber- 
 mudas - - - 157 
 „ in Barbados - - 50, 53, 54 
 
 „ „ Ireland - - - 396 
 
 „ rating of, in Bahamas 
 
 (1750 and 
 1788) 162, 163 
 „ „ „ Canada - 178 
 
 [179, 181 
 „ „ „ Grenada - 83 
 
 „ „ „ Jamaica - 101, 
 
 [104, 106 
 
INDEX. 
 
 485 
 
 Page 
 Moidore, rating of, in Nevis, in 
 
 1740 - 72 
 i) » „ New 
 
 Brunswick 
 (1805) - 192 
 „ „ „ St. Helena 
 
 224, 225 
 i, ,- „ St. Vin- 
 
 cent - 86 
 Molasses, as money, see also Com- 
 modities ----- fi 
 Money of Account, see Denomina- 
 tional Currency and "Currency 
 Ratings." 
 Monometallism, Gold, adopted by 
 
 England - - 21 
 „ Silver, of India - 4 
 
 Montserrat, see also Leeward 
 Islands, 
 cut coins in - 76 
 
 Irish Colonists in - 62 
 
 sterling denominations 
 adopted - - - 27 
 Moriscoes, in St. Helena - - 222 
 
 Muscovado Sugar, as money, see also 
 
 Commodities - 47 
 in Barbados - 67 
 the Leeward 
 Islands - 62 
 
 Newfoundland coinage, 
 struck 
 
 
 !» 
 
 Napoleon, gold .... 398 
 „ rating of, in Cyprus 
 
 (1878) - 327 
 „ „ in St. Helena 223, 
 
 [224, 225 
 „ weight and fineness of - 410 
 
 Natal 228-229 
 
 „ coin and notes per head of 
 
 population - - - - 229 
 
 „ scarcity of coin in 228 
 
 Negroes, object to copper coin, 110, 113, 
 
 [118, 165 
 „ refuse to use old or worn 
 
 coin, in Gold Coast - 213 
 " Neptune's Car" Penny - - 55 
 Nevis, see also Leeward Islands. 
 
 „ rating of various coins in - 72 
 „ '• Sheedy " in - 77 
 
 „ stamped coin - - - 75 
 „ table of ratings of coins 
 
 current in (1740) - - 72 
 New Brunswick - - - 192-194 
 „ „ coinage - - 194 
 
 „ „ ratings of various 
 
 coins in (1786) - 192, 193 
 New England (see also Plantations) 5 
 coinage - - - 64 
 coins current in St. 
 
 Kitts --- 64 
 Mint in - - 9, 10, 11 
 „ refusal to re- 
 establish 11, 12 
 Newfoundland - - - 170-174 
 „ Australian gold coin 
 
 legal tender in - 29 
 72642. 
 
 » 
 
 )) 
 
 >> 
 
 >) 
 
 » 
 
 >! 
 
 » 
 
 J) 
 
 Page 
 
 amount 
 
 (1865— 
 
 1891) - - - 173 
 
 „ coin and notes per 
 
 head of popul a- 
 
 tion - - - 174 
 
 „ copper coin recalled 
 
 (1872) - - 172 
 
 „ dollar currency sys- 
 
 tem adopted - 172 
 „ gold two-dollar 
 
 piece - - - 30 
 „ issue of Government 
 
 notes - - 171, 172 
 
 „ sovereign in - - 31 
 
 „ " sterling " - - 170 
 
 " New Plate," dollar of - - 392 
 
 New South Wales - 242-262 
 
 ,, „ Act, No. III., of 
 
 1855 - 254, 255 
 „ „ Banking regula- 
 
 tions - - 261 
 „ „ coin and notes 
 
 per head of 
 population - 260, 
 [261, 262 
 ,, „ dollar, cut and 
 
 stamped 
 
 (1813) - - 244 
 „ „ "dollar system" 
 
 in - 246-249 
 
 „ „ note issue -23, 35, 36 
 
 „ „ private promis- 
 
 sory notes - 23, 
 [242-246 
 „ ,, rating of various 
 
 coins in (1800) 243 
 „ „ Treasury Minute 
 
 (11th Feb. 
 1825) respect- 
 ing introduc- 
 tion of British 
 silver and 
 
 copper coin - 420 
 ,, „ various coins in 
 
 circulation, in 
 1829 - - 249 
 Newton, Sir Isaac, assay of Barbary 
 
 Ducat by - 397 
 „ „ report on Pieces- 
 
 of-Eight - 391 
 „ „ report on 
 
 Spanish gold 
 coin - 395, 396 
 New York, see Plantations. 
 New Zealand - - - 286-291 
 
 „ Banking Statistics 
 
 (1891) - - - 291 
 „ conditions of private 
 
 note issue - - 290 
 „ forty-shilling limit of 
 
 tender for silver 
 coin adopted (1852) 435 
 „ issue of Government 
 
 notes - - 35, 287, 
 [288, 289 
 „ notes and coin per 
 
 head of population 291 
 
 I I 
 
4S6 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Page 
 Nickel pence and halfpence in 
 
 Jamaica - - - - - 113 
 North American Colonies, see Plan- 
 tations. 
 „ Borneo Co., copper coins of, 
 
 in Straits Settlements - 387 
 
 Notes and Coin, stock of, in Bahamas 168 
 
 „ „ „ ., Barbados 58 
 
 „ „ „ British 
 
 Guiana 137 
 
 „ „ ,, „ Jamaica- 113 
 
 „ „ „ „ Malta - 324 
 
 „ „ Natal - 229 
 
 ,, ,, ,, ,, JNew 
 
 South 
 Wales 260, 
 [261, 262 
 „ „ „ „ New Zea- 
 
 land - 291 
 „ ,, „ „ Queens- 
 
 land 
 
 280, 281 
 „ „ „ „ South 
 
 Australia 
 
 [276, 277 
 ,, „ „ „ Trinidad 123 
 
 „ „ „ „ Western 
 
 Australia 285 
 „ „ „ „ Windward 
 
 Islands 93 
 „ " Bank," in Canada, Redemp- 
 tion Fund for - - - 203 
 „ Bank of England, proposed 
 
 introduction into St. Lucia 92 
 „ Canadian, " Bank " - 201-205 
 
 „ ,, " Dominion," per 
 
 head of popula- 
 tion - - - 201 
 „ „ goldreserves 
 
 against - - 205 
 „ „ means of redemp- 
 
 tion 199, 200, 201, 205 
 „ „ of cardboard 176, 177 
 
 "Provincial" - 199 
 „ „ reserve held against 187 
 
 „ ., stock of, in 1891 - 200 
 
 „ Colonial Bank's, in Leeward 
 
 Islands - - 81 
 „ „ Government issues 35, 37 
 
 „ „ private issues - 32 
 
 „ „ Office Circular re- 
 
 specting - - 33 
 „ „ regulations for issue 
 
 of - - - 34 
 „ conditions of safe issue 36, 37 
 „ counterfeit, in New South 
 
 Wales (1803) - - - 244 
 „ Dutch, in Ceylon - 351 
 
 „ „ ,, Colonies - - 35 
 
 „ English policy regarding - 32 
 „ fiduciary basis for issue of 33, 34 
 „ five-shilling, in Bahamas - 168 
 „ Government, in Ceylon 358, 359 
 „ „ ., Mauritius 367, 
 
 [369, 370 
 „ „ „ Newfound- 
 
 land 171, 172 
 
 Page 
 Notes, Government, in New Zealand 
 
 (1850) 287, 288, 
 [289 
 „ „ „ Prince Ed- 
 
 ward Is- 
 land- - 195 
 i, „ „ Western Aus- 
 
 traha 
 
 (1830) 282,283 
 ,, „ proposed in 
 
 Cape 
 Colony 
 (1870) - 237 
 „ „ „ Queens- 
 
 land - 280 
 „ „ „ South Aus- 
 
 tralia 
 
 (1889) 277, 
 [278 
 „ of India 346-348 
 
 ,, „ „ amount 
 
 in cir- 
 cula- 
 tion 
 
 (1891) 347 
 „ hand-written, issued in Falk- 
 land Islands - - - 148 
 „ in Bahamas - - - - 168 
 „ „ Barbados - - 51, 52, 59 
 
 „ „ Bermudas . - - 156, 157 
 „ „ British Guiana 124-126, 128- 
 [130, 133, 134, 135, 137 
 „ „ Canada 175-178, 182, 184-186, 
 
 [199-205 
 „ „ Cape Colony 230-234, 237-240 
 „ „ Ceylon - 352, 354, 358, 359 
 „ „ Dutch Colonies - - 22 
 „ „ England and Colonies - 22 
 „ „ Falkland Islands - 147, 148" 
 
 „ „ Fiji 292 
 
 „ „ Hong Kong - - 379, 380 
 „ „ India - - 4, 346, 348 
 ., „ Jamaica - 109-113 
 
 „ „ Mauritius - 367, 369, 370 
 
 „ „ Natal - - - - 229 
 „ „ New South Wales 242-246, 261, 
 
 [262 
 „ „ New Zealand - - 287-291 
 „ ,, Nova Scotia - - - 189 
 „ ,. Plantations 15, 16, 17, 18, 416 
 „ „ Prince Edward Island 195, 196 
 „ „ St. Helena - - - 222 
 „ „ Straits Settlements - 387, 388 
 „ „ Tasmania - 272 
 
 „ „ Victoria - 268 
 
 „ „ Western Australia - 282, 285 
 ,, issue of, not ordinary bank- 
 ing business - - 33, 34 
 „ mutually guaranteed by banks 36 
 „ of Hong Kong banks, un- 
 limited liability for - - 379 
 „ of Oriental Bank guaranteed 
 
 by Ceylon Government - 35 
 „ private, conditions of issue, in 
 
 Ca,pe Colony - - 237, 238 
 
INDEX. 
 
 487 
 
 >» 
 
 Page 
 Notes, private, conditions of issue, in 
 
 New South 
 Wales 242- 
 [246, 261 
 „ „ „ New Zea- 
 
 land - 290 
 » >. n Queens- 
 
 land 279,280 
 „ „ „ South 
 
 Austra- 
 lia - 276 
 „ „ Tasmania 271 
 
 „ „ Victoria 267, 
 
 [268 
 
 ,, „ „ Western 
 
 Austra- 
 lia - 284 
 „ promissory, payable in timber, 
 
 &c. (1846) - - - 190 
 
 „ regulations for issue of, by 
 
 Colonial banks - - - 34 
 Nova Scotia .... 188-192 
 „ adoption of Canada cur- 
 
 rency - - 191, 192 
 „ coinage ... 191 
 
 „ ratings of various coins 
 
 in (1842) - - 190, 191 
 
 Old Canada - 175-188 
 
 Oldmixon's " British Empire in 
 America " - - 47, 50, 97, 100, 101 
 
 One-third farthings for Malta 313, 324 
 Ontario and Quebec - • 175-188 
 
 Order in Council, currency regulated 
 
 by - - - 41 
 
 „ „ 23 March 1825, 
 
 respecting adop- 
 tion of British 
 silver and cop- 
 per coin in 
 Colonies 40, 110, 119, 
 [425 
 
 „ „ 7 September 1838, 
 
 revoking Order 
 in Council of 23 
 March 1825, as 
 regards Ameri- 
 can and West 
 Indian Colonies 27, 
 [428 
 
 „ „ 14 September 
 
 1838, approving 
 Proclamation 
 fixing rating of 
 doubloon and 
 dollar in West 
 Indian Colonies 27, 
 [429 
 
 „ „ 16 October 1852, 
 
 forty - shilling 
 limit of tender 
 extended to cer- 
 tain colonies 28, 435 
 
 Page 
 Orders in Council, 19 August 1853, 
 and 9 March 
 1854, legal 
 tender of 
 United States 
 gold coin in 
 West Indies 28, 
 [435 
 „ „ 19 August 1853 
 
 ( S y d n e y 
 Mint) - - 255 
 „ „ 18 October 1854, 
 
 Australian 
 sovereign and 
 and half- 
 sovereign - 441 
 i, „ 10 November 
 
 1866, Sydney 
 Mint gold. 
 coins, legal 
 tender in cer- 
 tain colonies 445 
 „ „ 24 March 1876 ; 
 
 demonetisa- 
 tion of copper 
 coin - 455, 456 
 „ 16 March 1892, 
 light gold 
 coin e x - 
 changed at 
 nominal value 461 
 Oriental Bank Corporation, failure 35,36 
 „ ii „ Notes of, 
 
 guaran 
 teed by 
 Govern- 
 ment, in 
 Ceylon 358 
 » „ „ Notes of, 
 
 in Straits 
 Settle- 
 ments - 888 
 Over-issue of paper currency in 
 
 United States - - - - 18 
 Over-valuation of coins in Barba- 
 dos - 48 
 „ „ „ in British 
 
 and 
 
 French 
 colonies 
 (1704) - 14 
 n j, foreign coins in 
 
 Leeward Is- 
 lands - - 70 
 „ ,, gold in Planta- 
 
 tions - 21 
 v » » in Spain 296 
 
 >, „ „ coin in 
 
 Trini- 
 dad - 114 
 i, „ „ coin in 
 
 Spanish 
 Bahamas 1 63, 
 [164 
 n „ shilling in Gre- 
 
 nada - - 89 
 ,i ,, Spanish dollar 24, 
 
 [25, 26. 
 
488 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Page 
 Over-valuation of Spanish dollar 
 
 in Lee- 
 war <l 
 Islands 77 
 „ „ „ dollar 
 
 in Mau- 
 ritius 
 
 (1824) 303 
 „ „ „ dollar 
 
 in New- 
 found- 
 land - 170 
 „ ,, United States 
 
 gold coin, in 
 Bahamas - 167 
 
 Packets of coin, circulation of, in 
 
 British 
 Hon- 
 duras 146 
 of, in 
 Jamaica 
 (1817) 108 
 [109 
 Pagoda, in Ceylon • - - 349, 350 
 rating of, in Cape of Good 
 
 Hope (1806) 231 
 „ „ „ „ India 337, 338, 
 
 [342, 343 
 „ „ „ New South 
 
 Wales (1800) 243 
 „ „ „ St. Helena 222, 
 [223, 224, 225 
 „ weight and fineness of 
 
 (1818 and 1820) - - 412 
 Paper currency, see Notes. 
 Peceta, see Pistareen. 
 Peel, Sir Robert (Bank Acts of 
 
 1844-45) 32 
 
 Pelham, Henry - - - - 17 
 Penang ----- 381-388 
 Pence, British, in St. Lucia - 88, 90 
 " Pence Currency," in West Indies 19 
 Pence for Bahamas (1806) - - 164 
 „ „ Bermudas - - 157, 158 
 Penn, William, letter to Home 
 Government on currency of Plan- 
 tations (1703) - - " - - 13 
 Pennington, James - - - 26 
 
 Pennsylvania. See Plantations. 
 Penny (bronze), weight of (1870) - 453 
 „ tokens, struck in New 
 
 England - - - - 10 
 " Peruvians," see Piece-of-Eight. 
 
 Peso Duro 390 
 
 l'hilipps-und-Dickethaler - - 390 
 Piastre (dollar) - - - - 390 
 Piastres (British), copper, for 
 
 Cyprus - - - 328-334 
 
 Pice, British Indian - - - 339 
 
 ,. imported into Mauritius (1818) 362, 
 
 [364 
 „ in St. Helena, from Madras, 222 
 „ of tin, in Penang - 382 
 
 „ rating of, in dollars, in Straits 
 
 Settlements (1855) - - 384 
 
 
 i) 
 
 Page 
 Pie, British Indian - 339 
 
 „ rating of, in Straits - 384 
 
 Piece-of-Eight. (See also Dollar.) 
 
 „ account of - 390, 391 
 „ clipped - - - 7 
 „ ,, as standard in 
 
 Barbados - 49 
 „ ,, Jamaica - 100 
 
 ,, „ Leeward 
 
 Islands - 67 
 „ counterfeit - - 49 
 ,, disappearance of, in 
 
 West Indies - 15 
 „ in Antigua - - 48 
 „ „ Bahamas - - 161 
 „ „ Barbados - 48-53 
 „ „ Bermudas - 152-5 
 „ „ Dominica - - 74 
 „ „ Jamaica, 97-102, 105 
 „ „ Leeward Islands, 64, 
 [65, 67-f 4 
 ,, „ Nevis - - - 72 
 „ ., Plantations - 5 
 
 „ „ St. Helena - - 221 
 „ light, as tokens, in 
 
 Jamaica 101 
 „ „ Leeward 
 
 Islands 74 
 „ Pillar - 48,49,98,99 
 ., of Mexico, 48, 49, 98, 99 
 „ of Peru, in Jamaica 99 
 „ of Seville 48,49,98,99 
 „ „ of, in sterling: - 6-11 
 
 „ „ title " Dollar " 
 
 adopted for - 16 
 
 ,, ,, various concurrent 
 
 ratings (1700) - 12 
 „ ,, weight and fineness 
 
 of various issues 402, 
 
 [403 
 
 Pieza de i Ocho - - - - 390 
 
 Pillar dollars - - - - - 391 
 
 Pillared four-dog piece - - - 80 
 
 Pine tree coins - - - - 64 
 
 „ apple penny - 55 
 
 Pistareen, account of 395 
 
 „ cut. in Barbados - - 53 
 
 „ disappearance of, from 
 
 Leeward Islands - - 77 
 „ in Antigua - - - 76 
 „ „ Bahamas - - 164, 165 
 
 „ „ Barbados - 51. 53, 55 
 
 „ „ Bermudas - 155, 156, 158 
 „ „ Canada 179, 180, 181, 183, 
 
 [184 
 „ „ Dominica - - - 74 
 
 „ „ Grenada (see also 
 
 "Bit") - - 84,89 
 „ „ Jamaica 101, 102, 105, 108 
 
 „ „ Leeward Islands - 76 
 
 „ „ St. Vincent (1798) - 85 
 
 „ „ Nevis, official decrial 
 
 inoperative - - 77 
 
 .. New Brunswick - - 193 
 
 „ Plantations 
 „ Trinidad - 
 
 16. 19 
 
 116, 120 
 
INDEX. 
 
 489 
 
 
 Page 
 • 395 
 
 ■ 80 
 
 »j 
 »i 
 »» 
 
 it 
 
 Pistareen in United States • 
 „ Virgin Islands - 
 received by weight in 
 
 Barbados - - - 51 
 stamped in Dominica - 75 
 weight and fineness of - 403 
 withdrawal of, from 
 Nevis - - - -77 
 Pistole, account of - - - 395, 39(5 
 „ rating of, in Bahamas (1750) 162 
 ,, „ Barbados 48, 51, 53 
 
 Bermudas - 155 
 
 Canada, 178, 181, 182 
 Jamaica, 98, 99, 101, 
 [103, 104, 106, 108 
 Nevis (1704) - 72 
 New Brunswick 
 (1805) - - 192 
 ~„ weight and fineness of 407 
 
 Plantations, Act of Parliament, 
 rating silver coins 
 in use in (6 Anne, 
 cap. 57) - - 414, 415 
 ,, Act of Parliament, 
 
 regulating paper 
 currency (13 Geo. 
 III., cap. 57) - - 416 
 „ anomalous currency 
 
 in (1700) - - 12 
 „ currency of, in 17th 
 
 century 4-10 
 „ „ letter by 
 
 William 
 Penn - 13 
 ., early scarcity of 
 
 coined money in - 5 
 gold coins in - 16, 17 
 paper currency - 15 
 
 Proclamation regu- 
 lating currency 
 (1704) --- 14 
 Plated coins in Cyprus - - 325, 329 
 Plugged and stamped Johannes in 
 
 St. Vincent (1831) - 89 
 coin in Bahamas - -163 
 British Guiana 127, 128 
 Grenada - 83, 85, 86 
 Trinidad - - 116 
 '„ West Indies - - 23 
 gold coin demonetised in 
 New Bruns- 
 wick (1805) 192 
 „ „ in Tobago - 95 
 
 " Plugging," prohibited in Leeward 
 
 Islands - .... 66 
 Population, coin and notes per head 
 
 of, in Bahamas 168 
 
 »l 
 
 II 
 
 II 
 II 
 
 II 
 II 
 
 II 
 
 II 
 
 I) 
 II 
 II 
 
 59 
 
 138 
 206 
 113 
 
 ii 
 i> 
 
 Barbados 
 British 
 Guiana - 
 Canada - 
 Jamaica - 
 Leeward 
 Islands - 58 
 Malta - 324 
 Natal - 229 
 New- 
 foundland 174 
 
 Page 
 Population, coin and notes per head 
 of, in New 
 South 
 
 Wales - 260, 
 [261, 262 
 „ „ „ New Zea- 
 
 land - 291 
 „ „ „ Queens- 
 
 land 280,281 
 „ „ „ South 
 
 Australia 276, 
 [277 
 „ „ „ Trinidad 123 
 
 „ „ „ Western 
 
 Australia 285 
 „ „ „ Wind- 
 
 ward Is- 
 lands - 93 
 „ coin per head of, in 
 
 „ „ „ Bermudas 
 
 [160 
 i, ., ,, British 
 
 Honduras 146 
 „ „ „ Canada - 199 
 
 ii ii ii Cape 
 
 Colony - 236 
 „ „ „ Ceylon - 358 
 
 „ „ „ Cyprus - 334 
 
 „ Fiji - 293 
 „ Gibraltar 306 
 „ Gold 
 
 Coast - 215 
 „ „ Hong 
 
 Kong - 378 
 „ ,, Mauritius 369 
 
 „ „ St. He- 
 
 lena - 227 
 „ „ Straits 
 
 Settle- 
 ments - 387 
 „ „ Tasmania 271 
 
 „ „ Victoria 267 
 
 „ silver and copper, 
 per head of, in India 340 
 notes, Dominion, per 
 head of, in 
 Canada - 201 
 „ private, per 
 head of, in 
 Canada - 204 
 „ per head of, in 
 
 Cape Colony 238 
 
 ,, „ Ceylon - 359 
 
 „ Hong Kong - 380 
 
 n 
 >i 
 
 India 
 
 348 
 
 „ „ Mauritius - 370 
 „ „ Straits Set- 
 
 tlements 
 „ „ Tasmania 
 
 72642. 
 
 388 
 272 
 
 „ „ „ Victoria - 268 
 
 Portland, Duke of, Governor of 
 
 Jamaica .... 100, 101 
 " Porto Novo," Pagoda, in St. He- 
 lena ---- 223, 224, 225 
 Portuguese coin. See also Johannes 
 and Moidore, 
 „ in Ceylon - - 349, 350 
 
 K K 
 
490 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Page 
 Portuguese coins, various weight 
 
 and fineness of - 396, 408 
 „ rupee, legal tender in 
 
 Ceylon - - - 357 
 
 Pound, of sterling silver - - 399 
 
 Pre-Victorian gold coin, current in 
 
 Colonies 
 though 
 not in 
 United 
 Kingdom 43 
 „ „ demoneti- 
 
 sation of 460 
 „ „ from Cape 
 
 Colony, 
 
 exchanged 236 
 „ „ withdrawal 
 
 of - - 458 
 ,, „ withdrawn 
 
 by Mel- 
 bourne 
 Mint - 265 
 „ ,, withdrawn 
 
 by Sydney 
 Mint - 259 
 
 Prince Edward Island - - 195, 196 
 „ „ limit of tender 
 
 of silver coins 197 
 „ „ notes issued 
 
 by Govern- 
 ment - 35 
 „ „ ratings of va- 
 
 rious coins in 196 
 Proclamation, 18th June 1704, rating 
 pieces of eight, «fec, 
 in plantations 14, 15, 39, 
 [68 
 „ 18th June 1704, effect 
 
 in Barbados 50, 51, 52, 
 [53 
 „ 18th June 1704, in 
 
 the Bermudas - 155 
 
 „ 23rd March 1825 - 77 
 
 „ 14th September 1838 27 
 
 „ • (1852), extending 
 forty-shilling limit 
 of tender for silver 
 coin to certain 
 Colonies - - 435 
 
 „ (1853) making United 
 
 States gold coin 
 legal tender in West 
 Indies - - 112, 436 
 
 „ (1854), Australian 
 
 gold coin to be 
 current in certain 
 Colonies - - 442 
 
 , 3rd February 1866, 
 
 Sydney Mint gold 
 coins legal tender in 
 United Kingdom 
 (1866) 29,258, 443, 444 
 
 , (1866), Sydney Mint 
 
 gold coins legal 
 tender in certain 
 Colonies - - 446 
 
 Page 
 Proclamation, 7th August 1869, Mel- 
 bourne Mint gold 
 coins legal tender 
 throughout the Em- 
 pire ... 447 
 „ 14th January 1871, 
 
 gold coins struck at 
 Sydney of same 
 designs as those 
 struck in London - 453 
 „ 24th March 1871, 
 
 gold coins of Sydney 
 Mint to be current 
 in Victoria - - 454 
 „ 24th March 1876, 
 
 demonetising cop- 
 per coin in Colonies 456 
 „ 13th May 1887, or- 
 
 dering new designs 
 for coinage, and 
 creating a double- 
 florin - - - 457 
 „ 22nd November 1890, 
 
 pre- Victorian gold 
 coin demonetised - 460 
 „ 9th May 1891, four- 
 
 pences for West 
 Indies - - - 58 
 „ 30th January 1893, 
 
 new designs for Im- 
 perial coins - - 464 
 Proclamations issued under Orders 
 
 in Council regulating currency - 40 
 Provincial coins (Spanish), weight 
 
 and fineness of - - 403 
 
 „ notes, in Canada - - 199 
 
 Pyx coins, from Sydney Mint - 255 
 
 „ trial of the - - - - 450 
 
 Quarter-farthings in Ceylon - - 355 
 Quatty (l?d. piece) in Jamaica - 110 
 Quebec and Ontario - - 175-188 
 Queensland - - - 279-281 
 
 „ coin and notes per head 
 
 of population - 280, 281 
 „ banking regulations - 279, 
 
 [280 
 
 " Rati," unit of weight in India 
 
 Real, abolished in Mexico (1890) 
 „ as denomination of account , in 
 
 British Honduras abolished 
 " Real current " of Gibraltar - 
 Real, in Antigua - - - - 
 
 Bahamas - - - - 
 
 Barbados - 
 
 Bermudas 
 
 Gibraltar - 
 
 Jamaica - 
 
 Nevis, in 174C 
 
 West Indies 
 
 336, 
 
 [340 
 
 392 
 
 » 
 
 143 
 
 - 297 
 
 - 67 
 
 - 164 
 
 - 49 
 153,154 
 296 297 
 
 97, 101, 103,' 105 
 72 
 19 
 
INDEX. 
 
 491 
 
 Page 
 
 ■ 183 
 
 ■ 6,8 
 108 
 
 Real, Mexican, in Canada 
 „ ,, rated at sixpence - 
 
 „ „ rating in Jamaica - 
 
 „ ,, rating, in Trinidad 
 
 (1826) - - 120 
 
 „ of new plate - - - 392, 395 
 „ „ weight and fine- 
 
 ness of - - 403 
 Redemption fund, for Canadian 
 
 Bank notes ----- 203 
 Reforms in Colonial currency, sug- 
 gested - - - .31, 43, 169 
 Regulations for banking in Colonies, 
 
 1840 and 1846 - 429-434 
 „ for supply of British 
 
 silver coin to Colonies 
 (1881) - - - 456 
 Reichsthaler - - - - - 390 
 " Remedy " allowances, new (Coin- 
 age Act, 1891) ---. 461 
 Reserve, cash, held 
 
 against private notes, 
 in Canada - 202-204 
 
 » >> >> 
 
 against Colonial notes 34 
 „ held against notes, 
 
 British Indian - 346, 347 
 
 Ceylon (Govt.) (1891) 359 
 
 Mauritius (Govt.), 369, 370 
 
 Rider, 48, 54 
 
 Ring, or round, dollar (see also un- 
 der cut money') - - 21, 75, 79 
 Rix dollar, see dollar, rix 
 Robinson, Sir Hercules - - - 30 
 Royal-of-Eight - - 390, 402, 403 
 Royal Prerogative, as to currency, 38-43 
 Rum, as money, see also Commo- 
 dities ------ 6 
 
 Rupee, Arcot - - - 337, 338 
 
 „ ,. weight and fineness of 
 
 (17S8-1835) - - 406 
 „ adopted as standard, in Mauri- 
 tius (1876) - - - 368 
 „ and cents for Ceylon - - 357 
 Penang (1788), 382 
 „ „ „ Straits Settle- 
 
 ments - 383 
 
 „ Benares, weight and fineness 406 
 „ Bombay or Surat, weight and 
 
 fineness of (1760-1835) - 406 
 „ British, first issue of - - 337 
 „ Company's - - : - 338 
 in Hong Kong - 372 
 rating of, in 
 Mauritius 
 
 (1843) - - 366 
 „ weight and fine- 
 
 ness of - - 406 
 gold, in St. Helena - - 223 
 „ of Madras (1818) - - 341 
 Government ... 338 
 
 imported into Natal - - 228 
 in Cape of Good Hope - - 231 
 „ Ceylon - - 350, 355, 356 
 „ Hong Kong - - - 373 
 ,. Malacca - - - - 383 
 
 
 » 
 
 Page 
 Rupee in Straits Settlements - 383-386 
 „ „ New South Wales - 243, 249 
 „ „ St. Helena - - 223, 224 
 „ „ Tasmania, proposed rating 270 
 „ Madras, current in Ceylon 
 
 (1823) ... - 355 
 „ of Sher Shah - - - 336 
 „ overrated in Cyprus (1879) - 330 
 „ Portuguese - 339, 357 
 
 „ Sicca, in Ceylon - 337, 355, 356 
 » „ Mauritius - 361, 364 
 
 „ „ weight and fineness of 
 
 (1766-1836) - - 406 
 „ Surat 337 
 
 St. Helena - 221-227 
 
 „ adoption of sterling de- 
 
 nominations - 27, 221 
 „ coin per head of popula- 
 
 tion in 227 
 
 „ coins current in, in 1740 
 
 and 1819 
 
 222, 223 
 „ „ in 1823 and 
 
 1830 - 224 
 in 1836 - 225 
 „ debased condition of 
 
 coins in (1843) - - 226 
 „ scarcitv of dollars in 
 
 (1708) - - - 221 
 St. Kitts, Act of 1672 - 64 
 
 „ New England coins cur- 
 rent in - 64 
 „ stamped coin in - - 75 
 St. Lucia, demonetisation of dollar - 92 
 „ denominational currency, 
 
 in French terms - - 87, 
 [88, 90 
 „ fourpences in (1891) 92 
 
 „ introduction of Bank of 
 England notes pro- 
 posed - - - - 92 
 „ limit on legal tender of 
 
 tokens proposed - - 92 
 St. Vincent, denominational cur- 
 rency abolished 
 (1839) --- 90 
 „ coin stamped " S. V. " 
 
 (1797) --. 84 
 „ demonetisation of 
 
 dollars - - - 92 
 „ fourpences in (1891) - 92 
 
 „ ratings of various 
 
 coins - - - 86 
 Sata-raktika - 336, 340 
 
 Scudo - 307 
 
 Securities against note issues - 36, 37 
 Seignorage - - - 24, 38, 267 
 
 Self-governing Colonies, mode of 
 
 currency legislation - - 40, 41 
 Sequin, in St. Helena - 222 
 
 „ rating of, in Cape of Good 
 
 Hope (1806) - 231 
 
 „ „ in Nevis, in 1740 72 
 
 Seychelles - 370 
 
492 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 » 
 n 
 
 » 
 
 >» 
 >i 
 
 u 
 n 
 
 Page 
 " Sheedy " (ste Pistareen) - 76, 77 
 Shilling, called Maccaroni in British 
 
 Honduras - - 141, 142 
 rated as quarter dollar, 20, 110 
 rating of, in Bahamas - 164 
 Barbados - 56 
 British 
 Guiana, 133, 134 
 Cape of Good 
 Hope (1806). 231 
 Canada 179-181, 
 [184, 185 
 Demerara 
 and Essiqui- 
 bo - 131, 133 
 Jamaica, 101, 111 
 New Bruns- 
 wick - - 194 
 „ „ Newfound- 
 
 land - 170, 171 
 „ „ New South 
 
 Wales (1800) 243 
 „ „ Nova Scotia, 188- 
 
 [190 
 „ „ Prince Ed- 
 
 ward Island, 196 
 „ „ T r i n i d a d 
 
 (1826), 119, 121 
 „ „ West Indies- 27 
 
 „ „ Windward 
 
 Islands 
 
 (1838) - 90 
 
 „ various ratings of, in Lee- 
 
 ward Islands - - 77 
 
 „ weight and fineness of 
 
 (1601-1816) - 405 
 „ „ and fineness of 
 
 (1870) - - 453 
 Shipment of British silver coin to 
 
 and from Colonies ... 401 
 Sicilian dollar in Malta, after de- 
 monetisation. 322, 323 
 „ introduced into 
 
 Malta - 308, 309 
 
 „ withdrawn from 
 
 circulation in 
 Malta (1885) - 323 
 Sierra Leone - 208-211 
 
 ,, Brazilian coin in - 210 
 
 „ coinage - 208 
 
 „ cut money stamped 
 
 W.R. - - - 209 
 „ ratings of various 
 
 coins in - - - 210 
 ,, Treasury Minute (11th 
 
 February 1825) res- 
 pecting introduction 
 of British silver and 
 copper coin - - 421 
 Silver and bronze coin put in circu- 
 lation by Sydney Mint - 259 
 „ certificates, in United States, 399 
 „ „ proposed, in 
 
 British Hon- 
 duras - - 146 
 coin, British, shipment of, to 
 
 and from Colonies, 31, 401 
 [456 
 
 I! 
 V 
 
 I) 
 » 
 
 )> 
 
 1> 
 
 Page 
 Silver coin driven out of Barbados. 55, 56 
 „ „ in mainland Plantations 16 
 „ „ rating of, by weight, 
 first adop- 
 ted inLee- 
 ward Is- 
 lands - 66 
 in Bahamas 164 
 „ Planta- 
 tions, 16, 17 
 „ „ Regulations for supply 
 
 of, to Colonies - 456 
 
 ,, „ struck in New England 9 
 „ coinage of, at Branch Mints - 29, 
 
 [266, 267 
 „ free coinage of, in India - 339 
 „ monometallism 4 
 
 „ standard, adopted in British 
 
 Honduras - - 145 
 in Canada - 181, 182 
 „ Leeward Islands 68 
 11 „ 1, Mauritius - 368 
 
 i) » legally adopted, in 
 
 Hong Kong 
 
 (1863) - - 374 
 ii „ legally adopted, in 
 
 India (1835) - 342 
 1, ,, necessary in 
 
 Eastern Colonies, 30 
 11 token coins adopted in Eng- 
 land (1816) - 400 
 „ „ „ proposal 40.9. 
 
 limit for in St. 
 Lucia - - 92 
 „ „ „ unlimited legal 
 
 tender of, 30, 31 
 
 ,, Tower, pound of - - - 399 
 
 Singapore .... 381-388 
 
 Six-bit pieces ----- 79 
 
 Sixpence, called a shilling in 
 
 Bahamas - - - 169 
 „ rated as eighth of a dollar 26 
 „ rating in Jamaica (1738) 101 
 „ weight and fineness of 
 
 (1870)- . - -453 
 Skilling and stiver currency in Cape 
 
 of Good Hope - - 231, 232, 233 
 Skins, as money (see also Commo- 
 dities) - - ... 6 
 Slaves, emancipation of, causes de- 
 mand for small change - - 56 
 Smith, Wavell - - - 101 
 Sol, Peruvian, in British Honduras 144, 
 
 [145 
 „ Marque (Mauritius) - - 364, 365 
 Somer Islands (see Bermudas). 
 South American dollars, current in 
 
 Gibraltar 302 
 ,i ,, ,1 in Malta 
 
 [314-317 
 South Australia ... 273-378 
 „ „ Assay Office esta- 
 
 blished (1852) - 274 
 11 „ circulation of gold 
 
 ingots in - - 274 
 ,, „ coin and notes per 
 
 head of popula- 
 tion - - 276, 277 
 
INDEX. 
 
 493 
 
 
 Page 
 South Australia gold " tokens " 
 struck and issued 
 in - - - 275 
 „ „ note issue - 37, 277 
 
 „ „ proposed issue of 
 
 Government 
 notes (1889), 277,278 
 South Carolina (see Plantations). 
 Sovereign, account of - - - 401 
 „ in India ... 314 
 
 „ „ Newfoundland - 31 
 
 „ „ New South Wales 
 
 (1830) - - - 250 
 „ „ St. Helena, premium 
 
 on (1829) - - 224 
 „ rating of, in Canada 185. 186, 
 
 [198 
 „ Cyprus 327, 328 
 
 „ Mauritius 
 
 (1824 and 
 1826) 303, 364 
 „ ,, New Bruns- 
 
 wick 193, 194 
 ., „ Newfound- 
 
 land (1845) 171 
 „ „ Nova Scotia 189, 
 
 [190, 191 
 „ „ Prince Ed- 
 
 ward Is- 
 land 196, 197 
 „ „ St. Lucia - 90 
 
 „ weight and fineness of, 41 1, 453 
 Spanish coin, account of, in British 
 
 Colonies 5, 6. 7, 
 [390-396 
 „ „ gold, standard lowered 
 
 in 1772 and 1786 19 
 „ „ „ weight and fine- 
 
 ness of - - 407 
 ,, „ over-valuation of 10, 25 
 
 „ ,, rating in Jamaica 108, 109 
 
 " Spanish sixpence " (Real) - - 6, 8 
 Specie reserve against colonial notes 34 
 Stamped coin, in Demerara and 
 
 Essiquibo - 127 
 ,, „ Dominica - - 75 
 
 Grenada - 82, 83 
 Jamaica - - 103 
 St. Lucia - - 87 
 St. Vincent 84, 85, 86 
 Sierra Leone - 209 
 Trinidad, pri- 
 vately issued - 123 
 „ „ Virgin Islands - 79 
 
 Stampees in St. Vincent 84, 85, 89, 90 
 Trinidad - 117, 119, 123 
 " Standard " gold, in Plantations 1 6, 1 7, 32 
 , Spanish,loweredl9,106, 107, 
 
 [396 
 „ Trial Plates and 
 
 weights - - 451 
 
 Standards, monetary, list showing 
 
 various, used by Colonies - 30, 31 
 State issues, see Notes, Government. 
 Sterling, currency, Colonies using, 
 
 list of - - 30 
 „ short account 
 
 of - - 400 
 
 11 
 
 »» 
 
 II 
 
 >> 
 
 )) 
 
 » 
 
 )) 
 
 tl 
 
 l> 
 
 ») 
 
 Page 
 Stiver, copper, struck for Demerara 
 
 and Essiquibo (1813) 130 
 „ „ struck for Ceylon - 352 
 
 „ Danish, in Virgin Islands - 79 
 „ Dutch, rating of. in Berbice 
 
 (1816) .... 125 
 "Store Receipts" in New South 
 
 Wales 243 
 
 Straits Settlements - - 381-38S 
 ,, „ coin per head of 
 
 population - 387 
 „ „ gold standard 
 
 impracticable 30 
 ,1 „ notes per head 
 
 of population 388 
 „ „ Oriental Bank's 
 
 notes guaran- 
 teed by other 
 banks - - 36 
 ,, „ rupees unsuit- 
 
 able for use 
 in - 383-386 
 
 „ „ subsidiary silver 
 
 coins for 386, 387 
 Sugar, as money (see also Commo- 
 dities) - - 6, 46, 60, 61 
 „ fines and fees calculated in - 47 
 „ rating of, in Barbados - - 47 
 „ the standard of value in Lee- 
 ward Islands - - - 62 
 ,, cane, as money, in British 
 
 Guiana .... 136 
 
 Sun dollar 393 
 
 Sweated gold coin in West Indies - 20 
 Sycee silver - - - - - 373 
 Sydenham, Lord - - - - 32 
 "'Sydney Branch Mint Act, 1863" - 442 
 Sydney Mint. See Mint, Sydney. 
 
 Tael 373 
 
 Tasmania .... 269-272 
 
 „ coin per head of popula- 
 
 tion in ... 271 
 
 „ copper coins demonetised 
 
 in .... 271 
 „ banking regulations in - 271 
 
 „ legal tender of silver coin 
 
 in - - - - 270 
 „ note issue - - - 36 
 „ notes per head of popula- 
 
 tion in ... 272 
 
 „ Sydney and Melbourne 
 
 Mint coins legal tender 
 in - - - 270,271 
 „ paper currency issued by 
 
 private persons - - 23 
 Taxes, &c, paid in sugar - - 61 
 
 Thaler (Thalerus Imperialis) - - 390 
 Thomson, Mr. Paulett - - - 32 
 Three-halfpenny pieces for Jamaica 26, 
 
 [110 
 „ „ for Mauri- 
 
 tius (1838) 366 
 ,, „ for St. Lu- 
 
 cia (1835) 90 
 
494 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Page 
 Three-halfpenny pieces for Sierra 
 
 Leone - 209 
 „ „ for Trini- 
 
 dad - 120 
 
 Three-moco piece, in St. Lucia - 87 
 Threepences, weight and fineness of 
 
 (1870) 453 
 
 Timber, notes payable in, in Nova 
 
 Scotia (1846) - - - - 190 
 Tin coins, in Straits Settlements - 381 
 Tobacco, as money, 5, 6, 46, 60, 62, 151, 
 
 [152 
 
 Tobago 94-96 
 
 „ cut money stamped " T " - 95 
 „ debased coin in - - 94, 95 
 „ gold standard in - - 94 
 
 Token coinage (silver), introduced 
 
 in England (1816) - - 400 
 „ coins, unlimited legal tender 
 
 of 30, 31 
 „ „ „ „ in West 
 
 Indies - 31 
 „ silver and bronze coins for 
 
 Newfoundland - 173 
 „ „ coinage, adoption of, 
 
 by Home Govern- 
 ment - - - 21 
 „ „ early lack of, in 
 
 Colonies - 21, 24 
 Tokens, copper and tin, struck in 
 
 New England - - - - 10 
 *' Tokens," gold, struck and issued 
 
 in South Australia - 275 
 „ (Mauritius) of base silver, 
 
 struck at Calcutta - 362 
 Tortola, £, i, and £, in Virgin Is- 
 lands - - - 80 
 „ stamped on coins - - 75 
 Tower pound of sterling silver - 400 
 Treasury bills - - 24, 25, 26 
 „ Minute, 11th February 1825 
 directing pay- 
 ments to 
 troops, &c, 
 throughout 
 the Colonies 
 to be made in 
 British silver 
 and copper 
 coins 24, 417-424 
 „ „ 19th June 
 
 1835 - - 26 
 „ „ 12th October 
 
 1852, respect- 
 ing forty- 
 shilling limit 
 of tender for 
 silver coins 
 
 in colonies - 434 
 „ ,, 22nd March 
 
 1853, respect- 
 ing erection, 
 &c, of a Mint 
 
 at Sydney 436- 
 
 [441 
 
 „ notes in Ceylon (1801) - 352 
 
 „ (1827) - 355 
 
 „ „ in Fiji - - - 292 
 
 Page 
 Treasury notes in Mauritius Q and 
 
 i dollars) - - 362 
 „ „ proposed in South 
 
 Australia (1889) - 278 
 Trial plates and weights (standards) 451 
 Trinidad - - - - 114 123 
 
 „ accounts kept in dollars 
 
 and cents - - - 123 
 „ British silver coin intro- 
 duced - - - - 119 
 „ coin and notes per head of 
 
 population - - - 123 
 „ coins, stamped T - - 117 
 „ gold circulating in - - 122 
 „ " Leeward Islands cur- 
 rency " adopted (1804) - 115 
 ,, scarcity of coin in, 114, 117-120 
 „ stock of coin and notes - 123 
 Troops abroad, payment of, in ster- 
 ling - 24, 25, 26, 56, 77 
 Turks Island, demonetisation of 
 
 copper coins in - - - - 113 
 Two-dollar piece, Newfoundland 30, 173 
 
 Under-valuation of British coin in 
 
 Colonies 24 
 Uniform currency, proposed for 
 
 Colonies - - - - 17, 23 
 United States, currency of - 398, 399 
 „ „ „ in Baha- 
 
 mas - 166 
 „ „ „ Trini- 
 
 dad - 122 
 „ ,. gold, legal tender in 
 
 West Indies (1853) 28, 
 [435, 436 
 ,, „ silver fractional coin, 
 
 legal 
 tender in 
 Bahamas 166 
 „ „ „ „ in Gold 
 
 Coast - 215 
 „ „ „ „ in Turks 
 
 Islands - 113 
 vast re- 
 serves of 399 
 „ „ summon Monetary 
 
 Conferences - - 399 
 „ „ traditional love of 
 
 paper - - 11, 15 
 Unlimited liability for note issues - 36, 
 
 [379 
 
 » » 
 
 "Venetians," rating, in St. Helena -223 
 
 [224, 225 
 
 Victoria 263-268 
 
 „ amount of notes in circu- 
 lation - 268 
 „ banking regulations in 267, 268 
 „ coin per head of popula- 
 tion in - - - - 267 
 „ establishment of a mint 
 
 proposed - - - 264 
 
INDEX. 
 
 495 
 
 Page 
 Victoria, gold coin of Sydney mint 
 to be current 
 in, 263, 265, 454 
 „ gold coin in circulation in 266 
 legal tender of silver coins 
 
 in 263 
 
 „ note issue - - -36 
 
 Virginia (see also Plantations) - 5 
 
 Virgin Islands (see also Leeward 
 
 Islands). 
 
 „ cut money in - 75, 79, 80 
 
 ,, Danish coins in - 79 
 
 „ debased currency of 79 
 
 „ rating of coins - 80 
 
 „ dollar - 76 
 
 half 
 
 Jo- 
 
 hannes - 74 
 
 shillings - 77 
 
 Wampompeag, as money (see also 
 
 Commodities) - - - - 6 
 Weight and fineness of Anglo - In- 
 dian coins, 
 [406, 411, 412 
 British 
 coins 
 (Coinage 
 Act. 1870) 453 
 „ Cruzado - 408 
 
 „ „ Dobrao - 408 
 
 „ Dollar, 
 
 silver 
 (United 
 States) 405 
 ,, ,. Dollar, 
 
 Spanish - 402 
 „ Doubloon, 407 
 
 „ Ducatoon - 405 
 
 Eagle - 410 
 Ecu, - 404 
 
 E s c u d o 
 
 407, 408 
 „ Five -franc 
 
 piece of 
 1795 - 404 
 Franc 
 (1803-92) 
 
 [404 
 
 French 
 
 colonial 
 
 dollar of 
 
 1726 - 404 
 
 „ Guinea - 412 
 
 Lisbonine- 408 
 
 " „ Louis d'Or, 409 
 
 Moidore - 408 
 
 Mohur, 411,1412 
 
 Napoleon - 410 
 
 i; „ Pagoda -412 
 
 Pistole - 407 
 
 Rupee - 406 
 
 Shilling - 405 
 
 Sovereign- 412 
 
 " " o • if 
 
 bpamsh 
 provincial 
 coins - 403 
 
 Page 
 Weight gold coin received by, 
 
 in Antigua - 74 
 „ „ „ Barbados - 54 
 
 „ „ „ St. Vincent 84 
 
 „ „ „ Canada - 187 
 
 » !> ,, iN e w 
 
 Brunswick 192 
 „ of Imperial coins, new 
 
 "remedy" for (1891) - 461 
 „ rating of Pistoreen by, in 
 
 Barbados - - - 51 
 Western Australia - - - 282-285 
 „ „ banking regula- 
 
 tions in - - 284 
 „ „ banking statistics 
 
 (1891) - - 285 
 „ „ coin and notes in 
 
 circulation in 
 (1835) - - 283 
 „ „ coin and notes 
 
 per. head of 
 population - 285 
 „ „ Government issue 
 
 of notes (1830) 282, 
 
 [283 
 
 „ „ scarcity of coin in 282, 
 
 [283 
 West Indies, adoption of sterling 
 
 denominations in - 27 
 „ „ appreciated silver dol- 
 
 lar, disappearance of 28 
 ,, „ counterfeit coin im- 
 
 ported - - 20, 417 
 ., ,, fourpences for - - 58 
 
 „ „ gold standard - 15, 16 
 
 „ „ rating of Real - - 19 
 
 „ ,, typical of currency 
 
 history 3 
 
 „ „ United States gold 
 
 coin legal tender 
 in (1853), 28, 435, 436 
 „ „ unlimited legal tender 
 
 of token coins - 31, 
 [57 (n), 434 
 Windward Islands - - - 82-93 
 „ „ coin and notes 
 
 per head of 
 population - 93 
 „ „ currency derived 
 
 from Leeward 
 Islands - - 82 
 „ „ debased coin in 82 
 
 „ ,, demonetisation 
 
 of dollar - 92 
 
 n „ estimated total 
 
 currency of - 93 
 „ „ tokens the only 
 
 metallic cur- 
 rency - - 92 
 Wives, young and virtuous, value of, 6 
 Wood, Wdl, survey of trade (1718) 5 
 Worn silver coin, withdrawn by 
 Sydney Mint - - • - 259 
 
 Xerafin, in Ceylon 
 
 350 
 
496 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Page 
 Yen (Japanese) - 377, 392 
 
 „ „ in Straits Settle- 
 
 ments - - 387 
 
 York Shilling," in Canada - - 183 
 
 Page 
 Zay, French Colonial Currency, 10, 67, 
 
 [175, 263, 342 
 Zecchins (Maltese) - - - 307 
 
 " Zequeen," or Barbary Ducat. 72, 397 
 
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