893.515/812
The Consul General at Shanghai (Cunningham) to the Secretary of State
[Received November 2.]
I have the honor to state that I have been informed by a source hitherto trustworthy that Sir Frederick Leith-Ross has voluntarily recommended to the Ministry of Finance of the National Government the issuance of subsidiary coins with a silver fineness of .500. It is interesting to note that this is the fineness of the silver coinage of the United Kingdom, and although I have no information in regard to the proposed weights of coins recommended by Sir Frederick, the adoption of his proposal would at least form an entering wedge for the assumption of a definite relationship between the pound sterling and the Chinese silver dollar, and might eventually lead to the debasement of the Chinese silver dollar from its present fineness of .880 to the proposed subsidiary fineness of .500. The coins in question would be half dollars and possibly quarters and twenty cent pieces, I inferred.
Sir Frederick’s proposal comes at a time when there was reasonable ground for believing that nickel subsidiary coinage covering 20, 10 and 5 cent pieces would be put into circulation in the near future (Shanghai’s telegram No. 438, July 30, 2:00 p.m.37).
[Page 627]From Sir Frederick’s attitude in volunteering advice to the Ministry of Finance on the subject of subsidiary coins, it appears that his instructions do not limit him to acting as an “adviser to the British Embassy”, as has been stated in the Shanghai press.
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