841.5151/465: Telegram
The Ambassador in the United Kingdom (Bingham) to the Secretary of State
[Received November 25—6:10 p.m.]
590. For Secretary Morgenthau from Butterworth. In a conversation with an official of the British Treasury, he mentioned that a telegraphic instruction had recently been sent to Hong Kong recommending in effect that it adopt for the time being a managed currency, not directly pegged to sterling but to the Shanghai dollar. He also stated that the British Treasury had received a telegraphic report from Bewley of his interview with you, which, however, did not seem to clear up one question, namely, that since Hong Kong had 100,000,000 ounces of silver which it intended to market, it did not wish to undertake such marketing operations in a manner which would prove inconvenient to the potential buyer; at the same time it wished to effect such sales within a reasonable length of time. Therefore, as a purely business proposition, it was desirable to know whether the American authorities had any suggestions to make on the per mensem amount which might be placed on the market. While it was necessary to dispose of this silver as soon as possible, there was no desire to “dump” it on the market and thus create difficulties.
I was asked to convey this information, and I agreed to communicate with him as soon as a reply was received. [Butterworth.]