Page:George McCall Theal, History of South Africa from 1795 to 1872, Volume 1 (4th ed, 1915).djvu/26

2 of October the important office of secretary to government was provisionally bestowed upon Mr. Hercules Ross. But many of the former civil servants who were willing to take an oath of fidelity to the new authorities were retained in employment. On the 10th of October the late secunde—Johan Isaac Rhenius—was offered and accepted the office of receiver and treasurer general, the late resident at Simonstown—Christoffel Brand—became collector of the tithes of grain and the wine tax, and another of the Dutch East India Company's old servants—Jan Pieter Baumgardt—was appointed collector of the land revenue. The fiscal—Willem Stephanus van Ryneveld—remained in office, and most of the clerks in the different departments were allowed to keep their posts.

The paper currency of the colony amounted to £258,255, and there was no metallic coin in circulation. To relieve anxiety concerning this matter, on the 1st of October the British commanders issued a proclamation fixing the rate of exchange at two hundred and sixty-four stivers in paper for a golden guinea, sixty stivers in paper for a Spanish silver dollar, and twelve stivers in paper for an English silver shilling. This proclamation was of great service in relieving the apprehensions of the colonists, though it was imposssible to keep up the value of the paper by such means. Persons owing money in Europe, for instance, could not obtain bills of exchange under twenty to thirty per cent premium, and in common dealings three shillings in silver would purchase as much as a paper rixdollar. Copper coin that was paid to the troops was eagerly sought by shopkeepers, and penny pieces passed current as equal to two stivers, instead of only one. A few years later—in 1800—this value was put upon them by law to prevent their immediate exportation, and to this day they are often called by the coloured people dubbeltjes, a name they then acquired. For the time, however, the attempt of the British commanders to place the paper money on a par with metal had the