Page:Indian Journal of Economics Volume 2.djvu/387

 HONOKONO 878 nmss o! (hinese cash or the-use of the poorer classes in the petty transactions o! the market. The effective currency for all transactions even for ordinary purchases of any magnitude, and of more than a couple of dollars, is the note issue. This is in the hands of three banks, the Hensken8 and Shahshal Bank, the Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China, and the Mercantile Bank of India. Of these the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank alone issues notes of the denomination of $1, and it issues by far the greatest quantity of notes of all denominations. The anomalies to which attention is drawn arise in the various markets which deal with this currency. These markets are the moneychanger's market, the foreign exchange market, and the tel market. For the second an(] third of these the foreign exchange market of Shanshai is extremely important. Scattered throughout the cty of Victoria there are a great many Chinese money.chansers, who hae a regular market in which they fix the rates at which all these constituent parts of the currency exchange, and also the rate of exchange with (anto. The following is a list of' the prices which they fixed on a certain day in 1916, and it illustrates some of the anomalies to which attention is drawn. This list of prices will repay study. Hongkong cent piece st discount of $ 88.00 per $1,000 pper Hongkong Silver Dollar ,, ! .00 ,, ,, ,, Hongkong & Japan Chopped Dollar ,, 8t.0 ,, ,, ,, Clean Mexioan Dollar ,, 21.00 ,, ,, ,, Old Mexican Dollar ,, 18.00 ,, ,, ,, 0ho Old Dollar 28.00 ,, ,, ,, and we may ariel, for the copper exohange :-- 9 one cent pieoes for I ten mint pieoe. 9 copper cash for I mint pieoe. Canton ;0 oent pieez at disoount of $180.00 ,, 10 ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, 160.00 ,, C.,ton .Silver Dollar ,, ,, ,, 22.00 ,,.