OUR OWN COINS

Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 94, 22 April 1931, Page 11

OUR OWN COINS

ECONOMY SUGGESTION

BIG PROFIT TO STATE

REDEMPTION IN ENGLAND

A suggestion made earlier this session by' tho. member for Egmont for tho improvement of the New Zealand currency system was elaborated upon by Mr. Wilkinson, in the House of Representatives last night, speaking on the. clause in the Finance Bill-(No. 2) for the regulation of the.import, and export of coined silver.-;.■:.:■■■■ .: :■.■■::■;

Mr. Wilkinson suggested-to -the Govern'iiient that it should look into;:-the silver coinage question.. New. Zealand was :now in-.a position to anint its.p.wn silver and copper'coins, and 'by '.so doing if would make:.a vast proflt'-for tho State.' The; price of:.bullion: silver to-day was tho lowest in history, about Is Id ppr oz; 2oz qf. silver,, together with alloy; would malcq a coinage of the nominal value :of ;'265.. -. To-day we were using English coins and. Australian silver coins, and he suggested tliat.it would, be quite easy- to". get rid;of .the En'giish coin's;which.formed tlie greater part'of the currency. ' '{' ;; ''. ; Mr: G.'-.E. Sykes.. (Eeform, Ma;s'ter; ton)':. "Who will buy them'?"': V ';.;. ;'.

'Mr. Wilkinson 'said there would :be no. need for. that. They would bring their face value in England any. day. They could be.redeemed at'their face value in London, and there wo:uld'be no difficulty in. coming to. air arrangement i with the English Government,as was done by: Australia' over" twenty 3 rcars ago. The British Government redeemed the whole of the-English coinage in the Commonwealth by- taking a certain.^ amount . annually, ■ crediting Australia with the full.face-value.; -.',-.:. Mrl J. A. Young . (Reform, 3 Hamilton): "But. £2 is : the face .'value; in New.Zealand." ■ : ■■■ '■.'■■. ■■•.'■ -■.■■ PROFITABLE TRANSACTION. ' "That is not, flip.; point,"; replied .the • speaker.,' "We don't;; get, any .profit.; Vat all on the. silver we;are .using to-day, and if we minted. .our own .silver!*;we could do so for 3s, for .every,; £1 ;.iii silver we circulate. -New Zealand,>l think, is the only ,British....Pominion that, uses coins '.. not"(mintecT.by.. "..the country itself. .In. Qa.nada" they haye their dollars, and cents, in 'Australia they have, their own silver, and. .copper- coins, and th.c same applies in India and., South Africa.?:.'.'; ■■■.j'.'X' ■■' -, ,--C:-'■

. Further, in view; of. the' attitude.- .of the banks in..refusing,, .qr' .shewing\dis-, inclination, to circulate IOsJ notes, thenotes., could bo . got. rid.'pf ■ altogether! and silver used in 1' tlieij;..place.„'.'.The: profit to the country-"frqjtl such.a'trans-: action as he proposed would be very considerable. , \ The,, change; hid... been beneficial to"Australia^ arid, the- only argument there had been was a, matter of'>.detail. as..to the design of ;'thp' coins. There could be no objection in. New Zealand to" the matter., b.e.ing dealt,-.with, as ho suggested.J Vested interests would not be interfered;with, and ,tM,.pTO-: vince of the banks would tfpt be'aJEecj-! cd.; It had been.Said it might.inconvenience travellers returning''to. ;'and going from■• New Zealand, . but..'that' would be ay very small matter; the same -, objection already applied, .with traveller's leaving Australia or Canada and going to. England. ' ~ : ::

PEOPIT OP OVER A MILLION. Mr. Wilkinson estimated that the profit from the transaction, supposing that there was £1,500,000 in silver in circulation, would be -£i; 275,000, the cost being only £> 225,000. * Supposing that wo arranged ,'witlu tho British,-"Govern-ment io taß6'£.ltO,QOQ'.in. silver-each1 year, New Zealand would jnako £85,000 a year on the replacement," and ho snb-l mittod that, that was" a-considerable, item i'oi a liard-up. Governments At< present tho Government -was scratching about seeking means of making up revenue, and he urged that his suggestion would result in a yield .of £ 1,000,000 without." tho slightcs'6 trouble. " Furthermore, it would do no one any harm.

Mr. j. S. Fletcher (Independent, Grey Lynn) said that Mr., Wilkinson's proposal had the nfcrit of ensuring a handsomo profit to tho Dominion.