BLANKETS AS CURRENCY

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23761, 14 September 1940, Page 13

BLANKETS AS CURRENCY

EARLY COLONIAL FINANCE Happenings of over a century ago, ' before New Zealand financiers talked glibly in millions, engrossed the attention of members of the Auckland Historical Society last night, when the monthly meeting was presided over by Mr. J. W. Shaw. An address on "James Busby's Account Book" was given by the Rev. A. B. Chappell, president of the society, who, by the reading of entries from the book, showed how closely they are linked with many of the incidents of pre-colonisation life in the North. There are numerous interesting sidelights on Mr. Busby's activities as British Resident at the Bay of Islands from 1833 until the arrival of Governor Hobson in 1840. The account book, the lecturer explained, was discovered above the ceiling of the old Waitangi Residency when the building was being renovated some years ago. The entries dealt with Mr. Busby's private as well as official transactions. Cash payments were always small in amount, and in many cases were represented by dollars. The payments in kind were much more extensive, the goods doing duty as currency comprising a variety of articles, among which blankets occupied a prominent place. A number of payments in cash to labourers are recorded, the standard wage being 3s 6d a day. The book is now one of the carefully-guarded relics in the Waitangi Residency.