Hokitika Guardian & evening Star THURSDAY, JUNE 24th, 1920. VIEWS ON DECIMAL COINAGE.

Hokitika Guardian, 24 June 1920, Page 2

Hokitika Guardian & evening Star THURSDAY, JUNE 24th, 1920. VIEWS ON DECIMAL COINAGE.

The Iloyal Commission on Decimal Coinage, which has ssued its report says: —“ln our opinion, it is not advisable to make any change in the denomination of tile currency and money of account of the United Kingdom with a view to placing them on a decimal basis. In support of this conclusion the following considerations appear to us to be sufficient: (1) In any scheme for reducing the existing system to a decimal basis, the pound should bte retained. (2) The pound and mil scheme is the only strongly supported scheme which complies with this condition. (3) The advantage to be gained by a change to the pound and mil scheme as regards keeping accounts is in no way commensurate with the loss of the convenience of the existing system for other purposes. (4) Grave difficulties will be created by any alteration of the penny. (5) The scheme cannot be tried as an experiment on a voluntary basis.” In the course of their report the I Commission state as follows the advantages which it is claimed would accrue . from a decimal system. Saving of time j during education and throughout life r in aTI calculations of the need for comj pound arithmetic; reduced liability to terror in keeping accounts; greater ease ; in computing amounts expressed as J percentages; greater ease in converting | British money to foreign money! A , Minority Report by Lord Southwark, i Air '.Haold Cox, Air Then ATcKenna. and ' Air Vyle says: —-‘ln our opinion it I would be advantageous to this country | from the point of view of both home and overseas trade to adopt a. system of decimal coinage : that it should he adopted without waiting for further ■ inquiry as to the desirability of adopting- a metric system of weights and measures, as if at any time this country obtained such a system, the advantages of decimal coinage would he even more apparent; that of the decimal systems proposed that based on the £ (on the lines of the Southwark Bill) is the most desirable, and that the difficulties suggested in altering the nominal value of the penny are exaggerated and could bo readily

overcome.” A second minority report by, Laird Leverhulme, Mr Hayhurst, and Captain Albert Smith says:—“We wish to dissociate ourselves entirely with any proposal having the pound sterling or sovereign as its basis, and we recommend instead a decimal system of coinage having the present halfpenny as its basis with 100 halfpennies to be called •a Royal as the unit. We believe that the adoption of a system of decimal coinage founded on the Royal and halfpenny will ultimately lead to the establishment of, as near as may be, a. uniform system of decimal coinage throughout the English-speaking peoples of the world, and throughout the British Empire.”