COINAGE BILL

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 341, 30 September 1932, Page 5

COINAGE BILL

("Post" Special Commissionrer) .

NEW PROPOSAL suggested n.z. should riave its own issUr SUBSTANTIAL PROFITS

Wellington, Thursday. The replacement of the present silver and copper coinage currency in the Dominion by purely New Zealand coinage issue — a step estimated to yield an immediate profit of £1,000,000— is the main provision of the Silver and Copper Coinage Bill brought forward hy Mr. C. A. Wilkinson (Government, Egmont), which was read the first tim e in the- House of Representatives to-day. It was pointed out by its author that New Zealand is the only purely self-gOveming portion of the Empire which has an outside silver money system, Australia, Canada, India and South Africa. all having a local coinage issue. The reason for the introduction of the bill is that the New Zealand Trea.sury sorely needs the whole of the profits which should aecrue. If the measure reaches the Statute Book, it is proposed that the British Government should place New Zealand on exactly the saine terms as those given South Africa. Method Adopted In South Africa, the British authorities agreed that their existing silver issue should be called up and the difference hetween the nominal value of the coinage and the bullion value should he credited to South Africa by the British Treasury. The case in New Zealand is somewhat complicated owing to the influx of Australian silver, bnt Mr. Wilkinson considerS this position could he met by requisitioning the Commonwealth Government to redeem the Australian coinage in the same way. Mr. Wilkinson states that if the bill becomes law it is assured that there would be an immediate profit to New Zealand of about £1,000,000, and thereafter the whole of the annual profits would be reeeived in place of a portion only, as at present.