[m'lachlan] copper CURRENCY OF THE CANADIAN BANKS 241 



that the banks in Canada should suspend to pay specie, and in order to 

 afford facilities of trade a credit would be established at New York, and for 

 produce purchased, g-ive draft on that City or Bills on Eng'land for the 

 amount; thus far as to the merchants all is well, not so to the comimunity, 

 as the want of a circulating medium has been long severely felt In His 

 Majesty's Provinces, and from ill-judged legislation iby an Act passed in 

 1830, great inconvenience has been the result, and now, so imuch so, that the 

 subject demands immediate attention. The Act refers to Pistareens, which 

 passed currently at a shilling, Halifax Curency, to lOd, and the half-Pis- 

 taresa, 5d, the consequence has been that all the silver of that denomination 

 was purchased and taken to Spain, whereby a great profit was realized 

 while His Majesty's Government did not replace the silver thus removed; 

 the difficulty was not then felt as American half dollars and quarters were 

 freely brought in and thereby Canada indebted to the United States for 

 its circulating imedium, the loss of change was suipplied iby speculators by 

 the introduction of base coin of copper of which vast sums have been im- 

 ported from Birmingham and sold to the grocers at 5s. for Ss. 4d, the ordinary 

 rate. A gentleman conversing with me on the state of the Copper Currency 

 put his hand into his pocket and gave without any previous selection several 

 of them, which I have the honour to forward. The sufferings and conse- 

 quences which will arise to the com'munity at this crisis is of a most serious 

 character, and in order to avert which, I venture to address yiou, sir, ajid 

 respectfully to suggest the sending out a copper coin to afford facilities 

 for the daily business. 



" British-American halfpennies and pennies." These, if sent to the 

 Commissary-General will pay the Troops and afford a large profit — ^allow 

 theii" carriage and freight to be of the cost in Canada of 4s. and they will 

 pass for 5s. I do not wish to see their full value, as I wish them to remain 

 in the Province — ibut 20 per cent, will secure them remaining. 



I have the honour to be, sir, •; 



Your obedient servant, 



J. Buchanan. 

 To Sir George Grey, Bart., 



One of His Majesty's Under-Secretaries of State, etc., etc., etc.. 



Colonial. Office, London. 



No. 2. 



ISeries Q, Vol. U2—J,, p. 987 



Birmingham, 3rd August, 1837. 

 Mt L/ORD. 



My sons, wiho are Merchants in this Town, have received an order for 



Copper Tokens from Canada. The letter which has been sent to them is 



inclosed — it appears that much spurious copper money issued by various 



individuals, is in circulation in the Colony, the Bank of Montreal wishes 



to introduce a sound Copper Currency and they profess, what we believe 



to be really the fact, that they do not at all seek to make a profit by the 



coinage they wish to introduce into that city, the amount they have written 



for is about 5,000£ Currency, say 4,500£ Sterling. On application to Messrs. 



Boulton & Watt of this place, who are the principal Manufacturers of Copper 



Sec. II., 1903. 16. 



