ST. HELENA 293 



sterling, but when treasury money was handed over by 

 the Company's officers in March, 1836, the whole of it was in 

 Spanish dollars. It was supposed that this was managed 

 in order to get the 2d. extra on each dollar, as in the follow- 

 ing proclamation : 



As the correct value of the dollar (45. 2d.) clashed with 

 the incorrect (Imp) rating, and as other ratings were also 

 at variance with existing Treasury regulations for military 

 pay, The Secretary of State ordered, in October, 1835, 

 that- 

 All receipts and payments on behalf of Government should be 

 in British currency, or in foreign coins at regulated military rate. 

 This led to the retrograde proclamation by the Governor, February, 

 1836, when 



GOLD SILVER s. d. 



Doubloons were valued Ducatoons @ . .054 



@ . . .360 3-guilder pieces .048 

 Jose Portuguese . i 13 3 Dollars . . .044 

 Bengal mohurs (star) i 13 3 Half-star pagodas .038 

 Other mohurs i 10 2 Colonial pieces (Eng- 



Moidores . .160 lish coined) . .024 



Napoleons and Louis Sicca Rupee star .021 



d'or . . . o 15 7 Other rupees . i n o 



Venetians . .094 Dutch guilders .016 

 Star pagodas . -073 5 -Franc pieces .040 

 Porto novo . .056 Franc . . .0010 



There was such a variety of coin on the island that mer- 

 chants, when applying to the commissariat for bills on 

 London, seldom knew what coins they had, and Ducatoons, 

 rupees, francs, etc., etc., etc., were all mingled. They were 

 many short of the right weight even, but that did not 

 prevent their circulation. 



In 1843 a proclamation was issued by Order in Council 

 that the dollar was to be 45. 2d., the doubloons 645., and 

 all other non-sterling coins to be de-monetized. These 

 were exchanged for British silver by the commissariat 

 officer to the amount of nearly 12,000, the money being 

 shipped to England and sold as bullion. 



Dollars still at 45. 2d. here were valued at 35. 8d. at the 

 Cape. So they began to pour into St. Helena. This 

 caused an ordinance to be passed that the dollar should be 

 valued at 45. 2d. for only three days after date. Conse- 

 quently the dollars were all paid in. And now it was 



