The Pamphlet Collection of Sir Robert Stout: Volume 82
VI.—Currency and Exchange
VI.—Currency and Exchange.
French and Chilian money is chiefly circulated in Tahiti. The question of exchange does not here assume such a difficult shape as at Samoa and Tonga; but many of the merchants would rejoice to see a New Zealand bank open a branch at Papeete, and His Excellency the Governor assured us that he would do all that lay in his power to further such an undertaking. Exchange on Europe is managed through the medium of Government bills, which are issued at a fixed and moderate rate; with San Francisco and Sydney, balances are effected by exporting or importing coin. Failing the establishment of a bank, the latter method would have to be adopted by New Zealand merchants, as there are certainly not sufficient exports to be got from Tahiti to balance any extensive trade such as might be established with this colony.