Fiji Has 3-Penny Pieces

Again

Prom Our Own Correspondent SUVA. June 30.

ABOUT 15 years ago, when Fiji intro duced its own coins the useful threepenny bit was eliminated be cause someone thought it might make people more careful of their pennies. (Pennies and halfpennies were produced with holes in them with the idea that people would string them together or something, but people in Fiji did nothing of the sort.) The lost threepenny bit has been a grievance ever since. The banks and chambers of commerce opposed the omission, and on two occasions Mr.

Alport Barker introduced motions in the Legislative Council in the hope of re trieving the coin.

And now Fiji is to have its threepenny bits again. But, someone has pointed out that the Government cannot go shovel ling out threepenny-bits with gay aban don. Under the existing legislation, the Commissioners of Currency have autho rity to issue new silver or cupro-nickel coinage—even threepenny bits—with im punity, but our new bits are not made of silver or cupro-nickel. They are nickel brass. And nickel brass threepenny bits have to be legitimised.

So, on June 7, officials were bustling about to get a Legislative Council quorum together for June 11, when what was called “a very brief sitting” was held to bump through the required minor amendment to the Ordinance covering coinage. After that the coin was legal tender.

Mr. Philip Hood, Australasian divi sional representative of British Overseas Airways Corporation, is paying a brief visit to Fiji.