Letter

Finance Ministry Department of the Public Debt Nº 544 To the management of the Imperial Ottoman Bank In your letter mentioning the results of the deliberations between your institution and our department, you have declared that you deemed necessary that, until the gold you are having shipped from Europe arrives and is transformed into Ottoman liras at the Imperial Mint, the Imperial Ottoman Bank be excused from redeeming its banknotes (not exceeding a month), that the said banknotes be accepted at all public pay offices, and that, in order to express its absolute trust in the Ottoman Bank, the Imperial government extend by another twelve years the duration of its concession, which is due to end in eighteen years.You have furthermore declared that, in order to alleviate the needs of the Imperial Treasury, you would immediately agree to an advance of 300,000 liras, to be paid within two months and a half, that is 100,000 liras within fifteen days, and the rest on the basis of 50,000 liras every fifteen days, the amount of this advance being paid from the product of the conversion previously agreed upon, or, should this conversion not be realised, from the Imperial Government's share of the net profits of the Tobacco Regie as of the 1st of March of next year, with an interest of 6 % per annum; and that if, as a result of the extension of the said convention, the Ottoman Bank committee was to agree to an increase of its present capital, you would agree to a new advance of 300,000 liras to the Imperial Government, under conditions to be determined; and that, in order to safeguard the credit of Ottoman bonds, you would see to the establishment of a syndicate that would acquire bonds that amount to 3,000,000 liras. The Grand Vizierate's decision dated 7 November, 1895, confirms the necessity to protect the credit of the Ottoman Bank, and thus it has been deemed appropriate to publish an announcement to the effect that the grace period of one month requested for the postponement of the redemption of banknotes has been accepted, and that the circulation of these notes will continue as usual; to extend, the duration of the Ottoman Bank's concession as mentioned above considering the connection between this point and the advance of 300,000 liras which would be paid to us providing the bank's committee is willing to raise its present capital; and to accept the payment of the aforementioned sum as an advance and under the conditions mentioned above. In consequence, the content of the aforementioned letter dated November 6. has been submitted to Imperial sanction and has received permission through an Imperial Decree rendered to that effect.The same Grand Vizieral decision also informs us that a copy of the text of the announcement concerning banknotes has been communicated in time to the Ministry of the Interior to be inserted in newspapers.We thus inform you by this letter that this announcement has already been published in newspapers and that we will start receiving the sum of 300,000 liras that have been advanced to the Imperial Tresury.30 October, 1311 (12 November, 1895)The Finance MinisterSabri (signature)