New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1852-01-07

present standard value OF gold and silver, as essAo
lisheo BY existing laws
The relation OF gold TO silver IN the legal coinage
of the United States is 10 I'9S5 In Great Britain
as to Il 2s8. and IN France as To i34y9 mus IL
will be that one ounce IN pure golo VIII IN tue
United States, he equal to that produced from tne
Coinage of IS 9sS ousces of pure silver In Great
Britain II will be equal to that derived from ONLY
l42es ounces pure silver and In France, 70 10 4ss
commerce, as is now the case requires an expor'a-
ION of specie. II is obvious that cur SILVER com must
be exported while it be procured, tl the demand
for expectation is supplied.
From The operation of this law Of commerce arises
the presen scarcity OF our silver currency. a. I9
time though our silver coin commands pten'un ~
exchange for gold, It IS, notwithstanding sI ,t
more ADVANTAGEOUS for shipment abroad IMAM gola.
In consequence of the premium on silver 'lodsu
the relative legal value oetweenh ana tne iaeI -
as TO Is 9S. the real intrinsic MARKER 'alue Is oy
about 10 Is 675. A destor, then, VINO oners SILVER
In payment give 1t at the rate OF 10 go ounces
IN coin, by which he loses 5lS thOusdhuIns vi az
ounce for with Is 675 ounces he could purcoase one
ounce OF gold, which latter would be legal lehuef
for the same cebt. II Is 10 be borne IN mind, n"
ever that though the relative value OF com In uIe
Britain is as TO IA 2Ss that rs not the relattve Dull
lion value OF the two metals which IS ABOUT 4 70
IS 76 the silver coin of that country being aOoutteh
per cent less value than silver bullion OF the same
weight that 10 to say, the silver coin OF tnat khS
dom VIII go ten per cent. further In paving oe1Is
than an equal weight OF pure silver bullion ~ tue
standard value difference SO great IN the value OF
the two species of coin has not Of course been the
result OF either mscaculatlon or mistake, DnI was
brought about By design and with the same views
which il Is believed Will render II necessary Tor US
to adopt similar plan in order to retain and main
tain silver currency. The OBVIOUS policy OF thus
system to secure the gold and silver coinage OF
Great Britain against the fluctuations arising from
the relative value of gold and silver bullion there
In Great Britain Ia 2SS of silver coin is equal
In payment to Is 96e ounces IN the United States,
ana IS 499m France 1t is very clear then hat there
is 10 nducemeDtt TO export silver com t. 'iihef coun
try from Grsat Britain.
though the British Government manufactures
ore hundred shllllngs in coin from bullion IN
tTDscaily worth only ninety shilllngs, 1t does NOT
permit individuals to bring ninety snillings I'D oul-
lion TO the mint and receive IN exchange one nun
dred sLiI gs IN coin, but on the contrary the COM
rnunlly is obliged to pay the par value for all the
silver coin II requires II must give f5 in pure
gold or silver for one hundred shlllngs IN coin.
Coinage being monopoly by the Governnentthe lat,
ter impose such terms as 1t deems necessary and
advisable, and the public within certain limits Will
pay the Government It's own prlce for the Deneht OF
the mint stamp.
In fixing therefore the proper relative value
which should be established between our gold and
silver Olns It should not be done with regard TO
the value of our coins IN reference TO foreign com,
but as TO their intrinsic value, as bp9n In foreign
countries.
The relative value Of our gold and silver coins is,
as already stated, as to 10 9ss and the bullion
value OF our silver coin III England Is 1916 being
difference of 272ihousandths, or nearly two per
cent. IL follows then as matter OF course that on
all occasions where the course OF our foreign trade
REQUIRES avy shipments abroad our silver coin Will
be first sought after for that purpose, even at pre-
MUM and consequently will disappear from cIrcula-
ton as already done to a very great extent.
There seems to be but one immediate aud direct
remedy for this evil, and that is the one which
has already been adopted IN Great Britain, OF
charging the relative value between gold and
silver coin, by reducing the Intrinsic value OF the
latter. The opinion OF the officers of the mint, lin
which udCious persons, whose opinions are entitled
to great weight concur is that this change could be
advantageously made by making our dollar weigh
three hundred and eighty -four grams and the smaller
coins proportion that eight hundred ounces OF
such coin should be worth by tale exactly one thou
sand collars The Director OF the Mint In a con-
muIicatioD on the subject says II such scale of
weights were adopted the relation Of silver Ia such
pieces 10 gold would be as lf.oSi 10 and II the
present true relation or bullion value is about
Is 672 10 l. the new proposed silver coin would b.
oveIvalued BY law about I'VE per cent, very small
advance and far less than III British silver or IN the
worn Spanish coin which now nOnopolizes our cir
culailon."
In the adjustment of this subject it will be ne
cesssry TO consider the depreciation in the value
Of gold which may have taken place already, or
shall hereafter concur IN consequence OF the IN
mense additional supplies wh en- have been and
VIII no doubt continue to be thrown INTO GU
culation from California, Australia and other
countries This consideration might justify much
greater present generalization OF silver coin AS the
future depreciation OF gold Will PROBABLY soon over
come the limit of the present proposed advance.
this plan is adopted by Congress- II OF course Will
involve the necessity ofmaSing SILVER coin legal ten
ten collars which is about the same limit forty shl-
hngs) which has been established IN Great Britain.
The subject OF change IN the coinage OF the couu-
try is one OF very great importance, and involves
consequences which require the most serious con-
sideraton and deliberate acton That the present
relative value OF our gold and silver coin requires
some change there be but little doubt, and nave
therefore deemed 1t my duty 10 bring the SUBJECT to
the notice of Congress.
The great increase in the amount OF bullion which
now comes to the Unite States for coinage, com
pared with former times seems TO require the estab-
lsnment of branches to the Mint at those points
where the largest amount OF bullion and foreign coin
arrives. Any transportation of those articles beyond
the places where they are produced or received from
abroad is attended with delay, rsk and expense
which should be avoided II possible, without too
great expense to the Government.
The State OF California is now producing gold
dust, certainly equal in amour. to seventyhye
millions OF dollars, and probably equal to one hun
dIed millions OF collars year The information in
possession OF this Department warrants the opinion
that this product will not be diminished in amount
for many years 10 come
The distance from San Francisco, by way of the
lsthmus of Panama and New-York, TO the Mint at
Philadelphia. is about six thousand two hundred and
fifty miles. The precious metals there found have,
therefore, to be transported that distance and back
a. great risk and expense before the owner eau
receive an equivalent IN the legal coin Of the United
States. Such 6urdensome tax upon the interests
of California should be removed by the establish
ment OF Branch Mint at the most eligible point in
that Stale.
Nearly all the lmporldtlOnS OF specie ana bullion
concentrate at the port of New-Iork. Two-thirds
OF all the customs duties collected in the country
are there paid in specie. Sound policy demands
that at that great commercial and financial center,
a Branch Mint should be established which should
be the custodian of the large amount OF public
moneys there collected, and which will enable for
egn coin and bullion TO be converted most speedily
into our own currency without the risk, delay and
expense of transportation TO any other point.
II is believed that the establishment Of such
an institution al tina. point would not charge
much additional annual expense upon the Trea.
sury The Treasurer thereof would supercede
the Office OF Assistant Treasurer. The Branch
Minis al Dahlonega, Georgia, and Charlotte, North
Carolina, may be converted into assay offices,
whereby several superluous officers might be dis
pensed with. The deposits Of bullion al those es
tabshmeIis have been regularly declining without
any decrease in the annual expenses. Tae trans
portatien from thence of bars and ingos the values
OF which will be a.tested by Government asssyers,
would be easily effected al little risk expense.
For these and oherroasoDs heretofore expressed by