Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1852-03-13
NATIONAL INTELLIGENCER
CONGRESSIONAL DOCUMENT.
,REpoRr ON COINS AND CURRENCY.

. Tn the Senate on Monday hr. HUNTER, o. VIZ
o;n;a from the Committee on Finance, presented
the following Report on the highly interesting sub
;ect Of Coins and Currency Of which we obtained
a copy for publication:
The Committee on Finance, to which was refer
red the Report of the Secretary Of the Treasury,
have considered so much of the same relates to
change in the coinage and respectfully submit the
following views: "
The subject is of great Importance and much diff
Guilty for it involves less all the questions con-
nected with the metallic currency of the country On the
one hand have the rapid disappearance Of
silver currency and the certain Of that lozs
food of small and the other we have the
natural and to extent apPrehensions as
to the danger of amperng at all with the standard OF
value Amongst those who believe that there IS
necessity for legislation the subject OF our coin
age there is difference to the precise measure to be
adopted Some of opinion that only one OF the pre-
cious metals should be used the legal standard and
these again differ to which shall be selected Others
think that the double standard should be preserved but
recommend different legal ratio to DO established be-
tween the metals according the silver coins are
large or small These views have all been examined by
the committee far their time and means OF informa
ton permitted And first as to the danger OF accommo-
dating the legal standard to the increasing quantity Of
gold, which many to think may swell the volume OF
currency rapidly to disturb not only all the settle
ents Of property made for long periods Of time but TO
affect seriously oil the pecunary transactions OF society
To what may be the probable effect Of the add
tions to the stock Of precious metals in the world which
have been made rapidly Of late it will be necessary to
see in what and to what extent their capacities
as standard Of value have been affected by changes
which have been made in their relative proportions to
the property Of the world
If there wereno other money but gold and silver and
If contracts made not according arbitrary values
assigned by legislation to given portions Of Them buwere
measured by certain weights Of fine gold silver then
these metals would uctuate precisely according to nau-
raj laws that is say according to the proportion which
they bore to the residue of the property Of the world
contract might be measured in specie by law of its own
that is to say it might specify that it to be paid in
this arbitrary rule might differ little from its real value
bullion, but in the general the great of ransac
tons would be measured in these metals nearly according
to their true bullion value that to say their currency
and their bullion values would correspond. the stock
of bullion in the world increased in the ratio with
the property of the world the standard of value would
be inyariable if more slowly it would appreciate if
rapidly, it would deprecate But still the natural
laws of trade would lead to constant efforts to produce
equilibrium if they grew dearer Of these metals
would be rased if cheaper less labor would be employ
ed in producing them and although there might be pc
RODS when the equilibrium could not be preserved
still the tendency would be that way At any rate, the
relative values Of the two metals (gold and syer would
be regulated by the laws of trade and contracts would
be measured by those metals within reasonable degree
of approximation to the true proportions. now how
ever the Governments of the world should interfere
and enact that certain quantity say fifteen of
silver should be equal to Of gold, it would become
difficult trace the laws which would then regulate
the compound standard These metals derive their value
from two distinct sources-one from their use q
rency the other from their application manufacturing
purposes The demand for them currency any given
year. is to be measured by the number and Of
changes to be made in specie during that year their value
for mechanical is their bullion value that to say
it measured by their proportion to the residue of the
property of the world for the demand for them in the
arts win be very nearly in proportion to the wealth of
cety When this regulation of law takes effect these two
values may differ by sensible limits IT. in the instance
cite ed extr shOuld
tive supply of gold then the bullion value of fifteen
of silver would be greater than Of gold
The demand for the precious metals to be used in the arts
would play upon the silver, and it would be directed to
such purposes until the decrease Of currency and the in
of plate had again equazed the currency and the
bullion values But in such it would be clear that
this artificial regulation had prevented the currency Of
the world from increasing with the supplies up to the
tura of bullion and had forced of it into
features which otherwise would have gone into coin.
The great point of preserving precise equality between
the bullion and currency value of the precious metals
would now to extent be lost Still the devations
might be enough to lead to very serious consequent
1t will sl simplify the inquiry beyond the real
of the if continue to suppose that gold and
silver the only money Of the world But to approach
still to the real state of things take the
Of difference in the ratio of gold to silver estab
lished in different countries. Instead Of common legal
proportion of fifteen to one, will suppose that
some nations adopt that ratio others that Of sixteen to
one and that others again only metal stand
ard some preferring silver and others gold and here
again we will suppose extraordinary increase in
the supply of gold The bullion price Of silver rises
to sixteen to How viii these different countries be
affected? As currency, silver will leave that in which
its ratio is fixed to fifteen to Of gold and gold will
there replace it. 1t will still be seen currency where
its legal is sixteen to one and viii be used as bull
lion eyery where until the increased quantities bring
down its bullion its currency value, taking the world
together But how viii the first country be affected 1t
will purchase the gold TO replace the silver at lossthat
is say it viii not get gold enough in exchange for its
silver and it must be remembered that this loss is sus
tanned far the largest value which it had invested IN
CON- because where both circulate freely the silver pro-
badly appears in much greater quantities to be more
valuable. 1t that for fifty years. from 1850 to
quantity of silver raised that Of goldas forty
and yet during that period the value Of gold vas not
more than fifteen times great that of silver AS
further proof of the greater quantity Of coined silver
find that the value Of the silver compared with gold
coin France from 1903 to 1840 nearly three To
four and in the United States from 1898 to 1871,
nearly as one and in Great Britain where gold
was the exclusive legal standard silver being used only
for the smaller transactions Of trade the proportion
silver was than to six SO that there can be
little doubt of the large in value Of the silver coin
as compared with gold (See table A. Indeed, it APP
pears from q carefuy-compiled table appended to Mr.
Ingham's report (Doc. No III, p 101 that from 1872
to 1926 there were coined from the American mines
But in tracing the effect Of this change Of the relative
value upon particular countries forget its
operation upon the rest Of the world In thus excluding
these metals from country il its property and
trade large and in thus forcing than its natu
raj proportion into manufactures should diminish the
volume Of the specie currency of the world below the
tural supply. How this would affect mankind will be