The Washington union. [volume] (City of Washington [D.C.]) 1857-1859, 1858-07-13
TREASURY DEPARTMENT,


TREAsuRY DEPARTMENT,
Comptroler's Office June rs, 1853.
SIR have the honor to acknowledge the reference to
this Office of the letter Of Hon NJ Mcconnell Fifth Au-
dtor Of theTeasury of the 9th ult covering table of
the value OF foreign coins and nquiring whether In
making up the accounts of foreign ministers and other
officers of the resident abroad who receive
for their drafts for salary and disbursements the foreign
coins mentioned in the table, they to be charged the
rates of value fixed in the table, notwithstanding the
acts Of Congress in force may fix different value
upon said coins.'
the Committees of Finance Of the Senate and of Ways
and Means of the House of Representatives and OBJ
tanning the consent and written approval of Mr. Marcy
the then Secretary of State will be by the
closed letters marked and Is, your immediate prede
cessor Mr. Secretary Guthrie addressed circular to the
said Auditor directing that the salaries Of foreign min
iste when paid at the Treasury of the United States
shall be paid all other officers whose salaries are fixed
by LAWN the standard gold coinage of the United States
and when paid received, by Of drafts other
wise in foreign countries where they accredited
Gated, and paid, they shall be entitled to payment In
gold silver currency of equal value to the gold coinage
paid at the United States Treasury Some objection
having been raised to the application of this circular to
the transactions of the past the subject brought to
your notice shortly after your accession to Office and in
your letter to the Comptroller, of May 10TH 1857 you
say the instructions of my predecessor referred to-
predicated upon existing laws, and must govern in
prior to their date, well subsequent. You
WILL therefore In deciding upon the adjustment of the
accounts of foreign ministers consus and commercial
agents of the United States recognise the gold OF silver
currency in which they paid of equal value to the
gold coinage paid at the United States Treasury"
The table enclosed by the Auditor is copy Of one
which was prepared by therector of the mint at my re-
quest and which furnished by me to that officer for
his information and guidance in carrying the regua
ton aforesaid 1t exhibits the true value of the various
foreign COINS in which ministers and other public
functionares residing abroad usually receive the pro-
coed Of in frst in
stance their salaries compared with the gold coinage
of the United States Accounts continued be trans
mtted by the Auditor to this Office for revision which
had been settled the basis of the old silver dollar and
in which the minister credited with and allowed for
losses when under the provisions of the order aforesaid
and which seemed to to be peremptory in its charac
ter, no had actually realized gain.
am not sure that know to what facts of Congress
now in force" the Auditor REFERS and which seem to
have created some little obstacle in his mind to COM
-iance with measure that had been maturely consd-
ercd and which had received the unqualified sanction of
almost every department Of the government do
know. however that there laws in force
which conflict WITH in any way forbid the execution
by the accounting officers Of the regulation circular in
question. Indeed there never was any act passed by
Congress- far know able to ascertain, which
the value of foreign coins, compared with the
gold coinage of the United States except in the single
instance Of the sovereign OF pound sterling of Great
Britain. Congress, at various times, it is true, made
certain foreign coins legal tender in the payment of
debts and fixed their value compared with tho old
silver dollar which, if not obsolete, has entirely disap
peared from currency but these acts have been
made to yield to the present financial policy of the gov
ernment and no longer in force.
brief examination of the different laws making GER
tain foreign coins current in the United States and fix
ing their value an abstract of which have prepared
and herewith submit, marked G, will show that. al
though great change in the relative value of gold
and silver coinage made by the act of 1887 by which
our silver coinage became ntrnscally and commercially
more valuable than gold coinage, immediate
change was made either by the law the practice at the
treasury in estimating the value of the foreign silver
coins known to commerce but the was still
estimated according to their relative value to silver
coinage.
Thus the act of March g. 1919, makes the gold cur
rency of France current in the United States about
So SO to the 20 francs 1873 cents to the franc The
net of July 27, 1912, made the pound sterling worth
g. a. Each Of these estimat based upon the rela
tive value of the foreign currency our gold coinage
But in the act of lS43 the vefanc piece silver is
made current in the United States at SO cents rs
cents to the franc IT, therefore, the government paid
demand in the gold currency Of France Great Britain
he amount paid would not be essentially different from
what it would have been If paid in gold coinage
but paid in the silver currency of France at the above
ate nearly four per cent would be given out than
would have been given If the payment had been made in
he gold coinage of the United States the gold coinage
# either Great Britain or France.
The very object of the act of 1887 to keep gold In
he country and make il the standard common
ency of the country and although gold silver
ach legal tender il the privilege OF the debtor to