The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1866-09-25

mtllOn6,
"By Italy, in virtue of the law of the oath Of
August 1862 in pieces of 2f., of IT,, of Soc. and
of 20c., for about 100 millions.
"By Switzerland, in virtue of the law of the
9lst OF January, ls6O in pieces of 2f and II. for
ARTICLE TO- Tue date of coinage shall here
after be stamped upon pieces of gold and silver
struck in any of the four States.
ARTICLE IL. The contracting Governments
shall communicate TO each other annually the
total au cunt OF their issues of gold and silver
coins; their position as to the withdrawal aud
remeltiDg OF the old coinage; all the arrange
ments and all the administrative documents
relating to coinage.
''They shall also give to each other informa.
tion of all facts which concern the reciprocal
circulation OF their gold and silver moneys.
"Article H. The right OF acceding to this Con-
vention Is reserved TO any other state whlch
shall accept Its obligations, and which shall
adopt the monetary system OF the union In
whatever relates 10 gold and silver specie.
article l3. The execution OF the mutual en-
gagements contained in the present Convention
ls subject as far as may be necessary, to the
fulhlment of iormaiities and regulations pre-.
scribed by the constitutional laws of those OF
the high contracting parties which have deter
mined to obtain their application, and which
they bind themselves 20 do with the least posi-
"ArtIcle ID The present Convention shall
remain in force until the lst of January, 1880.
II one year prior to that date notice to deter
mine it shall not have been giVen (denOacee), 1t
shall remain obligatory in full force for fur
tier period of hiteen years, and in ike man.
er, for further periods OF fifteen years IN the
absence of denunciaton.
"Article Is. The present Convention shall be
ratified, and the raiitications thereof shall be
EXCHANGED at Paris within the space of six
months, or sooner il possible.
"In faith of which the respective Comnlis-
-PlenipoteDtiarie have signed the Con-
venton, ana have affixed to 1t the seals OF their
arms.
Made in four parts at Paris, December %,
1867
The London Times, commenting upon this
Convention remarks that it is an important
step in the proaress of European civilization,
amounting in effect TO as announcement that in
the course of two or three years the coinage of
half continental Europe will be absolutely iden-
iical. The Times adds:-
"In four or five years time, it is said, the
| traveller will be able to pass from Calais to
| Brindisi without changing carriages; but long
| before then he will pc able TO journey IRON the
| north to the extreme south of Europe without
| once changing his money or making the slightest
alteration III his calculations. The boon which
| such a reform Will confer upon travellers is
| obvious. The necessity of constant exchanges
Is not only a great annoy ance, but is the occa.
of considerable loss, and IN the condition of
| Europe fifty years ago the story is scarcely an
| eXaggeration that traveller, starting with
| sovereign, and exchanging it at each successive
! frontier, found it at length reduced by this
| process alone to the value of farthing. But
| increased convenience to travellers means in
creased intercourse and it is possible to exag-
| gerate the benefits to the countries themselves
| which must accrue from such convention.
| A uniform and simple coinage has the same
| effect, in its way, as railway on uni
| form guage Its introduction is an opera
| tion of precisely the same character. The gold
and silver pieces are the metal rails of mercan-
tile intercourse and of mutual transactions, and
they serve as effectually as the iron rails to
facilitate exchange, the levelIing of values, and
| the comprehension of mutual interests. The
| mere mechanical convenience in mercantile
transactions must be lncalculable. In large con-
| Germs the constant transfer of accounts from
one standard to another must of itself involve
| an enormous amount of labor, which will now
be to q large extent abolished. A difference, ia
| deed still remains IN weights and measures; but
| when several countries have the same coinage
| they have at least one standard in )mmon and
the one most frequently used. monetary
| convention of this sort is not exactly Zollye-
| rein or commercial treaty, but it must produce
| in some respects very similar results. These
| four countries for the future will, in some i'm
| portant points, trade with each ether with more
1 facility than with other countries, and the in
! evitable consequence will be that their mutual
| transactions will be greatly augmented"