Litchfield enquirer., 1868-02-20
A UNIFORM INTERNATIONAL COIN.
 AGE

Senator Sherman hasiintroduced into the United States United States Senate lan i'm portant bill for the adaptation of the coin
 age of this country to 8 general system to
 be adopted by the commercial nations oi
 the world. The bill provides that the
 weight and value of the $5 pieces shall
 agree with those of the French coins of 25
 francs. Other sizes and denominations of
 our coinage to be in proportion, and all of
 the fineness of nine-tenths of the silver
 coins are made to conform to the French standard by fixing the weight of half dol
 lar at 172 grains Troy. The coinage of sill
 yer pieces of one dollar, five cents and | three cents, is discontinued. The value of
 the gold coins is to be stated on them both
 in dollars and francs; and in case Great
 Britain shall conform the pound sterling to the value of the five dollar piece then the l value in British terms shall also be stated l Another section of the bill makes for eign coin, conforming to this standard, | legal tender in all payments whatsoever,a as long as they may be kept up to it, and it is
 made the duty of the Director of the Mint to ascertain whether this is to be done, by testing a sufficient number of such coins every year, and, in case of deficiency be- ing found, the right of legal tender may be suspended by the Secretary of the Treas ury.
 When gold and silver coins of the Uni ted States are brought to the Mint and its branches for re-coinage, all that were is- sued as nine-tenths fine shall be so receiv- ed, but all others by assay. No charge is to be made for coinage, selgniorage or in- ternal revenue, on amounts so exchanged, but other deposits of gold for coinage shall pay one-half of one per cent,
 Upon the passage of the act the Secreta- ry of the Treasury is to declare the rates at which coins of the United States and of forei gn countries shall be reckoned, such statement to be based upon estimates fur nished by the Director of the Mint. The act is to take effect Jan 1, 1869, but the Mints may receive United States gold and silver coins, and other deposits of gold and silver, for re-coinage, on and after the 1st day of October next, giving certificates therefor payable in the new coin on the or der of receipt, and converting the metal thus received in ingots and planchets to be ready for stamping when the act goes into effect.
 This bill is the result of an international conference held at Paris, France, in which l nearly all the European nations were rep resented. Should it pass, the American dollar would be reduced 31a cents, and made to correspond with the French 5franc piece. It would, of course, have tenden- ey to unsettle values, and would be iniuri- ous to the creditor class and those who liv ed on fixed incomes until prices should be readjusted to the new dollar value. Every lender of money would loose three and half per cent. of his capital and interest, wbile the borrower of coin would be en- riched to the same amount; still it Is ex- ceedingly desirable that the currency of the commercial nations of the world should be uniform, and should have an equal and recognized value everywhere, and if the bill of MT. Sherman can be so perfected as to secure to persons having outstanding contracts for the payment of money the ac- tual amounts they loaned or contracted to receive, the measure ought not to be obiec ted to- But it is wrong for Congress to enact that the man who has loaned his neighbor one hundred dollars shall be paid by the return of ninety-six dollars and half