The Hawaiian gazette., 1871-11-15
COMMERCIAL.
HnNnIrIr. Nor. Ia Isl

Heiucsdty last. some questions connected with the
-u--vuuy vurc innisrntalgy discussed. II has beer
rssas sor sozns time past that American and ether
lf coin ishoooming scarce and that lnrre portion
E our -ucsipts and payments are now effected in sill
rus r-incip1Iy Preach ave frame pieces and Amer.
Er hlf and quarter 6olA-z. Il i feared that Amer
can god may ss displaced BY these eve franc pieces
"a ea iasrfnscsy worth sornofhng less than one
d1E- O. c. S. gid coin and therefore that oOBfo-
s11 and diseuliy nay arise when large payments are
frequently ter ie-ed il then. 1t has been suggested
ttt some Lex susirs action should be taken, fixing
a. ru-rsasy o. the basis Of c. S. gold coin and
hs siisuinr the Eve franc ueecs to pass current at
o1s dollar IN ss saas. &c limit by law. the amount
vaios car b tahdsrss "a one payment. except at
r-s rate less ttan dollar, T. : gold or as near as
nav b. their intrinsic vAlee. say ese. On the 9th
hHs5 & is feared By many. that the eject e such
ahv might he worse than the .vil it is intended to
uurt- il would unguestonAbly have the effect Of de-
-1sirr the Ers franc piece. anu Of throwing it to
crest extent out Of circulation Il would then be a
con vhicb o0ais be bought for remittance abroad.
T. uould takc long tine in the ordinary course Of
tusnsss ana exchange TO replace with gold the FIVE
Esae pieces tus withdraw from circulation and the
gusssi5n arisss. II they were withdrawn. how long
sseul5 have 70 remain short Of both gold and sill
yer s1s circulating medium with which to carry on
0aE ordinary trade Transactions.
il Should b borne in nina that the French Eve
fne piece Is ntrinsieaiy worth something more than
C. 5 hHirss. four e S. quarters U. S. Dimes
ard d By operation Of Law deprecase the Eve franc
rieos. The question arises, whether the U. s. silver
ssoud be put in the same category. II has been
Eurresisa tbsi having based cur currency on Z. S.
gold Il rould be advisable let all our currency ar
r1uruneuts fonoE The rules they exist in the Uni
Ted States with regard coin. where the Q. S. silver
b. not legal tender over q certain amount. In view
also Of close commercial relations with the United
SASS there good ground for considering well
Euoh proportion. 1t should be remembered how
ever, thst NC have no gold mines, nor have we n
Ant IL tbe country Issue gold coin required for
purposes q circulation az export, the case may
s and even those facilities possessed by the United
States IN rvnArkAble degree. does not always pre-
vent an incouvenieut scarcity Of gold coin in that
country. N legal enactment could prevent it here
ne suy statute which have with regard to coins
asa cur-urcy are the lss5th and I4s6th sections of
the Civil Code relating TO dimes and halfdimes and
90 shs eject that the American dime is a current
cain q This kiagdon. the value OF ten dimes for
one collar" Bot limiting the proportionate amount
winch may Be rendered in one payment. and enact
ing thar An other foreign coins current in the king
DON nav Be received al the Treasury at such rates
as the Minister Of Finance with due regard to the
Of tic public service and with the consent
q the King in Cabinet Council, shall determine, or
be Altogethsr refused, in his discretion, with such
eonscut.
r these sections may be construed having any
sEcct on the standard OF the currency, that is Of
what meant BY dollar, they would seem to imply
rather ihan tse that C. s. gold shall be that stan
GARD. hut that sfty dimes shall pass FOR Eve dollar
gold piece. but limiting the amount Of the payment
C. dimes al that valuation.
II NAV be that these two sections, taken together,
form as good enactment on the currency question
our c-cunstanecs will admit. Section 1896 allows
Of certain amount Of elasticity in our currency
regulations which enables meet changes Of cir
cumEtauoes not always easy to foresee. There docs
a5; TO he any serious Inconvenience in pract-
saIy taking The U. s. silver, say the half dollar |
quarter and dime together as the basis Of valuethat
Be- two 5. half dollars four quarters or ten dimes
a. one dollar with the restrictions perhaps on the
dimes a. tbsy exist by law. By doing this the FIVE
franc pieces aud English silver. and many other
SILVER coins Or different countries fall into their
1
their passizr rates to correspond, which are con-
sils-atious Of importance.
The f5IIoving are the New York quotations in
e. s. Gold OF September 2Sd last for miscellaneous
CON such current here, and although temporary
demand and supply may cause slight fuctuation in
values from time to tine, these quotations show
nearly enough in estimating for currency purposes
Their relative intrinsic values to dollar in gold:
American Silver, large. ......... 94@96 cents.
Do. do. SMALL. ..... e3@95 .,
FivefrAnc Pieces --.-.--------------. 95@96 >,
English sovereigns ......... .........s $50 4 SIS
spanish DoublOOns .................. is so@l6 20
Mexican Doubloons .............---.. IS 5o@l5 65
An inspection Of this table shows that not far
wrong IN mixing two American halves and one Eve
frame pisoe pass at the value. It shows. how
ever that in passing the English sovereign at 81 IS,
We have got il quite ten cents too low, even on the
basis Of lie intrinsic value, and that if wish to
preserve the same relation between its intrinsic value
and that Of the main portion of actual currency,
viz fre-frsuc pieces and American small silver,
should pass S. and seeing the scarcity of gOld
Il Is question whether we should not. Il also
becomes question whether douboons and other gold
cons should not have their current value raised to
ieaa their intrinsic value, to keep them in the
country. The whole question requires recOnsidera-
ti0n. and We understand the Chamber Of Commerce
intend to take il up at their next monthly meeting.
Il nay be that the remedy for the scarcity Of gold
and the apparent excess Of silver may be found,
IN eprecEng the value Of silver coins VIC have but
in rasag to u, correct propOrOnAte value the gold
CONS that our neighbOrs possess and that likely
% be brought here.
In business matters generally there is absolutely
nothnr 70 report we therefore have taken the oppOr
turity TO present to readers the different aspects
OF the currency question, as they seem to force
themselves Just now the notice Of the commercial
pubic.
EXPORTS.
For Vir;ori, B c, Per Delaware, Nov s.
c-Fss Ths 267s Rice, lbs 1900
Z