, 1876-12-14

Inc washington correspondent VI Aue ~1AfHa'V
Commerce. slater that the Chairman OF ths House
Committee Oh Coinage Weights aud Measurcs il
IN favor OF employing the metric system In coming
money, tho unit ot weight TO be the gsamme. Tho
fold metric dollar would contain md two.thlrd
Erammes of standard gold, nino.tenths fne. The
present gold dollut would hayo 10 endure dfrnsnn-
lion Of only three tenths Of pcs cent, and to giro
The new coin universal currency. It II proposed
10 stamp on 1t the auouut Of gold In grauu,cs that
It contains.
TRADE DOLLARS.
The demnnd for trade dollars continues In excess
uf Tue supply at San Francisco, and sales arc
mado at par with prospect Of ita being soon al a
premium. Last spring tho retail dealers Of san
Francsco met In mass.meetingB and resolved not
10 take them at 90 cents on tho dollar. The trado
dollar contains ago grains Of ailvor, while tho old
American dollar Of the fathers contained only 4121
grains. The trade dollar was manufactured to dis
place tho Mexican dollar in tho Oriental trade Its
lncrease In yalu0 IL attributed to scarcity on Ac-
count OF tho growing demand, and to tho rise Ia
the prico Of silver. Minister Seward writes to
Bccrctasy Fish from China That there 10 great diff
guilty IN introducing the trade dollar iuto North
Rrn and Central China, where not 500 Of tho
new coins hive rot Into circulation. In
Southern Chnn It has not, he aays, displaced the
Mexican, Or found a market to any great extent,
md he dnubta whether It will over cona into gen.
eral use. The Mexican dUllar, introduced twenty
years ngo. can be found only ut some Of the ports
open 10 foreign trade. The London quotations for
sllvcr bullion are for silver eleven.tweltths fine.
which IL tho British standard; the American atand-
ard II nino-tenths line. The ounce Troy contains
4SO Rshns, british standard, or 440 gralns Of pure
silver; md 48U grains Of the Britbh standard are
taual ABB. .BB grains ot the American standard.
The present American silver coinage, excepting the
sra,lc dollar, contains 3S5 gruius, American stand
ard. Adding to this, Tint thu trade dollar II not
iegal-tender beyond IS. 90, but simply m article
OF merchandise, We have tho facts which explain
the fluctuations in lts ynlNe,
couNrEnRR1T CREMATION.
The Commission recently appointed BY tho Sec
retarY OF the Treasury to destroy the counterfeit
currency, and the plates, dies, md apparatus to be
used In countcrleitng, have found that tho nccu-
muIatcl captures Of seven years comprise 5000. 900
In spurious currency, $40, GOO In gold, sver, and
nickel co!us, and largo amount OF tools and en-
grayess' work, somo of 1t fully equal to the WORK
done for tho Government The money, plates, and
all are to bo crcnnAtcd In few days.
MEMORANDA.
Theeross profits Of the suoz Canal Company for
1916 unotllcatly estimated at s., GOO, GOO; Of
this s., 013, 800 Will be divided among tho stock.
holders, equal to dividend of o Per cent.
In tho ycas ending Hept !, 1876, tho National
Banks, with capital Of $780, GOO. GOO, charged to
profit and loss SO, no, o2u. Al and the New York
National Banks In oae year charged OF 50, e73, :
TO D7 Of bad debts, equal 10 10 per cent on their
capital OF SOS, 4G6, $40. Boston follows next In
this bad competition, its bnHks losing 81, eos, :
70: O.. or per cent their capital Of s51, 35o
e00 Tho lftuen Chicago banks lost 1905, GOO on
thu!r SO, $50. 900 Of capital
The total contraction Of tho currency since tho
passage of the act OF Jan. II, 1875, up 10 Dec !,
1879, has been s32, 202, o.o III NatIonal- Bank
aggregate of s47, pol, 0po. Bank vaults are still
Fnll Of sunetf{uous currency and hnY ono cuu bur-