New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1878-01-28

simply as a representative of the gold. This
token character France maintains for the coin
by certain measures which are all absent from
the proposed Legislation here.
]. Nobody can go to the mint IN france
with silver bullion and get coin for it. All
coinage on private demand was stopped by act
of August, 1876. Hence nobody can get q
five franc piece except by paying the value
of fve-francs in gold for it, as it is paid out
by the Government or the bank.
III. The amount is strictly limited. BY treaty
the nations of the Latin Union are required
not to coin more than certain amounts, fixed
for 1877 thus France, $5,4O0,OOO; Italy,
$3,6OO,OOO; Belgium, 81 ,0S0,O00; Switzcr-
land. 1920, 900; Greece, 100000. But even
these insignificant sums were not coined.
France by order of the President stopped all
coinage, except for subsidiary purposes. in
August, 1876; Belgium took the same course
in December, 1876, and il is not known that
the other countries have coined the amount per-
mitted. Spain also stopped coinage of sill
yer, except on Government account in
1876 and Holland, in 1875. Bullion any
body can buy, as commodity, at market
value, but he can nowhere get coin for 1t, and
the Governments themselves have sharply re-
stricted the amounts of silver coin placed in
circulation Had either of these elements
been lacking, as both are lacking in the bill
proposed here, silver could not have circulated
in France at par.
Ill. Even these and all other precautions
would have been utterly worthless but for the
fact that France has in circulation no small
notes to usup the place and remove the ne
cessity for silver coins in use. France had in
circulation in 1876, in notes of all kinds of
less value than $40 each, only $17,OOO,OOO,
and only $35, 100000 in notes of $40 EACH
The amounts have been since reduced by
retirement Of the notes outstanding,
also, a. large but unknown part has been
lost or destroyed. AS people must have
some representative of money in retail
transactions and wages-payments, the silver
is used irrespective of value, as token. But
in this country we have 100000 in 81
and So notes, $3.50. 000,0 600 in So notes, and
$167, 900, 600 in $40 notes-in all $377,OOO,-
900 in notes Of less than $40 each, against
less than $50, 100000 in France. II there
wtfc- no other difference, this would render
the circulation Of silver coin at par an absO-
lutc mpossiblity here.
". Finally, it is doubtful whether, even by
these powerful causes, silver would have been
sustained without discount, but for others pc
culiar to France. That is creditor country,
with enormous balances flowing in every year
on trade account, and from Investments abroad.
Silver cannot be mainly sent in payment, for
it cannot be turned into money hence gold
has accumulated enormously. But France is
also supported by nations Of the Latin Union.
all bound by treaty to receive at their treas
uries the coins of each other until 1880, at
the ratio of 15l2 silver to 1 gold, and
all bound alike TO limit their com
age. Next the use of silver in the
arts is very large in these countries, and in
France alone has been estimated at $4,000
900 to 100000 yearly. All these circum-
stances have conspired to enable the Bank of
France, and its branches, to take the decisive
step. The bank receives silver coin freely at
par, and in moderate sums pays out
gold freely in its stead. The silver
is treated precisely as q token coinage.
The bank refuses to take silver and pay gold in
sums large enough to make speculative opera
lions profitable. But in the moderate sums
To tue NuutS Ol Icidlll NHO Ic-
ccivc silver and Of manufacturers and
other employers who want it for payments,
the banks treat silver as a token of
its nominal value in gold, receive it at par,
and pay out gold or silver at the option of the
customer This perfectly sustains the silver
for the purposes ola token coinage. But it would
he utterly impossible if the circumstances were
such rs must be met by the proposed legiSla-
ton here.
In brief. SILVER cannot be expected to circu-
late ut par here, if (D private individuals can
at will get coin for bullion, or CD the issue by
this and adjacent governments is not restricted,
or CD the vast volume of small notes is
not withdrawn to make room for coin, or
Cd the condition of the country in respect
to foreign support, and its foreign trade is not
such that the banks can, with safety, receive
and pay out silver and gold INTERCHANGEABLE.
Even under those conditions it could circulate
here mt par only as a token coinage.
Georgia is not solid on the silver question in the