The Hawaiian gazette., 1882-10-25
Hawaiian Coinngs.

EDuoR GAZETTE 1 see by your issue of Octobei
11th that our Government eontemplates the issu
ance of a coin for Hawaii. | note the following
paragraph upon the subject, viz: " We take it fol
/ granted that If there is to be coin minted as
commercial medium for the Government here
there will be and ought to be burone opinion about
| it by all nationalities and political parties and
that is that there ought to be one whether of gold
or silver or both, of such weight and fneness that
it will be IN stable equilibrium so to speak, with
the worlds standard" and we acknowledge that
the whole subject is intrinsically and oxtrinsicay
| difficult one.n
| admit, Mr. Editor if this little Kingdom is ex-
pected to make coin acceptable to all the world,
til en- indeed is the task "a difficult one But as
the Constitution and the ocean set bounds TO the
| authority and Jurisdiction Of this Government. 1
| trust this Government Will never attempt to make
a coin to conform to the worlds standard-a feat
no other nation ever performed or ever attempted,
so far as | know. If the attempt should be made
to what nation should we look for a standard pat
tern Shall we take tine German thaler, worth 70
cents, or the English sovereign worth S4.s5 or the
Mexican peso, worth 80 cents, or the American
standard dollar, worth less than 30 cents, or shall
we look to some other nation for some other
standard z Or would it not be wiser for us TO
abandon all attempts at impossibiities and strike
out path for ourselves existing coin is uni
yersally accepted as a standard, and it is an ad-
mitted fact that all civilized nations have been
cursed for ages with their imperfect systems of
money, if We adopt their systems we must in turn
by using their deprecated coins.
The difference between making a coin for do
nestle use and coin for the worlds use is the
first requires legal ralHe oH, and the latter nfiH
SIC rqiHe only, equaling its face value at all times
and under all bullion fluctuations, surely a diff
cult if not an impossible task. But to institute a
system of money for domestic use is plain duty
and an easy task for any government fgfter MeB
lJl0ir hoirJ. There is greater difficulty to make
currency to measure all the values of a country
than there is to fix the standard of weights TO
weigh them, or measures" to define their length.
If our Government will go to work and make
currency for homo use that will neither be obiec-
tionably bulky nor ever depreciate below its face
value, it will do fditifHl ard creditabie thing
for little Hawaii. and do greater work than any
modern nation ever yet performed in making a
measure of value for home use.
If this Government now contemplates making
domestic money, it will be thing much to be re-
GREETED if they should adopt one of the old time
systems Of money that has cursed all civilized
tions in past ages, instead of this Constitutional
system now SO well demonstrated, and so perfect
that no argument can hold against it, and at the
same time prghiable to both Government and people
i have no room here to explain how a money
could be of gold, silver, copper and paper and cir
culated, thatit would be impossible to depreciate
any part of it below its face value and at the same
time remove the Objectionable bulky nature Of all
coins made and circulated under the present
system. Neither have roOm TO produce the proof
that domestic money rightly issued, requires only
LEGAL raiae.
But if any one desires to know how it can be
done, he may get some kDts from a pamphlet re-
Gently published, treating upon the subject of
government finance; copies can be obtained at the
GAZETTE Office, where / left some for gratuitous
distribution / call particular attention to that
part of the pamphlet under the heading No. 3,
page u, or by calling upon me. / can give ful
particulars. JSo. NJ. HoRNEl.