The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1884-12-31

To HIS bNcelleucy PAUL NEUNANN, Attorney
General:
SIR:-The Justices Of the supreme Court
had the honor yesterday 10 receive ircm yUu
communication wherein our opinion is asked
on question arising upon the "AcI to regu-
late the Currency passed by the Legislature
ofIsSI.
Assuming that the request emanates from
His Majesty's Cabinet, we proceed to answer
the question stated, which Is, in short, whether
the fourth Section Of the Act is in conflict with
Section five, OF as you bave stated it, "Does
the last sentence in Section 4, wherein the
Minister is directed to carry out the provisions
in the same manner as is provided in Section
), forbid or permit the substitution Of United
States gold coin for Hawaiian silver"
In order to understand and properly solve
the question presented, the nature Of the money
in circulation in this kingdom at the time the
Ac, was passed must be understood.
Ii consisted Cf silver coins Of Mexico, France,
the United States and Of many other nations,
as well as Of large amount Of Hawaiian sill
yer coin recently introduced.
Looking at the Act as a whole, the design
Of the law is apparent 1t was 10 make
United States gold the circulating medium Of
this country.
Section prescribes that United States gold
coin shall be the standard and legal tender for
the payment Of all debts in this kingdom
Section allows the silver coin ofthe United
States and Of the Hawaiian Kingdom to he
legal tender for any amount not exceeding ten
dollars in any one payment.
BY Section 3 al other gold and silver coins
are receivable at the Government Treasury in
payment Of Government dues, duties and taxes
at rate not exceeding their bullion value and
I L. ! : l..
holding them and having dues to pay to the
Government.
The next FIVE Sections Of the Act provide for
two methods by which the silver in circulation
was to be reduced in volume and replaced with
United States gold.
In the first place, by force Of the first part
Of Section ), Immediately on the approval of
this Act, that is, from and after the 18th day
Of July, before the LIST Of December, the time
when the Act in other respects went into effect,
the Minister Of Finance was required TO ex-
change, during sixty days after notice to this
pUTport, silver coins Of all nationa!ities except
ing those Of the United States and of Hawaii,
for Hawaiian coin, dollar for dollar. If the
entire public lad awaited itself of this proYis-
ion, 1t is apparent that all the heterogeneous
silver in circulation would have flowed into
the Treasury and no silver coins remained in
circulation but those Of the United States and of
Hawaii. This action was required to be taken
Immediately on the passage Of the Act.
The last part OF Section 5 requires the Min
lister of Finance TO arrange for the sale of the
heterogeneous silver thus received and all sill
yer coins then in the Treasury, except Hawaii
an coins, and the delivery Of their proceeds
into the Trcasury-gold coins Of the United
States.
Section makes further provision 10 enable
persons whose tenders for the purchase of the
silver coins mentioned in Section were &C
copted, to deposit Government Bonds as seCu-
rity for the delivery of the gold proceeds Of
the sale. Section enacts shat the loss Incl
dent 20 the conversion Of silver into gold shall
be borne by the Treasury.
Now Section 4, although appearing in the
Act earlier than Sections and 6, would be-
come operative after the act Of calling in the
heterogeneous silver had been accomplished
and might naturally have come later in the Act
than Sections and 6. But we presume it
was placed thus early in the Act as it has a
permanent force and effect. 1t reads as fol-
lows:
Whenever it shall appear, that there is
such an excess Of silver coins in circulation as
disiurbs the equilibrium between gold and
silver coins under the provisions Of this Act,
the Minister Of Finance, in order to restore
such equilibrium, shall replace sufficient silver
coin from any silver coin which may be in the
Treasury, as Government realization or on de-
posit on account Of any silver certificates, with
gold coins OF the United States IN the same
manner as hereafter provided in Sections 5,
and Of this Act"
To state it more fully: Whenever Chat is,
at any time in the future) it shall appear that
fffnra g-hr e
lation, (that is, in general circulation in the
community as disturbs the equilibrium be-
tween gold and silver coins under the provis-
ions Of this Act, Chat is, whenever there is
more silver in circulation than will suffice for
the payment Of debts of ten dollars or less in
amount,) the Minister Of Finance is required
to replace silver coin in the Treasury sufficient
in amount to restore the equilibrium, whether
this silver coin lays in the Treasury as the
general funds Of the Government or is there on
deposit to meet silver ceTtifcates) with GOLD
coins Of the United States. The Act also SAYS
that the method in eifecting this is to be that
prescribed in Sections 5, and Of the Act.
That is to say, the Minister Of Finance must
arrange through advertisement for tenders for
the sale Of this silver coin in lots of not more
than $4,000 each. 1t is to be noticed that
Section confers power to replace silver
coins with gold coins, which is to be invoked
at any time in the future, and as often as the
contingency Of redundancy Of silver in circu-
lation shall arise.
Ii Is also plain that by the terms Of this Sec
ton the nature or nationality of the silver
coin which must he replaced with gold is not
specified.
The Section speaks Of 1t as "any silver
CON, also as coin on deposit on account of
an nTf II
coins are not excepted froUI the operation of
the authority to convert. In reason there
could be no distinction made, the evil TO be
remedied being an excess of silver coin.
In order 10 avoid in this Section a repetition
OF the manner in which this replacing Of silver
with gold is to be done, the Act says briefly,
That the Minister shall conduct this replace
ment IN the same manner as hereinafter pro-
Vided IN Sections 8, . and Of this Act" But
as we have above suggested, this requires
merely thai the 1ROdHS operdgdi shall be the
same as that pursued in replacing the silver
required to be replaced by Section 5, and does
not require that the subject matter Il. G. the
silver coins) upon which this method Of ex-
change is to be pursued shall be identical with
that mentioned in Section s.
We ind no contradiction in these Sections
and are OF the opinion that Section Of the
Act permits tho Minister of Finance to substi-
tute United States gold coin for Hawaiian sill
yer coin, and requires him to do so whenever
the contingency Of an excess Of silver shall
arise,
In examining the statute for the purpose Of
answering the question submitted By His Ma
iesiy's Government, we have observed pos
sible danger in the conversion of Hawaiian
silver into American gold. This coin for con-
version into gold is worth only It's bullion
value. The intendmeut is that it shall be
taken to San Francisco and melted. But we
see nothing in the statute TO prevent pur-
chaser Of this coin at say so per cent, from
putting it into circulation here il be can obtain
bis gold otherwise to pay for it
We trust that our sense Of this danger will
be considered a justification for going beyond
the subject matter Of the letter aud Offering
suggestion. 1t seems to US that the Minister
of Finance should make the sales Of coin under
conditions which will efectually prevent such
treatment Of the coin sold
We have the honor to be
Your obedieut servants.