Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1893-10-12
HON, ", {, CARTER,
Of Platteyille,
REPLIES TO GEO. MILLS.
FACTS AND STATISTICS ABOUT
GOLD AND SILVER FROM EAR
LY TIMES To THE PRESENT.

On January Sth. 1872. Mr. Kelley
/ offered a resolution which was adopt
ed and viii be found in the "Globe'
for the 2nd session of the 42nd Con-
gress on p. sos, instructing the
Committee on Coinage. &c. to inquire
and report, whether the intrinsic
value of the silver coinage. as COM
pared with the gold coinage. was not
above that of other nations, and
greater than was necessary in coins
designed for subsidiary purposes only,
and to be retained permanently in the
country. And whether it would not
be proper to exact seignorage from
the silver coinage equal to the cost OF
making, distributing and recoining
it, after, by wear, it fell below the
standard weight, and Misunderstanding
such seignorage would not reduce the
standard of silver coin sufficiently to
prevent its expectation As bullion,
land rive the public the advantage of
a metallic currency for the purpose Of
change. Satcb coinuge 10 be limited as 10
the amount Of legal tender and issue -
(The italics are mine.)
On January 9th, 1872. the same Mr.
/ KELLEY, as chairman of the Committee
on Coinage. &c, reported back 10 the
I House, Bill No. ). revising the laws
relating to the mints. assay offices and
coinage. &c., With the recommends
ton that il pass The bin was read
and Mr. Kelley addressed the House,
in order. rs he said. to explain his
connection with it. (See p. 322 Of the
.'Globe, 2nd Sess. 42nd Congress-
He was at once asked by Mr. Wood
of New York, whether he meant to
ask for the question on the bin chat
1 day. He said he did not His desire
was that the bill should be fairly
considered. 1T is not, he said, "a
pet measure OF my own. II is q
measure originated By The Treasury
Department. ont of the necessities of III /,
case. The mint law of this country
has never been revised. He added
that the law had been framed when
we had but one mint and produced
neither gold nor silver ourselves, and
that the changed conditions had rem
dered an entire revision Of our mint.
coinage and assay laws necessary He
sad further that the Secretary of the
/ Treasury. discovering the difficulty of
administering the affairs of SO many
minis and assay Offices. had given
1.-THE subject his personal consideration
and then invited to his aid some Of
the most experienced gentlemen in
/ the country in the matters of coinage
and the management of mints, and
directed one of the officers of the
Treasury. in connection with those
gentlemen to codity the mint laws.
That was done, and the codification,
with such suggestions as those COM
missioners, as may call them. make,
were submitted to the two Houses Of
/ Congress The Senate took up the bill
mi acted upon u during the last Con
qrss8, and sent il TO this House II acdS
1 referred to the Committee on Coinage,
I IHejQhLS and Neu res, and received rs
careful attention as / hare cCer kR0rn
Il committee 10 beSt0U upon djly DiPaS
IRE he committee, btfOre proceed
/ inc to consider it, sent copies of it,
not to the director of the mint alone,
Z
to those gentlemen who, within the
last fifteen or twenty years have been
I connected with the minis and made
regulations which Justify the Com
mittee in attaching Importance to
I their opinions and the results of their
experience. and thus enlightened from
I sources to which the Secretary had
not applied. the committee proceeded
/ with great deiiberation to go over the
/ bill. not only section by section, but
line bv line. The bin mas not received
] tile same elaborate consideration from
/ the Committee ON Coinage, Weights,
and Measures of this House but the
attention of each member was brought
/ to it al the earliest day ofthis session.
each member procured 4 copy of the
bill. and there has been thorough
examination 81 tho bill again. EIe
added that he thought when HE
House should con To consider the
bill. while they might find some
amendments 70 make that would be
+ iuaieioa~ they would find the body
Of the bin to be "a Weil-devised and
careful codifcation Of the mint laws.
making a very few, if any, essential
changes except that il provided a re-
-ponsibe head for all the mintS. while
then there va, no esp0u>ible head to
oar mint-. or our system Of coinage.
Later, on the same day. IN the course
81 a discussion which arose. which
vas participated It'd bv MIR. Kelley Mr.
~...-., NJ 1Fa4s,gar,f Mr. fHas.1-.t.,,