The islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1891-1899, 1895-04-18
FROM THE NATIONAL CAPITAL.
Various Items of the Affairs of the
Government.

the press dispatches from San Francis
co stating that it had been found that
the gold coins of the Carson mint for
several years past were below the stand
ard OF fineness, as provided by law, Mr..
Preston, the director of the mint, stated
today that this was not true. Coinage
operations were suspended at the Car
son City mint in May, 1885, by Mr..
Manning the then secretary of the
treasury, and were not resumed until
October, 1889. Coinage operations
were again suspended by direction of
Secretary Carlisle, from June l, 1898,
since which time no coinage has been
executed at that mint. Between the
resumption of coinage in 1889 and the
suspension in 1898, samples from every
delivery of gold coins were assayed by
the bureau of the mint, and in no case
did the pieces vary from the legal limit
OF tolerance more than allowed by law.
The coins of each mint are distinguish
ed by what are called their mint
mark. This is in small letters ON the
coins just below the eagle. New Or
cans has the letter CO., San Francisco
the letter "S," and Carson City two
letters, "CC." Philadelphia has no
mint mark. In order to manufacture
coins deficient in fneness, it would re-
quire collision ON the part of all the
officers in the mint and their assistants,
as we'll as some of the subordinates.
A new resort for consumptives has
been discovered in the Orange free
state, South Africa. United States
Consular Agent Lanfgraff, in a report
to the department, talks of the benefi-
cial results experienced by persons who
have tried it, and adds:
mo country on earth can rank with
the Orange free state as health resort.
Mrs. Patterson has been all over the
world, and here she has found relief
could give hundreds of similar cases,
and that so few people have come here
is due to the fact that the Orange free
state is so little known, and in most
parts of the world believed to be des-
ert inhabited by brutal natives and
wild beasts. Living is not expensive,
and persons coming here can command
from $50 to $50 per month. A family
Of four or five persons can live nicely Oh
81, 500 per year. Persons whose lungs
are far gone should travel by stages
from the sea to the Orange free state;
that is, such persons should stay for
month at Ceres, next at Beaufort, until
they are prepared to stand the dry eli
mate. A direct journey to Bloomfon-
tine would mean death to such persons.
The landing place is Cape Town.
w. S. Strobel, United States minis
ter to Chill, announces the settlement
of the question of what rate of interest
the government should guarantee to the
projected trans-Andine railway. The
Gillian congress has passed a law
which guarantees for twenty years 4
per cent on capital of FL 300, 900. The
English capitalist with whom the
holder of the concession have been ne
gotiating in order to raise the amount
required to complete the road, have for
some time past been demanding guar
antee of per cent, but the CHILEAN con-
gross refused to go beyond 4 } per cent.
Secretary Morton thinks the purpose
of the English government in sending
a battleship to Nicaragua is to enforce
the demand which will soon be made
for indemnifcation on account of the
expulsion of Consul Hatch, and it is
expected the Royal Arthur will take
the matter in hand and secure the in
Identification by collecting the Gus
toms duties on Nicaragua imports. In
that event, he thinks Nicaragua's
wisest course will be to convene her
congress and pass law for the admis-
sion of all importations free of duty.
In conclusion he said:
''The other nations would never con-
sent that their exporters to Nicaragua
should pay duty to England in the alb
sence of tariff in Nicaragua, and Eng
lands policy would be effectively
blocked