" Sec. 3,585. The gold coins of the United States shall be a legal tender at their nominal value when not below the standard weig,ht and limit of tolerance provided by law for the single piece, and when reduced in weight below such standard and tolerance, shall be a legal tender at valuation in proportion to their actual weight.
" Sec. 3.586. The silver coins of the United States shall be a legal tender at their nominal value for any amount not exceeding five dollars in any one payment.
"Sec. 3,587. The minor coins of the United. States shall be a legal tender at their nominal value for any amount not exceeding 25 cents in any one payment.
"Sec. 3,588. United States notes shall be lawful money, and a legal tender in pay ment of all debts public, and private, within the United States except for duties on imports and interest on the public debt.
" Sec. 3,569. Demand treasury notes authorized by the act of July 17. 1861, chap. 5, Rad the act of Feb. 12, 1862, chap. 20, shall be lawful money and a legal tender in like manner as U.S. notes.
" Sec. 3,590. Treasury notes issued under the authority of the acts of Mar. 3, 1863, chap. 73, and June 30, 1864, chap. 172, shall be legal tender to the same extent as U.S. notes, for their face value, excluding interest: Provided, That treasury notes issued under the act last named shall not be a legal tender in payment or redemption of any notes issued by any bank, banking association, or banker, calculated or intended to circulate as money.
At the end of 1874 certain sagacious minds became aware of the concerted action among great holders of government securities in Europe and the United States to procure the entire demonetization of silver, and the general adoption of the gold unit of value; and sounded the alarm that so great a revolution as the entire suppression of the money function of one half the money of the world ought to awaken. The more the subject was thought of, the greater seemed the impending danger, so that when the subject came up for discussion in the 451h congress it absorbed public attention more than any other. The exhaustive debates in the press and in congress on an act, known as the Allison bill, entitled " An act to authorize the coinage of the standard silver dollar, and to restore its legal tender character," resulted in a vote in the house of representatives, passing the hill by a majority of more than three to one, without division by party lines. Presi dent Hayes vetoed the bill, and congress promptly repassed it on Feb. 28, 1878, by a vole of 46 yeas to 19 nays in the senate, and 196 yeas to 73 nays in the house. It forms chap. 20 of the acts of the 45th congress. Sec. 1. provides for the coinage of the original silver dollar of the same weight, fineness, devices, and superscriptions, required by the act of 1837; that it. and all previously coined silver dollars of the United States shell be a legal tender at their nominal value, for all debts and dues public and private except where otherwise expressly stipulated in the contract; that the secretary of the treasury is authorized and directed to purchase from time to time, silver bullion, at the market price thereof, not less than $2,000.000 worth per month, and cause the same to be coined monthly, as fast as so purchased into such dollars, "provided that the amount of money at any one time invested in such silver bullion, exclusive of such resulting coin, shall not exceed $5,000,000; and provided further, that nothing in the net shall be construed to authorize the payment in silver, of certificates of deposit issued under the provisions of see. 254. of the revised statutes," Sec, 2. provides that the president after
the passage the act invite the countries composing the Latin union, so called, ane other Ettiopean.gove-rnments to'join the'United States Mit ,conference "to adopt a common ratio between gold and silver, for the purpose of establishing internationally, the use of bimetallic money," to which conference he should appoint three commis sioners. See MONETARY CONFERENCE, PARIS, 1878. Sec. 3. provides that "any holder of the coin authorized by this act may deposit the same with the treasurer or any assistant treasurer of the United States, in sums not less than ten dollars, and receive therefor certificates of not less than ten dollars each, corresponding with the denominations of the U.S. notes. The coin deposited for, or representing, the certificates shall be retained in the treasury for the payment of the same on demand. Said certificates shall be receiv able for customs, taxes, and all public dues, and, when so received may be re-issued." The total product of the United States mints in coins of gold and silver and baser metals from 1793 to 1880, inclusive, are here given: There was held in the U. S. treasury at the above date, mostly in gold and silver coin and bullion, $201,088,622. Deducting this from Mr. Sherman's estimate of the total specie in the country, it would leave a balance of about $400,000,000, to be divided between bank reserves and circulation. Tbis is believed to be an over-estimate. It is probable that the amount of specie in actual circulation, together with the paper currency of the country. amounts in 1880 to very near $1,000,000,000, or $20 per head of the population. 'rite following table gives the currency statistics of the United States for the past 15 years. No estimate is made of the gold and silver coin in circulation between 1865 and 1877, as it was scarcely used during that time except at the custom houses and in California. The amount in use was probably tinder $50,000,000: The following table, except as to the United States, is from the American Almanac for 1880, showing the population and the amount of money in circulation in different countries: The table, imperfect in not giving money circulation of the several countries at the Fame date, is nevertheless near enough their average condition to indicate their wealth and their financial policy. The comparison between the relative wealth of Russia and Switzerland is curious. The ratio of currency per capita varies far more among nations than has generally been supposed; and although in general the countries having the most accumulated wealth have the greatest ratio of money in circulation, the proportion is not uniform; and the proportion of the whole currency of each, to the amount of gold and silver that each controls, is not apparently subject to anv law. The table would seem to lead to the conclusion that the most intelligent and active commer cial nations use the most per capita. This would certainly be true where business is principally conducted on the cash system.