The change of financial policy, with reference to specie resumption, unsettled, in some degree, the public credit, and various propositions, looking to the payment of the public debt in United States notes, and an indefinite continuation of the credit paper-money system, were advanced. To remove all doubts as to the character of the obligations of the United States, and the intention to pay the same in coin, the following Act was passed March 18, 1869:

"That in order to remove any doubt as to the purpose of the Government to discharge all just obligations to the public creditors, and to settle conflicting questions and interpretations of the laws by virtue of which such obligations have been contracted, it is hereby provided and declared that the faith of the United States is solemnly pledged to the payment in coin, or its equivalent, of all the obligations of the United States, not bearing interest, known as United States notes, and of all the interest-bearing obligations of the United States, except in cases where the law, authorizing the issue of any such obligation, has expressly provided that the same may be paid in lawful money, or other currency than gold and silver. But none of such interest-bearing obligations, not already due, shall be redeemed or paid before maturity, unless at such time United States notes shall be convertible into coin, at the option of

the holder, or unless at such time bonds of the United States, bearing a lower rate of interest than the bonds to be redeemed, can be sold at par in coin, and the United States also solemnly pledges its faith to to make provision, at the earliest practicable period, for the redemption of the United States notes in coin."

By this last Act, Congress substantially declared that all notes of the United States were simply credit obligations, and pledged the public faith to their payment in coin of the then existing standard, i.e., gold coins of the United States, 251% grains, 1% fine, to the dollar, and silver dollar coins, of 412 grains of the same fineness.

Section six of the Act of June 20, 1874, provided "that the amount of United States notes outstanding, and to be used as a part of the circulating medium, shall not exceed the sum of $382,000,000; and that no part thereof shall be held or used as a reserve." This section of law was no doubt intended to legalize the re-issue of United States notes to the amount of $26,000,000 made by the Treasury Department at, or shortly after, the commencement of the severe financial revulsion which occurred in this country in September, 1873, as well as to prevent the withdrawal of the same, or any part thereof, under the provisions of any law existing at that time. The Act of January 14, 1875, authorized, on certain

conditions, the increase of the circulation of National Bank notes without respect to the limit previously existing, and provided that legal-tender notes, to the amount of eighty per centum of the National Bank notes thereafter issued, should be redeemed. This redemption of United States notes was to continue. until the outstanding issue should be reduced to $300,000,000, and then cease.

This last act further declares that on and after the first day of January, 1879, the legal-tender notes which may then be outstanding shall be redeemed in coin. It also clothes the Secretary of the Treasury with certain powers for carrying its various provisions into effect. The retirement and cancellation of United States notes, in accordance with the provisions of this act, has since been gradually going on.

This law is silent as to the disposition to be made of United States notes which may be redeemed in coin on and after January 1, 1879. The notes which have been redeemed up to the present time, under the provisions of this Act, have been canceled; but this has been done under the clearly expressed intention to reduce the outstanding issue to $300,000,000. It is probable that the Secretary of the Treasury would have the right to consider the notes which may be redeemed after January 1, 1879, as available money in the Treasury.

If such a construction of the law is not correct, and these notes are to be canceled, serious embarrassments may result, especially if the amount of National Bank notes which may be in circulation, together with the stock of coin at the term fixed for the redemption of United States notes, should prove to be insufficient for the requirements of the country.

It has been urged, as the United States Supreme Court sustained the legal-tender Act only on the plea of necessity, that the designation by Congress of a date, January 1, 1879, when the notes shall be redeemed in coin, is also, by implication, a declaration that the war necessity has ended, and therefore, after that date, the re-issue of these legal-tender notes by the Government cannot be sustained.

IN

purchase or sale, the fabrication of coins, jewelry and plate, or in exchanges with foreign countries, it is absolutely necessary that some unvarying standard of weight or measure should be adopted for use, and established by law.

In the early days of our Mint, bullion, ingots and coins in bulk, were weighed in pounds, ounces, pennyweights and grains; the pounds being reduced to ounces in entering the account in the Register. Some of these old-style bullion weights of the Mint are still extant. They are bell-shaped, with large handles and screw-plugs for convenience in adjusting. They were made in England and bear various stamps, such as "Royal Mint" with the figure of a crown, "D.C.G." and a crown, etc.; and though without dates they were probably imported at the