32D CONG.....2D SESS.

a message to him from the President of the United States of importance to his country, as well as your own. On be ing admitted to his presence, you will demand of him the immediate release of all the prisoners taken at Contoy, and without the Spanish jurisdiction. He recognizes no right on the part of the Spanish authorities to try and punish the prisoners taken at Contoy; and he will view their punishinent by the authorities of Cuba as an outrage upon the rights of this country. Without enlarging upon the grounds taken in making the demand through the Consul, of which you are fully informed, the President is satisfied, from the reports which he has received of the evidence taken before Judge Marvin at Key West, as well as from other information, which he deems entirely reliable, that the men taken at Contoy had embarked to go to Chagres; and if any of them had ever designed to invade Cuba, they had repented of that design and abandoned it. Under these circumstances, the President cannot consent that the lives or liberties of citizens of the United States shall be forfeited, or that the question of the truth of the evidence above-mentioned shall be referred to any foreign tribunal.

"The owners of the bark Georgiana and the brig Susan Loud have exhibited to this Department statements to prove the innocence of the captains who chartered those vessels; and you will inform the Governor and Captain General of Cuba that this Government expects those vessels to be returned to their owners, with damages for their capture and detention. Those statements confirm the testimony taken before Judge Marvin of the innocence of the prisoners of any intention to invade Cuba-which testimony has, we learn, been fully communicated to the Governor and Captain General."

I also ask attention to the language of our Minister to Spain. Mr. Barringer to Mr. Clayton, giving an account of Mr. B.'s reply to the Spanish Minister of State, at Madrid, August 7, 1850, says:

I replied, that the Georgiana and Susan Loud were carrying passengers who believed bona fide that they were going to Chagres; that the vessels did not accompany each other, nor was there any proof that they ever had the same original destination; that even if the prisoners taken at Contoy were primarily engaged in the enterprise of Lopez and his comrades, they had abandoned that intention, and were about to return to the United States; that the Government of the United States were in possession of evidence tending to establish this conclusion; that the principle that an intent to commit a crime is not the crime itself, was too palpable to need comment. There must be some overt act, even when such criminal intention existed. There was always a locus penitentiæ; and, in this particular case, if the prisoners were guilty of any offense on the ground of intention, it was certainly not against the laws of Spain, but of the United States, and cognizable alone in their tribunals, which claimed the sole jurisdiction to decide on the competency of the evidence which might be offered to affect their guilt or innocence. But apart from all these considerations, the Government of the United States believed that the American occupants of the Island of Contoy, near the coast of Yucatan, belonging and subject to the jurisdiction and sovereignty of Mexico, a Power on terms of friendship and amity with the United States, and beyond the territory and jurisdiction of Spain, and who were there made prisoners by her direction and command, were not guilty of any offense, under the law of nations, against Spain; and that their seizure on the territory of a third and friendly Power was illegal and in derogation of the rights of the United States: much less did Spain have any right to detain and prosecute American citizens thus captured in her own tribunals, according to her own course of judicial procedure in criminal cases. The United States could not recognize such a right or pretension, and protested in the most firm and solemn manner against ail proceedings and consequences which had or might follow from such unlawful capture, and the investigations had by virtue of it in the Spanish courts. I was instructed by the President to demand of her Majesty's Government, at Madrid, the immediate release of the American citizens thus taken, and now in confinement under Spanish authority; and that, as I had every reason to believe that her Majesty's Government had been fully apprised of the nature and character of this demand, I was also instructed to insist on a prompt reply."

Mr. Barringer, in a communication to Pedro J. Pidal, Spanish Minister of State, dated Legation of the United States in Spain, Madrid, September 19, 1850, made use of the following language:

"The argument of your Excellency, in defense of the resolution of her Majesty's Government, is founded on two cardinal errors repeatedly asserted or insisted on in your communication: Ist. That the Contoy prisoners are pi rates,' according to the law of nations; 2d. That the Island of Contoy is desert,' and not subject to any local jurisdiction, so far as the purposes of this question are concerned. "Piracy, under the law of nations, has a fixed and determinate meaning, and is, in the language of the law, de fined with reasonable certainty.' Many acts may even partake, to some extent, in moral guilt, of a piratical character, which are nevertheless not piracy.

"To plan, to fit out, and send forth from the United States a military expedition against a colony of Spainalthough a most penal and flagitious crime under the laws of the United States, subjecting the offenders to severe punishment if arrested within their jurisdiction, (which extends to the vessels of all their citizens,) and to all the consequences of the violation of Spanish law, if taken within the dominions or jurisdiction of her Majesty-surely is not piracy under the law of nations.

"But to show how a resolute zeal (which I would rather commend than depreciate) to defend, at all hazards, the Island of Cuba against any attempted invasion, might, and did mislead the patriotic officers of her Majesty's Navy, I will suppose, for the sake of argument only, that all originally engaged in this criminal expedition were pirates by

Barque Georgiana, &c.-Mr. Smart.

the law of nations; even then the arrest at Contoy, and the claim of jurisdiction founded upon it, are not authorized by international law. If they were, in fact, pirates, they could only be followed and seized in the territory of another Power on fresh pursuit.'"

Again: Mr. Barringer, writing to the Marquis of Pidal, Minister of State, dated Legation of the United States, Madrid, August 27, 1850, says:

"The Government of the United States cannot recognize the right of Spain to seize American vessels at anchor on the coast, and within the territory and jurisdiction of a Power having friendly relations with the United States; to capture and imprison the men and crew on board of vessels thus situated, and try them in Spanish tribunals, and according to Spanish rules and forms of proceeding, for any supposed violation of the law of nations, much less for that of Spanish municipal law.

"The prisoners whose release is demanded, were all arrested in the month of May last, either on the Island of Contoy or on board of two American vessels, the Georgiana and the Susan Loud, which were seized whilst at anchor at said Island on the coast of Yucatan, which is a portion of her domain and property, and within the jurisdiction of the Mexican Republic, of which the said State of Yucatan is a component part.

"The question of the guilt or innocence of these prisoners as connected with the late hostile expedition of Lopez, to invade the Island of Cuba, does not affect, in the slightest degree, the principles upon which this demand is made.

"Against any such illegal attempt to invade and attack the territory of a friendly Power, the Government of the United States has given too many proofs of its opposition and efficient resistance to render necessary any further as surance of its sincerity and its fidelity to every obligation of duty, or to leave any room for doubt as to its amicable dispositions.

"If these prisoners were guilty of any offense, it is cognizable and punishable by the laws of the United States,

whose provisions are most ample and effectual against all

such criminal enterprises set on foot within their territory or jurisdiction to invade the territory or dominions of any foreign kingdom, State, or colony, with which we are at peace.

"We deny that these men were guilty of any act of invasion or depredation on Spanish territory, or within Spanish jurisdiction. Even if guilty, originally, of an intention to join the frustrated expedition of Lopez and his coadjutors and followers, this was a crime punishable only by and un der the laws of the United States, and could not justify Spain in arresting and prosecuting them under her laws.

"I am instructed to say, that my Government will view the punishment, by the authorities of Cuba, of the prisoners thus taken at Contoy, without the Spanish jurisdiction, as an outrage on the rights of the United States.

"In conclusion, and with a view to prevent misapprehension, I desire to say in reference to the barque Georgiand and the brig Susan Loud, that their owners have exhibited to my Government statements to prove the innocence of the captains who chartered them; and that the Government of the United States expects those vessels to be returned to their owners, with damages for their capture and detention."

It will thus be seen that Mr. Clayton, and Mr. Barringer, our Minister to Spain, took the strongest ground against the legality of the seizure of these vessels and the capture of their crews. Mr. Webster, who afterwards came into the State Department, expressed his entire approbation of the manner in which the claims of indemnity for the capture of the Georgiana and Susan Loud had been maintained by Mr. Barringer. He also pronounced an early acknowledgment of the equity of those claims "an act of sheer justice." Here is what he said, in a letter to Mr. Barringer, dated Department of State, Washington, February 5, 1831:

"I had hoped, ere this, to have been enabled to furnish for your use the necessary materials, with instructions to renew your application to her Catholic Majesty's Government for the early acknowledgment of the equity of these claims an act of sheer justice, which, however, cannot fail to promote the friendly relations of the two countries.

"I feel that it is due to you, in closing this letter, to express my entire approbation of the manner in which these claims have been maintained by you in your correspondence with the Marquis de Pidal. Spain inust be made to understand that the Executive of the United States will not submit to behold an injury done to persons or property under the flag of the Union, without holding to a strict responsibility the Government by whose officers such an injury may have been inflicted."

It will thus be seen how emphatic our Government has been (in language) upon the subject of the seizure and confiscation of these vessels; and yet I regret to say their owners have received not one cent in the way of indemnification.

Our Consul at Havana took the same position maintained by Messrs. Clayton, Webster, and Barringer. I make a few extracts from his correspondence with the Secretary of State:

"CONSULATE OF THE UNITE 31, TASTE,

"HAVANA, May 1850. "One of the vessels captured at Contoy is said to be the American barque Georgiana. By reference to the New Orleans Price-current, I find that the American barque Geor

giana, Benson master, was on the 25th of April regularly cleared by G. W. Breedlove, with a cargo of coal, for Cha

HO. OF REPS,

gres, which proves the sailing of that particular vess have been with the knowledge of the collector of the and that her papers were in due order.

"There may have been justification in this particular » stance for temporary detention of the two vessets, ba, aught I know to the contrary, no overt act had beer. ~ mitted against the Spanish Government by the m those on board the captured vessels; there may have be intention, but that intention may have been repented «'s changed; but if even the intention of overt arts azalt Government were entertained at the time of capture, de not vest a power in this Government to arrest the partie T a foreign country, to be brought to Cuba for trial. trate this it may not be amiss to refer to the case of the 'h d'Enghien (with which your Excellency is fam prove the opinion of the civilized world on a paralle If (so far as appears) offense against any Government been committed by the masters and others on boarget captured vessels, (supposing them to be American waAON ular papers,) the offense has been against the laws and96. ernment of the United States, and to that Governmen!* are they amenable, unless they have in some way visi the laws of Mexico."

Mr. Campbell, in a letter dated 19th June, 1to the Secretary of State, giving an account of :) interview with the Captain General of Cuba, si? "I observed that the President of the United State not admit the right on the part of the Spanish Governs to capture those men; they never having been on Sat territory, could not have committed any act visarım Spanish law. Even admitting them to be guilty, there was against the laws of the United States: they are a ble to those laws, and to no others."

It would seem to be a work of supererogat to add anything to the language of our Gor ment upon the illegality of the whole proceed. of the Spanish authorities in capturing and c fiscating the American vessels at Contoy.

One fact is not disputed. These vessels ner: went into Spanish waters prior to their aer and if they committed any offense, it was in Me ican or American territory. Contoy, the of their capture, it is well known, is an island der the jurisdiction of Mexico.

I take the liberty, then, to quote a single authe ity applicable to this fact:

"It is evident that a State cannot punish an cầm against its municipal laws, committed within the te of another State, unless by its own citizens; nor can rest the persons or property of the supposed offender w that territory. "Wheaton's Law of Nations, pp. lûr.:

Upon what ground, then, could the Spar Government capture these vessels, their officers crews? That they were engaged, it is said. piracy on the high seas. Certainly on no o ground. If they were pirates, they might, I j mit, be lawfully captured on the high seas, ba not within Mexican jurisdiction. But the that they were pirates is, to say the least, wh absurd. "Piracy is the offense of DEPREDATING the seas without being authorized by any s 'ereign State, or with commissions from difer 'sovereigns at war with each other."--(Wheats | Law of Nations, p. 176.)

Now, let the facts in the case of these vesselri examined. Whatever was intended by the office crews, or passengers, as a matter of fact t sailed under regular papers from New Orleans Contoy. They committed no depredations up anybody. The vessels had no armanent to eras them to plunder and rob upon the high seas. E I hazard nothing in saying, that this Governme will never assent to the extraordinary assump that they were pirates.

The Spanish authorities having, then, norg to capture these vessels, I trust the Amerez Government will do its duty, and submit to longer delay in obtaining indemnity for our c zens. In my judgment, our vessels of war sho.. have retaken the Georgiana and Susan Loud out hesitation. And while our Government nounced the detention of these vessel an "outre it should have had sufficient courage to have ge an instant order for their recapture.

That model President, the illustrious Ardes Jackson, would have given the order without he tation. But Mr. Fillmore shrunk from a tenance of the unquestionable convictions of Government, with such demonstration as the convictions would fully justify. He waite without any forcible interposition, for the Spars authorities to convict and pardon several of citizens, who were on board these vessels. ceived as a pardon, what should have been manded as a right, and insisted on, if need be. the cannon's mouth. The property of our citizens amounting to more than thirty thousand dollars, has suffered the Spanish Government to retai

Her

32D CONG.....2D SESS.

and no satisfaction has been made to those who were captured, for their unjust detention. We are all interested in this extraordinary proceeding. Should our Government continue such a foreign policy as it has lately pursued in its intercourse with Spain, we shall soon be liable to insult from every considerable Power of the earth. It is refreshing to know that the time is at hand when it will not pursue such a policy. I by no means justify fillibustering of any kind; but we should not allow an unjust infliction by an unauthorized Power even upon an erring citizen of this Republic. Whatever may be said of the acts or intentions of the men who were captured at Contoy, I repeat, the Spanish Government have convicted and punished them without the shadow of authority. There were aggravating circumstances connected with this transaction of the Spanish Government, not generally known. Our citizens were the victims of suffering and insult, which might have been prevented by a forcible interference of our Government at the time. The following statement of the seizure of the Contoy prisoners by eighteen of their number, will be found interesting:

"The officers of the Spanish vessels of war ordered the captain of the Georgiana and another to be hung; and as regards the captain, they proceeded so far as to place a rope around his neck ready greased, and from twenty to twentyfive pounds of lead to each leg. Why they did not carry their threats into execution we are unable to say, for they had declared to the first two (that had been carried on board, as already related in our statement of the 6th May, rendered on board the steamer Levan) that they should be hung, and also all hands; considering us as pirates, and applying the term as the crime for which they said they intended hanging.

"Having, as stated, changed their mode of procedure as regards the hanging part, they set to work binding each man's arms so tight that it caused many to complain of the stagnation of blood; thus manacled, we were conducted to the third deck of the Pizarro, (viz: the thirteen,) and the thirty-nine were placed in similar situation on board of the brig Habanero. Once secured in this way, their next move was to get under way for Havana, at which place we arrived on the 20th May, and from our custody on the Pizarro we, the Pizarro party, were removed on board the ship-of-theline Soberano, with the exception of one, A. B. Moore. Arriving on board said Soberano, we were placed in line on the top deck; when thus placed, our persons were searched to see if we had concealed weapons; (the same policy had been pursued at the time of seizing us at Contoy, and was here again dastardly repeated.) After having rifled our persons of whatever articles of value found with us, we were ordered, in the most brutal manner, to descend to the third gun deck; and having arrived there, orders were issued to chain or shackle us two by two, i. e., placing a shackle on one leg of each party; there was an iron bar, of eighteen inches long and three inches in circumference, placed in said shackles so as to connect the parties together. Being manacled in this manner, we were placed on the floor and ordered to lie down and keep silence; and to this was added the vigilance of two sentinels. To this may be added the various modes they exercised of tormenting us, such as would be too lengthy to give in detail. We, the party of twelve thus manacled, remained until the 24th in the utmost suspense, not knowing what course they were going to pursue towards us; finally, on this date, we were informed of their intentions of trying us by our affidavits, which were to be given by us, and according to their purport to implicate or clear us of the accusation pending at the time. The plan pursued during the whole of this farce was bombastic-Spanish pomposity, arrogance, and vindictive looks, and threats used from time to time during the examination of the culprit pro tem.; and further to impose on this state of procedure a further mark of ignominy, the prisoner was led manacled by both legs in the presence of his honor the fiscal and his interpreter, who, pretending to be a thorough English scholar, proceeded with his inquiries as dictated by the fiscal, and in his efforts to use the figurative and flowing speech of Señor Fiscal, plunged himself deeper and deeper into a labyrinth that already appeared to them insurmountable. They continued to pursue this course during the investigation of the twelve; and on the arrival of the thirty-nine, from on the brig Habanero, on the said Soberano, pursued further acts of restraining, such as cautioning us not to speak to each other, &c., for if we did we would bring down their ire in such a manner as to cause

Gold Coin in California—Mr. Gwin.

"My feelings have been so harassed and wounded by the melancholy and hopeless condition of Captain Benson,

and the conviction that, with the strongest desires, I have been impotent to save him from so sad and cruel a fate, that I hope I shall be excused by the President should I for a time visit the States, even in advance of permission being received. A few days, however, may lessen the present intensity of feeling; should they not, I shall leave by an early opportunity.

"The trial of the Contoy prisoners is, I suppose, being proceeded with. Captain Benson, of the Georgiana, it is believed, has been removed to a lunatic hospital. I feel a deep interest in his fate, and very much fear that his mind cannot be restored so long as he continues in a situation where he never hears his native language, or sees a familiar face. Should anything occur by which, officially or personally, I can in any manner serve him, the contingency will be immediately availed of."

I shall not be charged with drawing on my own imagination, or with exaggeration in an exhibition of the suffering and insult to which our people were subjected while in custody of the Spanish authorities. I simply refer to the documents I have quoted. They certainly present a picture sufficiently unpleasant to awaken American sensibilities.

Itake this occasion again to express the hope that our Government will demand immediate satisfaction for the confiscation of these vessels, and for the damages sustained by their officers and crews. Should the Spanish Government refuse to make such satisfaction, I have no hesitation in expressing my own opinion as to the course the American Government would have a right to pur

sue.

SENATE.

fore, I am not anxious to reargue the whole subject. But as the receipt of pieces of assayed gold for public dues in that State is a question of considerable importance, and as I had an agency in obtaining the legislation connected with the matter, I shall avail myself of this occasion to give a short history of my action in connection with the currency in California, that it may be correctly understood by my constituents and this body.

Soon after I arrived here as one of the Senators elect from California, among the first subjects that engaged my attention, was that of proposed legislation connected with the staple production of California, to wit, her gold; and inasmuch as I was not so well informed as I wished to be, I consulted the most eminent scientific men in the country, as to the best provisions that could be devised for the benefit of my constituents, concerned in the gold industry, and especially in relation to the coinage of said gold.

I may be permitted to say that I made inquiries of the able and distinguished gentleman who is now at the head of the Coast Survey, as well as of the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, and of a gentleman whom they mentioned as one who had great practical experience and knowledge on the subject of coining. On the 11th of May, 1850, this gentleman favored me with a communication. which I will read :

COLLEGE OF NEW JERSEY, PRINCETON, May 11th, 1850. MY DEAR SIR: In compliance with your request, I have the honor to present the following views in relation to the gold and commerce of California. Of course you may make any use of them you see fit. On the continent of Europe, as you are aware, payments gold, of exactly-determined weight, quality, and value, are in large amount are rarely made in coin. Bars of the purest preferred and used for that purpose.

I have no ulterior objects in expressing that opinion; I want no war for conquest, and no annexation that is not brought about by peaceable negotiation. I would not involve the country in difficulty upon frivolous pretexts with a view that annexation of territory might result. But a positive right, whether the amount in dispute is large or small, should not be surrendered. In this case the amount, though comparatively small, is not small to those who have suffered. I repeat, then, I have no hesitation in expressing my own opinion as to the course this Government would have a right to pursue, if the Spanish authorities do not make immediate satisfaction. I think we should be justified in making reprisals of Spanish property. We should be fully justified in doing this. Whether the Government would do this, it is, of changing its form, or to imitate or alter the assay marks course, not for me to say. Vattel says:

"Reprisals are used between nation and nation, in order to do themselves justice, when they cannnot otherwise obtain it. If a nation has taken possession of what belongs to another, if it refuses to pay a debt, to repair an injury, or to give adequate satisfaction for it, the latter may seize something belonging to the former, and apply it to its own advantage till it obtains payment of what is due, together with interest and damages; or keep it as a pledge till the offending nation has refused ample satisfaction or justice. As soon as that hope disappears, they are confiscated, and then reprisals are accomplished."

I have called the attention of the House and the country to this subject, because my constituents, having applied to this Government more than two years ago, have failed to accomplish anything.

I express the hope now, publicly, which I long ago expressed by letter to the State Department-that our Government will take this matter in hand and obtain indemnity for the men who have suffered, by what has been properly characterized by Mr. Clayton and Mr. Webster, as an outrage upon the property and persons of American citizens.

GOLD COIN IN CALIFORNIA.

is a solitary place of confinement, where the rod and other modes of punishment are recurred to, and from whence the prisoner seldom ever returns to the light of day.”)

To the statement of these individuals I will add that of the American Consul, R. B. Campbell, in a letter to the Secretary of State, dated, Consulate of the United States, Havana, July 16, 1850:

"The captain, two mates, and seven seamen, detained by this Government, have not yet been relieved from incommunication; but permission being granted to Commodore Morris for him and myself to see the prisoners, we first called at the military hopital, at ten and half, a. mn., of this day, to see Captain Benson, who had been placed in the hospital, as was understood, on account of indisposition.

We found him in a room with grated windows, and had the pain and mortification to discover that his intellect was entirely destroyed, and he had become a raving maniac. The madness is manifestly real and not assumed. The acts and words of a madman it would be idle to report, and I therefore pass them unnoticed.

OF CALIFORNIA,

IN THE SENATE, December 29, 1852,

On the occasion of the presentation of several Memorials by Mr. WELLER, signed by Merchants in the city of San Francisco and California, complaining of an act of Congress passed on the 20th of August, 1852.

Mr. GWIN said:

Mr. PRESIDENT: These memorials are old acquaintances of mine. They played a part in the late political campaign in California, and were contrived for the purpose of exciting prejudice in the minds of the people of that State against the members of Congress from that State. I met the issues contained in them, on the stump there, and I have no reason to complain of the result. There

The size of said bars is usually about ten inches in length, three wide, and one-and-a-half thick, value, about $10,000. The color of pure gold, a rich orange yellow, is much more difficult to imitate than that of any of its alloys. This, united with its great density, is a security against counterfeiting. Large bullion and specie transactions, are also generally confined to institutions, and persons whose commercial character is a guarantee against deception and fraud. There is, therefore, reason to believe that the counterfeiting of such bars would rarely occur, especially if it be rendered criminal to mutilate the bar without destroying or entirely

upon it.

In France, bars of refined gold, stamped by an assayer, appointed by authority of law, with their respective weights, qualities, and values, and with the name and seal of said assayer, are a legal tender for their certified values.

During the administration of President Jackson, the French indemnity was paid in such bars. And the Rothschilds frequently send them to their agent, A. Belmont, Esq., in New York, from whom they sometimes go to the United States Mint for coinage.

For international commerce, gold bars are far preferable to coin; being compact and liable to no loss of parts, they are adapted to transportation. As the equivalent valué in the coin of any country is readily deduced, by a little simple ari hmetic, from the weight and fineness of a bar, it is equally suited to all nations-being a sort of universal coin. Besides, bars require no tedious and difficult counting of numerous small pieces, and dispense with the cost and delay of coinage.

England and the United States alone seem to restrict commerce to coin. In 1817, the heavy payments of specie in return for our breadstuffs were made in sovereigns, rated as pounds sterling, though more or less worn, and therefore of variable value. Also, the Smithsonian bequest was paid in sovereigns. These sovereigns were all melted and recoined at the United States Mint; and our own coin is similarly treated when it crosses the Atlantic. Why should commercial nations be thus constantly recoining the money of each other, every time that the precious metals pas to and fro in the settlement of balances of trade, which are but temporary and oscillating?

The gold of California will find its way chiefly to Europe. Had it not better go there, then, in bars of exactly determined value, without the expense and delay of preparatory coinage by the United States, free of charge (as it now is) to the owners, but costly to the nation?

For the inhabitants of Ca ifornia and for their commerce with the Pacific nations, with China, and with the United States, a Mint is, however, indispensable. And it should be established as soon as practicable. At that Mint, it should be optional with any one depositing bullion to have it either coined, or cast into bars, upon which their weight, fineness, and value, and the stamp of the United States should be impressed, all the penalties against counterfeiting being extended to the imitation of such stamped bars of the United States; but this provision not to interfere with the rights of any private or State assayer to manufacture, and stamp bars with his seal and their value, &c.

Of the organization of the California Mint, I could present much of valuable detail, from which I refrain.

To justify public confidence, it should be as perfect as possible, and be intrusted only to men of the highest integrity and skill.

It should, I think, be less dependent upon or controlled by the Philadelphia Miut than the existing branches are; for its greater distance, if so dependent, might produce vex

32D CONG.....2d Sess.

on his return to the Atlantic coast, unless he deposits so many ounces-I believe about seventyas will pay the Mint for parting, and leave five dollars of silver over and above their charges, has his silver filched from him. It would be of no advantage to him, in the belief of the Mint officers, to have any sum less than five dollars in silver coin, yet by these filchings of small sums they augment their contingent fund annually to the amount of thousands of dollars. The rich depositor, who makes large profits from the miners of California, by speculating in their gold dust, and sends his accumulations to the Mint to the extent of thousands or millions of dollars, receives the silver from his bullion; but the humble owner of a few ounces, which he has earned by hard toil and kept by rigid economy, can receive no benefit from the parting process; his silver must go to the contingent fund of the Mint.

The legislation of the country has been in all respects liberal, just, and considerate. According to the existing laws, the depositor is entitled to have his gold coined without charge, and the silver separated therefrom for his benefit, and at cost of materials and labor only. The Mint, however, in the administration of those laws, makes the meanest exactions from him, taking that which he should receive to augment a fund for their expenditure, and avoid the disagreeable and dreaded duty of asking Congress for appropriations.

Lastly: I know, and am prepared to show, that the coin of the United States has been debased; and that the issue of gold coined during one year in one of the Mints, amounting to millions of dollars, was so much debased that it was under serious consideration whether it should not be entirely withdrawn from circulation.

APPENDIX.

MINT OF THE UNITED STATES, Sept. 24, 1850. SIR: Adverting to my letter of yesterday, on the subject of your bill to facilitate commerce by authorizing the manufacture of large rectangular coins or ingots at the Mint of the United States and its branches," and reasserting my approval of the object expressed in that letter, I beg leave to offer some remarks upon its chief provisions.

The shortness of the time debars me from entering into as much detail as would otherwise be proper. Permit me to say, that the third and thirteenth sections are not as free from ambiguity as is desirable in an enactment of law, and that the second, sixth, eighth, twelfth and fifteenth sections contain provisions, which, in my judgment, are not expedient, or are unsuitably parceled out to the officers of the Mint. Without waiting to give my reasons for these criticisms, as being of secondary importance, I come at once to the sections which I believe to be impracticable in their operations.

The second, fourth, seventh, and tenth sections taken together, provide for the casting of coins or ingots of specific denominations and values, from one hundred dollars to ten thousand dollars, (I hope you will excuse me here for pointing out the impropriety of the idea of "casting a coin," which runs through the entire bill: the word ingot is proper and sufficient.) It requires that those ingots shall be adjusted with an accuracy of fineness and weight, får more critical and refined than is required for our coinsnamely, the half thousandth part in fineness, and the two one hundred thousandth part in weight. Lastly, it provides, that those ingots shall be subjected to an impression or coinage on each of their six sides and over the whole surface of them.

The practice of European nations proves that it does facilitate commerce to have large ingots or bars of gold, of an assured weight and fineness. And in respect to the State of California, it is manifestly desirable that her staple product, so far as it is intended for exportation, or for very large dealings, might be legally put into this form, just as the cotton of Louisiana is concentrated into bales; but then how does it become necessary or desirable to adjust them to a round value? Such bars are mainly, almost entirely an international currency, and any stamps or "tracery we would put upon them, at whatever pains or expense, would not save them from being subjected to a fresh weighing, assay, and valuation-our troy ounces would be figured into kilogrammes or marks-our thousandths into carats, and carat grains-our even sum of dollars into pounds, franes or rix dollars, and their fractions; and not only so, but there might be found an irreconcilable variance of ten or twenty dollars in an ingot of ten thousand. We have never been able to take the commercial bars of Europe, any more than their coins, at their face.

The argument from this is, that all that the miner or trader wants is the assurance that his bar will pass in all lands for so many thousand dollars, exact money; but that it pos sesses a definite Mint value, resulting from a known weight and fineness; consequently it is not necessary nor desirable to adjust these bars to any given standard of fineness, nor to a specific weight, nor to a round value; they may be of any weight, any fineness, any value, according as the banker or miner has bullion to be put into that form. As to the stringent limits of weight and fineness stated in the bill, I assure you they are quite unattainable in business operations; and although I will not undertake to say, that to coin the whole surface of a large six-sided ingot would be an impossibility, provided there were an unlimited amount of time and

Gold Coin in California-Mr. Gwin.

money; yet I do not hesitate to pronounce it an impracticable measure, and if practicable, useless. The peculiar exterior aspect of a gold casting, is a better preservative against the arts of cutting and filing, than the most skillful and costly tracery that could be expended upon it. Trusting that you will receive these criticisms in a candid and courteous spirit, in which they are intended, and that the expe rience of the Mint in such a matter would be regarded as important, I now beg leave to offer a substitute to the whole bill. I have only to add, that I have omitted all the penal provisions, except as to the assayer, as entirely unnecessary; and happily so, as it would be next to impossible to prosecute such felonies to conviction. I have also omitted "assay offices," as none have been created by law separate from Mints, and when they are, they will, of course, be made to participate in the duties of this act. Very respectfully, yours,

R. M. PATTERSON, Director. Hon. W. M. GWIN, United States Senate.

A BILL to facilitate commerce, by authorizing the manufacture and issue of large ingots of gold, at the Mint of the United States and its branches.

1. Be it enacted, That it shall be lawful to manufacture ingots of gold at the Mint of the United States and its branches, whenever the same shall be requested by the depositors of gold bullion, which ingots shall be issued to such depositors in payment thereof: Provided, That such ingots shall not be of less value than ten thousand dollars.

2. Be it further enacted, That such ingots, before they are issued, shall be impressed with the words "MINT OF THE UNITED STATES," with the addition of the name of the place of the branch Mint, in case of issue from a branch Mint, with such further stamps as shall indicate the registered number and date, the fineness in thousandths, the weight in troy ounces, and the decimal parts of an ounce, and the net value in dollars and cents. Every such ingot shall also be accompanied with a memorandum from the Treasurer of the Mint, or branch Mint, stating the particulars in respect to the deposit, as is now customary in respect to deposits for coinage.

3. Be it further enacted, That the respective duties to be performed in execution of this act, shall be assigned by the Director of the Mint, to the subordinate officers of the Mint, or branch Mint, with the approbation of the Secretary of the Treasury, in such division and order as is most compat ible with the duties now assigned by law to such officers: Provided, That the only accounting officer in this case shall be the Treasurer.

4. Be it further enacted, That gold bullion deposited for the purpose contemplated in this act, shall be subject to such charges and deductions, and no other, as are imposed by law upon bullion deposited for coinage.

5. Be it further enacted, That to secure a due accuracy and uniformity in the assay of such ingots, it shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Treasury, from time to time, to cause check assays to be made, under the supervision of the Director of the Mint, of samples from ingots which may be received into the Treasury of the United States, and if, in repeated instances, the error is found to exceed two thousandths, said Director shall certify the fact to the Secretary of the Treasury, and the President of the United States, and the assayer in fault, shall thenceforth be disqual ified from exercising that office.

6. Be it further enacted, That all such ingots shall be receivable for debts due to the United States, of every sort, at the Treasury of the United States, or any of its offices or custom-houses, at the net Mint value stamped upon them, and attested by the accompanying memorandum.

VICKSBURG, MISSISSIPPI, October, 1830. SIR: I have received your letter of the 24th ultimo, with the proposed substitute for my bill; and I have considered the criticisms and views they contain in that "candid and courteous spirit” which you invoke for them, and in which I am assured they were intended.

It is evident that, while we agree in the general object of facilitating commerce, we differ, perhaps irreconcilably, as to some of the means most desirable or requisite to prepare the gold bullion of California for that purpose; and that advantages sought by me have been by you overlooked. Under such circumstances, I shall discuss the subject generally, and further criticisms, or suggestions, from you, in reply, will be fairly considered.

You should believe that I have not submitted a bill, upon so important a subject, to the consideration of Congress, without having obtained and availed myself of full information concerning both the commercial and technical facts and provisions embraced in it, even to their more minute details.

The object of your proposed substitute appears to be to introduce, into our country, the crude, imperfect, and limited ingot system of European bankers, designed chiefly for international exchanges-a system which I consider antiquated, and wholly inadequate and inadmissible; and for which I propose to substitute, and by law establish, an improvement, which shall virtually consist in the fabrication of large gold coins, adapted alike to domestic and international payments of considerable amount.

You have justly compared the casting of gold into crude ingots, such as those proposed by you, to the packing of cotton in bales of any weight and quality. But the large coins which I desire to have made, by legislative direction, are analogous to the barrel of flour, of one hundred and ninety-six pounds weight, and of superfine, fine, or other specific denomination; or to the barrel, of two hundred pounds, of mess, prime, or cargo beef or pork; and other uniform packages of staple productions, of definite weight and specific quality, which are most conveniently and commonly bought and sold by tale, or by reason of the faith reposed in the brand of their inspection; which is by the Constitution of the United States left with the States respectively. As gold is the staple production of California, and as the Constitution prohibits coining by the States, it

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is fit and proper that the United States should extend to that State every facility requisite for the definite inspection in weight and quality, and for the stamping of this most val uable commercial article.

Having presented these preliminary considerations which will perhaps serve to indicate the points upon which we differ, I shall comment upon your remarks and criticisms, and the features of your proposed substitute for the bill, with freedom, but with justice and entire frankness.

I did not expect verbal criticisms; but as you have seen fit to question the correctness of the phrase, to cast a coin, I would remark, that the sand dollars of Mexico are castings; and that legally, as well as in fact, a coin is any piece of either of the more precious metals, of adjusted weight and fineness, which by law is made tender of payment for its nominal value in the country to which it belongs. And if ingots be not coins, they can be so made to be by suitable legislative enactments, whether the same be cast, hammered, rolled, or in any other way manufactured.

If you will turn again to the third and thirteenth sections of the bill, and read them more attentively, you will, perhaps, cease to consider them ambiguous. It is a matter of arithmetic to calculate from the gold now required by law to be contained in the eagle, or coin of ten dollars, the quantity which should be in an ingot or coin of one thousand dollars, or of any other given denomination. And there can be no difficulty of ascertaining the meaning of an enactment which authorizes the exchange of small coins for ingots of equal value, and the conversion of such ingots into such coins, at the Mint and its branches, by the recoinage thereof; thus providing a legally authorized means for the redemption of those ingots, and for their recoinage into small pieces suitable for diffused circulation, and for minor commercial and domestic purposes.

With reference to the sections of the bill allotting to the different officers their respective portions of the work required for the fabrication of the large coins or ingots, I am not aware that there is in them anything incompatible with the proper functions of those officers.

*

It is known to me that the bill would add to the judicial responsibility, and slightly to the labor of the assayer, by requiring him to verify the weights as well as the fineness of the ingots, and to certify the same by stamping thereon the said weight and fineness, and a discriminating mark, which shall indicate not only the place of issue, but also, privately, to the Director of the Mint, the individual assayer. Thus the assayer would become the only judicial officer, and might be held, as he should be, to the strictest responsibility. The Treasurer does not appear to be the proper officer to act judicially upon the work of the coiner, as he is required to do by section twenty-six of the act approved January 18, 1837; and it seems to be both fit and expedient that such a transfer of duty from the treasurer to the assayer, as I propose, should be one of the provisions of the bill.

When the above modifications of the bill shall have been made, it will, I think, conform to the present allotments of work in the Mint, based upon the act approved 18th January, 1837, except in the aforesaid transfer of judicial duty from the treasurer to the assayer. And as the said act was framed, and is, as I am informed, in close accordance with the practice of the Mint and your own views, I trust that, when so modified, the distribution of official duties to the respective officers will meet with your approbation. I have endeavored, in preparing the bill, to be guided by the act of January 18th, 1837, as much as possible, consistently with the ends to be attained. And if you can point out any inconsistency, impropriety, or imperfection, in its working features, I should be happy to have you do so, and will make the proper correction or alteration.

In your proposed substitute, you leave the allotment of the work of the respective officers undefined, and subject to the administrative regulation of the Director, approved by the Secretary of the Treasury,-instead of prescribing the same by legislative enactment. To all such arrangements I am utterly opposed, for the reasons: that, when an officer takes an oath faithfully to perform the duties of his office, as prescribed by law, he has the right to know definitely what those duties are; and when his securities give bond, jointly with him, to the United States, they have a similar right to know, precisely, what are the conditions of their bond that when power is delegated, by legislation, to any administrative officer, it is fit and wise that, if practicable, it be explicitly defined: that when discretionary authority is granted loosely, or vaguely, it is apt to lead to negligence or abuse; and even if this should not happen, the most conscientious exercise of such authority by an officer may, if attended with accidental loss or failure, involve him in difficulty and unmerited censure; against which contingency precise legislation alone can protect him: finally, that any want of harmony between officers in their coordinate duties may give rise to embarrassing difficulties, unless said duties shall be fixed by law.

Having presented you my views upon those provisions of the bill which relate to the distribution of the work to the respective officers, and which you treat as of secondary im. portance, I shall now discuss your criticisms and, remarks upon those features which you pronounce to be impracticable and of no utility.

I cannot concur with you in believing it "impracticable, and, if practicable, useless," to cover the six surfaces of a rectangular ingot with impressions and tracery. It may be deemed impracticable by the coiner of a Mint, and that such is the case, if you have spoken as its official head, I do not doubt. But I cannot do to the ingenious and skillful artisans of your city the injustice to believe that it would be impracticable for them to contrive machinery adapted to the purpose, which shall be neither very complex nor very costly. And I am assured, by accomplished mechanicians, that I am correct in believing the art and mechanical skill of our country fully adequate to, and prepared for, the fabrication or coinage of such rectangular ingots or coins, covered with impressions and tracery, with a degree of beauty and perfection far surpassing that of any of the coins hitherto struck in the Mint; and that such work can readily be done in New York, if not in your Mint or city.

32D CONG.....2D SESS.

With reference to the supposed uselessness which you have been pleased to ascribe to the execution of such work, if practicable, for reasons assigned by you, I would remark, that your objections apply as well to the coins of the United States now in use, as to the new and much larger coins which I propose to have created. It is equally true of both, if they find their way, by international commerce, into foreign countries, that they would be expressed in ac counts, or actually converted by recoinage, into such weights, denominations and technical finenesses, as may be customary and legal in said countries. And so long as every nation or government, whether powerful or weak, important or insignificant, shall arbitrarily and capriciously vary, adopt, and fix for its own use and purposes, peculiar standards of weight, measure and value, will commerce have to tolerate, as it now does, in international exchanges and accounts, for all commodities and coins whatever, that complexity and variety of terms which you have adduced, as if it would belong only, and were a valid objection to such large coins as are provided for in the bill-an objec tion which, if it prove what you design, must also prove that all foreign commerce should cease, and which, therefore, is nugatory and absurd. Meanwhile, the SpanishAmerican dollar, wisely adopted by our country, will continue to be, as it has long been, the commercial unit of value of the world. And if the gold of California should take the place, even but in part, of the silver of Spanish America, large coins or ingots of definite denominations, in dollars, will circulate familiarly throughout the length and breadth of our land, and coextensively with our commerce and that of other nations over the globe.

You profess to be unable to see why ingots should not be of any weight, any fineness, any value whatever. Excuse me, then, for asking you why the gold coins at present struck at the Mint, may not also be of any weight, any fineness, any value whatever? Why might not each be only a piece of weighed and assayed, though crude metal,-protected against mutilation only by "the peculiar exterior aspect of a gold casting,"-stamped "with the words, MINT OF THE UNITED STATES," and "such further stamp as shall indicate the registered number and date, the fineness in thousandths, the weight introy ounces, and the decimal parts of an ounce and the net Mint value in dollars and cents," the silver dollar being the standard unit, "accompanied with a memorandum from the treasurer of the Mint, or branch Mint, stating the particulars in respect to the deposit," and unprotected against counterfeiting, either by skillful workmanship or by penal statutes? If the paper memorandum should be lost or destroyed, as all of them sooner or later would be, coins of gold would still be precious metal, and they might be carried back to the Mint, at considerable expense and inconvenience, for reissue of memorandum or refabrication. There would no longer be decimal denominations, or round. sums; and we would possess a coinage system of such -plasticity and generality, that it might be suited to any caprice of circumstance or individual fancy; and their "net Mint values" would also fluctuate with every change in the rates of charges to depositors at the Mint.

With reference to the "unlimited amount of time and money" which you appear to think would be necessary to prevent the "impossibility" of coining the whole surface of a large six sided ingot, permit me say, that you will find it difficult to persuade either myself or others, that any great mechanical trouble or expense is to be apprehended in the execution of such work. You will, I presume, scarcely venture to assert that it will be more costly and laborious to adjust and impress one single coin of ten thousand dollars, than a thousand pieces of ten dollars each, or ten thousand pieces of one dollar each. And, certainly, you have not found it more convenient, expeditious, and economical to convert a large amount of gold into little dollar pieces, than to manufacture the same into double eagles.

Concerning the limits of deviation in fineness and weight which you pronounce to be "quite unattainable in business operations," to wit: the half of a thousandth part in fineness, and two hundred thousandth parts in weight, I certainly cannot be mistaken in the information I have received. I have learned that the alloying and assaying of gold may be, and that it is, performed with almost mathematical exactness: that the gold coins of the British Mint are of the uniform average fineness of 915.5 thousandths, and that at this rate you have been in the habit of receiving them at the Mint, and of paying for them without previously assaying each parcel of them: that the gold coins of France, Italy, and Holland are uniformly of the fineness of eight hundred and ninety-nine thousandths, and so received hitherto by you without assaying each lot: that the average quality of our own gold coins struck at the Philadelphia Mint of late years, scarcely varies appreciably from nise hundred thousandths, the legal standard. Also, that in the coordinate operations of the melting and assaying departments of the Mint, the usual variations from the exact standard do not exceed the limits of 899.8 thousandths, and 900.2 thousandths, within which limits errors of workmanship are ordinarily confined: that the limits of 899.5 thou sandths, and 900.5 thousandths are rarely attained: that the Mint practice is to condemn any ingot as unfit for coinage, of which the deviation from the standard fineness considerably transcends either of these limits. If this be s, and the assayer of the Mint can testify whether it is or not, I can see no reason why the deviation in fineness of two thousandths, which you propose in your substitute for the bill, should ever be allowed by law; on the contrary, I can see strong reasons why it should not be done. A dishonest melter and refiner, through the connivance of a faithless, or the indifference of an incompetent assayer, might avail himself fraudulently of such loose legislation to commit with impunity the crime of embezzlement. It may, perhaps, be that the limits of 899.5 thousandths and 900.5 thousandths are too stringent for any but experienced and the most skillful of ficers. If this be so in the judgment of the chemical officers of the Mint, and you inform me thereof, I will willingly extend the legally allowed deviation, from the half to one thousandth part, so as sufficiently to protect honest though inexperienced Mint officers; but no greater allowance than one thousandth should be made, for the Government has the

Gold Coin in California—Mr. Gwin.

right to command not only fidelity but skill in the performance of such responsible duties.

Of the limits of deviation in weight for the large gold coins or ingots, to wit: two one hundred thousandth parts thereof, permit me to remark, that if it be true that the bal ances and weights constructed for the several States, and for the Miuts of Philadelphia and New Orleans, at the office of Weights and Measures in Washington, under the present able Superintendent, and under the immediate direction of that accomplished machinist who is intrusted with the execution of the work upon them, as well as those made in the Mint at Philadelphia, either formerly under the charge of said machinist, or more recently of that of the coiner, be as perfect as they are said to be, there can be, and is, no difficulty in promptly weighing to its one hundred thousandth part any ingot of gold not exceeding in value the sum of $10,000. Is it not true that upon the balances in the office of the Treasurer of the Mint inore than a thousand ounces of gold have been correctly weighed to the one hundredth of the ounce, the smallest weight used for the purpose, and the half of the one hundred thousandth of the entire load upon the balance? How, then, can it be unattainable to adjust the weight of large ingots within limits twice as wide as those adopted for weighing gold in the ordinary transactions of the Mints at Philadelphia and New Orleans? As, however, such balances and weights, may justly be considered masterpieces of workmanship, and can be properly used only by skillful and careful persons, whose services may not always be readily attainable, as the carelessness of a workman, in the hurry of heavy operations, might unjustly I bring upon the responsible officers disgrace, or even the punishment prescribed by penal statutes, if the legal limits be too stringent, and said officer be not incessantly vigilant, as accidental injury or destruction might befall the balances, and render it necessary temporarily to employ others of inferior character; and as the branch Mints probably are not now and may not hereafter be provided fully with such instruments, it may be expedient or necessary, and I see no great objection, to extend the limit of deviation in weight, to be allowed by law for large gold coins or ingots to the one ten thousandth part. But Mint allowances designed by law properly to protect the working officers, by tasking them to the performance only of possibilities, should not be so loose as to exempt them from the proper exercise of skill and fidelity, or to tempt them, if dishonest, to the perpetration of crime. In avoiding one extreme, it were wise not to pass to the other.

With the above allowed deviations of one half of one thousandth in fineness, and one ten thousandth in weight, the variation in intrinsic value of the ingot of ten thousand dollars, could never differ legally more than six dollars from its nominal value; there never, therefore, would be, as you seem to think probable, a true and "irreconcilable variance of ten or twenty dollars in an ingot of ten thousand" between two determinations made independently, and with equal skill and integrity.

It should be borne in mind, that it is the effect of small unintentional errors of workmanship, occurring as often above as below the legal standards of weight and fineness, to compensate each other, and to render large quantities of coin of different issues strictly in conformity with said standards; and this compensation of errors, existing in fact, may even have been contemplated in previous legislation. In large ingots, or coins, the advantage of great numbers of pieces to compensate errors, is lost; and the skill of the officers should therefore be tasked to the utmost, to secure a just and rigid conformity in their average to the legal standards.

In conclusion, permit me to say of your expressed “trust that the experience of the Mint in such a matter will be regarded as important," that in whatever respect the business transactions, or the metallurgic and mechanical details of the ordinary coining operations of the Mint may have given it experience, it is both just and wise to attach par ticular importance thereto. But in such a matter as this, of coining large ingots, entirely new and untried, commercially and technically, no one can claim experience as the basis of opinions entertained. The present is an age of novelty and improvement, and our country is one of vast, rapid, and unexampled developments and progress. The electric telegraph is giving to thought ubiquity, and the steamship and locomotive are annihilating distances, so that those who aspire to lead, should not only be well acquainted with the past, but alive to the present, and thoughtful of the future. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, W. M. GWIN. To the Director of the United States Mint.

A BILL to facilitate commerce, by authorizing the manufacture or coinage of large rectangular gold coins or ingots of the United States, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That gold bullion brought to the Mint of the United States, or either of its branches, or assay offices, and not intended for ordinary coinage in small pieces, may and shall hereafter be received, for the benefit of the depositor, to be melted, assayed, or refined, and cast into large rectangular coins or ingots of the United States, of the respective values of one hundred, two hundred and fifty, or five hundred dollars, or of the respective values of one, five, or ten thousand dollars each.

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That the standard fineness of the said rectangular gold coins or ingots of the United States shall be such that of one thousand parts by weight, nine hundred and eighty shall be of pure gold, and twenty i parts of alloy, which alloy shall be of copper, or silver and copper mixed in any proportion.

1

SENATE.

tangular gold coins or ingots of the United States S shall be stamped upon one side or face of each of a4 = tangular coins or ingots, the year, weight, and finenes,r. an impression emblematic of liberty, and an insens the word liberty," also some discriminating av designate the particular assayer by whom it was her and the place where it was issued; and upon the otTM-there shall be stamped the denomination or value, wi figure or representation of an eagle, and the inser

United States of America ;" and that the portion erv and every of the six surfaces, or faces, of said rectu, gold coins or ingots, which shall not be unimpresse aforesaid, shall be covered with skillfully-devised tra grooved lines.

SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That all the det shall be used to stamp rectangular gold coins or ingr the United States shall be prepared and registered w engraver of the Mint of the United States.

SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That the retar gold coins or ingots of the United States to be thas prepa shall be assayed by the assayer; and if they prove t within the limits allowed for deviation from the s fineness, he shall return them, with a certificate, » melter and refiner to be delivered to the treasurer.

SEC. 7. And be it further enacted, That every rectam lar gold ingot shall be cpudemned by the assayer of w the fineness differs more than the half of one thous from the legal standard.

SEC. 8. And be it further enacted, That when the my shall have adjusted the weight of the ingots, the assi shall weigh them, and if they prove to be within the.... allowed for deviation from the standard weight, the a--shall stamp each with his discriminating mark, coiner shall deliver them to the treasurer.

SEC. 9. And be it further enacted, That the trea shall deliver to the coiner the gold ingots received fro melter and refiner; and it shall be the duty of the 2 take and stamp or strike upon each of them, the year, w fineness, legend, device, and tracery, with its denone or value in conspicuous characters, before he shall e it to the treasurer. And at the assay offices this 4 stamping or striking upon the rectangular gold ecin z gots their proper years, weights, finenesses, legends, vices, tracery, and values shall be performed by the. and refiner before he shall deliver the same to the ba And in the settlement of the respective accous V melter and refiner and of the coiner with the treasure, th shall each be allowed a credit for such necessary wi gold bullion delivered to them to be manufactured nor tangular gold coins or ingots as shall have actually germ in the operations employed for that purpose: Prom That this allowance shall not exceed one thousand in of the amount of gold bullion so delivered to each officers.

SEC. 10. And be it further enacted, That in adjustiner respective weights of the rectangular gold coins or itge. the United States, no ingot shall differ more than our thousandth part in weight from its legal standard.

SEC. 11. And be it further enacted, That for recta. gold coins or ingots of the United States, the only s of charge to the depositor shall be the following: F fining when the bullion is below standard; for toaster when metals are contained in it which render it be unfit for coinage; and for Separating the gold and when these metals exist together in the bullion: as the rate of these charges shall be fixed, from time t by the director of the Mint and the Secretary of the Tury, and shall be the same as the rate of charge, fen same operations, performed upon bullion deposited a Mint and its branches for coinage into small gold ears. SEC. 12 And be it further enacted, That no charge s hereafter be made to the depositor of gold bullion for used for alloy of gold coins or ingots.

SEC. 13. And be it further enacted, That the Tr of the United States, the Assistant Treasurers of the fir States, the Treasurers of the Mint, its branches, asia offices, and the designated depositories of the Tra inay at any time receive rectangular gold coins oring the United States in exchange for small gold or silver of the United States. And it shall be lawful for the Y of the United States and its branches, to convert rec lar gold coins or ingots of the United States into sma but the same shall be delivered to the melter and ref bullion, by weight and actual assay.

SEC. 14. And be it further enacted, That for ale whatever, rectangular gold coins or ingots of the U States, made in pursuance of the provisions of the a shall be legal tenders of payment, according to the sea value.