temporary character, shall not repeal or in any way affect any appropriation, or any provision of a private, local, or temporary character, contained in any of said acts, but the same shall remain in force; and all acts of Congress passed prior to said last named day, no part of which are embraced in said revision, shall not be affected or changed by its enactment.

The repeal above referred to, it will be seen, related back to December 1, 1873. But in the interim to the date of adoption many important amendments had been made to the laws that were revised. Thus the "National Currency Act," or "National Bank Act," was amended by act of June 20, 1874, abolishing the reserve to be held against circulation. This amendment was itself partly repealed by the specie resumption act of January 14, 1875. None of this legislation appears in the Revised Statutes, and these changes only appear in the Statutes at Large in the form of amendments to a law that does not exist in its original form and arrangement of sections.

Unlike the laws in regard to the coinage and in regard to the issue and redemption of United States notes and bonds, there are no questions of general importance in connection with the history of the legis lation in regard to the national banks and to national bank currency.

THE PLAN OF COMPILATION

pursued in the following pages has, therefore, been to divide the monetary laws under three heads, viz.: Coinage, United States Notes and Bonds, and National Banks and Bank Currency,- each of these three divisions being compiled with a different view. Under the

head of Coinage are given only such clauses of the laws as relate to the weight, fineness and legal tender value of United States and foreign coins. Under the head of United States Notes and Bonds are given only such clauses as relate to the character of the obligation on the part of the government as a borrower, and the kind of payment provided for in the redemption of such obligations; all minor points not having any important bearing on these are omitted. But under the head of National Banks and Bank Currency are given all the laws now in force regarding the organization and management of National Banks and the issue and redemption of National Bank Currency. The object, therefore, in the compilation of laws under the last mentioned head has been to embody in their proper places in the Revised Statutes all the amendments passed in the interim between December 1, 1873, and June 20, 1874, and to strike out all that was repealed in the same time, thus making the compilation of laws under the head of National Banks and Bank Currency the same as if the revision of laws had been continued to June 20, 1874, instead of terminating at December 1, 1873.

8

COINAGE.

TELP

\HE following includes all the clauses of all the laws of the United States (and the previous Confederation of States) from 1781 to 1876, as they relate to the Weight, Fineness and Legal-Tender Value of United States and Foreign Coins. This summary is intended as historic of the policy of the government in regard to gold and silver coins and the relative values of the two metals:

Articles of Confederation between the States, adopted March 1, 1781.

§ 1. The United States in Congress assembled shall also have the sole and exclusive right and power of regulating the alloy and value of coin struck by their own authority or by that of the respective States, fixing the standard of weights and measures throughout the United States.

[By act of the Congress of the Confederation passed August 8, 1786, and by the ordinance of October 16, 1786, a silver dollar, containing 375.64 grains of pure silver, was established as the "unit of account," though the Confederation had not established any mint and no such coins as were specified by the act were coined anywhere. The dollar thus established was intended to be the equivalent of 4s. 6d. sterling, but fell short of it by about two per cent.]

The Constitution, adopted September 17, 1787.

The Congress shall have power—

§ 2. To borrow money on the credit of the United States.

§ 3. To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, and fix the standard of weights and measures.

No State shall coin money; emit bills of credit; make anything but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts; pass any ex post facto law, or law impairing the obligation of contracts,

ACTS OF CONGRESS.

Act April 2, 1792.

That the money of account of the United States skall be expressed in dollars or units, dimes or tenths, cents or hundredths, and mills or thousandths, a dime being the tenth part of a dollar, a cent the hundredth part of a dollar, a mill the thousandth part of a dollar, and that all accounts in the public offices and all proceedings in the courts of the United States shall be kept and had in conformity to this regulation.

§ 4. That a mint for the purpose of a national coinage be and the same is established; to be situate and carried on at the seat of government of the United States for the time being.

§ 5. There shall be, from time to time, struck and coined at the said mint, coins of gold, silver and copper, of the following denominations, values and descriptions, viz.: Eagles—each to be of the value of ten dollars or units, and to contain 247 grains of pure or 270 grains of standard gold. Half eagles—each to be of the value of five dollars or units, and to contain 123g grains of pure or 135 grains of standard gold. Quarter eagles-each to be of the value of two dollars and a half dollar, and to contain 613 grains of pure or 67 grains of standard gold. Dollars or units—each to be of the value of a Spanish milled dollar, as the same is now current, and to contain 371 grains of pure or 416 grains of standard silver. Half dollars—each to be of half the value of the dollar or unit, and to contain 18518 grains of pure or 208 grains of standard silver. Quarter dollars each to be of one fourth the value of the dollar or unit, and to contain 9213 grains of pure or 104 grains of standard silver. Dismes -each to be of one tenth the value of a dollar or unit, and to contain 37 grains of pure or 41% grains of standard silver. Half dismes each to be of the value of one twentieth of a dollar, and to contain 18% grains of pure or 20 grains. of standard silver. Cents — each to be of the value of one hundredth part of a dollar, and to contain 11 pennyweights of copper. Half cents — each to be of the value of half a cent, and to contain 5 pennyweights of copper.

§ 6. The proportional value of gold to silver in all coins which shall, by law, be current as money within the United States shall be as fifteen to one, according to quantity in weight of pure gold or pure silver: that is to say, every fifteen pounds weight of pure silver shall be of equal value in all payments with one pound weight of pure

Uor M

gold, and so in proportion as to greater or less quantities of the respective metals.

Act February 9, 1793.

§ 7. At the expiration of three years next ensuing from the time when the coinage of gold and silver, agreeably to the act entitled "An act establishing a mint and regulating the coins of the United States," shall commence at the mint of the United States (which shall be announced by proclamation of the President of the United States), all foreign gold coins and all foreign silver coins, except Spanish milled dollars and parts of such dollars, shall cease to be legal tender as aforesaid. (See § 13.)

§ 8. All foreign gold and silver coins, except Spanish milled dollars and parts of such dollars, which shall be received in payment for moneys due to the United States after the said time when the coining of gold and silver coins shall begin at the mint of the United States, shall, previously to their being issued in circulation, be coined anew, in conformity to the act entitled "An act establishing a mint and regulating the coins of the United States." (See § 19.)

Act March 2, 1799.

§ 9. All foreign coins and currencies shall be estimated at the following rates, viz.: each pound sterling of Great Britain at four dollars and forty-four cents ($4.44); each livre tournois of France at eighteen and a half cents (182); each florin or guilder of the Union Netherlands at forty cents (40); each mark-banco of Hamburg at thirty-three and one-third cents (33%); each rix dollar of Denmark at one hundred (100) cents; each real of plate and each rial of vellon of Spain, the former at ten cents and the latter at five cents each; each milree of Portugal at one dollar and twenty-four cents; each pound sterling of Ireland at four dollars and ten cents; each tale of China at one dollar and forty-eight cents; each pagoda of India at one dollar and ninety-four cents; each rupee of Bengal at fifty-five and one-half cents; and all other denominations of money, as nearly as may be to the said rates or the intrinsic value thereof, compared with money of the United States.

§ 10. All duties and fees to be collected shall be payable in money of the United States, or in foreign gold and silver coins at the following rates, that is to say: the gold coins of Great Britain and Portugal of the standard prior to the year 1792 at the rate of one hundred cents for every twenty-seven grains of the actual weight