resources of France is the recent development of her commerce. Since 1855 the foreign commerce of France has been considerably more than doubled. Her mastery of the finer mechanic arts and the perfection to which the processes of manufacture have been carried, are well known the world over. The frugality of her people is only matched by their industry. The whole country teems with productiveness. French fabrics are found in almost endless profusion and variety in all the markets of the globe. It is this constantly growing fertility of production, joined with the causes previously enumerated, which has enabled the French people to bear with such marvellous ease a burden which it was almost universally predicted would crush and overwhelm them. THE LATIN UNION AND THE SILVER QUESTION. From the Paris Correspondence of The Economist, November, 1877. THE time is approaching for the annual meeting of the delegates of the Latin Union, unless the five Powers should conclude among themselves by their diplomatic agents, as on the last occasion, some arrangement to postpone any reopening of the discussion on the silver question. In January, 1876, the delegates fixed the total coinage of silver five-franc pieces for that year at a total sum of 120 millions of francs, in which was, however, comprised a sum of 8,400,000 francs for Greece, in addition to her proportional contingent. During the year the subject lost much of its interest, in France at least, from M. Leon Say's bill, passed in August, 1876, to suspend all coinage of silver for private individuals. As the government alone preserved the right to coin even the sum of silver fixed for France, all speculation in silver ceased. The price of silver having besides recovered, the government apparently thought it unnecessary to assemble the delegates in January last, and a verbal convention was agreed to, that each of the five powers should limit its coinage in 1877 to one half of the sum fixed for 1876. According to that arrangement, the share of each of the powers would be-Switzerland, 3,600,000 fr.; Belgium, 5,400,000 fr.; France, 27,000,000 fr.; Italy, 18,000,000 fr.; Greece, 1,800,000 fr.; together, 55,800,000 fr. In what measure each of the powers has exercised its right of coining silver during the last two years is not known, as no official information has been given since the publication of the report by the Swiss delegates to their government last year. According to that document, the Swiss Government, in 1875, although empowered by the convention to coin to the amount of ten millions in that year, did not exercise the right. France also, since the coinage has become a government monopoly, may have abstained from adding to the already enormous stock of silver in the country, at least so long as M. Leon Say was at the Ministry of Finance; for although he opposed the demonetization of silver, he was not insensible to the inconveniences of the double standard, and is likely to have stopped the further production of legaltender silver coin. The resumption of specie payments in January next-if it takes place-can produce no effect on the market value of silver, so long as the law of August, 1876, suspending the coinage of silver for private individuals, remains unrepealed. The law according to which the Bank of France was to resume specie payments on the 1st of January next, was passed two or three years ago, and the subject has not since been mentioned in the Chambers. The freedom of converting bullion into coin is a necessary corollary to the resumption of specie payments by the Bank of France. With respect to Belgium, I am informed that no silver has been coined in the mint there this year. Italy has probably exercised her right to the full, but it will be found that the total coinage of the countries forming the Latin Union in 1877 has been considerably within the limit of 55,000,000 francs, at which it was fixed. VALUE OF FOREIGN COINS IN UNITED STATES MONEY, AS PROCLAIMED BY THE TREASURY DEPARTMENT, The above table exhibits the values in United States money of account, of the pure gold or silver representing, respectively, the monetary units and standard coins of foreign countries, in compliance with the Act of Congress of March 3, 1873, which provides" that the value of foreign coin, as expressed in the money of account of the United States, shall be that of the pure metal of such coin of standard value," and that "the values of the standard coins in circulation of the various nations of the world shall be estimated annually by the Director of the Mint, and be proclaimed on the first day of January by the Secretary of the Treasury." The estimate of values contained in the above table has been made by the Director of the Mint, and proclaimed in compliance with the above stated provisions of law. COINAGE OF THE UNITED STATES FROM THE ORGANIZATION OF THE MINT TO JUNE 30, 1877. From the Official Report of the Director of the Mint. COINAGE OF THE UNITED STATES-SILVER COINAGE―(Continued). Total... 8,045,828 118,869,540 50 34,774,121 50 16,141,786 30 4,906,946 90 1,281,850 20 NOTE.-Besides the above there were coined Trade-dollars for exportation, under act of February 12, 1873, as follows: 1874, $3,588,900; 1875, $5,697,500; 1876, $6,182,050; 1877, $9,162,900-total, $24,581,350; and of Twenty-cent pieces, under act of March 3, 1875, as follows: 1875, $5,858; 1876, $263,560; 1877, $1,440-total, $270,858. Movers Léporting to China اسلام |