THE MELBOURNE ROYAL MINT.

Globe, Volume I, Issue 76, 28 August 1874, Page 4

THE MELBOURNE ROYAL MINT.

In the House last night, the Government promised to obtain information regarding the working of the Royal Mint, in Melbourne. The following report laid before the Victorian Assembly a few days ago, may be of interest to our readers :

" The direct and immediate action of a Mint in full operation in this country is to maintain the price of gold at one uniform level, and thus to fix the value of the standard by which in British communities all other commercial values are measured. Its indirect action is to sustain, and therefore limit the fluctuation in the rate of exchange between this country and Great Britain ; the effect of which is to sustain the local price of wool and of other exports to England. '■ The only means by which the price of gold can be*maintained at one uniform level is by making the Mint price equal to the highest likely to be offered for it in the market at any time of the year. Under such a tariff (he Mint will purchase all gold as soon the market price falls below the Mint price, and it will compete with the market in purchasing when the market price is at its highest. "The existing regulations for receiving and coining gold are defective, chiefly in that the charges for coining, when estimated in connection with the difficulty attending the transmission to the Mint, are too high, or the Mint price of gold is practically below the market price for a considerable time of the year. It is only when the market price falls that the Mint operates ; at other times it t is practically idle. The result has been that the annual expenditure has exceeded the Mint revenue at the rate of about £IO.OOO per annum. " The obvious remedy is a reduction of the charges for coining, accompanied by facilities for transmission for coinage of small parcels from the principal gold centres. The reduction will be a concession to all classes interested in gold, and the facilities of transmission to those especially who, from their distance from the Mint, are now practically deprived of the use of it. Both concessions will be of advantage to the revenue. " The charges which I would recommend are —Three halfpence an ounce for deposits of 1000 oz and over, three pence an ounce for deposits of less weight. The minimum charge for coining to be 7s. All fine silver in gold which would hav<; a commercial value in England to be allowed for to the depositor at 5s per ounce. " hi respect to the facilities to be granted, it appears to me that it would be an easy matter for the Sub-Treasurers, or other Treasury officers, at Ballarat, Sandhurst, Maryborough, Castlemaine, Creswick, and other gold centres that may from time to time be brought into communication with Melbourne by railway, to receive sealed parcels without responsibility as to their contents, and to give an acknowledgment for weight of each parcel recived. These might be placed iu iron boxes, secured by keys of which the duplicates should be at the Mint. The boxes could be conveyed to Melbourne iu a large iron safe fitted in a railway van. The safe could be secured by a key iu the possession of a responsible officer of the Railway Department, a duplicate key being kept at the railway terminus at Melbourne. An officer of the Mint would receive these boxes at the terminus, and they would be opened at the Mint. The proceeds of these parcels could be paid into the Treasury at Melbourne to the credit of the respective sub-trea-surers, who could be instructed to pay the consignors.

" These facilities can be offered by the Railway Department to the gold producer on terras of mutual advantage, estimated solely in respect of their commercial relations to each other. The quantity of gold exported by the banks from this country during the twelve months ending 30th June, 1874. exceeds one million ounces. Most of this is conveyed to Melbourne by railway, for which the department receives £I2OO per annum, and a railway fare for the bank official who may accompany it. Little or nothing is received by the Railway Department for the conveyance of other gold, and it is probable that the total receipts on account of gold do not exceed £ISOO per annum, or less than one half-penny for every ounce conveyed by railway.

"It appears to me that every gold producer is entitled to the facilities which are afforded to the banks, and, moreover, that it would be financially advantageous to the railway department to convey all gold at the same charge. However, the charge to the public might be fixed at one penny an ounce, to be collected at the Mint, of which one-half-might be paid to the credit of the railway department, and the other to the credit of the Treasury for the interest on the outlay in iron safes, boxes, etc., necessary to carry out the proposal. A charge of i per cent of the value might be made when proceeds of gold are returned to the consignors."