THE UNITED STATES SILVER COINAGE.

Te Aroha News, Volume VII, Issue 475, 28 May 1890, Page 2

THE UNITED STATES SILVER COINAGE.

ITS EFFECT UPON SILVER MINING. The news that a comm ttes of the American Congress had reported a bill recommending a minimum coinage of million dollars monthly has a wide-reaching significance t-he importance of which it is impossible to over-estimate'; It means if the bill is carried a complete revolution iit the silver market, a tremendous change in the United States fiscal system, and a still further increase in the most gigantic hoard of wealth ever gathered together. What a country the United S tates must be, which, with nearly L58,d00,000 worth of silver locked up

in its vaults, feels no weight therefrom, and can even bring forward a scheme that might result in this immense store being doubled in the space of a few years. It. will bo remembered that when the last President of the States went out of office he recommended the.repeal of the Silver Currency Bill of 1878, better known as the Bland Act, and silver mines were ready to quake from fear at what might be the result of hia message, hut Mr Cleveland’s party not victorious, and Mr Ilari isou ar/. the silver miners came to the front. It was known then that the repeal proposition was doomed, but there were probably few outside the inner political circles and Wall street who dreamed of an increased currency. The news just to hand must have come like a thunderbolt upon those economists who predicted all sorts of disaster through the locking up of so much silver, but it is quite clear that many American statesmen have no such fears, and there is every reason to believe that the oxtraorilinary demand for tha precious metal that is likely to set in from the eastern countries will gradually absorb the surplus, and so prevent tire ever present fear of a panic that must prevail if many years go by without any signs of diminution in the stocks. At present the United States are working under the Bland Act in respect to silver currency. This Act compels the Treasury to coin not less than E 0.000,000 (face value) worth of silver dollars every year, and it is observable that far from adhering closely to the minimum there has been a tendency to increase the excess silver coinod, notwithstanding the extraordinary rapidity wi'li which tho stocks advanced. This « 1 be seen from the following table : Ye nr ending On hand at close

The Ameiicui Government use their silver by issuing certificates against it, and this issue of certificates now represents nearly the whole of the stock, while about half the issue is usually in circulation. Probably the expansion <>t trade in the States warrants t.he Further issue of certificates, and hence tin* com mittee had less compunction in recommending the increased currency. But under any cirenmstonces the normal quantity of silver in circulation cannot increase except by slow degrees, ami the c. in age of £10,000,000 worth of silver dollars per annum practically means the addition of that amount of coin to the United States Vaults. When it is considered that already the United States coin about a third .of the total world's production of silver, an idea can he gathered of the influence upon the silvtr market which the adoption of thie new scheme must entail. Even supposing the minimum is not exceeded the States will absorb folly half the production without putting the metal into actual use. Thus 1G per cent of the total production or 24 per cent of the present supplies available for general use will be locked up. The Broken Hill mine is the biggest in the world, and yet it only supplies 7 per cent of the total production. It would require three and a half times the quantity of silver that is turned out from Broken Hill to fill the. deficiency in the market that would be caused by the proposed increase in the United States currency. That such an increase must-, have a great effect upon the price there can be no question. Certainly the output of silver is increasing, but so is the demand, and the difference between the two cannot have but a comparatively slight and certainly only a gradual influence on the value. Broken Hill will therefore benefit largely by the passage of such a Bill as that proposed by the Congress committee. A rise of one pennv per ounce would mean an additional annual profit of L 30,000 to the Proprietary mine alone, and at least £IO.OOO to the other mines, but it is quite likely that in thp event of the Bill being carried, silver will rise to 8d or 9d above its present value, and the mines here, will be richer by 1.300,000 annually. In fact the increased coinage would give a great impetus to silver miuinggeuerally, and many low grade ores now unpayable would be made to yield a handsome profit. We shall await with interest the recept : on of the Bill at the hands of Congress, and in the meantime silver miners may congratulate themselves on the fact that at any rate there is no chance of the great Bland Act being repealed for years to come. —Silver Age.

June 30. Coin a ere. of year. 1879 £5,446.000 £5,672,000 1880 5,587,000 9.022,000 1881 5,528.000 12.650.000 1882 5,554,000 17,505.000 1883 5.622,000 22.472,000 1884 5.620,000 27.162.000 1885 5,706.000 33,107,000 1886 5,968,000 30.251.000 1887 6.653.000 42 297,000 1888 6.487.U00 48 776,000 188.) 6.750,000 57,707,000