266 



FINANCES OF THE UNITED STATES. 



and are receivable at par in all parts of the 

 United States in payment of taxes, excises, pub- 

 lic lands, and all other dues to the United 

 States, except for duties on imports; and also 

 for all salaries and other debts and demands 

 owing by the United States to individuals, cor- 

 porations, and associations within the United 

 States, except interest on the public debt, and 

 in redemption of the national currency. 



No limit is fixed to their issue, and, though 

 they are not a legal tender in payment of debts 

 between parties, they circulate as freely as 

 legal-tender notes. At present their purchas- 

 ing power is the same as that of gold, as they 

 are redeemable in lawful money by the Treas- 

 urer of the United States at Washington, D. 0., 

 or by the respective banks of issue, and lawful 

 money is now at par with gold. There was 

 outstanding of this circulation on January 1, 

 1881, $344,355,203. 



There were also in circulation on January 1, 

 1881, $6,658,880 of gold certificates, issued "un- 

 der the authority contained in section 5 of the 

 act of March 3, 1863 (reproduced in section 

 254 of the Revised Statutes), as follows : 



The Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to re- 

 ceive deposits of gold coin and bullion with the Treas- 

 urer or any assistant-treasurer of the United States, 

 in sums not less than twenty dollars, and to issue cer- 

 tificates therefor, in denominations of not less than 

 twenty dollars each, corresponding with the denomi- 

 nations of the United States notes. The coin and bul- 

 lion deposited for or representing the certificates ot 

 deposit shall be retained in the Treasury for the pay- 

 ment of the same on demand. And certificates rep- 

 resenting coin in the Treasury may be issued in pay- 

 ment of interest on the public debt, which certificates, 

 together with those issued for coin and bullion de- 

 posited, shall not at any time exceed twenty per cen- 

 tum beyond the amount of coin and bullion in the 

 Treasury ; and the certificates for coin and bullion in 

 the Treasury shall be received at par in payment for 

 duties on imports. 



In no case has the amount of these certifi- 

 cates ever exceeded the amount of coin in the 

 Treasury, although authority for the issue of 

 an excess is specifically given. It will be no- 

 ticed that for these certificates the Govern- 

 ment receives only gold, and that gold must be 

 held in the Treasury to meet their redemption. 

 They are not a legal tender, except for pay- 

 ment of interest, and are receivable by the 

 Government only in payment for duties on 

 imports. Since the resumption of specie pay- 

 ments, none of these certificates have been 

 issued, though much demand has existed for 

 them as a circulating medium. 



There were also in circulation at the same 

 time silver certificates in the amount of $45,- 

 582,130. These certificates are issued under 

 authority of the third section of the act of 

 February 28, 1878, which provides as follows : 



That any holder of the coin authorized by this act 

 may deposit the same with the Treasurer or any as- 

 sistant-treasurer of the United States, in sums not less 

 than ten dollars, and receive therefor certificates of not 

 less than ten dollars each, corresponding with the de- 

 nominations of the United States notes. The coin de- 

 posited for or representing the certificates shall be re- 

 tained in the Treasury for the payment of the same on 



demand. Said certificates shall be receivable for cus- 

 toms, taxes, and all public dues, and, when so re- 

 ceived, may be reissued. 



These certificates can not be issued in excess 

 of the amount of the standard silver dollars 

 held for their redemption. During the fall of 

 1880, the demand for an increase of the paper 

 circulation of the country was so great that 

 holders of gold bullion deposited it with the 

 mints for coinage, asking that they might be 

 paid therefor in standard silver dollars, which 

 dollars they immediately converted into cer- 

 tificates. In this way about $30,000,000 of 

 silver certificates were issued, as before re- 

 ferred to, leaving only about 3,000,000 silvqr 

 dollars in the Treasury unrepresented by cer- 

 tificates outstanding. For the present they 

 float at par with gold, and will continue to do 

 so as long as the silver dollars into which they 

 are converted float at their present current val- 

 uation. 



There were also on the 1st of January, 1881, 

 $7,005,000 of certain certificates of deposit 

 known as clearing-house certificates, issued 

 under authority of the act approved June 8, 

 1872, reproduced in the Revised Statutes, as 

 follows : 



SECTION 5,193. The Secretary of the Treasury may 

 receive United States notes on deposit, without interest, 

 from any national banking associations, in sums of not 

 less than ten thousand dollars, and issue certificates 

 therefor in such form as he may prescribe, in denomi- 

 nations of not less than five thousand dollars, and 

 payable on demand in United States notes at the place 

 where the deposits were made. The notes so deposited 

 shall not be counted as part of the lawful-money re- 

 serve of the association ; but the certificates issued 

 therefor may be counted as part of its lawful-money 

 reserve, and may be accepted in the settlement of 

 cl ear ing-ho vise balances at the places where the de- 

 posits therefor were made. 



SEC. 5,194. The power conferred on the Secretary of 

 the Treasury, by the preceding section, shall not be 

 exercised so as to create any expansion or contraction 

 of the currency. And United States notes for which 

 certificates are issued under that section, or other 

 United States notes of like amount, shall be held as 

 special deposits in the Treasury, and used only for the 

 redemption of such certificates. 



It will be seen that no increase of circulation 

 arises from the use of these certificates, and 

 their circulation is not of much importance to 

 the country. 



In addition to these several forms of cur- 

 rency, there are also in circulation a small 

 amount of old demand-notes, one and two years 

 notes, compound-interest notes, and paper frac- 

 tional currency, all of which are redeemable 

 at sight on presentation at the Treasury, and 

 the amount of which is continually growing 

 less; also a small amount of State-bank circu- 

 lation. 



Leaving out all kinds of fractional currency, 

 and the old and State-bank notes which are 

 practically out of circulation, it will be seen 

 that we have legal-tender notes, national-bank 

 notes, gold certificates, silver certificates, and 

 clearing-house certificates, all having different 

 properties, but adding to the paper circulation 



