The Treasury Department

The annual report of Secretary Sherman 18 a voluminons paper, and we have only rcom for a brief coudensaüon of the arguments and statements. The Stcrotary eays the total ordinary receipts of the year ending June 30, 1877, were $269,000,686.62 ; expenditures, $238,660,008 93, leaving a surplus reveuuo of $30,340,577.69. Tho net decrease of revenue, as cornpared with last year, was $18,481,425.51. There was an inerease, however, in internal revenue, whisk} and tobáceo. The nrst reoommenaation caiouiaiea w ir est attention is to the effect that Congress glit to supplement, by appropriate legiülaion or joint resolution, the Becretary's owb msurance that the bond will be paia, interest ,nd principal, in gold coin, and not simply in win. The next suggestion ia that he be au.horized to Bell bond either for coin or for it equivalent in United Btates notes, for the reator eonvenience of the general public, eepecially those living at a distance from any place where gold ccin is to te found for sale. ín regard te resumption, the Becretary U positive that no new legislation is rejnired. He virtuaJly pledges himself to make greeubacks worth their face iuside nf thirteen months if left alcne. He does not propoce to retire from circulation the greenbacks, exctpt po much as may be in exceas of Y300,000,COO. He ostimaies tliat O100,000,(00 in gold will b min enongh to koep that much paper money iiju Secretary sets forth the advantages oí the uational-bank system, which we pass by. Upon the subject of savings banks the Becretftry Bftys : xne aueiiuon oí vjnitno wn w t. great valuu to our fellow-citizens of the organizatkm of acmé plan tor the collection, safekeeping and profitable employment of snaaü deposita by the people. How far this can be dono withont trenching upon the proper funeüom of the 8tate Governments íb a queation of diffieully; yet it. U important to tecure, if possible, a gcno.-al syateni throughout the Ijmted States. Thia au hardly be effected by the orgiinizaüon of a multitnde of sftvings banks, depending njjon tho fidelity, integiity and nklll of their cfficer?, bnt the beneficiul object of such banke might be secured by authorizing the deposit of sinall tnms wilh any postal moner-order office in the United States, and the issue of Government certificates, convertible on demand of the holder iuto 4-per-cent. bonds of the United States of such charaoter. descri[ tlon and amount as will enableaiid iuduce prndent peraons to convert their earninga into a public sccurity of stable valué. The money thiis reoeived conld beemployed intheredemptionof outstanding bonds beanng ahigherrate of interest. By some such system it is believed tbat the great body of our public debt, reduced to its smallest possifcle barden, could be distributed among our own peoplo. With a slight mcdification of existing law this beneficial result would be aecure(ï." Several of the subjects disoussed relate to the mere mechanism of tho Treasury Department, or to mattere of comparatively trivial ' importance. The only remaining Bubjsot oí# special interest and vital to the general welfare comes under the head of coins and coiriage. As the law now stands, ailver ooin f .r fractional currency shall be issued to an amount not exceeding $1(1,000,000 for an equal amount of legal-tender notos, and the aggregate of such fractional silver oututanding ahall not exceed 850,000,000. The Secretary mendi the removal ol the resmouon pon the amount of legal tender that may be exchanged for such silver believing that the law of rapply and dcmand oau be üii8ted to regúlate the matter. Trado dollars to the amouut of 30,710. 400 have been coined. In the exereise of his lawfnl diBcretion in the premises, the Secretary of the Treasury has ordered the suspension of the ooinage"of that anomalous piece of money, and in case auother silver dollar is authorized hc auggests that the trade dollar be discontinued. Having disposed of the preliminary matters of coinage, the Secretary enters upou an elabórate discussion of the question of remonetiziDg silver. Upon this subject he says : " The question of the issue of a eilver dollar for circulatioD as money has been mucb. discuísed and carefully exámined by a commiasiou organized bv Congress, which has recoiumendedthe coinage of the old til ver dollar. With auch legialative provisión a will maintain ita eurrent value at par with gold, ita istue is repectfnlly recommended. A gold coin of the denomination of oue dollar is too small for couvonicnt circulation, vohile snch a coin in ailver would be oonveuient for a muiútude of daily transactions, and is in a forra to satisfy the natural instinct of hoarding. "Of the metáis, eilver is of most general use for ooinaje. It is a part of every Hystein of coinage, even in countries where gold is the solé legal standard. It best measures the comtnon wante of life, but, from lts weight and bullí, is not a convenient medium in the larger exchanges f commerce. lts production is reasonably teady in amount. The relative market value of silver and gold is far more atable than tbat of any oiher two commodities - still it does vary. It is not in the power of human law to prevent the variation. This inherent difflculty ïas compelled all nations to adopt ene or the other as che solé standard of vahío, or to anhorize an alternativo standard of either, or to coin both metala at an arbitrary standard, and o maintain one at par with the other by limitng its amount and legal-tender quality, and receiving or rodeeming ir, at par with the other. ' The irnportance of gold as the standard of value is conceded by all. Since 1834 it has hoen practically the söle coin standard of the United States, "and since 1815 has been the sole standard of Great Britain. Germany has rece-uüy adopted the same standard. France and cither Latin nations have (-uspeDded the coinage of silver, and, it H supposed, will ;radually either adopt the solé standard of ;old or provide for the convertibility of eilver cou), on tho demand of the holder, into gold coin. "In the United States, several experiment ïave boen made with the view of retaining th gold aud BÜver in circulatioa. The 8eeoad Congiess nndertook to establish a ratio of iftcen of silver to one of gold, with free coinage of both motáis. By this ratio gold was undervalued, as one onuce of gold was worth more in the markets oí the world than fiftoen ounoes of silver, and gold, therefore, waa exported. To correct this, in 1887, the ratio waa ixed at sixteen to one, but sixteen ouncjs of til ver were worth in the market more than one ouLce of gold, so that silver was demonetized. 'It is nrged that the fi-ee coinage of uilver in the Unitod States wiJl restore its market value to that of gold. Market value in flxed by the world, aud not by the United States alone, and is affected by the wbolo mass of ailver in the world. As the enoruiona aud con;inuous demand for silver in Asia has not prevented the fall in it is not like!y that the limited demand for silver ooin in tiüa country, where paper moiiey is now and will bfl the chief medium of exchaüge, will cause any considerable advauce in its value. This advanee, if any, will te secured by the demand for ailver bullion for coin to be issued by and for the United States, a well as if it were issued for the benefit of the holder of the bullion. If the financial condi tiou of our country is so grevious that we must at every hazard have a eheaper dollar, in order to less'en the bnrden of dc-bts already contracted, it is far letter, rather than to adopt tho single standard of silver, to boldly rednee the number of grains iu the gold dollar, or to abandon and retrace all efforts to maka United Statea notes equal to coin. Either expedient will do greatur harm to the public at large than nny possible benefit to the debtors. " The free ooinage of Bilver will also impair the pledge made of the customs duties, by the aot of Fobruary, 1862, for the payment of the interest of tho public debt. The policy thus far adhered to, of collecting thse duties m gold coin, bas beon the chief cause of upholding and advancing tho public credit, and making it possible to lessen the burden of interest bv the proces of refunding. " " The Secretary believes that all the beneficial results hopêd for f rom a liberal issue of silver coin eau be secured by isnuing this coin, in pursuance of the general policy of the act of 1863, in exchange for United States notes, coined from bullion purchaEed in the open market by the United States, and maintaining it by redemption, or otherwiee, at par wifch gold coin. It could bfi made a legal tender for such suma and on sueh contraéis as would secure to it the most general circulation. It conld be eafily redecmed in United States notes and gold coin, and only reissued when demanded for public conveuience."