Democratic Sentinel, Volume 1, Number 52, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 8 February 1878 — The Bland Silver Bill. [ARTICLE]

The Bland Silver Bill.

We print below the Bland Silver bill as it passed the House, and as amended by the Senate Committee on Finance. The House bill ends with the words printed in brackets. The Senate Committee on Finance struck out the words in brackets and added the words which follow, printed in italics. The reader thus has both bills before him: An Act to authorize the free coinage of the. standard silver dollar, and to restore its legal-tender character. Be it enacted, etc., That there shall be coined, at the several mints of the United States, silver dollars of the weight of grains Troy of standard silver, as provided in the act of Jan. 18, 1837, on which shall be the devices and superscriptions provided by said act: which coins, together pith all silver dollars heretofore coined by the United States of like weight and fineness, shall be a legal tender, at their nominal value, for all debts and dues, public and private, except where otherwise provided'by contract [and any owner of silver bullion may deposit the same at any United States mint or assay office, to be coined into such dollars, for his benefit, upon the same terms and conditions as gold bullion is deposited for coinage under existing laws]. And the {Secretary of the aireasury is authorized and directed, out of any iooney in the treasury not otherwise approprimed, to purchase, from time to time, silver bullion at the market price thereof, ndtless than two Tillion dollars per month, nor more than four million dollars per month, andcause the same to be coined into such dollars. And any gain or seigniorage arising from this coinage shall be accounted for and paid into the treasury, as provided under existing laws relating to the subsidiary coinage; provided, that the amount of money at any one time invested in such silver bullion, exclusive of such resulting coin, shall not exceed five million dollars.