Democratic Sentinel, Volume 9, Number 50, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 15 January 1886 — SILVER. [ARTICLE]

SILVER.

Sentimen's of Foreign Govern manfs Upon the Question—Mantoa Marble’s Mission. President Cleveland, m answer to a resolution adopted by the Senate Dec. 9, last week transmitted copies of documents showing the action taken by him to ascertain the sentiments of foreign Governments in regard to the establishment of an international ratio between gold and silver. The correspondence is accompanied by a letter from Secretary Bayard to the President, in which he says in part; “It has been,tho object of this department and its agents, while avowing our readiness to cooperate, not so much to impress our own opinions and wishes upon others as to obtain wellconsidered aud independent views from the most influential, responsible, and competent sources, in order to lay before Congress; First, the actual status of the metallic currencies in the respective European countries ; and, secondly, the intentions and policies of those Governments in relation to the subject, with details of their action up to the present time. It is believed that the accompanying letters from the Ministers of the United Stati s to Great Britain, France, and Germany, respectively, summarize and convey the true condition of opinion and intentions of the Governments and people to whom they have been severally accredited.” The latter then mentions the designation of Mr. Marble as a confidential agent to obtain information upon tho subject, aud says no separate report by My. Marble has been made because the results of his investigations appear fully in the replies of Messrs. Phelps, McLane, and Pendleton. The correspondence opens with a letter from Secretary Bayard to Manton Marble notifying him of his designation to visit Europe upon the mission above indicated. Letters were also addressed to our Ministers at London, Paris, and Berlin notifying them of Mr. Marble’s visit and asking their co-ojieration. A reply was received from Minister .Phelps, under date of London, Oct. 20; 18S5, In which he gives the result of conferences by himself and Mr. Marble with the leading members of her Majesty’s Government, and says : “From these, as well as other sources, I am, satisfied that, the British Government will inflexibly adhere to their past and present poljcy in respect to coinage; that they will not depart from the gold standard now arid so long established : that they will not become a party to any international arrangement or union for tho creation of a bimetallic standard at a common rartio between gold aud silver for the purpose of making both an unlimited legal tender; nor adopt such double standard in Great Britain. On this point both political parties quite concur, and I believe if either were to attempt to introduce such a departure from tho existing money standard it would be driven out of power by the force of public opinion." A reply from Minister McLano, at Paris, dated Oct. 1, 1885, expresses his opinion that: “While France would gladly receive the intelligence that the Unit- d States would adopt the French ratio of fifteen and one-half of silver to one of gold, no consideratii n of future consequences could induce her to adopt tho American ratio of sixteen to one; still loss would she adopt anv higher ratio to assimilate the present corameri ill or market value of silver with the value of gold, nor would she consent at any rate now to permit an unrestricted or even a limited coinage of silver at her mints. The present purpose of her Government and people is to maintain, if possible, the two metals at their present ratio of fifteen and one-half to one, in aonre-tic circulation and international exchange. ” Mr. McLane says the facts obtained naturally suggest the United States, the greatest gold and silver country iu the world, should suspend its silver coinage in order to utilize it, not only for circulation but as part of its Treasury reserve.

Miss Josephine Jenkins, who is rising into notice as a writer forAhe press of Boston, is a niece of the late Nathaniel Parker Willis. About 500 divorce suits were filed in St. Louis during t’«ie year 1885.