..do.. Dollar.. 1.014 Gold: 2 dollars ($2.028). .268 Balboa.. 1.000 .072 Gold.... Libra.. 4.8664 .500 1.080 .515 Gold: 10 and 20 crowns. Gold: 1, 2, 5, 10, and 20 balboas. Gold:, 1, and 2 tomans ($3.409). Gold: 4 and 1 libra. Silver: Sol and Silver peso: 10, 20, and 50 centavos. Gold: 5, 74, 10, and 15 rubles. Silver: 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 50, and 100 copecks. Gold: 25 pesetas. Silver: 5 pesetas. 4.866 Gold: Sovereign (pound sterling). Silver: Dollar and divisions. 1 The sovereign is the standard coin of India, but the rupee ($0.3244}) is the current coin, valued at 15 to the sovereign. 2 Seventy-five centigrams fine gold. a Value in Mexico, $0.498. The current coin of the Straits Settlements is the silver dollar issued on Government account, and which has been given a tentative value of $0.567758§. NOTE. The coins of silver-standard countries are valued by their pure-silver contents at the average market price of silver for the three months preceding the date of this circular. CHANGES IN THE VALUE OF FOREIGN COINS DURING 1910. CHAP. 25.-An Act Prescribing certain provisions and conditions under which bonds and certificates of indebtedness of the United States may be issued, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That any bonds and certificates of indebtedness of the United States hereafter issued shall be payable, principal and interest, in United States gold coin of the present standard of value; and that such bonds may be issued in such denominations as may be prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury. SEC. 2. That any certificates of indebtedness hereafter issued shall be exempt from all taxes or duties of the United States, as well as from taxation in any form by or under State, municipal, or local authority; and that a sum not exceeding one-tenth of one per centum of the amount of any certificates of indebtedness issued is hereby appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to pay the expenses of preparing, advertising, and issuing the same. SEC. 3. That all acts or parts of acts inconsistent with the provisions of this act are hereby repealed. Approved, February 4, 1910. CHAP. 240.-An Act To establish in the Department of the Interior a Bureau of Mines. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That there is hereby established in the Department of the Interior a bureau, to be called the Bureau of Mines, and a director of said bureau, who shall be thoroughly equipped for the duties of said office by technical education and experience and who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and who shall receive a salary of six thousand dollars per annum; and there shall also be in the said bureau such experts and other employees as may from time to time be authorized by Congress. SEC. 2. That it shall be the province and duty of said bureau and its director, under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior, to make diligent investigation of the methods of mining, especially in relation to the safety of miners, and the appliances best adapted to prevent accidents, the possible improvement of conditions under which mining operations are carried on, the treatment of ores and other mineral substances, the use of explosives and electricity, the prevention of accidents, and other inquiries and technologic investigations pertinent to said industries, and from time to time make such public reports of the work, investigations, and information obtained as the Secretary of said department may direct, with the recommendations of such bureau. SEC. 3. That the Secretary of the Interior shall provide the said bureau with furnished offices in the city of Washington, with such books, records, stationery, and appliances, and such assistants, clerks, stenographers, typewriters, and other employees as may be necessary for the proper discharge of the duties imposed by this act upon such bureau, fixing the compensation of such clerks and employees within appropriations made for that purpose. SEC. 4. That the Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized to transfer to the Bureau of Mines from the United States Geological Survey the supervision of the investigations of structural materials and the analyzing and testing of coals, lignites, and other mineral fuel substances and the investigation as to the causes of mine explosions; and the appropriations made for such investigations may be expended under the supervision of the Director of the Bureau of Mines in manner as if the same were so directed in the appropriation acts; and such investigations shall hereafter be within the province of the Bureau of Mines, and shall cease and determine under the organization of the United States Geological Survey; and such experts, employees, property, and equipment as are now employed or used by the Geological Survey in connection with the subjects herewith transferred to the Bureau of Mines are directed to be transferred to said bureau. SEC. 5. That nothing in this act shall be construed as in any way granting to any officer or employee of the Bureau of Mines any right or authority in connection with the inspection or supervision of mines or metallurgical plants in any State. SEC. 6. This act shall take effect and be in force on and after the first day of July, nineteen hundred and ten. Approved, May 16, 1910. MONETARY STATISTICS OF FOREIGN COUNTRIES. The statistics of the production and coinage of the precious metals, imports and exports of gold and silver, amount of bank and Government notes both covered and uncovered of the different foreign countries published annually in the reports of this bureau are obtained directly from the Governments of such countries by the representatives of the United States accredited to them. A copy of the interrogatories covering the points on which information is sought from the Governments of foreign countries is sent yearly to the United States ambassadors and ministers through the Department of State, and the replies, in the form of reports, are forwarded directly to the Bureau of the Mint. The interrogatories sent are as follows: 1. What was the amount of gold and silver coinage by denominations and number of pieces during the calendar year 1909 (new coinage and domestic and foreign recoinage. 2 (a). Was any coinage executed at your mint for other Governments during the year 1909? If so, state character and amount of same. 2 (b). Was any coinage executed at foreign mints for your Government? If so, state character and amount of same. 3. What was the estimated weight of fine gold and silver used in the industrial arts during the calendar year 1909? 4. What was the total import of United States gold coin and what amount was deposited and melted at the mints during the year 1909? 5. What was the weight, expressed in kilograms, fine and the value of the gold and silver produced from the mines of the country during the calendar year 1909? Give the product of the colonies of the country, naming them separately. 6. What, approximately, was the stock of gold and silver coin and bullion in the country on December 31, 1909? Give stock in public treasuries and banks and in circulation, separately. 7. What was the amount of Government and bank notes outstanding at the end of the year 1909, and what amount was not covered by gold coin and bullion and legaltender silver coin held for their redemption? 8. Is gold at premium as compared with the actual currency of the country? If so, what is the actual currency? 9. Were any laws passed during the year 1909 affecting the coinage, currency, or banking? If so, please forward copies of the same. 10. Is there a report published on the operations of the mint? If so, please forward a copy; also, a report of the Department of Mines. 11 (a). What was the import and export of gold during the calendar year 1909; the value of coin, bullion, and ore to be given separately and by countries? 11 (b). What was the import and export of silver during the calendar year 1909; the value of coin, bullion, and ore to be given separately and by countries? 12. Please examine the appended description of the coins of your country, bringing it down to date with corrections? The foregoing report, covering the operations of the mints and assay offices of the United States for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1910, is respectfully submitted. Hon. FRANKLIN MACVEAGH, Secretary of the Treasury. GEO. E. ROBERTS, |