Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 20.djvu/50

 FORTY-FIFTH CONGRESS. Sess. II. CII. 18,20. 1878. 25 CHAP. 18.-An act making an appropriation for the nrchase of a law-library for Feb.%, iu7s. the use of the courts and the United States officers in the Territory of Wyoming. ——-———-— Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That there be, and is hereby Appmpmltlnmt appropriated,out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the sum of two thousand ave hundred dollars for the purchase of a law·library for the use of the courts and the United States officers Law library for in the Territory of Wyoming, and the further sum of two hundred dol- Wi’°¤*l"S· lars, or so much thereof as may be necessary, for the transportation of said law-library, when purchased, to Cheyenne City, the capital of said Territory, the whole to be expended under the direction of the Attorney- General of the United States. Approved, February 25, 1878. CHAP. 20.-An act to authorize the coinage of the standard silver dollar, and to Feb. 28, 1878. restore its legal-tender character. ·—·——-·—··——· Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That there shall be coined, at Silver dollars to the several mints of the United States, silver dollars of the weight of be coined. four hundred and twelve and a half grains Troy of standard silver, as 183y,cl,_;;, provided in the act of January eighteenth, eighteen hundred thirty-seven, 5 Stat., 136. on which shall be the devices and superscriptions provided by said act; which coins together with all silver dollars heretofore coined by the United States, of like weight and fineness, shall be a legal tender, at Legal tender. their nominal value, for all debts and dues public and private, except where otherwise expressly stipulated in the contract. And the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized and directed to purchase, from time Purchase of bulto time, silver bullion, at the market price thereof, not less than two Uwmillion dollars worth per month, nor more than four million dollars worth per month, and cause the same to be coined monthly, as thst as so purchased, into such dollars; and a sum snfiicient to carry out the iioregoing provision of this act is hereby appropriated out of any money Appropriation. in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated. And any gain or seignior- Seigniora-ge. age arising from this coinage shall be accounted for and paid into the Treasury, as provided under existing laws relative to the subsidiary coinage: Provided, 'Ihat the amount of money at any one time invested Investment in in such silver bullion, exclusive of such resulting coin, shall not exceed b¤“i°¤· _ five million dollars: And provided further, That nothing in this act shall G°m °*}"ml°**°¤· be construed to authorize the payment in silver of certificates of deposit R' S‘·2"4*p' 4L issued under the provisions of section two hundred and fiftyfour of the Revised Statutes. Sec. 2. That immediately after the passage of this act, the President In ¤<>F¤¤ti¤¤¤·l shall invite the governments of the countries composing the Latin °°“f°“’"°°‘ Union, so-called, and of such other European nations as he may deem advisable, to join the United States in a conference to adopt a common ratio between gold and silver, for tho purpose of establishing, internationally, the use of bi-metallic money, and securing fixity of relative value between those metals; such contcrcnce to be held at such place, in Europe or in the United States, at such time within six months, as may be mutually agreed upon by the executives of the governments joining in the same, whenever the governments so invited, or any three of them, shall have signified their willingness to unite in the same. The President shall, by and with the advice and consent of the Sen- Commissioners. ate, appoint three commissioners, who shall attend such conference on behalf of the United States, and shall report the doings thereof to the President, who shall transmit the same to Congress. Said commissioners shall each receive the sum of two thousand five Arrrovfi¤ii¢>¤· hundred dollars and their reasonable expenses, to be approved by the AU_<>W=¤¤<=¤ to Sec1‘ctau‘y of State; and the amount necessary to pay such compensation °°"‘""°‘S‘°"°"‘ and expenses is hereby appropriated out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated.