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The standards of these florins were fixed, in 1753, by convention between Austria and Bavaria; hence they are known as "convention" florins. Most of the German States adopted the terms of the compact, and a considerable degree of uniformity was thus acquired. They have since, however, been superseded in every State except Austria. Last year the monetary system of Germany was submitted to a conference in Vienna, and a convention was concluded to be submitted to the several States of Germany. The basis is a Zollverein pound of 500 grammes of fine silver, divided as follows, viz., into 30 thalers in the kingdom of Prussia, (with the exception of Hohenzollern,) in the kingdom of Saxony and Hanover, the Electorate of Hesse, the Grand Duchy of Saxony, the Duchies of Saxe-Altenburg, Saxe-Gotha, Brunswick, Oldenburg, and Birkenfeld, Anhalt-Dessau-Coeun, and Anhalt-Bernebourg, the Principality of Schwarzbourg Sonderhausen, and the boundary of the Principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont, the elder and younger branch of Reuss, Schaunburg Lippe, and Lippe.

In the Empire of Austria and the Principality of Lichenstein, the pound of 500 grammes of fine silver is divided into 45 florins.

In the kingdoms of Wurtemberg and Bavaria, the Grand Duchies of Baden and Hesse, the Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen, the Principality of SaxeCoburg, the Prussian countries of Hohenzollern, the Duchy of Nassau, the Principality of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, the Landgrave of HesseHomburg, and the free town of Frankfort, the silver pound is divided into 52 florins. These are to be called "thalers of the union."

The coins are nine-tenths fine silver, one-tenth copper, to be taken everywhere in payment of debts. There is to be coined up to December, 1862, 24 thalers of the union for every 100 souls of the population, and after 1862, 16 thalers per 100 souis every four years. The convention also agreed that the emissions of "billon" ought not to exceed five-sixths of a thaler per head of the population, and places are designated for the exchange of the small pieces. It has also been resolved, in order to facilitate transactions, to coin gold pieces called crowns and half-crowns, at the rate of 100 to the pound, nine-tenths fine, the value of these gold pieces to be determined only by price of the day in relation to silver. Hence, silver remains the standard, and gold the commodity, At the same time, the States will have the right to make gold a tender at a fixed rate for six months or more. This rate is not to exceed the average rate established by the quotation of the Bourse.

By the terms proposed by the convention, Austria was obliged to remodel her monetary system, as the florin was not of the desired weight, and besides this, it circulates in different provinces at different values. By an Imperial decree of the 27th of April, 1858, the new system was

definitively arranged to come into operation after the 31st of October, 1858, after which date the pound of fine silver was to be divided into 45 florins, the florin to be the only Austrian money having currency from the 1st of November, 1858. The 20 kreutzer, or zwanziger, to be abolished. From the 1st of January, 1859, all the books and accounts of administrations placed under the superintendence of the State, must be made up in the Austrian new currency. All the obligations contracted privately before the 1st of November, 1858, and formed upon the basis of any one of the following moneys, which do not come to maturity until after that period, must be regulated in the following proportions, namely, for

100 florins of Convention money, at the rate of 20 fl. in new money..florins 100 florins of Vienna value...

100 florins national value, at the rate of 24 florins.. 100 lires of Austria

100 Polish florins, as valued in the territory of Cracow

...

105

42

87

35

25

The above proportions will be adopted also in reference to the public debts of the State, and at the same period, the same measures will be applicable to all payments made to or by the State, so long as the sums expressed in these payments have not been designated in the new moneys in the tariffs. The payments for which it will have been found convenient to employ foreign silver moneys, must be effected in the new currency after the 1st of November, 1858. With reference to the reimbursement of the loans given in accordance with the Imperial Ordinance of the 7th February, 1856, which shall have been expressed in silver money current in Austria, or generally in specie, they will be calculated after the moneys expressed in the contract, and reduced to the new moneys after the proportions given above, and from the 1st of November, 1858, they will be effected in the same proportion whether in new or old moneys.

In the Lombardo-Venetian Kingdom the same regulations will be adopted, although the ordinance of the 7th February, 1856, has not been applicable. The regulation applied in all payments or transactions by virtue of the patent of the 2d of June, 1848, and of the Imperial ordinance of the 7th of February, 1856, by which the notes of the Bank of Austria are received at par as florin money of Convention, will continue until the new order is established.

With regard to the National Bank notes in circulation established upon the basis of Convention money, they will be received as ready money until they are retired, at the rate of 105 florins of new money for 100 florins of Convention money.

The National Bank will retire its notes of Convention and replace them by notes of the new monetary value in the following manner :—

Notes of 1,000 florins.....
Notes of 100 and 50 florins.
Notes of 10 florins.....

June 30, 1859.
August 31, 1859.
October 31, 1859.

A longer time is given for the retirement of the smaller notes of 1, 2, and 5 florins each; and until they are entirely replaced by new ones, the old ones will be receivable in payment conformably to the terms of the Convention.

The pieces of 1 crown and half-crown coined by the contracting States, will be placed on the same footing with the money of the Union coined in Austria-by this arrangement there will be no agio between them. In

consequence of this law, the interest of the debts of the States contracted in old money will be paid in new money, with an addition of 5 per cent. The National Bank of Austria in order to carry out the principle of cash payments, will be under the necessity of retaining in its coffers, in bullion and specie, an amount equal to one-third of its notes in circulation, which will be received in payment at their nominal value at the State Treasury.

The convention also established that no State can emit paper money as a legal tender, without having in hand the equivalent in silver money. The exceptions to that rule to be abolished before January, 1859. It is a consequence of this regulation that the National Bank of Vienna has been required to resume its payments November 1st, 1858. This bank was founded in 1816 with a capital of 100,000 shares, of which, however, only 50,624 were subscribed. The nominal value is 600 convention florins. The payment was made 1,000 florins paper money with 300 florins silver, 100 florins cash and 200 florins in funded interest. The capital is, therefore, 30,372,800 convention florins. In the course of the year 1854 new payments carried the capital of the bank to 80,000,000 florins. This institution has had always a large circulation-at the end of 1847 it was 218,971,125 florins, and in June, 1848, it was reduced to 181,373,890 florins, when the bank suspended. It speedily expanded again in order to facilitate the loans made to the government, and its circulation, December, 1848, was 222,975,040 florins; January 1st, 1850, 250,477,658 florins. The bank had lent the State 207,000,000 florins by the close of 1849, and the government, in order to revive the credit of the bank, paid over to it funds borrowed and received from Sardinia. The specie of the bank, when it suspended, was 20,022,777 florins, having been reduced from 70,240,569 in six months. After the suspension the specie began again to accumulate, and the condition of the bank, November, 1857, was as follows:

NATIONAL BANK OF AUSTRIA, NOVEMBER, 1857.

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The operation of the bank was to discount at 5 per cent in notes payable in specie, and to require deposits of stock as security for the loans in double the amount; hence the large figure of "deposits on loans." The bank has been required to resume payments November 1 instead of January, 1859. The decree to this effect was published in our December number, but we repeat it here for the sake of compactness:—

IMPERIAL DECREE OF AUGUST 30, 1858, VALID FOR ALL THE AUSTRIAN CROWN LANDS, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE LOMBARDO-VENETIAN KINGDOM.

As a preparatory measure to the complete realization of the Currency Convention of January 24, 1857.* and par icularly of article 22 of the same, I. after having taken the counsel of my ministers, and having heard the opinion of my Council of the Empire, do ordain—

With the German States.

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1. That from November 1, 1858, the privileged Austrian National Bank shall only issue notes of 1,000 florins, 100 florins, and 10 florins in (the new) Austrian currency. The bank, however, is at liberty to make use of such notes before the 1st of November, 1858.

2. The Austrian National Bank is bound, on the demand of possessors, to pay to them at all times the full value of notes in the new Austrian currency.

3. At least one-third of the notes in Austrian currency which may be in circulation must be covered (bedeckt) by means of lawful silver coin or silver ingots, or, under certain circumstances, and with the consent of my Minister of Finances, by gold coin or gold ingots. The remainder (of the notes) must be covered by means of legally discounted bills of exchange, or by stock on which advances have been made.

4. The notes in Austrian currency must not only be accepted at all the public treasuries which privilege is secured to the notes of the National Bank by paragraph 1, of the patent of July, 1841-but every one will be bound to take them at their full nominal value in all cases in which payments are to be made in the Austrian currency.

5. In the same proportion as the Austrian National Bank issues notes in the Austrian currency, it will draw in the notes in conventional currency which are now in circulation. In the mean time these latter are to be accepted in payment, (are to be legal tenders,) agreeably to paragraphs 10 and 13 of my patent of the 27th of April, 1858.

6. It is determined that the 1,000 florins in conventional currency shall be called in and cease to be in circulation by the 30th of June, 1859; the 100 and the 50 florin notes (C. C.) by the 31st of August, 1859, and the 10 florin notes (C. C.) by the 31st of October.

7. The 5, 2, and 1 florin notes in conventional currency are to be reduced to 100,000,000 florins as speedily as possible. The time at which they will be called in, and entirely withdrawn from circulation, will be fixed at a future period. 8. A committee of three bank directors-to be appointed by the Directionand the Imperial Commissary will co-operate, and see that the instructions contained in paragraphs 3, 5, and 7 are strictly observed.

9. At the end of each month the amount of the different notes of the Austrian National Bank which may be in circulation is to be made public, as also the security for them (bedeckung,) of which mention is made in paragraph 3.

BARON VON BRUCK.

FRANCIS JOSEPH MAHERR.

This decree states that the reserve of bullion which is to serve as security for the convertibility of the notes shall be in the proportion of one to three; but there is a great exception to this general rule, inasmuch as it also ordains that notes of five, two, and one florins of the value of 100,000,000 florins should for a time remain in circulation "without being covered (bedeckt) by any metallic reserve." The first financial authorities in Austria are of opinion that 400,000,000 florins in banknotes is not more than is requisite for such an extensive empire; that is, 380,000,000 florins in actual circulation, and 20,000,000 florins in the different public treasuries. The metallic reserve of the bank, including foreign bills, is about 130,000,000 florins, so that, in the proportion of one to three, there is at present security for 390,000,000 florins. As the Minister of Finances was of opinion that 20,000,000 or 30,000,000 florins, in hard cash, might possibly be drawn out of the coffers of the bank during the first three or four months, he considered it advisable to leave the above mentioned 100,000,000 florins "uncovered;" but to this the German States object, because it is not in accordance with the engagements entered into by Austria when she signed the Currency Convention of the 24th January, 1857. Should the presentiment of the minister be fulfilled, and 30,000,000 florins be withdrawn from the bank, there would only be

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legal security for 300,000,000 florins, and consequently the bank would be necessitated to withdraw bank notes to a very large amount from the circulation. The strange conduct of the bank in giving but 102 florins Austrian currency for 100 florins conventional currency bonds tends to increase the prevalent malaise. The excuse made by the bank directors and their friends is, that the notes in Austrian currency are but "merchandise " (waaren) until the 1st of November, and as such may be sold for the highest price that can be obtained for them. Great complaints are made by the South German States, that only 34 new kreutzers are given by the Austrian Bank for old zwanzigers, but the Minister of Finances is justified in refusing to accept coins, the majority of which have been either bored, clipped, or "sweated," at their nominal value. The Currency Conference were given to understand that as soon as the convention came in force the zwanzigers would be treated as merchandise by the Austrian Bank. It may be observed that almost all the zwanzigers and coins of 10 kreutzers, which have circulated in Southern Germany during the last 20 years, were coined by and at the expense of Austria. Zwanzigers to a large amount continually arrive from Southern Germany, from the Danubian Principalities, and from Northern Italy. The new currency is not to the taste of the inhabitants of the Lombardo Venetian Kingdom.

This operation of changing the currency has already produced an active demand for money, but the operation of resumption has worked well during the sixty days from resumption down to latest dates.

The kinds of paper money that have been put afloat in Austria are the remains of the old war paper, 3 per cent treasury notes, about 7,000,000 treasury notes without interest, obligations on receipts from Hungary 5,000,000, making together about 150,000,000 florins.

The paper money afloat in Germany, exclusive of Austria, is as follows:

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If war and paper money have been injurious to Austria, the barbarous commercial policy of her government has been still more disastrous, and it even prevented any recuperation of the State under the industry of her people. The policy of Maria Therese was so bigoted in its nature that, rather than increase her revenues by relieving Sclavonia, Croatia, and Transylvania from the commertial shackles that she laid upon them to "foster home industry," she chose rather to beg money of the churches and pay court to the mistresses of the French king to secure aid in her war. Joseph II. was endowed with such wisdom as manifests itself in the following address to Count Kolowrath :

"In order to bring out indigenous productions, and to curb the useless growth of luxury and fashion, make public my orders concerning the general prohibition of foreign manufactures."

From these orders date prohibition of almost every nature. Among the articles thus protected, to bring out home production," was iron, which was imported only by special permission on payment of $2 50 duty per 123 pounds, or two cents per pound, say $45 per ton-that was at the close of the last century. But iron and native steel are found in such abundance in Styria and Illyria that the ore is merely quarried from rocks

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