TREASURY DEPARTMENT, Office of Comptroller of the Currency, Banks that desire to have coupon bonds converted into registered bonds, in order that the same may be deposited to secure the redemption of the circulating notes, should address a letter to the Secretary of the Treasury, giving a description of the bonds, which they desire to have exchanged for registered bonds, requesting the exchange to be made, and directing that the new bonds be issued to "the Treasurer of the United States, in trust" for the bank to whose credit the deposit is to be made, and also directing where the interest on the bonds shall be made payable, and authorizing the delivery of the bonds to the Comptroller of the Currency, that he may sign the memorandum required by law to be placed on them, and deposit them with the Treasurer. The receipt of the Treasurer for the bonds will be forwarded to the bank as soon as the exchange can be effected, and the deposit with him made. This circular refers only to bonds to be deposited and not to those already on deposit. HUGH MCCULLOCH, Comptroller of the Currency. The state of money affairs in England and on the continent had, at the date of our last number, caused a rise of the minimum rate of the Bank of England to nine per cent. This rate, apparently sufficed to cause a turn in the direction of money investments, and the current of money set rapidly again towards England, inducing a reduction of the rate to eight, and, on the following day, to seven per cent. The rule of action for the bank is to raise the rate of interest when the reserve of notes and coin in the banking departmett falls below one-third of the liabilities, and to reduce it again when the reserve shall have again attained the proportion of one-third. In illustration of this operation, we give the reserve and liabilities at several periods: Thus the successive advance of the rate, from six to seven to eight, did not have the effect, but when the rate reached nine per cent the effect upon investments became apparent; the private deposits had declined, but the reserve of notes and coin had, from a deficit of £510,527 on the requisit reserve, risen to an excess of £735,336; hence the rate was put down to seven per cent. Whe the current of money has started in one direction, perhaps, under the spur of low interest, it is difficult to arrest enterprises all at once, or to check the fulfilment of engagements entered into, or induce those on the continent and elsewhere to withdraw investments from low rates and transfer them to the new rates. Bu when the rates are so advanced as to effect this, however, the current runs in the new direction for some time. The following are the returns of the bank : Date. THE BANK OF ENGLAND RETURNS. Public Circulation. Deposits. Private 9,... 16,... 23,... 80,... Jan. 6, '64 13,... 66 20,. 66 27,. Feb. 3,... 20,801,207 8,629,856 12,981,276 32,622,659 13,008,617 8 20,382,764 9,103,788 13.265,068 32,303,049 13,675,474 7 20,273,799 10,266,546 12,711,637 82,270,286 14,217,067 7 20,686,538 10,841,991 13,021,212 88,488,154 14,362,605 7 21,322,804 10,001,982 18,052,604 33,486,952 14,196,754 7 21,396,420 5,264,097 15,411,794 31,726,575 11,708,597 7 21,445,793 5,689,074 13,879,877 31,445,860 12,974,109 8 20,875,825 6,337,246 13,406,627 31,017,449 13,022,220 8 21,162,626 6,748,867 13,372,981 81,436,334 13,303,243 8 20,708,113 7,254,682 12,882,226 36,923,317 13,472,271 7 20,696,172 7,079,789 13,306,156 31,078,328 13,583,635 7 20,207,871 8,153,601 12,426,673 30,504,827 13,819,412 6 20,840,374 7,893,633 13,541,278 31,980,446 14,034,222 6 20,563,325 8,863,364 12,434,975 31,769,311 13,884,389 6 20,383,112 8,570,711 18,105,800 31,929,164 13,916,943 6 12,480,154 32,112,548 14,499,201 6 12,658,986 33,472,484 14,163,519 6 21,528,914 9,818,880 13,348,299 34,223,509 13,616,762 6 12,... 21,785,597 5,929,922 13,586,029 31,385,305 13,080,300 6 20,... 21,672,783 5,787,329 13,684,069 31,596,179 12.743,302 7 12,567,776 7 27,... 21,484,602 6,217,965 12,620,036 30,961,635 May 4,... 22,045,792 6,981,132 12,278,903 32,070,427 12,454,244 9 11,... 21,478,987 7,299,434 12,901,160 32,239,210 12,705,251 18,... 21,318,352 7,568,661 12,962,402 31,855,696 13,267,416 8 25,... 20,868,047 7,971,003 12,882,042 81,297,181 13,713,943 7 June 1.... 21,246,840 8,286,719 12,493,776 31,329,121 14,052,761 7 The bullion in bank has risen from £12,454,000 May 4, to £14,052,000 June 1, £1,600,000 a £8,000,000 in thirty days. The strength of the bank is not so much in the actual figures as in the direction of the current at that juncture when there was prospects of a further reduction of the rate of interest. The houses of Barring Bros., and Anthony Gibbs & Sons, discounted $10,000,000 for the Bank of Madrid; a portion of this was shipped in specie, and caused some demand for gold, which checked the movement of the bank for the moment, but the rate was soon after put down to six per cent. The following return shows the amount deposited in the savings' banks and post office savings' banks in the United Kingdom, by the Commisioners for the Reduction of the National Debt: Total amount on March 26, 1864, at the credit ofThe Fund for the Banks for Savings... The Post Office Savings' Banks fund.. Total...... Ditto-by last monthly account. £39,088,351 11s 5d 4,315,214 15 8 43,403,596 7 1 43,582,026 16 2 The following returns show the state of the note circulation of the United Kingdom during the four weeks ending April 30, 1864, compared with the pre On comparing the above with the fixed issues of the several banks, the following is the state of the circulation :-The English private banks are below their fixed issue £983,059, the English joint stock banks are below their fixed issue £231,342 -total below fixed issue in England £1,214,401. The Scotch banks are above their fixed issue £1,288,212; the Irish banks are below their fixed issue £702,053. The average stock of bullion held by the Bank of England, in both departments, during the month ending the 27th April was £13,002,060, being a decrease of £1,108,953 as compared with the previous month, and a decrease of £2,230,119 when compared with the same period last year. The following are the amounts of specie held by the Scotch and Irish banks during the month ending the 30th of April --Gold and silver held by the Scotch banks £2,373,390; gold and silver held by the Irish banks £1,869,319; total, £4,242,709; being a decrease of £16,488 as compared with the previous return, and a decrease of £27,474 when compared with the corresponding period last year. The advance in the rate of interest in England early in May, caused, of course; borrowing at a lower rate on the continent for London account, and the Bank of France felt the demand in addition to its own rates, and it put the interest up to eight per cent. The re-action came as speedily, however, and it reduced its rates May 21 to seven per cent, and May 28 to six per cent. Its returns are as follows: The Bank of France is, thenceforth, to make weekly returns, like those of the Bank of England. 725,381,925 156,685,209 6 GOLD BILL.-OFFICIAL COPY. THE following is an official copy of the Gold Bill passed at the first session of the thirty-eighth Congress, and approved June 17, 1864: [PUBLIC--NO. 104.] AN ACT TO PROHIBIT CERTAIN SALES OF GOLD AND FOREIGN EXCHANGE. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That it shall be unlawful to make any contract for the purchase or sale and delivery of any gold coin or bullion to be delivered on any day subsequent to the day of making such contract, or for the payment of any sum, either fixed or contingent, in default of the delivery of any gold coin or bullion, er to make such contract upon any other terms than the actual delivery of such gold coin or bullion, and the payment in full of the agreed price thereof, on the day on which such contract is made, in United States notes or national currency, and not otherwise; or to make any contract for the purchase or sale and delivery of any foreign exchange to be delivered at any time beyond ten days subsequent to the making of such contract; or for the payment of any sum, either fixed or contingent, in default of the delivery of any foreign exchange, or upon any other terms than the actual delivery of such foreign exchange within ten days from the making of such contract, and the immediate payment in full of the agreed price thereof on the day of delivery in United States notes or national currency; or to make any contract whatever for the sale and delivery of any gold coin or bullion of which the person making such contract shall not, at the time of making the same, be in actual possession. And it shall be unlawful to make any loan of money or currency not being in coin to be repaid in coin or bullion, or to make any loan of coin or bullion to be repaid in money or currency other than coin. SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That it shall be further unlawful for any banker, broker, or other person, to make any purchase or sale of any gold coin or bullion, or of any foreign exchange, or any contract for any such purchase or sale, at any other place than the ordinary place of business of either the seller or purchaser, owned or hired and occupied by him individually, or by a partnership of which he is a member. SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That all contracts made in violation of this act shall be absolutely void. SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That any person who shall violate any provisions of this act shall be held guilty of a misdemeanor, and, on conviction thereof be fined in any sum not less than one thousand dollars, nor more than ten thousand dollars, or be imprisoned for a period not less than three months nor longer than one year, or both, at the discretion of the court, and shall likewise be subject to a penalty of one thousand dollars for each offence. SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That the penalties imposed by the fourth section of this act may be recovered in an action at law in any court of record of the United States, or any court of competent jurisdiction, which action may be brought in the name of the United States by any person who will sue for said penalty, one half for the use of the United States, and the other half for the use of the person bringing such action. And the recovery and satisfaction of a judgment in any such action shall be a bar to the imposition of any fine for the same offence in any prosecution instituted subsequent to the recovery of such judgment, but shall not be a bar to the infliction of punishment by imprisonment, as provided by said fourth section. SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That all acts and parts of acts inconsistent with the provisions of this act are hereby repealed. L THE EX-SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY AND HIS SUCCESSOR.... IL THE NEW EMPIRE OF MEXICO. BY A. K. SHEPHARD........ 17 20 III. SANDWICH ISLANDS. No. I.-HONOLULU AND THE PAHRI. BY H. B. A....... 23 IV. CONGRESS AND THE CURRENCY. BY C. H. C......... 30 V. OFFICIAL STATEMENT OF THE PUBLIC DEBT OF THE U. S., JUNE 14, 1864...... 30 VL COMMERCIAL CHRONICLE AND REVIEW..... 88 VIL. THE NEW TARIFF.... 47 JOURNAL OF BANKING, CURRENCY, AND FINANCE. The New National Bank Law, a Great Improvement on the Old Law.. Circulars from the Currency Bureau respecting the Redemption of National Bank Notes, and |