Mr. Gresham to Baron Saurma.
Washington, May 31, 1894.
Excellency: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your note of the 7th instant, apprising the Department of the recent resolution of the municipal council of Apia, instructing the president thereof to notify the governments concerned of the adoption of the British currency at the rate of 4 shillings to the dollar, thereby excluding [Page 713] the German and American coinage. You say that the Imperial Government intends to instruct its consul at Apia that in Article vi, section 4, of the general act of Berlin, concluded June 14, 1889, it is expressly provided that besides American dollars and cents other coins may circulate in Samoa at their standard value, and inquire whether this Government has received the resolution to which you refer, and, if so, its position respecting the same.
Your note gives the Department the first intimation it has had of the adoption of such a resolution by the municipal council at Apia. This Department has at no time been able to discern any ambiguity in the language of fourth section of Article vi of the general act, whereby “it is understood that ‘dollars’ and ‘cents,’ terms of money used in this act, describe the standard money of the United States of America, or its equivalent in other currencies;” and therefore holds that by the formal engagement of the three powers the money of account in Samoa is based on the United States dollars and cents as units, without prejudice to the circulation of other coinage as currency at its equivalent intrinsic value as compared with the standard units. The arbitrary substitution of either the gold sovereign of England or the 20-mark piece of Germany, with the fictitious value of five United States dollars assigned to it, in excess of its intrinsic value, appears to be a clear departure from the engagement of the general act, and while the terms thereof evidently contemplate the current circulation in Samoa of the gold coin of other countries, such as Great Britain and Germany, it does not admit of the alteration of the standard “dollars” and “cents” units of value which the resolution of the municipal council of Apia, to which you advert, assumes to make.
The U. S. consular representative at Apia will be given copies of this correspondence and instructed in accordance therewith.
Accept, etc.,