CHAPTER LIII.

Revenue Cutters.

1. REVENUE cutters are small sized vessels belonging to the government, and are used for the purpose of aiding revenue officers in the collection of duties on imported goods; or, in other words, to prevent smuggling. These vessels are built and used exclusively for this purpose, and are not reckoned as any part of the navy, though officered and manned much in the same The commissioned officers are appointed by

manner.

the President and Senate.

The duties assigned to revenue cutters are, to sail along the coast and look after ships and other vessels going into any of the ports of the United States; to board them and examine their papers, that is, if going into an American port, and within four leagues of the coast; to examine the manifest of the cargo and every part of the vessel; to put proper fastenings upon the hatches and other communications with the hold; and to place a man or men on board who must remain with her until her arrival into port, when she is delivered over to the charge of the proper custom house officer.

2. The officers of revenue cutters are deemed officers of the customs, and hence are subject to the orders of the Secretary of the Treasury and the collectors and other revenue officers at the ports where employed. But if so directed by the President, in an emergency they may cooperate with the navy; and in such cases if the officers or men are wounded in the discharge of their duties, their names may be placed on the navy

All must give bonds for the faithful performance of their respective duties, upon which they enter under oath. The duties of these different officers may almost be known by the names they bear. The director is the head of the institution, and the others act under his general direction, each having his appropriate duties to perform. In the month of January of each year the director must make a report to the President of the operations of the mint and its branches for the preceding year.

3. Any person may take gold or silver bullion or ores to the mint and receive it back in coin, for a very trifling expense. Before it is coined, after its value has been determined by the assayer, the director will give a certificate for it, which is of the same value as the bullion deposited.

4. We have stated that the principal business at the mint is the conversion of the precious metals into coin or money. But this is not its exclusive business. Another part is to melt and assay these metals, and to run them into ingots or bars either of pure or standard gold and silver, according to the wish of its owner. In our article on the assay office at the city of New York, we have explained this process more fully than we need to do here.

Until 1835 the mint at Philadelphia was the only establishment in the United States for coining money. But in that year a law was passed establishing branch mints at New Orleans, in Louisiana; at Charlotte, in North Carolina; and at Dahlonega, in Georgia. In 1852, another branch was established in California; in

1862, another at Denver, in Colorado Territory; and in 1863, another at Carson City, in Nevada Territory, since made a State; in 1864, another at San Francisco, in California, and another at Dalles City, in Oregon. Except the one in California, but little has ever been done at these branches. Political reasons in some cases had more to do with their establishment than any necessity for them. We need not take time to name these officials or to explain their operations. They are all similar to the principal one at Philadelphia; for the laws relating to that are made to apply to these branches.

6. The Constitution gives Congress the exclusive right to coin money, and prohibits all the States from doing it. This Congress does by the laws it passes in relation to the subject, and the various officers and workmen employed to execute the work are only the agents of Congress.

The various coins which Congress has from time to time ordered to be made are of the following names and value:

7. Our coins are not made of pure gold and pure silver, but of standard gold and silver; that is, gold or silver alloyed or mixed with some baser or less valuable metal. By the law of 1837, standard gold and silver were declared to be nine hundred parts of pure