DE PARIEU, Vice-President of the Conseil d’Etat, member, of the Institute, to Samuel B. Ruggles , Vice-President of the Commission of the United States of America to the Universal Exhibition, Paris, May 7, 1867

M. de Parieu, vice-president of the council of state, to Mr. Ruggles

Sir: I have been considering what you did me the honor to mention to me the day before yesterday, namely: your opinion that the United States of America might bring their gold dollar to the shape, weight, and alloyage of our five-franc coin, on the condition on our part that we would coin twenty-five franc pieces which would be current in your public offices, banking institutions and monetary transactions, and considered as five-dollar pieces, while, in return, the American dollars and their multiples would be current at the rate of five francs for the dollar in the public offices of France and its monetary confederates.

I, personally, look upon this combination as being a very happy development of the monetary convention I had the honor to sign, by authority of the Emperor, on the 23d of December, 1865.

If you would have the kindness to shape in writing the propositions you might intend to submit personally in this sense to the government of Washington, I would make use of your letter to induce the action that might be in my power with respect to fixing the opening and the course of the announced international conference.

It might even be possible that I should have the opportunity to mention the matter to the Emperor, whose views I have gathered on this point some two months since, and which were very favorable to an arrangement similar to the one of which you have given me an outline.

In case you should go to America and it should please you to deliver to Mr. McCulloch some of our publications on the subject, I would very gladly hand them to you before your departure.

Accept the assurances of my most distinguished consideration.