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Show Pn i iad ei. I li i a Mint. While investigation.? inves-tigation.? by congressional committees of several departments of the government govern-ment is in order, the New York Sun calls attention in a long article t official of-ficial malfeasance in connection with the mint at Philadelphia. The Sun's report fails in proving any positive rascality upon the part of the officers of this institution, but it mate some curious statements with reference to the conduct of the chief coiner, statements state-ments that reflect seriouily upon the moral if not the statutory dishonesty of that olheinf. As is well known there is at this mint a large collection of old, curious and antique coins and medals, and we are periodically informed by tho newspapers of sales of this kind of .reifra to numismatic monomaniacs at high prices. It seems from the statement state-ment published in the Sun that the oliief coiner has been engaged in the profitable occupation of duplicating the.se old coins and medals, the former especially, and the only object of doing so is to supply the demands of the curiosity hunters. Admitting the truth of tho charge, tho coiner could hardly ! be held amenable to a charge of coun-I coun-I terfeiting, as the duplicates are probably prob-ably as intrinsically valuablo as the originals. lie would possibly be liable to a prosecution for obtaining money under false pretences, but if convicted upon such a charge, in fixing his sentence, sen-tence, he ought to be credited with au offset to the penally, by the considers-1 tion that his offenso helps to cure a foolish curiosity. ! |