Holograph draft of MINT00131 (Mint 19/1/334-5) with minor variations

<339r>

The Act of 18 Caroli. II, chap v saith that no moneys leviable & payable by this Act shall be applied or {illeg}converted to any use or uses whatsoever other then to the defraying the charge or expence of the Mint or Mints &of [that]of the Assaying, melting down wast & coinage of the Gold & Silver into the said Mint or Mints there to be coyned &c. The first is the charge of supporting a standing mint, the second is the further charge of carrying on the coinage in that Mint. And by the next clause of the Act the first is limited to 3000li per an to prevent extravagance the other left unlimited {illeg}because the coinage is not to be stinted but encouraged. The words are: And it is hereby further enacted, That there shall not be issued out of the Exchequer of the said moneys, in any one year for ye fees & salaries of the Officers of the Mint or Mints & towards the providing maintaining & repairing of the Houses Offices & Buildings & other[standing]necessaries for assaying melting down & coyning above the summ of three thousand pounds sterling money, & the overplus of the said moneys so kept or to be kept as aforesaid shall be employed for & t{illeg}owards the [contingent]expence wast & charge of assaying melting down & coynage & buying in of gold & silver to coyne, & not otherwise. Here the charge of salaries & buildings wth their appurtenances necessary for constituting a Mint (such as are convenient chimneys hearths floors & places for Furnaces & other instruments) are limited to three thousand pounds; & the overplus is for defraying the chargs of arising by the coynage vizt for such as {illeg} are the charge of stationary ware for the Clerks, ballances & weights for the several offices, Furnaces, cuppels, water silver, Aqua fortis & charcoal for the Assay-Office, refining & allay for bringing the silver & gold to standard, Flasks Furnaces melting & wast in the Ass Melting house, Mills Dyes & coining & in other Offices. And in this sense the Act has been constantly understood as may appear by the constant old Accts of the Warden & Master.

For in those Accts the salaries upon the establishment of the Indenture wch amounted to 2600li & there charge of repairs of buildings wch came to two or three & sometimes almost 400li, took up allmost all the three thousand pounds & left no room there remained only 400l for the providing & repairsing of buildings wch usually amounted to two or three hundred & sometimes almost 400li .pr All other charges were deann Whence I gather that from time of making the Act these were recconed the charges of supporting the Mint & all other charges were recconed into ye coinage & incidents.

[About 8 or 9 years ago I ordered an extraordinary salary of ye Wardens second Clerk amounting to 40li per an to be included in the 3000li. This salary is now extinct. Ten pounds hasve been added to ye surveyors salary & 15li taken from the Graver's & ten from ye Smith's. So that the salaries are now 25{illeg}85li per ann.] And 5li more may be hereafter added to ye that of ye Assaymrs Clerk But the salaries of the Clerks are too small.]

In the 4th and 5t year of her M{illeg}ats reign {illeg}an Act passed for enlarging the sum of 35000 to that of 3500li & in the Preamble to the Act are these words: And whereas thae said 3000li has been by experience found not to be sufficient, & the residue of the moneys arising by the said Act Coynage Act is appropriated as in the said Act is mentioned. Be it therefore enacted &c. WHere + < insertion from the left margin > + Here the design of ye. Act is not to charge the 3000 wth other sorts of incidentsaccounts then those wch had been chargedused to be placed upon it, but on the contrary to enlarge it for bearing those sorts of charges for wch {illeg}had been placed upon it & for wch it had been found by experience not sufficient., And the words & particularly for making room for new salaries to ye moneyers. < text from f 339r resumes > the words appr{illeg}opriated as in the said Act is mentioned, were certainly intended not to alter the sense of the former Act {illeg} or to signify any {illeg} other appropriation then what is mentioned, nor in that Act <339v> nor any thing further then that the re{illeg}sidue of the moneys is so farso far restrained from be{illeg} to other services of the Mint to attending the coinage & the incidents sthat it cannot be applied to the payment of salaries & repairs of buildings & other necessaries things necessary to the being of a Mint.

When theis {illeg}Ac{illeg}t was made &c

In the Accounts for the year 1712 the salaries upon the Indenture payable by the Warden amounts unto 1435li, those payable by the Master unto 1080li The Gravers Aprentice 35li. The Smith Assistant to ye Gravers 40li. The Monyers 400. The buildings in ye Wardens Account in one Article 389li 2s, in another 11. 13. 6. Total 3290li. 15. 6. Besides 40li to ye Wardens 2s Clerk now ceased. The charge of furnaces amounting to 64li 13s & those of ye Assay Office & refinin{illeg}g amounting to 129. 19. 8 arise from the coinage & so are not within the {illeg}3500li, & the same in fees at ye Excheqr are deducted from t{illeg}he money before it comes into ye treasury of ye Mint T The Article of incidents in the Wardens Acct composed of several particular Articles hath never yet been recconed wthin ye 3000li or 3500li

There is an Article in ye Indenture of ye Mint wch obliges the Mr to pay unto ye Warden such summ & summs of money as shall be payable by the said Warden unto ye Officers of ye Mint for their salaries & for repairs & such other expences of the Mint as have been heretofore usually paid by the Warden of the Mint for the time being wch Article I conceive is still to be interpreted in ye same sense & under the same limits as formerly & obliges the Master to pay to ye Warden such charges of repairs as wth the usual sallaries doe not do not exceed the summ of 3000li & such further Incidents {illeg}as use to be paid & without recconing them into that summ. And now the limit of 3000li is augmented to 3500li., & 400li are added to ye salaries, the {illeg}master is to pay to the warden the charges of repairs provided they d{illeg}o not together with the {illeg}salaries exceed 30500li also usual incident charges without restraining by that limit.

In the Accounts for ye year 1712 the salaries upon ye Indenture payable by the Warden amount untoare 1435li, those payable by the Master unto re to the Officers 1080li thosate paid to the GrMoneyers & Smith unto 400li, to the Smith 40li, & to ye Graver for an Apprentice 35li. The charges of the buildings in the Wardens account are in one Article 389l 2s in another 11. 13. 6. Total 3290. 15. 6. Besides 40li to the Wardens second Clerk now ceased. T And the Incidents in the Wardens Acct not accruing by the coynage do not exceed 150li. Total 3480. 15. 6.

When this Act was newly made, a salary of 400li per an were added to the moneyers was added & the salaries of the Clerks were intended to be augmented out of ye other 100li, but the some of he buildings being ready to fall. it was thought fit to take care of rebuliding those in the first place. And there ha{illeg}s been since laid out about 900 or 100li upon new buildings besides the ordinary charges of repairs. And the Mills-rooms are ready to fall & will cost siz or {illeg}eight hundred pounds to rebuild them. And while the salaries of the other Officers have been doubled & tripled the Masters salary has not been augmented these 2140 years & but 2180li per an g{illeg}oi{illeg}ng out of it to ye Diet, Clerks of New years gifts at ye Treary, & a Dep{illeg}uty & his house half his {illeg}house is& his house is made {illeg}& {illeg} to him one half of it being taken from him & while the salaries of the other Officers have been doubled & trippled.. And if he should be obliged to keep an Assaymaster the salary of 60li per a{illeg}nn w{illeg}ould not suffice t{illeg}o maintain him &with a servant to atssist him.