Response to Lauderdale's request for an advance of £2,400 to the Edinburgh Mint

<107r>

To the Right Honble the Lords Commers of his Maties Treasury.

May it please yor Lordps

In obedience to your Lordps Order of Reference upon the Memorial of the Rt Honble the Earl of Lauderdale General of his Mats Mint in Scotland for impresting upon account, two thousand four hundred pounds to his Lordp out of the Coynage Duty as due for the service of the said Mint for the two years ending at Christmas last, together with such further summ as yor Lordps shall judge necessary for bearing the charge of coinage I humbly represent that that {sic}in pursuance of the Acts for coinage made or for the Vnionin the 18th and 25th years of Car. II the moneys arising by those Acts in England have always been paid into the Exchequer quarterly & by the Coinage Act made 7mo Annæ the duty was continued & extended to all great Britain & every clause article & sentence in ye said Acts of 18 & 25 Car. II then in force was revived & continued in force & extended to all the duty in Great Britain, & by the Act of Vnion the Mint in Scotland was to be conformable to the Mint in England, & by the Act which passed in the first year of his present Majesty for continuing the former Acts for encouragement of coinage, your Lordps are empoured out of the moneys arising in great Britain by the said Act, to cause so much money to be issued out of the Exchequer to the Master of the Mint in England & to the General of the Mint in Scotland respectively by way of imprest & upon account, as shall be necessary for defraying the expenses of the said Mints; & that all the moneys issued out of the Exchequer to his Maties Mint in England are (pursuant to the Acts 18 of CoinageCar. II) imprest in general words for the use & service of this Mint, so that they may be applied to the charge of coinage as well as to any other charges of the Mint.

The salaries of the Officers of the Mint in Scotland amount only to 980li per ann whereof 50li per an is to cease at the death of the late Clerk of the bullion, & the charge of keeping the Offices in repair & the dwelling houses of the Officers wind & water tite, can be but small; & therefore twelve hundred pounds per ann allowed to that Mint hitherto without including the charge of coinage, is too much. If to the 1{illeg}200li allready in their hands for one year, the summ of 1800li more be added to make up the whole summ 3000li for the three years ending at Christmas last, & the 1800li be imprest for the use & service of that Mint in general, so that it may be applicable to all sorts of charges, & the Account be made up to Christmas last, the Ball{illeg}ance of the Account may be then certified to yor Lordps in order to be considered when the next moneys shall be imprest. And so on from time to time.

And considering that the Indenture of that Mint doth not impower the General to pay any moneys, I am humbly of opinion that there should be a Signe Manual sent to him impowering & <108r> directing him to pay the Salaries & other expences to whom they shall become due by the said Indenture, & to make up his Accounts annually, & directing him & all the Officers in their several stations to take care that the moneys be duly coined, & to observe all the Rules & Precepts set down in the said Indenture (except the alterations made by Parliament,) untill a new Indenture shall be made.

And that there may be no more complaints of the want of moneys to beare the charge of coinage, the said General may have notice to pay those charges in the first place, & let the deficiency (whenever there shall be any) fall upon the Salaries.

All which is most humbly submitted to
Yor Lordps great wisdome

[1]

Isaac Newton.