Holograph drafts of various paragraphs of a memorandum on the Edinburgh Mint

<217r>

The Coynage to payDuty collectd in Scotland & transmitted into the Exchequer at London did amount to about 250 or 300l per ann during the finest three or four years after the Vnion, & if duly collected might have amounted to a much great summs. For the Coyinage duty in England amounts usually to eight or ten thousand pounds per an. But of late years no Coinage Duty (so far as I can learn) has been collected & transmitted from th from Scotland into the Exchequer. Let The Officers of his Mats Mint in Scotland should apply to the Commrs of the Customes in Scotland to take care that this Duty be duly collected in Scotlandthere & sent to the Exchequer in London, [& let all this Duty be applied to {illeg} the Coinage & other Duties charg{illeg}es of that Mint &] so that the whole Coinage Duty {illeg}arising by this Act in both nations may be sufficient for the support of both Mints.

The Coynage Duty is by the Coinage Acts & the Indentures of the Mints, imprest toto both Mints upon Account. And yet no Account has been made up for the monys imprest to the Mint in Scotland during the last twelve years, although the summs imprest amount to about ten thousand pounds or above. And without passing Accounts there can be no coinage without leaving the Mr & Wr to spend as little as he can & put the surplus in his pocket.

There is no certain summ presented by any Act of Parliament to be imprested to yeeither Mint in England for bearing the charge of coinage but all the monies imprest is are here imprest in general terms for the use & service of the Mint without distinguishing how much is for salaries & repairs of building & how much for coinage & The distinction is made only in passing the Accounts. And by the Act of Vnion both Mints ought to be upon the same foot. To appoint a certain annual summ by Act of Parliament The Treasury areis already impowered to impress moneys for ye use & service of that Mint including the charge of coinage{illeg}: {illeg} But to appoint {illeg}appoint a certain annual summ by Act of P. is to put that Mint upon a different foot from ye Mint in England & may end in bringin contrary to the Act of Vnion & may end in bringing the Allowance to an Annuity without Account out of the coinage Duty arising iof England {illeg} alone, to an Annuity without Accountto an Annuity without Account arising out And if this Annuity should arise out of the coinage Duty of England alone, it would be a discourragement of the moneys coinage in England by turning the coinage money into Pensions contrary to the ActTreaty of Vnion. & may {sic}

Vpon the last renuing of Vnionthis Act a clause was inserted into that Actit for makingimpressing the coinage moneys to the General of the Mint in Scotland: wch puts the two Mints upon a different foot contrary to the Act of Vnion & disablesmakes the Master of that Mint from coming& makes him uselessan useless Officer. For if the General pays all the {illeg} charges of coinage & accounts for the same: the people workmen imployed in the coinage become his servants & he becomes Master & Worker. tho he be not called by that nam{illeg}e

There is no certain summ present toby any Act of Parliamt to be imprested to {sic} imprest to either Mint for bearing the either mint for bearing the {sic} charges of coinage but all the moneyes are imprest to the Mint in England in general terms for the use & service of this Mint, & should be imprest in the same general terms to the Mint of Scotland that both Mints may be upon the same foot according to the Act of Vnion. T In the Coinage Acts there is a clause that the salaries & incidenct charges shall not of the in the Mint in England shall not in any one yeare exceed the sum of 3500li: but this related to not to the manner of impressing the moneys but only to the passing of the accounts, vizt that in passing the Account of this Mint there shall not be allowed of above the summ of summ of {sic} 3500li for salaries & incident charges. And byin the coinage Act made 1708 there is an Allowance a clause that the coinage A salaraies {sic} & incident charges of the Mint in Scotland shall not exceed the summ of 1200 pounds: but this (in my opinion) related only to the passing of the Accounts. In it The moneys outght to be impressed to that Mint in general terms for use & service of that Mint, & in passing the Accts the {illeg}salaries & incident outght not to exceed the summ of 1200li in any one year. Otherwise the two mints will not be upon the same foot as they <217v> outght to be by the Act of Vnion. And if a certain summ be annually imprest for salaries & incident charges; alone there is danger that it may end {illeg}an Annuity without Account.

Vpon the last renewing of this Act —— by name that name.

Roges 1{illeg}1 a Cecrope ad Codr Maesteum (198) sex alÿ ad Codrum inclusive (9{illeg}891) quoriam Aphidas regnavit an. 1, Archontes perpetui 13 quorum Alamæon regnavit in 2 (218). Archontes decennales 7 (50) Arcontes annui