Draft of MINT00559 (Mint 19/2/537)

<513r>

By the {illeg}Coinage Act & the Indenture & usage of the Mint The Master of ye Mint & Wr of her Majts receives Gold & Silver only in the mass by weight at ye just value by weight & assay & not other w{illeg} He & may also according to the course of the Mtr to be coined He may also buy bullion of an uncertain value {illeg}but not knowingly to loss, & must account for the profi{illeg}t & loss if there be any. Tis dangerout to But this way of byuying of Bullion is not in use.

TWhen forreign Plate or old & moneys are imported in specie to be coined the Importer either causes them same to be redu melted into Ingots at his own charge before delivery or delivers them to a gGeneral iImporter {illeg}who causes them to be melted into Ingots, & then the Ingots are d{illeg}elivered b w{illeg} to ye Master of the Mint by weight & assay to be coined. Or if Plate or {illeg}old moneys be delivered to the Master by weught alone, he mel when they are to be melted into intoit must be by a {illeg}proper Warrant for this purpose & then he either melts them same into Ingots in the presence of one or more persons appointed in behalf orf her Maty & the Importers to inspectsurvey & controll the meltings, {illeg}& take an account of the wast& keeps an account thereof, or {illeg}else when they are to be melted the Ma{illeg}ster delivers them by weight & assay to one or more persons entrusted to see them melted, & receives them back to the produced Ingots by weight & assay. For the Master alone is not to be trusted with the melting of Plate or Money into Ingots.

When the House of Commons voted an Address to her Maty that to give directions to ye Officers of the Mint to receive Plate & give receipts for the same at the rates noted the Master of the Mint was perplexed thereat as {illeg} to take the Treasury of the Mint out of his hands by authorityhaving for great reasons in the case of {illeg}his fellow Officers the Vigo plate represents it {illeg}opposed the giving of receipts by his fellow Officers nothing more was to be understood by that Address then that her Mat{illeg}y should give directions to the proper Officer or Officers & accordingly prepared a Warrant in his own {illeg} tofor himself himself alone with blanks for the names of his fellow Officers to be inserted by the Lords Commrs of the Treasury if they thought fit. {illeg}But The Warden of the Mint was angry at the in a seing the blanks fell into a passion at the blanks, & said he would not go into ye Lords unless the blanks were first filled up, & thereupon they were{illeg}& desired to have them filled up & the Warden in a {illeg}t that took the Warrant from the Master.

{illeg}When the two million Act was p{illeg}ublished & the Master alone (after a stay of some days {illeg}for {illeg}the joyned wthconcurrence of his fellow Officers) acquainted his Lordp wth the defect of that Act & in a second memorial laid aye state of the Plate before his Lordp, & {illeg} in {illeg}order to a third memorial was informing himself whether 5s per ounce {illeg}woul{illeg}d con{illeg}ten{illeg}t the iImporters still present the Wardthe Parliament {illeg} should meet & told the Warden that he found that it would: content them till the Parliament say: {sic} the Warden opposed it & declared openly openly against it unless the Importers would deliver up their Receipts upon payment of what the silverplate produced & take certificates for the reremainder. above 5s Which the Importers being averse from, the Master {illeg} shalldesisted {illeg} {illeg} delayed his intended memorial till the Warden {illeg}told him that the Officers of the Mint would be summond to attend thise LordpTreasury about this matter., W & then the Master {illeg}stated the case to the Attrorney {sic} {illeg}General {illeg}& brought th{illeg}e Attorneys opinion there{illeg}upo{illeg}n {illeg}to {illeg}his Lordp wth the form of a warrant for paying 5s pr ounce.

When ye Mr Auditor Harley pwas spok was first& Wr was first spoken to a{illeg}bout receiving the {illeg}plate, he represented that he would was willing ready to receive it {illeg} & give receipts for the same it by weight &but yet that it would be proper & that some person or persons shouldmightshould be appointed to carry it from him by weight to the {illeg}melting pot & return back when it was to be melted, & to see it melted & assayed & to return back to him by weight & assay the Ingots produced. & keep an account of the meltings. This was the method of coining the Vigo plate. He spake also of other methods & suspects that he was not well understood.

The Vigo plate was delivered to the Mr & Worker by weight, he kept it 5 or 6 months, delivered it back to the Commrs of Prizes. They by the same wt They carried it to the melting pot {illeg}& delivered it the Ingots produced to the Mr by <513v> weight & assay.