Another holograph memorandum attacking Oadham as a projector

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pag 101. Nat centro O, intervallo OA describatur semicirculus AQB rectæ LP so opus est productæ iccureus in Q, jungantur SQ, OQ, quarum OQ producta occurrat arcui EFG in F, et in candem OQ demittatur per pendiculum SR. Iam area APS est ut area AQS, id est, ut differentia inter sectorem OQA et triangulum OQS, sive ut differentia rectangulorum $\frac{\mathrm{1}}{\mathrm{2}}$OQ, × AQ et $\frac{\mathrm{1}}{\mathrm{2}}$OQ × SR, hoc est, ob datam $\frac{\mathrm{1}}{\mathrm{2}}$OQ, ut differentia inter arcum AQ et rectam SR, adio (ob a qualitatem datarum rationum SR ad sinum areus AQ OS ad OA, OA ad OG, AQ ad GF, et divisim AQ − SR ad GF − sin. arc. AQ) ut GR − sin. arc. AQ.

AQ, $\frac{\mathrm{1}}{\mathrm{2}}$OQ − St, $\frac{\mathrm{1}}{\mathrm{2}}$OQ = ▯AQS = temp = ∠st= AQ − St.

qx = ST. qT.qO :: zx. A=qr=

Rad − sin SOT − $\frac{\mathrm{1}}{\mathrm{2}}$qr × $\frac{\mathrm{SO}}{\mathrm{R}}$.R :: zx. qr accuratius.

R − $\frac{\mathrm{SO}}{\mathrm{R}}$×cosin qA − $\frac{\mathrm{1}}{\mathrm{2}}$qr. R :: zx . qr.

$\frac{{\mathrm{R}}^2}{\mathrm{SO}}$ − cosin qA − $\frac{\mathrm{1}}{\mathrm{2}}$qr . $\frac{{\mathrm{R}}^2}{\mathrm{SO}}$ :: zx . qr.

R. cs: O :: SO.OT.     R.sin: 0 :: SO.ST=qx

qz − qx = zx. // qr.zx :: $\frac{{\mathrm{R}}^2}{\mathrm{SO}}$ . $\frac{{\mathrm{R}}^2}{\mathrm{SO}}$ − cosin qA − $\frac{\mathrm{1}}{\mathrm{2}}$qr.

The Memorialist represents that the Act of 2 Hen. VI
12 which saith that the Assaymaster ought to be a person indifferent between the Master of the Mint & the Merchant, is in Oadhams favour & yet at the same time Oadhams Acts like a person very much set against the Officers of the Mint, & the Officers of the Mint under whom he is to act have no opinion of him.

1. The Memorialist saith that the Queens Assaymaster is a cheque upon the Officers of the Mint, not knowing that on the contrary the Comptroller is a cheque upon the whole Mint & all the three first Officers of the Mint are a cheque upon the Queens Assaymaster. For he preforms his assays by their trial pieces & in their presence & without their approbation his assays are of no force. In overseeing his Assays the Warden & Comptroller act in behalf of the Queen & her people & the Master acts for himself. And the Assaymaster is to act with skill & sincerity to the satisfaction of the Officers of both parties. For its easy for an Assayer to give a turn to the assay of a quarter of a grain or an halfpenny weight or above for or against the Master. And if any such thing be suspected the Assayer must repeat his Assay till the Officers of the Mint are satisfied of his acting with skill & candor.

2. It was right therefore for the Lord High Treasurer to referr the four Petitioners to a trial before the Officers of the Mint as the proper judges of their qualifications in point of skill.

The Memorialist saith that the Mr Brattle being under the direction of the Officers of the Mint hath acted partially. But this is to find fault with the very constitution of the Mint. ✝ < insertion from f 98v > ✝ For the Master by the Indenture of the Mint is authorized to receive the bullion by his own assays & for that end is allowed a triall piece & an Assaymaster of his own & all the assays of the bullion imported are the Masters assays & the assayer in making them acts as his Deputy & is under his direction. And as its the Masters duty & interest to coin the money by his own trial piece as exactly as he can so he hath given Mr Cha Brattel no directions to the contrary, nor any other directions than those by which the money has been coyned during the last two years of Mr Daniel Brattels life, & for which the Master has been acquitted by a Iury, the money coined by those directions being found exactly standard & that Trial piece. And now after the the trial of the Pix upon entring upon a new coinage he has ordered the first parcel of money to be assayed by the Trial piece to see if any thing can be mended. < text from f 98r resumes >

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But if the Importer at any time think himself aggrieved by the Masters assays, he hath an Appeal to the Wardens triel piece And without an appeal Mr Oadham himself if he were the Queens Assayer would not be able to remedy the pretended grievance. For the Queens Assayer hath nothing to do between the Master & the Merchant by vertue of his Office unless in cases of appeal.

To err within the remedy is no crime but only creates a recconing. If the money upon the trial be found too coarse it may put the Master in debt to her Majesty & if it be afterwards found too fine her Majesty allowss the excess of fineness back to the Master in discharge of that There is no crime in the case but only a recconing founded upon a contract between the Queen & the Master. If the Master should err by design the only punishment before the trial of the Pix is that he be at the charge of recoining the money before delivery; but if he errs without design he is not obliged to be at that charge unless the error exceed the remedy. If he gets by that error he is obliged upo the triall of the Pix to refund his profit, if he loses by it the Crown returns his loss. Nor where the Question is only about a recconing, where the Importer makes no appeal, where the Warden & Comptroller who are cheque upon the Master in behalf of the Queen & her people find no fault, where the Iury has acquitted the Master: he ought not to be molested by Mr Oadham or his friends who have nothing to do with the Mint.

3 When Mr Oadham had a trial before the Officers of the Mint, some of his Assays taken from one & the same piece of Gold differed from others a quarter of a grain & one of them erred two grains which is three times the Remedy. Whereas all Mr Brattles Assays agreed perfectly with one another except one which differed from the rest only about the twelft part of a grain which is but the eighth part of the Remedy. And almost all the coinage is in gold.

4 Mr Oadham was offered a longer trial did not then desire it but has since desired another trial. Had he acknowledged the fairness of the first trial, & that he had since been learning to assay better & was now grown more skilfull then before, his request might have been granted without a reflexion upon the Mint: but he pretends to have learnt his skill long ago in his Apprenticeship, & has appealed from the Report of the Officers of the Mint. And now in opposition to that Report produces <99r> certificate of his skill in assaying signed by Merchants & Goldsmiths but which if well considered destroys it self. Few of his subscribers have any business with the Mint, & it doth not appear that any of the are men of note for skill in assaying, or ever met together to see him make a competent number of successive Assays whereby they might be able to judge of his skill. The Importers are proper judges not of the skill of an Assayer but of his credit or whether they will freely trust him with their bullion. Amongst his subscribers there are only six who have imported gold within these three years & all of them together have imported only to the value of about 14 thousand pounds: whereas the Importers who have signed a Certificate or Petition for Mr Brattle (as I am credibly informed, for I have not seen it) have imported to the value of 8 or 9 hundered thousand pounds within that time. All the Importers trust Mr Brattle freely with their bullion, but Mr Oadhams credit is not yet established among them. And the credit of the Mint for encouraging the coinage depends in some measure upon the credit which the Assay master hath with the Importers.

5 The Memorialist suggests that Mr. Brattle being under the directions of the Officers of the Mint, hath acted partially, Mr Oadham above a year ago was projecting to be made supervisor & is still so fond of supervising & checking the Officers & getting the valuation of the bullions & moneys into his power that he is attempting to throw out the present Officers rather then not succeed. But the Officers have the Verdict of a Iury on their side. The assays of the money & the trial piece of K. James agreed exactly at the ballance. What directions have been given by the Officers the Lord High Treasurer has been told by the Master. Those directions were followed by the Queens late Assaymaster two years together before his death, & were no other then to coin by the trial piece of King James. The Queens Assaymaster has no trial piece of his own but by the constitution of the Mint is bound to follow the directions of the Officers in Assaying by their trial pieces. To err within the remedy is no crime; it only creates a recconing between the Queen & the Master so far as the Master may have got or lost by the error, & if the error be under a quarter of a grain it uses to be neglected & creates not so much as a recconing. And after the money hath been found right by a Iury, the Officers have a legal right to be quiet & ought not to be molested by Mr Oadham or his friends.

6 The Memorialist commends Mr Oadham for being skilled in the Refiners art. Why then did he not set up of his trade? What made him turn projector. The Memorialist saith further that Mr Oadham is well skilled in the business of the Mint & may be very service able upon the greatest occasions. Which makes it suspicious that he designes not to be content with the Assaymasters business but is alredy projecting to make that Post a step to something higher. Refining & assaying are manual trades & such trades are never closely followed by Projectors. At his {illeg}uby projecting humour made him leave his Refiners trade so it will never suffer him to stay long in that of an Assayer. nor to act quietly diligently & steadily while he is in it.

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The Memorialist saith further that the statute of 2 H. 6, c. 12, which saith that the Assaymaster ought to be a person indifferent between the Master of the Mint & the Merchant is in Mr Oadham's favour. And yet Mr Oadham hath the approbation of neither part but sets himself against the Officers of the Mint & endeavours to get the place by an interest forreign to both parties. By that statute if any question should arise about the valuation of bullion which cannot be decided without the Queens Assaymaster the coynage must stop till there be an Assaymaster.

8. The Officers of the Mint have given their opinion in this matter & leave it entirely to her Majesty to put in what Assaymaster she thinks fit.