Holograph draft of MINT00063 (Mint 19/1/170-71)

<159r>

May it please yor Lop

In obedience to yor Lops Order of Reference signified to us by Mr Lowndes his Letter of IulyAug 8     we have considered the Petitions of Coll. Parsons & Mr Croker & discoured the Petitioners & also spoke wth Mr Rosse & we find that Coll. {sic}wherein we are directed to consider the Qualifications of Col. Parsons Mr Croker & Mr Rosse to succeed Mr Harris in the place of Graver of the Mint we have discoursed them Petitioners & find that Coll. Parsons doth not grave himself but directs & imploys good workmen & has a good fansy & judgemt in those matters & that Mr Rosse desires to succeed Mr Harris only in his place of Graver of Seales to her Majty & by a Seale wch hise has graved for the Dutchy of Lancaster he seems to be a good workman for seales & sufficiently qualified for that place.

But as for Mr Harris's other two places of Graver for ye money & for Medals, we humbly lay before yor Lop that ye Master of the Mint upon considering what inconveniency the Mint lately suffered & may again suffer by taking in Cutters of Seales into the chief Gravers place, did upon his succeeding Mr Neales put a clause into the Indenture then made between the Crown & himself whereby the Gravers salary of 325℔ per an upon the next voydance of the place should cease in order to a new establishment. For Mr H the Roetiers brought up no new gravers under them & Mr Harris who succeeded them being a cutter of seales & not skilled in that sort of graving wch is proper for the money, imployed Mr Croker to do all theat work for an allowance of 175℔ per an & retained to himself the remaining 150li per an to himself without doing any thing for it & Mr Croker not being bred up in the service of the Mint did not well understand it when he first succeeded Mr Roetier but was necessitated for three or four years to copy after Mr Roetiers work, tho now by long p{illeg}ractise he works very well & iswe are humbly of opinion that he is the fittest person to be made first Graver of ye Mint.

It is humbly proposed therefore, for ye advantage & security of the coyn again against counterfeiting, that there should be a set of Gravers constantly brought up in the Mint, who having once attained to perfection may do their own work & keep their Art amongst themselves & propagate it to pProbationers or Apprentices & be succeeded by them: & that no new other new Graver be taken into the Mint or imployed under them unless as a Probationer or Apprentice. For wch end we humbly propose that Mr Croker be now made the first Graver of the Mint by a signe Manual wth such an augmentation of salary as yor Lop shall think fita salary of 200li per an, if yor Lop shall approve thereof, for maintaining himself & a servant to file & polish the Dyes & pullturn {illeg}the Press, & be allowed the use of that part of the Gravers house in wch he now lives & that Mr Bull who is now a Probationer & has a salary of 60li pr an wth some other allowances worth about 20li a year more as have & works very well be made TThe second Graver wth a Salary to be also appointed byof 100li pr an if yor Lordp, {sic} & a new Probationerpleases & be allowed the use of ye other part of the Gravers house and that a new Probationer be taken into the third place as soon as a fit person shall be met with., & be allowed in one of the Gravers apartments a room wth a closet to lodge & work in.

And as for the other place of Graver of Medals to her Majty we are humbly of opinion that the Gravers of the Mint for the time being <160r> are the fitte{illeg}st persons to execute it, & that whenever the Master of the Mint shall they be obliged by a clause in their constitution to assit the Master & worker of the Mint whenever he shal receives any directions about making of Coronation Medals or others[1] they said Gravers be obliged by a clause in their Constitution, & that without asking his leave they have no authority granted them to use any of the Presses or other tools or to work in any of the Rooms wch belong to his the Masters Office for the coynage of Money, without asking his leave. aAnd that they shall not {illeg} convey out of the Mint any of the Dyes or Puncheons for making of Medals nor sell Medals at a higher rate then the Warden Master & Comptroller of the Mint shall allow.

Mint office Aug. 13
     1704

Mr Fowler an{illeg}other Petitioner is no Graver, but only makes designes & faces {illeg}draughts for Medals.