Draft of MINT00493 (Mint 19/2/214-15)

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To the Rt Honble the Lords Commrs of his Majts Treary.

May it please yor Lordps

In obedience to yor Lordps Order of Reference signified to us the Officers of his Majts Mint by Mr Lowndes, we have considered the Memorial of the Chancellour of Ireland about erecting a Mint in that Kingdom & also the Report of the late Warden & Master ofand the other Papers accompanying the said Memorial and finding upon enquiry into the state of the coyn of Ireland that the forreign coyns wch make a great part of their silver monies are g{illeg}enerally in great pieces wch are inconvenient for change in marketing, & other small expences and that by the want of smaller silver monies the coyning of greater quantities of Copper monies for change hath been so much encouraged as to be complained of: we are humbly of opinion that this inconvenience may deserve to be remedied by recoiyning the said forreign monies or some part thereof into smaller monies of the same weight {illeg}and allay species & impression wth the monies of England, adding only such a mark of distinction as his Majty shall think fit. And we beleive {sic} it cheapest & best for Ireland and safest for England to have this coynage performeddispatcht at once by erecting a Mint to be erected some in Ireland for so{illeg}me short time (suppose of a year & an halfas eighteen months or two years) under the same Laws & Rules by Indenture wth this in the Tower & we but wth less salaries & fewer Officers wch may be easily done. & {illeg}by lowering the value of the forreign moneys so much as may suffice from time to time to bring th{illeg}em into ye Mint & we are very ready to promote such a designe & prarticularly to supply that Mint wth standard weights & Tryal pieces & Dyes & Coyning Tools & to examintry their money. by weight & assay

But iIf a lasting Mint be desired for coyning the Bullion of Merchants & other{illeg}s perpetually, we know not of what consequence such a Mint may prove & thereforehumbly beg leave to repeat a clause of a Memorial, wch or Predecessors almost forty years ago, in opposing the erection of a Mint for 21 years in Ireland laid before yor Lord Honble Board, & a Copy of wch is now communicated to us by Mr Lowndes. It hath been, say they, the Policy & caution <219r> of Kings & Queens of England to stock their Realm of Ireland with moneys (both for quantity & quality) coyned in their Majintyt in the Tower of London whereof one part yet retains the name of the Irish Mint: and King Iames (of happy memory) by his Indenture of the Mint caused his monies stampt for Ireland to be charged with an Harp crowned for distinctions sake, whose Reasons and Examples (as we submissively conceive) may well admit yor Lordships first consideration

The consequence of a standing Mint in Ireland in respect of the Government & Trade of England we are not able to foresee, but in this and every thing submitt or opinion to yor Lordps great wisdome