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

<217r>

The Coynage {to pay}\Duty/ collectd in Scotland & transmitted into the Exchequer at London did amount to about 250 or 300^l 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 Coy|i|nage 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 Ma^ts Mint in Scotland \should/ apply to the Comm^rs of the Customes in Scotland to take care that this Duty be duly collected in Scotland\there/ & 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}|a|rising 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 to\to 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 lea/ving the M^r & W^r 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 y^e\either/ 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 are\is/ already impowered to impress moneys for y^e use & service of that Mint including the \charge of/ coinage{illeg}|:| {illeg} \But/ to appoint {illeg}|ap|point a certain annual summ \by Act of P./ is to put that Mint upon a different foot from y^e 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 i|o|f England {illeg} alone, to an Annuity without Account\to 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 Act\Treaty/ of Vnion. |& may| {sic}

Vpon the last renuing of Vnion\this Act/ a clause was inserted into that Act\it/ for making\impressing/ the coinage moneys to the General of the Mint in Scotland: w^ch puts the two Mints \upon a different foot contrary to the Act of Vnion/ & disables/makes\ the Master of that Mint from coming\& makes him useles{s}//an useless Officer\. For if the General pays \all/ the {illeg} charges of coinage & accounts for the same: the peopl{e} |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 to|b|y any Act of Parliam^t 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 & inciden{c}|t| charges shall not of the in the Mint in England shall not in any one yeare exceed the sum of 3500^li: but this related to not to the manner of impressing the moneys but only to the passing of the accounts, viz^t that in passing the Account of this Mint there shall not be allowed of above the summ of summ of {sic} 3500^li for salaries & incident charges. And by\in/ 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 out|g|ht to be impressed to that Mint in general terms for use & service of that Mint, & in passing the Acc^ts the {illeg}|s|alaries & incident ou{t}|g|ht not to exceed the summ of 1200^li in any one year. Otherwise the two mints will not be upon the same foot as they <217v> ou{t}|g||ht| 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}|a|n Annuity without Account.

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

Roges 1{illeg}|1| a Cecrope ad Codr M{a}esteum (198) sex alÿ ad Codrum inclusive (9{illeg}{8}/91\) quoriam Aphidas regnavit an. 1, Archontes perpetui 13 quorum Alamæon regnavit in 2 (218). Archontes decennales 7 (50) Arcontes annui