Draft of MINT00559 (Mint 19/2/537)
\By the {illeg}|C|oinage 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 M{t}{r}/ \to be coined/ \He may also/ buy bullion \of an uncertain value/ {illeg}|bu|t not knowingly to loss, & must account for the profi{illeg}|t| \& loss/ if there be any. Tis dangerou{t} to But this way of by|u|ying of Bullion is not in use.
T|W|hen 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 {g}|G|eneral i|I|mporter {illeg}|w|ho causes them to be melted into Ingots, & then the Ingots are d{illeg}|e|livered b w{illeg} to ye Master of the Mint \by weight & assay/ to be coined. Or if Plate or {illeg}|o|ld moneys be delivered to the Master by weught alone, he {mel} when they are to be melted into {into}\it must be by a {illeg}|pro|per Warrant for this purpose & then/ he either melts them \same/ into Ingots in the presence of \one or more/ persons appointed in behalf o{r}|f| her Maty & the Importers to inspect\survey/ & controll the meltings, {illeg}|&| take an account of the wast\& keeps an account thereof/, or {illeg}|e|lse when they are to be melted the Ma{illeg}|s|ter 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 authority\having for great reasons in the case of {illeg}|his| fellow Officers the Vigo plate \{represents} it/ {illeg}|o|pposed 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} to\for 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}|W|hen the two million Act was p{illeg}|u|blished & the Master alone (after a stay of some days {illeg}|fo||r| {illeg}|th||e| joyned wth\concurrence of/ his fellow Officers) acquainted his Lordp wth the defect of that Act & in a second memorial laid {a}|y|e state of the Plate before his Lordp, & {illeg} in {illeg}|o|rder to a third memorial was informing himself whether 5s per ounce {illeg}|wou|l{illeg}|d| con{illeg}|t|en{illeg}|t| the {i}|I|mporters {s}till present the Ward\the 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 silver\plate/ produced/ & take certificates for the re|re|mainder|.| above 5s Which the Importers being averse from, the Master {illeg} shall\|desisted| {illeg} {illeg} delayed his intended memorial/ till the Warden {illeg}|tol|d him that the Officers of the Mint would be summond to attend |t|his|e| Lordp\Treasury/ about this matter.|,| {W} & then \the Master/ {illeg}|s|tated the case to the Attrorney {sic} {illeg}|G|eneral {illeg}|&| brought th{illeg}|e| \Attorneys/ opinion there{illeg}|u|po{illeg}|n| {illeg}|to| {illeg}|his| Lordp wth the form of a warrant for paying 5s pr ounce.
When |ye| Mr Auditor Harley {p}|w|as spok was first\& Wr/ was first spoken to a{illeg}|bo|ut receiving the {illeg}|plat|e, he represented that he would \was willing ready to/ receive it \{illeg}/ & give receipts for the same \it by weight/ &|b|ut \yet/ that \it/ would be proper \&/ that some person or persons should\{might}|{should}|/ be appointed to carry it from him by weight to the {illeg}|m|elting 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 weight & assay.
