'The state of the Tinn'

Author: Isaac Newton

Source: MINT 19/3/542-3, National Archives, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, UK

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- Revision History
  - 1 January 2001
    - Catalogue information compiled by Rob Iliffe, Peter Spargo & John Young
  - 29 September 2011
    - Catalogue exported to teiHeader by Michael Hawkins
  - 22 March 2017
    - Transcribed by Will Scott
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The state of the Tinn.

Her late Ma^ty contracted w^th Corn\w/ in Decem. 1703 for 1600 Tunns of Tin stannary weight \annually f{illeg}|o|r seven years together/ at y^e price of {illeg}|3|^li per Tonn\C/ &|b|esides {illeg}\y^e/ Coynage Duty of {illeg} 4^s per C & post groats of 4^d per C w^ch shee {sic} remitted, to them|.| {&} s|S|he received also about 40 Tunns per an at the same price from Truro in Devonshire. And {illeg}|A|fter 6 $\frac{1}{2}$ years she renewed the contract 2 Iune 1710 for 1600 Tunns from Cornwal annually during the war & 180{illeg}|0| in times of peace \besides about 8{0} Tunns annually from Cornwall/ at the price of 3^li. 9^s 4^d including the Coynage Duty & Post groats. And in both contracts she sold the Tin to Merchants at the rate of 76^li per Tunn merchants weigh. In the time of the first contract the consumption carried off about 1{6}|5|60 Tuns per an \merchants weight/, in that of the second about 1260 Tuns merchants weight \or 1170 Tunns stannary? {sic}/. For the high price {illeg}|&| the war together diminished the consumption /& we do find that it begins yet to mend.\

NB. The Tun consists of 20 C, & the Stannary C of 120^ll Averdupois, the merchants C of 120^li averdupois.

At her Ma^ts de{illeg}

Her Ma^ty at her death left {illeg} about {illeg}|5|240 Tunns in y^e hands of Trustees for paying her debts upon the Tin

Her Ma^ty placed the Tin in the hands of Trustees for paying {the} debts of & at her death left in their h{illeg}|an|ds abut 5{illeg}|2|40 Tunns {illeg} merchants weight for that use.|]| And if the contract cease \Queens Contract for Tin be not renewed/ the {illeg} Comm^rs must sell the Tin at so low a price that it may not be worth the whole to hinder dig so much Tin in Cornwall as will hinder the sal{illeg}|e| of her Ma^ts Tin. a considerable quantity of her Ma^ts Tinn. How low that price shall be must be det{ea} is difficult to affirm. But since Tin has been sold formerly at 40 or 50^li per Ton, it may be presumed that to sell as much of the Queens Tin as shall be sold in|b||y| Cornwall, \(suppose about 650 Tunns per an, {illeg}|th|e whole consumption being only about 1260 p^r an)/ the price must come down to 45^li per Tun or less. An The If {illeg} the Trustees could sell 650 Tuns merchants weight per an at 45^li per Tunn the {illeg} sale would \last eight years &/ produce \an/ annuity of 29250^li during that time. And if the charges of warehouse room selling & accidents, ^{illeg} w^ch may be recconed at {illeg} 9|5|00^li per an or above, be ded{e}|u|cted the annuity will be but 28750^li per an. And this Annuity for eight years to come is worth {illeg}\in/ p^rsent money. if the interest be rebated at 5 per cent, is worth at present {m} 185817^li, but in eight years tim{illeg}|e| will pay off de produce 1486536^li 22|3|0000^li for paying off debts the Queens debts. |[|And in the meane time, the since the whole consumption \of Tin/ amounts only to 1260 Tunns or in y^e next round number, to 1300 Tuns merchants weight, the {illeg} C{illeg}|o|rnwall {sic} & Devonshire will sell only {1}|6|50 Tunns per an so little Tin & at so low a price that {illeg}|it| must create great discontent & murmuring amongst the|a||t| people. And on the other hand if the Contract be And {illeg} continued & the King for 1840 Tunns stannary: there will be received annually about 70|1|0 Tunns (merchants weight,) more then will be sold, to the Merchant, w^ch bei{illeg}|n|g added every year to the dead stock will make an encrease the mischief & make it every year more & more difficult to put an end {illeg}|t|o {illeg}|th|ese contracts.

If Vpon making the last contract the Officers of the Mint gave their opinion that no more Tin should be contracted for then would go off the consumption would carry off. The consumption at present is about \{illeg}|12|60 Tuns Merchant w^t or/ 1170 Tunns stannary{,}|.| or, in y^e next round number, 1200 Tuns If the King should contract for 22|11|00 Tuns \stannary/ besides about 40 Tuns from Devonshire.|,| The & buy the Queens Tin of the Comm^rs for {illeg}|a|n annuity of \about/ 28000^li or 30000^li per an and to be continued for 8 yeares to come or for any other equipollent price the |[|recconing would stand as follows

<542v>

{illeg}\|11\|40 Tunns of Tin st. w^t \per an/ at 3^li 1{illeg}\|0\|^s. 4^d p^r C including coynage duty post groats & freight per	}	80180
Other expences & hazzards annually, about		500
Advanced annually to pay off the Queens debts \& purchase her Tin/ \|about\|		30000
Totall charge of the Crown annually		110680
Produced annually by the sale of

|Artic. 1.| The present value of the Queens Tin w^thout a contract.

|2 1.| A new \continuation of the/ contract will in four years put the Queen King in a wors cod|n|dition then y^e Queen is at present was at her death. unless he purchase the {illeg}|Q|ueens Tin|.| at the just value

|3|2| 2.| The present value of the Queens Tin without a contract,

|3.| Th{illeg}\e/ The King cannot purchase this Tin at {illeg}|t|he present value unless w^thout a clamour unless {illeg}|a|ll the Queens credits {illeg} subscribe.

The Queens loss by the Tin contracts.

A continuation of the present contract would in four years bring the king into a worse condition then the Queen was at her death.

The only remedy is {illeg}|f|or the Owners of the Tin lands to {purchase} \to contract for a less quantity &/ |to| prevail w^th the Queens creditors to consent in writing that the King shall have the Queens Tin at the present value

<543r>

contract \would/ in my \humble/ {illeg}|op|inion would be advantageous both to Cornwall & to the Queens Comm^ers. For if the King should {illeg}|o|nly contra \If/ Cornwall should only dig 400 Tunns stannary |w^t| per an & the king should contract with them for it at y^e rate of 3^li 9^s 4^d per C: it would be better for them then to have no contract at all \& sell only 6 or 7 hundred Tunns \p^r an/ at 40 or 45 shillings per C till all the Quens Tin is sold/. And therefore if the King should contract with them for six or eight hundred or a thousand Tunns \per an/ they w{illeg}|o|uld have \great/ reason to rejoyce at it. And if he should contract with them for 1100 or 1{15}|20|0 Tuns per an besides 40 Tunns from Cornwall\Devon/ it is as much as the consumption will carry off at present.

If he contracts w^th Cornwall it will be requisite that he contract also w^th the Que Commission\also/ buy the Queens Tin of the Comm^rs & if he pays for it about 28 or 30 thousand pounds per an for eight years toge{illeg}|t|her, or any other \an/ equipollent price \in any other mann/, they will in my humble opinion have an advantageous bargain. no reason to complain of the bargain. B{illeg}|u|t if his Ma^ty buys not the Queens Tin he will be a very great loser by the bargain. For he will contract with Cornwall. For if |t|he {illeg} contract should be for three \or four/ years, he would sell no Tin of his own till the end of the contract, & then his own Tin will sell for no more then {illeg}|a|bout 40 or 45^s per C unless the con{illeg}|t|ract be renewed.