Draft of MINT00044 (Mint 19/1/121)

<123r>

To the R^t Hon^ble the Lords
Com^rs: of his Ma^ties Treary

May it please yo^r: Lords^ps

In obedience to your Lord^ps order of reference signified to Vs by M^r Lowndes the 7^th Instant upon the severall annexed Peticons for the place of Weigher and Teller of the Mint now vacant, Wee think it Our Duty first to lay before your Lords^ps the Nature of the employm^t t'is a Patent Office w^th a salary of 90^ll a year and 10^ll for a Clerk the duty is to weigh in firstly all Gold and silver brought dayly into the Mint to compute the standard value and when tis coyned to pay out to the severall Goldsmiths and Merchants their Iust weight, so that the qualifications for it are not onely great honesty & constant attendance but also skill in rating and standarding, & a readiness, as well as exactness, in handling the weights, upon w^ch Account Wee are humbly of Opinion that such as have not been bred up to some Knowledge of the business of the Mint, can not be so well qualifyied to it, tho' otherwise very deserving persons. M^r. Brattell has liv'd long in the Mint, & assisted his Brother during some part of the recoynage in his Office of Assaymaster for w^ch M^r Neale allowed him a sallary of 100^li ꝑ Ann. he was alsoe sometimes Employed as first Teller & weigher of y^e hammered Money w^th an allowance of 10^s a day. The Peticon^rs M^r Ford and M^r Haines Wee beleive {sic} very well qualified, & the allegations in the severall <123v> Peticonw true, M^r Haines served in the Mint, dureing the time he was Employed there very well & was two years preferr'd from {there} to the Excise Office, where he is at present. M^r Ford has no other employm^t but in the Mint, where he now serves very carefully and honestly. As to a further Character of M^r Haines M^r Newton the Master and Worker of the Mint who knows him More particularly is better able to give your Lordshipps an Account