The Act of 18 Caroli. II, chap v saith that no moneys leviable & payable by this Act shall be applied or converted to any use or uses whatsoever other then to the defraying the charge or expence of the Mint or Mints & of [that] of the Assaying, melting down wast & coinage of the Gold & Silver into the said Mint or Mints there to be coyned &c. The first is the charge of supporting a standing mint, the second is the further charge of carrying on the coinage in that Mint. And by the next clause of the Act the first is limited to 3000li per anannum to prevent extravagance the other left unlimited because the coinage is not to be stinted but encouraged. The words are: And it is hereby further enacted, That there shall not be issued out of the Exchequer of the said moneys, in any one year for yethe fees & salaries of the Officers of the Mint or Mints & towards the providing maintaining & repairing of the Houses Offices & Buildings & other [standing] necessaries for assaying melting down & coyning above the summ of three thousand pounds sterling money, & the overplus of the said moneys so kept or to be kept as aforesaid shall be employed for & towards the [contingent] e expence wast & charge of assaying melting down & coynage & buying in of gold & silver to coyne, & not otherwise. Here the charge of salaries & buildings wthwith their appurtenances necessary for constituting a Mint (such as are convenient chimneys hearths floors & places for Furnaces & other instruments) are limited to three thousand pounds; & the overplus is for defraying the chargs of arising by the coynage vizt for such as are the charge of stationary ware for the Clerks, ballances & weights for the several offices, Furnaces, cuppels, water silver, Aqua fortis & charcoal for the Assay-Office, refining & allay for bringing the silver & gold to standard, Flasks Furnaces melting & wast in the Ass Melting house, Mills Dyes & coining & in other Offices. And in this sense the Act has been constantly understood as may appear by the constant old AcctsAccounts of the Warden & Master.

For in those AcctsAccounts the salaries upon the establishment of the Indenture wchwhich amounted to 2600li & there charge of repairs of buildings wchwhich came to two or three & sometimes almost 400li, took up allmost all the three thousand pounds & left no room there remained only 400l for the providing & repairsing of buildings wchwhich usually amounted to two or three hundred & sometimes almost 400li .prer All other charges were deannannum Whence I gather that from time of making the Act these were recconed the charges of supporting the Mint & all other charges were recconed into yethe coinage & incidents.

[About 8 or 9 years ago I ordered an extraordinary salary of yethe Wardens second Clerk amounting to 40li per anannum to be included in the 3000li. This salary is now extinct. Ten pounds hasve been added to yethe surveyors salary & 15li taken from the Graver's & ten from yethe Smith's. So that the salaries are now 2585li per annannum.] And 5li more may be hereafter added to yethe that of yethe Assaymrs Clerk But the salaries of the Clerks are too small.]

In the 4th and 5t year of her MatsMajestys reign an Act passed for enlarging the sum of 35000 to that of 3500li & in the Preamble to the Act are these words: And whereas thae said 3000li has been by experience found not to be sufficient, & the residue of the moneys arising by the said Act Coynage Act is appropriated as in the said Act is mentioned. Be it therefore enacted &cc. WHere + + Here the design of ye.the Act is not to charge the 3000 wthwith other sorts of incidentsaccounts then those wchwhich had been chargedused to be placed upon it, but on the contrary to enlarge it for bearing those sorts of charges for wchwhich had been placed upon it & for wchwhich it had been found by experience not sufficient., And the words & particularly for making room for new salaries to yethe moneyers. Here the words appropriated as in the said Act is mentioned, were certainly intended not to alter the sense of the former Act or to signify any other appropriation then what is mentioned, nor in that Act nor any thing further then that the residue of the moneys is so farso far restrained from be to other services of the Mint to attending the coinage & the incidents sthat it cannot be applied to the payment of salaries & repairs of buildings & other necessaries things necessary to the being of a Mint.

When theis Act was made &c

In the Accounts for the year 1712 the salaries upon the Indenture payable by the Warden amounts unto 1435li, those payable by the Master unto 1080li The Gravers Aprentice 35li. The Smith Assistant to yethe Gravers 40li. The Monyers 400. The buildings in yethe Wardens Account in one Article 389li 2s, in another 11. 13. 6. Total 3290li. 15. 6. Besides 40li to yethe Wardens 2s Clerk now ceased. The charge of furnaces amounting to 64li 13s & those of yethe Assay Office & refining amounting to 129. 19. 8 arise from the coinage & so are not within the 3500li, & the same in fees at yethe ExcheqrExchequer are deducted from the money before it comes into yethe treasury of yethe Mint T The Article of incidents in the Wardens AcctAccount composed of several particular Articles hath never yet been recconed wthwithin yethe 3000li or 3500li

There is an Article in yethe Indenture of yethe Mint wchwhich obliges the MrMaster to pay unto yethe Warden such summ & summs of money as shall be payable by the said Warden unto yethe Officers of yethe Mint for their salaries & for repairs & such other expences of the Mint as have been heretofore usually paid by the Warden of the Mint for the time being wchwhich Article I conceive is still to be interpreted in yethe same sense & under the same limits as formerly & obliges the Master to pay to yethe Warden such charges of repairs as wthwith the usual sallaries doe not do not exceed the summ of 3000li & such further Incidents as use to be paid & without recconing them into that summ. And now the limit of 3000li is augmented to 3500li., & 400li are added to yethe salaries, the master is to pay to the warden the charges of repairs provided they do not together with the salaries exceed 30500li also usual incident charges without restraining by that limit.

In the Accounts for yethe year 1712 the salaries upon yethe Indenture payable by the Warden amount untoare 1435li, those payable by the Master unto re to the Officers 1080li thosate paid to the GrMoneyers & Smith unto 400li, to the Smith 40li, & to yethe Graver for an Apprentice 35li. The charges of the buildings in the Wardens account are in one Article 389l 2s in another 11. 13. 6. Total 3290. 15. 6. Besides 40li to the Wardens second Clerk now ceased. T And the Incidents in the Wardens AcctAccount not accruing by the coynage do not exceed 150li. Total 3480. 15. 6.

When this Act was newly made, a salary of 400li per anannum were added to the moneyers was added & the salaries of the Clerks were intended to be augmented out of yethe other 100li, but the some of he buildings being ready to fall. it was thought fit to take care of rebuliding those in the first place. And there has been since laid out about 900 or 100li upon new buildings besides the ordinary charges of repairs. And the Mills-rooms are ready to fall & will cost siz or eight hundred pounds to rebuild them. And while the salaries of the other Officers have been doubled & tripled the Masters salary has not been augmented these 2140 years & but 2180li per anannum going out of it to yethe Diet, Clerks of New years gifts at yethe TrearyTreasury, & a Deputy & his house half his house is& his house is made & to him one half of it being taken from him & while the salaries of the other Officers have been doubled & trippled.. And if he should be obliged to keep an Assaymaster the salary of 60li per annannum would not suffice to maintain him &with a servant to atssist him.