To the RtRight HonbleHonourable the LdLord High Treasurer of England.

May it please yoryour LordpLordship

The Petiontion of Mr Charles Fryth for an allowance in his Accompts now depending, of 370li 8s 9d upon two Tickets of the Master & Worker of Chester Mint, wthwith the Report of the CommrsCommissioners of Excise upon it, we received 30th March 1702 & in obedience to the Order of the then Lords CommrsCommissioners of the Treasury upon them we have enquired into the matter & humbly represent that we see no reason for that allowance. For Mr Fryth imported into Chester Mint several parcells of hammered money before Lady day 1697 for all which he received new monies before the end of Iuly following & endorsed the receipts on the backside of all the Master & Workers Tickets under his own hand wchwhich endorsements are ready to be produced, the last payment being of 345li. 16s. 23d in new monies due upon the last Ticket as Mr Halley Comptroller of that Mint is ready to attest. And after these Importations & Tickets thus discharged there were four others vizt

The two last of wchwhich Tickets are those for wchwhich an allowance is petitioned, & in discharge of all four amounting to 1177li. 18s. 9d. Mr Fryth by a misrecconing hath received 1200li wchwhich is 22li. 1s. 3d too much.

For the two first of these four Tickets dated in MayNo 149 became payable about the middle of August following1697 & Mr Fryth drew on the Officers of that Mint two Bills ready to be produced the one of Aug. 18 for 300li (the payment of wchwhich was endtered at the foot of the Bill & in the books of the Mint in part of theis Ticket No 149) & the other of Aug 19 for 100li. These Bills were paid by Williams (Mr Neale's Clerk) in the absence of Mr Lewis & entered by the Clerks of the Mint in their books in part of No 149, and afterwards Mr Fryth received of Mr Lewis & concealing from him the two first payments made by Williams amounting to 400li, they deducted from the said two first of the said four Tickets amounting to 807li. 10s. the two last payments only amounting to 300li & Mr Fryth received from Mr Mr Lewis a Note for the remaining 507li. 10s, & delivering in the Tickets signed the discharge of them Octob 25 in the Master & Workers Book of Receipts ready to be produced. Whereas all the four payments amounting to 700li should have been deducted & the Note should have been only for 107li 10s the just remainder. And this misrecconing of 400li is the occasion of the controversy.

Vpon this Note made erroneously for 507li. 10s Mr Fryth received 500li at three payments, vizt 150li ꝑper Bill of Octob. 26, 300li ꝑper Bill of Nov. 19 & 50li ꝑper Bill of Dec. 4: all wchwhich Bills drawn upon the Officers of the Mint by Mr Fryth are ready to be produced & the receipts are acknowledged by him. Had the nNote been made only for 109li. 10s as it ought to have been this Note & the two last Tickets would have amounted only to 477li. 18s. 9d in discharge of wchwhich Mr Fryth hath received 500li wchwhich is too much by 22li. 1s. 3d

After these seven payments amounting to 1200li the misrecconing was discovered & Mr Fryth demanding several times more money was as often told by the Officers of that Mint that he had already received more money by a misrecconing then was due to him & ought to refund 22li. 1s. 3d & cancel the Tickets. To which Mr Fryth has not yet given a satisfactory answer tho we have now written to him twice about it.

This we take to be the true state of the matter, so far as we can understand it wthwithout an opportunity of hearing both parties face to face & the same is confirmed by the annexed testimony of Mr Halley Comptroller of that Mint, & by Mr Fryth's Bills drawn upon the Officers of that Mint & the entry of the payments in the Books of that Mint ready to be produced.

We are therefore humbly of opinion that the two Tickets upon wchwhich Mr Fryth petitions for an allowance are already paid off tho not cancelled & that he should make up his Accompts wthwith the Queen without any credit allowed him upon them & that in his Accompts he be also charged with the 22li. 1s. 3d. For the Note being for money due upon the Tickets, whatever money Mr Fryth received upon this Not more three was d ought to be set off upon the Tickets, & so much as he received upon this Note more then was due to him upon the Tickets her Majesty is defrauded of unless he account for it.

For wchwhich reason if there were any private dealings between Mr Fryth & the Officers of that Mint by wchwhich he knowingly received any money whatsoever out of the Treasury of that Mint wchwhich was not due to him out of that Treasury for silver imported, we are humbly of opinion that he ought to refund it to her Majesty

Or at least ytthat in passing his Accompts wthwith her Majesty all Accompts in dispute between him477 him & the Master & Worker of that Mint may be set aside & left to the course of the law.

All wchwhich is most humbly submitted to yoryour LordpsLordships great wisdome