Defence of the present coinage and of the tender accepted against the printed complaint of the disappointed tenderers and three letters of Richard Jones. Newton has accepted not the cheapest tender but the most reliable one
Whereas a printed paper has been delivered at the door of the Honble House of Commons on behalf of [{those} whose Proposals\{illeg}the Petitioners/ for coyning of copper {coin}{illeg} furnishing the Mint with manufactured copper were rejected {illeg} some of wch were] Mr Tho. Chambers, Mr Geo Clark, Mr Iohn Essington, Mr Henry Robinson, Collonel Parker, Mr Rich Iones, Mr Wood, Mr Holloway, & Mr Pye [& others whose Petitions for furnishing the] complaining \coarseness/ of the copper money now coy|i|ned, in order to {Those} as if {these} in respect of the fineness of the Copper & these are to certify that the copper imported {illeg} in the reign of King Charles II the {the} Copper was manufactured into in swedeland excepting the stamping; that the Copper now coined {{illeg}|b|}eares the assay \required/ & that this is the best assay wch can be had in the Mint: that Mr Chambers, Mr Clark, Mr Essington, Mr Robinson &c are {p}artners & one of them {illeg} insisted upon assaying his own Copper, {illeg} another made a Proposal by wch they would have had 2{illeg}|2| per po{ound} weight for {t}hat wch is now done for {illeg}
Two Letters \written {by} Mr Richard Iones/ to Members of Parliament being published last Sessions at the door of the House of Commons, relating to ye coinage of copper money, & a third Letter to a member of Parliament {illeg} being published on Saturday {las}t in the same manner in wch relation is had to the two formers Letters are cited as written by an author of note, |whose advice the House of Commons should have followed| |&| complaint being made in this Letter |yt| as of the new copper coin was\is/ very defective, & the metal very base {illeg}|&| inferior to the copper money coined, \the {trial} being less {illeg}value by two pence in each pound weight/ & that his Mats Officers have made a contract wch has hitherto been performed scandalously, & that the abuses have complained\all wch will be made/ of will be made {sic} appear if the Honble House of Commons shall send {I} please to appoint Committee who shall send for & examin the P{eo|er|}sons who delived \in/ Proposals {illeg}to ye Treasury some of wch are Mr Tho Chambers, Mr Geo. Clark, Mr Iohn Essington, Mr Henry Robinson, Collonel Par{{illeg}|k|}er Mr Richard Iones \above mentioned/, Mr Wood, Mr Holloway & Mr Pye, several of whom proposed that the farthings & Halfe pence coined in King Charles time should be the standard of the metal |& that in six months time there has been but three tons of copper delivered into the Mint tho|| the people are in great want of Copper money: in answer to {sic}|: in answ{illeg}|e|r to all this {{illeg}|it|} is represented that [{There is no} {contract} made {with} the persons who supply the Mint with copper but they {cant}{cast} upon their good behaviour that the first four {sent}] the Copper money coined in the reign of King Charles was of Swedish Copper manufactured into blanks in Swedeland where {illeg} the copper & workmanship is cheaper then in England, that no finer Copper was proposed by any of the persons above mentioned \then/ that wch which {sic} will spread \{illeg}red hot/ under the great hammers of the battering mills till it be as thin as the half pence & farthings{,}{.} & that such copper is accounted as fine as King Charles's money, that the copper of wch the copper money is to be now brought into the Mint is assayed by {tryin} battering it both red hot & cold till it be as thin as paper, & no better assay can be had in the Mint. that Copper wch beares this assay is not inferior to the Copper wch beares the assay of the battering Mill |or not| above a farthing in the {{illeg}|pou|}nd weight, that {illeg} inferior to it, that [when the {Offic}ers of the Mint gave the Proposers a meeting to heare them upon their {Propo}sals that Mr Wood who] the working of Copper into barrs of due size & fineness for making of money is manufacture not yet practised in England & therefor it therefore not \yet/ ripe for a contract before the trial that Mr Chambers, Mr Essington & Mr Robinson & (I think) Mr Clark are partners & some of them proposed to do it by the battering mills \first/ at 22{illeg} d & afterwards at 19d per Lwt, Mr Iones\Holloway/ proposed to do it by the battering mill at 1{6}d a rate amounting {illeg} also to about 19d \per Lwt/ & Mr Jones at 18d. per Lwt Those that now supply the Mint with copper do it at 18d per Lwt. & {illeg} {It} {illeg} four months before the Gravers of the Mint had finished their Mr Pye {illeg} proposed in the name of Mr Neale Me|a|rchant & Company proposed to deliver copper in barrs wch would stand the assay at {both ends} at 17d, but could not under take the flatting & drawing \thru/ the mill to a proper size|,| at that rate & nealing & scouring at that rate. Mr Wood was then in the Country & his so proposed to deliver Plates of fine rolled Copper fit for the Mint at {{illeg}|17|}d per Lwt but being absent in the country his son appeared for him {illeg} at the Mint & went away \again/ without speaking with the officers of the Mint about his fathers Proposal. Mr Parker is partnered with Mr Wood & these two {illeg} have {since} not since offered to be imployed without \entring into/ a contrac{t.} {illeg} The persons now imploying do not act upon a contract. They are only upon tryal, & if they do not {perform}\make good/ their Proposals, they may be laid aside at any time. {illeg} To make the Embosments & Puncheons & take off some Dyes from them was a work of four months or above. {illeg} Since that time they have begun to bring Copper into the Mint & have made trials of several methods of manufacturing it, & are still making further trials, & if it had not been for the importunity of the people, no money would have been delivered till these trials had been over & the best method fixed upon. And \now/ if any of the Petitioners or any other worker in Copper will \for a trial/ furnish the Mint with a Ton or two of Copper monthly wch {illeg} well sized & scoured & which shall beare the assay {and of} now used in the Mint {illeg} it sha at 18d per Lwt or under, he shall meet with encouragement suitable to the goodness of the workmanship & the lowness of the price. But it is not reasonable that the persons whose Proposals have been rejected should be {be} witnesses in their own cause.
that the Proposers here mentioned {illeg} cannot be {illeg} witnesses in their own cause but recourse must be had to the assays themselves of the copper — that within these five years copper is risen 3d in the pound weight \& the manufacture is now dearer in England then 40 years ago in Swedeland/ & {illeg}/yet\a pound weight is cut into no more wch in the reign of King Charles was cut into 20d is now cut into no more then 23d tho the workmans {by}\{illeg} be dearer in England then in Swedeland./.
