careful in this Matter as will appear by the antient and constant Constitutions and Indentures of the Mint And with great Reason For besides the Duty of taking care that the Subject be kept from wrong the Interest of all Governments obliges them to be careful and just in this Point for its Stamp being a Warranty of the Weight and Fineness of the Money the Government is bound by that Warranty to make it good to the Subject if the Money be defective in either Respect and so the Parliament has judg'd this Session or else I can see no Reason at all for their Resolution that the Deficiency of clipt and base Money should be made good to the People at the Charge of the Publick And as the Government of England has always taken care that the Money should be coin'd of its due Weight and Fineness so it has provided by Law that none should pass or be receiv'd or payable that was diminish'd in its Weight for by the antient Orders of the Exchequer none was to be taken there but what was weighed and tryed as well as told and in common commerce every body might refuse false or light Money and if any Person utter'd counterfeit or diminished Money knowing it to be false or diminished he might be indicted and punished as guilty of a great Misprision and if he knew the Counterfeiters or Diminishers of it or utter'd it for them he was partaker of their Crime and guilty of High-Treason But of late years notwithstanding the good Provision of our Laws our Silver Money has been almost all that has been current amongst us either counterfeited or clipt or otherways diminished and every body guilty of Misprision in uttering it knowing it to be such What has been the Occasion of this general Corruption as well of the People as of our Money is not my Business to enquire my purpose is only to acquaint you what Remedy the Wisdom of the Parliament has provided these two last Sessions in order to our relief from a Misfortune our Negligence to say no worse of it has suffer'd to grow upon us to such â— Height as had almost brought us to utteâ— Ruin The Parliament last Year observ'd thaâ— the Moniers with adulterated and clip Money bought up the broad and weightâ— Money in order to clip it or melt iâ— down and therefore in an Act to prevenâ— counterfeiting and clipping the Coin of thâ— Kingdom Clause 1. made 6 7 Guliel Tertii amongst other Things 't is enacted Thâ—â— from the first of May 1695 Unclipt Money not to be sold for more in Tale of Clipt If any Persoâ— or Persons whatsoever shall at any Time 〈◊〉 Payment exchange lend sell borrow or buy receive or pay any broad Silver Money or Siâ—ver Money unclipt of the Coin of this Kingdom for more in Tale Benefit Profit or Aâ—vantage than the same was coin'd for anâ— ought by Law to go for be lent sold for boâ—row'd receiv'd or paid shall forfeit the Suâ— of Ten Pounds for every Twenty Shillings thâ—â— shall be so exchanged lent sold borrowed bought receiv'd or paid and so in Proportiâ—â— for any greater or lesser Sum And this Penalty is given by the Act one half to the King the other to the Informer Before this Act it began to be a common Trade to buy up weighty Silver Money with clipt Pieces and a Mill'd Crown-Piece would readily yeild five clipt Shillings and three Pence and some were bought and sold for five and Sixpence and so it would have gon on and the mill'd Money have risen as long as any had been left unmelted until it had come to such a Price as that the clipt Pieces must have been so many that their Weight would have near equalled the Crown to have bought it but this Act put a stop to this Trade and then the Dealers in Money taking Advantage of the Acts not providing against giving more Pieces in Tale for coin'd Gold than it was Coin'd for presently began to raise the Value of Guyneas and gave 23 clipt Shillings fo a Guynea which at Highest never yielded above 22 s. nor commonly more than their real Value viz. 21 s. 6 d. till the beginning of March was twelve Month and then few would take them as those Jobbers and Moniers gave for them I mean at 23 s. till these Traders in Coin had been about a Fortnight buying up all they could get at that Rate and then they rose apace for by the beginning of May they came to pass at 25 s. the Guynea which was near the Par to the Value of the clipt Silver that was then current and there was no other but clipt Money current for immediately after the passing this Act and rise of Guyneas all the weighty Money disappear'd and was hoarded up as being of a certain Value and therefore to be reckon'd real Treasure and more worth than Gold when it had obtain'd such an Imaginary and I might add criminal Value and evidently better than the current Money which had lost so much of its Weight by clipping At this Rate of 25 s. the Guynea stood for two or three Months because so much clipt Money weighed one with another as much as 21 s. or 21 s. 6 d. ought to weigh But in these two or three Months the Clippers were very busily employ'd to make a new Advance of Gold by lessening the Silver and wanting broad Weighty Money to work on clipt over again that which had been before clipt and as this second clipping increased the Guyneas began to rise again in their Price till they came to 30 s. or upwards nor would they have stop'd there had not the Exchequer and Receivers of the publick Money refus'd to receive them which gave them a check at which many considerable Bankers and Dealers in Money raged and storm'd extreamly and omitted no endeavours to force the Treasury to receive them at 30 s. at least And all this while the Dealers in Money gave all the Incouragement they could to the currency of clipt and base Money by receiving it tho' never so much clipt or apparently counterfeited And all along as our Guyneas rose and gain'd their hurtful Value the Exchange in bur foreign Trade grew more and more to our Disadvantage for Foreigners when they found we our selves judg'd a quarter of an Ounce and Nine Grains of Gold which is the Weight of our Guyneas was worth 25 or 30 s. of our Shillings they exchang'd their Money or gave Bills which is the same thing accordingly And so we lost as much by that as the Guyneas advanc'd in their Price which was â—ust so much real Loss to the Nation In this Condition the Parliament found us when they last met viz. Novemb. 22.1695 And His Majesty in his Speech at the opening of the Session took Notice of the great Difficulty we lay under by reason of the ill State of our Coin The Redress of which may says He prove a farther Charge
hear and determine such Information or Prosecution accordingly Clause 8. And whereas the uncertain Value of coined Gold has been highly prejudicial to Trade and an Encouragement to certain evil-dispos'd Persons to raise and fall the same to the great Prejudice of the Landed Men of this Kingdom Be it therefore enacted by the Authority aforesaid that from and after the 10th of April 1696 no Person shall utter or receive any of the Pieces of Gold Coin commonly call'd Guineas at any higher or greater Rate or Value than two and twenty Shilling for each Guinea and so proportionably for every greater or lesser piece of coined Gold And whosoever shall offend herein shall incur the Penalty and Forfeiture provided in an Act made this present Parliament for those that shall receive or pay Guineas and other pieces of coined Gold at a greatrr or higher Rate than in that Act is directed to be recover'd by the same Ways and Means that the Penalties and Forfeitures of that Act are to be or may be recover'd The Act in this last Clause referred to is the 7th and 8th Guil. 3 tii intituled an Act for continuing several Duties c. upon Wine Vinegar and Tobacco c. and the Penalties are the Forfeiture of double the Value of the Gold paid or receiv'd and also twenty Pounds half to the King and half to the Informer to be recover'd with Costs of Suit by Bill Plaint Information or Action of Debt in any of his Majesty's Courts c. And an Act is passed for granting to his Majesty several Rates or Duties upon Houses for making good the Deficiency of clipt Money This Tax is laid for seven Years and I believe will be thought very burthensome and disagreeable by some of those that are to pay it before it be expired and I am apt to think the Parliament intended the People should sensibly feel what they pay on this Occasion that they might thereby be induced to take care not to permit the like Mischief to grow among us any more For no body can wholly excuse himself from having contributed to it since by Law every body might have refus'd clipt Money and every body is punishable that utters such as is apparently clipt or diminish'd If therefore the People had as they ought to have done generally refus'd to take any but lawful Money and prosecuted the Moneyers and other Corrupters of our Coin for uttering such as was visibly deficient we could noâ— have been brought into the Condition wâ— now are and therefore the Parliament haâ— reason to make us repair the Loss by a Taâ— almost as odious as Chimney-Money nay I am told they had it under Consideration whether they shou'd not do it by Chimney-Money it self The Summ of all the Provisions made bâ— the Parliament to prevent the Currency oâ— clipt Money are 1. That whosoever gives more in Taâ—â— of clipt Money or deficient Money foâ— broad or mill'd Money than it was coinâ— for forfeits ten Pounds for every twentâ— Shillings and so in Proportion for a greater or lesser Summ viz. 6 7 Gul. Mâ—â— An Act to prevent counterfeiting and clipping the Coin of this Kingdom vide Clause the 1st Vide Proclamation and Commons Votes Vid. Clause 2d and 3d. 2. That no clipt Money shall be cuâ—rant in any Payment except to the King aâ—ter a Day which is now past 3. That the King shall receive no cliâ—â— Money in his Revenues or Taxes after tâ—â— 4th of May 1696. 4. That whosoever after the 10th of April 1696. shall pay or receive Guineas for more than 22 s. and in proportion any greater or less peice of coined Gold shall forfeit for every offence double the value of the Gold and 20 l. half to the King half to the Informer Vide Clause 8. 5. That whosoever has in their Custody after the 10th of February any unclipt hammer'd Money whereon are both Rings or major part of the Letters shall punch a Hole through the middle thereof without diminishing the the Silver before they dispose thereof and who ever fails in this may be indicted and fin'd Vide Clause 4. 6. That if any Person tender or receive any Piece so punch'd which is afterwards clipt he shall forfeit double the Value of the the Money so tendred or receiv'd amount to it Tale. Vide Clause 7. 7. That whosoever shall after the 4th of May 1696 receive any clipt Money as Lawful Money other than such as is punch'd pursuant to the preceeding Article or Six-pences not clipt within the innermost Ring shall forfeit double the Value thereof to the Informer to be recover'd before the Justices in the Sessions And for the ease of the People that the clipt Money may not remain in their Hands Vide Clause 2. 1. They may pay in all their Taxes Debts to the Crown for Excise Customs c. and the whole Year's Land-Tax if they please to the Collectors at any time before the Fourth of May 1696. in clipt-Clipt-money Vide Clause 3. 2. They may lend to the Exchequer on any Act or any Act whereon a Credit to borrow is given by Parliament and the Loans on Clipt-money shall be taken at any time before the 24th of June as if the same were good and lawful money By these means all the Clipt-money may certainly come into the Exchequer unless new be made as fast as the old is paid in and there melted down as the Parliament has ordained that it shall for it has been computed that all the Silver Money in England amounts not to above five millions whereof near two are supposed to remain whole and unclipt and here is provided room for the taking in above six millions The-Land Tax must be reckon'd double viz. the money it will produce and the Loans to be made on it which may be both in clipt money if therefore it shall bring in seventeen hundred thousand pounds that and the Loans make three millions four hundred thousand pounds The Impositions on Merchandize given this Session is taken by the Government for fifteen hundred thousand pounds which is to be borrowed on them for this years Service The Duty on Distillers c. is likewise taken for five hundred thousand pounds and the Customs Excise and other Branches of the Revenue to the 4th of May 1698. together with what remain'd unpaid of the last years Taxes when the Act requiring Collectors to receive Clipt money passed can't be less than a million if not a million and a half but estimating it at a million the whole come to six millions four hundred thousand pounds which is two millions four hundred thousand pounds more than was computed to be of Clipt money in the Nation Thus Sir you soe the Parliament has taken all imaginable care that none of the deficient or adulterate Money should remain and be a loss in the hands of the Subjects â—nd made it the Peoples Duty as well as Inâ—erest not to suffer themselves to be cheated with Names and an Imaginary Fairy Treasure â—nstead of real Riches for the future Whoâ—oever therefore receives or pays Gold or â—â—lver or connives at others doing so hereâ—fter otherwise than these Acts allow ought to be esteemed an Enemy to his Country and the Wellfare thereof and a Promoter of the Designs of those for whose Private or By-Ends have endeavoured to rob the Publick and put us in Confusion after our Legislators have spent so much Time and Trouble in endeavouring to relieve us from the imminent Ruine we are threatened with from it And therefore do you Sir and let every good Englishman conform their Practice to these Laws and force others to do so too which only can preserve us lest we relapse into a worse and incurable Condition I am SIR Your humble Servant R. J POSTSCRIPT SIR I Must beg your Pardon for an Omission in my Letter and Leave to add it in a Postscript The Parliament observing that a pernicious Doctrin was publickly vented viz. That the King by his Prerogative might alter the Standard of our Coin and that it must be altered and new Money made lighter than the old and a new Name given to the old whereby it should be made current for more than it was coin'd for which they that promote this Doctrin call raising of our Money were sensible that the Expectation of such an Alteration would make Men keep up all their weighty Money because after the Change of the Standard if it would buy no more Commodities than before it would pay more Debts and foreseeing that such an Apprehension in the People would lessen if not break the publick Credit in regard 't is not probable that any one would be perswaded to lend the Government 5 Ounces of Silver if he thought he should be repaid again with only 4 Ounces To prevent the Evils that such Opinions had occasioned or might occasion and to secure the People that when they trusted the Government they should not be repaid by Words and new Names but in the same Coin or Weight and Fineness of Metal they advanced upon its Credit In the Act for Remedying the ill State of the Coin of this Kingdom It is Enacted That the clipt Money which that Act requires to be melted down shall be Recoin'd by the Mill and Press into Current Money of this Realm to hold such Weight and Fineness as are prescribed by the present Indenture of the Mint which Weight and Fineness as they are the old Lawful Standard of England so by that Act are declared to Be and shall Be and Remain to be the Standard for the Lawful Silver Coin of this Kingdom I need not remark to you that the Word shall remain to be being indefinite imports as much as if it had been said shall alway remain to be FINIS
or hereafter to be granted shall and by this Act are severally required to accept and take in Payment for his Majesty's Use for or upon Account of the said Revenues Impositions Duties Taxes Aids Supplies respectively such clipt Moneys being Sterling-Silver or being Monies of coarser Alloy than the Standard from such Person or Persons as shall tender the same in or for such Payments respectively at any time or times before the 4th of May 1696 at the same Rate or Value as if such Moneys were unclipt or undiminish'd and shall not refuse any Piece or Pieces of Silver Money so tendered by Reason or Pretence of their being worse or holding more Alloy than Standard-Silver so as such price or prices do not evidently appear to be made of Copper or base Metal plated over or wash'd with Silver only And the Tellers in the Receipt of his Majesty's Exchequer respectively shall at any time or times before the 24th of June 1696 not only receive and take to his Majesty's Use at the receipt of Exchequer the said clipt Moneys which shall have been so receiv'd or collected by the Receivers-General and Collectors or other Officers which shall be by them brought to the said Receipt for the said Revenues c. but also any Loans in such Mony which shall be authoriz'd to be made or received there unless such Loans or Payments shall be specially directed by Act of Parliament to be received in other kind of Money Another Clause in the same Act recites Clause 4. That the Money made with the Hammer and not with the Mill and Press which remains whole and unclipt will be liable to clipping and rounding For the Prevention thereof it is enacted that every Person having unclipt hammered Money in his or her Custody or Possession do before the 10th of February 1695 or before they dispose of the same cause such unclipt Money to be struck through about the middle of every Piece with a solid Punch that shall make a Hole without diminishing the Silver and that after the said 10th of February no unclipt hammered Money that is to say such Pieces as have both Rings or the greatest Part of the Letters appearing thereon shall be current unless it be so struck through And if any Peece so struck through shall appear afterwards to be clipt no Person shall tender or receive the same in Payment under the Penalty of forfeiting as much as the clipt Money so punch'd through shall amount unto in Tale to be recover'd to the Use of the Poor of the Parish where such Money shall be so tender'd or receiv'd And his Majesty's Justices of the Peace or the major part of them in the general Quarter-Sessions upon Complaint to be made to them of such Offence are hereby empower'd to take Cognizance thereof and to determine the same and for that purpose to cause the Party complained of to appear before them and on Conviction to issue their Warrant or Warrants to levy such Penalty upon the Goods and Chattels of the Offenders 7mo Guil. 3tii And in the Act for granting to his Majesty an Aip of Four Shillings in the Pound for one Year for further Ease of the People Clause 5. it is enacted That those that are willing may at any time before the the 4th of May 1996 pay together with the first Quarterly Payment twice thrice or four times as much as shall be assess'd or payable for the first Quarterly Payment for or in respect of any Mannours Lands Tenements Rents Offices personal Estate or other matterr or things respectively in clipt Moneys being Sterling Silver or Silver of worse Alloy than the Standard and the Collectors are empower'd to receive the same and required on every such Payment to give an Acquittance expressing the Summ received for such Quarterly Payments c. and every such Acquittance shall be a good Discharge against his Majesty his Heirs and Successours as if the Summ chargeable by the Act on such Mannours Lands c. were assess'd or answer'd at the several and respective Quarterly Payments appointed by the Act. 7mo 8mo Guil. 3tii An Act for taking off the Obligation and Encouragement for coining Guineas for a certain time therein mention'd Recites that great Quantities of Gold have been lately imported from Foreign Parts which bein coin'd here into Guineas have been Occasion of the present ill State of our Silver Coin taken and accepted by the Subjects of this Realm at very high and unusual Rates and Prices tending to the great Dammage and Loss of the Publick the Continuance of which Practice says that Act unless speedily prevented will run the Nation vastly in Doubt to Foreigners for the Repayment whereof the Silver Moneys of this Kingdom must be inevitably exhausted on Terms of great Advantage Therefore to prevent the further Growth of so great an Evil enacts That from and after the 2d of March 1695 till the 1st of January then next following Clause 6. there shall not be any Obligation of receiving into his Majesty's Mint or Mints to be coin'd any Gold whatsoever nor shall any of the Officers of his Majesty's Mints be obliged to coin any Gold within the time aforesaid for any Person whatsoever except the Royal African Company as to such Gold as they import from Africa for their own Use And declares that the Importation of Guineas from beyond the Seas may prove prejudicial to the Kingdom and therefore enacts That all Guineas imported from the said 2d of March to the said 1st of January shall be forfeited half to the King and half to the Informer In the Act to incourage the bringing Plate into the Mint to be coin'd 7 mo 8 vo Guil. 31 ii and for further remedying the ill State of the Coin of this Kingdom there are Clauses to this Effect viz. Clause 7. And to the end the Subject after so great Contribution and Charge for making for making good the Deficiency of clipt Money may not remain under any Part of the Mischiefs which the Continuance of the Currency of such Money will occasion be it farther enacted that whoever after the 4th of May 1696 shall take or receive any such clipt Money otherwise than according to the Directions and in pursuance of an Act of this present Session of Parliament Entituled an Act for remedying the ill State of the Coin of this Kingdom in any Payment whatsoever as if it were lawful Money shall forfeit double the Value of the Silver so receiv'd to the Use of each Person as will inform or prosecute for the same to be recover'd in such manner and form as the Forfeiture for uttering clipt Money after a Hole has been punch'd through it in pursuance of an Act made in this present Session of Parliament is directed to be recover'd by the said Act. Vide the Act for remedying the ill State of the Coin c. And the Justices of the Peace are hereby impower'd to