“GEORGE R.

“His Majesty is very much concerned to see, That His granting the Patent for coining Half-pence and Farthings agreeable to the Practice of his Royal Predecessors, has given so much uneasiness to the House of Lords:  And if there have been any abuses committed by the Patentee, His Majesty will give the necessary Orders for enquiring into, and punishing those Abuses.  And will do everything that is in His Power, for the Satisfaction of His People."

APPENDIX II

REPORT OF THE ASSAY ON WOOD’S COINAGE, MADE BY SIR ISAAC NEWTON, EDWARD SOUTHWELL, ESQ., AND THOMAS SCROOPE, ESQ.[1]

“To the right honourable the Lords Commissioners of his Majesty’s Treasury.

“May it please your Lordships_,

According to your Lordships’ Order, the pix of the copper-money coined at Bristol by Mr. Wood for Ireland, has been opened and tried before us at his Majesty’s Mint in the Tower; and by the Comptroller’s account, to which Mr. Wood agreed, there hath been coined from Lady-day 1723 to March 28, 1724, in half-pence, fifty and five tons, five hundred and three quarters, and twelve ounces, and in farthings, three tons, seventeen hundred and two quarters, ten pounds, and eight ounces, avoirdupois, the whole coinage amounting to 59 tons, 3 cwt, 1 qr. 11 lbs. 4 ozs., and by the specimens of this coinage which have, from time to time, been taken from the several parcels coined and sealed up in papers, and put into the pix, we found that sixty half-pence weighed fourteen ounces, Troy, and eight pennyweight, which is about a quarter of an ounce above one pound avoirdupois; and that thirty farthings weighed three ounces, and three quarters of an ounce Troy, and forty-six grains, which is also above the weight required by his Patent.  We found also that both half-pence and farthings when heated red hot, spread thin under the hammer without cracking, as your Lordships may see by the pieces now laid before your Lordships.  But although the copper was very good, and the money, one piece with another, was full weight, yet the single pieces were not so equally coined in the weight as they should have been.

[Footnote 1:  The copy of this Report as here printed is taken from the tract already quoted in previous notes, entitled, “A Defence of the Conduct of the People of Ireland in their unanimous Refusal of Mr. Wood’s Copper-money ...  Dublin:  Printed for George Ewing, at the Angel and Bible in Dames-Street, MDCCXXIV.”  As already noted, the assayists had for trial only those coins which were coined between March, 1723, and March, 1724, and these coins were neither imported into Ireland nor attempted to be uttered there.  As Wood asked for the assay, he no doubt knew what he was about.  But even as it stands, the Report was not very favourable to him.  The author of the tract named above enters minutely into this point, and for a further inquiry the reader is referred to pages 15 to 19 of his publication. [T.S.]]