The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1825-07-15 00:00:00

TRIAL OF THE PIX.

Ycskrtlay morning, at ten o'clock, the Lords of his Ma-
jesty's most Hon. Privy Council assembled at his Majesty's
Exchequer, at which hour the Lord Chancellor, the Chan-
cellor of the Exchequer, Lord Stowell, and Sir Ilenev Rus-
sell, were assembled. Mr. Wallace, the Master of the
hunt, was present, and although the meeting was to ex-
amine the coins issued by him, yet his Lordship did nut
see any objection to his taking his seat as a Privy Colin-
eilior ; but still there wanted another Privy Councillor to
constitute a Board, and they waited half an hour before
another arrived, when Mr. It ynn entered the room.
The Board being then formed, the proper officer
proceeded to call over the names of the Jury, and'
they answered as follows :—Thomas Brind, Thomas
Ayres, 'Thomas Halifax, Thomas Albion Cox, Philip
Gilbert, James Henderson, Sam. Haynes, Walter Smith,
Jahn Robinson, Thomas Hayter, George Miler, and John
Jol:Lson. Moat of these gentlemen, we understood, are'
goldsmiths.
The Council and Jury assembled by virtue of an Order ,
in Council, from the King in Council, to make trial of his
Msjesty's coins in the Pix of the Mint. 'rhe Jury were
sworn to make an assay between his Majesty, the late
Master of the Mint, Lord Maryborough, and also Mr.
Wallace, the present Master.
Ti.e Lord Chancellor shortly addressed the Jury, and
A 4,1 them they were to try the coins hulled between the
,King and his people, with the Muter of the Mint, it being
essential the coin of this realm, which has attained such I
pre-eminence in the world, should be meek pure, and that I
the public mind should be satisfied 00 this subject, the
'experience of ages. The Learned Lord then stated the
subs:sacs of an indenture, which *as entered into between
our s.uvereign Lord the King, which establishes the stand.'
and of the coin in gold and silver, which directs alloy to be
used, which is not to be too strong or too feeble. It fur-'
deer provides for a trial by a Pia, which is to be done by I
fire, water, &c. His Lordship concluded by saying he
had no doubt, from the experience he haul on former cc-
easions With the same gentlemen, but that they would ro-
turn a proper verdict.
The Lords of the Council then repented, and the Gen-
tlemen of the Jury retired to the Bitchy of Lancaster Cum t,
where they were joined by the Viet k of the Goldsmith's.
Company and others, and proceeded to make the necessary '
experiments on the coins by calculations, and afterwards
melted a certain quantity, to ascertain if the quantity
of alloy in the coins contained was the proper proper.;
tioa. The account of the gold monies coined by the
Right Hon, Thomas Wallace. Master Worker of his Ma-
jetty's Mint, from the tenth June, Int, to the Ist July,
18.13, agreeably to the indenture, dated 6th February,
1811. the total value of the coinage amounted to 5,046,300/.
A similar account of the silver coined at the same time,
after the rate of sixty-six shillings to the pound weight
(troy), of the standard of eleven ounces two pennyweights
of fine silver and eighteen pennyweights of alloy ; together
with an account of the small monies coined for his Ma-
jesty's Maundy, in the year 1823 ; the whole of which
was only of small amount, the total value of the coinage
being only 137,761!. 164. The experiments occupied the
attention of the Jury till between three and fonr o'clock;
the report of which was made at Goldsmiths Hall.