The Sun.
London, England, 1804-07-07 00:00:00

EXTRACT

FROM MINUTES OF EVIDENCE►

Taken before the Coinmittee appointed to inquire into the
State of Ireland, as to its Circulating Paper ; its Specie and
Current Coin; and the Exchange between that part of the
United Kingdom and Great Britain.
The Right Hon. 1011 N FOSTER, in the Chair.
(Continued from our Paper of Yetterdely.)

THOMAS THORPE PRANK, ESQ. EXCHANGE MEX.
CHANT OF DUBLIN, EXAMINED.
Were you in Dublin at the time when the trans.
anion is said to have taken place of the Treasury
refusing to take silver, that was common in curren.
cy, from, the Post.office ?—I was nor.
Do you know the fad to have been so do not,
but I believe it to be so ; and my reason is, the day
before I left Dublin 1 had some conversation with
the Gentlemen of the Post.office on the subject of
the bad coin,- and they accounted to me for the fa.
cility with which it was continued in circulation,
by the Postmen - taking it in payment of Letters,
which they did, and would continue to do, while
the Treasury would take it from the Post.office.
Did the Officers of the Post.office, to whom yiiu
allude, state there having been any orders received
in that department from any highet authlrity on the
subjea ?—They did not ; nor do I conceive at that
time there had been any such orders received.
Do you. know ,of any orders of that nature since ?
—Only through the Newspapers.
Was the, Silver Coin in Ireland interior to the
Silver Coin in England, prior to the rt•strielion
It was,ever, since 'I knew the Silver Coin of Ire.
land.
Was itinferior in the same proportion it is now'?
—By no. Means, and in former times, before the re.
attittion, the proportion was not more than 5 per
icept.

Has it not since that period been getting gradual.
ly 'and uniformly worse ?—Certainly it has.
Do you think that the depreciated state of the
Silver, Currency of Ireland has been produced by the
restriction ?—I do nor. 4
», you know the ,state of the Copper Coinage in
Ireland ?—I do; the Copper Coinage of Iceland, as
compared with the Copper Coinage of England, I
conceive to be infinitely better than the Silver Cur.
rency of Ireland compared with the Silver Currency
of England, and it is in fact scarce in Dublin, on ac.
count of the small number of sixpences in circula.
tion, and it is taken in small quantities---I mean
two or three shillings, In Fr litrence to silver,
Is the Copper Coin o'.; Ileland a Mint Coin ?
The great part of what is in circulation is not ; is
is what they call Cammac's.
Explain what you mean by " Cammac's I"
I mean halfpence made by a person of that name, a
Proprietor of Copper Mines, with a device upon it,
not the King's face.
Are there many copper pence in Ireland ?—Very
fa w.

Any farthings .2—Not any.
Is there ahr difficulty in obtaining. Copper Coin
—There is a difficulty now in obtaining
,it; arming
from its scarcity, and tht preference given to it aver
Silver.
Will there be any difficulty in obtaining more
Copper Coinage for Ireland ?—I should think none.
W,,tild you recommend the introduttion of Cone!
Pence I—Certainly.

jititystrAtt 1001.1101, ESQ, ONE Or TIIE DIREC-
TORS OT THE BANK or IRELAND, EXAMINED•
• Ate you a Merchant there ?—I was in the Bul-
lion Business. in Ireland.
Do you know the state of the Silver Currency
in lieland ?—I do ; but
.I would, from' what appears
'consult rny, palm's/
to me to have been.
thi tendency of the examina-
tion this day, wish to
and le.
serve myself for another day.
Can you state' the situation of the Silver Coin of
Leland I—lt is extremely bad. •
In what rasped point,of quality
and weight.
State the-pfarticulars,• as ,far as you can ?—.-.The
day befute I left Ireland, the alarm, and the stop.
page-of the circulation-of this haie currency; in.
duced me to have some of ir, weighed, and I found
that it took at about 1164. or-six guineas to the.
pound weight; at-the sam: time I-tried the weight
of Mint silver, midi as is forbe: found, though not
much in circulation, and greatly worn ; I found
them to he- about four guineas and an;half to the
pound weight, 04.5. and ‘5:1:-; the Mint silvet is de.
liVered at evas..the pound weight ; after reducing
it, it appears the base silver by weight is wetth
less than halt its currency ; but afterikards, it is to -I
be taken into consideration, 'how much farther it is
to be coOsidered.ai reduced in value by the ad.
ciency of the `standard. I consider; in the first in.
stance; the.difference bet Ween the tale value and the
'Mint issue, which amonnts to gl. 41. in the pound
Troy ; and secondly, whate'ver difference there may
l4e bctween the stinultild trt t t o*: dwts. Of. fine
silver the pound. Troy, and the value' of this base
c )in,_ which May, perhaps, contain not more than
from four to seven oz. of silver in the like pound.:
What do you suppose mays ,he the average value
of the base silver shilling ?=-That is very dilE,cult
to state, on acc anti of thcir different qnality ; the
best is not woith and the worst, perhaps,
about half that value ; but this state only as mat.
ter'of conjecture.
Did-any thing lately occur in Dublin to prevent
circulation of this Anise coin I—From my own
knowledge,: I cannot say any tl:ing; from hearsay,
I haVe heard it: has been refused at-some of the
.Public Offices'. s.
'teas it genetally refned throughout Dublin ?

It was.
Atm long is it since tie base coin has been in
general eircnhti n iti 'lreland is an evil that
has-been long growing ; long,belyre the restriMon.
What dt..).lyow itortue ity growth toi—l-inipute
its .growtl,' in the ctiorninti3 mintier in'which it
has latterly incrcioed, to the inmufficienCy of the
laws to puniAt ofldotlers when .rosectited ; the prq.
insteati.of-leadingto punishment, explain-
ed tnore-ptiblicly. ire iiisulticiertcy .of the laws, and
one of;theinicans ore Was,..that they did nbt

Incr,

1

strike an imprelsi,w, Gut only cut ont t
the form of a button, that which was aflerwart::.
sold and circulated for shillingi.
State the ni,v,lner in which this coin 11.1 s been ort•
ginally circulated ?—The makers, either by :hem.
selves or th:it agents, sold it to pers,os %‘ll,,
hdtl
an opportunity
were able, at the tare of twenty;-eight t(,)
of circulating it, as wrll a, they
three, four, and • five and thirty shiliipgs for the
guinea. I speak this oily from general inform
tion, which I had from report, and which I believe
to he true.

Do you know of 'an A 4 in. Ireland for laying 3
penalty on buying gold for less then the currency,
unless it is cut?---I do.
Do you apprehend that the extension of simila
penalties to the purchase of silver for leer, th.iii the
currency, would be produclive- of beneficial eir4ttit, ?
—I think it would certainly be attended with 40:11t.
ficial effeas, but would not An,vecr. . the end ; the
ground, as apprehend, on which..thit,:.Att Was
passed, was for the purpose of preventing ,the re-
circulation of gold brought up to be re-coined, as
being deficient in weight but not its 5E811114d ;
some of the buyers of which had circulated sutne of
that again, for which they had been paid, for b 7
the holders to send to the Mint for te:coinige;

(Ts. be continua.)

•

BRISTOL, JuLr+.

. . ,
MONDAY the. z 5. .11 sir. Joseph Smart, plaisterer
George Caine, of Kingswood, seller of oysters and
mier about therstreets and vicinity of Bath John
Manners, of Weston. laboutcr ; and Robert 8011,
of. Yatton Keynell, labourer, - were fully committed
to take ,their trial at the next Soinetbet Assizes, for
stealing upwards of 4001. worth of superfine cloth,
troth the shop of the late Mr. John Joyce, at Fresh-
ford, abuut four miles from Bath. Thorn” 113tc•
anti Charles Fuller, alias the 'Squire (.mother oyster.
man) concerned in the above burglary, are not yet
anrelleodeti.—These thieves were so expert,' !tut
on the night of the t tth of May (when they eTn.,
milted the robbery), they supped in Bath at 'ten
o'clock, at eleven broke.open a stable in Bathwick
to get a cart and horse, .at twelve reached Fresh-
ford, at half past two returned 6:). Bath 'with this
valuable booty, and at three 'all parted,!raving
housed the same in a cosch.house behind Pulteney-
street, which Fuller, alias the 'Squire, had takenof
a tradesman,
a Gentleman of Wales.
under the feigned name of Mr. Jones,

I

Mr. Howrort, a private in the sixth Company of
the West London Militia, was struck: blind by ex
lightning, as he stood on guard, in 174igh.:ttee!a
Woolwich, on Sunday se'nnight, The fueloci,;,'
supposed to have attraCted the eleetric