MAKING AN ABSOLUTE, PERFECT, AND FULL SECURITY TO. THE PURCHASORS OF SHARES AND CHANCES OF STATE LOTTERY TICKETS
Year: 1777

page_text: TO ALL PEOPLE TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
JOHN MOLESWORTH, of the Inner Temple, London, Esquire, send greeting.
WHEREAS His most Excellent Majesty King George the Third, by His
Letters Patent under His Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West-
minster, the Twenty-ninth day of September, in the seventeenth year of
His reign, did grant unto me, the said John Molesworth, my executors,.
administrators, and assigns, His said Majesty's especial licence, full power,
sole priviledge and authority, that I, the said John Molesworth, my executors,
adiñors, and assigns, and every of them, by myself and themselves, or by
mine and their deputy or deputys, servants or agents, or such others as I, the
said John Molesworth, my executors, admors, or assigns, should at any time.
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times hereafter during
the term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use,
exercise, and vend my new Invention for "MAKING AN ABSOLUTE, PERFECT,
AND FULL SECURITY TO. THE PURCHASORS OF SHARES AND CHANCES OF STATE
LOTTERY TICKETS," within that part of His Majesty's Kingdom of Great
Britain called England, His Dominion of Wales, and Town of Berwick-upon-
Tweed, in such manner as to me, the said John Molesworth, my executors,
admors, and assigns, or any of them, should in their discretion seem meet;

page_text: and that I, the said John Molesworth, my executors, adñiors, and assigns,
should and lawfully might have and enjoy the whole profit, benefit, comodity,
and advantage from time to time coming, growing, accruing, and arising by
reason of the said Invention for and during the term of years therein men-
tioned; to have, hold, exercise, and enjoy the said lycence, powers, priviledges,
and advantages therein-before granted or mentioned to be granted to me, the
said John Molesworth, my executors, admors, and assigns, for and during and
unto the full end and term of fourteen years from the date thereof next and
immediately following, and fully to be compleat and ended, according to the
Statute in such case, made and provided; in which said recited Letters Patent
is contained a provisoe,. that if I, the said John Molesworth, should not par-
ticularly describe and ascertain the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner the same was to be performed, by an instrument in writing under
my hand and seal, and cause the same to be inrolled in His Majesty's High
Court of Chancery within four kallandar months next and immediately after
the date thereof, that then the said recited Letters Pattent, and all liberties
and advantages whatsoever thereby granted, should utterly cease, determine,
and become void, anything therein-before contained to the contrary in anywise
notwithstanding, as in and by the said in part recited Letters Patent, relation
being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Molesworth, do hereby declare my
said Invention, and declare that the same is of the description and to be
performed in manner following, that is to say:-
The original State lottery ticket, or tickets proposed to be divided or allotted
into shares, chances, or interests is, before any such shares, chances, or interests
are made, published, or sold, to be stampt with certain figures, letters, cheques,
or devises, expressing and declareing the number, proportion, or amount of the
shares, chances, or interests into which it is proposed or intended to be allotted
or divided, which stamp is to be constructed and executed in such manner as
to prevent all possibility of the altering, changeing, or erasing (without detec-
tion and intirely defacing the ticket) the figures, letters, or devises impressed
thereby upon such State lottery ticket or tickets; and the said State lottery
ticket or tickets thus stampt or impressed before the issuing, publishing, or
selling any share, chance, or interest thereof, is to be safely lodged or depo-
sited in the custody of Governor and Company of the Bank of England, or
in custody of a banker or bankers sufficiently responsible and of undoubted
credit, or in custody of some other indifferent person or persons whose probity
and property shall be sufficiently approved of by the adventurers interested
in the said ticket, and receipt is to be taken which shall particularly specify

page_text: and declare that the said ticket shall, if drawn a prize, be retained for the
actual' or 'special purpose of paying on demand the holders of 'the respective
shares, chances, or interests thereof; in their due proportions, pro rata, accord-
ing to or by virtue of the indorsements or entries upon such receipt' or tickets
as is hereafter described, and to. that end shall remain, if not claimed by the
fortunate adventurers, in custody. as ábové mentioned for a certain space of
time, such as may deemed ample and sufficient for any claim thereon' to
be put in or made good by any person or persons resident in distant parts, so
that the said ticket or tickets shall not nor cannot during such time upon any
account or pretence whatsoever be applied to any other than the purposes afore
said! And to the end that no more shares, chances, or interest of the ticket so
marked; chequed; lodged, or secured 'may be issued; published, or sold than
will constitute or amount to the whole thereof, each ticket is to be divided or
formed into only one kind; species, 'or manner of shares, chances, or interests;
and no shares, chances, or interests of different amounts, proportions, or deno
minations are to be made of one and the same ticket, but the said ticket is to
be all issued or sold in halves, all in thirds, all in fourths, and so forth, as the
seller shall divide it, whether into shares, chances, or any other kind of
interest or interests; and upon every such issued, published, or sold chance,
share or interest of any kind shall be stamped or impressed, in such manner
as not to be altered or erased, alphabetical or numerical gradations of the
devise or devices of such shares, chances, or interests, to this effect, that
where a ticket is divided into several parts, as, for example, into eight parts, each
seperate part shall be stamped, chequed, or marked with the cautions aforesaid,
in figures, letters, or other device or devices in manner following, that is to
say-The first with first eighth, the second with second eighth, the third
with third eighth, and so on, till the whole amount of the ticket shall be
compleated, and shall also be stamped, chequed, or marked, as aforesaid, with
another letter, cheque, and number, or other device or devices to that effect,
as, for example, the first eighth to be marked, chéqued, or stamped A, No. 1,
the second eighth B, No. 2, and so on, so as to make by "this or any similar
device each share, chance; interest; or interests; a distinct voucher or ticket;
whereby any fraud or error may be easily detected if; two or more shares,
chances; or interests in one ticket should be issued: or published of the same
letter, mark, chéque; and number,' or exceeding the letters, marks, cheques,
and numbers which in the foregoing gradation constitute the whole of such
ticket. And as a further bar to errors or frauds of any kind, each share, chance,
or interest' so stamped, figüred, chequed, lettered, or numbered, is to be
chequed or examined by a banker, or some other person of established, credit

page_text: or by a person or persons previously and legally sworn to discharge such trust
or office faithfully and carefully; and when shares, chances, or interests are
to be made out of one ticket to a number exceeding the capital or other letters
of the English alphabet other alphabets may be used; or a number to each
letter as often as it may be required to repeat it, together with adequate and
proportionable stamps, letters, marks, cheques, or numbers, to the effect here-
tofore expressed and exemplified. And in the ticket or tickets, or in the original
receipt given for the tickets lodged or deposited in the custody of the bank,
banker, bankers, or other person or persons appointed for. that purpose as afore
said, there is to be inserted in words, letters, figures, cheques, or other device
or devices, by a stamp not liable to be altered or erased, as before described,
opposite to or against the number of each ticket, the number, proportion,
and denomination of the shares, chances,' or..interests into which it is allotted
or divided, and also opposite to or against the said number of the ticket a
stamp, cheque, or device, with spaces numbered as 1
2
F4, and so forth, or something
similar, according to the number of the said shares, chances, or interests;
and the said original receipt is, when demanded, to be produced to the pur.
chasers of shares, chances, or interests in any ticket or tickets, to the end that
they or their agents may write their names or initials, or make any mark they
please, or enter the cheque number of their share, chance, or interest upon
the said stamps prepared and impressed for that purpose on the said original
ticket or tickets, whereby the said purchasers always may have an additional
cheque to prevent any shares, chances, or interests of the ticket from being
issued beyond the just number, as in the foregoing exemplification; or this
manner of cheque may be practized by a book with the numbers of the tickets
entered thereon with stamps, cheques, or devices, as in the receipt aforesaid,
and left for the use of the purchasers of shares, chances, or interest in any
ticket or tickets, to enter their shares, chances, or interest in the custody of
the bank or banker, or other person or persons with whom the tickets are
deposited as heretofore specified, who may, if necessary, themselves also enter
them in like manner as described. And to secure the purchasers of shares,
chances, or interests too small or numerous to trouble the bank, bankers,
or persons as aforesaid to hold the tickets, from whence they are made as
above mentioned, a sum of money equal or superior to the highest prize
that can be drawn thereto is to be deposited and secured in the bank, at a
bankers, or with some proper and safe person or persons, for the use and
security of the adventurers, which may also be allotted to the said adventurers
as an additional advantage, and be determined and disposed of either by a

page_text: mber determinable by the drawing of the lottery, and given with such
ance, share, or interest, or by a cheque number entered upon and affixed to
ch share, chance, or interest.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Molesworth, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Eleventh day of October, in the seventeenth year
of the reign of our Sovereign Lord George the Third, by the grace
of God of Great Britain, France, and Ireland King, Defender of the
Faith, and so forth, and in the year of our Lord One thousand seven
hundred and seventy-seven.