Rougher holograph draft of MINT00845(b) (Mint 19/1/497v-498)

<499r>

An Answer to Mr Chaloners Petition.

Mr Chaloner before a Committee of the last sessions of Parliament 1laboured to accuse & vilify the Mint &2 approve himself a more skilfull coyner then they3 that thhe might be made their Supervisor & then supply Tho. Holloway wth coyning Tools out of the Tower to counterfeit his own milled money by a way wch he then concealed from that Honble Committee, [& so funn the Parliament as he then boasted at the {illeg} in searcht]& accordingly he boasted or in get his confidents that he would fun the Parliament as he had formerly done yt king before And while he was upon this designe I gave ye Chairman of that Honble Commee severall heads for a minutes for a new Act of Parliamt against coyners, & the Act was afterwards drawn up by some of the Iudges & Officers of the Mint & brought into the House of Lords. wthout Mr Chaloners assistance.

4About the end of that Sessions Mr Neale (as I have heard) moved ye House to give leave that Mr Chaloner might be prosecuted for taxing the Mint wth coyning great quantities of false money but I do not know that there was any designe or menace to prosecute him for any thing else then that calumny, & much less to take away his life. 4Nor did I ever heare any pretend that the Honble House of Commons had no power to meddle wth the Affairs of the Mint or that their Commee wch then sat had not all the power wch the House thought fit to grant them: but when the Commee sent an order to me about preparing an Edger for Mr Chaloner to grave new mony, I told Mr Chaloner that in regard of an oath that I had taken I could not safely carry him to the workmaen of the Mint about it, but if he would give me directions I would take care of ye matter But Mr Chaloner refusing to give me directions, as he ought to have done by that Order I directed the workmen (without him) to grave some half crowns shillings & sixpences without him & carried them to the Commee.

That his Maty was moved in behalf of Mr Chaloner by order of this Honble House I did not heare any sillable till after I had committed him: wch I did on this occasionwas then {illeg}tly moved to do not for any thing he had done before ye said Commee but because he stood charged wth new designes of counterfeiting both bBills & money forreign & domestick, since the rising of yt sessions & wth coyning very greate summs of gold before. {sic}. And particularly upon the rising of the last Sessions of Parliament he directedadvised Tho. Holloway to take a house in the Country convenient for coyning & agreed with him that he should find materials & teach Holloway to coyn & Holloway & his brother Iohn should coyn together at Egham that house & they three should should {sic} share the money so made. And accordingly Tho. Holloway did take a house at Egham in Surrey & Chaloner did make some progress in teaching him & his brother & in preparing coyning tools. And for doing this & coyning I did order that he should be Indicted But the principal witness withdrew & fled into Scotland & the Indictment {illeg}be{illeg}ing drawn wrong & two others of the Witnesses were afterwards drawn off to swaer against the Indictment it & not for abusing the Mint he was prosecuted but the Indictment was drawn wrong & one of the Witnesses being sent into Scotland, two others were drawn off to swear against the Indictmenthe was prosecuted committed & prosecuted & against the Mint; although by swearing on both sides their credit be diminishedfell <499v> & to draw off the Kings Witnesses & swear them against the King be a misdemeanour becausewhich it gra{illeg}vells prosecutions & renders it very dangerous for any man to prosecute,. & is therefore accounted a misdemeanour

But that any of the Mint have given privilege to coyn false money with intent to draw in Mr Chaloner to coyn, or given any direction to draw him in to coyn or allowed money to buy coyning tools or conspired against him I do not know no beleive

There are divers witnesses that Mr Chaloner last summer was forward to coyn & that anyI do not know or believe yt any privilege or direction was given by any of the Mint to draw him in I do not {illeg}or to do any thingfor privileges to coyn false money wth intention to draw him inwas for that purpose or that any conspiracy was made against him or any money given to buy coyning tools. I do not know nor believe Neither can I find that he did ever make it his business to find out any treasons & conspiracies against the King & Kingdom but what were of his own contriving as in the case of the Printers. And as for his intended book about the defects of the Mint, I heard nothing of it till I saw it mentioned in his printed case & therefore did not committ him for that book But {illeg}When I had committed him he told me he had written a book about preventing the counterfeiting of Exchequer Bills & offered to let me see it, but said nothing of an book {illeg}intended about ye Mint.

If therefore he be ruined {illeg} tis by his endeavouring not to serve the King & Government as he pretends but to coyn false money. And if he would but let the money & Government alone & return to his trade of Iappanning, he is not so far ruined but that he might still live as well as he did beforeseven years ago when he left off that trade & raised himself by coyning.