Minute book: January 1696, 16-31 | British History Online

Calendar of Treasury Books, Volume 10, 1693-1696. Originally published by His Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1935.

Citation:

'Minute book: January 1696, 16-31', in Calendar of Treasury Books, Volume 10, 1693-1696, ed. William A Shaw( London, 1935), British History Online https://prod.british-history.ac.uk/cal-treasury-books/vol10/pp1426-1429 [accessed 5 October 2024].

January 1696, 16–31



Jan.17. Afternoon. Treasury Chambers, Whitehall.	Present: Lord Godolphin, Sir Stephen Fox.
	[My Lords direct] Mr. Polteney's fine of 250l. to go to the relief of French Protestants.
	[Ibid. p. 134.]
Jan. 20. Afternoon.	Present: Lord Godolphin, Sir Stephen Fox, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr. Smith.
	Col. Holt is to prepare his memorial against Wednesday.
	Mr. Ambrose and the Provost of the Moneyers [attend]: they say the crown and shilling dies are ready and the half crown and sixpenny dies will be ready in a fortnight. [Send] a letter to Mr. James Rotiers, taking notice that the dies for half crowns and sixpences are not prepared, that it is of great consequence for them to be finished, and to direct him to make haste.
	The Commissioners of Appeals [in Excise and the Commissioners of] Excise attend with the Attorney General. The occasion is the counsel for the brewer appellant insisted that new evidence should be heard before the Commissioners of Appeals: it was determined by Lord Southampton formerly and the then Chancellor of the Exchequer that new evidence should not be admitted or that the witnesses that were before the Commissioners of Excise should be heard again; so the Commissioners of Appeals attend my Lords for their direction. There was another point, whether a transcript of the minutes taken by the Register to the Excise Commissioners should be admitted [as evidence] for what was sworn before the Commissioners of Excise.
	My Lords think the Commissioners of Appeals are judges; but it may not be unreasonable for them to take the advice of the Judges.
	The Commissioners of Appeals [are directed] to state the case, to be carried as from my Lords to some of the Judges for their opinion.
	[My Lords direct] Mr. Noel to bring them a list of the tallies of pro on the Excise.
	The Excise Commissioners inform my Lords that the articles and security of Mr. Duncombe are lost or mislaid. [Send] a letter to Mr. Duncomb to be here and my Lords will speak to him to-morrow afternoon, when Mr. Noel will be here.
	[My Lords order] an order to be sent to Sir Scroop How, requiring him to keep the same number of clerks and allow them the same salary as Mr. Ashmole did, and to despatch the accounts of Excise according to the [Excise] Commissioners' report of 10 Dec, 1695.
	Mr. Lillingston's report is agreed to in [the Privy] Council. [My Lords] to know of the King whether he shall be paid out of the contingencies of the Army or what other way.
	[Treasury Minute Book VIII. p. 135.]
Jan. 21.	Present: Lord Godolphin, Sir Stephen Fox, Mr. Smith.
	Mr. Duncomb [is called in and] says he sealed his bond to the Excise Commissioners as their Cashier and he left it with Mr. Noell. Mr. Noel says Mr. Duncomb took the bond with him, and when Noel asked him for it, Duncomb answered: You have a bond of Blackenbury and when I have that you shall have this.
	[Send] to the Earl of Ranelagh to pay 1,126l. 5s. 0d. to such [of] the Roman Catholic officers of the two Dutch Regiments of Steinboch and Reckteren that are now going out of England.
	Sir Thomas Littleton and Mr. Charlton [attend] with Capt. Richardson about the saltpetre delivered by the East India Company. [Send word] to the said Company for some of them to be here on Friday afternoon.
	[Ibid. p. 136.]
Jan. 24. Afternoon.	Present: ut supra.
	Sir John Fleet is called in. My Lords speak to him concerning the tare of the saltpetre delivered into the Office of the Ordnance by the East India Company, [and tell him] that the powder makers expect the same allowance of tare as formerly and made their contract this year accordingly with the officers of the Ordnance.
	Sir John says the Company had this year altered the manner of the delivery of the saltpetre; that the bags were of another kind of cloth, much lighter than formerly, so that the allowance for tare was less; but for the future when they deliver the saltpetre they would shoot it out of the bags into casks; that the powder makers had the same allowance of tare for the King's petre as they had in those lots they bought for themselves, and that their complaint was thought very frivolous.
	Send a letter to the [Principal] Officers of the Ordnance to attend my Lords on this matter on Monday afternoon. Sir John Fleet had [the same] notice.
	My Lords read the Order of Council on the report of my Lords as to the petition of Mr. Levingston. My Lords do not think the money can be placed on Lord Ranelagh's account for contingencies, but do give him an assignment on the Four and a Half per cent., which is the best fund they have in their disposal.
	My Lords intend to consider the Irish papers on Monday. Send a letter to Mr. Roberts that they desire him to attend then.
	A letter is read [addressed] to my Lords from Mr. John Price, of Ireland, [in which he] desires that his Majesty's determination may be put to his accounts. [My Lords order] that his accounts be carried on Wednesday next to [the King at] Kensington.
	[Treasury Minute Book VIII. p. 137.]
Jan. 27. Afternoon.	Present: Lord Godolphin, Sir Stephen Fox, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr. Smith.
	The [Principal] Officers of the Ordnance and Sir John Fleet [attend] about the tare of the saltpetre. The question is whether the Company in their delivery of the saltpetre must observe the usual tare. Sir John says the powder makers are so well allowed for tare that he'll give them 1,000 guineas for their gain by the allowed tare; he'll give them 8l. a bag profit; the cloth weighs less and therefore the tare ought to be accordingly.
	Mr. Dodington informs my Lords that he has a great many clipt half crowns in his hands for pay of [seamen's] wages, which he would [prefer not to issue to the seamen, but to] bring back to the Exchequer.
	The [Principal] Officers of the Mint [attend]. My Lords direct them to be at the Mint on Thursday, when my Lords will be there to see their forwardness.
	Mr. Neal comes in again. My Lords tell him of the proposal for having every altern[ate] letter on the edges of the money turned inwards, which [proposal] was offered by Mr. Addis. Mr. Neal says that will have a great impediment to the work and will be of no benefit at all. Mr. Rotier is of the same opinion. He says every letter has a hollowness which he makes [engraves], which in case of casting in sand will break off as much as the letters proposed by Addis, and the Mint instruments are not strong enough for the inward letters.
	Mr. Addis [undertakes that he] will prepare an instrument against Thursday morning and be at the Mint. Mr. Russell is to give him the true length.
	[Send] to the Earl of Ranelagh to prepare against Wednesday a state to lay before the [Treasury] L[ords] of the debt owing to Col. Holt's Regiment.
	Col. Holt is directed to bespeak clothes for his Regiment at the rate of 4l. a man.
	[Ibid. p. 138.]
Jan. 28. Afternoon.	Present: Lord Godolphin, Sir Stephen Fox.
	[No entry of any minute.]
	[Treasury Minute Book VIII. p. 139.]
Jan. 29. Kensington.	Present: The King, Lord Godolphin, Sir Stephen Fox, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr. Smith.
	[The King reads the Earl of Ranelagh's paper of the weekly memorial for issues for the Forces, containing his proposed] distribution of [same for] this week [and the King directs same] to be paid out of loans [on the Exchequer] in General.
	[The King orders] the subsistence for the soldiers in the Leeward Islands to be remitted by the Agents here to Colonel Codrington, who is to see that the money be justly applied to the use of the officers and soldiers that are effectively there.
	[Ibid. p. 140.]