To the NOBILITY and GENTRY of the Kingdom of IRELAND.

HAVING already written Two Letters to People of my own Level, and Condition; and having now very pressing Occasion for writing a Third; I thought I could not more properly Address it than to Your Lordships and Worships.

The Occasion is this. A Printed Paper was sent to me on the 18th Instant, Entitled, A REPORT of the COMMITTEE of the LORDS of His MAJESTY's most Honourable PRIVY-COUNCIL in England, relating to Mr. WOOD's HALFLENCE and FARTHINGS. There is no Men- tion H 58 tion made where the Paper was Printed, but I suppose it to have been in Dublin; and I have been told that the Copy did not come over in the Gazette, but in the London Journal, or some other Print of no Authority or Consequence; and for any thing that Legally appears to the contrary, it may be a Contrivance to Fright us, or a Project of some Printer, who hath a Mind to make a Penny by Publishing something upon a Subject, which now employs all our Thoughts in this Kingdom. Mr. WOOD in Publishing this Paper would insinuate to the World, as if the Committee had a greater Concern for his Credit and Private Emolument, than for the Honour of the Privy-Council and both Houses of Parliament Here, and for the Quiet and Welfare of this whole Kingdom: For it seems intended as a Vindication of Mr. WOOD not without several severe Remarks on the Houses of Lords and Commons of Ireland.

The whole is indeed written with the Turn and Air of a Pamphlet, as if it were a Dispute between WILLIAM WOOD on the one Part, and the Lords Justices, Privy-Council and Both Houses of Parliament on the other; the Design of it being to Clear and Vindicate the Injured Reputation of WILLIAM WOOD, and to Groundless Aspersions upon him.

But if it be really what the Title Imports. Mr. WOOD hath treated the COMMITTEE with 59 with great Rudeness, by Publishing an Act of Theirs in so unbecoming a Manner, without their Leave, and before it was communicated to the Government and Privy-Council of Ireland, to whom the Committee advised that it should be Transmitted. But with all Deference be it spoken, I do not conceive that a Report of a Committee of the Council in England, is Hitherto a Law in either Kingdom; and until any Point is determined to be a LAW; it remains disputable by every Subject.

This (May it please your Lordships and Worships) may seem a strange Way of discoursing in an Illiterate Shop-Keeper. I have endeavoured (although without the Help of Books) to improve that small Portion of Reason which GOD hath pleased to give me, and when Reason plainly appears before me, I cannot turn away my Head from it. Thus for Instance, if any Lawyer should tell me that such a Point were Law, from which many Gross Palpable Absurdities must follow, I would not, I could not believe him. If Sir Edward Cook should positively assert (which he no where does, but the direct contrary) that a Limited Prince, could by his Prerogative oblige his Subjects to take Half an Ounce of Lead, stamped with His Image, for Twenty Shillings in Gold, I should Swear he was deceived or a Deceiver, because a Power like that, would leave the whole Lives and Fortunes of the People entirely at 60 at the Mercy of the Monarch: Yet this, in Effect, is what Wood hath advanced in some of his Papers, and what suspicious People may possibly apprehend from some Passages in that which is called the Report.

That Paper mentions Such Persons to have been Examined, who were Desirous and Willing to be heard upon that Subject. I am told, they were Four in all, Coleby, Brown, Mr. Finley the Banker, and one more whose Name I know not. The first of these was Tryed for Robbing the Treasury in Ireland, and although he were acquitted for want of Legal Proof, yet every Person in the Court believed him to be Guilty. The second was Tryed for a Rape, and stands Recorded in the Votes of the House of Commons, for endeavouring by Perjury and Subornation, to take away the Life of John Bingham, Esq;

But since I have gone so far as to mention particular Persons, it may be some Satisfaction to know who is this Wood himself, that has the Honour to have whole Kingdom at his Mercy, for almost Two Years together. I find he is in the Patent Entitled, Esq; although he were under stood to be only a Hard-Ware-Man, and so I have been bold to call him in my former Letters; however a 'Squire he is, not only by Vertue of his Patent, but by having been a Collector in Shropshire, where pretending to have been Robbed, and suing the County, he was Cast, and for the 61 the Infamy of the Fact, lost his Employment.

I have heard another Story of this 'Squire, Wood from a very Honourable Lady, That one Hamilton told her, He (Hamilton) was sent for Six Years ago by Sir Isaac Newton to Try the Coynage of Four Men, who then Solicited a Patent for Coyning Half-pence for Ireland; their Names were Wood, Coster, Elliston, and Parker. Parker made the fairest Offer, and Wood the worst, for his Coyn were Three Half-pence in a Pound less Value than the other. By which it is plain with what Intentions he Solicited this Patent, but not so plain how he obtained it.

It is alledged in the said Paper, called the Report, that upon repeated Orders from a Secretary of State, for sending over such Papers and Witnesses, as should be thought proper to Support the Objections made against the Patent (by Both Houses of Parliament) the Lord Lieutenant Represented The great Difficulty he found himself in to comply with these Orders. That none of the Principal Members of Roth Houses, who were in the King's Service or Council, would take upon them to Advise how any Material Person or Papers might be sent over on this Occasion, &c. And this is often Repeated and Represented as A Proceeding that seems very Extraordinary, and that in a Matter which had raised so great a CLAMOUR in Ireland, No one Person could be prevailed upon to come over from Ireland in Support of the United Sense of both Houses of Par- 62 Parliament in Ireland, especially that the chief Difficulty should arise from a General Apprehension of a Miscarriage, in an Enquiry before his Majesty, or in a Proceeding by due Course of Law, in a Case where Both Houses of Parliament had declared themselves so fully convinced, and satisfied upon Evidence, and Examinations taken in the most Solemn Manner.

How shall I, a poor Ignorant Shop-Keeper, utterly unskill'd in Law, be able to answer so weighty an Objection. I will try what can be done by plain Reason, unassisted by Art, Cunning or Eloquence.

In my humble Opinion, the Committee of Council, hath already prejudg'd the whole Case, by calling the United Sense of both Houses of Parliament in Ireland an UNIVERSAL CLAMOUR. Here the Addresses of the Lords and Commons of Ireland against a Ruinous Destructive Project of an Obscure, Single Undertaker, is called a CLAMOUR. I desire to know how such a Stile would be Resented in England from a Committee of Council there to a Parliament, and how many Impeachments would follow upon it. But supposing the Appellation to be proper, I never heard of a wise Minister who despised the UNIVERSAL CLAMOUR of a People, and if that CLAMOUR can be Quieted by disappointing the Fraudulent Practice of a single Person, the Purchase is not Exorbitant. But 63

But in Answer to this Objection. First it is manifest, that if this Coynage had been in Ireland, with such Limitations as have been formerly specified in other Patents, and Granted to Persons of this Kingdom, or even of England, able to give sufficient Security, few or no Inconveniencies could have happened, which might not have been immediately remedyed. As to Mr. Knox's Patent mentioned in the Report, Security was given into the Exchequer, that the Patentee should at any Time receive his Half-pence back, and pay Gold or Silver in Exchange for them. And Mr. Moor (to whom I suppose that Patent was made over) was in 1694 forced to leave off Coyning before the End of that Year, by the great Crouds of People continally offering to return his Coynage upon him. In 1698 he Coyned again, and was forced to give over for the same Reason. This entirely alters the Case; for there is no such Condition in WOOD's Patent, which Condition was worth a Hundred Times all other Limitations whatsoever.

Put the Case, that the two Houses of Lords and Commons of England, and the PRIVY COUNCIL there should address his Majesty to recal a Patent, from whence they apprehend the most ruinous Consequences to the whole Kingdom: And to make it stronger if possible, that the whole Nation, almost to a Man, should thereupon Discover the most Dismal Apprehensions (as Mr. Wood styles them) would his Majesty de- bate 64 bate half an Hour what he had to do? Would any Minister dare advise him against recalling such a Patent? Or would the Matter be referred to the Privy Council or to Westminster-Hall, the two Houses of Parliament Plaintiffs, and William Wood Defendant? And is there even the smallest Difference between the two Cases?

Were not the People of Ireland born as Free as those of England? How have they forfeited their Freedom? Is not their Parliament as fair a Representative of the People as that of England? And hath not their Privy Council as great or a greater Share in the Administration of Publick Affairs? Are they not Subjects of the same King? Does not the same Sun shine over them? And have they not the same God for their Protector? Am I a Free Man in England, and do I become a Slave in six Hours by crossing the Channel? No Wonder then, if the boldest Persons were cautious to interpose in a Matter already determined by the whole Voice of the Nation, or to presume to represent the Representatives of the Kingdom, and were justly apprehensive of meeting such a Treatment as they would deserve at the next Session. It would seem very extraordinary if an Interiour Court in England should take a Matter out of the Hands of the High Court of Parliament, during a Prorogation, and decide it against the Opinion of both Houses.

It happens however, that, although no Persons were so bold, as to go over as Evidences, to prove 65 prove the Truth of the Objections made against this Patent by the High Court of Parliament here, yet these Objections stand Good, notwithstanding the Answers made by Wood and his COUNCIL.

The Report says, that upon an Assay made of the Fineness, Weight and Value of this Copper, it exceeded in every Article. This is possible enough in the Pieces upon which the Assay was made; but Wood must have failed very much in Point of Dexterity, if he had not taken Care to provide a sufficient Quantity of such Half-pence as would bear the Tryal; which he was well able to do, although they were taken out of several Parcels. Since it is now Plain, that the Byass of Favour hath been wholly on his Side.

But what need is there of disputing, when we have a positive Demonstration of Wood's Fraudulent Practices in this Point. I have seen a large Quantity of these Half-pence weighed by a very Skilful Person, which were of Four Different Kinds, Three of them considerably under weight. I have now before me an exact Computation of the Difference of Weight between these Four Sorts, by which it appears that the Fourth Sort, or the Lightest, differs from the First to a Degree, that, in the Coynage of Three hundred and sixty Tuns of Copper, the Patentee will be a Gainer only, by that Difference of Twenty four thousand Four hundred and ninety four I 66 four Pounds, and in the whole, the Publick will be a Loser of Eighty two thousand one hundred and sixty eight Pounds, Sixteen Shillings, even supposing the Metal in Point of Goodness to answer Wood's Contract and the Assay that hath been made; which it infallibly doth not. For this Point hath likewise been enquired into by very Experienced Men, who, upon several Tryals in many of these Half-pence, have found them to be at least one Fourth Part below the Real Value (not including the Raps or Counterfeits that he or his Accomplices have already made of his own Coin, and scattered about) Now the Coynage of Three hundred and sixty Tun of Copper Coyned by the Weight of the Fourth or Lightest Sort of his Half-pence will amount to One hundred twenty two thousand four hundred eighty eight Pounds, Sixteen Shillings, and if we Substract a Fourth Part of the Real Value by the Base Mixture in the Metal, we must add to the Publick Loss one Fourth Part, to be substracted from the Intrinsick Value of the Copper, which in Three hundred and sixty Tuns amounts to Ten thousand and eighty Pounds, and this added to the former Sum of Eighty two thousand one hundred sixty eight Pounds, Sixteen Shillings, will make in all, Ninety two thousand two hundred forty eight Pounds Loss to the Publick; besides the Raps or Counterfeits that he may at any time hereafter think fit to Coin. Nor do I know 67 know whether he reckons the DROSS Exclusive or Inclusive with his Three hundred and sixty Tun of Copper; which however will make a considerable Difference in the Account.

You will here please to observe, that the Profit allowed to Wood by the Patent is Twelvepence out of every Pound of Copper valued at 15.6d. whereas 5d. only is allowed for Coynage of a Pound Weight for the English Half-pence, and this Difference is almost 25 per Cent. which is double to the highest Exchange of Money, even under all the Additional Pressures, and Obstructions to Trade, that this unhappy Kingdom lies at present. This one Circumstance in the Coynage of Three hundred and sixty Tun of Copper make a Difference of Twenty seven thousand seven hundred and twenty Pounds between English and Irish Half-pence, even allowing those of Wood to be all of the heaviest Sort.

It is likewise to be considered, that for every Half-penny in a Pound Weight, exceeding the Number directed by the Patent, Wood will be a Gainer in the Coynage of Three hundred and sixty Tun of Copper, Sixteen hundred and eighty Pounds Profit more than the Patent allows him; Out of which he may afford to make his Comptrollers EASY upon that Article.

As to what is alledged, that these Half-pence far exceed the like Coynage for Ireland in the Reigns of his Majesty's Predecessors: There cannot well be a more exceptionable Way of Arguing: Al- though 68 though the Fact were true, which however is altogether mistaken; not by any Fault in the Committee, but by the Fraud and Imposition of Wood, who certainly produced the worst Patterns he could find, such as were coyned in small Numbers by Permissions to Private Men, as Butchers Half-pence, Black Dogs and the Like, or perhaps the Small St. Patrick's Coyn which passed for a Farthing, or at best some of the smallest Raps of the latest Kind. For I have now by me some Half-pence coyned in the Year 1680 by vertue of the Patent granted to my Lord Dartmouth, which was renewed to Knox, and they are heavier by a ninth Part than those of Wood, and in much better Metal. And the great St. Patrick's Half-penny is yet larger than either.

But what is all this to the present Debate? If under the various Exigencies of former Times, by Wars, Rebellions, and Insurrections, the Kings of England were sometimes forced to pay their Armies here with mixt or base Money, God forbid that the Necessities of turbulent Times should be a Precedent for Times of Peace, and Order, and Settlement.

In the Patent above mentioned granted to Lord Dartmouth, in the Reign of King Charles 2d. and renewed to Knox, the Securities given into the Exchequer, obliging the Patentee to receive his Money back upon every Demand, were an effectual Remedy against all Inconveniencies. And the 69 the Copper was coyned in our own Kingdom, so that we were in no Danger to purchase it with the Loss of all our Silver and Gold carried over to another, nor to be at the Trouble of going to England for the Redressing of any Abuse.

That the Kings of England have exercised their Prerogative of Coyning Copper for Ireland and for England is not the present Question: But (to speak in the Style of the Report) it would seem a little extraordinary, supposing a King should think fit to exercise his Prerogative by Coyning Copper in Ireland, to be current in England, without referring it to his Officers in that Kingdom, to be informed whether the Grant was reasonable, and whether the People desir'd it or no, and without regard to the Addresses of his Parliament against it: God forbid that so mean a Man as I should meddle with the King's Prerogative; But I have heard very wise Men say, that the King's Prerogative is bounded and limitted by the Good and Wellfare of his People. I desire to know, whether it is not understood and avowed that the Good of Ireland was intended by this Patent. But Ireland is not consulted at all in the Utter, and as soon as Ireland is inform'd of it, they Declare against it; the Two Houses of Parliament and the Privy Council address his Majesty upon the Mischiefs apprehended by such a Patent. The Privy Council in England take the Matter out of the PARLIA- MENT's 70 MENT's Cognizance; the Good of the Kingdom is dropt, and it is now determined that Mr. Wood shall have the Power of Ruining a whole Nation for his private Advantage.

I never can suppose that such Patents as these were originally granted with the View of being a JOBB for the interest of a Particular Person, to the Damage of the Publick: Whatever Profit must arise to the Patentee was surely meant at best but as a Secondary Motive, and since somebody must be a Gainer, the Choice of the Person was made either by Favour, or SOMETHING ELSE, or by the Pretence of Merit and Honesty. This Argument returns so often and strongly into my Head, that I cannot forbear frequently repeating it. Surely his Majesty, when he consented to the Passing of this Patent, Conceived he was doing an Act of Grace to his Most Loyal Subjects of Ireland, without any Regard to Mr. Wood, farther than as an Instrument. But the People of Ireland think this Patent (intended NO DOUBT for their Good) to be a most intolerable Grievance, and therefore Mr. Wood can never succeed, without an open Avowal that his Profit is preferred not only before the Interests, but the very Safety and Being of a great Kingdom; and a Kingdom distinguished for its Loyalty, perhaps above all others upon Earth. Not turned from its Duty by the Jurisdiction of the House of Lords, abolish'd at a Stroak, by the Hard- ships 71 ships of the Act of Navigation newly enforced; By all possible Obstructions in Trade, and by a Hundred other Instances, enough to fill this Paper. Nor was there ever among us the least Attempt towards an Insurrection in Favour of the PRETENDER. Therefore whatever Justice a FREE PEOPLE can Claim we have at least an Equal Title to it with our Brethren in England, and whatever Grace a good Prince can bestow on the most Loyal Subjects, we have Reason to expect it; Neither hath this Kingdom any way deserved to be Sacrificed to one Single, Rapacious, Obscure, Ignominious PROJECTOR.

Among other Clauses mentioned in this Patent, to shew how Advantagious it is to Ireland, there is one which seems to be of a Singular Nature; that the Patentee shall be obliged during his Term, to pay Eight hundred Pounds a Year to the Crown, and Two hundred Pounds a Year to the Comptroller. I have heard indeed that the King's Council do always consider, in the Passing of a Patent, whether it will be of Advantage to the Crown, but I have likewise heard that it is at the same Time considered whether Passing of it may be injurious to any other Persons or Bodies Politick: However, although the Atrorney and Sollicitor be Servants to the King, and therefore bound to consult his Majesty's Interest, yet I am under some Doubt whether Eight hundred Pounds a Year to the Crown would be equivalent to the Ruin 72 Ruin of a Kingdom. It would be far better for us to have paid Eight thousand Pounds a Year into his Majesty's Coffers, in the midst of all our Taxes (which, in Proportion, are greater in this Kingdom than ever they were in England, even during the War) than purchase such an Addition to the Revenue at the Price of our UTTER UNDOING.

But here it is plain, that Fourteen thousand Pounds are to be paid by Wood, only as a Small Circumstantial Charge for the Purchase of his Patent, what were his other Visible Costs I know not, and what were his LATENT, is variously conjectured. But he must be surely a Man of some wonderful Merit. Hath he saved any other Kingdom at his own Expence, to give him a Title of Re-imbursing himself by the Destruction of ours? Hath he discovered the Longitude or the Universal Medicine? No. But he hath found out the Philosopher's Stone after a new Manner, by Debasing of Copper, and resolving to force it upon us for Gold.

When the Two Houses represented to his Majesty, that this Patent to WOOD was obtain'd in a Clandestine Manner, surely the Committee could not think the Parliament would insinuate that it had not passed in the common Forms, and run through every Office where Fees and Perquisites were due. They knew very well that Persons in Places were no Enemies to Grants, and that the Officers 73 Officers of the Crown could not be kept in the Dark. But the Late Lord Lieutenant of Ireland affirmed it was a Secret to him (and who will doubt of his VERACITY, especially when he Swore to a Person of Quality, from whom I had it, that Ireland should never be troubled with these Half-pence.) It was a Secret to the People of Ireland, who were to be the Only Sufferers, and those who best knew the State of the Kingdom, and were most able to advise in such an Affair, were wholly Strangers to it.

It is allowed by the Report that this Patent was passed without the Knowledge of the Chief Governor or Officers of Ireland: And it is there elaborately shewn, that Former Patents have passed in the same Manner, and are good in Law. I shall not dispute the Legality of Patents, but am ready to suppose it in his Majesty's Power to grant a Patent for Stamping Round Bits of Copper to every Subject he hath. Therefore to lay aside the Point of Law, I would only put the Question, whether in Reason and Justice it would not have been proper, in an Affair upon which the Welfare of a Kingdom depends, that the said Kingdom should have received timely Notice, and the Matter not be carried on between the Patentee and the Officers of the CROWN, who were to be the only Gainers by it.

The Parliament, who in Matters of this Nature are the most able and Faithful Councellors, did K 74 did represent this Grant to be destructive of Trade, and Dangerous to the Properties of the People, to which the only Answer is, That the King hath a Prerogative to make such a Grant.

It is asserted, that in the Patent to Knox, His Half-pence, are made and declared the Current Coyn of the Kingdom, whereas in this to Wood, there is only a Power given to issue them to such as will receive them: The Authors of the Report, I think, do not affirm that the King can by Law Declare any thing to be Current Money by his Letters Patents. I dare say they will not affirm it, and if Knox's Patent contained in it, Powers contrary to Law, why is it mentioned as a Precedent in his Majesty's Just and Merciful Reign: But although that Clause be not in Wood's Patent, yet possibly there are others, the Legality whereof may be equally doubted, and particularly that, whereby a Power is given to William Wood to break into House in search of any Coyn made in Imitation of His. This may perhaps be affirmed to be Illegal and Dangerous to the Liberty of the Subject. Yet this is a Precedent taken from Knox's Patent, where the same Power is granted, and is a Strong Instance what Uses may be sometimes made of Precedents.

But although before the Passing of this Patent, it was not thought necessary to consult any Persons of this Kingdom, or make the least Enquiry whether Copper Money were wanted among us; Yet 75 Yet now at length, when the Matter is over, when the Patent hath long passed, when Wood hath already Coyned Seventeen thousand Pounds, and hath his Tools and Implements prepared to Coyn Six-times as much more; the Committee hath been pleased to make this Affair the Subject of Enquiry. Wood is permitted to produce his Evidences, which consist as I have already observed, of Four in Number, whereof Coleby, Brown and Mr. Finley the Banker are Three. And these were to prove that Copper Money was extreamly wanted in Ireland. The first had been out of the Kingdom almost Twenty Years, from the Time that he was tryed for Robbing the Treasury, and therefore his Knowledge and Credibility are equal. The Second may be allowed a more Knowing Witness, because I think it is not above a Year since the House of Commons ordered the Attorney General to Prosecute him, for endeavouring to take away the Life of John Bingham, Esq; Member of Parliament, by Perjury and Subornation. He asserted that he was forced to Tally with his Labourers for want of Small Money (which hath often been practised in England by Sir Ambrose Crawly and others) but those who knew him better give a different reason, (if there be any Truth at all in the Fact) that he was forced to Tally with his Labourers, not for want of Half-pence, but of more Substantial Money, which is highly possible, because the Race of Suborners, Forger 76 Forgers, Perjurors and Ravishers, are usually People of no Fortune, or of those who have Run it out by their Vices and Profuseness. Mr. Finley the Third Witness honestly confessed, that he was Ignorant whether Ireland wanted Copper Money or no; but all his Intention was to buy a certain Quantity from Wood at a large Discount, and Sell them as well as he could, by which he hoped to get Two or Three Thousand Pounds for himself.

But suppose there was not one Single Half-penny of Copper Coyn in this whole Kingdom, (which Mr. Wood seems to intend, unless we will come to his Terms, as appears by employing his Emissaries to buy up our Old ones at a Penny in the Shilling more than they pass for) It could not be any real Evil to us, although it might be some Inconvenience. We have many sorts of small Silver Coyns, to which they are Strangers in England, such as the French Three-pences, Four-pence half-pennys and Eight-pence-farthings the Scotch Five-pences and Ten-pences, besides their Twenty-pences, and Three and Four-pences, by all which we are able to make Change to a Half-penny of almost any Piece of Gold or Silver, and if we were driven to Brown's Expedient of a Sealed Card, with the little Gold or Silver still remaining, it will I suppose, be somewhat better than to have nothing left but Wood's Adulterated Copper, which he is neither obliged by his Patent, nor hitherto able by his Estate to make good, The 77

The Report farther tells us, it must be admitted that Letters Patents under the great Seal of Great-Britain for Coyning Copper Money for Ireland are Legal and Obligatory, a Just and Reasonable Exercise of his Majesty's Royal Prerogative, and in no manner Derogatory or Invasive of ANY Liberty or Privilege of his Subjects of Ireland. First we desire to know, why his Majesty's Prerogative might not have been as well asserted, by Passing this Patent in Ireland, and Subjecting the several Conditions of the Contract to the Inspection of those who are only concerned, as was formerly done in the only Precedents for Patents granted for Coyning for this Kingdom, since the mixt Money in Queen Elizabeth's Time, during the Difficulties of a Rebellion: Whereas now upon the greatest Imposition that can possibly be practised, we must go to England with our Complaints, where it hath been for some Time the Fashion to think and to affirm that We cannot be too hardly used. Again, the Report says, that Such Patents are Obligatory. After long thinking, I am not able to find out what can possibly be meant here by this Word Obligatory. This Patent of Wood neither Obligeth him to Utter his Coyn, nor us to take it, or if it did the latter, it would be so far Void, because no Patent can Oblige the Subject against Law, unless an illegal Patent passed in One Kingdom, can Bind Another and not itself. Lastly, 78

Lastly, it is added that Such Patents are in no Manner Derogatory or Invasive of any Liberty or Privilege of the King's Subjects of Ireland. If this Proposition be true, as it is here laid down, without any Limitation either expressed or Implyed, it must follow that a King of England may at any Time Coyn Copper Money for Ireland, and oblige his Subjects here to take a Piece of Copper under the Value of Half a Farthing for Half a Crown, as was practised by the late King James, and even without that Arbitrary Prince's Excuse, from the Necessity and Exigences of his Affairs. If this be in no Manner Derogatory nor Evasive of any Liberties or Privileges of the Subjects of Ireland, it ought to have been expressed what our Liberties and Privileges are, and whether we have any at all; for in Specifying the Word IRELAND, instead of saying His Majesty's Subjects, it would seem to insinuate that we are not upon the same Foot with our Fellow Subjects in England; which, however the Practice may have been, I hope will never be directly asserted, for I do not understand that Poining's Act deprived us of our Liberty, but only changed the Manner of passing Laws here; (which however was a Power most indirectly obtained) by leaving the Negative to the Two Houses of Parliament. But, waving all Controversies relating to the Legislature, no Person, I believe, was ever yet so bold as to affirm that the People of Ireland have not the same Ti tle 79 tle to the Benefits of the COMMON LAW, with the rest of his Majesty's Subjects, and therefore whatever Liberties or Privileges the People of England enjoy by COMMON LAW, we of Ireland have the same; so that in my humble Opinion, the Word Ireland standing in that Proportion, was, in the mildest Interpretation, A Lapse of the Pen.

The Report farther asserts, that The Precedents are many, wherein Cases of great Importance to Ireland, and that immediately affected the Interests of that Kingdom, Warrants, Orders, and Directions by the Authority of the King and his Predecessors, have been issued under the Royal Sign Manual, without any previous Reference or Advice of his Majesty's Officers of Ireland, which have always had their due Force, and have been punctually comply'd with, and Obeyed. It may be so, and I am heartily sorry for it, because it may prove an Eternal Source of Discontent. However among all these Precedents there is not one of a Patent for Coyning Money for Ireland.

There is nothing hath perplexed me more than this Doctrine of PRECEDENTS. If a Jobb is to be done, and upon searching Records you find it hath been done before, there will not want a Lawyer to Justify the Legality of it, by producing his Precedents, without ever considering the Motives and Circumstances that first introduced them, the Necessity or Turbulence or Iniquity of Times, 80 Times, the Corruptions of Ministers, or the Arbitrary Disposition of the Prince then Reigning. And I have been told by Persons eminent in the Law, that the worst Actions which Humane Nature is capable of, may be justified by the same Doctrine. How the first Precedents began of Determining Cases of the Highest Importance to Ireland, and immediately affecting its Interest without any previous Reference or Advice to the King's Officers here, may soon be accounted for Before this Kingdom was entirely Reduced by the Submission of Tyrone in the last Year of Queen Elizabeth's Reign, there was a Period of Four Hundred Years, which was a various Scene of War and Peace between the English Pale and the Irish Natives, and the Government of that Part of this Island which lay in the English Hands, was, in many Things under the immediate Administration of the King. Silver and Copper were often Coyned here among us, and once at least upon great Necessity, a mixt or base Metal was sent from England. The Reign of King James 1st. was employed in settling the Kingdom after Tyrone's Rebellion, and this Nation flourished extreamly till the Time of the Massacre, 1641. In that difficult Juncture of Affairs, the Nobility and Gentry Coyned their own Plate here in Dublin.

By all that I can discover, the Copper Coyn of Ireland for Three Hundred Years past consisted of 81 of small pence and Half-pence, which particular Men had Licence to Coyn, and were current only within certain Towns and Districts, according to the personal Credit of the Owner who uttered them, and was bound to receive them again, whereof I have seen many Sorts; neither have I heard of any Patent granted for Coyning Copper for Ireland till the Reign of King Charles II. which was in the Year 1680. to George Leg Lord Dartmouth, and Renewed by King James II. in the first Year of his Reign to John Knox. Both Patents were passed in Ireland, and in both, the Patentees were obliged to receive their Coyn again from any that would offer them Twenty Shillings of it, for which they were obliged to pay Gold or Silver.

The Patents both of Lord Dartmouth and Knox were Referred to the Attorney General here, and a Report made accordingly, and both, as I have already said, were passed in this Kingdom. Knox had only a Patent for the Remainder of the Term Granted to Lord Dartmouth, the Patent expir'd in 1701. and upon a Petition by Roger Moor to have it Renewed, the Matter was referred hither, and upon the Report of the Attorney and Solicitor, that it was not for his Majesty's Service or the interest of the Nation to have it Renewed, it was Rejected by King William. It should there fore seem very Extraordinary, that a Patent for Coyning Copper Half-pence, intended and pro fessed L 82 fessed for the Good of the Kingdom, should be passed without once consulting that Kingdom, for the Good of which it is declared to be intended, and this upon the Application of a Poor, Private Obscure Mechanick; and a Patent of such a Nature, that as soon as ever the Kingdom is informed of its being passed, they cry out Unanimously against it as Ruinous and Destructive. The Representatives of the Nation in Parliament, and the Privy-Council Address the King to have it Recall'd; yet the Patentee, such a one as I have described, shall prevail to have this Patent approved, and his private Interest shall weigh down the Application of a whole Kingdom. St. Paul says, All things are Lawful, but all things are not Expedient. We are Answered that this Patent is Lawful, but is it Expedient? We Read that the High Priest said, It was expedient that one Man should Die for the People; And this was a most wicked Proposition. But that a Whole Nation should Die for one Man, was never heard of before.

But because much Weight is laid on the Precedents of other Patents, for Coyning Copper for Ireland, I will set this Matter in as clear a Light as I can. Whoever hath Read the Report, will be apt to think, that a Dozen Precedents at least could be produced of Copper Coyned for Ireland, by Vertue of Patents passed in England, and that the Coynage was there too; whereas I am confi dent 83 dent, there cannot be one Precedent shewn of a Patent passed in England for Coyning Copper for Ireland, for above an Hundred Years past, and if there were any before, it must be in Times of Confusion. The only Patents I could ever hear of, are those already mentioned to Lord Dartmouth and Knox; the Former in 1680 and the Latter in 1685. Now let us compare these Patents with that granted to Wood. First, The Patent to Knox, which was under the same Conditions as that granted to Lord Dartmouth, was Passed in Ireland, the Government and the Attorney and Sollicitor General making Report that it would be useful to this Kingdom.

The Patent was Passed with the Advice of the King's Council here; The Patentee was obliged to receive his Coyn from those who thought themselves surcharged, and to give Gold and Silver for it; Lastly, The Patentee was to pay only 16l.13s. 4d. per Ann. to the Crown. Then, as to the Execution of that Patent. First, I find the Half-pence were Milled, which, as it is of great Use to prevent Counterfeits (and therefore industriously avoided by Wood) so it was an Addition to the Charge of Coynage. And for the Weight and Goodness of the Metal; I have several Half-pence now by me, many of which weigh a Ninth Part more than those coyned by Wood, and bear the Fire and Hammer a great deal better; and which is no Irifle, the Impression Fairer and Deeper. 84 Deeper. I grant indeed, that many of the latter Coynage yield in Weight to some of Wood's, by a Fraud natural to such Patentees; but not so immediately after the Grant, and before the Coyn grew Current: For in this Circumstance Mr. Wood must serve for a Precedent in Future Times.

Let us now examine this new Patent granted to William Wood. It Passed upon very false Suggestions of his own, and of a few Confederates: It passed in England, without the least Reference hither. It passed unknown to the very Lord Lieutenant, then in England. Wood is empowered to coyn One hundred and Eight thousand Pounds, and all the Officers in the Kingdom (Civil and Military) are commanded in the Report to Countenance and assist him. Knox had only Power toutter what he would take, and was obliged to receive his Coyn back again at our Demand, and to enter into Security for so doing. Wood's Half-pence are not Milled, and therefore more easily Counterfeited by himself as well as by others. Wood pays a Thousand Pounds per Ann: for 14 Years, Knox paid only 16l. 13s. 4d. per Ann. for 21 Years.

It was the Report that set me the Example of making a Comparison between those two Patents, wherein the Committee was grossly misled by the false Representation of William Wood, as it was by another Assertion, that Seven hundred Tuns of 85 of Copper were coyned during the 21 Years of Lord Dartmouth's and Knox's Patents. Such a Quantity of Copper at the Rate of 2s. 8d. per Pound would amount to about an Hundred and Ninety thousand Pounds, which was very near as much as the Current Cash of the Kingdom in those Days; yet, during that Period, Ireland was never known to have too much Copper Coyn, and for several Years there was no coyning at all: Besides, I am assured, that upon enquiring into the Custom-House Books all the Copper imported into the Kingdom, from 1683 to 1692, which includes 8 Years of the 21 (besides one Year allowed for the Troubles) did not exceed 47 Tuns, and we cannot suppose even that small Quantity to have been wholly apply'd to Coynage: So that I believe there was never any Comparison more unluckily made or so destructive of the Design for which it was produced.

The Psalmist reckons it an Effect of God's Anger, when he selleth his People for Nought, and taketh no Money for them. That we have greatly offended God by the Wickedness of our Lives is not to be disputed But our King we have not offended in Word or Deed; And although he be God's Vice-gerent upon Earth, he will not punish us for any Offences, except those which we shall commit against his Legal Authority, his Sacred Person (which God preserve) or the Laws of the Land. The 86

The Report is very profuse in Arguments; that Ireland is in great want of Copper Money. Who were the Witnesses to prove it, hath been shewn already, but in the Name of God, Who are to be Judges? Does not the Nation best know its own Wants? Both Houses of Parliament, the Privy Council and the whole Body of the People declare the Contrary; Or let the Wants be what they will, We desire they may not be supply'd by Mr. Wood. We know our own Wants but too well; They are Many and Grievous to be born, but quite of another Kind. Let England be satisfied; As things go, they will in a short Time have all our Gold and Silver, and may keep their Adulterate Copper at Home, for we are determined not to purchase it with our Manufactures, which Wood hath Graciously offered to accept. Our Wants are not so bad by an Hundredth Part as the Method he hath taken to supply them. He hath already tryed his Faculty in New-England, and I hope he will meet at least with an EQUAL RECEPTION here; what That was I leave to publick Intelligence. I am supposing a Wild Case, that if there should be any Person already receiving a Monstrous Pension out of this Kingdom, who was Instrumental in Procuring this Patent, they have either not well consulted their own Interests, or Wood must put more Dross into his Copper and still diminish its Weight. Upon 87

Upon Wood's Complaint that the Officers of the King's Revenue here had already given Orders to all the Inferior Officers not to receive any of his Coyn, the Report says, That this cannot but be lucked upon as a very extraordinary Proceeding, and being contrary to the Powers given in the Patent, the Committee say, They cannot advise his Majesty to give Directions to the Officers of the Revenue here, not to receive or utter any of the said Coyn as has been desired in the Addresses of Both Houses, but on the contrary, they think it both Just and Reasonable that the King should immediately give Orders to the Commissioners of the Revenue, &c to revoke all Orders, &c. that may have been given by them to hinder or obstruct the receiving the said Coin. And accordingly, we are told, such Orders are arrived. Now this was a Cast of Wood's Politicks; for his Information was wholly False and Groundless, which he knew very well; and that the Commissioners of the Revenue here were all, except one, sent us from England, and love their Employments too well to have taken such a Step: But Wood was wise enough to consider, that such Orders of Revocation would be an open Declaration of the Crown in his Favour, would put the Government here under a Difficulty, would make a Noise, and possibly create some Terror in the Poor People of Ireland. And one great Point he hath gained, that although any Orders of Revocation will be needless, yet a new Order is to be 88 be sent, and perhaps already here, to the Commissioners of the Revenue, and all the King's Officers in Ireland, that Wood's Half-pence be suffered and permitted, without any Let, Suit, Trouble, Molestation or Denial of any of the King's Officers or Ministers what soever, to Pass and be received as CURRENT MONEY by such as shall be willing to receive them. In this Order there is no Exception, and therefore, as far as I can Judge, it includes all Officers both Civil and Military, from the Lord High Chancellor to a Justice of Peace, and from the General to an Ensign: So that Wood's Project is not likely to fail for want of Managers enough. For my own Part, as Things stand, I have but little Regret to find my self, out of the Number, and therefore I shall continue in all Humility to Exhort and Warn my Fellow-Subjects ?ever to Receive or Utter this Coyn, which will Reduce the Kingdom to Beggary by much Quicker and larger Steps than have Hitherto been taken.

But it is needless to argue any longer. The Matter is come to an Issue. His Majesty Pursuant to the Law, hath left the Field open between Wood and the Kingdom of Ireland. Wood hath Liberty to Offer his Coyn, and We have Law, Reason, Liberty and Necessity to refuse it: A knavish Jockey may ride an old Foundred Jade about the Market, but none are obliged to Buy it. I hope the Words Voluntary and Willing to receive it will be understood, and applyed in their true Natural Meaning, As commonly understood by PRO- TESTANTS. 89 TESTANTS. For if a Fierce Captain comes to my Shop to Buy Six Yards of Scarlet Cloth, followed by a Porter laden with a Sack of Wood's Coyn upon his Shoulders, if we are agreed about the Price, and my Scarlet lyes ready cut upon the Counter, if he then gives me the Word of Command to receive my Money in Wood's Coyn, and calls me a Disaffected Jacobite Dog for refusing it (although I am as Loyal a Subject as himself, and Without Hire) and thereupon Seizes my Cloth, leaving me the Price in this Odious Copper, and bids me take my Remedy: In this Case, I shall hardly be brought to think that I am Left to my own Will. I shall therefore on such Occasions, first order the Porter aforesaid to go off with his Pack, and then see the Money in Silver and Gold in my Possession before I cut or Measure my Cloth. But if a Common Soldier drinks his Pot first, and then offers Payment in Wood's Half-pence, the Landlady may be under some Difficulty; For if the complains to his Captain or Ensign, they are likewise OFFICERS, included in this General Order for encouraging these Half-pence to pass as CURRENT MONEY. If she goes to a Justice of Peace, be is also an Officer, to whom this General Order is directed. I do therefore advise her to follow my Practice, which I have already begun, and be payed for her Goods before she parts with them. However, I should have been content, for some Reasons, that the Military Gentlemen had been excepted by Name, because M 90 because I have heard it said, that their Discipline is best confined within their own District.

His Majesty in the Conclusion of his Answer to the Address of the House of Lords, against Wood's Coyn, is pleased to say, that He will do every Thing in his Power for the Satisfaction of his People. It should seem therefore, that the Recalling the Patent is not to be understood as a Thing In his Power. But however, since the Law does not oblige us to receive this Coyn, and consequently the Patent leaves it to our Voluntary Choice, there is nothing remaining to preserve us from Ruin, but that the whole Kingdom should continue in a firm determinate Resolution never to Receive or Utter this FATAL Coyn: After which, let the Officers to whom these Orders are directed, (I would willingly except the Military) come with their Exhortations, their Arguments and their Eloquence, to persuade us to find our Interest in our Undoing. Let Wood and his Accomplices Travel about the Country with Cart-Loads of their Ware, and see who will take it off their Hands, there will be no Fear of his being Robbed, for a Highway-Man would scorn to touch it.

I am only in Pain how the Commissioners of the Revenue will proceed in this Juncture; because I am told they are obliged by Act of Parliament, to take nothing but Gold and Silver in Payment for His Majesty's Customs, and I think they cannot Justly offer this Coynage of Mr. Wood to others, unless they will be content to receive it themselves. The 91

The Sum of the whole is this. The Committee advises the King to send immediate Orders to all his Officers here, that Wood's Coyn be Suffered and Permitted without any Let, Suit, Trouble, &c. to pass and be received as CURRENT MONEY by such as shall be WILLING to receive the same. It is probable, that the first WILLING Receivers may be those who Must Receive it whether they will or no, at least under the Penalty of losing an Office. But the Landed Undepending Men, the Merchants, the Shop-Keepers and Bulk of the People, I hope, and am almost confident, will never receive it. What must the Consequence be? The Owners will sell it for as much as they can get. Wood's Half-pence will come to be offered for Six a Penny (yet then he will be a sufficient Gainer) and the Necessary Receivers will be Losers of Two Thirds in their Salaries or Pay.

This puts me in Mind of a Passage I was told many years ago in England. At a Quarter-Sessions in Leicester, the Justices had wisely decreed, to take off a Half-penny in a Quart from the Price of Ale. One of them who came in after the Thing was determined, being inform'd of what had passed, said thus: Gentlemen; You have made an Order, that Ale should be sold in our Country for Three Half-pence a Quart: I desire you will now make another to appoint who must drink it, for BY G—I WILL NOT.

I must beg leave to caution your Lordships and Worships in one Particular. Wood hath graciously promised 92 promised to Load us at present only with Forty thousand Pounds of his Coyn, 'till the Exigences of the Kingdom require the Rest. I intreat you will never suffer Mr. Wood to be a Judge of your EXIGENCES. While there is one Piece of Silver or Gold remaining in the Kingdom he will call it an EXIGENCY, he will double his present Quantum by Stealth as soon as he can, and will have the Remainder still to the Good. He will pour his own Raps and Counterfeits upon us: France and Holland will do the same; nor will our own Coyners at home be behind them: To confirm which, I have now in my Pocket a Rap or Counterfeit Half-penny in imitation of His, but so ill performed, that in my Conscience I believe it is not of his Coyning.

I must now desire your Lordships and Worships that you will give great Allowance for this long undigested Paper, I find my self to have gone into several Repetitions, which were the Effects of Haste, while new Thoughts fell in to add something to what I had said before. I think I may affirm, that I have fully answered every Paragraph in the Report, which although it be not unartfully drawn, and is perfectly in the Spirit of a Pleader who can find the most plausible Topicks in behalf of his Client, yet there was no great Skill required to detect the many Mistakes contained in it, which however are by no means to be charged upon the most False Impudent and Frau 93 Fraudulent Representations of Wood and his Accomplices. I desire one Particular may dwell upon your Minds, although I have mentioned it more than once; That after all the Weight layed upon Precedents there is not one produced in the whole Report, of a Patent for Coyning Copper in England to Pass in Ireland, and only two Patents referred to (for indeed there were no more) which were both passed in Ireland by References to the King's Council here, both less Advantagious to the Coyner than this of Wood, and in both, Securities given to receive the Coyn at every Call, and give Gold and Silver in lieu of it. This Demonstrates the most Flagrant Falshood and Impudence of Wood, by which he would endeavour to make the Right Hononrable Committee his Instruments, (for his own Illegal and Exorbitant Gain) to Ruin a Kingdom, which hath deserved quite different Treatment.

I am very Sensible that such a Work as I have undertaken might have worthily employed a much better Pen. But when a House is attempted to be Robbed, it often happens that the weakest in the Family runs first to stop the Door. All the Assistance I had were some Informations from an Eminent Person, whereof I am afraid I have Spoiled a Few by endeavouring to make them of a Piece with my own Productions, and the Rest I was not able to manage: I was in the Case of David who could not move in the Armour of Saul, and therefore I rather chose to attack this Uncircum cised 94 cised Philistine (Wood I mean) with a Sling and a Stone. And I may say for Wood's Honour as well as my own, that he Resembles Goliah in many Circumstances, very applicable to the present Purpose; For Goliah had a Helmet of Brass upon his Head, and he was armed with a Coat of Mail, and the weight of the Coat was Five Thousand Shekles of Brass, and he had Greaves of Brass upon his Legs, and a Target of Brass between his Shoulders. In short he was like Mr. Wood, all over Brass; And he defied the Armies of the Living God. Goliah's Condition of Combat were likewise the same with those of Wood. If he prevail against us, then shall me be his Servants: But if it happens that I prevail over him, I renounce the other Part of the Condition, he shall never be a Servant of Mine, for I do not think him fit to be Trusted in any Honest Man's Shop.

I will conclude with my Humble Desire and Request which I made in my Second Letter; That your Lordships and Worships would please to Order a Declaration to be drawn up, expressing in the Strongest Terms, your Resolutions never to Receive or Utter any of Wood's Half-pence or Farthings, and forbidding your Tenants to receive them. That the said Declaration may be Signed by as many Persons as possible who have Estates in this Kingdom, and be sent Down to your several Tenants a foresaid. And 95

And if the Dread of Wood's Half-pence should continue 'till next Quarter Sessions (which I hope it will not) the Gentlemen of every County will then have a fair Opportunity of Declaring against them with Unanimity and Zeal.

I am with the greatest Respect,

(May it please your Lordships and Worships)

Your most Dutiful and

Obedient Servant,

Aug.25.1724.