You desire to know my opinion concerning Mr. McCulla's project, of circulating notes, stamped on cop per, that shall pass for the value of halfpence and pence. I have some knowledge of the man: and, about a month ago, he brought me his book, with a couple of his halfpenny notes: but I was then out of order, and he could not be admitted. Since that time, I called at his house, where I discoursed the whole affair with him as tho

roughly as I could. I am altogether a stranger to his character. He talked to me in the usual style, with a great profession of zeal for the public good; which is the common cant of all projectors in their bills, from a first minister of state down to a corncutter. But I stopped him short, as I would have done a better man; because it is too gross a practice to pass at any time, and especially in this age, where we all know one another so well. Yet, whoever proposes any scheme, which may prove to

be a public benefit, I shall not quarrel if it prove likewise very beneficial to himself. It is certain, that, next to the want of silver, our greatest distress in point of coin is the want of small change, which may be some poor relief for the defect of the former, since the crown will not please to take that work upon them here, as they do in England. One thing in M'Culla's book is certainly right, that no law hinders me from giving a payable note upon leather, wood, copper, brass, iron, or any other material (except gold or silver) as well as upon paper. The question is, whether I can sue him on a copper bond, where there is neither hand nor seal, nor witnesses to prove it. To supply this, he has proposed, that the materials upon which this note is written, shall be in some degree of value equal to the debt. But that is one principal matter to be inquired into. His scheme is this: He gives you a piece of copper for a halfpenny or penny, stamped with a promissory note to pay you twenty pence for every pound of copper notes, whenever you shall return them. Eight-and-forty of these halfpenny pieces are to weigh a pound; and he sells you that pound, coined and stamped, for two shillings, by which he clearly gains a little more than 16 per cent. that is to say, two pence in every shilling.

This will certainly arise to a great sum, if he should circulate as large a quantity of his notes as the kingdom, under the great dearth of silver, may very probably require enough indeed to make any Irish tradesman's fortune; which, however, I should not repine at in the least, if we could be sure of his fair dealing. It was obvious for me to raise the common objection, why Mr. M'Culla would not give security to pay the whole sum to any man who returned him his copper notes, as my Lord Dartmouth and Colonel Moore were, by their patents, obliged to do. To which he gave me some answers

plausible enough. First, "He conceived his coins were much nearer to the intrinsic value, than any of those coined by patents, the bulk and goodness of the metal equalling the best English halfpence made by the crown: That he apprehended the ill will of envious and designing people: who, if they found him to have a great vent for his notes, since he wanted the protection of a patent, might make a run upon him, which he could not be able to support: And lastly, that his copper (as is already said) being equal in value and bulk to the English halfpence, he did not apprehend they should ever be returned, unless a combination, proceeding from spite and envy, might be formed against him."

But there are some points in his proposal which I cannot well answer for; nor do I know whether he will be able to do it himself. The first is, whether the copper he gives us will be as good as what the crown provided for the English halfpence and farthings; and, secondly, whether he will always continue to give us as good; and thirdly, when he will think fit to stop his hand, and give us no more? for I should be as sorry to be at the mercy of Mr. M'Culla, as of Mr. Wood.

There is another difficulty of the last importance. It is known enough that the crown is supposed to be neither gainer nor loser by coinage of any metal; for they subtract, or ought to subtract, no more from the intrinsic value than what will just pay the charges of the mint; and how much that will amount to is the question. By what I could gather from Mr. M'Culla, good copper is worth fourteen pence per pound. By this computation, if he sells his copper notes for two shillings the pound, and will pay twenty pence back, then the expense coinage for one pound of copper must be sixpence, which is 30 per cent. The world should be particularly satisfi

of

ed on this article, before he vends notes; for the discount of 30 per cent. is prodigious, and vastly more than I can conceive it ought to be. For, if we add to that proportion the 16 per cent. which he avows to keep for his own profit, there will be a discount of about 46 per cent. Or, to reckon, I think, a fairer way; whoever buys a pound of Mr. M Culla's coin, at two shillings per pound, carries home only the real value of fourteen pence, which is a pound of copper; and thus he is a loser of 411. 13s. 4d. per cent. But, however, this high discount of 30 per cent. will be no objection agaiust M Culla's proposal; because, if the charge of coining will honestly amount to so much, and we suppose his copper notes may be returned upon him, he will be the greater sufferer of the two because the buyer can lose but fourpence in a pound, and M'Culla must lose sixpence, which was the charge of the coinage.

Upon the whole, there are some points which must be settled to the general satisfaction, before we can safely take Mr. M'Culla's copper notes for value received; and how he will give that satisfaction, is not within my knowledge to conjecture. The first point is, that we shall be always sure of receiving good copper, equal in bulk and fineness to the best English halfpence.

The second point is, to know what allowance he makes to himself, either out of the weight or mixture of his copper, or both, for the charge of coinage. As to the weight, the matter is easy by his own scheme; for, as I have said before, he proposes forty-eight to weigh a pound, which he gives you for two shillings, and receives it by the pound at twenty pence: so that, supposing pure copper to be fourteen pence a pound, he makes you pay 30 per cent. for the labour of coining, as I have already observed, beside 16 per cent. when he sells it. But if to this he adds any alloy, to debase the metal, although

it be not above 10 per cent.; then Mr. M'Culla's promissory notes will, to the intrinsic value of the metal, be above 47 per cent. discount.

For, subtracting 10 per cent. off sixty pounds worth of copper, it will (to avoid fractions) be about five and a half per cent. in the whole 100l. which, added to

41 13 4

5 10 0

will be per cent. 47 3 4

That we are under great distress for change; and that Mr. M'Culla's copper notes, on supposition of the metal being pure, are less liable to objection than the project of Wood, may be granted: but such a discount, where we are not sure even of our twenty pence a pound, appears hitherto a dead weight on his scheme.

Since I writ this, calling to mind that I had some copper halfpence by me, I weighed them with those of Mr. M'Culla, and observed as follows:

First, I weighed Mr. M'Culla's halfpenny against an English one of King Charles II; which outweighed Mr. M'Culia's a fourth part, or twenty-five per cent.

I likewise weighed an Irish Patrick and David halfpenny, which out weighed Mr. M'Culla's twelve and a half per cent. It had a very fair and deep impression, and milled very skilfully round.

his.

I found that even a common harp halfpenny, well preserved, weighed equal to Mr. M'Culla's. And even some of Wood's halfpence were near equal in weight Therefore, if it be true, that he does not think Wood's copper to have been faulty, he may probably give us no better.

I have laid these loose thoughts together with little order, to give you, and others who may read them, an opportunity of digesting them better. I am no enemy