66 



Esq., of Skibbereeiij to whom Dr.Allman is indebted for the 

 opportunity of thus laying them before the Academy. 



The Rev. Dr. Todd read an original and hitherto unpub- 

 lished letter, relating to Wood's coinage, by Dr. William 

 King, Archbishop of Dublin. The letter is an autograph, 

 and -is preserved in the Library of Trinity College, Dublin. 

 It has, unfortunately, received some injury, by which the first 

 line of each page has been lost. The date is missing, except 

 the word July, which is still legible. But as the letter is 

 addressed to Edward Hopkins, Esq., the Private Secretary of 

 the Duke of Grafton, and as it was evidently written before 

 Wood's name became known as the patentee of the new coin- 

 age, we must assign it to the year 1722; for the Duke of 

 Grafton came over as Lord Lieutenant in August, 1721, and 

 Wood's patent was issued in the beginning of 1723. 



The letter is as follows : ' 



" . . . . July .... 



" Sir, — I gave his Grace my L* L' the trouble of a letter 

 of the tenth instance relating to a report we have here of a 

 patent for coining brass money for this Kingdom ; the first 

 notice I had of it was from the public prints and w° I went 

 abroad found it in every body's mouth, with great indications 

 of surprise & dissatisfaction. Since y* time 1 have had occasion 

 to discourse the most considerable, y*^ most knowing and best 

 affected to his Majesties government in this city about it, most 

 of w" seem perswaded y* a thing of this consequence & which 

 as it is rep'sented is in their opinion monstrous, for so they 

 express themselves, cannot be attempted at all. I gathered 

 up their sense as well as [I] cou'd and think my self obliged to 

 communicate it to you, y' if you think fit you may lay it 

 before his Grace the L'* L'. 



" 1*'. therefore they say, that this is an after game of the 

 enemies of the Kingdom, who endeavoured to put on us paper 



