FORTUNE IN CHIMNEYS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22718, 2 November 1935, Page 14

FORTUNE IN CHIMNEYS

Blue Booka rarely offer light reading, but some odd and interesting; gems of information sparkle in the pages of the report from the Select Committee on Estimates (says the Daily Telegraph). For instance, it is revealed that a fortune lies in the chimneys and drains of the Mint. Sir Robert Johnson, its Deputy Master and Comptroller, told the committee that silver gets into these places in the process of manufacture. A good part of it is recovered, but something like £IOOO worth is lost every year " When we were doing gold," said Sir Robert, " the ' sweeps ' were worth a lot of money." . The Mint costs the taxpayer nothing, thanks to its profits on making coins and reclaiming silver from withdrawn old coins. "We are worth to the Exchequer about £250,000 a year," Sir Robert stated. There is very little counterfeiting. Only about a dozen prosecutions occur in a year. Birmingham has a private Mint, which coins for foreign countries. The evidence from the Charity Commission reveals that it supervises a mediaeval trust for the freeing of Barbary slaves. But since for a long time there have been no slaves left to free, the money is spent on education. The Public Record Office has an unguessable connection with the Vatican. Mr A. E. Stamp, the deputy keeper, told the committee it had a man who was sup posed to eo regularly to Rome to make extracts of documents relating to the history of England. They are diplomatic correspondence of appointments by mediajval Popes to bishoprics and so on. The work has got down to the year 1585 so far. Of more contemporary interest wag a criticism, during the consideration of the Ministry of Labour's estimate, of its particular brand of notepaper.