body to take these half-pence: our gracious prince hath no fuch ill advisers about him; or, if he had, yet you see, the laws have not left it in the king's power to force us to take any coin but what is lawful, of right ftandard, gold and filver. Therefore you have nothing to fear.

you

And let me in the next place apply myself particularly to you, who are the poorer fort of tradefmen. Perhaps you may think, will not be fo great lofers as the rich, if thefe half-pence fhould pafs; because you seldom fee any filver, and your customers come to your fhops or ftalls with nothing but brafs, which you likewife find hard to be got. But you may take my word, whenever this money gains footing among you, you will be utterly undone. If you carry thefe half-pence to a fhop for tobacco, or brandy, or any other thing that you want ; the fhopkeeper will advance his goods accordingly, or elfe he must break, and leave the key under the door. Do you think I will fell you a yard of ten-penny ftuff for twen

ty

ty of Mr. Wood's half-pence? No, not under two hundred at least; neither will I be at the trouble of counting, but weigh them in a lump. I will tell you one thing further, that if Mr. Wood's project should take, it would ruin even our beggars; for when I give a beggar a half-penny, it will quench his thirst, or go a good way to fill his belly; but the twelfth part of a half-penny will do him no more service, than if I fhould give him three pins out of my fleeve.

In fhort, thefe half-pence are like the accurfed thing, which, as the scripture tells us, the children of Ifrael were forbidden to touch. They will run about like the plague, and deftroy every one who lays his hands upon them. I have heard Scholars talk of a man who told the king, that he had invented a way to torment people by putting them into a bull of brass with fire under it: but the prince put the projector firft into his brazen bull to make the experiment. This very much resembles the project of Mr. Wood; and the like of this may poffibly be Mr. Wood's fate;

that

that the brass he contrived to torment this kingdom with, may prove his own torment, and his destruction at last.

N. B. The author of this paper is informed by persons, who have made it their business to be exact in their obfervations on the true value of these half-pence, that any perfon may expect to get a quart of two-penny ale for thirtyfix of them.

I defire that all families may keep this paper carefully by them to refresh their memories, whenever they shall have farther notice of Mr. Wood's halfpence, or any other the like imposture.

LETTER

LETTER II.

A LETTER to Mr. HARDING the Printer,

UPON OCCASION OF

A Paragraph in his News-Paper of Auguft the First, 1724,

RELATING TO

Mr. WOOD'S HALF-PENCE.

Ν

IN your news-letter of the first instant there is a paragraph, dated from London July 25th relating to Wood's halfpence; whereby it is plain, what I foretold in my letter to the shopkeepers, etc. that this vile fellow would never be at ṛeft; and that the danger of our ruin approaches nearer; and therefore, the kingdom requires new and frefb warning. However, I take this paragraph to be, in a great measure, an impofition upon the publick; at least I hope fo, because

I am informed that Wood is generally his own news-writer; I cannot but obferve from that paragraph, that this publick enemy of ours, not fatisfied to ruin us with his trash, takes every occafion to treat this kingdom with the utmoft contempt. He reprefents feveral of our merchants and traders, upon examination before a committee of council, agreeing, that there was the utmost neceffity of copper money here, before his patent; fo that feveral gentlemen have been forced to tally with their workmen, and give them bits of cards fealed and fubfcribed with their names. What then? If a physician prefcribe to a patient a dram of physick, shall a rascalapothecary cram him with a pound, and mix it up with poyfon? and is not a landlord's hand and feal to his own labourers a better fecurity for five or ten fhillings than Wood's brafs, ten times below the real value, can be to the kingdom for an hundred and eight thoufand pounds?

But who are thefe merchants and traders of Ireland that made this report

of