“LORD KINNAIRD said: The noble Marquess, (the
Marquess of Lansdowne) stated on Tuesday night that there
was a considerable profit on silver, which no doubt ought
to be the case; but the returns obtained by an Honourable
Member in the House of Commons showed that, though in some
years there was a gain, in nine years the total loss on the
coinage of silver was £5,373. Bad workmanship, he might
remark, made the coins much less durable, and therefore
caused expense by rendering earlier repair of the coinage
necessary. He hoped that, later in the session, the
Government would concede an inquiry into the management of
the Mint, when he would undertake to prove his allegations
of mismanagement and peculation, and indeed the returns
proved this....
“The MARQUESS OF LANSDOWNE thought that the noble
Lord confounded two things. There was a loss incurred by
the public in keeping the silver coinage up to its proper
standard; but in its manufacture into coin, there was a
considerable gain, amounting to something like £20,000.”