+--------------+-----------+----------------+-------+-----------+
| | Weight of | |Amount | |
| Date. | Gold | Value of Gold | of | Value of|
| | Coinage. | Coinage. |Waste. | Waste. |
+--------------+-----------+----------------+-------+-----------+
|April 1, 1858,| Ounces. | £ _s. d._|Ounces.| £ _s. d._|
| to March | 736150·582|2,866,386 6 6¾ |248·804|968 15 7¼ |
| 31, 1859. | | | | |
+--------------+-----------+----------------+-------+-----------+
+--------------+-----------+------------+-----------+
| | Value | Value of | Value of |
| Date. | of Sweep | Waste per | Sweep per |
| |recovered. | Million. | Million. |
+--------------+-----------+------------+-----------+
|April 1, 1858,| £ _s. d._| £ _s.d._ | £ _s. d._|
| to March |231 2 1¼ | 337 19 7 | 80 12 6¼ |
| 31, 1859. | | | |
+--------------+-----------+------------+-----------+
“The net loss of the department will be obtained by deducting the value
of the sweep recovered from the value of the waste, reported above, and
is as follows:—
“On a gold coinage of £2,866,386 6_s._ 6¾_d._ the net loss by account
in the Melting Department is £737 16_s._ 5¾_d._; this gives on a
million coined a net loss of £257 7_s._ 0¾_d._ Of the loss by account a
portion is apparent only, and depends upon the dissipation during the
melting of the oil and other impurities adhering to the gold scissel.
The adventitious matter described was acquired by the scissel in the
coining operations, and it has the effect of lowering the amount of
loss reported in the Coining Department (as will be seen immediately)
in the same proportion that it elevates the loss by account of the
Melting Department. But after making allowances for the circumstance
just stated, the loss of gold in melting remains higher in my opinion
than it ought to be, and it will, I trust, be found to admit of some
further reduction in future years.