APPENDIX. (continued 2)

“Lord Kinnaird: I am quite ready, as far as Professor Graham is concerned, to acquit him individually and personally from anything improper; all I have to say with regard to Professor Graham is that he was not a fit person for the office, as he continued the jobbery which he found in existence, and which had prevailed there ever since the Mint was a Government office. He appointed his own brother, a calico printer, to an office for which he was entirely unfit, not only on the ground of general incompetence, but from his well-known habits of intemperance. I am quite ready to admit that the bulk of the information I possess upon the subject is obtained from Mr. Ansell, who was for many years employed by the Master of the Mint, and who, as the returns show, succeeded in making even the gold coinage a paying department, as it should be, instead of a losing department, as it is; but my statements are also founded on, and confirmed by, returns presented to both Houses of Parliament. Mr. Ansell also put a stop to peculation, and made himself very unpopular among the officials in consequence. Mr. Ansell gave up very valuable appointments in order to fulfil his duties at the Mint, under the repeated promise of promotion when a vacancy should occur; and I am afraid I am responsible for what is called his dismissal, for, when I applied to the late Prime Minister for his promotion, Mr. Graham, who, in common with the other officials, feared an exposure from Mr. Ansell’s promotion, wrote him a letter of dismissal as follows:—

‘Royal Mint, September 28, 1868.

‘Dear Sir,

‘I regret to have to inform you that it is not in my power to continue your present engagement as an extra officer in the coining department, while the Mint is only so partially occupied as it has been for some time past. Your assistance will not, therefore, be required beyond the 31st of December next.

‘I remain, faithfully yours, ‘Tho. Graham.

‘G. F. Ansell, Esq.’

“After this dismissal the profit ceased and the loss recurred. I accordingly applied to the Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer for an inquiry, but I was treated rather summarily, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer said he deprecated any inquiry. Only two or three months, however, after giving him that notice, and while he was still engaged in the Mint, Mr. Graham warmly recommended him for the office of Gas Inspector to the Corporation of London, stating that he was a well-informed practical chemist, and ‘a man of tried integrity’—‘a man of tried integrity!’ Now, within three months after the Master of the Mint dismissed this officer—who, as the returns will show, had saved the country some thousands—he writes this testimonial:—

‘I beg to express the very favourable opinion which I entertain of Mr. G. F. Ansell’s qualifications for the office of Inspector of Gas to the Corporation of London. Mr. Ansell is a well-informed practical chemist, and has given much attention for several years to gas. He is the inventor of an ingenious instrument for indicating the presence of fire-damp in the atmosphere of mines, which is much admired by scientific and practical men. Mr. Ansell is also a man of tried integrity and great energy. From what I have seen of him at the Mint I would say that he would devote himself entirely and conscientiously to the work of the new office, if appointed.’

“The Duke of Argyll: Who signed that letter?

“Lord Kinnaird: Thomas Graham. And, notwithstanding this high testimony to the value of his services, this man was dismissed because he knew too much of what was going on in the Mint. I challenge the Mint authorities to prove a single statement in his book to be false. If they can, why do they not contradict him? They dare not. Mr. Ansell’s book has been some months before the public, and if the Mint could have challenged his statements, which are very damaging, they would certainly have done so. I challenge contradiction. I am very glad the noble Lord has given me the opportunity of making this statement with regard to Mr. Graham, a talented man, but quite unable to cope with the clever men about him, unaided by Mr. Ansell. Now that Mr. Ansell has been dismissed, you see what is the result. The noble Lord has told your Lordships of reforms which have been made at the Mint; but I can assure him I expect little good to result from those reforms, for the very men who then had charge of these departments, and who permitted the peculations and mismanagement which Mr. Ansell stopped, are the men who are now promoted to the chief management of the operative departments of the Mint. I hope, therefore, the matter will not be allowed to drop, for I am sure there is no department in this or any other country more corrupt than the Mint.”

“Motion (by leave of the House) withdrawn.”— (House of Lords, Monday 18th July, 1870. Hansard’s Report)

I beg to express my great obligation to your Lordship for so complete a determination to obtain justice for me as you have exhibited, and which has required not only labour given ungrudgingly, but time, which I am sure would have been of inestimable value to others. My power to thank is weak, but I am entirely grateful. I am also obliged to your Lordship for sending me a copy of Hansard’s Report, which I, in accordance with your Lordship’s permission, print elsewhere, but reserve its conclusion as a fitting finish to this statement, which I submit as a true epitome of my unfortunate—for myself—connection with the Royal Mint.

I have the honour to remain, My Lord, Most gratefully your Lordship’s obedient and obliged servant, GEORGE F. ANSELL.

The Right Hon. Lord Kinnaird, K.T., F.R.G.S. Lord-Lieutenant of Perthshire, &c., &c., &c.