I have received yr several Letters by the Capts Dobbie & Oakam, but have not Leisure to reply to them so fully as I could wish by the present Opportunity.

You will receive but very little of my Tobo by Oakam having shipped upwards of thirty hhds on board the Justitia, Capt Kidd from this River to yr Address ー My Motives for acting in this Manner proceeded from the Confusion of the Times, many People having clamoured for an immediate stop of all Exports to G Britain, & the Uncertainity whether you wd have a Ship in or not as you did not mention that Circumstance by Dobbie ー Our publick Prints will inform you very fully of the general Confusion, wh prevails on this Side the Atlantick, a Confusion, wh must fill every Lover of Law, Order, & good Government with the most real Concern ー I profess myself to be of this Number, & therefore feel very forcibly the Calamities of our present Situation, particularly, as I am of Opinion that it is in the Power of America, at this Time, to bring this dreadful Dispute to a fortunate & honorable Issue, & that little more is required to effect it, than to consider ourselves as Members of the British Empire ー You mistook my Meaning prodigously in my last Letter if you can suppose I could wish to violate or evade the Act of Navigation, for altho' as some people say, it may not perhaps be quite constitutional, when we consider ourselves as Freemen, yet I forsee such Endless & irreconciliable Disputes, arising from an Altercation on that Subject, & consequently a total Independance on [sic of] the Mother Country, that I could wish never to have it mention'd, or that any Obstacle could be thrown in the Way, wh could retard a reconcilement ー In the present situation of Affairs both Countries must feel so much Misery & Uneasiness, that I cannot look upon any Man or Set of Men with the Eye of respect or Esteem, who wd wish to increase our present Distractions I have ever been of Opinion, that as Freemen, our Properties should be exempt from Parliamentary Taxation, & our Persons fully secured from Punishments, unless inflicted under our own Laws ー These material Points being once secured, I shd always suppose it our Duty to contribute to the utmost of our Abilities, in a consituational way, to the general Support of Empire ー These are the Outlines of my political Sentiments, & these are such, as I shd suppose every Lover of his Country will amply approve ー I propose to write you very fully by Capt Gibson in Answer to yr several Letters, & in the mean Time desire you will ensure 300 £ stg exclusive of Premium & Policy on 30 hhds Tobo in the Justitia, Capt Kidd ー What I shall send you in Oakam I do not intend to ensure.

[Virginia] June 4th 1775