Gentlemen The mutual Obligations we are under to promote the Welfare of the Community to which we belong we hope will apologize for & Justify us in giving you the following account. Vizt On the 12th Inst Capt Stanton Hazard arrived here from Newport Rhode Island which place, he says he left the 26th July last not long after his arrival we were inform'd of his being loaded with Spermaceti Candles, Flour &c. & that he was design'd to Sell & load here & proceed to the Coast of Africa. what quantity of flour he has on board we are not able to determine, but were assured by Mr. Soubies, as principal A Merchant as any in this place, who was treating with him for the purchase of his cargoe, that he offer'd him Sixty Bbls for Sale, adding that he must not Sell the whole of his Flour as he should want it for his own use, but upon Mr. Soubies being inform'd, that Capt. Hazards plan of Operation was in Opposition to the Spirit & welfare of his Country, & to the express prohibition of the Continental Congress, he declin'd having any connection with him or his Cargoe; the 15th Instant we sent Capt Hazard a Note requesting his attendance on shore the next Morning at nine oClock to give us some Satisfaction in this matter, with which he complied acknowledged the facts: As to the Flour, he said the exportation of it from Newport was approv'd by the Community, that he bought it in the Open Markett with a profess'd design of shipping it, that he publickly took it on board & no Objections were made, as to his plan of procedure, which we suppose prohibited by the second Article passed by the Continental Congress the 20th Oct 1774, Capt Hazard plead that said Article must have been design'd to extend no farther than to fixing out Vessells for the Coast of Africa directly from, & importing Slaves directly back to our own ports, as by the subsequent part of said 2d Article, we are forbid dealing with those that are concern'd in said Trade, but the Congress do put Countenance upon our trading with the french, who are concern'd in that Trade, that this construction was not of his own making to justify his present procedure, but was the light in which it was universally received throughout the extent of his acquaintance, & by the province of Rhode Island & Town of Newport in particular that Mr [Samuel] Ward who was at that Time a Member of the Continental Congress declar'd to him, that this was the Sense in which they meant said second Article should operate & no other, tho Mr Ward had some scruples in his own Mind relative to the legality of said Trade under any Circumstances whatever, that in consequence of said construction several Vessells had already fitted out for the West Indies Islands, there to sell their Cargoes, take in others & proceed upon the African Trade, & that the Community looked upon every Man at liberty to use his pleasure in this Matter, that he bought his Stores of one of the Committee of Safety for the Town of Newport with whom he had several conferences relative to the African Trade in which said Gentleman had heretofore been concern'd, that his plan of Operation was publickly known, & universally approv' d of in Newport, that the Odds between fixing out immediately from Newport or from the West Indies for the African Trade was very considerable & as great a Sacrifice as any Man was called upon to make to the present Cause: However Gentlemen we apprehend Capt Hazard must have been mistaken relative to the design of said 2d Article & that he has misrepresented the Construction & Spirit of the People of Rhode Island in this matter, the 2d Article above referr'd to runs thus, Vizt "That we will neither import nor purchase any Slave imported after the first day of December next, after which Time we will wholly discountenance the Slave Trade, & will neither be concern'd in it ourselves, nor will we hire our Vessells nor sell our Commoditys nor manufactories to those who are concernd in it; ["] We apprehend Gentlemen that the order not to hire our Vessels nor sell our Commoditys or Manufactories to those who are concern'd in this Trade is just as extensive as the prohibition of importation, i.e. Extends to the members of the same Community in their dealings with each other, but cannot with propriety be supposed to extend to the members of another Community over whom they never had Jurisdiction, & by whose conduct in this matter they are not affected, to suppose they meant to prohibit the fixing out from or importing Slaves into their own Ports only, while their Members are left at full liberty to import them to every other part of the World, would not only be diametrically opposite the literal declaration & obvious meaning of said second Article, after which Time we will wholly discountenance the Slave Trade &c, but implies each Members discharge from all obligation to the Community immediately after their getting out of their respective Ports ー

On Saturday Capt Hazard promised to give us a Certificate under his hand importing the whole of what he had said relative to the Exportation of Flour, the Circumstances of his shipping it, being publick, the approbation of the People of Rhode Island, his present plan of procedure, his Conference with Mr Ward, the Names of several Gentlemen of. the Committee of Newport with whom he had several Conferences on the above matter, & who were full in his Opinion as above related, it was also at that Time agreed that Capt [Jonathan] Parsons, should receive the above mentioned Certificate, which Capt Hazard promised to deliver him the next Monday morning Accordingly on Monday Morning, Capt Parsons wrote a Note & sent it by his Mate to Capt Hazard, of which the following is. a Cappy: "Capt Parsons presents his Compliments to Capt Hazard & in his own Name & the Name of the English Masters present, begs the favor of Capt Hazard's sending by the bearer the Certificate he promised them last Saturday["] but as Capt Hazard was not up when the Note got on board, his Mate took the Note & carried it below, & return'd with this Answer to Capt Parson's Mate, from Capt Hazard Vizt that he need not wait, as Capt Hazard would send an Answer in his own Boat, but said answer has not yet arrived; since the above Matter has transpired we have treated Capt Hazard with that Contempt & Detestation which every Traitor to the rights of his Country deserves;. it has been & still is in our power to add to his punishment by depriving him of his Vessell & Cargoe, as the least intimation of his having flour on board would effect it, but we never mean to leave it in any Man's power to Tax us with Actions that are purely illnatur'd, we only mean to do our utmost to preserve to ourselves & posterity, those privelidges, which we never mean to part with but at the expense of our lives & to discountenance & detest the Foes of God & Man ー

We are Gentlemen with Sentiments of Esteem Your Brethem & Fellow Sufferers in the Common Cause.

P S it is rumourd that Capt Hazards Vessell belongs to one George Rome whose Character is well known on the Continent.