Sir ー

You will be pleased to lay this letter, with the enclosed, before the Honourable Congress for this Province; by which they will see the necessity there is of immediately settling those matters Mr. Bedlow laid before them when he was in New-York last. We have had some evil persons already amongst us, who have instilled into the minds of the people at work here, that there is no security for their pay. This has given us a deal of trouble, with a set of people, whose tempers and dispositions are as various as their faces, to convince to the contrary. All our influence can not get them to work on Sundays. An order from the Honourable Board, on this head, will have great weight, to be made public here. Some of the artificers who were employed by the master workman, have had the assurance to say they were not to be directed by the commissioners, but by their own master workman. The advanced season of the year and necessity of forwarding the works, is a reason why we did not immediately disband them from the work. We are, sir, with esteem [&c.]

Highlands, Novr. 5th, 1775.