(No. 22)

My Lord,  This Dispatch accompanies a triplicate of my Letter to your Lordship of the 5th instant, and is intrusted to the Care of Capt Dodsworth who has on board 3000 Stand of Arms with two hundred rounds of Powder & Ball for each Musket, and 4 light Brass 3 pounders to be delivered to your Lordships order.

Captain Dodsworth has my Instructions that he do immediately upon his arrival on the Coast of Virginia put himself under the Protection of one of His Majesty's Ships of War and having sent his Letters on shore that he do wait your orders for the disposal of the Arms and other Military Stores, Your Lordship will therefore give him those Orders and discharge the Ship as soon as you conveniently can.

His Majesty hopes that this supply of Arms will arrive Seasonably for those Objects pointed out in your Lordship's Dispatch of the 1st. of May, and that with the Assistance of the Detachment of the 14th Regiment, which I see Genera1 [Thomas] Gage has authorized your Lordship to send for, and the Men you say you can raise from among Indians, Negroes, & other Persons, you will have Force enough if not to reduce the Colony to obedience, at least to Act upon the Defensive, and withstand those Attacks with which yourself and the rest of the Officers and Friends of Government are menaced.

Your Lordships fortitude has already been put to a very severe Trial, and the Sacrafice you have made of your own Safety to the Dignity of Government does you the greatest honour, it is not however the King's desire that your Lordship should abide all Extremities &the order given to the Commanders of His Majesty's Ships to receive on board His Majesty's Governors in Case of necessity implies His Majesty's Permission to those Governors to avail themselves of that Asylum whenever their personal Safety requires it.

The situation of Governor [Josiah] Martin in the neighboring Province of North Carolina is in many respects similar to that of your Lordship; the Violences, however, there are not so great as in Virginia, and we have reason to hope that some of the Western Counties are firm Friends to Government and ready to Associate against Rebellion, every thing therefore in Our Power has been done to improve that advantage, the Governor is Authorized to encourage the raising a Battalion of Highlanders under the Command of Lieutenant Colonel McLean and lest Governor Gage should not have it in his power to furnish Arms for that purpose it will be proper that your Lordship should from the supply now sent you, deliver to Governor Martin's Order, such a portion of them as he shall want, and your Lordship may be able to spare him.

The Support your Lordship met with from the Gentlemen of the Council who attended you on the 2d of May does them much honor, and I think it affords good ground to hope, that Men of Spirit and property will at length be awakened to a sense of their Situation and of the inevitable ruin which must follow from such a State of total Anarchy and Confusion, as your Lordship represents the Colony to be in. I am &c