[Extract]
My Dear Sir—

I have sometime expected to be favored with a line from you, but have not yet been so happy,² though by other hands I have had the pleasure to hear of your arrival. I hope by this time your colleague has happily passed through the small-pox—please present my best regards to him;³ I could wish to be informed of his health, how he like his present employment, &c., &c. by his own hand. 

. . . I wish I had something new or entertaining to give you, but I have not; we have not even had any prizes lately arrived, but several of our privateers have been taken,⁴ and the jails at Halifax are full of American prisoners, where they are treated as usual, some compelled to go on board their ships,⁵ others starved to death in prison. By the last accounts, between four and five hundred were there treated in the most inhuman manner by those barbarians, who still laugh at our threats of retaliation, and well they may when our officers suffer themselves to be insulted in the grossest manner by prisoners; general Phillips'⁶ letter to general Heath,⁷ is an instance of their insufferable impudence—but I must quit this subject, for I find the recollection of those matters will soon put me out of all temper. 

I find it is determined to go on with the ships that were originally designed for 74's, on a plan that is proposed by Mr. Landais.⁸ This plan I have been informed of, and am much surprised that the committee should adopt it, for sure I am those ships never will be got to sea with two tiers of guns. I cannot conceive what arguments Mr. Landais could use to persuade the committee that a ship with fifty-six twenty-four and eighteen pounders, on two decks, will fight as good a battle as a seventy-four that carries fifty-six, fifty-two,⁹ and eighteen pounders, besides her quarter-deckers. The fifty-six gun ship is under the same disadvantage of fighting her heaviest guns between decks, that a seventy-four is; her lower guns will be as near the water, within a small trifle, as the seventy-four's. But she is to cost much less, that is true; she will cost as much less as fifty-six guns will cost less than seventy-four, and that, I am sure, is all the difference in the cost. But then, again, she will require fewer men; that I also agree to: she will not require as many men by one hundred as a seventy-four. She is also to sail much faster, as she will swim two or three inches lighter; it is probable she may sail a trifle faster, but there can be no material difference in their sailing. I understand that Mr. Landais is appointed a captain in the American navy—¹⁰ perhaps he is to command one of these ships—I must allow that a two-decker will have much genteeler accommodations for officers than a ship that carries only one tier of guns; and experience has taught us, that our officers, both by land and sea, are fond of becoming genteely accommodated; perhaps this consideration may, in some measure, have influenced Mr. Landais' opinion in favor of two-deckers; otherwise, if he is really acquainted with maritime matters and the peculiar circumstances of America, I think he would give the preference to such ships as I sometime ago proposed to Mr. Ellery;¹¹ which was to turn those ships that were designed for seventy-fours, into frigates that might mount thirty-two thirty-two-pounders on the gun deck, and fourteen twelve's on the quarter-deck and fore-castle. They will carry their heavy guns between three and four feet higher than Mr. Landais' fifty-six gun-ship will carry her lower tier, consequently will be able to fight them as long as any two-decker can fight her upper tier, and will have an inconceivable advantage in fighting those heavy guns on an upper deck. They would swim more than a foot lighter than the fifty-six gun-ship, and would have much less top hamper; consequently, would sail much faster, and cost much less, and would not require so many men by one-fourth. 

If it is not too late, I could wish the experiment might be made with one of them. I have not heard whether Mr. Morris¹² is returned to congress or not; if he is, and should think worth while to consider my plan, I flatter myself he would not disapprove it, for I know him to be a very good judge of those affairs. But, perhaps, it is too late to make any alteration in the plan, I must therefore leave it to your discretion to take any notice of what I say on the subject or not; but I must take the liberty to predict that those two-deckers will never go to sea; and I believe I may venture to say, that the frigates that are in Boston will never get to sea till a stop is put to privateering. As to our state affairs I must refer you to those of your correspondents who are on the stage of action, as they can much better inform you than is in my power. 

Please present my most respectful compliments to those gentlemen who you know I esteem, and accept for yourself the best wishes of your very affectionate friend and Most obedient, humble servant, 

COLONEL BARTLETT,
In Congress.