My Lord 

The following Extract of a Letter from Gen^l. Pigot¹ to Gen^l Sullivan at Providence was transmitted to this State Viz^t “I am directed to acquaint you, that the prisoners you request, in lieu of those you have at Providence, being men belonging to the New England Province, I am not at Liberty to make any Exchange for them, having received orders from the Right Hon^ble. Viscount Howe not to release any prisoners that come within that description till proper restitution is made for the number of men that were released in the Royall Bounty Cartel Ship that was liberated forceably carried into Marblehead, as well as for the Ships Furniture & Stores"— These orders, we beg leave to acquaint your Lordship, we conclude were given from a misapprehe[n]sion of the Facts & your not being acquainted with the Circumstances of that Vessell; would therefore acquaint you, that sometime in the Month of January last, the Ship Royall Bounty Cap^t. Compton² was brought into this State by a Number of American prisoners, bound from Hallifax to Newport who on their passage Liberated themselves, by being Seperated from a Convoy & carried her into Marblehead.³ Upon her arrival there the said Vessell was Libelled & Legally Condemned at a Maritim[e] Court which your Commissary M^r. Waller at Newport, in answer to his Letter upon the Subject, was in the time of it fully acquainted with, and such Reasons given him why this Vessell could not be considered by this State as a Cartel, as we thought were sufficient & quite to his Satisfaction, we having since, sent to Newport a Cartel, & Exchanged by our Commissary M^r. Henderson there, nigh one hundred prisoners 

The Royall Bounty being thus Circumstanced I flatter my Selfe your Lordship will not cannot consider her as a Cartel or proper Flag of Truce, the Guard & Convoy she was under & the port she was bound to destroying the very Idea, and giving the Prisoners on Board a Right to Liberate themselves; whereas had she been a proper Flag bound for this State, nothing of this Nature could have taken place nor any Loss have accrued. 

We therefore Expect your Lordship will revoke the former orders & give orders, that a Cartet which we have ready to send for Newport with about one hundred & Fifty german prisoners, may not be hindered, but proceed regularly & a proper Exchange Imediately take place we therefore Expect you will revoke the order aforesaid that so an Exchange of Prisoners may Imediately take place

We cannot avoid mentioning our very great Surprise that your Lordship should look on this Vessell bound from one port to another in your own possession & under Convoy, as a Cartel: we conclude therefore you could not be fully apprised of the Circumstances this Vessell was in, when you gave the foregoing orders, and that you will revoke the said orders so that an Exchange on both sides of those unhappy prisoners on both side may Imediately take place, if not, and any Lives should be lost by a Cruel Confinement, the Blood cannot lay at our Door, and your Lordship must answer for the Consequence⁴ I am in the Name & by order of the Council with due Respect your Lordship’s Most Obed^t Serv^t