Sr.

I received & communicated to my Lords Commissrs of the Admty on the 10th Inst. your Letter of the 11th & 22d of April last giving an Account of your proceedings up to that time; And in return I have the satisfaction to acquaint you that their Lordships very much approve thereof.

Their Lordships observe by your first-mentioned Letter and the account inclosed in it, that many of your Ships are considerably short of their Complement of Men. And that there is no likelyhood of making up the deficiency by Voluntiers; They have therefore in pursuance of the Kings Order in Council signed Warrants (which I send you by this conveyance with a seperate Letter on the Subject) empowering the Officers of the Ships of your Squadron to Impress such a Number of Seamen & Seafaring Men as may be necessary to complete their respective Complements; The Clause of the Act of the 6th of Queen Ann which forbid the impressing of Seamen in America being repealed by an Act passed in the last Session of Parliament as you will see by the inclosed Copy which I send you.ー

Their Lordships entirely approve of what you propose about retaining an extra number of Pilots in constant Pay, And will send the necessary directions to the Navy Board for paying them, And as an encouragement to the Masters of the Ships of your Squadron to qualify themselves to be Pilots at this Critical time & to become capable of taking charge of Ships upon the Coast of North America, their Lordships will also direct the Navy Board to pay full Pilotage instead of half Pilotage to such of them as shall produce a recommendation from you of their Merit & knowledge with the usual Certificates from their Captains of the Services they have performed as Pilots.

It being apprehended that the number of Ships at present under your command may not be sufficient for effectually securing a due obedience to the Laws passed in the last Sessions of Parliament for restraining the Commerce & Fisheries of several of the Colonies & that it may be particularly useful to have a more considerable Naval Strength at New York to protect the Commerce of His Majts Subjects and to prevent the Rebels in New England from receiving Succours from the Southern Colonies by the passes of Hudsons River: I have it in command from their Lordships to acquaint you that the Hunter, Viper & Raven Sloops (by the last of which you will receive this) are now ready & under Sailing Orders to proceed to Boston, And that the four Ships of 28 Guns each mentioned in the Margin² are fitting out with the utmost expedition & will be sent as soon as possible as a farther reinforcement to you for Answering the objects abovementioned  Objects which their Lordships have very much at heart and consequently recommend to your most serious Attention

But I am at the same time commanded by their Lordships to signify their direction to you to consider whether with this reinforcement it will be of any essential Service to keep the Great Ships with you during the ensuing Winter, And if it will not, to send some or all of them to England towards the latter end of the Year, letting their Lordships know what Sort of Ships you would wish to be supplied with in their room in the Spring; This point however of sending home the Great Ships their Lordships leave entirely to your discretion according as the necessity of the Times & the Service may require but they wish to have your opinion thereupon by the very first conveyance that offers.

Their Lordships upon discoursing with the Commissrs of the Victualling as to the dependance that may be had upon the Contract they have made for supplying the Ships under your command with Provisions, received from them the inclosed Copy of a Letter from Mr Grant their Contractor which I send you for your information more especially as what he mentions respecting the use of fresh Provisions where they can be had seems to deserve your particular attention; I am at the same time to acquaint you that in order to guard against any accidents their Lordships have directed the Victualing Board to send out to you without delay a farther supply of Provisions for 5000 Men for 4 Months of all species except Spirits & to contract for a quantity of Rum to be delivered at Boston to answer the other Species, And their Lordships desire that you will, by the first conveyance that offers let them know what is the State of your Provisions; what farther supplies you conceive may be necessary to be sent to you from hence; And when and where you would wish to have them sent &c

By the Viper ー See Comr. Gambier's Letter of 25 June