Sir
You will find enclosed herein an Invoice & bill of Loading for 31 casks of the best Carolina Indico containing 8795 lb & 35 bbls of Superfine flour the whole amounting to £ 4731. 18..6 this currency being Invoiced at the real cost, by which you will see how high a price these articles stand in here and we hope you will exert yourself to make them bring an equivalent in Martinico, You will sell these Goods to the best advantage and place the proceeds to our Credit you must supply Cap [John] Young with what may be necessary to pay the charges of the Sloop & transmit us his receipt for the same, we hope he will be very moderate in those charges and to be so, he must make dispatch to which we expect you will contribute all in your power
We have been advised by Mr. Deane that he shou'd ship to your address this Winter considerable supplies of Military Stores cloathing &c per account & risque of the Continent, there is little doubt but some or all of these are with you before this date, and if so, you will please to ship a proportion of them on board this sloop Independance consigned to our order & transmit us invoice & bill of loading for what you ship. The Articles most wanted are good Soldier Musquets Brass Field pieces, Powder, Tent Cloth & Soldiers Cloathing. Send as many of these articles as may make the value of the Sloop from £3000 to £5000 Sterling first cost and you cannot be in too much haste in getting them away. Should any disappointment have taken place & the stores from Mr. Deane have not arrived, You will then purchase as much of the articles already mentioned as you can & dispatch the Sloop back with them.
The Hornet Cap [John] Nicholson went from hence to Charles Town South Carolina from whence she proceeds to you with Rice & Indi[g]o. We hope she will arrive safe and you must also send her directly back for this Coast with similar supplys to those now ordered by the Independance and we shall continue making you remittances as fast as we can get opportunities of doing it with any tolerable degree of safety Flour is very scarce & dear here & will continue so, as the last crops were the worst ever known & the consumption & destruction of two armies is immense We are sir Your [&c.]
For & by order of the Secret Committee of Congress
To Willm Bingham Esqr Agent of the United States of America at Martinico by Cap Young