... a ship called the Chance, laden with Flax seed & Staves came down from Philadelphia. She did all she could to avoid me, by going out at the Cape May Channel where I could not follow her, but as soon as I saw she was fairly out, I gave chace to her and come up with her. The Master produced an English Register, declared that his Ship belong'd to a Mercht in London, and that the Cargo was a remittance for the-payment of debts, and shippd agreable to the Act of Parlimt of Deer last. I at first believed her to be so, but on examining the Papers of a Man who pretended to be only a Passenger, I found, what appeard to me sufficient Proof, that the Cargoe at best was the Property of a Mr Cason of Philadelphia an Active Man in the Rebellion; who jointly with the before Mentiond Passenger, whose Name is Graham, had very lately imported a considerable Cargoe of Powder & arms from Holland. I therefore took out all the Sailors (who were mostly English) put on bd a few others and sent the Ship to be tryed in the Court of Admiralty at Halifax; and Graham to be delivered to the Commanding officer. There wer[e] many letters found on board, all those that treated on Politicks (every one of which breathed nothing but resistance) I thought proper to suppress, as well as all the News Papers; but those Letters which were merely mercantile and containd Bills of Exchange (of which there was a number to a very considerable amount) I forwarded by the Ship to Halifax.
² anchor'd at the Back of the overfall, which I find to be a quick Sand. The Anchor buried itself in such a manner that when we came to heave it up in the morning, the Cable broke and we lost the Anchor.