To the Friends of our American Navy.

An exact list of the number of men employed in the Provincial ships and privateers during the last war in America.

Besides these many of the merchantmen, who were letters of marque, carried from fifteen to forty sailors.

When we add to these the number of American sailors who were pressed in the beginning of the war, to man the English fleet, the proportion of sailors belonging to the continent, would not amount to less than 12000 or 14000. The trade of America at the commencement of the present war with Great-Britain being one third at least greater than it was at the conclusion of the last war with France, the number of sailors in America must have encreased in the same proportion. It is true, many of the men who manned our privateers were landsmen, but as the same objects, namely PRIZES, are held out at present, as were in the last war, and as there is now added to these, the glory of establishing the freedom of the colonies, there is reason to presume a greater proportion of landsmen will embark in the present war by sea, than in any former one. Twenty thousand men employed in ships of suitable force, would be sufficient to guard our coasts and trade against all the navy that Britain could spare from her harbours, and foreign dominions, to molest us. And America can spare that number of men for the purpose, without impoverishing her land forces, or without putting a check to her agriculture or manufactures.

[These observations precede the complete text of the resolutions of the Continental Congress of April 3, 1776, and the instructions to commanders of private ships of war or letters of marque and reprisal.]

We have information from good authority, that the ministerial fleet is arrived at Halifax; and that the Tories are in the greatest distress, and can scarcely get shelter from the weather.