(A COPY)

Sir  I received your Letter of the 22d August on Sunday last about four of the clock in the afternoon, and them immediately appointed a meeting of His Majts Council to be held in the town of Basseterre yesterday but there being no more than five members in this island, and one of them is so bad a state of health as to render him unable to attend, which I knew nothing of till the time appointed for the meeting, there was not a Board to consider the subject matter of your letter, and to give me their opinion thereupon, and being in doubt whether such a proclamation as you desire me to issue would be compulsatory upon the people of this Government or not, as the Act of Parliament on which His Majesty's Order in Council is grounded does not extend to this part of His Dominions, I have thought proper to write to Mr Warner, His Majts Attorney General by this opportunity, to desire his opinion and advice upon this important Business, and hope when I receive his answer I shall be able to get a meeting of the Council here and will then determine what to do. In the mean time you may be assured I shall be very ready to exert every means in my power to prevent the North Americans from being supplied in any degree with Ammunition and Warlike Stores at this time when they are in open Rebellion.

I am very glad to find from a Letter I have received from Mr President [Thomas] Jarvis dated the 24th Instant that there is no reason to believe they have had any supplies of Gun Powder from the island of Antigua and from the strictest enquiry I have been able to make there is none at any of the Forts in this Island, excepting a very little belonging to private Traders in the Magazines of Fort Londonderry near the town of Basseterre from whence no more than two Kegs of 251b each have issued for a considerable time past and they went out at different Periods of time, I am with great regard Sir [&c.]