My Lord..

I had the honor to receive on the 1^st: of December, by Major Cuylor,¹ your Lordships several Dispatches from N^o: 38 to 43 inclusive, giving accounts of the proceedings of His Maj^ts: Ships left in Hudson's River under the Command of Commodore Hotham as well as those more immediately under your Lordships Eye up to the 23^rd: of October last, & inclosing a List of the appointment of Officers since the 13^th: of Feb^y: minutes & sentences of Courts Martial; List of Vessels seized as Prizes since the 28^th: of May with the State & Condition and Disposition of the Fleet under your Lordships command; And having communicated the said dispatches with their several Inclosures to my Lords Commiss^rs: of the Admiralty, I am to acquaint your Lordship that Copies of such of them as were necessary to be laid before His Majesty were without loss of time transmitted to Lord George Germain for that purpose.¹

After expressing their Lords^ps: concern for the loss of the Augusta & Merlin Sloop in the Deleware; I have it in command from them to inform your Lordship that what you have represented as to the want of Slops, was immediately transmitted to the Navy Board with directions to send out by the first opportunity such Supplyes as may prevent the Seamen from suffering in their Healths by the want thereof.² Their Lordships hope your Apprehensions on that head will have have been removed by the arrival of the additional Supplyes which they understood were sent out in the Grampus Storeship to New York, & the Dunmore to Halifax (after the departure of the Buffalo) both of which sailed from England the 28^th: of August. The further Supply which is now ordered to be sent out, Your Lordship may expect to receive by the Leviathan, late Northumberland, reduced to a Storeship, which has already fallen down to Blackstakes & will sail with the first Convoy from England, laden with a large Assortment of Naval Stores for the use of the Fleet under your Lordships command.

My Lords approve of the Commissions your Lordship have given to Lieu^ts: Pakenham & D'auvergne the former to continue in the command of the Viper Schooner, the latter to command a Vessel fitted out at Rhode Island as a Galley and called the Alarm.³

Their Lordships have no doubt of your having been e'er now informed that the Fox could not be got ready to proceed from Halifax to Newfoundland under the protection of the Bienfaisant which was sent to Halifax by Vice Adm^l: Montagu partly for that purpose. They nevertheless hope that she may be put into a proper Condition for Service in America, & that your Lordship will in such Case employ her as a part of your Sqadron conformable to the directions contained in my Letter of the 23^th: of August last;⁴ or on the other hand, if she cannot be fitted for such Service at Halifax, that you will find the means of sending her safely to England; But their Lordships are of opinion that in either case it will be improper for Cap^n: Fotheringham to have the charge or command of her, until an Enquiry has been made into his Conduct by a Court Martial, which they have no doubt will done with all proper Dispatch as recommended by my Letter beforementioned.⁵ I have the honor to be [&c.]