[Extract]
Dear Alick

I wrote you the 30^th April by Return of express 15^th. May by M^r. Miller and hope in Consequence of the first you have Supplied Capt^n. Weeks w^th the money he wanted & that the Mary & Elizabeth is going on briskly & well;¹ M^r. Fitzsimmons I suppose will go down to undertake the loading of Her when nearly ready & ease you of any Care on this Acco^t. 2 in my last I mentioned if the Livelys Hull Could not be Saved you Could perhaps engage Eyres & the Carpenters w^th. Weeks to build a Hull for the Materials, or perhaps build the Hull of a Good Sloop or Schooner Virg^a. Boat Fashon which the Cables, Riggin & Sailcloth by the Lively would go well on to fit out³ & I sent you in my last a list of Goods which Paul Zantzinger & C^o (of w^ch. Comp^y. we are apart) have Agreed to furnish Doct^r. Potts⁴ for use of the Hospitals[.] he & M^r. Parr are gone to the Southard to make these & other purchases in which we are to share & desired me to forward you the list & to tell you to make purchase of any of the Articles it Contain’d as they arrived if to be got pretty Good in their kind & on tolerable terms, The Treaty w^th. France & the probable Consequences of that Treaty a War between France & England, will no doubt Affect the price of all Goods, it has already lower’d the price of all West India Produce this way & in the New England States & will doubtless have the Same Effect to the Southard & with you & you must be Cautious in your purchases, perticularly those on our own Acco^t. the Hospital must be furnished with what they want & as we Can’t Suffer by what is bought for them you may make freer w^th what is order’d for them, though here you will Act w^th Prudence & Caution, if you purchase any Cargoes wholly what is in the Hospital list you Can set aside marking them G H that is General Hospital, & Charging them at the Current Price you Can purchase Such Goods at & we Can get Waggons or Vessells engaged on the Publick Accot. to go for them & under this protection have some of our own Goods bro^t. forward,

The Enemy have been up at Bordentown & destroyed the Frigates & most of the Vessells that way.⁵ our New Sloop & Schooner are burn’d the Security & Old Sloop Safe. I am Sorry for these Vessells as they were fine ones & had began to flatter myself they would be Safe, some Interests I suppose you will be able to get in Vessells below, DHC writes he has taken a third Interest in a Sloop he Intended for Matompkin.⁶ I hope she is arrived, Among the Islands I think he might Interest us in Small Vessells or purchase us Some on better terms than we Can get them any where else. Numbers of our American Vessells are Carried into Antigua, where I thing the Smaller ones must Sell Cheap, & ways & means might be fallen upon I think to purchase there, I have wrote DHC by Ord⁷ on this & other Subjects do you Repeat it & what else Occurs to you, for my part I want to push every proffitable business for the present in hopes to have Suffic^t. when the War is at an end to Retire & leave you & Jonathan⁸ to Carry on the House, When M^r Dean left Passy, (a place near Paris where Doct^r Franklin & the American Commissioners reside)⁹ Jonathan was there, I wish I could hear from him & know what he is about or like to do Its very odd he does not write us, I am in hopes on our being acknowledged Free & Independant States by the Court of France, the American Commissioners (now Plenipotentiarys) will have Suffic^t. Interest to get an order for the Restoration of the Peggy & Her Cargoe & that Jonathan was gone there on this Errand¹⁰

As soon as I heard Chesepeak was Clear of English Men of War I wrote M^r Rob^t Gilmour¹¹ to push over Tobacco to you but I hope you before thought of this & have got Some parcels over, as it will be a great Advantage to have Tobacco over to dispatch any Vessells may arrive, Holmes write f^m Carolina he Intended to push w^th. the Mary for Matompkin, he would Sail ab^t. Middle of Ap^l. f^m Charles Town & hope y^o. will see him in three Weeks, Receive his Cargoe & load him w^th. Tobacco & dispatch him without delay for Martinique, unless there is a War between France & England, if there is it will be best for him to go to S^t. Eustatia, as Tobacco must bear a much better price there, for the French Bottoms being no long Neutral, Insurance & Freight in them must be high & Consequently lower the prices of Tobacco in the French Islands.—¹²

Todays post bring advice of Sixteen Sail of Vessells being arrived in New England from France,¹³ this is Supposed to be the fleet that sail’d beginning of March w^th. a large Quantity of Goods on Private Acco^t & Clothing on the Public Acco^t Suffic^t for Thirty thousand Men this will doubtless damp the price of Dry Goods but as they’re Scarce & much wanted all will Sell & if any Articles of Summer wear are brought in on the Eastern Shore & offer’d to you on Reasonable terms I still think you may venture to purchase if you Can get them readily up & as by a letter I have this date from the State of Maryland they Seem Inclined, to have their Goods up by Armed Vessells belonging to them,¹⁴ perhaps you may be able to get Somethings at a reasonable freight by them & would advise if the Bay Continues Clear of Men of War & you have made any purchases to Ship them to DS¹⁵ at Baltimore & the Livelys Rum may Come up this way. The Letter for DHC Inclose you open, Copy it send Original by Ord w^th what you may think necessary to add & Copy by any other Conveyance, Its Currently Reported & believed that the English are about embarquing their Heavy Artillery & Stores from Philad^a— I think it not Improbable they will soon abandon it.¹⁶ God Grant it may be so I am D^r. Alick most Sincerely [&c]