The Committee of Correspondence, Inspection & Safety of the town of Salem, humbly shewー

That divers of the subjects of the king of Great Britain taken in vessels in his immediate service, & on board merchant vessels, are now resident in this town & in other maritime towns, that their numbers are daily increasing, as prizes are brought in, that the resolves of Congress respecting prisoners of war were passed before the declaration of independence, & determined such only to be prisoners as are taken in arms; ー that the crews of merchant vessels do now frequently oppose in arms their captors; ー that hence arise doubts on the question ー Who are prisoners of war? ー that this town has not been assigned for the residence of such prisoners, & so this comtee have no authority to controul them; that in the maritime towns they have the earliest intelligence of the transactions of the Americans, ー have opportunities of mixing in all companies and in some such towns of daily communicating with many persons, who tho' observant of the laws and the resolves of Congress, are yet justly liable to suspicion as being not well-wishers to America. For these reasons we pray your Honours that some steps may be immediately taken relative to the captives afore mentioned, that shall insure the public safety, & the safety & property of the maritime towns; for we beg leave to add, that we do not think it expedient that captives not disposed to enter on board our vessels of war or merchant vessels should be permitted to reside in such towns, since being compact they are exposed to destruction by fire, and their vessels & boats may easily be cut out of their harbours & run away with; some such instances have already happened; we wonder no more have occurred.

We find by an order of the honble Board, that capt. Leche of the light dragoons, & the chaplain, Mr Lewes, were to have been sent to Boxford, after the Sheriff had taken their parole; and the common dragoons were to have been delivered to the comtees in this county to be set to work:² but that order remains unexecuted in every part, and for that reason many people here are uneasy. They are also uneasy because John Consett Peers, lieut of the tender taken by capt. [John] Fisk, still remains in this town, altho' it is some time since he recovered of his wounds.³ There is the greater reason for this uneasiness with regard to Leche, Lewes and Peers, because neither of them has given the parole ordered by Congress. We therefore pray your honours to give immediate orders relative to these prisoners as well as the former.

In behalf & by order of the Committee

Salem Octr 30. 1776.

[Endorsed] In Council [Watertown] Novr 1, 1776. Read & thereupon Ordered that Danl Hopkins Esqr be a Comittee to take the above Letter under Consideration and report what is neckssary to be done thereonー

John Avery Depy Secy