(Copy.)

Sir, On the 8th Instant I was favoured with your first Letter of that date, and on the 9th with your Second Letter of the same date, and in the first of those Letters you are pleased to acquaint me, that an Armed Sloop had taken two Vessels on the high Seas, and brought them into the Port of St John in Antigua, and give me leave, Sir, to inform you that the Owners of that Armed Sloop (which is called the Reprisal) acquainted me therewith, as soon as She had brought in those two Vessels, and I did, with the utmost expedition in my power, proceed against them and their Cargo's as rights and perquisites of the Admiralty, by affixing Monitions up against them, and taking the preparatory examinations usually taken upon the like Occasions, And I am extremely concerned, that you should look upon the Captors of those Vessels and the Owners of the Reprisal, as Robbers upon the High Seas, as I do, with the greatest Submission and deference to you, think that they have not been guilty of the horrid Crime, which you lay to their Charge, and if they have been guilty of any Crime, it is at most only an infringement upon the prerogative of the Crown, but I do not even think that Crime imputable to them, and if it was, I humbly conceive his Majesty would be most graciously pleased to Overlook it, as he has by his Royal Proclamation for suppressing Rebellion and Sedition, dated the 23d of August 1775 thereby declared that not only all his Officers Civil and Military are obliged to exert their utmost endeavours to Suppress such Rebellion, and to bring the Traitors to Justice, but that all the Subjects of his Realm and the Dominions thereunto belonging are bound by Law to be aiding and Assisting in the Suppression of Such Rebellion, and as the King and Parliament of Great Britain have thought that the prohibiting all Trade and intercourse with the Rebellious Colonies would be an Effectual means of Suppressing that Rebellion the Act of the 16th of his Present Majesty was passed, whereby all Ships and Vessels with their Cargos trading contrary to that Act become forfeited to his Majesty as if the same were the Ships and effects of Open Enemies, and for the reasons I have humbly offered to you by my letter of the 7th Instant I do think any of his Majesty's Subjects have a right to distress the Rebels by taking their Ships and Vessels with their Cargos which are found trading Contrary to the Act, and therefore I must decline paying that Obedience to your first Letter, which you require of me of prosecuting the persons concerned in the Reprisal, as Robbers on the high Seas, and give me leave with all due deference to the Station with which his Majesty has honored you, further to add; that it does not lie within your Province to give Orders to me as Attorney General of his Majesty's Leeward Islands to Carry on the prosecutions, which you expect I should do, but that such orders and directions ought to come from his Majesties Commander in Chief for the time being if he should Coincide in Opinion with you, that the present Captures must be considered as Robberies on the high Seas, And if he should be of that Opinion and should direct those rigorous prosecutions to be carried on against the Persons concerned in the Reprisal, as you conceive they are liable to, I would with great Submission to the Commander in Chief absolutely decline being concerned in them, for if I was, I should expect Actions to be brought against me for setting on foot malicious and groundless prosecutions.

I know some of the Owners of the Sloop Reprisal, and from the Characters they have hitherto supported, they would detest the imputation of being looked upon as Robbers upon the high Seas, and if they have erred in fitting out an armed Vessel, such error has proceeded from their Zeal for his Majesty's Service in distressing his Rebellious Subjects by taking from them their property and delivering up the same into his Majesties Court of Vice Admiralty of this Island to be disposed of in the manner that he shall order and direct in case the same shall be adjudged to be Prize of War, and as it has been usual where Seisures have been made of the Enemies property by Noncommissioned Vessels or perso[ns] for his Majesty, to allow them a Bounty according to the trouble and expence they have been at in making them I do not doubt but the Owners of the Reprisal expect to receive such Bounty.

If the Owners of the Reprisal should apprehend that they have been guilty of any offence for which they are Subject to a Civil or Criminal prosecution and it should be thought adviseable to Set on foot such prosecutions against them I am Confident there will be no necessity of Calling in a Military power to make them pay proper Obedience to whatever Sentence or Judgement should be given against them upon such prosecutions. I most earnestly entreat you Sir to lay all those matters before the Commander in Chief of these Islands for his consideration, as he has the honor not only of being Appointed Commander in Chief thereof but also Vice Admiral of the same, by a Commission from the Commissioners for executing the Commission of high Admiral of Great Britain, and the Plantations; and should the Commander in Chief think it unlawf ull for Armed Vessels to distress the Enemy he will in all probability point out a proper measure to restrain them from going to Sea But I confess I am at a loss at present what Steps to take for that purpose, and if those Vessels are permitted to go to Sea to Cruize upon the Rebels and the Commanders officers and Mariners belonging thereto should do any Injury or Damage to his Majesty's Subjects or to the Subjects of any foreign power they as well as the Owners of the Armed Vessels would be liable to make good those Injuries and Damages although they have not entered into any Security for that purpose, and the Securities which are given by Privateers upon the breaking out of an Open War between the Crown of Great Britain and any foreign powers are only given in Conformity to particular treaties which are subsisting between Great Britain and the other powers of Europe not at War, but the Prohibitory Act cannot in my humble Opinion be looked upon as a Denunciation of War, but as a merciful Measure to punish his Majesties Rebellious Subjects by the forfeiture of their Vessels and their Cargos which are taken trading contrary to that Act; and in order more effectually to punish them, all intercourse between them and all other Nations is cut off by making the Vessels and Cargos of the Subjects of the Nations confiscable if they are found trading Contrary to the Act. — As to the Legislature of this Island they have no Judicial power or Authorities whatever, and consequently cannot interfere upon the present Occasion and so tender has his Majesty been of the property of his Subjects that such Legislature cannot pass any Bill to affect such property without a Clause is therein inserted to suspend the Execution thereof until his Majesties pleasure is known.

I must again repeat to you Sir the Concern I am under in being obliged thus to interfere in the present Dispute, and I flatter myself that you will not impute my Motives for doing it to a want of proper respect to your Station and Person for both of which I have the greatest honor. I am with the greatest respect, Sir [&c.]

To The Honble Vice Admiral Young &c. &c. &c.

[Endorsed] (No 4.) 11th January 1777. Copy of a Letter from the Attorney General of the Leeward Charibbe Islands to Vice Adml Young. In V.A. Young's Letter Dated 8 March 1777.