Gentlemen:

As liberty is the blessing, and ought to be the care of all men, I need no other apology for this letter, than to acquaint you I am an American, of Newburyport, New England. On my arrival here, the 19th instant, from the Mediterranean, I was informed of the care you had taken with regard to the exportation of bread and flour to this Island . . . the necessities of the people here for bread and flour are so great, that I doubt not you will have numbers of vessels on your coast, under various pretexts to get bread and flour to supply them. They are now at their wits end to find means to acquire the necessaries of life; yet such is their inveterate enmity against the Americans, that they cannot help breathing out their malice at every opportunity, where their interest is not immediately affected. Last Saturday [May 27] a schooner arrived here, belonging to Salem, in New England, from a fishing voyage; the merchants immediately sent the crier through the Town, to notify a meeting at seven that evening, which was adjourned to Sunday, to consult on the matter. It seems they were in hopes to get some hold of her from some Acts of Parliament relative to the regulation of the fishery in this Island, but finding their expectations fail them, that they could not get her seized, nor prevent an entry, they mustered their forces, seized upon and sent her to Sea; and what is mre surprising to me is (if I am rightly informed) that upon a promise of indemnification, they obtained an order from the Judge of the Admiralty for this extraordinary procedure, and that after her being admitted to a legal entry in the Custom-House.