Dr Brother

Your kind favour of the 16th Inst is before me, I am Really Sorry that my takeing out a writt against Capt. [James] Wallace should be so disagreeable to Your Centiments. if I am not Much Mistaken I said in Your presents more than once that I was Determined to take the Law of him Either here or in England, and should have done it Sooner had I have Determined which would Likely have proved the most to my Interest, but the more I thought of it the More Convinced I was that he ought to be Servd here, and that his being Obloiged to give Bale in so large a Sum of Money would take of[f] So much of his Haughtey Beheaver when he Considerd that the more he Opressed the Colony or its Inhabitants, the Larger the Sum would be Recoverd against him and if it should have this Effect (which I think Very Likely it would) in Lue of the Disadvantage which you Seem to fear nought in Consequence theirof Arise to my and my Friends Interest  it would so far bring him to his thoughts as to allter his Tirannicol Measures, Espetially when he Considerd that what ever was Recoverd would be wholly out of his own Estate & what he should take without Law or Right, would not be of advantage to him, as his Estate at Home, (tho he Could not be Tacen here) would be Subject for the payment theirof with Dammagis, I have not the Lest doubt but that the Admiral² Expected I should have made a demand of Wallace, for his unpresedented Conduct towards me, or he would not have Desired me in so particuler a Manner as he Did on our partg to meet Capt. Wallace, in the most Friendly Manner & that we Should Settle the Matter in the best Manner passable which I had Determined to do my part towards but after hearing of his Reputed threats and knowg that aney other procedure with him but Such as the Law would warrent would be in Vain, Theirfore took out the Writt as advised you, and am Really Sorry that it Could not have bin Served being Convinced in My Own Mind that it would have had the Same Affect on him as Servg others of his Stamp haith here tofore had & when he was once Shewn that he was not Impregnable he would have Conducted him Self in Quite a Different Manner from what he hasー

Did he not threaten Fire & Devastation to the Town of Newport if they offerd to Lift their hands in favr. of the Rebbils, as he Calls them, but in Lue of this have not their bin a Number of Men Inlisted their for the Army among which he well knew was a Number of his Men who had Left his Ship, why had he not fired on the Town till he had them Returnd to him, did not the People Rise & take away a Quantity of Flour which had bin purchased for him & what was the Consequence  why in Lue of making him [mad] was it Struck him with Such Fear and Consternation that he in Lue of ordering the Ships to Fire was, I am told as Complasant to the Sherrif when he made him Self known on the Ocation at Romes³ and Reddy Agreed that the Flour Should be Returnd and that his Mareens should Immediately Return onbord in Order to Quiat the Town, as to our Ingaugement to the Admiral I hartely wish You was Clear of it, but as to my Self its but of Little Consequence as I am Contious that I have not Gone Counter theirto  the Incorageing the packetts to be Retacen I did & still think I had a Just Right to do so, as it was only by the arbitrary hand of Wallace they were kep, Mr Lloyd has Wrote me 2 or 3 Letter wherein he Said that the Admiral was supprised that the packetts was not Deliverd up, I could not Expect to Act Such a part with Wallace after hearing from Saml Starbuck & others of the threats from him & his Officers concerng me, as would by Aney Means Influence him to suffer my Vessills to pass unmolested when he was stoping Every other persons property without Distingtion, Therefore I was in hopes by haveing Vessills Cruising off that my Vessills as well as others might be made Acquanted with the State of the Times & by that Means not Run Directly into the Hands of our Imnameys

You See by Genl. [Thomas] Gauges proclimation that he makes no Distingtion of persons Acceptg Two Gentlemen, and that all others is to be Deemed Equally Guilty who Doeth not forth with Drop the American Cause Either by bareing Arms or in Any Manner what ever Contributing towards the Assistence or Supplying the provintiale Troops, by this Can it be Expected that any whose Religus principles Doeth not Shield them, Can Conduct in Such a manner as Not to be Sencurable by the Troops from home, in Case of their Success, for my part I am so Clear in opinion that the Measures now taking to Force America are Rong that its out of my power to Restrain my Self from wishing Success to the Countery in which I was Born, and alltho the Measures persuing are not agreeable to My Advice to our Assembly Soone after I Came hoome, which I am now more than then if possible Convinced would have bin Infinitely better than to have fought it out, I Can not Rest a Quiet Spectator without Feeling for my own & Neighbours Interest & am Really of the Opinion that our Navigation Will not be in so Great Danger if we Indevour to prevent the Crusing of the packetts to take them & keep Vessills of our own out to advise them how to Steere Clear as it otherwise would be, but as to the General Assembly having orderd Two Vessills to be Imployd in that Service, I hope I shall give you no further uneseyness on this head Tho I supose you'l agree that it would be Right in Me to Git advice if possible to my Vessills as they Come in to keep out of the hands of the men of warr, but this will be Very Difficult as Long as they have Armed Vessills Crussing for them and Indeed I cant Expect persons to be off Lukg. Out for our Vessills as they Come in, with out being able to Defend them Selves if Attacked by the Packett armed by the Men of warr, I am Very Sorry the writ Should have prevented Your doing our Mutual Friend Jno Waterman all the Service in Your power, but weither aney thing You Could have Said to so Savage a person as Wallace would have bin of Advantage to Waterman I Cant Say, but by his brute! beheaver with the Friends onbord Capt Durfeys Sloop in Detaining them So long onbord, Your Applycation would have bin Fruteless, Thus much I can tell You that Capt Waterman Sent me his particuler thanks by Cozen Jams Brown on Acct of the packets being Retacon, She being the Same that tuke him & brot him in to the Man of Warr. I am of the opinion that Wallace will Let Waterman Leave the Fleet as he passes by Nantuckett & this on acct of the Advertisement in the paper of the Continental Congress <1;dvising no provitions to be Supplyd to the Island of Nantuckett only from the Massachusetts, Suppose you have heard of Wallace Ayscough & the Tenders all going out of Newport the day before Yesterday with Several prizes. I am shure I never ought to forgit Your Friendship & Goodness in what you did for my Redemtion and am So much Obloiged & Indebted to You therefor, that perhaps I may never have it in my power to Discharge the Least part of said Debt, & I assure You it Gives me pain that You Should Suppose that Either your Carrector or Fortin may in the Least Suffer on my Acct

as to Ransomes in warr Times I am apt to think they are of a Different Nature by Law from an obligation given in my Scituation when onbord the Man of Warr, but Let this be as it May if our Estates are all to be forfited in Case of Conquest it matters not so much, but this I do not Expect will Ever Happen neither that Yours or aney part thereof will be Ever Demanded on Acct of Said Obligations

as to your Laying before the Town or Committee the Terms on which I was Dismised or writg, the Admiral aney thing on said Head, I Do not See to be Nessessary but if you think other wise I will Cheerfully Submitt to your better Judgment & be perfectly Satisfied with Your Conduct theirin, as to my bareing Arms my Self I do not expect to do it only in my own Defence or if this Town Should be Attacked  I shall in Either of these Case's most Certinly Defend the Same to the utmost of my power

I am much Obloiged for Your Advice in Every particuler & Shall take it kind at all times when You or aney of Your Friends are in Town that You'l make as Free of My House as tho at Your own,

I am your Affectionate Brotherー

P.S. I should have bin Glad of an oppertunity to have Consulted You about the writt before I tuk it out but your being for Sum time together about that time from home prevented

[Endorsed] Brother John/ 21st 6th mo 1775