Dear Sir,
I Rec'd your Letter by Mr. Avery, & this Day your's by Mr Osgood wherein you mention the Rect of the plans, & express a Surprize at Receivg no Letter, I am to inform you that the Plans were Sent by Col [John] Bull, by whom I not only wrote you but Sent you Twenty five Thousand Dollars, & at same time committed to your Care the Plan for the New Hampshire Ship; I am surprized that I have no Accott of the Rect of them; I have this Day Rec'd a Letter from Col Bull Acquainting me of his arrivall, & that he should Deliver his Charge to you the next Morng I hope however soon to hear from you respecting these matters. I shall dispatch Mr Avery the 8th inst with some Money, & give you every particular with Respect, to Boats, Masts, Cables &c, & every other matter that the Committee Determines upon respectg the Ships, I am waiting for the Committee, I am always Ready, but you know the Mode, & I must Submitt, I have however call'd a meeting of the Committee tomorrow Eveng when I will have these things Settled, & then Dispatch Mr Avery to you with the Result. In the mean time must most earnestly entreat and Beg of you that you exert every nerve in forwarding our two Ships, & that you Employ as many Men in every Department as can possibly work & be of Service in expediting them, in short spare no Expence in forwarding them, for inter nos some here who are not very friendly to you & I, (& of our province you know who) begin publickly to Say that the Massachusetts Ships will be the last finish'd, that they are in no forwardness, &c, I want to Counteract them, in order to which you must Exert yourself, & I must Repeat to you, that no Emolument to any particular person must prevent the ordering as many people as can possibly attend, Dispatch & not profit is the Object, & pray attend to this Night & Day; do write ine often, & particularly of the Scituation of the Ships that I may have Authority to Contradict the Reports of our ---- And at same time give me an Accott of what is passing with you, all the particulars of the Assembly, & in short every Circumstance of News; how stands the Military appointmts how were Mr P ---- Letters Relish'd ー I have order'd the Two hundred pieces of Duck to be Sent you by Land, Mr Avery will inform you further, as I have given him a Letter to New York to Mr [Francis] Lewis on that Subject, I also Refer you to Mr Avery for some Anecdotes &c, as to Mr A ---- G & myself With Respect to his Allowance to Mr Avery I leave it to you, I would have him reputably paid, but do justice between him & the publick & Charge it in your Accott ー I shall direct your Reimbursemt of the 50 Dollars you was so kind to advance to Sprigs for me with Thanks. I wrote you by one of Mr [Thomas] Miffiin's Deputies, whose name I forget, a few days ago, hope you will Receive pray Acknowledge the Receipt of my Letters, and by all means Remember the mention I made of my Brother, pray do something for him -
I See you were to have an oration on the 5th March, do send me one when printed.ー
I have got to 11 oClock, & must Refer to mine by Mr Avery, for further particulars, in mean time beg my best Respects to your Family, and am [&c.]
John Hancock
Inclos'd is one of Doctor [William] Smith's orationsー
Inclos'd is a Letter to Mr Sharp of Salem, about Selling my Ship that lies at Salem, it is open for your perusal; Seal it, and I ask your particular Attention to this matter, do See that the Letter be carefully deliver'd, & Aid this for me, & pray Receive the money & forward it to me here as soon as you can or an order on me from Warren ー I Rely on your good offices.ー
The inclos'd letters for Mr Lowell & Mr Bant pray let be carefully Deliver'dー