Sir:

I received the letter by which Your Excellency takes care to remind me of the contents of those which I had the honour to write to him on 11 September, 1775 and the 22nd of January last. My way of thinking about the circumstances in which His British Majesty finds himself vis-a-vis his North American subjects has not varied, and consequently I have always acted according to the principles which form the basis for my views. I can not persuade myself that the agents of Congress, if there exists any on St. Pierre, have found means of evading my defences, and that operations, of such a nature as you have spoken to me about, can have been executed without my knowledge. Nevertheless, I am going to make sure about the details which have reached you, and of which Your Excellency has sent me the most exact intelligence. I am writing to this effect before my arrival at Fort Royal which is the place of my residence, to Mr. Begoira, to ask that he tell me of his conduct, and to be instructed if he has any knowledge of Mr. Richard Harrison. I will conduct myself appropiately according to the result of this research.

I will not dissimulate from Your Excellency that I am astonished at the confidence which he appears to have in intelligence which, if it were authentic, could only have reached him through means which I flatter myself to believe that his delicacy would not permit him to make use of. Our islands really lack all sorts of food provisions, and this situation leads us to welcome foreigners who bring in imports. We have even just accorded for six weeks free entry into our ports for supplies of grain, flour, and vegetables. I do not think that this necessity can induce the slightest idea of suspicion in Your Excellency's mind on the sincerity of the sentiments, of which I have had the honor of giving you assurance.

The King my master having accorded me permission to return to France, His Majesty has sent M.Le Comte D'Argout to succeed me in the Government of Martinique. He has the same principles as I have in the present circumstances, and he intends, in informing you of his arrival here, to once again confirm his intentions in our situation to cooperate by all possible means in the preservation of the good mutual understanding which reigns between the respective subjects of the two Crowns. I have the honor to be, Your Excellency, Sir [&c.]