Sir:

I received your Letter of the 2d Instant with the inclosed Resolves of Congress and observe the Contents and shall attend to the Instructions.

Mr Hare shall be used with every Civility ー a Return of the Names of Commissaries in Canada shall be sent you when I can get a Return from General Arnold.

I am inform'd there is great plenty of Salt in this part of Canada more than sufficient for a twelve Month.

I will enquire and find out what Quantity of Cloth fit for Tents can be procured in this Country but dont expect to find much, I inclose you a Return of Tents and Nails &c that are in the Stores in this place. As a Number of Gondolas will be greatly wanted in the River St Lawrence and as we have a Quantity seasoned Timber & Plank ー and you will see by the inclosed Return a Quantity of Spikes and Nails and as it will be difficult to get such as are built on the Lake, and perhaps dangerous, if they are any Ways large down the Rapids of Chamble Will it not be well to build them here, yet the Articles of Pitch Tar, Turpentine & Oacum must in that Case be sent from the Colonies, as there is none of either in the province, ー some Master Carpenters would also be much wanted ー good Workmen ー poor ones are to be had here.

A proper person shall be appointed to frank the Army Letters ー A Return of Ordinance in this province is already sent you ー The Addresses are & shall be published.

I shall send you by this Conveyance General Montgomery's papers except the Accounts of Disbursements which must be first copied. Capt Van Renselour [James Rensselaer] is at present gone to Quebec to muster the Troops there, when he returns I shall direct him to proceed on to Albany.

With Regard to the two Regiments to be formed out of the broken Corps now in this province I hardly know what to say, I rather imagine it would be very difficult if not impossible to persuade but very few of them to engage for a longer Time than their present Inlistments ー Yet I should be sorry that those Officers who are willing to continue in the Service should not have an Oppurtunity ー The plan you propose though calculated to prevent Jealousies between the provinces I fear will be impracticable; besides the Difficulty of placing younger Officers before older ones they will never consent to serve together in Companies as that arrangement will place them ー Suppose Sir that the Troops from [New] Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Connecticut should form one Regiment and the different New York Batallions another and the Officers be ranked according to Seniority from some Conversation I have had with several of the Officers ー I am persuaded the other plan cannot be effectuated ー I shall therefore be obliged to you for your Thoughts upon this and am in Haste [&c.]