By &ca.
The Earl of Dartmouth, One of His Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State, having acquainted us, by his Letter of the 21st. Instant, that it is His Majesty's Pleasure that we should instruct you to examine all Letters which you may find on board any Ships which you may think fit to detain and to transmit to us, to be communicated to his Lordship, all such Letters as shall in your opinion, contain any matter tending to aid, abet, or advise the Rebellious procedings of His Majesty's Subjects in North America. You are hereby required and directed, in pursuance of His Majesty's said Pleasure to give strict Orders to the respective Captains & Commanders of His Majesty's Ships & Vessels under your Command to stop & search all Merchant Ships & Vessels bound to, or from, North America, And in case they shall find any such Letters on board them to send the same to you, And, if you shall be of opinion that the Said Letters do contain any matter tending to aid, abet, or advise, the Rebellious proceedings of His Majesty's Subjects in North America, You are to dispatch the same to us, by the very first safe Conveyance which may offer, or to send home one of the Ships or Vessels of your Squadron express with them if they shall appear to be of such moment as to require it; in order that we may communicate the same to his Lordship accordingly.
And, as there is ground to suspect that two Vessels which lately sailed from the Downes for Philadelphia, vizt the Mary & Elizabeth, Capt. [Nathaniel] Falconer, & the Pennsylvania Pacquet, Capt. [Peter] Osborn, may have Letters from Persons here in England who secretly hold a traiterous Correspondence with the Rebels. You are, in pursuance of His Majesty's Pleasure, signified as aforesaid, immediately to dispatch one of the small Ships of your Squadron to the Delawar River, with Orders to her Commander, that if the above two Vessels shall not then have arrived, upon their arrival to stop & search them, and, in case any Letters of such a nature or tendency as is above described shall be found on board, to detain all such & carry them to you to be transmitted to us in the manner abovementioned. Given &ca. the 24th. July 1775
Sandwich
Palmerston
H Palliser
Sent by the Folkstone Cutter, but she being disabled & obliged to put back, It was sent 23 Augt by the Phoenix with a Letter to him.
An attested copy was also sent by the Cerburus.