My Lord 

I just now had the honor of receiving Your Lordships letter of yesterday with the enclosures. The complaint in Mr. Martins letter is consistant with those I heard daily even before the Act came over making it lawfull to send prizes into New York and before the prizes were condemned.¹ to take pains to convince but interest is blind 

After that Act of Parliament² came over pointing out the method of sending home prize Goods and the court of Admiralty opened; the most ignorant was convinced that without lycense from one or other of the Commissioners prize goods could not be shipt. I received the 23^d. of December last a letter from Capⁿ Duncan³ dated on board the Eagle at Chester on Delaware the 3^d Decmber enclosing me a form for the blank licenses Your Lordship proposed for the sending home of prize goods desiring me to get a number printed, which was immidiately done and the Blanks sent to Rhode Island. Your Lordship returnd them sign^d in your letter of 9^th Jan^y: which I received the 19^th of January. As soon as I received Capⁿ Duncans letter of 3 Decmber I made it know publickly that lycenses were to be sent me; by an advertizement at the Coffeehouse I informed the moment I received the lycenses which was the 19th January & a London Ship sailed with one of the licenses 30^th of January; every step to forward the shipping of prize Goods I made my particular study agreable to Your Lordships orders. The Court of Admiralty open^d the 16^th Sep^r- last, from the first libelling a vessell to condemnation requires near one month, so that no great number of prizes could have lain any considerable time when M^c.Clean & Kelsicks letter of the 16^th Decmber was wrote as there was but two months from 16^h Oct^r: to 16^h Dec^r:.⁴ There is one part of M^r Kelsicks letter I positively deny, I never did write to the Commissioners about Prize Goods till I had Capⁿ Duncans letters, for two reasons—as Superintendent I had nothing to do with Prize Goods the act confining it to the Commissioners from whom I had no orders on the head—and secondly because I was certain from every part of their conduct they would give the proper orders, as soon as attention to things of greater moment allowed; I therefore never did tell Mess^r. M^c:Clean and Kelsick that the Commissioners would take it into their consideration. The attending to Acts of Parliament, and regulations of trade made by Commanders in Chief in America for the publick good, will ever occasion complaints from individuals where particular interests cannot always be attended to— I have the honor [&c.]