Your Favours of May 9 and 16, from Brest, We duely received.

We congratulate you on your Success and Safe Arrival at Brest, as well as on the Honour you have acquired by your Conduct and Bravery in taking one of the Kings Ships.

As We have Some Expectation of obtaining an Exchange of Prisoners from England, We would Advise you to keep those you have made, Securely confined, tho in the manner most consistent with Humanity, till We have an Answer from thence. For if We can get an equal Number of our own Seamen, to man the Drake, she will be an Additional Strength to you in a future Expedition; whereas Sending her, with the Prisoners to America, will not only weaken you, by the Hands you must Spare to navigate her and to keep the Prisoners in Subjection, but will also hazard their being retaken.

We Should have been happy to have been early informed of the Particulars of your Cruise, and of the Prizes you have made, of which We have no authentic Advice to this Hour.¹

Your Bill of Exchange in Favour of Mr Bersolle², for Twenty four Thousand Livres, which you inform Us, you mean to distribute among the brave officers and Men, to whom you owe your late Success, has been presented to Us, by M^r Chaumont.³

We are Sorry to inform you that We have been under the dissagreable Necessity of refusing Payment; and that for several Reasons.—first because your Application should have been made to M^r Schweighauser, who is the Person regularly authorized to act as Continental Agent at Brest, and We are determined that all American Concerns, within our Department, shall go through his Hands, as long as he shall continue in the Character of American Agent or at least untill We shall find it necessary to order other wise. secondly Because the Bill is drawn for an Expence which We have no Right or Authority to defray. We have no Authority to make Presents of the public Money, to officers or Men, however gallant and deserving for the Purpose of providing their Families with Cloathing nor for any other Purpose, nor to Advance them Money upon the Credit of their share of Prizes; nor have We Authority to advance them any Part of their Pay, or Bounties. all these Things belong to Congress alone, and must be done by the proper Boards in America

our Authority extends no farther, than to order the necessary Repairs to be made to your Ship, to order her to be furnished with necessary Victuals, which We are ready to order M^r Schweighauser to do, as soon as We shall be informed by you, what Repairs and Victuals are wanted, with an Estimate of the amount of the Expence.

There is one Thing further, which We Should venture to do, for the Benefit of your Men. Upon a Representation from you of the Quantity of Slops, necessary for them, We should order M^r Schweighauser, to furnish your ship with them, not more however than one Suit of Cloaths for each Man, that you may take them on Board of your ship, and deliver them out to the Men as they shall be wanted, charging each Man upon the Ships Books with what he shall receive, that it may be deducted out of his Pay.

Lt Simpson has stated to Us, your having put him under Arrest for disobeying orders. As a Court Martial must by order of Congress consist of three Captains, three Lieutenants, and three Captains of Marines, and those cannot be had here it is our Desire that he may have a Passage, procured for him by the first opportunity, to America, allowing him, what ever may be necessary for his Defense.⁴ —As the Consequence of an Arrest in foreign Countries are thus extremely troublesome they should be well considered before they are made.

If you are in Possession of any Resolution of Congress, giving the whole of Ships of War, when made Prizes, to the Captors, We Should be obliged to you for a Copy of it. We should also be obliged to you for a particular account in whose Hands, the Prizes made by you are; in what forwardness the Sale of them.—We have the Honour to be [&c.]