[Extract]
(No. 27) Duplicate

My Lord  The Commotion in this Colony, of the Cause of which I gave your Lordship an Account in my letter No 26 dated the 1st of May, has obliged me to Shut myself in, and make a Garrison of my house, expecting every moment to be attacked. There is scarce a County of the whole Colony wherein part of the People have not taken up Arms and declared their intention of forcing me to make restitution of the Powder; bodies of different Numbers have been in Motion in all parts of the Colony, who have been only dissuaded from pursuing their attempts by the interposition of Some less violent People, and Compelled to lay down their Arms and atone for their offences by the Justice of the Country or the Support due from Subjects to their lawfull Government.

A Party headed by a Certain Patrick Henry, one of the Delegates of this Colony, a Man of desperate Circumstances, and one who has been very active in encouraging disobedience and exciting a Spirit of revolt among the People for many years past, Advanced to within a few Miles of this Place, and there encamped with all the appearances of actual War, Stoping and detaining every passenger on the road coming this way for fear of my obtaining intelligence of their motions; Henry, their leader dispatching letters all over the Country to excite the People to Join him; and he Sent one particularly to direct that the People of the County of York should prevent, at all events, any Succour being Sent to me from the Man of War lying at York or my retreat to the Man of War.

While they were in this position they found means, by threatning the person family and Property of His Majesty's Receiver General, Mr [Richard] Corbin, to extort the Sum of £300, from him which they thought proper to demand out of the Kings Revenue to replace the Powder which I had removed out of the Magazine, having obtained this they have declared themselves Satisfied and Justice done to the Country for the Insult I had Committed, and have returned triumphantly to their respective habitations . . .

I transmit to your Lordship two Proclamations which I have issued on this occasion; the first of which I thought proper to publish together with the Minute of Council, in hopes the names of the Gentlemen who advised it, from their Credit with the People, might induce those who have Joined in Such dangerous Measures from ignorance, to pay the greater attention to the warning it contained . . . ever in the Place where I live Drums are beating and Men in uniform dresses with Arms are continually in the Streets, which my Authority is no longer able to prevent, your Lordship will I hope See the Necessity of Sending me Instructions upon the occasion, and of putting me in a Situation of Safety.