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My Lord

I have not the Honor of Your Lordship's commands by the duplicates of three letters of the 7th Aug. last until the 18th inst. the originals of which never came to my hands and those were sent to me by Lt. Gov. Bull from Charles Town being inclosed to him How the originals have miscarried and the duplicates have been delayed I cant find out so that any Answer I can transmit must come to your Hands too late for this Session of Parliament

However as to the stamp duties I immediately sent copies of that letter to the Chief Justice and Attorney General and hope I shall have their answer prepared to carry with me.

As to the want of an establishment of a Post through all the Provinces on this Continent the miscarriage & delay of receiving these dispatches is a sufficient testimony.

I informed Your Lordship and the Board of Trade in my last that I had procured from the Assembly £133.6.8 to be allowed to the Post Masters General to continue the post once a fortnight and to carry on the Post through this Province for one year which will be paid to their Order when the Post is established. As to Ferries & Ferry Houses they are already fixed by law we are now preparing Charts of the whole Province from actual surveys but it will take up some time before they can be finished but shall send over as soon as possible so much as may answer to the roads proper for the direct post through the Province which I shall endeavour to carry with me next April when I propose going for England and shall then lay what rout and regulations I can think of before the Post Master General

As to your Lordship's third letter about the preventing an illicit Trade I mentioned formerly what occurred to me on that head in relation to the entrance at Ocacoc and wrote fully since upon it and our Colony Commerce to the Bd of Trade.

As to the several Heads your Lordship mentions I shall endeavour to answer them when I arrive in England when I shall have the

honor of kissing Your Lordship's hands which I hope to do in a month after you receive this letter.

I have nothing to mention to your Lordship of a public nature but as we have made peace with all our Indian enemies and the French have ceded New Orleans & their right in Louisiana to the King of Spain we shall now extend our trade through this Northern Continent & not only gain all the Indian Trade beyond the Mississippi but soon obtain a beneficial trade with the Spaniards at New Orleans & also with Old & New Mexico by pushing on our discoveries & trade by the Missoures & Rivers westward of Mississippi & hope soon now to discover & have an open trade to the Western American Ocean.

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