Newbern 12th July 1756
Sir, [Secretary Fox]
I have the honour of your first and second Letters of the 13th of March by Colo Webb, and have in pursuance to His Majesties Commands communicated by your Letter sent to the Earl of Loudon a full Account of the State and Wants of this Province, and shall give all the possible Assistance in the power of this Colony to his Majesty's Troops, and shall endeavour to procure at the Meeting of the Assembly a good recruiting Bill to prevent Desertion, we have already passed a Law to prevent provisions going to the French, which I think proves effectual. We have not 100 families of Germans in this Province, so believe the foreign Officers won't, for so few, come here to recruit, If they do I shall give them all the Assistance in my power. As I believe the Earl of Loudoun will send you a Transcript of my Letter to him, I will not trouble you with a Copy of it, having sent a Copy of it to the Lords Commissioners of Trade to be communicated if necessary to his Majesty in Council, in Case Lord Loudon's Letter should miscarry, having had their Lordship's order before to transmit the like Account to them to be laid before his Majesty. I have sent my son at the head of 4 Companies of 200 Men of our provincial Troops to New York to assist in our Operations to the Northwards, as I found if they had remained in Virginia they wou'd only have acted in Defence of their frontier, without making any Attempt against Fort Quesne, as they have no Officers fit to make a plan of Operations, nor any Artillery for the Enterprise, and I have reason to fear that neither Maryland nor Pensylvannia will do more than defend their own frontier, as they don't seem zealous for the common Cause of the Colonies. You may depend Sir, upon my doing all in my power in this poor Province to support such Measures as may drive the French from this Continent, as I have it very much at heart, knowing our Trade and Colonies can never be safe without it, for they
only want time to improve their Marine and Colonies, to dispute our Right, and out number us at Sea, which would prove fatal to Britain, and therefore this is the time to strike,