I had the Honour of the Duplicate of your Excellency's letter of the 16th Feby. on the 24th., His Majesty's Orders by Mr Secretary Pitt, & your Original Letters being Not yet come To hand. I Imediately Summon'd a Council which Met Here yesterday & they were Unanimously of Opinion That Considering how late the Orders came to hand It wou'd be Impracticable to Raise or Add to the Number of Men in Pay By Act of Assembly so as to be of any Service to the Northward this Campaign, for the Assembly Cou'd not be Assembl'd in less than A Month and it wou'd Take about Two Months More to Raise & Prepare them for a March, and then wou'd want to be Cloathed and have All Camp Necessarys which can't be procured in this Province, Nor have we any Arms to give them, for those Few we had have Already Been distributed among those formerly Raised, and to Divide Among the Militia who were Not half Arm'd, & great Numbers of our Men Deserted and Carried Always their Arms with them.

At Present We have only Two Companies of 50 Each in Pay to Defend two Forts, if you think that small Number Can be of any Service Northward, I have a Power Granted to me to March them where Order'd out of the Province, These will also want Cloaths & Camp Necessarys, but shall have them Ready if demanded, but we have no Credit to pay them out of the Province, these sent last year were Obledged to be paid By Brigadier Genl. Forbes, upon the Credit of our Share, of the Dividend Granted in England, & if they go Abroad this year must depend on The same, were there any Embarkation or March by land from So. Carolina to Mobile or Alibama Fort to the Westward we Ly more Convenient to give our small Assistance there.

I am Extreamely Concerned that we are in such a Scituation as To Offer so Small an Assistance at this last and Great Push for America, which I have so much at heart.

I send this by my son who goes over by the Packet to his Command at Gibralter after having Served two years in our Provincials Here whom I begg leave to Introduce to your Excellency.

I wish you and hope & Expect all the Success that Divine Providence is powering out in favour of the Protestant Church & Cause of Liberty and Am with Great Regard Sir