even to surmount any disgusts, they may possibly entertain agt one; And I am inform'd there is an appearance that the Levies (at least in this province) will be compleated, as soon as the Commissions shall arrive, wch are expected every Day; And hope that even the Gentlemen of New Hampshire province, who if Disaffection to a Governt. would possibly make 'em run so counter to their Duty to his Majesty, as to oppose the present Levies (least the success of 'em should be imputed to his present Excy's Interest among the people) would be in Danger of doing so, will not think of such unjustifiable Measures. I am sure they have been caution'd agt it and advis'd otherwise.

Upon this Occasion it is some satisfaction to me that I have been so fortunate as to have had some small share in promoting his Majy's service in this Expedition (before the Arrival of the last Vessells from England) by procuring a speedy supply of stores for Admiral Vernon's Squadron at Jamaica, wch his Majy's storekeeper there had wrote for by the Admiral's Order, and the Astrea prize taken at Porto Bello is this day arriv'd to fetch; and wch would have been retarded, if I had not taken upon me to bear the Deputy Surveyor of his Majesty's Woods here harmless from any blame or Censure at the Navy board for acting as I advis'd him on this Occasion. But the particulars of this I shall not trouble your Grace wth, nor detain yr Grace longer than to assure you that however yr Grace shall be pleas'd to dispose of me, the Chief Aim, and business of my life shall be to pursue the united Interest of his Majy and the Country; and this Rule of action I flatter myself I shall steadily adhere to, because I am perswaded, my Lord, it is the most acceptable return I can make to yr Grace for yr patronage and protection, besides it will gratify a strong ambition wch I have, to copy in my low sphere of Life, what yr Grace has long been in that Exalted station wch has render'd you a Blessing not only to the publick in general, but to private families in particular, and to none more so than

Porto Bello had been taken by Vernon on Nov. 22, 1739.

to mine, who am with the Deepest sense of Duty and Gratitude

My Lord Duke

Yr Grace's most Dutifull,

and most Obedt. Humble Servt. W. SHIRLEY.

WILLIAM SHIRLEY TO THE DUKE OF
NEWCASTLE 1

MY LORD DUke,

Boston, N. Engld. Augt. 4, 1740.

In Obedience to yr Grace's Commands, upon the Receipt of the Letter, with wch yr Grace honour'd me by Col. Blakeney, I sent my son to wait on Govr Belcher wth a Letter acquainting him that as I thought it the Duty of every person within his Excy's Governmts to give what assistance he could in promoting & forwarding the new Levies, pursuant to his Majy's Instructions for raising a number of men within the two provinces, I was ready & desirous to contribute all the assistance in my power towards it, & that if his Excy would be pleas'd to let me know, in what manner I might be serviceable to him therein, I would wth great pleasure wait upon him to receive his commands in that respect, & order'd my son to beg the favour of his answer, whether he would permit me to wait upon him for that purpose. And at the same time I sent one Mr Caverley a young Gentleman, whose father lives in very good Circumstances in this Town, & had serv'd as an Officer in Spain for eight years under the late Earl Rivers & Genl Stanhope, to offer himself to his Excy to serve as a Second Lieutent in one of the two Companies. To wch his Excy after civilly receiving my son & the young Gentleman, return'd me for Answer by word of mouth, that he would think of what I had wrote.

The day following, as we had not then one Soldier enlisted in the Province; nor Orders issu'd out to beat up for Volun1 P. R. O., C. O. 5, 899, 310.

tiers, nor Money in the Treasury to pay the Bounty, nor the Subsistence Money, wch had been voted by the Genl Court, I thought it might be of service in Expediting the Levies, if I could prevail wth Mr Caverley the father, who had been well vers'd in the business of raising recruits in England, to offer his service to his Excy to raise men for the Expedition, & Subsist 'em at his own Expense, till he might be reimburs'd, wch Mr. Caverley at my request very generously did in a Letter to his Excy, wch was deliver'd him by my son, wherein he desired leave to wait on his Excy, & that he would furnish him wth beating Orders, or proper powers to enlist men. And the next day I sent one Mr MacGown to wait on his Excy wth a recommendation of him for a Captain's post upon the Terms of his raising a Company of able Body'd, Effective Men Natives of Ireland, seventy of which he had actually engag'd, & could have rais'd the remainder & 50 more, if wanted, in a few days. This man was a very good Officer, had serv'd in this Country agt the Indians, & under E. Stairs in Scotland, & his father had been an Officer in K. William's service, & his Grandfather one in the service of K. Charles; and to make my recommendation of him the more effectual, I procur'd for him the recommendation also of Col. Winslow a Gentleman in great favour wth his Excy, who pressed the acceptance of him as one who would be of great service to his Majesty in the Expedition. And, as one Captn Pollard is esteem'd the most fit person among the Natives of this place to serve his Majy in this Expedition and do honour to the Country in it, & is so popular a man that no person doubted his being able to raise 200 men in a short time; and he had been courted by several of the Councill here, & others of the Govr's friends, to offer his Service to his Excy as a Captain of one of the Companies, wth an assurance that he would be accepted, but all without Effect, he having declar'd that he would accept of no Post from him, & being in such Circumstances as to be Indifferent abt the Perfermt, I thought I should do a good piece of service to his Majesty, & not unacceptable to his Excy if I could prevail on Mr Pollard to give me leave to

offer his Service in the Expedition to him, wch I accordingly did.

As to Mr MacGown, his Excy told him at first, if he had any occasion for him, he would send for him; But the same day he told Col. Winslow before menton'd, & one of the Council, that he would not by any means hear of MacGown, because I had recommended him, otherwise he should have had a Commission; and hereupon the poor man dismiss'd 25 of his Countrymen, who had follow'd him to Boston, and is gone to Col. Blakeney at N. York, to whom, I am inform'd, Ld Cathcart had recommended him in England, as a person well qualified for his Majy's Service.

As to Mr Caverley, his Excy was pleas'd to send for him, & acquaint him, that he could not grant his Request as to his Son, because I had recommended him; for if he should, he might be plagu'd wth every Pettifogger's recommendation, expressing likewise much resentmt at my pretending to recommend Captn Pollard to him, & to intermeddle in these Affairs; to wch purpose he soon after sent me a Letter, thô in softer Terms, forbidding me to trouble him any further wch Letter I have inclos'd to yr Grace, subscrib'd, & directed wth his own hand, & under his Seal, the other part of his Secretary's handwriting. -But as to Mr Caverley's Offer to raise men, his Excy told him, he would lay it before the Councill for their Advice, wch he did the same day, & influenc'd them not to accept of it for the reasons mention'd in their Advice to him thereupon, as will appear by a copy of it attested by the Deputy Secretary. However Mr Caverley's offer had this good effect wth regard to the Province that his Excy two days after issu'd out his Orders to beat up for Voluntiers, & wth regard to his Son, that the Council esteeming the offer a well spirited thing, prevail'd wth his Excy to grant him a Second Lieutenancy; and Mr Caverley soon after enlisted 50 Men towards filling up the Company, in wch his son was plac'd.

Upon the receipt of his Excy's Letter to me findi g that any further Offers of Assistance to him, in raising the Levies, from me, would be very disagreeable, and not only hurt my

friends, but hinder his Majy's Service, I desisted from making him any; but I have found Opportunities of contributing to the Service of the Expedition in other ways, without his Excy's Knowledge. For there being but four of the thirty Commissions sent over by Col. Blakeney, allotted to Govr Belcher to fill up, when ten Companies were raising in the Province, those Captains & their Companies, who could not have any of the four Commissions, but must go to the West Indies without Commission, Cloaths or Arms upon the Govr's Certificate & Letter to Ld Cathcart, & Col. Blakeney's Assurance that they will be receiv'd into pay, & put into Commission by him, & furnish'd with Arms & Cloaths, were exceedingly disappointed & dispirited; & one of the Captains in the Country, who had compleated his Company, has actually dismiss'd his Men, & two more of 'em in this Town were upon the point of disbanding their Companies (upon the Difficulties arising from their want of a Commission & Arms to keep their men together, as well as disgust & resentmt to the Govr, from whom they apprehend they have receiv'd ill usage), had not I us'd my Interest wth 'em to perswade & engage 'em to go into the Service notwithstanding their disappointmt & Difficulties, wch they are now determin'd & have absolutely promis'd me to do wth their two Companies, as will appear to yr Grace by Captn Turney's Letter to me, & Captn Richard's Letter to Mrs Cosby, who was well acquainted wth his Bror's family at New York. And I have a very good View of recovering the other Company, wch is actually dispers'd, to his Majy's Service, of wch I hope to give a good Account by the next Ship. And as Col. Gooch & Col. Blakeney had inform'd me by Lieutent Govr Clark that one Company of Indians would be very usefull in the Expedition, I have procur'd one to be rais'd by Captn Ruggles, & himself to go into the Service with 'em upon the prospect of a Commission from Ld Cathcart, as will appear from Govr Clark's, & Captn Ruggles Letters to me. What is become of the two other Companies of this Province wch were raising in the Country, I have not heard, But if I find that they are in