Your orders respecting the Tories and negro prisoners shall be complied with. We have upwards of one hundred of them now in our guards. Captain Squire sent us yesterday the following ticket:

"Captain Squire's compliments to Messrs. Howe and Woodford, and will be glad to know if they mean to prevent the navy and army from being supplied with provisions and water."

To which we returned this answer: "Colonel Howe and Colonel Woodford's compliments to Captain Squire, and return him for answer to his message, that as His Majesty's troops and ships-of-war have long since committed hostilities upon the persons and property of the good people of this Colony, and have actually taken and imprisoned several private gentlemen, and others, who did not bear arms at the time, our express orders are, to prevent, to the utmost of our power, any communication whatever between the said troops and ships-of-war and this town, or any part of this Colony."

In the afternoon the two ships-of-war and tenders got under sail, and fell down towards the distillery. They gave a signal for a snow, with four thousand bushels of salt, to follow; but she not being so quick as they expected, our guard ordered her to continue. The Kingfisher sent a boat, with about fifteen hands, to bring her off; but our officer hailed her, when within gun-shot, and told her he would fire if she did not return. She took his advice and put about to the man-of-war. On board the snow was Mr. Cary Mitchell, with all his official papers, which we have in possession, likewise the vessel, moored to the wharf, and intend landing the salt as soon as a proper house can be got within our guards. That gentleman has made many professions of his innocence, and has prevailed upon Col. Howe and myself to take his parole of honour for his appearance before the Convention, for which he sets off to-morrow.

Twenty-odd pieces of cannon were left by the enemy, but spiked and dismantled.

Norfolk, December 19, 1775.

Yesterday the two men-of-war, and a large sloop, stood up to their former station, and sent a flag of truce, with the following message:

"Captain Squire's compliments to Colonels Howe and Woodford. Acquaint them that the brig laden with salt alongside the wharf is a prize belonging to the King, and taken by the Otter. Captain Squire requests she may be immediately delivered up, and proposes sending a boat to take her away. Should any shot be fired on the people, he will most assuredly fire on the town."

To which we returned this answer: "Colonel Howe and Colonel Woodford's compliments to Captain Squire, and return him for answer, that the brig in question fell into our hands the other night, and we shall give orders to fire upon any boat that attempts to take her away."

They have never yet made the attempt, and our parties are ready to oppose the taking the vessel. Our out-scouts inform us that a thirty-six gun frigate, with a brig, are below this, at the Pleasure-House. She is supposed to be the Liverpool frigate, with a store-ship. We have parties watching her motions.

A morning Return of the Forces under the command of Colonel Howe.

Norfolk, December 17, 1775.

EXTRACT OF LETTER FROM A GENTLEMAN OF THE COSNTINENTAL CONGRESS TO HIS FRIEND IN WILLIAMBURGH VIRGINIA, DATED DECEMBER, 1775

One of our armed vessels has taken an English store ship, coming with all the implements of war, except powder, to Boston. She is worth about thirty thousand pounds sterling, as General Washington informs us, and the stores are adapted to his wants as perfectly as if he had sent the invoice. They have also taken two provision Vessels from Ireland to Boston. A forty-gun ship blew up the other day, by accident, in the harbour of Boston. Of a certainty the hand of God is upon them. Our last intelligence from Arnold, to be relied on, is by letter from him; he was then at Point-Levi, opposite Quebeck, and had a great number of canoes ready to cross the river. The Canadians received him with cordiality, and the regular force in Quebeck was too inconsiderable to give him any inquietude. A later report makes him in possession of Quebeck; but this is not authenticated. Montgomery had proceeded in quest of Carleton and his small fleet of eleven pickeroons, then on Lake St. Frangois. He had got below him, and had batteries so planted as to prevent his passing. It is thought he cannot escape their vigilance.

I hope Lord Chatham may live till the fortune of war puts his son into our hands, and enable us, by returning him safe to his father, to pay a debt of gratitude.

The Congress have promoted Brigadier-General Montgomery to be a Major-General; and on being assured that Arnold is in possession of Quebeck, it is probable he will be made a Brigadier-General, one of those offices being vacant by Montgomery's promotion.

LORD STIRLING TO PRESIDENT TO CONGRESS

[Read December 23, 1775.]

Elizabethtown, December 17, 1775.

SIR: The two letters I wrote you on the 3d and 5th instant, I hope you received. I have not received any answer to either of them, except a letter from Mr. Walter Livingston, relative to the surgeon and quartermaster of my regiment, which I have answered.

The enclosed letter from Colonel Maxwell, I received yesterday. I had before wrote to him to put his men into barracks as soon as possible. I was then sensible that all the barracks in this Province would not contain the two regiments of Continental troops raised in New-Jersey, and therefore intended boarding out two or three of the companies in this town, at a dollar per week, which, considering the expense of fire-wood, will be nearly as cheap as to

deserted him, and joined their wives and children, except two maidens, who were detained as bed-makers to his Lordship.

Notwithstanding the Convention had a return from Colonel Wood, ford, after the battle of the Great-Bridge, from which, besides from the Colonel's own declaration in his letter to them, it appeared that not one of our men was killed, and but one slightly wounded; and add to these convincing proofs of the truth of this, we have seen officers of veracity that were in the action, who declare the same thing; yet we hear that it was reported in Norfolk that we lost one hundred and fifty men; and we have pretty good reason to believe that Lord Dunmore had propagated a report amongst the few Tories now left in his interest that fifty of the Grenadiers of the Fourteenth Regiment had fallen into an ambuscade of twelve hundred Rebels; that they fought bravely, killed one hundred and fifty Rebels, and retreated, leaving behind them thirty-three killed and wounded; that their loss was heavy, but that they sold their lives dearly; that the Shirt-men have nothing to boast of, having with difficulty forced the seventeen surviving Grenadiers to retreat, although they had fifty to one. We may therefore expect, when the news of this affair arrives in England, that Lord Dartmouth will publish Lord Dunmore's letter, which will probably contain a more rational account, and may be to this effect: That, finding the Robels had closely besieged a fort he had built to obstruct their passage to Norfolk, that a large reinforcement was daily expected by them from Carolina, and that they were procuring cannon, he thought it best to attack them before they could receive such assistance; especially, as ho was informed by a deserter that they were but three hundred; that he found that a favourable opportunity, having just pressed into his service some Scotch Highlander! who had come over to settle in America, and this circumstance giving rise to a report, which ho had taken care to propagate, that he had received a reinforcement of five hundred Highlanders, he thought it advisable to make an attack as soon as possible; that he ordered Captain Leslie, a company of eight Infantry, and Captain Fordyce, with his company of Grenadiers of the Fourteenth Regiment, to take with them all the volunteers and slaves that were well armed, to march in the night of the 8th December to the fort, and to sally out by day-break and attack the Rebels; that Captain Leslie did so, but being in a great measure deserted by the slaves, and several of the volunteers, (for they could not be prevailed upon to advance,) and the Rebels having near three times the number ho had been in formed they had, and behaving, indeed, on that occasion, with more resolution than they had ever done, and Captain Fordyce and the advance Grenadiers being cut off by the Riflemen, and Captain Leslie being unable to rally the negroes, who could not stand the severe fire from hundreds of marksmen, retreated into the fort, and that night abandoned it; that he, finding the people of Norfolk were not to be relied on in case of an attack, thought it prudent to retire to the ships, and wait for a reinforcement, which he hourly expected, Some such account as this we may expect to see in some future English paper, unless this anticipation of it should happen to be read or republished in England before their Lordships have patched up their story.—Va. Gaz.