Lordships Favour. I shall in Obedience to your Lordships
Commands recommend it to the Assembly at their next Ses-
sion to come into the proposal which the Virginians have made
for erecting a Light House on Cape Henry at the Entrance
of the Bay of Chesopeak but notwithstanding it would be
exceedingly beneficial to the Trade of this Province as well as
to that of Virginia, I am afraid our Lower House of Assembly
will start many objections & that it will be no easy matter to
bring them into such a measure
Having received a Letter from Brigadier General Forbes
soon after the Assembly broke up wherein he told me that
altho our Assembly had declined granting any Supplies for
the support of the Troops which had been raised here since
the beginning of the War & which were then in Garrison at
Fort Cumberland & this place, yet that he could not think of
parting with them, & that rather than suffer Soldiers who
were inured to Hardships and well acquainted with the Coun-
try where the Scene of Action would in all probability lye to
be disbanded he would take them into the King's pay on the
Footing of Rangers, and the General having desired me in
the same Letter to meet Sr John St Clair the 18th of May or as
soon after as possible in order to settle with him about the
said Troops I repaired to Conegochiegh the 20th of that
Month, but we did nothing with respect to this matter before
the beginning of June, St Iohn being till that time engaged at
Winchester in forming the new Levies which had been raised
in Virginia & in equipping them for the Campaign. He has
since been at Conegochiegh & advanced our Officers three
Months pay for their respective Companies, which is some-
thing less than 350 Men. The General has likewise promised
to advance a considerable Sum of Money to the Gentleman
that has victualled our Troops since the 8th of October last
upon a Presumption that our Assembly will be prevailed on to
reimburse him. On the 8th of June those of our Forces that
were here being ordered to March hence on the 16th of that
month I was laid under a necessity of ordering two Compa-
nies of Militia to the Frontiers for the Protection of the Inhab-
itants, & I have the Satisfaction to inform Your Lordship that
notwithstanding the extraordinary Resolves of the Lower
House of Assembly which were calculated to prevent their
marching the two Capts to whom my orders were sent were
here the 16th agreable to my orders. One of the Companies
took possession of this Fort the same Day upon our Troops
leaving it, & the other Company Marched to a place called
Bakers Fort which lies about 12 Miles North Eastward from
this & within about two Miles of the Temporary Line; the
Men of both Companies have behaved extreemly well, Parties
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