[Illegible Text placard: Some or all of the pages of this file are wholly or in part illegible. We have not been able either to locate a better copy of the document, or to enhance its legibility electronically.] [25] [at M. B[undecipherable]] Hingham Dec 4. 1786 My Dear General Your favor of the 7 Ult with your circular address [undecipherable] were brought by one of the last posts — Though I [undecipherable] [the?] Your Excellency had not [undecipherable] decided [undecipherable] [undecipherable] your determination [undecipherable] the head of the [undecipherable] [undecipherable] of the [undecipherable] [undecipherable] to [accept?] the [undecipherable] [undecipherable] and the [undecipherable] I am [undecipherable] to the next General meeting [undecipherable] to me and other [family?] [undecipherable] [undecipherable] I have made three trips into the eastern country this year partly to public [undecipherable] partly on my private business — [undecipherable] every [undecipherable] more there [undecipherable] and [an?] other [state?] [undecipherable] will go [undecipherable] them not joining I found it a good country and that [undecipherable] [keep?] [undecipherable] for young men, young men of every [undecipherable] just [undecipherable] with flattering prospects We have [built?] two [saw mills?] and [settled?] [undecipherable] a number of [undecipherable] who [last?] [summer?] we have every [present?] [undecipherable] trees for [lots?] and [shall?] soon [undecipherable] the number of [settlers?] we are [obliged?] to [mention?] — From the [undecipherable] of the two townships which [undecipherable] were bought by M^r [Russell?] M^r [undecipherable] [Allen/Alden?] [undecipherable] [undecipherable] [seventy?] miles on navigable waters and there is no lot in the whole [tract?] of [80?] thousand acres which will be five miles from [good?] water — [undecipherable] [presently?] [only?] very [few?] in that country free from the present [undecipherable] and [tumult?] [But?] I leave this [point?] of the State at present [undecipherable] [undecipherable] any the regulations I had formed [to?] [undecipherable] [undecipherable] public — I [was?] persuaded by my friend to take the command of the [first?] division of Militia in this State — I am now busily employed in organizing it [undecipherable] [undecipherable] [which?] would at all times be a duty [becomes?] [particularly?] so now when the State is [convulsed?] [undecipherable] the [bands?] of Government in some [parts?] of it [undecipherable] I cannot [undecipherable] [tell?] your Excellency [enquiring?] "are your people getting mad?" [undecipherable] to have the [generally?] [believed?] that eight years war [spent?] in [having?] pulled over our head? what is the cause of all these commotions? When and how will they end?" I shall attempt to [make?] [some?] answer to the several questions in the order in which they are arranged "[are?] your people getting mad?" many of them [appear?] to be [undecipherable] [is?] an attempt to [force?] the [foundations?] [undecipherable] of our excellent [undecipherable] and to render it totally ineffectual to [pursue?] accordingly [to?] the [original?] [purposes?] of [it?] [undecipherable] and the attendant [blessings?] of [C?] [undecipherable] be [considered?] as evidence of [insanity?] there [undecipherable] [people?] [placed?] that [undecipherable] [undecipherable] in [many?] parts [undecipherable] there is [the?] [highest?] probability that [if?] [it?] [is?] not [suppressed?] [undecipherable] [undecipherable] [undecipherable] [undecipherable] [undecipherable] [federal?] [government?] [undecipherable] [undecipherable] [undecipherable] letter [therefore?] [cannot?] [undecipherable] [undecipherable] [undecipherable] [undecipherable] [the?] many [undecipherable] for [better?] [times?] [undecipherable] [cannot?] [affect?] [the?] [undecipherable] there [undecipherable] there is [the?] [highest?] probability [undecipherable] [undecipherable] [undecipherable] [undecipherable] [federal?] [government?] [undecipherable] [undecipherable] [undecipherable] [this?] letter [undecipherable] [undecipherable] [undecipherable] [undecipherable]