may be rasily made to turn upon it. The Touch holes will be stopped with a wooden peg covered with tallow the Cannon will then be raised, and the chace surrounded with linnen, so that any water which may fall down the sides on filling the bore shall not be confounded with the drops that may filter through the mettle, and with the same view the water will be poured into the cavity by means of the spout of a watering pot. The water will be then pressed upon by a rammer covered with thick cloth, so as to fill exactly the muzzle of the Cannon. During this operation the exterior will be attentively watched to see whether any water passes through the mettle. If the least filtration appears the cannon will be refused. As to the dimensions of the twelve pounders &c the draughts are in hand, and I expect will be finished in a few days. [M^r W^m Herbert] Sir, War Office September 30. 1796 I request you to have all the live Oak frame which were intended for the frigate to be built at Gosport and that are bolted together, separated and piled up in such a manner as to give room for the air to pass between them and to be kept clear from the ground; the timbers that are not bolted to be piled up in the like manner; if the frames [strikethrough: is] either of them are bolted they may remain as they are. you will have the whole well covered and secured from the sun and rain. [The Secretary of the Treasury] Sir, War Office October 6. 1796 I here inclose copy of a letter from M^r Stodder dated Sept 8, and a copy of proposals from Edes and James