Brunswick Septr. 23d. 1763

Sir

I had the Honor of your Excellencys Letter of the 18th of July inclosing a Coppy of Captain Dalrymples Petit[ion] To His Majesty, and herewith Send you the Articles upon which I put him under Arrest and with them, Affidavits certified under the Seal of this Province to Justifie my Cond[uct] and refer you to the Report I sent to your Excellency, after I put him under Arrest—

I am conscious these Affidavits may'nt be admitted as Proof in a General Court Martial, who will expect vivá vocé Evidence [to] Convict him of a Crime, but I never intended to prosecute [him] for so great an Offence as deserting his Command of the Fort in Time of War, and quitting the province without Leave of Absence from me; and his disobeying my Commands after [my] expressly forbiding him to leave the Fort and Province, whi[ch] he immediately did contrary to my Orders—

Whether he got you Excellency's Leave of Absence afterwards to go to England; without acquainting you that he had not m[y] Leave you can only know—

I must inform your Excellency that Fort Johnston was entir[ely] built at the Expence of this province and has always been garisoned by provincial Troops alone; but his Maje[sty] was graciously pleased to Supply the Fort at the Comme[nce]ment of the War with Cannon Ammunition and other Or[di]nance Stores, to the Value of £3,000 Sterling. That the Assem[bly] would never be prevailed upon to give any Appointmen[t] to Captain Dalrymple, upon Account of his arrogant Beh[avi]our and ill Character; And therefore (except some Cannon) [I] would not trust him with the Ammunition and Stores, [but] kept the greatest part at Wilmington, and put the Garris[on] under the Command of the provincial Officer, only allowi[ng] the Governor to give the Parole and Command the Garison in Case of an Attack from an Enemy; and allowed him Five Shillings for every Vessell that passed the Fort granted by [the] Assembly upon the Masters Oath that the Crew had no in[fec]tious Disorders on Board. Upon Captain Dalrymple's q[uit]ting the Fort without Licence and leaving the Province, I [of] Course suspended him, and gave a Commission pro Temp[ore] to Another who commanded the Troops there—He went to [Eng]land in 1759 and remained there till his late Majestys de[ath,] and as no Complaint had been made against him, he b[y his] Friends got his Commission Renewed, dated soon after [His] Majestys Accession: Yet Notwithstanding, that a Spanis[h] War had Commenced, he went to the West Indies and di[vested] himself in selling Fiddle Strings and old Italian Mus[ick] and did not produce his Commission here untill August [1762,] a Year and Eight months after its Date—

I therefore upon his former Misconduct and Disobedience, and his Neglect is not Coming sooner to his Command put him under Arrest in his own House with his Wife but he chose to be confined to the Fort, upon his being confined to his Room in the Fort by Colonel Waddell who then Commanded the Garrison, he broke his Arrest walked about the Fort when he pleased, insisted that he should give the Parole, and to Swear the Masters of Vessels and Receive the Money as Governor: Upon which I order'd him to be confined to his Room with a Centry at his Door: Yet they still conived at his walking on the platform for his Health.

When Colonel Waddell attended in the Assembly, Lieutenant Lindsey had the Command of the Company and lay in the Room with Captain Dalrymple, at which Time he Seized Mr. Lindsey's Sword and locked it up in his Chest and has it Still in his possession, because he would not give him the Money paid him for swearing the Masters of Vessels to the Health of their Crew.

I then made my Report to your Excellency and upon Receiving your Answer I sent over a Duplicate of the Report to the Secretary at War as you advised me and having had no Answer and finding that he was grown so outrageous as to lock up the Commander of the Fort in his Room after having invited him in and Challenged him to fight him unless he allowed him to swear the Masters of Vessells and paid him the Perquisite allowed by Law. The Affidavit of Mr. Sissholt to Support this who then Commanded in the Fort, I cannot send to Your Excellency, having enclosed it to the Secretary of War along with the Duplicate of the Papers I sent to you upon my putting him under Arrest he having since left this Province

I afterwards thought proper as I proposed going to the Fort a few days for my health to Change the place of his Arrest to his own house with his Wife 'till properly released, which he refused to comply with, locked his Door and presented his Pistol at the Commander Capt. Paine and told him he would shoote any person who should attempt to go in, but upon his snatching his Pistol from him by Surprise, he then Submitted and removed from the Fort to his own House. Soon after he broke thro his Arrest and Embarq'd privately for NewYork.

As I have therefore no Desire to prosecute him so as to endanger the Loss of his Commission or to Expose his Character, as I cannot force any to go out of the Province as Evidence against him and only desire to have him removed as a person not fit to be entrusted with the Command of his Majesty's Fort and Stores, Since it appears by Lord Egremont's Letter that you are not obliged to try him before a Court Martial but only to enquire into the hardship he Complains of. I therefore hope you'll report it to his Majesty upon the Affidavits inclosed, and if you think it proper I shall leave it to that Issue—But if vivá vocé Evidence be necessary let him Stand his Tryal in this province where Evidence can be produced either for or against him for if any Person accused can make his Escape and go to another province or Country in Order to stand his Tryal there he may for Want of proper Proof easily escape Justice—

If you think this sufficient without a formal Tryal by a Court Martial, I hope you'll represent it to his Majesty in such a Manner as he may be removed from this province as a person unfit to be entrusted by the Assembly of this Province with his Majesty's Fort and Stores.

I am, with great Truth & Regard

Sir, You Excellencys

most Obedient humble Servant.

Arthur Dobbs

The only Articles for which I put Capt. Dalrymple under Arrest are

First His quitting his Command of Fort Johnston in Time of war and leaving the Province not only without my Leave, but immediately after I had expressly told him he should not have my Leave, and my Orders to him, at his Peril not to Leave the Fort and Province

Second That after having procured a New Commission from his Majesty, and a new war commenced with Spain, he did not appear, not produce his Commission for a Year and eight Months after it was Dated.

P.S. I am just preparing to sett out to meet the Southern Indians at Augusta

Governor Dobbs.
Brunswick 23d. Sepr. 1763
10th. October