The Virginia Gazette

Extract of a letter from London, September, 1775.

The proclamation issued here lately, is known to be in part designed to encourage spies and informers, that some of the friends of liberty and America may be ensnared; Gentlemen in America will therefore excuse their correspondents here, if, from this time they do not receive regular answers to their political letters, since they must all know, that a Sandwich is villain enough to make use of every means, however base, to accomplish his wicked purposes; that a Jefferies now fills the chief seat of criminal justice. As a proof of the charge against the first; you are referred to his conduct in the case of John Wilkes, Esq; the present most worthy chief magistrate of the city of London; and to Mr. Searle, an eminent merchant of Philadelphia, who knows of the blackest plot contrived within this month, by that atrocious villain, to ruin him, Mr. Alderman Lee, and several other friends of liberty in England, because they are known to be friends of America.

The character and principles of Lord Chief Justice Jefferies are too well and publicly known, to need a comment or explanation.

It is therefore absolutely incumbent on every person in America, who has any letter on political subjects from any person in Great Britain, immediately to destroy the same, as I can assure you, it is a most undoubted fact, that persons are employed by Administration, almost in every colony to get either by fraud, bribery, or theft, any letters that have been written from hence to America on political subjects. Gentlemen will consider, that when in America, they are not in the power of our blood-thirsty Jefferies, and his wicked instruments of rapine and murder—the Bedford party; therefore they may always communicate, without fear of danger, what they think proper their friends here should know.

Public occurrences here may be known from the daily papers, but private intelligence will be difficult to convey, since Ministry are masters of the ports both in Great Britain and America, as well as of the sea; and especially, as the general commercial communication will soon be at an end; it is therefore left with America to devise some plan of communication that may be safe.