About 5 or 6 Years since, there was an Application made by the Board of Customs at Boston, to the Lords of the Treasury, complaining that the Packets between Falmouth and New York were generally a Fortnight longer in their Passages, than Merchant Ships from London to Rhodeisland, and proposing that for the future they should be ordered to Rhodeisland instead of New York.

Being then concern’d in the Management of the American Post-Office, I happened to be consulted on the Occasion: And it appearing strange to me, that there should be such a Difference between two Places scarce a Days Run asunder, especially when the Merchant Ships are generally deeper laden and more weakly mann’d than the Packets, and had from London the whole Length of the River and Channel farther to run before they left the Land of England, I could not but think the Fact misunderstood or misrepresented.