We have received your letter of 23 May with Mr Taylor's proposal for importing hemp this summer by way of commission. The East Country Merchants, namely Sir William Gore, Mr Joy, Mr Martin, Mr Gould and Mr Hall, opposed this with us, but by standing together upon their price of £32 per ton gives us reason to suspect combination. We return Mr Taylor's proposal and he is to present a calculation of the charge and the manner in which the money is to be called for. The Commissioners of the Treasury direct you to attend them this afternoon to give an account of the quantity of hemp in store; how long it will employ the men at the ropeyards; what quantity of hemp, over and above that in store, will be required to keep the men employed.