Folios 244-245: John Dilkes, London. Expresses concern at the disapproval of the...

Folios 244-245: John Dilkes, London. Expresses concern at the disapproval of the Navy Board, and apologises for any suggestion that the Officers at Chatham Dockyard had been inattentive during the fitting of HMS Madras, if it is believed that his letter of 17 January 1799 had implied this. The facts stated in his letter cannot be doubted; the problem with the cable was either caused by being too tightly moored, which he knows was not the case, or was the fault of the original builders at Deptford. If his letter implied anything else, then he apologises and will endeavour to be clearer in future.