Bay of Islands Novr 8th 1818
Revd & Dear Sir/
      A valuable opportunity now offers for communicating to you and from you to us, which I gladly embrace— The Cathrine Captn Graham is now laying in our Bay bound direct for England— He is a South Sea Whaler and means to return immediately after discharging his Cargo in London— When on his former Voyage home about three years ago, I wrote to you by him requesting the favour of a few articles, such as I had been robbed of by the Natives, but I never received any of them nor any letters from England these several years past.— yet I always continued to write at every opportunity, The Natives under my direction and instruction work very well almost beyond my expectation. I have generally four pair of Sawyers at work, sawing Timber into boards, planks, Pailing for fences &c &c. I have spared neighter [sic] labour nor expence in their instruction. I have expended £20 of my own, in trade for the Natives that I never charged any thing for,— I have Saved upwards of a thousand feet with them myself, We are making strong pailing fences round our houses yards and gardens all of sawed Timber, and I have sent nearly 2000 feet of 3 Inch plank 12 Inches deep up to Port jackson, in order to assist in defraying the Actives expences— We have built three Smiths Shops in the Settlement. We have two Natives amongst us that we [f] taught the Black Smiths business to a certain degree, the one w as taught here by the Black Smith that we had, and the other was taught at Port jackson, under the direction of Mr Marsden,— I have also built a smiths Shop that I work in myself occasionally with the Tools that you kindly sent out with me.— I can make small adzes nails and many other useful things that serve to purchase potatoes pay labour &c with I victual my working Natives three times a day regularly with potatoes and pork and Mrs H[all] cooks it all for them.— We have succeeded tolerably well in cultivation likewise.— I have as much wheat growing this year as will serve my family the year round, and every one in the settlement has got some, more or less— we keep increasing gradually by making more improvements and cultivations every year.— And in respect to the language we can speak it sufficiently well to enable us to buy or sell any thing to them or get our work done, in short we can speak pretty fluently upon any common subject.— But as to writing it grammatically, or translating any part of the Scriptures we are utterly unequal to the work,— We wish very much to have a Minister or two amongst us Classically eucated, and the more living languages they understand they will be the better qualified for their work, but I must refer these things to your superior judgment, and to the righteous judge of all things.— We hope we have an interest in your prayers and in the prayers of all those that wish well to the increase of Christ’s Kingdom and the building up of his Church upon earth,— and that the Lord may qualify and prepare many faithful [f] labourers for his vineyard, and hasten the time when the Kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ, is the sincere and fervent Prayer of Revd & dear Sir
      Your most obedient Serv[an]t
      In Christ
      Wm Hall
PS. I have sent you a Natives Box as an article of curiosity, it is such as the N. Zealanders make to put their feathers in that they ornament their heads with— and a few other trifles which you will please to accept.—
	Please to send me a good suit of black cloathing if convenient, a Dozen pair of black stockings for self, and a Dozen for Mrs and two or three pounds of black worsted, such things are very difficult for us to obtain here, and if you send the prices to Mr Marsden I will settle with him for them.—
I received a parcel of Carlisle Newspapers some time ago which are very interesting to us. I had no letter with them, but I suppose they must have come through your hands, for which I return my sincerest thanks.— We have had no reports or registers or Stationary this long time past by sending these things you will much oblidge [sic]
Revd & Dear {Sir]
Your Obe[dien]t  Servants
And labourers
In Christ
Wm & D. Hall