Report Office of Army Accounts New York, August 19^th 1786 The Commissioner for Settling the Accounts of the late Army of the United States, to whom was referred the Petition of A. Bond requesting the Commutation in lieu of half pay for life, as a deranged Surgeon in Baldwins Corps of Artificers, Begs leave to Report That Doctor Bond founds his Claim on the Resolution of January 17, 1781 granting generally the half pay to the Hospital department, and that of May 8, 1782 granting the same particularly to a Surgeon of Artificers That Congress did on the 19^th of Oct last, refer to your Commissioner a Report made by a Committee of Congress, on the Petition of Sundry Officers of the late Corps of Artificers for half pay Commutation, which report your Commissioner was directed to take order on and is in the Words following, viz: The Committee consisting of — "to whom was referred the Memorials of Several Officers "of the late Corps of Artificers praying that in Settling their "Accounts they be allowed the Commutation of half pay as "founded on Justice or on the Acts of Congress, beg leave to "Report. That the Claims of those Officers does not Appear "to be founded on the usage of Nations nor in Equity — They observe "that half pay has been allowed to Military Officers partly from "a regard to the hardships and personal Danger to which "they were exposed, but chiefly from a consideration, that by "a long Continuance in the Military line, they may have lost "those habits by which they formerly had been enabled to "provide for themselves a family — which reason does not "apply so fully to the Officers of Artificers. Your Committee are of Opinion that their [undecipherable] "Rule on this Occasion must be the Acts of Congress respecting "the Officers in the Corps of Artificers, and they do not find "any Resolution by which they are intitled to half pay or "Commutation, on the Contrary they seem to be expressly "Cut off from any such Claim — The Original Act of Congress of July 15. 1778 by "which half pay was [undecipherable] for [undecipherable] Confined the same to "Military Officers which Certainly did not include the Artificers "and your Committee are of opinion that all Subsequent Acts "which relate to half pay, the same denomination of Officers "must be intended unless in Cases where other Officers are "expressly mentioned. Surely the Act of October 21 1780 [undecipherable] "half pay to Officers who might be deranged, never could be "Construed as giving half pay to any Class of Officers who "had no Claim to half pay had they Continued in Service "to the End of the War — If any doubt could have arisen Whether "the Artificers were intended in the promise of "half pay, it must be fully removed by the Act of the 16 "November 1779 it was then Resolved — That it be "recommended to the Several States, to allow the Corps "of Artificers Established by Congress the 19 Inst. and "all the benefits provided for Officers and Soldiers "in the line of their quotas of the Continental Battalions "except the half Pay" — after this pointed and explicit exclusion of those Officers from the allowances of half pay, Your Committee are of Opinion that nothing but a Subsequent promise equally founded & express can give them a Title to the same — None such has been made, Wherefore they Submit the following Resolve, That the Officers of the late Corps of Artificers in the Service of the United States are not entitled to half pay or the Commutation for half pay." Your Commissioner therefore Supposes that he is not Warranted to grant the Commutation to the Memorialist unless he has the direction of Congress. [undecipherable: initials/monogram] Charles Thompson Esq. Secretary of Congress