[Report — Cap. Fogg Sep. 14 1786] The Commissioners for settling the army accounts, to whom was referred the Petition of James Fogg late a Captain in the New York line; praying among other things to retain other commutations into the hands of the Commissioners, than those which he received by his commutation, in order to place him on the footing established, beg leave to report. That the 5^th clause of the act of June 7, 1785, appears to have provided that no Officer who has accepted his commutation for half pay shall be entitled to be entered on the list of invalids, unless he shall have first returned his commutation; and that another act of the 4^th of June 1786 declares that Officers in the Invalid line shall be paid to any person in his own name for services performed or supplies which he has furnished the United States shall be secured in him in pay instead of any demands which the United States have any right to have upon the settlement of his account. I think two resolutions are the only ones as far as your Commissioners know, but were informed that said of the returns of any certificates; the former appears to confirm the same to the commutation itself, and the latter to all demands found in the name of the person. Your Commissioner is however of opinion that these Resolutions may reasonably be [undecipherable] as in the case of the Invalid Officers, and that they be permitted to retain the amount of their commutations in other securities of the United States when they have parted with their own; [undecipherable] shall take official accounts, leaving the same in trust and give to Officers belonging to the same States will then arrive, which he submits to the following reasons. 1^st the Officer being confined to the securities issued to citizens of his State will thereby be prevented from taking advantage of the different prices of securities, and the opposition will be the same with the State if he had received his own, should any future event render such restitution necessary. 2^d at the time the Army was disbanded there were different and distinct resolutions existing at the same time, one of which promised a pension to the wounded and disabled, and the other half pay for life to the Army in general, under which many Officers had a right to claim as they supposed to claim both the commutation [strikethrough: relating to pensions and] also who were obliged and [strikethrough: disposed of] received the commutation and disposed of the same; but as the resolution of January 1785 has declared the intention is [undecipherable] in this respect, and to give the Officers an opportunity to make their election, which must be [undecipherable], if the commutation or pension; they must avow most of them be deprived of the means of making this choice unless the proposed license is permitted. 3^d the real values of the securities of the United States, which have been paid to the Army in discharge of their half commutation is incompatible to the maintenance of the Officers, they therefore asks not by reason of their wounds real objects for the public duties, cannot reasonably be denied the privilege of receiving the values they have received for their commutation and receiving for it a real commutation, which the provisions of Congress has held out, and which is consistent with the [undecipherable] and the money of justice. New York September 14^th 1786.