the Public advanced to him but above the probable recruting expences of the Regiment and therefore unless the same can be recovered must be a loss either to him or the United States in support to his claim for this balance he urges that he intrusted this money as was the duty of the Commanding Officer of a Regiment, to his Officers for the Public Service and for whose conduct he cannot be answerable as they were not of his appointment: but let the full force of this reasoning be granted and that he was perfectly Justifiable in making these advances in the first instance, was it not his duty to give some of the public Officers a knowledge of these advances to enable them to make the [undecipherable] & was it not his duty to pay such attention to the expenditures for the recruting service as to prevent so considerable a loss on the recruting Account of his Regiment? the Officers to whom he paid this money may be considered as under several views. such as died in the service such as resigned and such as had depreciation due to them or continued to the end of the War he may say in respect to the first that he had no opportu[nity] to call them to account which reasoning undoubtedly ought to have weight— but still as he knew the sum they had received and the Number of Men inlisted by them it appears no more than reasonable that he should [have]