Richmond^ay May 13^th 1797 D^r S^r Your letter of the 9^th Instant with its enclosures is received. I am so much engaged in the Atto business that I have not Attended to Doct^r Bento's claim sufficiently to form an opinion on it — I am seeing some other business following with the State and will wish to turn on [strikethrough: to] it when I have completed this — I rather think that his pay ought to be extended to Jan^y 1785. I do not well recollect what opinion I have formerly stated respecting General Demar's demands, but if I remember that it appeared to me that he must be charged with the 3000 Dollars he gave himself to M^r Bellows or so much of it as is unaccounted for — it did not appear to me clearly that he was entitled to his rations because he did not I think duty & his pay & commutation appeared as sufficient compensation to him. pay I considered as the equivalent to services & Rations to expenses in that service which he could not be at whilst at home — It occurs to me however that the plan struck me that his confinement by sickness might make a difference tho' I believe it did not in his case. You must take the opinion of the Treasury & Comptroller and do as you think proper, remembering in case the allowance is made that there must be clear proof that he drew