[carefu]ll to have each of the claims voted by a Clerk of the Accountants Office for presentment previous to the Act being in force I am &^c Joseph Howell M^r Rob^t Roberts New York July 28^th 1788 Sir I have at last obtained the information required in your letter of the 6^th of May last, in examination of the several Certificates issued by M^r Stelle the Commissioner for Pennsylvania. I find that on the 27^th of [October] 1786 he issued a Certificate N^o 8860 to one M^r Mumford for the sum of 80 ⁹⁰/100 dollars being the Specie value of 2,307 ⁸/10 dollars old Emissions which was for the Amount of the certificate granted by Jean Mitchell to James Rice, a Copy of the receipt is enclosed and ratified by the proper Office — I am informed that the person who received the Certificate was a Clerk to M^r Stelle, perhaps he may still be in Philadelphia if so you may be informed from what Authority he received the Certificate, for I find none among the Vouchers, not even an Assignment appears I remain y^r ob^t Ser^t Joseph Howell Note, you inform me that you gave Rice the Original Certificate granted by M^r Mitchell, if you gave it him at the time of writing your letter, that must certainly be a fraud somewhere, as a Certificate appears on file of which the one sent me (if now returned) is a duplicate. M^r Thomas Stelle