Pay Office October 11 1791 Sir, In pursuance of your request communicated this day by M^r Stagg I have, look'd into the claim of Richard Varick Esq^r for an allowance of bounty lands from the United States as a Lieut^t Colo in the late Army — and respectfully report That on the 16 September 1776 Congress made provision for granting Lands " to the Officers & Soldiers who should engage in the Service & continue therein to the " close of the War, or untill discharged by Congress, and to the Representatives of " such Officers & Soldiers as should be slain by the Enemy". That on the 25^th September 1776 M^r Varick was appointed Dep^ty Muster Mast^r General to the No. Army and the 10 April 1777 he was elected one of the Dep^ty Muster Mast^r Gen^l with the [underline: Rank of Lt Colonel in the Army of the United States] That on the 12^th Jan^y 1780, Congress Resolved " that the Mustering " Department be discontinued and the Officers thereof discharged, and under certain restrictions they should be allowed one Year pay of their respective Grades — That on the 12^th October 1781, Congress "recommended to the executive of the State of Massachusetts to settle with the late Mustering department within that State in the same manner that they had settled with their Troops and to allow the Year advance [undecipherable: equal?] pay to Officers at the time it was [undecipherable] became due" That on the 30^th October 1783 Congress Resolved "That it be recommended to the executive of the State of New York, to settle with and pay Lieutenant Colonel Richard Varick, by allowing him what his arrears of pay, and year advance as Deputy Muster Master Gen^l was worth to his office at the time they respectively were [undecipherable] charge the same to the United States, I am of opinion that when Congress passed the act of the 10^th Ap[ril] 1777, that by [promoting?] to the Muste^r Maste^r Gen^l [undecipherable] the Deputy they did not intend that [undecipherable] should extend to giving them a command in the fields, or [any] command over any Office of inferior Rank in the Army but that it was granted with a View to make the Department respectable and to cover any casualty which might happen in the parties being made prisoners; but [undecipherable] when I consider the act of the 12^th Jan^y 90, allowing the Officers in the Muster Masters department one Year pay in the same manner as was allowed to Officers who became Supernumerary, and also the subsequent Acts allowing them depreciation notwithstanding the Act of the 10^th April 1780 — I am led to believe that Congress considered the Officers in this department in a different point of View from the other Staff of the Army, yet Sir if Congress had meant to grant them the emoluments of Supernumerary Officers in every Respect I presume they would have expressed it as [undecipherable] in [the one?] of the [undecipherable] Dep[artmen]t [strikethrough: That I do not consider any more] Therefore [undecipherable] by leave to submit the foregoing State of Facts to your final decision — J Howell Sec^y of War