[undecipherable] [Treasury Department / Comptrollers Office / filed / [undecipherable] / Dec 19^th] [William Simmons Esquire / Acct of the War Dep^t] [Comptrollers Office] Treasury Department Comptrollers Office 18^th December 1797. Sir, I have to acknowledge the receipt of your letter dated the 12^th instant. - Before I proceed to state to you my ideas on the subject to [strikethrough: which it] refers, I must be permitted to premise generally, that according to the lights which I possess, those descriptions of accompts in the Naval Department specified in my predecessors letter to you of the 24^th of December 1795, although not made the duty of the Accountant of the War Department by law, to adjust, are nevertheless of a nature which evidently places [strikethrough: them within the spirit and intention of the act as-]certaining his duties; and indeed it is manifest, that an opposite course would not fail to produce embarrassments in their liquidation, and might operate inconveniently to the Public service. - On these principles and under such impressions, it doubtless was, that the instructions contained in that letter were communicated. - Taking it to be a proper conclusion, that the accompts for the pay of the Seamen and Marines, or generally for the pay of the Crews of the Frigates, are to be examined by you in the first instance, and paid under the direction of the Secretary at War, until the proper Officers or Agents whose duty it may be to perform that service are appointed; it will in my opinion be most proper, that the forms which have been heretofore prescribed for regulating the payments in the [underline: land] service so far as they may be applicable, ought to be adopted and adhered to by you in the liquidation and payment of the accompts in the [underline: Marine] service. - The forms to which I allude, are those that have been established for the government of the Paymaster of the Troops, whose accompts being adjusted in your Office will it is conceived furnish Models that will [strikethrough: be proper [undecipherable] in this respect]. As soon as I shall be apprised of the appointments of the Officers or Agents before mentioned, which will of course relieve you from a duty, whose exercise until then the present arrangements seem to render indispensable; I shall not fail to prepare and transmit to them such forms for their government, as the nature of these disbursements may render expedient. - I am Sir, very respectfully, your Obed^t Servant: [signature] Comp^r William Simmons Esq^r -