Cap^t James Bruff Accountants Office Niagara December 26. 1797 Sir I received your letter of the 17 Ult^o & the Muster & Pay Rolls for September 1797 of the detachment at Niagara transmitted by Major Rivardi came to hand 27 October last; I thought it unnecessary to remit you the amount of the latter, as well as that of the Pay Rolls for August transmitted by yourself in hopes that you would have a sufficiency of unappropriated monies in your hands to complete those payments. the Muster & Pay Rolls for October, I received yesterday from the War Office, from the latter as well as the two former pay rolls it has been found nece[ssary] to deduct the Pay and Forage of Major Rivardi and it will be nece[ssary] to make deductions for some time to come in order to cover a balance against him on the books of this Office. The Agreement made by him with General Wilk[inson] to relinquish part of his pay for this object cannot avail as the latter cannot be supposed to be informed of the state of the former's account with the Public. you will be pleased to inform Major Rivardi of these circumstances & govern yourself accordingly in making the payment. As the law makes no allowance for Adjutants of Detachments I have been under the necessity of deducting Lieu^t. McC[ullen's] Pay as such made up in the October Pay Roll for September & that. The Pay & Forage of Major Rivardi & the Pay of Lieu^t M^cCullen as adjutant being thus deducted from the October [Pay Roll] leaves an amount of four hundred nineteen Dollars 7/00 which sum will be remitted to you by Samuel Lewis, Clerk in the War Office and for [that] you will be pleased to transmit duplicate Receipts holding yourself [account]able. I am under the necessity of requesting you to continue making payments at Niagara until I can make some future arrangements for [this] purpose — I have just now received your letter of the [undecipherable] enclosing the Vouchers therein mentioned which will undergo examination & the result made known to you. Sam^s to W Simmons A^st