The Comptroller of the Treasury, Accountants Off[ice] Sir February 14^th I received your letter of yesterday [en] the copy of one dated 10^th Inst. from C. Swan, requesting your opin[ion on] certain points to which you wish previous to giving it to receive my [inform] ation on the subject — In compliance therewith I beg leave to sta[te] the first question in M^r Swans letter that were the documents which h[e] describes perfectly conformable to his instructions, there could certain[ly be no] difficulty in passing the amount to his credit, after the proper can[cellation] and consequently I am at a loss to know why he asks the question; [the examin] ation of that Part of M^r Swans accounts, which are at Present susp[ended] the reasons for which I have informed him in my letter of the 10^th [Inst] (of which I beg leave to enclose for your perusal) — I conceive there can [be] no doubt that the accountant can fought to suspend the examination [of accounts] that cannot operate to the prejudice of the United States when the other [side of] his Office will not admit of the examination taking place — On this [account] part of his accounts are at present suspended — as relates to the last que[stion I] conceive the meaning of M^r Swan to be that if warrants are drawn by the commander in chief for the pay of the Troops on Estimates [of] the quarter master or other Departments not contemplated in his instr[uctions] of the monies placed in his hands for the pay forage & subsistence of the [troops] whether he be entitled to a credit on the books of this Office on produc[ing] a proper receipt — He contends that did he refuse the payment of su[ch] that the articles of War would subject him to a Military Trial & p[unishment] for disobedience and consequently that he ought to receive a credit [for]