[Address panel, cover:] [Marginalia, upper right, rotated:] For [undecipherable] [undecipherable] [undecipherable] [undecipherable] [undecipherable] [undecipherable] [undecipherable] [undecipherable] William Simmons Esquire Accountants Depar[tmen]t [undecipherable] Philadelphia --- Presqu'isle July 13^th 1796 Sir [underline: Before my Departure from] [undecipherable] [undecipherable] as you must remember my giving to M^r Balfour (with your consent) an order to receive the whole or [undecipherable] parts of my pay & [undecipherable: forage] as [undecipherable] [undecipherable] [undecipherable]. — In consequence of this Order, as soon as I came on this ground, I desired Captain Bipsle [undecipherable: not] to include me in his pay roll, as such order had been given, agreeable to this, I never [undecipherable] any of the months in 1795 — nor should I have been to this day, but for the following circumstances — — In the last part of [undecipherable: this] month April 1796 Sergeant [undecipherable] came to this post with the money for the Detachment for the months of January & [undecipherable: Febr'y] he brought with him a paper of appropriation of [undecipherable: which] [undecipherable] enclosed is an attested Copy — I immediately [undecipherable] to Captain Bipsle the [undecipherable: apparent] impropriety of sending due money unasked for, under such circumstances, indeed it appears a [undecipherable: problem] which I [undecipherable: could] not solve, but as I [undecipherable] was entirely ignorant how [undecipherable: much] money M^r Balfour had drawn, having never [undecipherable] [undecipherable] to the accounts I [undecipherable: imagined] it was [undecipherable: perhaps] sent with [undecipherable] by his [undecipherable] or [undecipherable] could not have [undecipherable: received] for those Months, [undecipherable] it could not have been sent. — At that time Captain Bipsle [undecipherable] pay [undecipherable: bills] for those [undecipherable] were made [undecipherable] as he had never [undecipherable] such [undecipherable: circumstances], for such [undecipherable] [undecipherable] he [undecipherable] made [undecipherable] his pay [undecipherable] [undecipherable]. I was therefore [undecipherable: obliged] to [undecipherable] [undecipherable] [undecipherable] pay [undecipherable] against [undecipherable] [undecipherable] [undecipherable] Captain Bipsle [undecipherable] [undecipherable] [undecipherable] on the pay [undecipherable] [undecipherable] [undecipherable] — I [undecipherable: became] considerably [undecipherable] to M^rs Balfour regarding [undecipherable] [undecipherable] two [undecipherable] She had [undecipherable: received] for [undecipherable] [undecipherable] [undecipherable] to be informed the reason the pay was [undecipherable: sent] without any application on [undecipherable] [undecipherable] [undecipherable] [undecipherable] [undecipherable] [undecipherable] a [undecipherable: letter] [undecipherable] by the last post— [undecipherable] [undecipherable] she had [undecipherable: received] pay for those Months [undecipherable] [undecipherable] to all [undecipherable] [undecipherable] And [undecipherable] [undecipherable] informed her likewise that, in the [undecipherable] [undecipherable] [undecipherable] had received [undecipherable] on the pay [undecipherable] — [undecipherable] as it was in the [undecipherable] in the [undecipherable] [undecipherable] this [undecipherable] I [undecipherable: find] the last [undecipherable: two] in this ([undecipherable], May & [undecipherable: June]) [undecipherable] [undecipherable] which could [undecipherable: balance] the [undecipherable: two] I had [undecipherable: received]. There was therefore [undecipherable] [undecipherable] [undecipherable] making [undecipherable] [undecipherable] which I [undecipherable] [undecipherable] immediately [undecipherable] [undecipherable] to you, [undecipherable] [undecipherable] [undecipherable] — [undecipherable] to Doubt M^r Balfour has [undecipherable] had my [undecipherable] [undecipherable] [undecipherable] to you & has [undecipherable] [undecipherable] for those two months the last [undecipherable] [undecipherable] [undecipherable] that [undecipherable] necessary to be [undecipherable] is to have the [undecipherable] [undecipherable] a [undecipherable] for [undecipherable] pay [undecipherable] [undecipherable] & [undecipherable] [undecipherable] on the pay [undecipherable: rolls] to [undecipherable: remain] — It now remains [undecipherable] [undecipherable] [undecipherable] to [undecipherable] [undecipherable] that pay [undecipherable] [undecipherable] on [undecipherable] [undecipherable] to [undecipherable] my [undecipherable] to him — H^d P[undecipherable] [undecipherable] I, the [undecipherable] to [undecipherable] [undecipherable] [undecipherable] [undecipherable] [undecipherable] [undecipherable] [undecipherable] [undecipherable] to [undecipherable] his [undecipherable] [undecipherable] [undecipherable] [undecipherable] [undecipherable]. The [undecipherable: Captain] [undecipherable] as is usual in the army [undecipherable] the [undecipherable: orderly] Sergeant the [undecipherable: former] [undecipherable] to make the [undecipherable: due] pay [undecipherable] the [undecipherable: Sergeant's] to my knowledge [undecipherable] making [undecipherable] [undecipherable] [undecipherable] in there, it was too late to make [undecipherable] as M^r [undecipherable] was immediately going [undecipherable] [undecipherable] against any [undecipherable] [undecipherable] But as [undecipherable] [undecipherable] [undecipherable] [undecipherable] the Balfours amounts [undecipherable] [undecipherable] [undecipherable] [undecipherable] a mistake [undecipherable] had been made or [undecipherable] — Thus Sir I think I have accounted for this business on my part plainly enough, but if you think otherwise I have only one [undecipherable] to ask of you [undecipherable] that is to point out [undecipherable: the] deficiency [undecipherable] it remains for [undecipherable] to [undecipherable] the reason of my [undecipherable] the [undecipherable] [undecipherable] opinion of this business [undecipherable] Captain [undecipherable] [undecipherable] [undecipherable] [undecipherable] an extract [undecipherable] [undecipherable] [undecipherable] to be [undecipherable] [undecipherable] being D^r D. M^cG. dated Phil^a June 10^th [undecipherable] enclosed in a letter to him — The [undecipherable] [undecipherable] with the [undecipherable] of this [undecipherable] [undecipherable] in every [undecipherable] determined and [undecipherable] to you about [undecipherable] I have [undecipherable] [undecipherable] you had by this [undecipherable] seen the [undecipherable] [undecipherable] [undecipherable] [undecipherable] I suppose you [undecipherable] to certainly [undecipherable] I have to [undecipherable] to Captain Bipsle expecting an [undecipherable: explanation] — [undecipherable] [undecipherable] [undecipherable] but think in a case of [undecipherable: ambiguity] happening in [undecipherable] your [undecipherable: department] it is an [undecipherable] who has been as many years a public [undecipherable: servant] as I have [undecipherable], [undecipherable] of [undecipherable] it must have had frequent [undecipherable] with that [undecipherable: Department], you ought [undecipherable] not well acquainted with that Office yourself, to have first made yourself acquainted with his character from those around you before such a [undecipherable: Paragraph] could have been [undecipherable] — I should be glad to know from [undecipherable], [undecipherable] opportunities, as the money [undecipherable] originally [undecipherable] [undecipherable] though your hands to [undecipherable] by [undecipherable] was not the presumption that to be the [undecipherable] in your [undecipherable] to the money to be received, also why sent without a [undecipherable] pay [undecipherable], especially when M^rs Balfour having received for those [undecipherable: months] [undecipherable] [undecipherable] known — — Such this is my Opinion of it, it is not perfectly clear & Satisfactory, I will think [undecipherable] [undecipherable] [undecipherable] [undecipherable] can be [undecipherable] to assign to [undecipherable] [undecipherable] Opinion [undecipherable: I am Sir in your] [undecipherable] &[undecipherable] [undecipherable] [undecipherable signature]