Philadelphia 1 March 1799 Sir. I have examined with attention your draft of a letter put into my hands a few days ago. It seems to embrace every thing on which general instructions can be given, and if scrupulously attended to by those for whom it is intended I think the object will be obtained. The detail experience has taught me will be difficult, but the rules laid down being rigidly insisted on will in time produce the documents called for and with these in hands the business will be comparatively easy — The following queries arose in my mind on reading your letter which I submit to your consideration, they appear to be noticed but not fully explained — Will the receipt received for the Articles put on board any Ship or vessel for her equipment be considered as the final application or expenditure — Is the person receiving the Stores to be held accountable for the actual expenditure. Supposing the Stores to belong to his branch and placed under his Subordinate direction, if so to whom is he to account, or will all Stores be receipted for in the name of the Captain and he be made to account for their expenditure Is it expected that the Store Account will be subjected to any other revisions than that of the Accountant of the Department — Are the respective Agents or Ships Husbands are to bring the Captains to account — then the Accountant has only to audit the accounts of the Agents, in this way the arrangements may be simplified — but if the Accountant is to trace the Articles delivered to final expenditure through the Subordinate Class of Officers the work will be endless and I conceive greatly When one Agent delivers Stores to another the receivers receipt intitles the deliverer to a credit which is final. It is afterwards to be traced to satisfactory expenditure, through the person acknowledging the receipt of them; the only difficulty seems to be to know when the article may be said to be expended — to determine this returns Should be made expressing the quantities and kinds of Stores received and from whom and those remaining on hand at any given period for which he should be held accountable until exonerated by subsequent deliveries or expenditures. The Money column may express the value of the Article purchased by the Agent, but many things will come into his hands on which he can place no value, but by appraisement this column will be useless except in the Agents accounts for those who expend the Stores are have to account for them probably will seldom know the price of any thing received and if they did as they are dayly from their applications changing in value he could not be justly charged at the purchase price in case he is made to account where neglect or embezzlement may have made him liable — I cannot see what great use it can be even in the Agents for they will receive many things without the cost or estimated value — I will thank you to explain the utmost expectation from this column as I have not introduced it in the system I am pursuing — With Sentiments of Esteem I am Sir Your Most Obed^t Serv^t Samuel Hodgdon [left margin:] William Irvine Esq^r