Sir New York April 9^th 1799— Probably before this reaches you, You will have learnt from himself that Gen^l Wilkinson has been directed to repair to the seat of Government in order to a Review of the affairs of the Western Army & Country— & to the Settlement of a future plan with the aid of his lights— In the mean time the command will Naturally devolve upon you, & it is pre-sumed you will have received from Gen^l Wilkinson the instructions proper for your Government— This serves only to [undecipherable] [the] [the] Pay Master General at the desire of the [undecipherable] [War] has been required to come to Philadelphia [&] Constituting a deputy to act in his stead [for] [the] the Western Army — I send you herewith for distribution [a]mong the several Posts, Copies of a Contract with James O'Hara for the supply of the [undecipherable] Western forces & Posts to the last of September [undecipherable]. As this contract was made prior [undecipherable] I did not understand till the [undecipherable] it remained to be transmitted— [undecipherable] you the Copy of an Act [undecipherable] for the better Organizing the [undecipherable] United States, & for other purposes ["] [undecipherable] was passed the third of March last. [The] [undecipherable] Section of it demands particular attention. [undecipherable] be sensible of the importance as soon as [undecipherable] of producing Uniformity in this particular [undecipherable] the troops every where. The intervention [of] the Act of July 16^th [1]798 by which this [law] was [so] augmented may possibly create some embarrassments but as it is presumed that few or none of the soldiers were inlisted upon the foot of this Act absolutely, & as the Antecedent Ration (the one regulated by the Act to ascertain & fix the Military establishment of the United States) was upon the whole (the Article of Rum excepted) inferior to the present Ration & as it is the intention to continue the issue of half a gill of Rum under the discretion allowed by the Act now forwarded, it is hoped that no difficulty will be experienced in bringing the Ration every where to the standard last prescribed — This you will bring about as soon as it can be done with due Circumspection & prudence; some latitude of discretion must be assumed by the Commanding Officer in the expectation that it will be approved. The change if thought best, may be successively made Article by Article— You will take care so to order [the] matter as that the Vouchers [undecipherable] [Con]tractor & his Agents shall shew the Changes [undecipherable] introduced and you will regularly advise me [what] has been done — Should you not have been advised [that] Gen^l Wilkinson has set out for the Seat of Government you will transmit him a Copy of this letter and of every other which you shall subsequently receive prior to the knowledge of his [de]parture— with great Consideration I am Sir [Your] [undecipherable] Ob^dl Serv^t [[fra]ncks] (Signed) [undecipherable]