The Secretary of War July 8. 1799 Sir By the letter of Jonathan Jackson Supervisor to you of the 29 June 1799 handed to me for perusal, I perceive he is much hurt at the suspensions & objections made to the final Settlement of Contractors accounts with whom he had the forming of Contracts complaining that it involved him in a disagreeable situation with them — By laying before you the causes of the Suspension of those accounts & the situation in which they now stand you will be enabled to judge how far I have acted consistent with the duties of my Office — Jacob Moyes's former acco^t. as Contractor was rec^d at this Office on the 9^th May & immediately put under examination, application was at the same time made to your Office for a Copy of the Contract & was informed that no such instrument had ever been rec^d. at the War Office neither could any be found at the Treasury — the Contractor was consequently written to on the 10 May to forward to this Office, a Copy of such Contract as would warrant the Charges contained in his accounts — to which he has never made any reply, & of course his acco^ts. lay over — Edmund Winchester's accounts as Contractor for Supplies were soon after received at this Office & were also immediately placed under examination & would have been Settled but for a disbursement of Dolls. 324.⁴⁰/100, which Cap^tn. Lemuel Gates had ordered to be paid for the repairs of the Barracks &c on [undecipherable: Castle?] William's Island, application as before was made to your Office to know whether Cap^t. Gates was authorized by any particular Instructions from the Secretary of War to have such repairs made & was answered in the negative — Cap^t. Gates was immediately written to requesting him to shew by what authority he had ordered the said repairs and at the same time letting him that I conceived it necessary in all cases where repairs to a considerable amount were wanted that the Commanding Officer should first consult the Secretary of War & obtain his approbation & unless that was done the amount would be deducted from the Contractors acco^ts — as no answer has yet been received to the foregoing and the objections not obviated the accounts unavoidably are suspended — I cannot but remark that the charges exhibited in Contractors accounts for repairing & erecting of buildings, Supplies of Quarter Master, Hospital Stores, &c by order of the Commanding Officers of Small Posts and Garrisons are considerable & very frequent, & can find no existing System laid down by the Secretary of War to regulate the calls of these articles (other than for Fuel & Straw) or to regulate or govern the Accounting Officers in the accounts proper to be admitted. On application to the Treasury I find that similar doubts & difficulties occurred there & one weighty reason for transferring these acco^ts to this Department for Settlement, was that the Secretary of War might be the better enabled to lay down the proper rules & regulations to govern. I will mention two circumstances now before me in which I am really at a loss how to act — Lieut^t. Leonard has had the Hospital Officers Quarters repaired at Bedlows Island to the amount of D^rs. 257 — for which he has obtained payment by an order on the Contractor, this was done within the vicinity of Col^o. Stevens, [undecipherable] for the War Department, without any direction from him — altho' he is daily making disbursements of like Nature at Fort Jay) — Cap^t. Ingersoll at West Point has had a Plang built that cost Doll^s. 258, & a quantity of Boards purchased to the amount of 130 Dollars, which he has caused the Contractor to pay for — it is said, no authority has been given from the War Office for that purpose. — If the Commanding Officer of every small post or Garrison of the Army has it in his power to request the Contractor to supply him with such articles as I have mentioned without restriction there will be no knowing to what amount they may