John King, Contractor Accountants Office Elizabeth town N.J. August 21^st 1799 Sir Your accounts & vouchers for supplies to the Troops at Elizabethtown furnished between the 23^d May & 31 July have been examined & found admissible; except the charge of D^ts 5.33 paid to R. Stackhouse for transportation of provisions from Elizabethtown to the Encampment - which has been deducted from your account because the Contract (which is my Guide) specifies no such allowance - the voucher is therefore now returned to you - the balance of One hundred seventy four Dollars, 63 Cents in your favor will be paid to you by the Treasurer U.S. upon your granting him the necessary receipts - I observe a few instances in the returns for provisions where there are some men under Stoppage of Rum & that you charge for them the price of a complete ration, as it is presumed they afterwards received those stoppages it is now admitted, but will not be done in future unless something is shewn to satisfy me that the rum has been consumed by the proper persons - Some of the Officers draw but a part of their rations, I wish it prevented in future as it occasions difficulty & confusion in making the entries at this Office - it is usual for Officers to settle monthly with the Contractor for their rations or to settle their subsistence account with their pay, & this rule I shall expect you to adopt - In my former letter I informed you that it was absolutely necessary for the Officers who draws for fuell & Straw to state the number of men for whom demanded & the lengths of time intended to last them, as you have not observed those orders I again take the liberty of mentioning it to you - In reply to that part of your letter where you request me to point you out a way for having the difficulties amicably settled, which the Sec^y of Wars has made (as you say) by a false construction of your Contract, I have to observe that this information does not belong to me to give - your letter was presented to the Secretary of Wars for his perusal & he returned it without any observations thereon - I am &c W.S.