Robert Gilmor Esq^r. October 15^th 1799 Chairman of the Naval Committee of Baltimore Sir I have received your letter of the 8 Instant with its enclosure, by which I am now enabled to hand you Instructions as to what regards vouchers & the forms of keeping & rendering your accounts – The necessary directions how to disburse the Public monies entrusted to your care, & the application of the articles which may be purchased by you, you will no doubt have received from the Secretary of War. Your accounts must be rendered to this Office monthly for all expenditures made by you during the preceding month; necessary to a final settlement, & I shall require on such settlement a strict compliance on your part with all Instructions received from the Secretary of War & that your charges be accompanied with fair, regular explicit bills & rec^ts annexed for the monies paid by you, the whole to be numbered in rotation according to the dates of Payment & thus numbered, arranged to the charges noting what the payments are made for. The amount of said account of disbursements to be entered in a General Account Current balanced by such sum as may remain due to, or by you. each Acc^t Curr^t to be distinguished by an Alphabetical letter commencing with A, to be referred to in its Subordinate Vouchers – All expenditures for materials & to Workmen & Labourers, employed to Construct New or repair old works you are to charge in your books under the head of "Fortifications". All expenditures for Gun carriages, implements for Guns, Military Stores & Gun Powder, to be charged under the head of "Cannon Arms & Ammunition" & you will render your acc^ts accordingly. It is also necessary that you transmit the following Abstracts Viz^t – All articles purchased – Pay of Labourers – Pay of Mechanics – Transportation – Contracts for Constructing, or repairing any work, the compensation for which is not Detailed in its component parts – Contingent charges, embracing all such as do not belong to the preceding Abstracts. The amount of each to be carried to one General Abstract of expenditures, the forms of all which, as well as all those of the accounts above Noticed I enclose for your government – It is proper to be observed, that no advance on account, whether on Contract or otherwise, must appear in your accounts Transmitted to this Office for settlement, as no charge not for a payment in full can be admitted. To avoid however, the appearance of your having monies in your hands, when it may be the reverse, you can forward a memorandum of the