Tho^s Turner Esq^r Accountant of the Navy Dep^t Accountant's Office March 21, 1800 Sir I have received your letter of this date requesting to be furnished with the amount charged in this Department for the Cost, and equipment of Vessels built previous to the Establishment of the Navy Department. In reply to which I have to inform you, that the nature of the expenditures at this Office consisted only in the payment of Pay & Subsistence of the Navy, & the Incidental & Contingent expences thereof; the former heads I conceive contain no charges which you require, and the latter is composed principal[ly] of the Pay and allowances made to the Constructors of the frigates, & the Clerks of the Navy Yards, - all expenditures for equipment & Cost, having been made at the Treasury department, No particular account was ever opened on the Books of my Office for any Vessel, but the sums paid were immediately carried to one of the above mentioned Heads of expenditure. If you wish a particulour account of the payments made and charged to Contingent expences of the Navy (which Acc^t can only embrace any of the items you require) I will on an intimation thereof from you have the Same selected & forwarded to you ~ Sam Y^e W.S. The Secretary of War March 21^st 1800 Sir By the act of the 3^d March 1799, entitled, "An act for the better organizing of the Troops of the United States and for other purposes" it is enacted, that "there shall be allowed to the Inspector General a Secretary, to be appointed by himself, with the pay & emoluments of a Captain;" by virtue of which General Hamilton has appointed Tho^s Y. Howe 2^nd Lieut^t of the 11^th Reg^t to the Office of Secretary, as this act does not appear to contemplate his Secretary being drawn from the line of the Army with the pay & emoluments of both Offices, The Secretary of War will please to decide whether Lieut^t Howe is entitled to receive the allowances of a Lieuten^t in addition to that of a Captain; and also whether the general expression of Captain is to be construed to mean a Captain of Cavalry or of Infantry - Sam Y^e W.S. M^r John Mackey Harper's ferry Accountant's Office March 20^th 1800 Sir I have just received your letter of the 12 Instant with its enclosures & observe that you will be here shortly for the purpose of closing your Accounts at this Office. You are therefore requested to bring with you the letter which I wrote to you, under date of the 9 January 1799, with the statement therein mentioned - Sam Y^e W.S. The Secretary of War March 20^th 1800 Sir The accounts of the Quarter Master General which I have before advised you of, continue to be under examination in this Office; and as that examination progresses, evils are discovered, which in my opinion call for immediate remedy. - To describe to you each individual charge which I consider extravagant, would be too lengthy for this communication. I have therefore deemed it proper to have selected, from the disbursments, the items charged for the transportation of Officers private effects; this appearing to me a material abuse, and one of those which call for immediate remedy. To enable you more fully to perceive the extent