[12] Jno & [undecipherable] Esq Boston —, Accountants Office April 10^th 1800 Sir I have received your letter of the 7^th [undecipherable] [undecipherable] [undecipherable] with your accounts against the [undecipherable: Fortifications] for March [undecipherable] which will be placed under examination & you informed of the results — The Secretary of War's Instructions to you of date [undecipherable] [undecipherable] says '[undecipherable] [undecipherable] generally [undecipherable] [undecipherable] to make all purchases or contracts for the War department [undecipherable] to procurers [undecipherable] materials as may be required to complete the works' — in the concluding [undecipherable] the consideration [undecipherable] [undecipherable] bonds in the [undecipherable] of the duties hereby [undecipherable] [undecipherable], will be a [undecipherable] of [undecipherable] [undecipherable] on the amount of your expenditures [undecipherable] the [undecipherable] shall not [undecipherable] [undecipherable] Dollars and a [undecipherable] [undecipherable] on all above that sum, hence it is evident that my construction of your instructions as relates to the [undecipherable] I take allowed to you is correct — [undecipherable] [undecipherable] Mr James [undecipherable]     April 10^th [undecipherable] [undecipherable] Sir I have received your letter of this morning enclosing sundry accounts for payments made by you out of monies belonging to the [undecipherable] master [undecipherable] for purchases proper to have been made by Mr [undecipherable], which you appear to have been called upon to do in consequence of his [undecipherable]. The accounts exhibited by you are very different in form from those expected from the [undecipherable] who acts under [undecipherable] instructions [undecipherable] him by the Department of the Treasury [undecipherable] for the course of keeping & rendering his accounts which is to [undecipherable] me in the