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Tobias Lear Autograph Letter Signed...
Description
Tobias Lear Reviews Irregular Treasury Payments Between Army Officers
Tobias Lear Autograph Letter Signed ("Tobias Lear").
One page, 7 3/4 x 9 7/8 inches; "Dept. of War Acco. office";
March 15, 1816. Docketed on the verso.Lear writes to Robert Brent, Washington D.C.'s first mayor, regarding the accounting treatment of a payment between two military officers. He pens, in full:
'Sir
The enclosed receipt of Lt Mallory & letter from Major Fannin are referred to you for information whether the payment made by the latter to the former, may be passed to the debit of the one & to the credit of the other consistently with your arrangements - Mr Fannin was instr[uc]ted to return the money he owed to the Treasury of the U States, instead of which he has paid it to Lt Mallory, and a credit will not be given to him therefor unless by your Report it shall appear to have been a proper payment
You will be pleased to return the papers, taking the proper notice of the transacti[on] in relation to Lt Mallory's account in your off[ice.]
Respectfully Your obedt.
Tobias Lear."
Lear addresses a technical but consequential accounting issue, involving funds owed to the Treasury but redirected through a private payment between officers. The question turns on whether that transaction can be recognized within official bookkeeping practices. The letter reflects the administrative rigor of early federal finance, where even relatively small deviations from prescribed procedure required formal review. Lear's role places him within the mechanisms that enforced fiscal accountability, ensuring that individual actions aligned with Treasury regulations.
Condition: Good overall. Flattened folds with minor staining and pencil notations at upper left margin. Multiple areas of loss along the outer margins, now filled, affecting text. Document fully silked on the verso.
References: Clarence L. Ver Steeg, The Formative Years of the American Economy, 1787-1840 (New York: Hill and Wang, 1969).
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