Princeton Ocr. 9th. 1783.
Sir,
Mr. Deane has mentiond in his Acct. that 48252 livres four sous of the Monies received by him from Mr. Solier was on your Account; & that the same has been chargd to you by Pliarne Penet & Co.
The Committee are obligd to trouble you again on the subject of his Accounts
1 by requesting you will furnish them with information as to the fact which Mr. Deane alludes to, & whether that Sum taken out of the public fund, tho charg'd to you, was ever credited or refunded to the U. S. It being the express injunction of Congress that the Committee shoud report on these Accounts, however unpleasant it may be, they must obey.
I have the honor to be, with great respect, Sir Yr. most obed,
A. Lee
Transcription, Papers of Continental Congress, item 54, U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C.
1 For the appointment of this committee, see Lee to Morris, September 26, 1783. In his October 11 reply Morris refused to furnish the committee with information about his "private Account" because "the Superintendant of Finance has no Official Knowledge of the private Concerns of Mr. Robert Morris." He did concede, however, that Deane was accountable to the United States for all public funds received from Pliarne Penet & Co., whose accounts with the United States had been settled, but not for the 48,252 livres charged to Morris because Deane had already "deducted it from the gross Sum which he received from Mr. Solier" and thus "for that particular Sum he must Account to Robert Morris." It was a moot question, therefore, whether the funds had been "credited or refunded to the United States." See PCC, item 54, fols. 37 - 38. The committee delivered its report on November 4, the last day Congress met in Princeton, and recommended that the commissioner for settling the foreign accounts of the United States allow Deane his expenses as well as a 5 commission on goods purchased and shipped "from the time he left Philadelphia in the public service to the 4th of June 1778." The committee, however, denied Deane salary and commission or any reimbursement for funds expended after that date unless Deane could demonstrate that he had acted with congressional authorization. See ibid., fols. 1 - 2. The report was not entered on the journals and it does not appear that Congress took it up when it reconvened in Annapolis.