To George Washington from Alexander Hamilton, 24 April 1792
From Alexander Hamilton
Treasury Department, 24 April 1792. Submits a contract for oil between the superintendent of the Delaware lighthouse and Joseph Anthony & Son of Philadelphia, the terms of which are not unfavorable to the United States, as they have not changed from the previous two years. Nothing better had been offered after an advertisement for proposals was published, and it is understood that the wardens of Philadelphia had purchased a part of the same cargo at an equal price.1
LB, DLC:GW.
1. A copy of the enclosed contract signed on 23 April by superintendent William Allibone and Joseph Anthony & Son in the presence of Robert Bulley, Jr., is in DNA: RG 26, Lighthouse Deeds and Contracts, vol. A, 17. It says that the firm would deliver to the Cape Henlopen lighthouse at least 1,600 gallons of the best strained spermaceti oil at the rate of 3s. 7d. Pennsylvania currency per gallon. Tobias Lear wrote Hamilton on 25 April informing him of GW’s approval of the contract (DLC:GW).