1. John Witman, Jr., sought appointment as the inspector of the revenue for the second survey in Pennsylvania, which was comprised of Berks, Northampton, Luzerne, and Northumberland counties. Questions about the competency of the current inspector, James Collins, had been raised by Commissioner of the Revenue Tench Coxe in a letter to Alexander Hamilton of 15 Dec. 1792 (see Syrett, Hamilton Papers, description begins Harold C. Syrett et al., eds. The Papers of Alexander Hamilton. 27 vols. New York, 1961–87. description ends 13:328–29). Although rumors of his removal evidently were circulating in December 1792, Collins remained in office for another year. Hamilton wrote GW on 23 Dec. 1793 that “Mr Collins is incapable of executing the duties of the office and that the good of the public service requires his removal” (DLC:GW). Rumors of Collins’s impending dismissal surfaced again, and Witman sought the post a second time. George Clymer, supervisor of the revenue for the District of Pennsylvania, wrote Hamilton on 19 Dec. 1793 that Witman “is considered as respectable in his Character and circumstances, and is doubtless the best collector in the district . . . [and] is extremely popular among the Germans whose language he speaks” (ibid., 26:723). Frederick A. Muhlenberg wrote another letter of recommendation to GW on 20 Dec. 1793 (DLC:GW). Witman, however, failed to obtain the appointment, which went instead to John Boyd (see GW to the U.S. Senate, 29 Jan. 1794, LB, DLC:GW, and copy, DNA: RG 46, Second Congress, 1791–93, Senate Records of Legislative Proceedings, President’s Messages; Executive Journal, description begins Journal of the Executive Proceedings of the Senate of the United States of America: From the commencement of the First, to the termination of the Nineteenth Congress. Vol. 1. Washington, D.C., 1828. description ends 1:147–48).