It is contended by the State agent, that the supplies, which he has delivered, and those which he holds ready to furnish, amount fully to the demand for specific supplies. And it is lamented, that the army have subsisted from the neighborhood of West Point in former times, leaving thereby a great mass of certificates, which being useless to the inhabitants, the supplies obtained have to all intents and purposes, operated a tax. To this I will add, that the resolutions of your Legislature state an extra expense, which has produced a tax to the amount of one hundred and eighty thousand dollars. If these exertions joined to the ravages of the enemy, and the usurpations complained of, have occasioned distress, they at least demonstrate the abilities of the State in former periods. You will perceive, that I am now about to supply the troops by contract, wherefore a ready market for their produce must immediately be opened to the inhabitants of your State. This will enable them to obtain hard money, and that will enable them to pay taxes. The great object, therefore, of the Legislature will be to adopt a vigorous and just system of taxation, and to take off all those restraints upon the people, which injure, afflict, and impoverish them, without producing any advantage to the public. The army must be supplied by law or by force. The latter mode is detestable, and as to the former, certainly the best way, in which it can operate, is to raise taxes and purchase supplies; because by this means much less of the produce of the country is expended, and in the event, the payment of the people is by the produce of the country, that being the only source of national wealth. As the Legislature seem to have great apprehensions on the score of former demands, I take the liberty of enclosing an estimate, which is formed on the supposition, that all the specific supplies shall have been delivered, which as I have already had the honor to observe, is contended for by the agent, though the truth of it cannot be admitted before the final adjustment of the amount. The burden of these demands would in such case be very moderate. It is my intention to destroy the paper money as soon as it can be called in. Wherefore a slight exertion for that purpose will relieve your State from the burden of it.