But the heads of the Army and Navy were never willing to consent to the strict limitation which Mr.Gallatin would have imposed on their expenditures.

In his notes to Jefferson for the draft of his first message in 1801, Mr.Gallatin said that the most important reform he could suggest was that of 'specific appropriations,' and he inclosed an outline of a form to be enforced in detail.

In January, 1802, he sent to Joseph H.Nicholson a series of inquiries to be addressed to himself by a special committee on the subject, with regard to the mode by which money was drawn from the Treasury and the situation of accounts between that department and those of the Army and Navy.

To these questions he sent in to the House an elaborate reply, which he intended to be the basis of legislation.

Strict appropriation was the ideal at which he aimed, and this word was so often on his tongue or in his messages that it could not be mentioned without a suggestion of his personality.