Mr. SLOAN. The gentleman states that a portion of the claim for which this appropriation is asked has been accruing for a number of years past. He made no statement, so far as I heard, as to the time when the work was done. Now, according to my recollection, there was during the last session of Congress a claim presented in behalf of the city of Washington, which was referred to the ComClaims, asking an appropriation of about 50,000 dollars to pay for work which had been done by the city during the last 20 years. A report favorable to that claim was made by that committee, or authorized to be made; whether it became a law or not, I am unable to say. I had supposed that when we paid that $50,000 for work done during the last 20 years, it would settle the account between the Government and the city for that old work. But I understand now that this claim comes again before Congress for back work that has been done perhaps 20 years ago. I cordially concur in the suggestion which has been made that it would be well, if it were possible, for the Government to get a final settlement of these claims, yet I doubt that we shall be able to do it, and that if this appropriation is made and made in the form of paying for work under the law of 1864, in.; as to carry the impression to every member that the work has been performed since 1864, we shall still have, session after session, large claims presented by this city for work done no one knows when, no one knows by whom or how performed. I believe that the true course to be adopted is that no further claims of this nature shall be paid until some investigation has been made and a report has been submitted by some authorized person, so that we may know what basis there is for these claims of the city against the Government. Let us have a final settlement and commence the account anew. For that reason I am opposed to voting these large sums of money without any explanation of what they are paid for or to whom they are to be paid.