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1 Bureau Refugees Freedman and Abandoned Lands, Office Disbursing Agent of Claims, Nashville, Tenn. Oct 20th 1871. E. Whittlesey A.A.A. Genl B.R.F. & A.L. Washington D.C. [[stamp]] THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF THE UNITED STATES [[/stamp]] Genl, Your's of the the 23d inst has this day been recd. Reletive to further consideration of the manner of paying bounties &c, I would state, that any grant requests for deffinite instructions on this point have been answered by simple directions to use my own discretion, with two points in view, viz: that claimants get their money and that if called upon I be prepared to show that fact . I have paid bounties for about six years, and during this period not a single case of mis-payment has turned up. Some six cases, paid at the urgent request of responsible parties who assumed the risk of identification &c, turned out bad, as I almost expected they would, but when the claimants appeared, sureties at once repaid all these, but two. These two are in the process of litigation, the question of identity being the main one. My first object - that claimants get their money - has been accomplished.