210 A. L. Bishop — The State Works of Pennsylvania. 



was the alarm at this time, that not a single bid was made for a 

 permanent loan for $2,200,000 authorized by an Act of April 22d, 

 1829.* This was not due to any tightness in the money market, for, 

 in the words of Governor Shultze, "the canal stock of a neighboring 

 state commands a premium abroad, while that of this no less worthy 

 commonwealth is in no demand and will not sell at all."t More- 

 over, it was only with great difficulty that money could be obtained 

 on temporary loan to meet the urgent demands on the improvement 

 fund.J The suspicions of the "capitalists and moneyed institutions" 

 concerning the sufficiency of the fund for interest payments were 

 not without foundation. The commissioners, in their report of 

 February 19th, 1829, made no attempt to conceal the actual con- 

 ditions when they predicted a "deficiency of money belonging to 

 the fund on the 1st of February, 1830, to meet the semi-annual 

 payment of interest on loans due on that day, of $53,880." On 

 the date mentioned, the amount of interest to be paid was $157,500, 

 and had not $100,000 then been transferred§ from the state treas- 

 ury to the internal improvement fund, there would have been a 

 deficit of $70,338.81. Again, on the 1st of August of the same 

 year the deficit was $77,838.81, although in the meantime a similar 

 transfer of $25,000 had been made. Furthermore, in the face of 

 these difficulties a temporary loan was authorized on November 

 17th, 1829, to provide, among other things, for the payment of matur- 

 ing interest. This one act of emergency legislation would not be 

 considered unfavorably had not this make-shift policy for a number 

 of years afterwards been frequently repeated. || 



The failure to negotiate the loan of April 22d, 1829, and the 

 increasing deficit in the interest fund were the cause of serious 

 thought on the part of the executive and the legislative officers of 

 the state. Moreover, at the close of 1829, the sum of $1,398,790.67 

 was due to various contractors, many of whom, on account of delay 



* See Gov. Wolf's message in J. H. Rep., 1831-32, II, p. 19. 



t Message of November 4th, 1829, in J. H. Rep., 1829-30, II, p. 5. 



$See Gov. Wolf's message in J. H. Rep., 1831-32, II, p. 19. 



§.By an Act of April 22n(i, 1829, the state treasurer was authorized to pay 

 to the commissioners of the internal improvement fund to be applied to the 

 interest account any money not othermse appropriated, which, in the opinion 

 of the commissioners, could l>e done without embarrassing the ordinary 

 operations of the treasury. 



|] See J. H. Rep., 1836-37, II, p. 22. 



