A. L. Bishop — The State Works of Pennsylvania. 225 



far-reaching. Hence, tlie banks indirectly helped on the embar- 

 rassment, by making it easy to secure funds to expand the public 

 works. But it was more particularly by the alliance with the 

 United States Bank of Pennsylvania that the way was opened for 

 numerous unwise practices which, in due course, tended to make 

 more intense the troubled monetary conditions. In this connection, 

 the repeal of the tax laws of 1831, the immediate appropriation, for 

 an unwarranted extension of the public works, of over two millions 

 of dollai's from the bonus received for the charter; the handing 

 over to the bank of the management of interest payments on the 

 state loans ; the forcing upon the bank of heavy loans when no 

 bids whatsoever could be obtained for them in the open market; 

 and the repeated failure of the institution at critical times, — all 

 these factors combined either to make the already intricate finan- 

 cial affairs of the state more complex, or they offered the means for 

 extending still further obligations which had already become too 

 great. 



But more closely connected with the financial embarrassment dur- 

 ing the period 1839-44 than either of the factors already discussed, 

 was the unsound financial legislation which not only covered these 

 years but also reached back to the very inauguration of the public 

 works. It will be remembered that the Act of April 1st, 1826, in 

 endorsing a resort to loans to secure funds for building public 

 works, left the payment of interest on the estimated sum for trunk 

 line construction inadequately provided for. Again, somewhat 

 later, when, in order to secure the completion of the main line, 

 a general expansion of the improvement system was found neces- 

 sary, the interest fund, contrary to every dictate of prudence or 

 sound policy, was not reinforced.* Moreover, beginning as early 

 as 1829, loans were floated for the purpose of meeting the interest 

 paymentSjf and, from this time until the commencement of finan- 

 cial reconstruction in 1844, the general improvement fund was 

 dra'ttTi upon freely for the same purpose. In fact, almost every 

 possible expedient, excepting adequate taxation, was brought into 

 play to secure revenue to meet the ever-increasing demands upon 

 the treasury, 



* It should be said, however, that the Act of April 9th, 1827, made pro- 

 \asions (sec. 17) for paying the interest on a. loan of $1,000,000 authorized 

 by tlie same act (sec. 15). TTie interest was to be paid out of the auction 

 duties. 



t Authorized by Act of November 17th, 1820. 



