Sunbury American and Shamokin journal. [volume] (Sunbury, Northumberland Co., Pa.) 1840-1848, 1841-07-03
4 ID I'd II Il 8 g.
~ TnE DKmocnATic CENTRAL COMMITTEE,
10 THE TEOPIE OF PENNSYLVANIA.

10 THE fEOPtE OF PENNSYLVANIA.
No3.
FElLow CIrizESs.--1be next veto message,
,ch We shall anayae for the information of the
opie Of Pennsy ylvans, will be that upon bil enti.
iiej "An ac, for the relief Of certain contractors
~ the Western erfension Of the Pennsyiruniu
lga,L,oad"
Fhe provisions contained in this bill were 40
I1anifestly unjust and obnoxious that IL s difcu,,
- conceive what real friend of the interests of the
commonwealth can withhold from Gov. PonrxR,
f'io need Of appreciation, for having refused to e,
stem become law These provisions were no,h.
"s less, than to put THOUSANDS OF DOL.
lARS into the pockets of the contractors on the
hmous Gettysburg Railroad, in the shape of in.
''ca upon debts alleged to be due to them The
IL even went go far as to make liberal allowances
81 In'ercs, 10 those who had been already paid the
''nount found to be due 10 lhem on q re-measure.
'""n' Of the work done. This was an entirely nov.
.! end unprecedented mode of adjusting the claims
N' mis- class Of public creditors and received for the
'ra time in the history of Pennsylvania the
zion Of legislative enactment. From the first day
''tnal improvements, no contractor upon any por.
1Ion of those works. had ever been allowed one far.
ling in the shape Of interest upon his claims, how.
aver long time may have elapsed between the
l'riod OF finishing the work and the paymen, of
"ne claim The principle INVARIABLY acted
Ion IN al other cases, was to allow no interest
I''n this species of claim, and the hundreds of
-antracors who have been engaged OIL the sarious
"her portions of public work, have neper received
sch Nm allowance. Neither was this principle OF
'talement, understoodds ii 1oas beforehand By the
7TTfies to be the law Of the contract ever deemed
'i'Hrous by previous contractors. The terms and
manner Of payment were well understood that
they uniformly run the risk Of delay, and agreed
r''dingly for such compensation rs was just and
asonnble' We venture to affirm, that since the
commencement of the public works there has no,
'ecn single year. in which the state, in conse.
fnencc of the exhaustion of appropriation, or other
uses, not constrained TO withhold psy,nen,
J.! time from those 10 whom she was indebted,
and yet they have never been paid dollar in the
shape of interest?
This principle, so firmly settled by thepractice
II years, was violated and set nought by this BILL
md one attempted to be introduced in its
s'cad, Of the most disastrous character. Had the
!;xecItise sanctioned this new tangled 'rrfrench.
,ent' Of the federal legislature. the certain conse
G4ence would have been that it would have lNVI.
TED 10 the public Golfers new host ofcredors,
I.ch bearing in his own hand demand for mones
; which lie had never dream't, until the provision
oi this bill reached his eurs. Our state debt alrea-
'y of such appalling magnitude, would have been
DOUBLED by the new claims, and the treasury of
'.e common " eolih ENGuLPHED in iretrevable
bankruptcy and ruin. All this, however, has been
'appy frustrated by the fearless interposition of
lie VETO power, and the pockets of the people
rroiected agains, such whole sale plunder
The people will here be naturally led to inquire
what the peculiar merits Of the creditors, which
alay have induced the federal majority in the lces
'Ature 10 constitute them such special FAVOR
II ES, as to grant the boon Of INTEREST upon
heir demands, while i, has been uniformly WITH.
HELD from otler contractors, whose claims were
strictly identical. Why this unjusufable discrimi-
ualion between men standing on precisely the
same footing Why extend 10 the contractors on
he Getty sburg road certain extra allowances, and
Withhold them from contractors presenting claims
,ue for work done on the Erie extension, the
North Branch canal, the Delaware division, the
Columbia rail road, or any other portion Of
.taic works7 Can ingenuity itself conceive sin
gle valid reason for the difference ~ Would not
This UNEQUAL mode Of treating public creditors
lave reflected the utmost disgrace upon the COM
monwealih in which We live--that commonwealth
whose reputation for justice, honesty, and fair deal
ing, legislators, above all other men, should feel il
their duty 10 sustain
IL any difference whatever existed in the merits
u these claims, il iather against than in JaUor
uf the contractors upon this useless rosd.-They
lose under the CALAMlTOUS act Of February
ls, 1886, incorporating the BANK OF THE
UNITED STATES, the ninth section Of which
L,horized the Canal Commissioners ito survey and
ueale the road in question, and to put no. less than
wSnty nor more than thirty miles thereof under
CONTRACT, the sum of s2,oo0,o00 being specifically
arpropria,ed to the work" The l2Ih section Of
'ae same depiorabie act, expressly provides, that
.ihs Canal Commissioners shall NOT be authorized
70 incur any debt, on The faith Of the Common
'aeahh. IN ANY WAY OR MANNER BE-
YoND THE APPROPRIATION AFORE.
SAID" Here the original act, authorizing the
construction OF this worse than useless IusJ, ey.
pressly PROHIBITED the expenditure of any
money upon it, beyond The specific appropriation
This express enactment, part Of their III fsied ban.