This section is from the "The Subvention In The State Finances Of Pennsylvania" book, by Frederic B. Garver.
The interest payments due each year until 1859 amounted annually to approximately $2,000,000 for the funded debt alone. Previous to 1847 the state did not meet the entire interest charge from its revenues, but issued interest certificates which were added to the debt. The amount of the total expenditures of the state, the amount of interest payments, and the total revenue are shown in the following table:
Year | Total | Interest | Total |
ending | Expenditures | Payments | Revenues |
Nov. 30 | (000) | (000) | (000) |
1846 | $3,2252 | $1,992 | $2,1158 |
1850 | 2,6903 | 2,009 | 2,7046 |
1855 | 3,2254 | 2,077 | 3,3907 |
1860 | 2,962 | - 1,929 | 3,3788 |
1 From Reports of Auditors General.
2 Does not include expenditures for canals and for payment of relief notes.
3 Does not include expenditures for canals, nor payments to commissioners of the sinking fund.
* Does not include expenditures for improvement and cost of operation of public works, payments to commissioners of the sinking fund, nor rebate of taxes, otherwise the total is as given by the Auditor General.
5 Does not include receipts from canals and railroads, canal fines, sales of canal material, nor refunds.
6 Does not include canal tolls, fines, sales of canal material nor refunds.
7 Does not include canal tolls nor refunds.
8 Does not include repayment of debts, nor refunds.
The outbreak of the Civil War caused an immediate increase in the public debt; but a part of the funds expended by the state was soon repaid by the federal government, and the debt was speedily reduced to a lower figure than that of 1860, as the following table shows:
Year | Amount | Interest | Amount | Interest | |
ending | of Debt | Payments | Year2 | of Debt | Payments |
Nov. 30 | (000) | (000) | (000) | (000) | |
1861 | $40,581 | $1,918 | 1868 | $33,287 | $1,980 |
1862 | 40,448 | 2,206 | 1869 | 32,815 | 1,896 |
1863 | 39,497 | 2,068 | 1870 | 31,112 | 1,865 |
1864 | 39,380 | 2,435 | 1871 | 29,280 | 1,785 |
1865 | 37,476 | 1,995 | 1872 | 27,303 | 1,706 |
1866 | 35,622 | 1,892 | 1873 | 25,799 | 1,563 |
1867 | 34,766 | 2,257 |
1 From Reports of Auditors General. The figures for amount of the debt include the same items as in the table for 1844-1860. The interest payments also include varying amounts paid on short-time loans from banks. Cf. Tenth Census, VII, Valuation, Taxation and Public Indebtedness, p. 542.
 
Continue to: