Under the Act of 1859,--
For 1,000 feet of heading, $50,000 00
Under Act of 1860,--
For balance of heading, say 2,588-1/2 feet, at $30 per foot, 77,655 00
For 91 feet of enlargement, at $20 per foot, 1,820 00
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Total amount earned, $129,475 00
The amount of State scrip which under the statute had been earned by the
progress made in constructing the railroad may now be considered.
The first payment of $50,000 under the Act of 1854, should have been for
seven miles of completed railroad. The certificate of the engineer, upon
which it was paid, gave (see page 82 of House document No. 185 for
1860,) the length of rails laid as upwards of seven miles; nothing in
the certificate showed then any part of it was completed road, and upon
investigation then made it proved that while most of it was done, a part
near the west end of the tunnel "was not ten feet wide," and would cost
several thousand dollars to complete it. It is clear that this payment
had not then been earned in the manner provided by the statute.
The second payment was on account of the road, under the Act of 1859,
for grading three miles of road, "said three miles being all situated
within four miles of the point of commencement;" Page 30 of House
document No. 185 for 1860 says of this grading, "the continuous line is
interrupted by fourteen gaps of cuts and fills;" it is thus made up of
fifteen separate pieces, avoiding all but the cheapest part of the work,
and costing, as the contractor who did the work certifies, between
$8,000 and $9,000. Under, to say the least, a somewhat liberal
construction of the Act, $50,000 was said to have been earned by doing
this grading.
All further deliveries of scrip have been under the Act of 1860,
which provides that the $650,000 to be delivered on account of the
road east of the tunnel shall be in proportion to the progress made
upon the work. On page 15, (Senate document No. 93 for 1863,) the
cost of the work done and materials furnished upon the road east of
the tunnel is stated at $463,047 90
Deduct amount first expended, as testified by the contractor,
for which the $50,000 was paid, say 8,500 00
Amount expended under the $650,000 appropriation,
including the cost of worthless bridging and masonry, $454,547 90
The cost of completing the grading, bridging, masonry and
superstructure upon this part of the road, as estimated by
Mr. Laurie in 1862, was $370,970 80
Deduct the cost of a small change in the line, and of
embankment washed away by the Deerfield River, 5,275 00
Sum required to complete the road upon the old line
where the work stopped, $365,695 80