"There's no need to hand everything over to Pittsburgh after all, because we still need Pennsylvania's protection." Charles smiled, refuting Wilson's statement.
He didn't dare to accept it. Of course, taking everything would be good, but that would mean Pittsburgh officially separating from Pennsylvania.
Not to mention how his status in the Pennsylvania Assembly would change, if Pittsburgh ever faced difficulties in the future, those in the Pennsylvania Assembly would certainly not be eager to help.
Keeping half of the income not only fostered good relations with Pennsylvania but also paved the way for his political future using Pittsburgh's public funds.
Franklin offered no comment on their discussion, merely adding with a touch of helplessness:
"Actually, others in the Continental Congress also want this money, especially Mr. Adams, and it will be very difficult to make him give it up.
Even several generals of the Continental army have expressed hope that this money could be used to purchase some equipment for them."
Although all those present were Continental Congress Representatives, they were also Pennsylvanians, so they were naturally conflicted about Adams' proposal.
After all, the Continental Congress wouldn't keep this money for itself; it would use it for the war of Independence.
From a moral standpoint, they even felt this was more important than spending it in Pennsylvania.
"The Continental Congress already has its own income.
Now, to hand over the legitimate income of a colonial state to the Continental Congress sets a dangerous precedent.
The Continental Congress can have money, but it must be a loan!
It should be considered a loan from the Continental Congress and its future successors to us, Pennsylvania," Charles said in a deep voice.
"How about this: since Pittsburgh won't be able to use that half of the funds immediately, this year we'll take one-tenth of the total income, and the remaining four-tenths will be drawn over ten years.
The unused portion can be loaned to the Continental Congress for now."
"If that's the case, then we can also lend a portion of that half of the money to the Continental Congress," Morris said with a smile, nodding.
He was the foremost person in charge of finance for both the Pennsylvania Assembly and the Continental Congress, and this area had always been under his purview.
For him, it was essentially money moving from the left pocket to the right, with no significant difference.
Franklin and the other two were also very satisfied with this arrangement.
Everyone jointly decided that these two issues would be formally presented to the Pennsylvania Assembly and the Continental Congress according to the agreement reached today.
With the support of Franklin, Morris, and other most influential people in Pennsylvania, the proposal to build the canal was quickly approved.
Morris, Biddle, and other wealthy families and magnates in Philadelphia secured the construction and operating rights, and immediately formed the Pennsylvania Canal Company.
Surveying work officially began, with preliminary construction expected to start around April, and completion planned within fifteen months.
As soon as this news was announced to the public, land prices in Pittsburgh rose sharply again.
Unfortunately, the land had truly been sold out this time, and no one could purchase land that truly belonged to Pittsburgh.
Of course, some people did buy land, but those were plots far from Pittsburgh, not many in number.
Strictly speaking, that land no longer belonged to Pittsburgh; the Pennsylvania Assembly, desperate for money, had directly valued and sold surveyed Ohio land.
That area not only didn't belong to Pennsylvania, but even if it did, it was currently inhabited by natives and a small number of British people.
These were not unowned lands.
The direct consequence of doing this was later trouble for Ke Lin's development in Pittsburgh, and it also brought an opportunity for westward expansion.
However, subsequently, during Charles' first formal attendance at the Continental Congress, when Adams demanded that Pennsylvania's land sale revenue be handed over to the Continental Congress for disposal, a great controversy arose.
The prolonged debate even postponed the discussion about what kind of reward to give Washington for several days.
Franklin, Morris, and others proposed Charles' solution, but Adams fundamentally disagreed, and instead questioned Charles' motive for wanting to take half.
"Franklin, the total land sale revenue is five hundred and fifty thousand pounds, but the latter five hundred thousand acres sold for five hundred thousand pounds, while the first one hundred thousand acres only yielded fifty thousand pounds.
I heard that these one hundred thousand acres were purchased by Mr. Godfrey, our newest Continental Congress Representative.
Is there something amiss here?
Moreover, Pittsburgh currently has no municipal administration to speak of, so how could it possibly claim half of the land sale revenue?
Is there a problem with it being diverted into personal pockets?
Franklin, you are a highly respected Representative of Pennsylvania; you should have someone independently investigate these matters!"
Adams' eloquence was far superior to his ability as President.
A barrage of questions left even Franklin momentarily unable to respond.
"Mr. Adams, Mr. Godfrey's land purchase procedures are absolutely without problem.
As for the issue of money distribution you mentioned, Pittsburgh has already established a town and should have the right to distribute this income.
Moreover, like us in the Pennsylvania Assembly, they are willing to put forward a portion of the money to temporarily lend to the Continental Congress for use," Franklin replied unhurriedly, though he still omitted two questions.
When Charles heard Adams question his personal integrity, he initially wanted to stand up and defend himself immediately.
He temporarily turned to ask Morris next to him for support, but found him gently shaking his head.
Hesitating, he abandoned the idea of immediately refuting Adams, deciding to wait and see.
However, Charles' heart had never been forgiving.
He felt he had never offended Adams, and even had a very good impression of him because Adams had spoken on his behalf regarding his joining the Continental Congress during their first meeting.
He never expected that today, for no reason, over money that didn't originally belong to him, Adams would attack his character and conduct, leaving him feeling extremely depressed.
After all, his strength was still insufficient.
If he commanded forces that the Continental Congress couldn't easily disregard, would they still dare to speak of him this way?
Although he was now a member of the Continental Congress, appearing very noble, and capitalists and merchants often flattered him and sent gifts, he was still a dispensable figure within the Continental Congress.
Fortunately, he had made arrangements early on, planning to develop Pittsburgh and become a steel magnate, a munitions magnate.
For now, he would endure.
In this era where everything primarily depended on strength, if he wanted to live without bowing to others, he had to possess formidable power.
He had already made up his mind: he would no longer seek the limelight in Philadelphia politics until his strength in Pittsburgh had developed.
Morris prevented Charles from refuting, and Charles also suppressed the urge to stand up, but in his heart, he already regarded Adams as an enemy, gritting his teeth in hatred.
"Franklin, I don't think this is a matter of lending or not lending, but rather the ownership of this money.
Pittsburgh's status is undoubtedly not yet clearly defined, and its land sale revenue cannot arbitrarily belong to any local government.
While this money is still in dispute, I believe the most appropriate course of action is to hand it over to the Continental Congress for disposition."
Adams did not pursue whether Charles had any issues, but instead focused on the ownership of the money.
However, at this point, other Pennsylvania Representatives could speak.
"Mr. Adams, honorable sirs, I believe that directly entrusting local land sale revenue to the Continental Congress for disposition would set a very dangerous precedent," Morris was the first to fire at Adams.
This shot was very accurate; before other Pennsylvania Representatives could speak, several representatives from the smaller states had already begun to agree.
"Precisely.
Mr. Adams, the Continental Congress is an institution that coordinates the states, not a kingdom's tax bureau.
She has no right to levy any money from local governments."
"Moreover, we also disagree with the Continental Congress directly appropriating local funds for the army, as this would undermine our states' influence over our own armies."
When history evaluates the Continental Congress, it describes it as the highest authority in America at the time, but at this point, both in fact and in name, it was merely a coordinating body.
Each state now had its own government, independently exercising its respective powers.
It only truly became a governing body when the war of Independence became so brutal and everyone lost confidence in victory.
At that time, the Continental Congress, as the core force holding high the banner of independence, truly played the role of the supreme governing body, and everyone united under its banner to wage the war of Independence.
As for now, everyone was still in the stage of squabbling over the interests of their respective states.
However, the members of the Continental Congress already had the style of later parliamentary meetings, which was to go off-topic.
Often, when debating an issue, debaters would inadvertently stray onto another topic.
Even a few elite figures like Adams and Franklin frequently encountered such problems, not to mention the other members.
And the President of the Continental Congress at this time did not possess the authority of later parliamentary speakers; he dared not bang the gavel when members deviated from the topic.
Therefore, this debate regarding the distribution of Pittsburgh's land sale revenue quickly turned into a discussion about the distribution of power between local states and the Continental Congress, with a room full of members debating animatedly.