"Two hundred seventy thousand pounds?"
"Where would we get that much money?"
The residents asked Charles, disbelievingly. If it had been a few hundred or a few thousand pounds, these ordinary townsfolk might have considered it a very valuable fortune and jumped up in surprise. But now that it was nearly three hundred thousand pounds, they just felt it was an uncountable sum, utterly unable to estimate how much it actually was. They dared not harbor any expectations for this money, their greed far less intense than that of the Pittsburgh gentry.
"We all know that many wealthy Philadelphians have recently come and bought a lot of land in Pittsburgh. Many of you here are now working for them. And as the designated planner of this land sale, I, sir Charles Godfrey, your elected Councilor of Pittsburgh, have secured nearly three hundred thousand pounds from the land sale revenue of the Pennsylvania Assembly. This year, the amount to be distributed by Pittsburgh is fifty thousand pounds."
"Praise you, Councilor Charles!"
"It's fifty thousand pounds! May God bless you!"
"..."
These people finally reacted with excessive excitement. A few honest ones loudly praised Charles, but a few dishonest ones made a request that made Charles' face very awkward:
"Fifty thousand pounds! Bring it out quickly, Councilor Charles! Let's divide it up now!"
"Yes, since it belongs to the people of Pittsburgh, it should naturally be distributed among us."
"Bang, bang, bang!" Charles Godfrey rapped his wooden wine cup three times, heavily, before the excited, red-faced people, ready to divide the money, quieted down.
"Excuse me, gentlemen. This money belongs to Pittsburgh, not to certain individuals of Pittsburgh, so it will not be distributed per person."
"Isn't Pittsburgh ours?"
"Then do you think Pittsburgh belongs to those new immigrants? And who can guarantee a fair distribution?" Charles looked coldly at the person who dared to talk back. "If this money cannot be used reasonably, I would rather return it to the Pennsylvania Assembly."
Charles had been a Continental Congress Representative for several months, and his words and actions already carried a hint of authority. These people were all "uneducated and ignorant" ordinary farmers. They were already a bit constrained sitting with Charles and other well-dressed gentry. They had indeed been attracted by the money just now.
Now that Charles' stern words were spoken, these so-called "councilors" immediately re-realized the disparity in their statuses and quickly retreated obediently, not daring to make a fuss again. Charles secretly sighed, thinking, no wonder democratic systems often emphasize educated property owners.
These unpropertied, uneducated people, influenced by the times, were indeed not natural democrats. Their ingrained servility made them very willing to accept rule, even the fierce and wild Americans of the West were no exception.
"Everyone, don't worry. I have already thought of a way to use this money, which is to use it for public construction in Pittsburgh, like building bridges, schools, and post stations. Of course, our council building, where we noble councilors hold meetings, is also indispensable.
And the only thing you need to do is to fulfill your duties as councilors, supervise the construction of these projects, and prevent this money from falling into the hands of certain individuals during its use."
"Oh…" The people below complained in low voices, and many faces immediately showed impatience again.
Charles Godfrey understood these people's mindsets very well. They didn't understand their responsibilities as councilors at all. Their enthusiasm at the last council meeting was purely because they found it fun, not because they recognized their responsibilities and obligations.
Now Pittsburgh was undergoing massive development, and everyone had more work than they could handle. Since this money wouldn't be distributed to them, why would they want to stay here and waste time?
"To avoid delaying everyone's work, after discussing with the mayor and others, I have decided that this time, in addition to increasing the salaries of our three official positions (mayor, speaker, and militia commander), we will also consider giving the councilors present a subsidy for attending council meetings, ten pence per person per hour. After all, the town has money, so everyone should benefit!" Charles Godfrey said with a smile.
"Hahaha! Good!" Everyone responded in unison.
Ten pence an hour was not a low wage. These people usually worked hard all day and earned at most a few shillings. Now, hearing that they could earn the same amount of money as hard work just by sitting in the tavern, talking and making some noise, how could they not be happy?
"Really? Esteemed past Charles, are you really going to give us money?"
"Charles, twenty-four hours is two hundred forty pence, so wouldn't we be able to get one pound every day?"
"Bang, bang…" Charles Godfrey helplessly tapped his wine cup. "Gentlemen, we will pay you for as many hours as we hold meetings each day, not a fixed amount per day."
"Then if we stay in the tavern all the time, wouldn't we get one pound every day!"
"Hahaha…"
Most people still had some common sense. After Charles repeated himself, they already understood his meaning. A few who weren't afraid of Charles Godfrey even joked around.
"Heh heh! If we were to spend an entire day holding meetings to deal with proposals, then our Pittsburgh would probably no longer be an ordinary small town." Charles didn't argue with these fellows.
He brought up Patrick and their proposals for everyone to discuss, not really intending for everyone to exercise the power of the council, but merely to let these people know that such a thing existed, hoping they would supervise Patrick and others in using the money, to prevent too much of it from being embezzled by individuals.
Having lived in America for several months, he already knew that America at this time was far from the United States of the 21st century. Even in modern American society, corruption and bribery were still very common, let alone America in this era.
The councilors of the Philadelphia Assembly almost openly accepted bribes. Even Continental Congress Representatives accepting donations from wealthy individuals was, in fact, a form of bribery.
Charles Godfrey knew that he alone could not go against the customs of this era, and besides, he himself liked to accept others' "good intentions" and had never thought of eradicating corruption. He was doing this in Pittsburgh because, with his change in status, he had come to regard Pittsburgh as his personal backyard and did not want the land in this garden to be utterly polluted before the flowers had even bloomed.
Letting these so-called "councilors" supervise would not eradicate corruption, but by declaring that the money belonged to everyone and that others were watching, it would at least make those who embezzled not dare to be too obvious, which would significantly reduce the actual amount of corruption.
However, he also knew that mere supervision was not enough; the most crucial thing was checks and balances. So, after gaining the approval of these "councilors," Charles immediately proposed another "explosive" experience for a certain person.
"gentlemen! Considering our town is getting bigger and bigger, I think we should add a few new positions to our town government and also pay these people government salaries. What do you all think?"
"Good…"
"Possible…"
The "councilors" who had just learned they would receive salaries were now very supportive of any proposal that might increase their own salaries. Even if they inwardly felt that they could not hold the newly added positions, they still held a kind of longing and expressed support for the proposal.
"No! No! Wait a minute, Charles! Wait a minute, gentlemen." Mayor Patrick immediately stood up and waved his hands.
When the "councilors" below had quieted down a bit, he immediately took two or three steps to Charles' side and whispered urgently in his ear, "Charles, what's going on? Why didn't you mention this to me before?"
"Oh! You mean adding new positions? Heh heh! I wanted to give you a surprise. Didn't you say that the town's population has increased, adding a lot of work, and making you very busy?" Charles said very gently.
But there was no hint in his words that he was prepared to change his decision because of Patrick.
"I…" Patrick was speechless.
"Heh heh! Don't worry, Patrick, you are still our Mayor of Pittsburgh. This time, we are just adding a few new positions, specifically responsible for certain affairs, so that the townsfolk don't have to directly come to you every time something happens, and you will also have a share in these new official positions." Charles continued to encourage him.
Although he was already prepared to curb the mayor's power, his opinion still had to be considered.