Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 8.djvu/157

 FINANCIAL HISTORY OF OREGON. 149 existed for proceeding with the expenditure of the fund for the State House. Plans for a stone structure to cost when complete $65,000 were adopted by the board of commissioners that was to su- perintend its erection. 47 Nearly $10,000 were spent on a found- ation, 48 when the legislature by resolution ordered the material of construction "changed to wood" and "the style of archi- tecture" should be "Grecian Doric instead of the 'Ionic' as proposed by the commissioners. ' ' 49 It will be remembered that the first appropriation of $5,000 for the State House fund, made in the Organic Act, was " to be applied by the Governor," and while in successive messages he suggested the uniting of this sum with the $20,000 to be applied in joint action with the legislature, he seemed to be driven to the necessity of proposing that special portions of the work on the building begun by the commission, such por- tions as had not been contracted for, should be reserved so that he under contract might apply these $5,000. Such an arrangement was made. Half of the sum was so used and the unexpended half was after some delay turned over to the building commission. Ex-Governor Gaines was, however, sub- jected to the usual investigation, and the committee reported that the evidence was sufficient to satisfy it that he ' ' never con- templated any other disposition of the remainder than that prescribed by law. 50 By this rather awkward combination of efforts of a Gov- ernor and boards of commissioners named by legislatures, each assuming distinct parts of the work, the State House was after an expenditure of $33,595.74 so far complete that the session of 1854-5 was held in it. The legislature at this same session, however, voted to "relocate and establish the seat of government at Corvallis," "a flourishing town some thirty- 47 Appendix to House Journal, Fifth Session, p. 37. 48 Appendix to House Journal, Tenth Session, p. 5. 49 Oregon Statutes, Fifth Session, 1853-4, p. 512, and Appendix to House Journal, Sixth Session, 1854-5, p. 49. 50 Appendix to House Journal, Sixth Session, 1854-5, p. 133.