The setback received by the credit of the Republic by reason of the defaulted Hartmont bonds made further bond issues impossible for a number of years. Finally an Amsterdam banking house, Westendorp & Co., was interested and in 1888 and 1890 floated the second and third bond issues for L770,000 and L900,000 respectively. The object of the second issue was to retire the Hartmont bonds at 20 per cent, to pay a number of floating interior debts the owners of which were harassing the government, and to provide cash for the treasury, principally for military and naval expenditures, while the third issue was designed to secure funds for the construction of a railroad between Puerto Plata and Santiago. For the purpose of providing for the service of the loan a collection office known as the "caisse de la regie," or simply "regie," under the management of Westendorp, took charge of the customhouses with the obligation of paying a certain amount to the government monthly and devoting the remainder to payment of interest and sinking fund of the loans. The arrangement was thus similar to the later receivership plan, but its vulnerable point was that it was operated by a private concern. The first instalments of interest and sinking fund on these two bond issues were paid from the proceeds of the bonds, then for several months the "regie" supplied funds, and then came the first crash. The government was ever in need of money and to secure the same violated its agreements by seizing certain revenues to pledge them to local merchants for advances, and by conniving at customs irregularities. As a result, after paying the sums for the budget, the "regie" had nothing left for the service of the bonds and they went into default in 1892.