In force Feb.[February] 27, 1841.
An ACT supplemental to the charter of the Springfield and Alton Turnpike road company.
1C mpany to appropriate work and maaterils.
Proviso
Further proviso
Time of completion
Sec.[Section] 1. Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That the Springfield and Alton turnpike road company be, and they are hereby authorized to take and appropriate the work and materials on
so much of the western division of the Alton and Mount Carmel railroad, as extends from the public landing in the city of Alton, to the juncture of said railroad with the Alton and Shelbyville railroad, together with all the timber and other materials that have been furnished and not
used for the first mentioned railroad, and so much of the work done and materials furnished upon the Alton and Shelbyville railroad as extends from the juncture aforesaid, towards its con-
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templated intersection with the Central railroad, and to continue along the line of said railroad towards the Central railroad so far as they may deem proper, and also to connect the turnpike or railroad contemplated
in the charter of said turnpike road company2, with the Northern Cross railroad at Berlin in Sangamon county; or at such other point on said Cross railroad between Berlin and Springfield as may be most beneficial for the interest of said company, and for the public, and to use so much of the said Cross railroad between Jacksonville and Springfield as they shall deem necessary in common with the State, or any company to whom the same may be granted; and said Springfield and Alton turnpike road company shall pay to the State or company a proportionate amount for the necessary repairs of the road, and such
further sum for the use of so much of said Cross railroad as shall be used as may be agreed upon by the parties; or in case of disagreement,
such further sum as shall be decreed by the judge of the circuit court of Sangamon county sitting as chancellor: Provided, always, That the State or companies to whom the same may be granted, shall have the free and full use and
enjoyment of the aforesaid State works without cost or charge, in common with the said Springfield and Alton turnpike road company: Provided further, That the said Springfield and Alton turnpike road company, shall enter into bond with sufficient security to the Governor, conditioned for
the faithful application of the materials aforesaid, and for the efficient commencement
of their said road within two years, and for the final completion of the same within ten years from the passage of this
act.
Further powers
Sec. 2. The said Springfield and Alton turnpike road company are hereby further authorized to use so much of the railroad iron now owned by the
State, as will be sufficient to lay down a single or double railroad track, from the end
or diverging point of the State works on the Alton and Shelbyville railroad, to the point of intersection with the Northern Cross railroad contemplated in this act, for which iron so to be used, the said company shall pay a fair value, to be determined by the company, and the proper agent of the State, which sum or value so agreed upon shall be paid by said company to the State, when it is required to pay its bonds given for said iron; the interest on the amount
of iron so purchased is to be paid at such time and times as the interest is required
to be paid on the bonds given as aforesaid, and the rate of interest to be the same;
the final payment for said iron to be secured by pledging to the State the railroad to be constructed by the company, and by giving additional security to the satisfaction of the State.
Work & materials may be taken
Sec. 3. The Governor upon the filing a bond in the amount sufficient to cover all damages
which may be sustained by the State, shall authorize the said Springfield and Alton turnpike road company to have and take the work and materials aforesaid, and use the same as hereby directed.
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Section repealed
Sec. 4. That the proviso in the ninth section of the act to which this is an amendment,
be, and the same is hereby repealed.3
State may purchase road
Sec. 5. That at any time after fifteen years from the completion of said Springfield and Alton turnpike road, or a railroad in lieu thereof as authorized by the charter of said company, the State shall have the privilege of purchasing said road by paying to said company the original cost of said road exclusive of the value of the work and materials obtained
from the State, as herein before provided, together with such a sum by way of interest, as may,
when added to the profits, the company may have received from said road equal in annual interest of six per centum on said original cost, in case said profits shall have fallen short of such annual
rate of interest.
Additional comm’rs[commissioners]
Sec. 6. That Thomas G. Hawley, Benjamin K. Hart, Jonathan T. Hudson, Jeremiah A. Townsend, John W. Buffum, S. M. Tinsley, S. B. Opdycke, F. A. Olds and Cyrus Edwards shall be commissioners in connection with the present directors of said Springfield and Alton turnpike road company, the duty of whom, or a majority of whom, shall be to open the books in the city of
Springfield and Alton, or wheresoever they may deem proper after giving such notice as is required by the
original charter4 of said company; to receive subscriptions for a sufficient amount of stock in said company over and above the present capital stock, as will enable said company, without delay, to proceed to complete said road; and the said commissioners are
further authorized to receive subscriptions for so much of the original capital stock
of said company as has been previously subscribed for, and on which no part of the subscription money
or any instalments have been bona fide paid.5
Act repealed
Sec. 7. That all acts and parts of acts inconsistent with the provisions of this act,
be, and the same are hereby repealed.
Sec. 8. This act to take effect from and after its passage.6
Approved, February 27, 1841.
1Abraham Lincoln introduced HB 201 in the House of Representatives on February 4, 1841. On Lincoln’s motion, the House referred the bill to the Committee
on Internal Improvements. The Committee on Internal Improvements reported back the
bill on February 6 with amendments, in which the House concurred. The House referred the bill to the Committee on Finance,
on which sat Lincoln. Lincoln of the Committee on Finance reported back the bill
on February 15 with amendments and, on Lincoln’s motion, the House tabled the bill.
On February 17 the House, on Lincoln’s motion, took up the bill, placing it among
the orders of the day. On February 22, the House ordered the bill engrossed, only
to reconsider and rescind that vote later in the session. The House amended the bill
by adding another section. The House tabled an amendment making stockholders responsible
for the payment of all debts and liabilities by a vote of 40 yeas to 29 nays, with
Lincoln voting yea. The House refused to engross the bill by a vote of 31 yeas to
40 nays, with Lincoln voting yea. On February 23, the House reconsidered the vote
against engrossment by a vote of 55 yeas to 19 nays, with Lincoln not voting. The
House then tabled the bill. On February 25 the House, on Lincoln’s motion, took up
the bill, ordering it engrossed by a vote of 48 yeas to 23 nays, with Lincoln voting
yea. The House passed the bill on February 27. The Senate concurred that same day. On February 27, the Council of Revision approved the bill and the act became law.
Illinois House Journal. 1840. 12th G. A., 325, 336, 400, 418, 466-68, 470, 514, 528, 549, 556, 569; Illinois
Senate Journal. 1840. 12th G. A., 433, 437-38, 441, Illinois State Register (Springfield, IL), 26 February 1841, 2:2
2The Illinois General Assembly chartered the Springfield and Alton Turnpike Road Company on March 1, 1833.
“An Act to incorporate the Springfield and Alton Turnpike Road Company,” 1 March 1833,
Laws of a Private Nature, State of Illinois (1833), 77-82.
3The proviso in section nine of the incorporation act dealt with the corporation’s rights to determine and collect tolls and cost of transportation.
“An Act to incorporate the Springfield and Alton Turnpike Road Company,” 1 March 1833,
Laws of a Private Nature, State of Illinois (1833), 81.
4Section four of the charter required the commissioners to give sixty days notice.
“An Act to incorporate the Springfield and Alton Turnpike Road Company,” 1 March 1833,
Laws of a Private Nature, State of Illinois (1833), 78.
5On February 6, 1841, the House of Representatives amended the bill by concurring with amendments that added the third, fourth, and fifth sections. On February 22, the House further
amended the bill by adding the sixth section.
Illinois House Journal. 1840. 12th G. A., 336, 466-67.
6On February 25, 1841, Abraham Lincoln “spoke at some length in favor of the objects of the bill,” previous to the House of Representatives ordering it engrossed for a third reading. Lincoln, Francis A. Olds, and Joseph Gillespie spoke in favor of the bill, Lewis W. Ross against.
Illinois State Register (Springfield, IL) 12 March 1841, 1:4; Illinois Journal (Springfield, IL), 5 March 1841, 2:6.
Printed Document, 3 page(s), Laws of the State of Illinois, Passed by the Twelfth General Assembly (Springfield, IL: William Walters, 1841), 353-55, GA Session: 12-2,