Papers Of Abraham Lincoln

A Bill for an act to Remove the Seat of Justice of Clark County in the State of Illinois
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Sec[Section] 1 Be it enacted by the people of the State of Illinois represented in the general Assembly, That the seat of Justice of Clark County shall be removed from Darwin in said County and permanently located on the East half of the South East quarter of Section thirty six in Township elven North Of Range thirteen West on the National Road.2 On a donation Of land consisting of twenty five acres proposed to be given to said County by James. C. Hillebert to be taken off of the West side of the above specified piece of land.3

Sec 2 The County Commissioners of Clark County at their next regular term shall direct the County Surveyor of said County to lay off said twenty five acres of land into lots of such size and form as to them may seem expedientAnd said lots when so laid off shall be disposed of by said Commissioners in such manner as to them shall best ^seem most^ conduce to the interest and advancement of the county in rearing up the public buildings and for no other purpose whatever

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Sec 3 The Said Seat of Justice shall be called Auburn and all Courts in and for said county which are by law required to be held at the county seat shall from and after the first day of August 1835 be held at Auburn and it shall be the duty of all officers of said County who are required to keep their offices at the county seat to remove all the Books and papers relative to their respective offices to and keep their offices at the said Seat of Justice of said county from and after the first day of August as aforesaidAnd upon a failure to comply with the provisions of this Act the Offices shall be deemed vacant and shall be filled as the law directs.4

Sec 4 The County Commissioners of said county are hereby required to hold their next June term in Auburn and for ever ^there^ after, and all Laws and part of laws coming within the purview ^of^ this act are hereby repealedThis act to take effect from and after its passage.5

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A Bill for an act to move the seat of Justice of Clark County

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[12]/[16]/[1834]
2

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[12]/[16]/[1834]
Prickett, David (Pricket)

to be Engrossed
Clk. H. R

1On December 18, 1834, Uri Manly in the House of Representatives presented a petition of citizens of Clark County, requesting removal of the county seat. The House referred the petition to a select committee. In response to this petition, Nelson W. Nunnally from the select committee, introduced HB 47 in the House on December 23. On December 29, the House passed the bill. On December 31, the Senate referred the bill to a select committee. On January 2, 1835, the select committee reported back the bill with an amendment, in which the Senate concurred. The Senate passed the bill as amended on January 3. On January 5, the House referred the bill and Senate amendments, along with a petition remonstrating against the removal, to a select committee. On January 26, the select committee reported back the bill and submitted a report on the subject. The House tabled the bill and the report. On January 29, the House refused to resume consideration of the bill.
Illinois House Journal. 1835. 9th G. A., 1st sess., 134, 149-50, 159, 161, 176, 213, 221, 387-88, 431; Illinois Senate Journal. 1835. 9th G. A., 1st sess., 151, 154, 160, 170, 176.

2These coordinates would have placed the new county seat at Auburn.

3In later sessions, the General Assembly passed acts, one in 1836, and one in 1837, to relocate the county seat. The chief complaint with Darwin was that it was not located in the geographical center of the county.
Illinois House Journal. 1835. 9th G. A., 1st sess., 387-88.

4In May 1837, voters agreed to remove the county seat from Darwin, and in August, voters selected the nearby town of Marshall over Auburn to be the county seat.
Newton Bateman and Paul Selby, eds., Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Clark County ed. by H. C. Bell (Chicago: Middle West, 1907), 627-28.

5One of the reasons that the House of Representatives did not resume consideration after the Senate amended it was because the select committee appointed to examine the bill and the petitions for and against removal found that many of the persons signing the petitions were not residents of Clark County, and improper means had been used to induce legal residents to sign the petitions.
Illinois House Journal. 1835. 9th G. A., 1st sess., 387-88.