Papers Of Abraham Lincoln

In force Feb.[February] 11, 1835.

AN ACT to provide for the Election of County Recorders and Surveyors.
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Parts of certain laws repealed.

Sec.[Section] 1. Be it enacted by the people of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That from and after the first Monday in August next, so much of the fifth section of an act, entitled “An act relating to the office of Recorder,” approved, January 8th, 1829, as provides that the Governor, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint a recorder in every county; and so much of the first section of said act as requires the recor-

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der to furnish, at his own proper cost, well bound books for the recording of deeds, and the first section of the act regulating the appointment and duties of county surveyors, approved, January 14th, 1829, be, and the same are hereby repealed.2

County Recorder and Surveyor elected every four years.

Sec. 2. That an election shall be held on the first Monday in August next, and on the first Monday in August in every fourth year thereafter, in each county in this State, for a county recorder and surveyor, which county recorder and surveyor, so elected, shall continue in office for the term of four years, and until their successors shall be elected and qualified to office respectively.

Elections how conducted.

Sec. 3. The election herein provided for, shall, in all things be conducted, and returns thereof be made, as provided by the “act regulating elections,” approved, January 10th, 1829, to the office of Secretary of State, and upon such election being made, the Governor shall commission such county recorder and surveyor to continue in office for four years; which commission shall be transmitted by the Secretary of State to the clerk of the circuit court of the proper county, and it shall be the duty of said clerk to give immediate notice to such recorder or surveyor of the receipt of his commission.3

Recorder to give bond.

Sec. 4. The said recorders, previous to entering upon the duties of their office, shall enter into bond as now required by law, the secureties to which shall be approved by the county commissioners’ courts of the respective counties for which said recorders are elected.

Vacancies how filled.

Sec. 5. The election provided for by this act, shall be held at the same time and places, and conducted in all respects as is now provided for by the law for elections of justices of the peace, and all vacancies shall be filled in the same manner; and contested elections for recorders and surveyors, shall be regulated as provided for in the mode prescribed for contesting elections for sheriffs and coroners.

County commissioner to provide record book, &c.[etc]

Compensation of judges and clerks of election.

Sec. 6. It shall be the duty of the county commissioners’ court to provide the county recorders of their respective counties with well bound books, necessary to the execution of the duties of his office, to be paid for out of the County Treasury; and that the county commissioners’ courts of the several counties, be, and they are hereby required to pay the said judges and clerks of election out of the County Treasuary, not exceeding one dollar per day, and also, such reasonable allowance to the person carrying the return of such elections to the county seat, as they may deem just, not exceeding six cents per mile for going only.4
JAMES SEMPLE, Speaker House Rep.A. M. JENKINS, Speaker of the Senate.

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[ certification ]
02/11/1835
Semple, James Jenkins, Alexander M.

This bill having been returned by the Council of Revision, with their objections to the same becoming a law,5 and the same having been reconsidered, and again passed both houses by a majority of the whole number of members elected, the objections of the Council notwithstanding, the same has become a law of this State.
JAMES M. SEMPLE,
Speaker of the House of Representatives.A. M. JENKINS,
Speaker of the Senate.
11th Feb.[February] 1835.

1Christian B. Blockburger introduced HB 57 in the House of Representatives on December 8, 1834. On December 9, the House referred the bill to a select committee. The select committee reported back the bill on December 10 with a substitute, in which the House concurred. The House further amended the substitute by adding an additional section. On December 11, the House referred the bill as substituted to a select committee. The select committee reported back the bill on December 17 with sundry amendments, in which the House concurred. The House passed the bill as amended by a vote of 41 yeas to 19 nays, with Abraham Lincoln voting yea. On December 18, the Senate read the bill a first time, but refused it a second reading. Informed of the Senate’s action, the House appointed a committee of conference on December 19 to confer with the Senate. On December 20, the Senate considered a motion to appoint a committee to confer with the House, but adjourned before voting on the motion. The Senate took up the question again on December 22, tabling a message from the House asking for a committee of conference. The House revived the bill on December 29. Representatives offered amendments, and the House referred the bill and proposed amendments to a select committee. On January 13, 1835, the select committee reported back the bill with a substitute. The House refused to table the bill and proposed substitute by a vote of 14 yeas to 35 nays, with Lincoln voting nay. The House concurred in the substitute by a vote of 45 yeas to 3 nays, with Lincoln voting yea. On January 15, the House passed the bill as substituted. On January 17, the Senate refused to table the bill by a vote of 9 ayes to 15 nays. The Senate agreed to read the bill a second time by a vote of 17 yeas to 7 nays. The Senate agreed to dispense with its rules and read the bill a second time by its title by a vote of 20 ayes to 4 nays. The Senate referred the bill to a select committee. The select committee reported back the bill on January 19 with sundry amendments, in which the Senate concurred. The Senate agreed to read the bill a third time by a vote of 13 ayes to 12 nays. On January 22, senators offered additional amendments, and the Senate tabled the bill and proposed amendments. The Senate later re-considered this action. The Senate refused to pass the bill as amended by a vote of 13 yeas to 14 nays.Later in the day, the Senate re-considered this vote. The Senate agreed to re-consider the vote of January 19 concurring in the amendments of the select committee by a vote of 14 ayes to 13 nays. The Senate subsequently rejected the amendments of the select committee by a vote of 12 ayes to 14 nays. The Senate passed the bill as originally introduced from the House by a vote of 14 yeas to 13 nays. On January 28, the Council of Revision vetoed the bill and returned it to the House with objections. The House referred the bill and objections to a select committee. The select committee reported back the bill on January 30 without amendment. The House again passed the bill, the objections of the Council to the contrary notwithstanding, by a vote of 32 yeas to 14 nays, with Lincoln voting yea. On February 2, the Senate tabled the bill and the Council’s objections. On February 11, the Senate took up the bill and objections, again passing the bill, the objections of the Council to the contrary notwithstanding, by a vote of 17 ayes to 8 nays. The House and Senate overriding the Council’s veto, the act became law.
Illinois House Journal. 1835. 9th G. A., 1st sess., 72, 90, 96, 102, 129, 137, 139, 177, 283-84, 298, 357, 380, 388, 408-10, 448-49; Illinois Senate Journal. 1835. 9th G. A., 1st sess., 107, 110, 118, 121, 261, 269-70, 277-78, 308-10, 328, 335, 385, 398, 458, 498.

2“An Act relating to the Office of Recorder,” 8 January 1829, Revised Code of Laws (1829), 116-18; “An Act Regulating the Appointment and Duties of County Surveyors,” 14 January 1829, Revised Code of Laws (1829), 172-74.

3“An Act Regulating Elections,” 10 January 1829, Revised Code of Laws (1829), 54-68.

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5The Council’s main objections were: the act would produce a thirty-day gap in which the office would be vacant, creating the potential for “serious evils to the community”; the act provided no provision for a contested election; and the act made no provision for payment of recorders currently in office.
Illinois House Journal. 1835. 9th G. A., 1st sess., 408-10.
Two days later, the General Assembly passed An Act Supplemental to an Act to Provide for the Election of County Recorders and Surveyors, which addressed the Council of Revision’s objections to this act.