Papers Of Abraham Lincoln

In force Jan[January] 16, 1836.

AN ACT for the relief of Timothy Guard and others.
1

Preamble.

Whereas, Timothy Guard has been engaged in the manufacture of salt in this state,2 that necessary article, and persevered under circumstances which would have appalled and relaxed the courage of almost any man, and has sustained great losses in trying the experiment to make salt by burning stone coal:3 Therefore—

Payment of rent.

Sec.[Section] 1. Be it enacted by the people of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That said Timothy Guard be, and he is hereby released from the payment of his rent in part, viz: that he be only required to pay the sum of two hundred and fifty dollars per annum, from the fourth day of December eighteen hundred and thirty-four, up to the expiration of his present lease, viz: December fourth, eighteen hundred and forty; and the accounting officers will make the above deduction, any law, and his contract to the contrary notwithstanding.

Deduction for other persons.

Sec. 2. That Hampton Weed, the occupier of the lot formerly leased by Andrew Frazer, be allowed a deduction of forty-eight dollars per annum, from the fourth of December eighteen hundred and thirty-four, in addition to the relief heretofore granted to the lessee of said lot.

And that Benjamin White be allowed a further deduction of rent upon his lease, of fifty-six dollars and twenty-five cents from the said period.
4 5
Approved, Jan. 16, 1836.

1On December 11, 1835, William J. Gatewood introduced to the Senate a petition from Chalon and Timothy Guard, requesting a reduction of their rents as lessees of part of the Gallatin Saline lands. The Senate referred the petition to the Committee on Salines. On December 16, John W. Vance, speaking on behalf of the Committee on Salines, reported SB 23, originally titled “An Act for the Relief of Timothy Guard,” in the Senate. On December 18, the Senate proposed to amend the bill by adding the second section. The Senate then referred the bill and proposed amendment to the Committee on Salines, which reported back the bill and the proposed amendment on December 23. The Senate then approved the amendment. On January 6, 1836, the Senate passed the bill as amended by a vote of 15 yeas to 7 nays. The Senate then amended the title of the bill to include “and others.” On January 15, the House of Representatives voted to read the bill a second time, by a vote of 26 yeas to 20 nays, Abraham Lincoln voting yea. The House then passed the bill by a vote of 24 yeas to 20 nays, Lincoln voting yea. On January 16, the Council of Revision approved the bill and the act became law.
Illinois House Journal. 1835. 9th G. A., 2nd sess., 244, 279, 338, 355, 371; Illinois Senate Journal. 1835. 9th G. A., 2nd sess., 48, 61, 91, 158, 177, 260, 276, 288.

2Timothy Guard began leasing property in the Gallatin County saline reserve from the state of Illinois in 1823.
“Report of the Committee on Salines and Saline Lands,” 12 January 1841, Reports Made to the Senate and House of Representatives, of the State of Illinois (1841), 219-20.

3“Stone coal” refers to hard, shiny anthracite, which is the most desirable type of coal for fuel. Anthracite is rarer and burns more cleanly than the soft bituminous form. Early salt manufacturers used local timber as fuel for the boilers at their desalination plants. Once the local supply was used it was necessary to either haul wood to the boilers or pipe the saltwater to the wood supply.
Barbara Freese, Coal: A Human History (New York: Basic Books, 2003), 111-12; George W. Smith, A History of Southern Illinois (Chicago: Lewis Publishing, 1912), 473-74.

4The Senate added the second section on December 23, 1835.

5Timothy Guard held a lease on saline lands beginning in 1823. The General Assembly reduced his rent in 1827 and 1836. Benjamin White held a lease on saline lands beginning in 1827. The legislature reduced his rent in 1834, 1835, and 1836. From 1835 onward, there was no superintendent of saline lands to whom to pay the rent, and as a result by 1841, Guard owed $1,750, White owed $656.25, and Hampton Weed owed $1,212. In 1847, the legislature passed a law that set forth a way for John Crenshaw and the administrators of Guard and White (who were both deceased by then) to settle their debts to the state.
“Report of the Committee on Salines and Saline Lands,” 12 January 1841, Reports Made to the Senate and House of Representatives, of the State of Illinois (1841), 219-20; “An Act to Allow John Crenshaw and Others to Liquidate the Amount They Owe the State,” 25 February 1847, Laws (1847), 68-69.