In force, Jan.[January] 16, 1836.
AN ACT to improve the Breed of Cattle.
1To appoint inspectors.
Sec.[Section] 1. Be it enacted by the people of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That from and after the appointment of inspectors by any county commissioners’ court, as hereinafter provided, no bull over one year old, shall be permitted to run at
large out of enclosure, unless the same shall be approved of by the inspectors of
the township or county, as a suitable animal or bull to breed from; and all bulls
not approved of, shall be altered2 upon the order and decision of said inspectors.3
To continue in office four years
Sec. 2. The county commissioners’ court in each and every county in the state, may, at their March term next, or at any regular term thereafter, appoint three
good substantial farmers, to act as inspectors and judges, in each justices’ district
or otherwise, as they may subdivide the county, whose term of service shall be four
years; and regular appointments shall be made every four years, and vacancies filled
by the court from time to time, as they may occur.
Duty
Sec. 3. It shall be the duty of said inspectors and judges, to view, on request or otherwise,
any bull or bulls, running at large over one year old, in their respective counties;
and should they be of opinion, under all circumstances, that the same is suitable
to breed from, and ought to run at large, they shall give the owner a certificate
to that effect; and in case they shall decide otherwise, they shall notify the owner
thereof, whose duty it shall be to alter, or put said bull up, and not suffer the
same to run at large; and should the owner not comply with said decision, the bull
shall be altered upon the order of said inspectors, or the same may be done by any
individual of the county; and for the refusal and non-compliance on the part of the
owner, the evidence being adduced to the satisfaction of the justice, and it is hereby
made the duty of said inspectors to prosecute, he shall be fined in any sum not exceeding
fifty, nor less than ten dollars, with costs; and on a second com-
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plaint and conviction, the first fine shall be doubled.
Owners of best bulls exempt from paying taxes thereon.
Premiums.
Sec. 4. The owner or owners of all bulls inspected and approved of, as above stated, shall
not be required to pay any tax for the same; and when a majority of all the inspectors
of the county, and they may convene annually for that purpose, shall decide upon the three best bulls, three best cows, and three best heifers, the county commissioners’ court shall grant an order on the treasury of the county, to be paid out of the fines and
funds of the county, fifteen, ten, and five dollars each, for the bulls, and the cows,
and heifers, in like manner; but no second premium shall be granted and given for
the same animal.
This act shall take effect from and after its passage.4
Approved, Jan. 16, 1836.
1David McGahey introduced SB 26 in the Senate on December 17, 1835, and on that day the Senate committed the bill to the Committee
of the Whole. On December 21, the Committee of the Whole was discharged from consideration
of the bill, and the bill was referred to a select committee. On January 2, 1836,
the select committee reported back the bill without amendment, and the bill was again
committed to the Committee of the Whole. On January 4, the Committee of the Whole
was discharged from consideration of the bill. On January 8, the Senate laid the bill
upon the table. On January 12, the Senate took up the bill and passed it. On January
13, the House of Representatives referred the bill to the Committee of the Whole. On January 15, the Committee of
the Whole was discharged from consideration of the bill, and the bill was then laid
upon the table. Later that day, the House again took up the bill. Abraham Lincoln moved to refer the bill to a Committee of the Whole House, which was approved.
The Committee of the Whole immediately referred the bill back without amendment. The
House then passed the bill by a vote of 24 yeas to 16 nays, Lincoln voting nay. On
January 16, the Council of Revision approved the bill and the act became law.
Illinois House Journal. 1835. 9th G. A., 2nd sess., 293, 305, 336, 344-45, 346, 358; Illinois Senate Journal. 1835. 9th G. A., 2nd sess., 54, 84, 119, 150, 168, 188, 220, 265, 268, 280.
3Early Illinois farmers commonly turned livestock loose to graze freely on the prairies. These open-range
methods of livestock raising resulted in indiscriminate breeding that created stock
that was hardy but slow to mature and which produced inconsistent quality. As markets
developed, farmers needed to increase the quality of their livestock to demand premium
prices. By the 1830s, more affluent farmers were importing purebred stock to interbreed
with the native stock to create a hardy, all-purpose animal.
Paul C. Henlein, Cattle Kingdom in the Ohio Valley, 1783-1860 (Lexington: University of Kentucky Press, 1959), 19, 62-64; Allan G. Bogue, From Prairie to Corn Belt (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1963), 73-79, 87-88, 140; Clarence H. Danhof,
Change in Agriculture: The Northern United States, 1820-1870 (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1969), 160-63, 167, 172.
Printed Document, 2 page(s), Laws of the State of Illinois, Passed by the Ninth General Assembly, at their Second Session (Vandalia, IL:
J. Y. Sawyer, 1836), 254-55, GA Session: 9-2,