Papers Of Abraham Lincoln

[ docketing ]
Jany[January] 8^th 1836.

S. NO. 4.
December 26, 1835.
Read, Laid on the table, and 100 copies ordered to be printed.
MR[.] GATEWOOD, asked and obtained leave to introduce a
A BILL,
For an Act to Incorporate the Alton and Shawneetown Rail Road Company.

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20 Sec.[Section] 1. Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General
Assembly, That Alexander Kirkpatrick[,] Timothy Guard, Ephraim H. Gatewood, Thomas Morris, Moses M Rawlings[,] Benjamin Godfrey, Stephen Griggs, Enoch Long and Benjamin F. Edwards.
their associates, successors, and assigns are hereby created a body corpo-
rate and politic, under the name and style of the “Alton and Shaw-
neetown Rail Road Company”, and by that name may be, and hereby are
made capable in law and equity, to sue and be sued to final judgment and exe-
cution, plead and be impleaded, defend and be defended, in any court or courts of
record, or in any other place whatever: to make, have, and use a common seal,
and the same to break, renew and alter at pleasure: and shall be, and are here-
by vested with all the powers, privileges and immunities which are or may be
necessary to carry into effect the purposes and objects of this Act, as hereinaf-
ter set forth. And the said Company are hereby authorized and empowered to
locate, construct, and finally complete a RAIL ROAD, commencing at or near
the town of Alton, on the Mississippi River; thence to the town of Edwards-
ville, in the county of Madison; thence to Lebanon, in St. Clair county; thence
^Struck out^ to Nashville, in Washington county; thence again, by a straight line to Frankfort,
in Franklin county; thence through Equality to Shawneetown, on the Ohio
River, in Gallatin county—in such manner and form as the said Company shall
deem most expedient; and for this purpose, said Company are authorized to lay
out their said Road at least six rods wide, through the whole length; and for the
purpose of cutting, embankments, stone and gravel, may take as much more

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4 land as may be necessary for the proper construction and security of said Rail
Road; Provided, that all damages that may be occasioned to any person or corpo-
ration, by the taking of such land or materials for the purposes aforesaid, shall be
paid for by said Company, in the manner hereinafter provided.
Sec. 2 The capital stock of said Company shall consist of ^five^
thousand shares, ^with the privilege of increaseing the same to fifteen thousand Shares in the whole^ of one hundred dollars each; and the immediate government
and direction of the affairs of said Company, shall be vested in nine Directors,
who shall be chosen by the members of the Company, in the manner hereinafter
provided, who shall hold their offices for one year, and until others shall be duly
elected and qualified to take their places as Directors; and the said Directors,
a majority of whom shall form a quorum for the transaction of business, shall
elect one of their number to be President of the Board, who shall also be Presi-
dent of the Company, and shall have authority to choose a Clerk, who shall be
sworn to the faithful discharge of his duty—and a Treasurer who shall give bond
to the Company, with sureties to the satisfaction of the Directors.
Sec. 3 The President and Directors for the time being, are hereby authorized
and empowered, by themselves or their agents, to exercise all the powers and
authority herein granted, for the purpose of locating, constructing and complet-
ing said Rail Road, and all such other powers and authority for the management
of the affairs of said Company, not heretofore granted, as may be necessary to
carry into effect the object of this grant; to purchase and hold lands, materials
and other necessary things, in the name of the Company, for the use of the
Road; to make such equal assessments from time to time, on all the shares in
said Company, as they may deem expedient and necessary in the progress and
execution of the work, and direct the same to be paid to the Treasurer of the
Company, and the Treasurer shall give notice of all such assessments. The
Board of Directors shall have power to adopt rules and bye laws, regulating the
manner and time of payment of all assessments they may order, under such pen-
alties as they may deem proper.
Sec. 4. Said Company shall be holden to pay all damages that may arise to
any person or persons, corporation or corporations, by taking their land, stone or
gravel, for the use of said Rail Road, when the same cannot be obtained by vol-
untary agreement, to be estimated and recovered in the manner provided by

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2 law for the recovery of damages happening by the laying out of highways.
Sec. 5. When the lands or other property or estate of any married woman,
infant, or person non compos mentis, shall be necessary for the construction of
said Rail Road, the husband of such married woman, and the guardian of such
infant, or person non compos mentis, may release all damages in relation to the
land or estates to be taken and appropriated as aforesaid, as fully as they might
do if the same were holden in their right, respectively.
Sec. 6. If any person shall wilfully, maliciously or wantonly, and contrary to
law, obstruct the passage of any car on said Rail Road or any part thereof, or
any thing belonging thereto, he, she or they, or any person assisting, shall forfeit
and pay to said Company, for every such offence, treble such damages as shall
be proved before any court competent to try the same, to be sued for in the name
and in behalf of said Company; and such offender or offenders shall be deemed
guilty of a misdemeanor and liable to indictment in the same manner as other
indictments are found, in any county or counties where such offence shall have
[b]een committed; and upon conviction, such offenders shall be liable to a fine not
exceeding five thousand dollars, for the use of such county where the indictment
may be found, or may be imprisoned not exceeding one year, at the discretion of
the court before whom the conviction may be had.
Sec. 7. Said Company shall so construct their said Rail Road across Rivers,
Canals, Turnpikes and other public ways, so as not to hinder, obstruct, or inter-
fere with the navigation, passage, and free use of such public ways; and if said
Rail Road shall not be so constructed, it shall be lawful for the persons agrieved
to abate the same, in the same manner as is now provided by law for the remo-
val of obstructions to public ways.
Sec. 8. The time of holding the annual meetings of said Company for the
election of Directors, shall be fixed and determined by the bye laws of said Com-
pany; and at all meetings each stockholder shall be entitled to vote in person, or
by proxy duly authorized, one vote he or she may own.
Sec. 9. That Benjamin Godfrey[,] Benjamin F Edwards[,] Ephraim H. Gatewood[,] Alexander Kirkpatrick[,] John M Webster[,] John D Wood[,] Harvey F Pace[,] Lewis T Cully[,] and Benjamin Bond
are hereby appointed Commissioners to open subscription books for the stock of

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6 said Company. Said Commissioners or a majority of them are hereby authori-
zed to open subscription books for said stock, at such places as they may deem
proper, and shall give at least thirty days notice of the time and place where
such books will be opened, and shall keep the same open for five days, unless
the whole number of shares of said Company shall be sooner subscribed; and
they shall require each subscriber to pay five dollars on each share subscribed,
at the time of subscribing; and at the termination of said term of five days, or
sooner, if the whole amount of said shares shall be taken, said Commissioners
shall call a meeting of the stockholders, by giving ten days’ notice in some public
Newspaper printed in this State, of the time and place of such meeting: at such
meeting it shall be lawful to elect the Directors of said Company, and when the
Directors of said Company shall have been chosen, the said Commissioners shall
deliver said subscription books, together with all sums of money received by
them, to said Directors, Provided, that no election shall be held until the whole
number of shares of said Company shall have been subscribed; and provided,
also, that each Director shall, at the time of his election, hold at least ten shares
of the capital stock of said Company.
Sec. 10. Said Board of Directors shall have power to make, ordain, and es-

tablish such bye laws, rules and regulations, and ordinances as they may deem
expedient and necessary to accomplish the purposes, and carry into effect the
provisions of this Act, and for the well ordering, regulating and securing the in-
terests and affairs of said Company; Provided, the same be not repugnant to the
Constitution and laws of this State, or of the United States.

2 3 4 5 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20	Sec.[Section] 1. Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That Alexander Kirkpatrick[,] Timothy Guard, Ephraim H. Gatewood, Thomas Morris, Moses M Rawlings[,] Benjamin Godfrey, Stephen Griggs, Enoch Long and Benjamin F. Edwards. their associates, successors, and assigns are hereby created a body corpo- rate and politic, under the name and style of the “Alton and Shaw- neetown Rail Road Company”, and by that name may be, and hereby are made capable in law and equity, to sue and be sued to final judgment and exe- cution, plead and be impleaded, defend and be defended, in any court or courts of record, or in any other place whatever: to make, have, and use a common seal, and the same to break, renew and alter at pleasure: and shall be, and are here- by vested with all the powers, privileges and immunities which are or may be necessary to carry into effect the purposes and objects of this Act, as hereinaf- ter set forth. And the said Company are hereby authorized and empowered to locate, construct, and finally complete a RAIL ROAD, commencing at or near the town of Alton, on the Mississippi River; thence to the town of Edwards- ville, in the county of Madison; thence to Lebanon, in St. Clair county; thence ^Struck out^ to Nashville, in Washington county; thence again, by a straight line to Frankfort, in Franklin county; thence through Equality to Shawneetown, on the Ohio River, in Gallatin county—in such manner and form as the said Company shall deem most expedient; and for this purpose, said Company are authorized to lay out their said Road at least six rods wide, through the whole length; and for the purpose of cutting, embankments, stone and gravel, may take as much more
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21 22 23 24 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 2 3 4	land as may be necessary for the proper construction and security of said Rail Road; Provided, that all damages that may be occasioned to any person or corpo- ration, by the taking of such land or materials for the purposes aforesaid, shall be paid for by said Company, in the manner hereinafter provided. Sec. 2 The capital stock of said Company shall consist of ^five^ thousand shares, ^with the privilege of increaseing the same to fifteen thousand Shares in the whole^ of one hundred dollars each; and the immediate government and direction of the affairs of said Company, shall be vested in nine Directors, who shall be chosen by the members of the Company, in the manner hereinafter provided, who shall hold their offices for one year, and until others shall be duly elected and qualified to take their places as Directors; and the said Directors, a majority of whom shall form a quorum for the transaction of business, shall elect one of their number to be President of the Board, who shall also be Presi- dent of the Company, and shall have authority to choose a Clerk, who shall be sworn to the faithful discharge of his duty—and a Treasurer who shall give bond to the Company, with sureties to the satisfaction of the Directors. Sec. 3 The President and Directors for the time being, are hereby authorized and empowered, by themselves or their agents, to exercise all the powers and authority herein granted, for the purpose of locating, constructing and complet- ing said Rail Road, and all such other powers and authority for the management of the affairs of said Company, not heretofore granted, as may be necessary to carry into effect the object of this grant; to purchase and hold lands, materials and other necessary things, in the name of the Company, for the use of the Road; to make such equal assessments from time to time, on all the shares in said Company, as they may deem expedient and necessary in the progress and execution of the work, and direct the same to be paid to the Treasurer of the Company, and the Treasurer shall give notice of all such assessments. The Board of Directors shall have power to adopt rules and bye laws, regulating the manner and time of payment of all assessments they may order, under such pen- alties as they may deem proper. Sec. 4. Said Company shall be holden to pay all damages that may arise to any person or persons, corporation or corporations, by taking their land, stone or gravel, for the use of said Rail Road, when the same cannot be obtained by vol- untary agreement, to be estimated and recovered in the manner provided by
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5 2 3 4 5 6 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 [9] 10 11 12 2 3 4 5 6 2 3 4 2	law for the recovery of damages happening by the laying out of highways. Sec. 5. When the lands or other property or estate of any married woman, infant, or person non compos mentis, shall be necessary for the construction of said Rail Road, the husband of such married woman, and the guardian of such infant, or person non compos mentis, may release all damages in relation to the land or estates to be taken and appropriated as aforesaid, as fully as they might do if the same were holden in their right, respectively. Sec. 6. If any person shall wilfully, maliciously or wantonly, and contrary to law, obstruct the passage of any car on said Rail Road or any part thereof, or any thing belonging thereto, he, she or they, or any person assisting, shall forfeit and pay to said Company, for every such offence, treble such damages as shall be proved before any court competent to try the same, to be sued for in the name and in behalf of said Company; and such offender or offenders shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and liable to indictment in the same manner as other indictments are found, in any county or counties where such offence shall have [b]een committed; and upon conviction, such offenders shall be liable to a fine not exceeding five thousand dollars, for the use of such county where the indictment may be found, or may be imprisoned not exceeding one year, at the discretion of the court before whom the conviction may be had. Sec. 7. Said Company shall so construct their said Rail Road across Rivers, Canals, Turnpikes and other public ways, so as not to hinder, obstruct, or inter- fere with the navigation, passage, and free use of such public ways; and if said Rail Road shall not be so constructed, it shall be lawful for the persons agrieved to abate the same, in the same manner as is now provided by law for the remo- val of obstructions to public ways. Sec. 8. The time of holding the annual meetings of said Company for the election of Directors, shall be fixed and determined by the bye laws of said Com- pany; and at all meetings each stockholder shall be entitled to vote in person, or by proxy duly authorized, one vote he or she may own. Sec. 9. That Benjamin Godfrey[,] Benjamin F Edwards[,] Ephraim H. Gatewood[,] Alexander Kirkpatrick[,] John M Webster[,] John D Wood[,] Harvey F Pace[,] Lewis T Cully[,] and Benjamin Bond are hereby appointed Commissioners to open subscription books for the stock of
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3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 2 3 4 5 6	said Company. Said Commissioners or a majority of them are hereby authori- zed to open subscription books for said stock, at such places as they may deem proper, and shall give at least thirty days notice of the time and place where such books will be opened, and shall keep the same open for five days, unless the whole number of shares of said Company shall be sooner subscribed; and they shall require each subscriber to pay five dollars on each share subscribed, at the time of subscribing; and at the termination of said term of five days, or sooner, if the whole amount of said shares shall be taken, said Commissioners shall call a meeting of the stockholders, by giving ten days’ notice in some public Newspaper printed in this State, of the time and place of such meeting: at such meeting it shall be lawful to elect the Directors of said Company, and when the Directors of said Company shall have been chosen, the said Commissioners shall deliver said subscription books, together with all sums of money received by them, to said Directors, Provided, that no election shall be held until the whole number of shares of said Company shall have been subscribed; and provided, also, that each Director shall, at the time of his election, hold at least ten shares of the capital stock of said Company. Sec. 10. Said Board of Directors shall have power to make, ordain, and es- tablish such bye laws, rules and regulations, and ordinances as they may deem expedient and necessary to accomplish the purposes, and carry into effect the provisions of this Act, and for the well ordering, regulating and securing the in- terests and affairs of said Company; Provided, the same be not repugnant to the Constitution and laws of this State, or of the United States.