A Bill

To incorporate the Pekin, Bloomington and Wabash Rail Road Company

Sec[Section] 1. Be it enacted by the Pe[o]ple of the Sta[te?] of Illinois represented in t[he] General Assembly That: William Brown, Jo[hn] W. Casey, David Bailey, Philip . . .ler, Enos Coldren ^Rob^t Stuart,^ James Allen[,] J. W. . . . Sam^l M^cRoberts M. L. Covell. William . . . their associates Suc[ces]sors a[nd] assigns [be, and?] they are hereby . . .[bo]dy pol[itic] [and] Corporate under the n[ame] of the Pe[kin] Bloomington & Wabash [Rail] Road C[ompany] and by that name shall . . . hereby [be] made capable in law [to] su[e and] be su[ed] to final judgment [?]xecu[?], pl[ead] and be impleaded, def[end] and be defe[nded] in any court of reco[rd] . . . in any oth[er] place whatever, to m[ake] have and [use] a common seal, and the s[a]me to break renew or alter at pleasu[re], & shall be and are hereby invested wi[th] all the [powers?] privileges, and immunities w[whic]h are or m[ay] be necessary to carry into effect the purposes and objects of this act as hereafter set-forth, and the said Comp’s are hereby authorised & empowered to locate, construct and finally complete a Rail Road leading from the Pekin in Tazewell County on the Illinois-River, and passing through Tremont to Bloomington in M^cLean County, with the privilege of extending said Road Eastwardly

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to the State Line ^or, at any point^ in a direction to unite [with?] the Erie & Wabash Canal at its termination on the Wabash River in such manner and form as they shall deem to be most expedient: and for this purpose the Comp[any] are authorised to lay out their Road not exceeding Six Rods wide through the whole length; and for the purpose of cuttings, embankments, and procuring stone and gravel may take as much more [land] as m[ay] be necessary for the proper [construction?] and security of said Road.

Provided however that all damages that [m]ay be occasio[ned] to any Person or Corporation [by the] taking of such land or [material?] [for] the purp[ose] aforesaid shall be paid [by the] said corp[o]ration in the mann[er] [herein]after [pro]vided.

Sec 2^d The C[apital stock] of said Company shall [consist of] Five Thous[and] shares, and the . . . government & direction of the a. . .the s^d Comp[?] shall by vested in a . . . not less than Five Directors, [who shal]l be chosen by the members of . . . [cor]poration [in?] the manner herein . . . provided and shall hold their [of]fices until others are duly qua[lifie]d to take their places as Dire[ctors], a Majority of whom shall form a quorum for the transaction of business, shall

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elect One of their own number to be President of the Board, who shall also be President of the Company and shall have authority to chose a clerk who shall be sworn to the faithful discharge of his duty, and a Treasurer who shall give Bonds to the Corporation, and sureties to the satisfaction of the Directors in a sum not less than Twenty Thousand Dollars for the faithful discharge of his trus[t]

Sec 3. The President & Directors are hereby authorized and empowered by themselves, or. . . their Agents to exercise all the powers here. . . granted to the Comp’s for the purpose of loc[a]ting, constructing, and completing said Rail-Road, and for the transportation of Person[s] Goods, and merchandize, and all such other [p]owers and authority for the management of the affairs of the Comp’s not heretofore granted, necessary and proper to carry into effect the object of this grant, to purchase and hold land, material, Engines, Cars and other necessary things in the name of the Corporation for the use of said Road, and for the transportation, of Persons, goods and merchandise, to make such equal assessments from time to time on all the shares of the said Comp’s as they may deem expedient and necessary in the execution & progress of the work, and direct the same

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to be paid to the Treasurer of the Comp’s, and the Treasurer shall give notice of all such assessments; and in case any Subscriber shall neglect to pay his assessment for the space of thirty days after due notice by the Treasurer of said company, the Directors may order the Treasurer to sell such share, or shares at public aution after giving due notice thereof, to th[e] highest Bidder, and the same shall be transfered to the purchaser; and such Delinquent subscriber shall be held accountable to the company for the balance if his share or shares shall sell for less than the assessment due thereon with the interest and cost of sale; and shall be entitled to the overplus, if his share or shares shall sell for more than the assessment due, with interest on costs of sale, provided howev[er] that no assessment shall be laid upon any shares in said company of a greater amount than One Hundred Dollars on a share.

Sec 4. The said Company shall have power to make, ordain and establish all such laws, rules, regulations and ordinances as they shall deem expedient & necessar[y] to accomplish the designs & purposes and to carry into effect the provisions of this act, for the assignment and

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transfer of its Stock, and for the well ordering regulating, and securing of the interests and affairs of the Company, provided the sum be not repugnant to the Cons[ti]tution and laws of this state and the United States.

Sec 5. A toll shall be & is hereby granted and established for the sole purpose benefit of said Comp’^s, upon all Passengers and property of all descriptions which may be conveyed, or transported upon said Road at such rates per mile as may be established and agreed upon from time to time by the Directors of said Company.

The transportation of Persons and property, the construction of wheels, the form of cars & carriages, the weight of loads and all other matters and things in relation to the use of said Road shall be in conformity to such Rules, Regulations, & provisions as the Directors from time to time prescribe and direct , and said Road may be used by any Persons who shall comply with such Rules & Regulations provided however that if at the [...?]tion expiration of ten years from and after the completion of said Road, the net income, or receipts from tolls and other profits, taking the ten years aforesaid as the basis of calculation shall have amounted to more than ten per centum

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per annum upon the cost of [t?]he Road, the Legislature may take measures to alter and reduce the rate of tolls & other [...?] in such manner as to take off the overpl[us?] for the next ten years, calculating the amount of transportation upon the Road to be the same as the ten preceding years; and at the expiration of every ten years thereafter the same proceedings may be had—provided further, that the Legislature shall not at any time so reduce the tolls and other profits as to produce less than ten per cent upon the cost of the said Rail Road, [...?] the consent of the said Corporation, and no other Rail Road than the one hereby granted, shall within fifty years from the passing of this act be authorised to be made leading [from?] said Pekin to any place within ten miles of the Eastern termination of the Rail Road hereby established

Sec 6. The Directors of said comp’^s for the time being are hereby authorised to erect toll Houses, establish gates, appoint toll-Collectors, and demand toll upon the Road when completed, and upon such parts thereof as shall from time to ti[me] be completed.

Sec. 7. The said Company shall be

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holden to pay all damages that may arise to any Person or Persons, corporation ^or^ corporations, by taking their land for said Rail Road, when it Cannot be obtained by voluntary agreement, to be estimated and recovered in the manner provided by law for the recovery of damages happening by the laying out of high ways.

Sec 8. That when the lands, or other property or estate of any femme covert, Infant or Person non compos mentis, shall be necessary for the construction of said Rail-Road, the Husband of such femme covert, & the Guardian of such Infant or person non compos mentis, may release all damages for any lands, or Estate taken or appropriated as aforesaid as they might do, if the same were holden by them in their own right respectively.

Sec 9. That if any Person shall wilfully, maliciously or wantonly, & contrary to l[aw] obstruct the passage of any carriage on said Rail Road, or in any way spoil injure or destroy said Rail Road, or any part thereof, or any thing belonging thereto, or any material or implements to be employed in the construction, or for the use of Said Rail-Road, he, she, or they, or any

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Person or Persons assisting, aiding or abeting in such trespass, shall forfeit and pay to said Comp^s, for every such off[ense] treble such damages as shall be pro[ven] before the Justice, Court or Jury bef[ore] whom the trial shall be held, to b[e] sued for and recovered before any Justi[ce] or any Court proper to try the same, by the Treasurer of the Comp^s, or other Officer whom they may direct to the use of said Comp^s, and such Offender, or offenders shall be liable to indictment by the grand Inquest for the County within which such trespass shall have been committed, for any offence or offences contrary to the above provisions, and on conviction thereof before any court compet[ent] to try the same shall pay a fine not exceeding One Hundred Dollars nor less than Thirty Dolls. to the State, or may be imprisoned for a term not exceeding one year at th[e] discretion of the Court before wh[om] the conviction may be had.

Sec 10. The annual meeting of the members of said Corporation shall be holden on the first Monday of June at such time and place as the Directors for the time being may appoint, at which

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meeting the Directors shall be chosen by ballot, each Proprietor being entitled to as many votes as he holds shares, provided that no one vote shall be given by any Proprietor by reason of any share held by him exceeding One tenth part of the whole number of shares. And the Person first named in this act, or any tw[o] of the Persons named therein are hereby authorised to call the first meeting of said Corporation by giving notice in the Illinois Advocate and Sangamo Journal, of the time and place and purpose of such meeting at least fifteen days before the time mentioned in such notice

Sec 11. If said Rail Road in the course thereof shall cross any River, Canal, Turnpike, or other Highway, or private way, the said Corporation shall so construct said Rail Road as not to obstruct the safe & convenient use of such River, Canal, turnpike, or other highway, or private way.

Sec 12. That if said Comp’s shall not have been organised, and the location of the route filed with the County Commissioners of the County, or counties in which the land proposed to be take[n]

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for the use of said Rail Road is situate, previous to the first o[f] September in the year of our Lord Eighteen Hundred & forty, & if the said Corporation shall fail to complete the said Rail Road on, or before the first day of Jan^y[January] 1830, in either of the above named cases, this Act shall be null & void

Sec 13. The said Rail Road [[Company?]] shall constantly maintain in good repair all bridges with their abutments and embankments which they may constru^c^t construct for the purpose of conducting their Rail Road over any [C]anal, River, Turnpike or other Highway or sny private way

Sec 14. That it shall be in the power of the State at any ti[me] during the Continuance of this Cha[rter] after the Expiration of Thirty yea[rs] from the opening for use of the Rail Road through provided to . . . be made, to purchase of the said Comp^s, by paying them therefore the said Rail Road, and all the franchises, rights & privileges of the said Company, by paying them therefor the amount expended in making

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said Rail Road ^with ten percent pr. an^um[per annum] Interest ^thereon^ ^. and in case at the time of such purchase purchase, the said Comp^s shall not have made a net income equal to ten per centum per annum on the said expenditures, from the time of the payment thereof by the Stockholders, by paying the Comp’s such additional sum as together with the tolls and profits which they shall have received from the said Rail Road will be equal to the net profit of ten per centum per annum on the cost of said Rail Road from the date of the payment thereof by the stockholders of the said Comp^s to the time of such purchase; and after such purchase the limitation provided in the fifth Section of this act shall cease and be of no effect and it shall be the duty of said Comp^s from year to year to make report to the Legislature of their acts & doings, receipts and expenditures under the provisions of this act.