Papers Of Abraham Lincoln

In force 16th Jan., 1836.

AN ACT to incorporate the Carlyle Bridge Company.
1

Company incorporated.

Sue and be sued, &c.[etc.]

Sec.[Section] 1. Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That Mary D. Slade, and James B. Campbell, of Cook county, and Thomas Keyes, of Bond county, their associates, assigns and successors, shall be, and they are hereby constituted a body corporate and politic, by the name and style of the “Carlyle Bridge Company,” from and after the passage of this act, and by that name, they and their successors, shall and may hereafter have succession, and shall in law be capable of suing and being sued, pleading and being impleaded, answering and being answered, in all courts and places whatsoever; and they and their successors may have a common seal, and may alter and change the same at pleasure; and also, they, and their succes-

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sors by that name and style, shall be in law capable of purchasing and holding, and conveying, any estate, real and personal, for the use of said company, as hereinafter limited.

Capital stock.

Election.

Powers of said company

Proviso.

Sec. 2. That the capital stock of said company shall not exceed twenty-five thousand dollars, divided into such number of shares, and of such amounts each, as the said Mary D. Slade and her successors or assigns, shall think proper; and the said company, thus created, shall meet on the fourth day of July next, or within three months thereafter, for the purpose of choosing such officers as a majority of them shall determine, and every stockholder shall be entitled at such and all other elections, to one vote for each share owned. The first Monday in the month in which such election shall be held, shall be the anniversary day of all subsequent elections of such officers. A majority of the stockholders shall be a quorum, and shall be capable of transacting the business of the corporation; and any act of the majority of said stockholders, shall be binding on said corporation. The said company, or a majority of them, may meet from time to time, as may be directed by their rules and regulations, and shall have power to make such bye-laws, rules and regulations, as shall be deemed expedient and proper, for the well ordering of the affairs of said company; Provided, the same be not repugnant to the constitution and laws of this state, and of the United States.

Powers vested to Company.

Sec. 3. The said corporation are hereby authorised and empowered to erect a bridge over the Kaskaskia river, commencing at the east end of Fairfax street,2 thence to the east bank of said river, at Carlyle, which shall be constructed with stone abutments, and one arch or span across said river, so as not to obstruct the passage of boats, and other crafts, and shall keep said bridge in good repair, for the purposes intended.3

Privileges.

Proviso

Sec. 4. As soon as the said bridge shall be completed, it shall and may be lawful for the said corporation, to erect a gate at the end of said bridge, and to demand and receive the same rates of toll for passing the same, as are now established and received for ferriage at the same place; Provided the citizens of Clinton county, and their property, shall cross and re-cross said bridge free from toll.

Power to extend, &c.

Sec. 5. The said corporation shall have power, and are hereby authorised to extend, by causeway or turnpike, their said bridge to the bluff or high ground east of said Kaskaskia river, for which they shall receive such additional tolls, as shall be allowed them by the county commissioners’ court of Clinton county.

Corporation, to what entitled.

Sec. 6. The said corporation shall be entitled to purchase and hold, and convey so much real estate as will be necessary to construct the aforesaid bridge and causeway, or turnpike

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upon, with toll houses and toll gates, necessary for the management of the concerns of said bridge company.

Commencement.

Completion.

Commissioners appointed—duties of same.

Proviso.

Sec. 7. The said corporation shall, on or before the first day of September next, commence the construction of said bridge, across the said Kaskaskia river, and have so much of the same as is contemplated in the third section of this act, completed on or before the first day of December, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-nine, otherwise this act shall be null and void, and the powers hereby granted shall vest in such persons as shall become subscribers to the stock of the Carlyle Bridge Company; and John Clark, John M. Webster, Jonathan Sharp and Joseph Huey, are hereby constituted and appointed commissioners to receive subscriptions to said stock; Provided, that in case of a failure on the part of the company, as constituted by the first section of this act, to comply with the requisitions of the several sections hereof, then, and in that case, the capital stock shall be divided into shares of fifty dollars each, and as soon as the said stock is subscribed, the commissioners, or a majority of them, shall call a meeting of the subscribers at Carlyle, for the purpose of choosing five directors, each share holder being entitled to one vote; and said directors, or a majority of them, shall, and are hereby authorised to carry into effect the objects of this grant, and to retain and exercise all the powers and privileges conferred upon the corporation, in the previous sections of this act; Provided, however, that unless said bridge, hereby authorised to be erected, shall be constructed within five years from the first day of July next, the said franchises and privileges shall cease and determine, and be entirely null and void.

Privileges, when to cease.

Sec. 8. Should said toll bridge and turnpike be erected, as contemplated by this act, the privileges hereby granted, shall cease and determine on the first day of March, in the year one thousand eight hundred and sixty; Provided the company hereby incorporated, shall not at any time, by themselves or their agents, obstruct, or cause to be obstructed, any ford or fords, at or near the place where the said bridge is hereby authorised to be constructed across the said Kaskaskia river; and if the said company shall at any time, so obstruct the said ford, they shall, for every twenty-four hours such obstructions shall remain, forfeit and pay the sum of ten dollars, to be recovered before any justice of the peace, in the county wherein such bridge shall be, one-half to the person sueing, and the other half to the county treasurer.

Approved, Jan. 16, 1836.

1Responding to a petition from Mary D. Slade, Benjamin Bond of a select committee introduced SB 95 in the Senate on January 4, 1836. On January 8, the Senate proposed sundry amendments to the bill and then laid the bill on the table. On January 11, the Senate referred the bill to a select committee, which reported back the bill with sundry amendments on the same day. On January 12, the Senate passed the bill as amended. On January 13, the House of Representatives referred the bill to a select committee. On the same day, the select committee reported back the bill with an amendment, in which the House concurred. The House then passed the bill. On January 16, the Senate concurred with the amendments to the bill of the House. The same day, the Council of Revision approved the bill and the act became law. Illinois House Journal. 1835. 9th G. A., 2nd sess., 295, 306, 313, 350, 363, 371; Illinois Senate Journal. 1835. 9th G. A., 2nd sess., 170, 191, 205, 213, 222, 235, 266, 283, 288.

2The Illinois General Assembly passed an amendment to this act in 1837 by changing the commencement point of the bridge from Fairfax Street to Franklin Street.

3The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 established the principle of the free navigation of the Mississippi River and its tributaries, and river and steamboat interests frequently challenged the builders of bridges to maintain that right.
“An Ordinance for the Government of the Territory of the United States, North West of the River Ohio,” art. 4 (1787); Columbus Insurance Co. v. Peoria Bridge Co. (1854), Martha L. Benner and Cullom Davis et al., eds. The Law Practice of Abraham Lincoln, 2d ed. Springfield: Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, 2009.