Papers Of Abraham Lincoln

In force, 18th Feb.[February] 1837

AN ACT to construct a Rail-road from Naples to Jacksonville.
1

Jacksonville & Naples railroad incorporated

Sec.[Section] 1. Be it enacted by the people of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That John Manchester, Horatio N. Manning, Miran Leslie, Bezaleel Gillett, and Charles Collins, and their associates, successors, and assigns are hereby created a body corporate and politic, under the name and style of the Jacksonville and Naples Rail-road company, for the term of fifty years, and by that name may be and hereby are made capable in law and equity to sue and be sued, plead and be impleaded, defend and be defended, in any court or courts of record, or in any other place; to make, have, and use a common seal, and the same to renew and alter at pleasure, and shall be

<Page 2>
and are hereby 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 hereinafter set forth, and the said company are hereby authorized and empowered to locate, construct, and finally complete a rail-road from the town of Naples up Wolf run (so called,) to the town of Jacksonville in Morgan county, upon the most eligible and proper route, and for this purpose said company are authorized to lay out their said road wide enough for a single or double track through the whole length, and for the purpose of cutting embankments, stone and gravel may take as much more land as may be necessary for the proper construction of and security of said rail-road: Provided, All damages that may be occasioned to any person or corporation by taking of such lands or materials for the purposes aforesaid, shall be paid for by the company in the manner hereinafter provided.

Capital stock

Sec. 2. The capital stock of said company shall consist of two hundred thousand dollars to be divided into shares of one hundred dollars each; the immediate goverment and discretion of said company shall be vested in five directors who shall be chosen by the stockholders of said company in the manner hereinafter provided, who shall hold their offices for one year after their election, 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 own number to be president of the board, who shall also be the president of the company.

Authorized to make surveys

Sec. 3. The said corporation is hereby authorized, by their agents, surveyors, and engineers, to cause such examinations and surveys to be made of the ground and country between the said town of Naples and the said town of Jacksonville as shall be necessary to determine the most advantageous route for the proper line or course whereon to construct their said rail-road, and it shall be lawful for the said corporation to enter upon and take possession of and use all such lands and real estate as may be necessary for the construction and maintenance of their said rail-road, and the accommodations requisite and appertaining to the same, and may also hold all such lands as they may purchase or receive in any manner for the necessary purposes of said road: Provided, That all lands or real estate entered upon and taken psssession of and used by said corporation for the purposes and accommodations of the said rail-road, or upon which the site for the said rail-road shall have been located or determined by the said corporation, shall be paid for by the said corpora-

<Page 3>
tion in damages, if any be sustained by the owner or owners thereof, by the use of the same for the purposes of said railroad, which damages shall be ascertained in the same manner that damages are now ascertained in the case of public roads running through the lands of individuals, some one of the directors acting in the stead of the supervisor in the general road law.

Redress for injuries

Sec. 4. 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, or shall damage, break, or destroy any part of the said rail-road, or implements, or buildings, he, she, or they, or any persons assisting, shall forfeit and pay to said company for every such offence treble the amount of damages that shall be proved before any court competent to try the same, to be sued for in the name and behalf of said company; and such offender or offenders shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall be liable to an indictment in the same manner as other indictments are found in any county or counties, where such offence shall have been committed; and upon conviction, every such offender shall be liable to a fine not exceeding five thousand dollars for the use of such county where such indictment may be found.

Time for holding election for directors to be fixed

Sec. 5. The time of holding the annual meetings of said company for the election of directors shall be fixed and determined by the by-laws of said company, and at all meetings each stockholder shall be entitled to vote in person or by lawful pixy on vote for each share he, she, or they may hold bona fide in said stock.

Commissioners to open books

Sec. 6. Bezaleel Gillett, John Manchester, Charles Collins, Miran Leslie, are hereby appointed commissioners to open subscription books for the stock of said company; and said commissioners, or a majority of them, are hereby authorized 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 when and where such books will be opened in some newspaper printed in the town of Jacksonville, and shall keep said books open at least five days, unless the whole amount of capital stock shall be subscribed sooner than said five days, and they shall require each subscriber to pay ten dollars on each share subscribed at the time of subscribing, and at the expiration of said five days, or sooner if said capital stock shall be subscribed, the said commissioners shall cause a meeting of the stockholders by giving ten days notice in some newspaper printed in the said county of Morgan, and at such meeting it shall be lawful to elect the directors of said company, and when the directors

<Page 4>
of said company are chosen, the said commissioners shall deliver said subscription books, together with all sums of money received by them, as such commissioners, to said directors: Provided, That no person shall be a director unless he shall own at least five shares of the capital stock. Said corporation is hereby authorized to borrow any sum of money not exceeding their capital stock, and to make all such contracts as said corporation may deem necessary to carry into effect the powers and privileges hereby granted: Provided, That they shall not issue any drafts or checks, or other instruments to be used as a circulating medium.

Declared a public work

Sec. 7. This rail-road is hereby declared to be a public work, and the State of Illinois may transport, carry, and convey, free from tolls, all persons or property that the State may at any time wish to transport and convey upon the same.

Land procured for the right of way, may be held

Sec. 8. That the rights of way, and the real estate purchased for the right of way by said company, whether by mutual agreement between the said corporation and the owners or owner of such land or real estate, or which shall become the property of said corporation by operation of law as in this act is provided, shall upon the payment of the amount of money belonging to the owner or owners of such lands as a compensation for the same, become the property of said corporation, absolutely, and in fee simple.

Authorized to join other rail-roads

Sec. 9. The said corporation is hereby authorized to join any other rail-road now or hereafter to be incorporated and put in operation, at such place and upon such terms as may be mutually agreed upon by the said companies, or in case of disagreement by the said companies, upon such terms and at such places as the court of chancery of the district where such connection is desired, shall decree upon bill filed, or suit instituted for that purpose.

Right reserved by the State

Sec. 10. The legislature reserves to itself the right to purchase the stock of said corporation at any time, by paying to said company the value of said rail-road, fixtures, cars, and other apparatus necessary for carrying on the business of said corporation; and for the purpose of ascertaining the value thereof, the legislature may appoint two or more commissioners, who shall proceed to ascertain by inspection and the oath of witnesses the actual value of the said road, fixtures, apparatus, and cars as aforesaid. The said corporation may take and transport upon the said rail-road any person or persons, merchandize or other property by the force and power of steam, or animals, or any combination of them, and may fix, establish, take, and receive such rates of

<Page 5>
toll for all passengers and property transported upon the same as the said directors shall from time to time establish, and the directors are hereby authorized and empowered to make all necessary rules, by-laws, regulations, and ordinances, that they may deem necessary and expedient to accomplish the designs and purposes, and to carry into effect the provisions of this act, and for the transfer and assignment of its stock which is hereby declared personal property, and transferrable in such manner as shall be provided by the by-laws and ordinances of said corporation.

When work is to be commenced and finished

Sec. 11. If the said corporation shall not commence the work within one year from the passage of this act, and complete the same within five years, then this act shall thenceforth cease and be void: Provided, however, That that portion of a rail-road now completed, beginning at said Naples on the route aforesaid, shall be taken and deemed to be a commencement of the work within the meaning of this act.

May make a lateral railroad

Sec. 12. The said corporation are hereby authorized to make a lateral rail-road from the main stem to the town of Exeter in said Morgan county, and shall have the same power in relation to the said lateral rail-road as is hereby given to said company for the construction of the main road.

May be repealed

Sec. 13. The legislature reserves the power to alter, amend, or repeal this at whenever the public good shall require it; and in case of such repeal the said company shall exist for the period of two years for the purpose of winding up and closing its business, but not for the purpose of continuing the same, nor for any other purpose.2

Approved 18th February, 1837.

1On December 17, 1836, Richard S. Walker introduced HB 8 in the House of Representatives. On December 29, the House referred the bill to a select committee. On January 21, the select committee reported a substitute bill, and the House agreed to the committee substitute and referred the bill to the Committee on Corporations. On January 25, 1837, the Committee on Corporations reported the bill with several amendments, and the House again referred the bill to a select committee. On January 26, the select committee reported the bill with several amendments. The House then considered the amendments separately and agreed to George Galbreath and Abraham Lincoln’s call for a vote on a motion to strike out the word “possesses” in Section 13. As a result, the House decided the question in the affirmative by a vote of 75 yeas to six nays, with Lincoln voting yea. The House then voted on a motion to insert the word “reserve” in Section 13 of the bill. Once again, the House decided the question in the affirmative by a vote of 57 yeas to 20 nays, with Lincoln voting yea. On January 30, the House decided against a motion to strike out the last section of the bill. On February 6, the House passed the bill. On On February 15, the Senate passed the bill. On February 18, the Council of Revision approved the bill and the act became law.
Illinois House Journal. 1836. 10th G. A., 1st sess., 54, 69, 137, 320, 378-79, 391-93, 419, 487, 602, 606, 612, 639; Illinois Senate Journal. 1836. 10th G. A., 1st sess., 359, 375, 387, 389, 395, 433, 448.

2On March 2, 1839, the General Assembly passed an act that abandoned construction of what had become the Naples Branch of the Northern Cross Railroad.