Sec.[Section] 1. Be it enacted by the people of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That Thomas McKibben, Peleg Cole, Hezekiah Cunningham, Jonathan Draper, Isaac R. More, and John Villars of Vermilion county, and Isaac B. Vance of Fountain county, Indiana, are hereby created a body politic and corporate for the purposes mentioned in this act, and all persons who shall become stockholders in this company, according to the provisions of this act, shall be and they are hereby constituted a body politic and corporate by the name of the “Danville and Covington Rail-road Company,” and by that name shall be competent to sue and be sued, plead and be impleaded, answer and be answered unto, in all courts having competent jurisdiction under provisions of this act.

Sec. 2. The said corporation is hereby empowered to construct a Rail-road either with a single or double track from Danville, in Vermilion county, to the State line on the best and most eligible route towards Covington, in Indiana; and the said company is empowered to take, transport, and carry all property and persons upon said rail-road by any power which they may think proper to employ; and are hereby vested with the right and privilege to locate said road upon the ground which they may think most eligible, first having obtained the consent of the owner of said ground to make such location; and in all cases where said Rail-road passes through the property of any individual, he shall be allowed damages, to be assessed in the manner hereinafter provided for.

Sec. 3. That, if the corporation hereby created do not, within two years from the passage of this act, commence the said work, and within ten years finish and complete the same, that then the said corporation shall be null and void.

Sec. 4. That the commissioners, named in the first section of this act, or a majority of them, shall on the first day of May next, or within twenty days thereafter, meet in the town of Danville, in Vermilion county, and fix upon the time for opening books for the subscription of the stock to said corporation. Books shall be opened in the town of Danville, and Covington in Indiana, and in such other towns and cities as said commissioners may think best, upon giving at least thirty days previous notice in some public newspaper printed in such towns or cities where said books are to be opened, or if no paper is printed there, then by posting up written notices in four of the most public places in said town, at which time and place some one of the said commissioners shall attend to the opening of said books, and the said commissioners shall require of the person subscribing for stock in said corporation, to pay five dollars on each share so subscribed for, at the time of subscribing, and shall thereupon give him a certificate, stating the number of shares so subscribed.

Sec. 5. The capital stock of said corporation shall be one hundred thousand dollars, with power to increase the same to two hundred thousand dollars, if said company find it necessary for the completion of said Rail-road, which said stock shall be divided into shares of fifty dollars each, to be called for and paid as the directors of said coporation shall from time to time think best, under such forfeitures as the board may order and direct; and no subscription shall be received for less than two shares, and should the whole amount of the stock not be taken within ten days after the first opening of said books, the said commissioners, or a portion of them, may re-open books at such other times and places as they may think best, giving at least twenty days notice as pointed out in the fourth section of this act.

Sec. 6. The said commissioners, or a majority of them, be and they are hereby authorized by their agents, surveyors, and engineers to cause such examinations and surveys to be made of the ground from Danville to the State line in the direction of Covington in Indiana, as they may think proper, to form an estimate of the cost of making said Rail-road.

Sec. 7. The stock and all the concerns of said corporation shall be managed by nine directors, all being stockholders in said corporation, who shall be chosen by the stockholders of said corporation. After the election of directors, those elected shall meet and choose one from their number to be president of said board, whose duty it shall be to preside in all meetings of said board

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of directors; and in the absence of the president, the board of directors may fill the vacancy by appointing one of the board pro tem. who shall be president until the return of the president. The president and directors of said company shall have power to make such by-laws and rules as to them shall appear needful for the management of the affairs of said corporation, the transfer of stock, the duties and conduct of their officers, agents, and servants, and the election of their officers, and all other matters whatsoever appertaining to the concerns of said corporation: Provided, Said by-laws and rules shall not be contrary to the laws and constitution of this State. The said board of directors shall have power to appoint a secretary, treasurer, and such agents and servants as to them may seem proper; and shall prescribe their duties, and fix and establish their salaries and allowances, and do and perform all such things as may seem best for the welfare of said corporation, not violating any of the provisions of this act.

Sec. 8. As soon as the directors shall have been chosen, and the commissioners, appointed under this act, notified of the same in writing from the said board of directors, then the said commissioners shall immediately pay over to the president and directors of said corporation, or their authorized agent, the whole amount of money received by them on subscription for said stock: Provided, If, upon closing the subscription book, there should be a greater amount of stock subscribed than is authorized by this act, the commissioners hereby appointed shall take the excess from those having the greatest number of shares not being residents of this State.

Sec. 9. The said corporation may purchase and hold such real estate as may by them be deemed necessary for the construction of said Rail-road and transaction of their business, not exceeding six hundred and forty acres of land for timber, coal or any other material which may be necessary for the use of said company.

Sec. 10. The election of directors under this act shall be held at such times in Danville in Vermilion county, as the commissioners hereby appointed for the first election, and the board of directors for all subsequent elections may direct, and the commissioners hereby appointed shall act as judges of the first election, and the directors then elected shall hold their offices for one year and until their successors are elected and qualified. All elections hereafter shall be held under the direction of the president and directors of said corporation. The directors shall be annually elected by the stockholders, either in person or by lawful proxy, and each share shall

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entitle the holder to one vote until he shall have given twenty votes, and one vote for every ten shares over and above that number.

Sec. 11. All elections shall be by ballot, and the nine having the highest number of votes shall be directors, and should any two or more persons have an equal number of votes, then and in that case those who are duly elected shall determine by lot among those having an equal number of votes, who shall be directors; and all vacancies that may happen amongst the directors shall be filled by the remaining directors, or a majority of them. Five directors shall at all times be a quorum to do business for said company.

Sec. 12. Said directors may require the payment of the capital of said corporation, at such times and in such proportions, as to them may seem best calculated to promote the interest of said corporation: Provided, That notice shall be given of the time and place such payment will be required and the proportion required at least sixty days previous to such payment being made, in some public newspaper published in this State, and in such other towns and cities where any stock may have been subscribed.

Sec. 13. It shall be lawful for said corporation to enter upon and take possession of and use such lands and real estate as may be indispensable for the construction and maintenance of said rail-road, and may also hold and dispose of such lands as they may purchase and receive under the provisions of this act: Provided, In all cases when real estate is taken for the use of said corporation, the owner or owners of the same shall be entitled to pay for the same in damages, if any be claimed by said owner or owners, which damages shall be ascertained in the same manner as damages in case of public roads running through the land of individuals, or in any other way agreed on by the parties, in which case the damages shall be payable on demand, together with six per cent. interest per annum until paid.

Sec. 14. The said corporation is hereby authorized to determine the width and dimensions of said rail-road, if the same does not exceed twenty poles in width, together with the necessary premises thereunto, and shall have power to regulate the time and manner in which goods, property and passengers shall be taken and carried upon said rail-road, as also the manner of collecting their tolls and dues for such transportation.

Sec. 15. That the county of Vermilion or State of Illinois,2 after and from ten years from the completion of said rail-road, may purchase from said company at any time thereafter their right and privileges under this act,

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by paying to the said company the cost of the same, together with six per cent. interest per annum thereon, with a view to which the said board of directors shall, after completing said rail-road, make out a full statement in detail of all the expenses incurred in completing the same, which said statement shall be sworn to by the president of the board, and filed with the clerk of the county commissioners’ court of Vermilion county.

Sec. 16. The expenses incurred by the commissioners, appointed under this act, shall be paid out of any moneys received by them for the subscription of stock.

Sec. 17. This act shall be taken and received as a public act by all courts, and shall be construed liberally for all beneficial purposes therein intended; and all real estate, conveyed by said corporation, shall be signed by the president of the said corporation, and shall have affixed thereunto the seal of the said corporation.

Sec. 18. If any person or persons shall willfully do or cause to be done any act or acts whereby to obstruct, injure or endanger any machine, engine, or any other property belonging to said company, the person or persons so offending shall forfeit and pay for every such offence to the said corporation double the amount of damage done or sustained by means of such offence, recoverable in the name of the president and directors of said corporation, with costs of suit by an action of debt, to be brought in any court having jurisdiction thereof, and the person so offending shall also be liable to an indictment for high crime and misdemeanor, and punished as in other cases of this kind.

Sec. 19. It shall be lawful for any other rail-road company now incorporated, or which may hereafter be incorporated, to join and unite with the rail-road hereby created at any point at which the directors of the said companies may think advisable, on such terms as the directors of the companies respectively may agree upon; and in case of a disagreement between the directors of the said companies, then, upon such terms as the circuit court of Vermilion county, in this State, shall, upon a full view of the premises and facts connected with the case, determine to be equitable and just between the said companies.

Sec. 20. The stock of said rail-road shall be considered as personal property, and may be taken for any debt due from any of the stockholders; and the mode of sueing said corporation shall be by summons, and the service thereof shall be by delivering a copy of the same to the president, secretary or treasurer of the said corporation, or in case of their absence, at their place of residence; which said summons shall be served not less than fifteen nor

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more than thirty days from the day set for trial; and the president of said board shall, when called upon by an officer having an execution against any stockholder, disclose to said officer the number of shares owned by such person; and when any sale of such shares is made by an officer under execution, the president of the said board shall make the necessary transfer to the purchaser, and give a certificate for the same: Provided, All demands made against said corporation shall be made at their office or place of doing business.

Sec. 21. That if at any time this corporation shall act contrary to the provisions of this act, or shall in any manner abuse the powers herein granted, it shall be the duty of the attorney general on complaint being made to him in writing, signed by six responsible citizens, setting forth the causes of such complaint, to file an information in the nature of a quo warranto for the purpose of annulling this act and the powers herein granted, which information shall be filed in the circuit court of Vermilion county, but subject to appeal to the supreme court of this State as in other cases.

Sec. 22. The company incorporated under this act shall be entitled to all the privileges hereby granted, for the term of fifty years, and no longer.

Sec. 23. In case it should happen, that an election of directors at any time shall not take place at the time when, pursuant to this act, it ought to have taken place, the said corporation shall not for that cause be dissolved; but such election may take place at any other time directed by the by-laws of said corporation, within three months after the time when it should have been held.

Approved 1st March, 1837.