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In force 15th Feb.[February], 1837.
AN ACT authorizing the election of additional Notaries Public, Justices of the Peace, Constables and surveyors, in Madison and other counties.
1
Duty of governor.
To appoint notaries public.
Sec.[Section] 1. Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That it shall be the duty of the governor, by and with the consent of the Senate, to appoint one additional notary public in the town of Alton, and one notary public in the town of Upper Alton in the county of Madison, one additional notary public in the town of Jacksonville, and one notary public in the town of Beardstown in Morgan county, and one notary public in the town of Quincy2, whose duties and term of service shall be the same as are now regulated by law.3
Clerk to issue writs of election.
Sec. 2. The clerk of the county commissioners court of Madison county, is hereby authorised and required to issue writs of election for two additional justices of the peace and constables, in the town of Alton, and two additional justices of the peace and constables in the Upper Alton precinct, at such time as he may be requested by application from not less than twenty-five legal voters of said town or precinct, which justices of the peace and constables when elected, shall continue in office and be governed according to the laws now in force, or that may be hereafter enacted regulating the duties of justices of the peace and constables.4
No. to be elected
Sec. 3. At the next regular election for justices of the
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peace and constables in said county, and every regular election thereafter, there shall be elected four justices of the peace and constables in the town of Alton, and four justices of the peace and constables in the Upper Alton precinct, one of which justices of the peace and constables, shall not reside within the limits of the town of Upper Alton.
Time of election.
Sec. 4. There shall be elected on the first Monday in April next, and at every regular election thereafter, a surveyor for townships No. five and six, north of ranges No. nine and ten, west of the third principal meridian, who shall continue in office and have the same powers and be governed by the laws now in force, or that may hereafter be enacted regulating the duties of county surveyors; and it shall be the duty of the clerk of the county commissioners court of said county of Madison, to issue writs of election to all the precincts coming within the before described townships, giving the same notice now required by law for the election of county surveyor.5
Duty of surveyor.
Sec. 5. It shall be the duty of the surveyor elected by virtue of this act, to reside either in the town of Alton, Middleton or Upper Alton.
Sec. 6. Townships 18 north, of range 12 west, of the third principal meridan in Morgan county, is hereby made a justices district by the name of the Beardstown justices district.
Beardstown.
Sec. 7. There shall be elected on the first Monday in April next, one justice of the peace, and one constable in said district at the Beardstown Hotel; and at every regular election for justices of the peace and constables hereafter, there shall be elected two justices of the peace and two constables in said district, whose powers and duties shall be the same as other justices of the peace and constables, in the county of Morgan.6
Writ of election.
Sec. 8. The clerk of the county commissioners court of Morgan county, is hereby required to issue a writ of election for the election of the justice of the peace and constable in said district.
Approved 15th February, 1837.7
1Robert Smith introduced HB 135 in the House of Representatives on January 17, 1837. The House referred it to a select committee. The select committee reported back the bill on January 21 with an amendment, in which the House concurred. On February 3, the House amended the bill by inserting after the words “Morgan County” in the first section, the words “one notary public in the town of Quincy.” The House passed the bill as amended, amending the title by adding the words “ and other counties.” The Senate concurred on February 11. On February 15, the Council of Revision approved the bill and the act became law.
Illinois House Journal. 1836. 10th G.A., 1st sess., 283, 317-18, 384, 465, 556, 571, 605; Illinois Senate Journal. 1836. 19th G.A., 1st sess., 352, 375, 387, 396, 400-401.
2On February 3, 1837, the House of Representatives amended the bill by adding provision for Quincy.
Illinois House Journal. 1836. 10th G.A., 1st sess., 465.
3An 1828 Illinois law provided for a notary public in each county and gave the governor power to appoint notaries in the event of vacancies. In 1839, the legislature passed a new law that allowed any town, village, or township with fifty legal voters to petition the governor to name a notary public to meet their growing local needs.
“An Act for the Appointment of Notaries Public,” approved 30 December 1828,” The Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois (1839), 512; An Act to Provide for the Appointment of Notaries Public .
4Illinois law provided for the election of from two to eight justices of the peace in each district.
“An Act to Provide for the Election of Justices of the Peace and for Constables,” approved 30 December 1826, The Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois (1839), 399-402.
5Illinois law provided for an election of one surveyor in each county every four years.
“An Act to Provide for the Election of County Recorders and Surveyors,” approved 11 February 1835, The Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois (1839), 557.
6Illinois law provided for the election of from two to eight justices of the peace in each district.
“An Act to Provide for the Election of Justices of the Peace and for Constables,” approved 30 December 1826, The Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois (1839), 399-402.
7On February 3, 1837, the House of Representatives amended the title of the bill by adding the words “and other counties.”
Illinois House Journal. 1836, 10th G.A., 1st sess., 465.

Printed Document, 2 page(s), Laws of the State of Illinois, Passed by the Tenth General Assembly (Vandalia, IL: William Walters, 1837), 116-17, GA Session: 10-1