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In force 4th March, 1837
AN ACT for the relief of Rene Paul, and others.
1
Duty of auditor
Reni Paul $480
Sec.[Section] 1. Be it enacted by the people of the State of Illinois represented in the General Assembly, That the auditor of public accounts is hereby directed to issue his warrant on the treasurer of the state, to be paid from the canal fund2 in favor of Rene Paul for the sum of four hundred and eighty dollars, being the sum of four dollars per day to be paid to him for the time actually employed in the service of the State, under its authority, as engineer in surveying and delineating the canal route from Lake Michigan to the Illinois river, in the years 1823 and 1824.
John Waddel $45
M Thompson, E Thompson, A. Waddel & J. Watson $24 each
L. Bailey $56
Sec. 2. There shall be paid to John Waddel the sum of forty-five dollars, for a boat furnished, and forty dollars for work and labor done for the canal commissioners in 1823 and 1824: also to Willis Thompson, Elijah Thompson, Andrew Waddel, and J. Watson the sum of twenty four dollars each, and to Lewis Bailey the sum of fifty-six dollars for services rendered the said canal commissioners, which shall be in full for all service rendered, to be paid out of the canal fund, as provided in the first section of this act.3
Aparoved 4th March, 1837.
1On January 2, 1837, John D. Whiteside introduced SB 40 in the Senate, and the Senate referred it to the Committee on Canals and Canal Lands. The Committee on Canals and Canal Lands reported back the bill on January 23 with an amendment to strike out the second section, in which the Senate concurred. On January 24, the Senate passed the bill as amended, amending the title by striking out the words “and others.” On January 27, the House of Representatives referred the bill to the Committee on Finance, of which Abraham Lincoln was a member. The Committee on Finance reported back the bill on January 31 without amendment, recommending its passage . On February 6, the House referred the bill to a select committee. The select committee reported back the bill on February 10 with an amendment. On February 11, the House amended the proposed amendment by adding the words “To be Paid out of the Canal fund as provided in the first section of this act.” The House referred the bill and proposed amendment to another select committee. The select committee reported back the bill on February 23 with amendments. The House concurred in the first select committee’s amendment as amended, and passed the bill as amended. The House amended the title by adding the words “and others.” On March 2, the Senate concurred with the House amendments. On March 4, the Council of Revision approved the bill and the act became law.
Illinois House Journal. 1836. 10th G. A., 1st sess., 373, 411, 434, 489, 549, 552, 679-80, 805, 842; Illinois Senate Journal. 1836. 10th G. A., 1st sess., 139, 273-75, 286, 497, 539-540, 584, 625-626, 639-640.
2The canal fund consisted of the money borrowed by the State, the proceeds from the sale of canal stock and canal lands, as well as all revenue arising from the canal in the form of tolls. This fund was to be used for construction and maintenance of the canal, and no other purposes.
“An Act to Provide for Constructing the Illinois and Michigan Canal,” 22 January 1829, Revised Code of Laws, of Illinois (1829), 14-18; John H. Krenkel, Illinois Internal Improvements, 1818-1848 (Cedar Rapids, IA: Torch Press, 1958), 40.
3On February 23, 1837, the House of Representatives amended the bill by adopting an amendment adding this section.
Illinois House Journal. 1836. 10th G. A., 1st sess., 679-80.
In 1823, the Board of Canal Commissioners hired civil engineers Justus Post and Rene Paul to survey the route of the Illinois and Michigan Canal and prepare cost estimates for construction of the canal. According to the Senate Committee on Canals and Canal Lands, which investigated the situation in 1837, Post was paid for his services in a timely manner but Paul was not. The General Assembly considered bills to pay one or both of the men in 1835 and 1836, before passing this law to compensate Paul and others. In 1841, the legislature again considered a bill to provide compensation to Post, but the bill did not pass.
Illinois Senate Journal. 1836. 10th G. A., 1st sess., 273-75.

Printed Document, 1 page(s), Laws of the State of Illinois, Passed by the Tenth General Assembly (Vandalia, IL: William Walters, 1837), 190, GA Session: 10-1