Sec.[Section] 1. Be it enacted by the people of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That Joseph Green, William H. H. Stuart, Edward Roslin Stuart, Alphonso D. Carlos Stuart, their associates, successors, and assigns, be, and they are hereby constituted a body politic and corporate, by the name of the “St. Clair Silk Company,” and by that name shall have power to contract and be contracted with, sue and be sued, plead and be impleaded, answer and be answered, defend and be defended, in all courts of law and equity in this State; and to make, have, and use a common seal, and the same to alter and renew at pleasure; and shall continue and exist as such, from and after the passage of this act, for the term of twenty years.

Sec. 2. The said company are hereby authorized to enter into, and carry on the cultivation of the mulberry, and all its varieties; to make silk therefrom; to manufacture the same into all the various articles of commerce, and to export the same; to erect mills, works, machinery, and such other buildings as may be necessary to carry on effectually their business; and to enter into all contracts which may concern the use and management of said property.

Sec. 3. The capital stock of said company shall be fifty thousand dollars, with power to increase the same, at the

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pleasure of said company, to any amount not exceeding one hundred thousand dollars.

Sec. 4. The stock, property, and concerns of said corporation shall be managed and conducted by five directors, who shall, or a majority of them, constitute a board, and be competent to the transaction of all business, and may, from time to time, make and prescribe such by-laws, rules and regulations, relative to the concerns of said corporation, as may be deemed by them necessary; and shall also regulate the duties of their agents and clerks, and all others by them employed.

Sec. 5. The aforesaid Joseph Green, William H. H. Stuart, Edward Roslin Stuart, Alphonso D. Carlos Stuart, shall be directors from the time this act takes effect, and until succeeded by others, who shall be elected by the stockholders or their proxies, on the second Monday in June next, and annually thereafter; but in case said election should not be so held, this charter shall not be forfeited; but an election may be held at any time within three months thereafter, on the call of any two stockholders, given in a newspaper printed in Belleville, St. Clair county, or in any other nearest the aforesaid place.

Sec. 6. Immediately after the directors are chosen as above, they shall hold a meeting, at which, and at all subsequent meetings, a majority shall constitute a quorum; they shall proceed to the election of a president from their number; a secretary, who shall be sworn by a justice of the peace to the faithful discharge of his duty, and who shall record all votes of the corporation in a book to be by him kept for that purpose; a treasurer, who shall give bond in such amount, and in such manner, as the said president and directors shall direct; and appoint such other officers and agents, as to them may seem proper.

Sec. 7. The capital stock of said company shall be divided into shares of one hundred dollars each, and each share shall be entitled to one vote.

Sec. 8. The establishment of said corporation for the cultivation and manufacture of the articles aforesaid, shall be located in St. Clair county, as the directors, or a majority of them, may deem most advantageous.

Sec. 9. That the general place of meeting for said company shall be at Belleville; but the president and directors of said company may select such other place as to them may seem fit, for the general purposes of said company, but not as permanent places.

Sec. 10. The corporation shall at all times keep proper books of account, in which shall be registered all the transactions of said corporation; and it shall be the duty of said directors to make annual dividends, or at such other times

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as a majority of them may direct, of the profits of said company; and the said directors shall, at least every six months, exhibit a full and complete statement of debts and cre[d]its, and such other matters as may be deemed essential relating to the affairs of the company.

Sec. 11. The corporation hereby created by this act shall be capable, and are hereby authorized to purchase, hold, and convey, any estate, real and personal, or mixed, that may be necessary to enable them to carry on, efficiently, its business, as defined in this act, and for no other purpose whatever.

Sec. 12. The stock of said company shall be deemed personal property, and assignable and transferrable on the books of the corporation; but no stockholder indebted to the corporation shall be permitted to make a transfer, until such debt be paid to the satisfaction of said directors.

Approved 4th March, 1837.