Sec[Section] Be it enacted by the people of the State of Illinois represented, in the General Assembly, That Henry L Kinney, Cyrus Langworthy, Thomas S Elston, John M Gay, De Grass Salisbury, Daniel King, John H Bryant, W^m H Henderson, Edward Kilbourn[,] Miles W. Conway, John W Spencer and George Davenport and such other persons as may associate themselves with them for that purpose, be and they are hereby constituted a body politic and corporate by the name and Style of “the Illinois and Rock Island rail road Company” for the purpose of constructing a rail road from the Illinois river at or near the foot of the rapids via Princeton to the Mississippi River at, or near or some where near the mouth of Rock River, To transport, take and carry property and persons upon the same by the power and force of Steam, of Animals, or of any other power they may choose to employ, And by that name ^they^ and their successors, shall be and hereby are vested with the right and privilege of constructing and using the said road, for the purposes aforesaid, from, and to the points comprised with the limits before mentioned, and may have succession, and shall be persons in law capable of

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contracting and being contracted with, suing and being sued, pleading and be impleaded in all Courts of law and Equity, and in all manner of actions, and that they and their successors may have a common seal and may change and alter the same at their pleasure

Sec 2 That if the said corporation, hereby created shall not construct or finish, any part or parts of said road, as they may select, and put in operation the same, within ten years from the passage of this act, then the said corporation shall thenceforth and forever cease, and this act to be null and void

Sec 3 The capitol stock of said Company shall be one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, with liberty to increas the same from time to time, by new subscriptions in such manner and form as they shall think proper if such increas shall be found necessary to fulfil the intent of this act and the Capitol Stock shall be divided into shares of one hundred dollars each, which shall be deemed personal property; and transferable in such manner as the said corporation shall, by law direct

Sec 4 That Benjamin H. Moses of Ottawa[,] Henry L Kinney of Peru, Justin H Olds of

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Princeton, George B Willis of Hennepin, Jesse C. Smith of Columbia, Joseph Conway of stephenson[,] John Dixon of Dixon, Jesse J Cox of Peoria and Edward Kilbourn of Henry County shall be commissioners, the duty of whome or a majority of them; it shall be to open books at their respective towns or at such other places as they shall deem necessary and proper, to receive subscription to the Capitol Stock of said corporation, and to do such other things, as in their opinion is best calculated to get the said Stock taken upSixty days public notice shall be given by said commissioners of the time and place of opening said Books, in one of the public newspapers in or near each of said places, The commissioners shall receive no subscriptions unless one dollar on each Share subscribed, be paid at the time of subscribing, and as soon as the Capitol Stock shall be subscribed to give a like notice for a meeting of the Stockholders to choose five directors, and such election shall be made at the time and place appointed, by such of the Stockholders as shall attend for that purpose either in person or by lawful proxey, each share of the Capitol Stock entitling each stockholder to one vote

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And the said commissioners shall be inspectors of the first election of directors of said Company, and shall certify under their hands the names of those duly elected, and deliver over the Subscription books to said Directors, And the time and place of holding the first meeting of the Directors, shall be fixed by Said Commissioners, and the directors to be chosen at such meeting, or at such annual election, shall as soon as may be after every election, choose out of their own number, one President and one other person to be vice President, and in case of death, resignation or removal of the President, vice President, or of any director, such vacancy or vacancies may be filled for the reminder of the year when ever they may happen by the directors and in case of the absence of the President and Vice President the board of directors shall have power to appoint a President pro-tempore who shall have and exercise such powers, and functions as the bye-laws of the said corporation may provide

Sec 5 It Shall be lawful for the directors to require payment of the sums subscribed to the Capitol Stock, at such times, and in such proportions, and on such conditions as they shall deem fit, under the penalty of the forfeiture

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of all previous payments made thereon, and shall give notice of the payments thus required and of the place and time when and where the same are to be paid, at least ninety days previous to the payment of the same, in some of the public newspapers in ^this^ State, nearest to those places where the books of the Company may have been opened for subscriptions to the Capitol stock

Sec 6 That in case it should at any time happen that an election of Directors shall not be made on any ^day^ on which, in pursuance of this act, it ought to be made, the said corporation shall not for that cause be deemed to be dissolved, but such election may be held at any other time directed by said the bye-laws of said Corporation

Sec 7 That five of the directors of said Corporation shall form a board, and they or a majority of them shall be competent to transact all business of the corporation, and they Shall have full power to make and prescribe such bye-laws, rules, and regulations, as to them Shall appear needful and proper touching the management and disposition of the Stock, property and effects of Said Corporation the transfer of Shares, and touching the duties and conduct of their officers, and servants, and the election of directors, and all other matters whatsoever

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which may appertain to the concerns of the said corporation, and also shall have power to appoint a Secretary, and as many Clerks and Servants, as to them may seem proper, and to establish and fix such sallaries and allowances to them, and also to the President and Vice President as to the Said board may appear proper

Sec 8 That said corporation be and they are hereby authorized, by their agents, surveyors and engineers to cause such examinations and surveys to be made of the ground lying within with the aforesaid limits, prescribed in the first section of this act as shall be necessary to determine the most advantageous route for the proper line or course, whereon to construct their said road, and it shall be lawful for the said corporation to enter upon and take possession of, and use, all such real estate as may be indispensible for the construction of the work, and maintainance of their said road, and the accommodations requisite and appertaining to them, and may also hold and take all such voluntary grants and donations of land and real estate, as shall be made to the said corporation, to aid in the construction[,] maintenance, and accommodation of their aid road, Provided that all lands

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and real estate thus entered and taken possession of, and used by said Corporation of the owners of the same, and which are not donations, shall be purchased by said Corporation, of the owners of the same at a price mutually agreed upon between them and in case of disagreement as to price, it shall be the duty of the Governor of this state upon a notice given him by the said Corporation to appoint three Commissioners, who shall be persons not interested in the matter, to be determined by them, to determine the damages which the owner or owners of the land or real estate so entered upon by the said corporation has or have sustained by the occupation of the same, and upon the payment of such damages, together with the costs and charges attending the appraisment by the said corporation. The Commissioners being allowed three dollars per day, while thus employed, or upon the said corporation depositing in the Treasury of the County, in which the land lies, the amount of said damages, together with the cost and charges aforesaid, to the credit of the person or persons to whome the commissioners may have awarded them, the said County treasurer shall give notice to such person or persons by letter

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of such desposite, being made by the said Corporation, then the said Corporation, shall be deemed to be seized and possessed of the fee simple of all such lands, or real estate as shall have been appraised by said Commissioners; and it shall be the duty of said Commissioners or a majority of them, to deliver to said Corporation or a majority of them a written Statement of the award or awards they shall make with a description of the land or real estate appraised, to be recorded by said Corporation, in the Clerks office of the of the County in which the land or real estate may be, That in case any owner or owners of land or real estate so appraised shall be femes Covert, under age or non compos mentis, or out of this State, then, and, in that case the said Corporation shall pay the amount which shall leave been awarded as due to the last mentioned owners aforesaid, whenever the same shall be lawfully demanded, together with interest at the rate of six per cent per annum,2

Sec 9 That the said Corporation be and they are hereby authorized to construct, and use a road of suitable width and dimensions to be determined by the said Corporation within the limits prescribed in the first section of this act, and shall have power to regulate

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the time and manner, in which goods and passengers shall be transported, taken and carried on the same as well as the manner they shall collect all tolls, and dues, on account of transportation and carrige, and shall have power to erect and maintain toll houses and other buildings for the accomodations of their concerns, as they may deem suitable to their interest, and to collect tolls as soon as any part thereof shall be finished

Sec 10 That the President and directors of said Company (if it shall be so decided by a full Majority of all the stockholders therein voting as above provided) shall cause to be constructed a double or single rail road, or way, along the same route as they may think proper, which shall be subject to the same rules and regulations as herein provided

Sec 11 That whenever it shall be necessary for the construction of their rail road, to intersect any road or high way, it shall be lawful for said Corporation to construct said rail road or tract way across or upon the same, but ^the ^ Corporation shall restore the road or highway thus intersected to its former state, sufficiently so, as not to obstruct its usefulness in any way or respect whatsoever

Sec 12 It shall be lawful for any Rail, Road Company which may hereafter be

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incorporated or the state of Illinois, to join and unite with the rail Road or tract hereby created and incorporated, at any point at which the directors of the Company hereafter to be incorporated, may think advisable, on such [terms?], as the directors of the two Companies may respectively agree, upon, and in case of a disagreement between the directors of the two Companies or the State, then and in that case upon such [ times ?] ^terms^ as the Circuit Court of the County in which the intersection may be, shall, upon a full view and hearing of all the facts connected with the case, determine to be equitable between them, And the state hereby reserves the right to purchase at any time the one third part or the whole of said road from said company paying said company the whole amount expended by them on said works together with six per cent per annum thereon

Sec 13 That if any person or persons shall wilfully do or cause to be done, any act or acts whatever, whereby, any building, construction, or work of the said corporation; or any engine, machine, structure, or any matter or thing appertaining to the same shall be stopped, obstructed, impaired or weakened, injured or

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destroyed, the person or persons so offending shall forfeit and pay the said Corporation double the amount of damages sustained by means of such office, or injury, to be recovered in the name of said Corporation, with costs of suit, by action of debt, to be brought before any court of record in this State, or before any Justice of the peace in the counties where such injury accrued, and the person or persons so offending shall be deemed guilty of misdemeanor and liable to fine and imprisonment

Sec 14 That this act shall be deemed a public act, and shall be [benignly?] and favorably construed, for the purposes therein expressed and declared, in all Court and places whatsoever