In force March 4th, 1837
AN ACT to amend an act entitled “An act to incorporate the Galena and Chicago Union Rail-road Company,” approved 16th January, 1836.
1Capital stock to be increased
Sec.[Section] 1. Be it enacted by the people of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That the capital stock of the Galena and Chicago Union Rail-road Company be and the same is hereby authorized to be increased to a sum not exceeding one million
of dollars in addition to its present capital, with the assent of the stockholders
of the said company, to enable them to complete the construction of the roads authorized by the charter of said company.2
Time for completion of road
Company may hold lands granted to them
May erect toll houses, &c[etc.]
Sec. 2. The said additional capital stock shall be taken under and according to the provisions
of the third section of the original act of incorporation, and the time for the final completion of said road is extended five years;3 and the said company, having applied to the United States for a right of way over the public lands, may receive, take, and hold all such lands as may be ceded or granted to said company by the United States, or by individuals, for the purpose of enabling them to construct
said road, or to erect thereon depots, toll-houses, and for such other purposes and uses as
may be deemed necessary and useful to said company; and they may dispose of any fractional or surplus portion thereof, if any there
should be, whenever it shall appear that so much thereof is not absolutely necessary
to be retained, whereon to construct said road, and erect such depots, toll-houses,
and other appendages, to raise additional means wherewith to enable said company to construct said road in the best possible manner.
Company may intersect with Central Rail-road
Proviso.
Sec. 3. Should it appear impracticable for the said company to construct the said road the whole of the distance contemplated by said act, or that it would be more advantageous to the company or the public interest, that the said Rail-road should be connected with the State
Central Rail-road,4 then the said company are authorized to terminate the said road at such point as shall be deemed most practicable;
and may intersect and construct the said road with the said Central Rail-road in
its course to Galena: Provided, Nothing contained in the provisions of this act shall authorize the said company to have, purchase, receive or hold any land upon any line of any Rail-road authorized
to be constructed by the State, nor to construct any Rail-road upon or near the same line or any road authorized
to be constructed by the state.5
Approved, 4th March, 1837.
1On February13, 1837, Peter Pruyne introduced SB 208, originally titled “An act to locate certain state roads and for other purposes,”
in the Senate. The Senate referred the bill to a select committee. The select committee reported
back the bill on March 1 with an amendment, in which the Senate concurred. On March
2, the Senate passed the bill as amended, amending the title so as to read, “A Bill
to Amend an Act Entitled ‘An Act to Incorporate the Galena and Chicago Union Rail-road Company,’ Approved January 16, 1836.” and referred it to the House of Representatives. On March 2, the House of Representatives passed the bill without amendment. On March 4, the Council of Revision approved the bill, and the act became law.
Illinois House Journal. 1836. 10th G. A., 1st sess., 804, 809, 842; Illinois Senate Journal. 1836. 10th G. A., 1st sess., 404, 562, 584, 595, 625-26, 639-40.
2Section three of the incorporation act set the capital stock at $100,000, with the stipulation that it could be increased
to a sum not exceeding $1 million if deemed necessary to complete the railroad.
3Section twenty of the incorporation act allowed the company three years to commence construction of the railroad from the passage of the act,
and ten years to complete it.
4Section eighteen, sub-section seven, of the internal improvement act appropriated $3,500,000 for a central railroad from Cairo to the termination of the Illinois & Michigan Canal.
5Other sub-sections of section eighteen of the internal improvement act appropriate money for branch railroads connecting to the central railroad. These
railroad were to form the foundation of the internal improvement system.
Printed Document, 1 page(s), Incorporation Laws of the State of Illinois, Passed at a Session of the General Assembly (Vandalia, IL: William Walters, 1837), 291, GA Session: 10-1