Papers Of Abraham Lincoln

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sec[section] 1 Be it enacted by the people of the state of Illinois represented in the general assembly that so much of any acts as now do or hereafter may subject the state Bank of Illinois to the forfeiture of its charter for failing or refusing to pay or redeem it notes or debts in specie shall be and the same are hereby suspended until the close of the next general or special session of the general assembly (or until the Banks ^of other States^ generally shall have [~~...~~?] specie payments [?] shall be [~~...~~?] by the [~~...~~?] of ^the Governor:))^ Provided that nothing herein contained shall be so construed as to prevent the recovery of the amount of any note or debt due from such Bank with interest thereon as provided by law

sec 2 The said Bank shall not during the period of her suspension as aforesaid have at any one time a greater amount of [~~Aux~~?] notes or paper in circulation than the amount of her capital stock actually paid in and shall not during the same time declare a dividend of more than six per cent per annum and if any interest or profit during said period to a greater amount than six per cent per annum ^shall accrue^ the same shall be added to the

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reserved fund any violation of this section shall [?] the immediate forfeiture of the charter of said Bank

sec 3 That said Bank shall furnish to the Governor of this state once in every two months a statement of its condition on the oath of the President or Cashier showing the change which may have taken place and the amount of bad and doubtful debts which may have accrued or shall have been ascertained which statement shall be published

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A Bill for an act concerning the State Bank of Illinois

1On July 11, 1837, James Semple laid before the House of Representatives a petition from the directors of the State Bank of Illinois requesting that the General Assembly suspend the penalty --forfeiture of the Bank’s charter--if the Bank suspended specie payments for more than sixty days. The House referred the petition to the Committee on Finance. In response to the petition, William Moore of the Committee of Finance introduced HB 1 in the House on July 12. The House voted 49 to 31 to read the bill a second time, Abraham Lincoln voting in the negative. The House tabled the bill and ordered 250 copies printed. On July 13, the House referred the bill to a committee of the Whole House and made it the order of the day for July 14. Later that same day the House re-considered this action. James Shields offered a substitute. The House tabled the substitute and ordered 150 copies printed. On July 17, the House took up the bill and proposed substitute. Parvin Paullin proposed an amendment to the substitute. The House referred the bill, proposed substitute, and proposed amendment to a committee of the Whole House and made them the order of the day for July 18. Later that same day the House re-considered this action. The House adopted Paullin’s amendment 54 to 30, Lincoln voting in the negative. Lincoln proposed an amendment to Paullin’s amendment, which the House rejected by a vote of 29 yeas to 59 nays, Lincoln voting yea. The House approved Robert Smith’s amendment and William G. Reddick’s amendment. The House approved Henry Madden’s amendment 50 to 35, Lincoln voting in the negative. The House rejected a motion to table the bill, substitute, and amendments until July 4 by a vote of 40 yeas to 46 nays, Lincoln voting nay. The House rejected William Moore’s amendment to strike out the substitute and amendments and amend the original bill. The House struck out the original bill and adopted Shield’s substitute as amended. The House referred the amended bill to a select committee. The select committee reported back the bill on July 20 with amendments, in which the House concurred. The House tabled the bill and amendments.
Journal of the House of Representatives of the Tenth General Assembly of the State of Illinois, at a Special Session of the General Assembly, Begun and Held in the Town of Vandalia, July 10, 1837 (Vandalia, IL: William Walters, 1837), 14, 18-19, 28, 29-32, 90-91, 98-102, 132.