Papers Of Abraham Lincoln

In force 4h March, 1837.

AN ACT for the benefit of Wayne county.
1

$1000 appropriation to Wayne co. how to be expended.

Sec.[Section] 1. Be it enacted by the people of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That the appropriation of one thousand dollars made to the county of Wayne, out of the Vermilion Saline funds, approved the 19th January 1829, to be applied under the direction of the county commissioners court of said county, as follows viz: four hundred dollars towards building a bridge across the little Wabash river at Leech’s mills, and improving the state road from Fairfield towards said mills.2

Roads & bridges.

Sec. 2. One hundred dollars towards improving the road, and building bridges between Fairfield and the Wayne county line, in the direction to Maysville.

Bridge across Skillet Fork.

Sec. 3. Three hundred dollars towards building a bridge across the Skillet Fork at or near Maulding’s mill.3

Sec. 4. And the balance of said appropriation to be expended under the direction of said court, towards building bridges, and improving the roads in said county.4

Approved 4th March, 1837.

1Daniel Turney introduced the bill, originally entitled “A Bill to Improve the Navigation of the Rivers Therein Named,” in the House of Representatives on February 13, 1837. The House referred the bill to the Committee on Internal Improvements. The Committee on Internal Improvements reported back the bill on March 2 with amendments, in which the House concurred. On March 3, the House passed the bill as amended, amending the title so as to read “A Bill for the Benefit of Wayne County.” The Senate concurred on March 4. On March 4, the Council of Revision approved the bill, and the act became law.
Illinois House Journal. 1836. 10th G. A., 1st sess., 575, 797, 834, 852, 855; Illinois Senate Journal. 1836. 10th G. A., 1st sess., 635.

2Samuel Leech built and operated the mills under authority from the General Assembly in an act passed in 1835. In 1840, the House of Representatives considered a bill authorizing Leech to build a toll bridge across the Little Wabash.

3Ennis Maulding operated this mill.

4Selling portions of the Saline Reserve Lands and appropriating the proceeds for public works was a forerunner of the Illinois Internal Improvement System. In 1827, the General Assembly petitioned Congress for permission to sell 30,000 acres in either Gallatin County or Vermilion County. An area on the Vermilion River in Vermilion County was eventually selected for sale, and the General Assembly, anticipating congressional approval, enacted a law in 1829 establishing the mechanism for the sale and appropriating the revenue received therefrom. Sections ten, eleven, twelve, and thirteen appropriated the proceeds to various counties. Section twelve had authorized the County Commissioners’ Court of Wayne County to expend the $1,000 appropriated on improving the navigation of the Little Wabash River from the Beach Bluff to Carmi, Illinois.
“An Act concerning the Saline Reserves, a Penitentiary, and the Improvement of Certain Navigable Streams,” 15 February 1827, The Revised Code of Laws, of Illinois (1827), 353-60;“An Act Providing for the Sale of the Vermilion Saline Reserve, and Appropriating the Avails Thereof,” 19 January 1829, The Revised Code of Laws, of Illinois (1829), 143-49.