Papers Of Abraham Lincoln

In force, Feb. 12, 1839.

AN ACT to incorporate the Hanover Academy.
1

Name & style.

Location.

Sec.[Section] 1. Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That James Craig, Seth Patridge, William Robinson, James Armstrong, Daniel Fowler, William Craig, and Samuel Jemison, and their successors, be, and they are hereby, created a body politic and corporate, to be styled and known by the name of “The president and trustees of the Hanover Academy,” and by that style and name to remain and have perpetual succession. The said academy shall be and remain at or near the town of Wapello,

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in Jo Daviess county, and State of Illinois. The number of trustees shall not exceed twelve, one of whom shall be president of the board, to be chosen by the trustees. For the present the above named individuals shall constitute the board of trustees, who shall fill the remaining vacancies at their discretion.

Sec. 2. The objects of said corporation shall be the promotion of the general interest of education.

Powers.

By-laws.

Sec. 3. The corporate powers hereby bestowed shall be such only as are essential or useful in the attainment of said object, and such as are usually conferred on similar bodies corporate, to wit: To have perpetual succession; to make contracts; to sue and be sued, plead and be impleaded; to grant and receive by its corporate name, and to do all other acts as natural persons may; to accept, acquire, purchase, and sell property, real or personal or mixed, in all lawful ways; to use, employ, manage, and dispose of all such property, and all money belonging to said corporation, in such manner as shall seem to the trustees best adapted to promote the objects before mentioned; to have a common seal, and to alter or change the same; to make such by-laws for its regulation as are not inconsistent with the constitution of the United States or of this State; and to confer on such persons as may be considered worthy such academical or honorary degrees as are usually conferred by similar institutions.

Further powers.

Sec. 4. The president and trustees of said corporation shall have authority, from time to time, to prescribe and regulate the studies to be pursued in said academy; to fix the rate of tuition and other academical expenses; to appoint instructors, and such other officers and agents as may be necessary in managing the concerns of the institution; to define their duties, to fix their compensation, and to displace or remove them; to erect necessary buildings; to purchase books, chemical and philosophical apparatus, and other suitable means of instruction; to make rules for the general government of the affairs of the institution, and for the regulation of the conduct of the students.

Vacancies, how filled.

Quorum.

Sec. 5. The trustees for the time being, in order to have perpetual succession, shall have power to fill any vacancy which may occur in the board from deaths, removal, resignation, or any other cause. A majority of the trustees for the time being shall be a quorum to do business.

Treasurer to give bond.

Sec. 6. It shall be the duty of said trustees to appoint one of their number treasurer to the board, who shall be required to give bond, with sufficient security, in such penal sum as the board may prescribe, conditioned for the performance of such duties as the by-laws may require of him.

College open to all.

Sec. 7. The said institution shall be open to all denominations, and the profession of any particular religious faith shall not be required of those who become students; all persons, however, may be suspended or expelled from said institution

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by the trustees thereof, whose habits are idle or vicious, or whose moral character is bad.

Proviso.

Lands held in perpetuity.

Sec. 8. The lands, tenements, and hereditaments to be held in perpetuity, by virtue of this act, by said corporation, shall not exceed six hundred and forty acres: Provided, however, That if any donations, grants, or devises in land shall from time to time be made to said corporation over and above the six hundred and forty acres which may be held in perpetuity as aforesaid, the same may be received and held by said corporation for the period of five years from the date of any such donation, grant, or devise; at the end of which time, if the said land shall not have been sold by the said corporation, then and in that case the said lands so donated, granted, or devised, shall revert to the donor, grantor, or heirs of the devisor of the same.

Sec. 9. This act shall continue and be in force fifty years from and after its passage.

Approved, February 12, 1839.

1Germanicus Kent introduced HB 162 to the House of Representatives on January 19, 1839, and the House referred it to the Committee on the Judiciary. The committee reported back on January 22 and recommended an amendment to which the House concurred. The House passed the bill on January 24. The Senate passed the bill on February 7. The Council of Revision approved the bill on February 12 and the act became law.
Illinois House Journal. 1838. 11th G.A., 1st sess., 238, 256, 272, 274, 368, 385, 392; Illinois Senate Journal. 1838. 11th G.A., 1st sess., 221-222, 283, 293, 313.