Papers Of Abraham Lincoln

In force, Mar.[March] 2, 1839.

AN ACT for the benefit of Jefferson county.
1

Preamble.

Whereas it is enacted by the fifteenth clause of the eighteenth section of “An act to establish and maintain a general system of internal improvement,” approved February 27, 1837, that there shall be appropriated the sum of two hundred thousand dollars, of the first moneys that shall be obtained under the provisions of this act, to be drawn by the several counties, in a rateable proportion to the census last made, through which no railroad or canal is provided to be made at the expense of the State of Illinois; which said money shall be expended in the improvements of roads, constructing bridges and other public works: and whereas the county of Jefferson is one of those counties through which no railroad or canal passes, except that the Central railroad, as last surveyed, (and which route, (it) is understood, is the one that will be selected,) strikes the northern line of said county of Jefferson about one hundred yards from the northwest corner of said county, and running in said county about four hundred yards, and then leaving said county on the west side—proof of which can be had by reference to the map of the survey of the engineer on the Central railroad—thereby leaving Mount Vernon, the seat of justice of said county, about sixteen miles:2 Therefore,

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Clause of section made applicable to Jefferson co.

Sec.[Section] 1. Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That the provisions of the fifteenth clause of the eighteenth section of the act aforesaid shall be, and the same is hereby, construed to apply to the county of Jefferson the same as if no railroad or canal touched said county.

Duty of Fund Commissioners.

Sec. 2. The Fund Commissioners3 are hereby authorized and required to issue their warrants on the Bank of Illinois, or any other place wherein said money may be deposited, for whatever amount the said county of Jefferson may be entitled to, upon the order of the county commissioners of said county; and their receipt, or the receipt of any person whom they may authorize to receive said money, shall be good and effectual as against the said county of Jefferson.

Proviso.

Sec. 3. If any act shall be passed at the present session of the General Assembly authorizing the survey or location of the Central railroad through Mount Vernon or its vicinity,4 this act shall be void: Provided, That the share of said funds to which the county of Jefferson would be entitled shall be reserved by the Fund Commissioners until the final decision of the Board of Public Works5 as to the relocation of said road through said county.6

Sec. 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.

Approved, March 2, 1839.

1Harvey T. Pace introduced HB 195 in the House of Representatives on January 24, 1839. The House referred it to the Committee on Internal Improvements on February 13. The Committee on Internal Improvements reported back the bill on February 19 with an amendment, in which the House concurred. On February 26, the House amended the third section by striking out “Jefferson County,” and inserting in lieu thereof “Mount Vernon of its Vicinity.” The House passed the bill as amended. The Senate passed the bill on February 28. The Council of Revision approved the bill on March 2 and the act became law.
Illinois House Journal. 1838. 11th G. A., 1st sess., 276, 396, 437, 473, 529, 567, 588, 597; Illinois Senate Journal. 1838. 11th G. A., 1st sess., 437-38, 462, 495.

2By December 1838, the fund commissioners had distributed $145,510 of the appropriated $200,000. Jefferson County was not among the sixteen counties receiving payment. There appears to be some discrepancy on the amount appropriated. Krenkel and the Sangamo Journal cite the total as $144,700, but a tabulation of the figures printed in the Sangamo Journal results in $145,510.
Sangamo Journal 12 January 1839, 2:1; John H. Krenkel, Illinois Internal Improvements 1818-1848 (Cedar Rapids, IA: Torch, 1958), 83-84.

3Section one of the internal improvement act created a three-person board of fund commissioners to negotiate loans, buy and sell bonds, deposit and withdraw money, and administer the various fiscal aspects of the internal improvement program.

4On February 26, 1839, the House of Representatives amended this section by striking out “Jefferson County,” and inserting in lieu thereof “Mount Vernon, or its vicinity”.
Illinois House Journal. 1838. 11th G. A., 1st sess., 529.

5Section four of the internal improvement act created a seven-person board of public works to promote, maintain, supervise, and direct the system of internal improvements.

6In January and February 1839, the House of Representatives considered a bill that would have routed the Illinois Central through Mount Vernon. The House refused to read this bill a third time, leaving Jefferson County without the Illinois Central. Nevertheless, the county did not get a proportionate share of the $200,000, receiving only $150, and this meager amount only forthcoming thanks to the tirelessly efforts of Harvey T. Pace.
Illinois House Journal. 1838. 11th G. A., 1st sess., 427; William H. Perrin, History of Jefferson County, Illinois (Chicago: Globe, 1883), 212.