Sec.[Section] 1. Be it enacted by the people of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That Jacob B. Merrick, Richard J. Wells, Jeremiah Price, Henry Green, Allen H. Howard2, Artemus Doane,John G. Castu , and their associates and successors, be, and they are hereby constituted a body corporate and politic, by the name and title of the Kankakee Manufacturing Company, to be located in the town of Kankakee, La Salle county, and by that name and title shall have power to sue and be sued, contract and be contracted with, plead and be impleaded, defend and be defended, answer and be answered unto, in all courts of law and equity having competent jurisdiction.

Sec. 2. The said company shall be vested with full power to erect a dam across the Kankakee river, in said town of Kankakee, of such height and on such a plan as shall not obstruct the ordinary navigation of said stream, or interfere either with private or public rights to erect mills, furnaces, machine shops, and all other machinery for the purpose of transacting all kinds of manufacturing business which they shall deem proper, to give and receive promissory notes, to purchase, take, and hold such property, either real, personal, or mixed, as may be necessary to carry into effect the object of said company, and the same to sell, exchange, or otherwise dispose of: Provided, The quantity of real estate so purchased, and held by such company shall not exceed three hundred and twenty acres; to ordain, establish, and put in execution such by-laws, ordinances and regulations as may be necessary for the good government of said incorpo-

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ration, to have a common seal, make, alter, break, or renew the same at pleasure, and to do all other acts and things which they may deem best for the interest of the company, not contrary to the law or the constitution.

Sec. 3. The capital stock of said company shall be one hundred thousand dollars, with power to increase the same to five hundred thousand dollars, at the pleasure of the company, which capital stock shall be divided into shares of one hundred dollars each. The total amount of debt which the company shall at any time owe, shall not exceed the amount of their capital stock; but in case an excess of debt shall be created or permitted, the private property of the board of directors under whose administration it shall happen, shall be holden for the same, but this shall not exempt the corporate property of the company from being also liable for such excess.

Sec. 4. The charter of incorporation hereby granted shall continue in force twenty years from and after the passage of this act.

Sec. 5. Subscriptions to the capital stock of said company shall be opened under the direction of Jeremiah Price, Richard J. Wells, Henry Green, A. H. Howland, and J. B. Merrick, who shall be directors from the time this act takes effect and until others are elected, and it shall be the duty of the directors for the time being, to call for and to demand of the stockholders respectively all sums of money by them subscribed at such times and in such proportions as they shall see fit, giving always sixty days notice in a public journal printed in or nearest to said town; and in case of failure on the part of any of the stockholders or their legal representatives to pay in said stock as required, or within thirty days thereafter, all the interest they may have in said company shall be forfeited to the members thereof. So soon as the capital stock shall have been subscribed, it shall be the further duty of the directors above named, to proceed to distribute the stock among the subscribers in such manner as they shall deem best for the interest and future prosperity of the company.

Sec. 6. The officers of said company shall consist of a board of five directors, one of whom shall be elected President of the board; they shall be chosen annually, from among the stockholders, at the time such elections may be held, and in such manner as a majority of the stockholders shall ordain and determine; each share of the stock shall be entitled to one vote, and the members may vote either in person or by proxy; a majority of the directors shall constitute a quorum to do business.

Sec. 7. The board of directors or a majority of them shall have power to call special meetings of the company and to fix the times of holding the annual meetings for the election

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of officers, by giving sixty days previous notice in the nearest public journal; to fill vacancies that may occur in their own body, either by death or resignation, to hold their offices until their successors are elected; to appoint, employ, and dismiss at their pleasure a treasurer, secretary, and all other officers, agents, clerks, mechanics, laborers, and servants, and to fix their compensation, in order to execute and transact all the necessary and proper business of the company, and to make and prescribe such rules, regulations and by-laws, relative to the concerns of said incorporation as the interest of the company may require.

Sec. 8. It shall be the duty of said board of directors, at all times, to keep proper books of accounts, in which they shall register all the transactions of the company, which books shall at all times be subject to the inspection and examination of the stockholders, to make annual and semi-annual dividends of so much of the profits of said company as they shall deem advisable for the interest of the company, and whenever required by a majority of the stockholders to exhibit at a general meeting as complete and perfect a statement of all the debts, credits, and of all other matters in relation to the affairs of the company, as may be deemed essential.

Sec. 9. The stock of said company shall be deemed personal property, and assignable and transferrable on the books of the company, but no stockholder indebted to the company shall be permitted to make a transfer or an assignment, until such debt be paid, or secured to be paid to the satisfaction of the directors.

Sec. 10. A majority of the stockholders may call a special meeting of the company when they deem it necessary.

Sec. 11. This act is hereby declared a public act, and shall take effect from and after its passage; and the Legislature hereby reserves the right to alter, modify, or repeal this act, or any part of its provisions, whenever they may deem the public interest to require the same: Provided, That in case of repeal, the said corporation shall be allowed such reasonable time to dispose of their property, and close their concerns, as in the wisdom of the Legislature may be deemed equitable and just.