Section 1^st Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois represented in the General Assembly, That all the Rail Roads ordered and directed to be made under the provisions of an act entitled “an act to establish and maintain a general system of Internal Improvements” shall be divided into three ^two^ classes.

sec[Section] 2 For the purposes of classifying said Rail Roads, the Central Rail Road shall be considered as one road—The Alton Rail Road from Alton via, Hillsborough, Charleston, & Paris in the direction towards Terre Haute shall be considered as one Road—The road from Alton via Edwardsville, Carlyle, salem, Fairfield and Albion to Mount Carmel, shall be considered as one road.
The road from Edwardsville via Lebanon Nashville, Pinckneyville, Frankfort, and Equality to Shawneetown, with and the branch from Lebanon to Belleville shall be considered as one Road.

The Northern Cross Rail Road, shall be considered as one Road.

The Rail Road from Peoria to Warsaw, and the Road from Stonington to Pekin and Peoria shall be considered as one road

Section 3 For the purpose of deciding what three Rail Roads shall as designated above shall constitute the first class

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and what three roads shall constitute the second class—the two Houses of the General assembly shall meet in the Hall of the House of Representatives on the day of February 1839 eighteen hundred and thirty nine at the hour of ten O’clock in the morning, and proceed to select by joint vote which three two roads shall constitute the first class. And the said two houses shall continue to vote until some three of said Roads as above designated, shall receive a majority of all the votes given, and the three roads which shall [thus?] receive a majority of the votes given shall constitute the first class. And the other three roads shall constitute the second class.

sec 4 The Commissioners of the Board of Public Works are hereby directed to proceed with all possible diligence to locate permanently and to let out all the work on the roads of the first class selected as herein provided. And said Board of Public Works shall prosecute the work on said roads with all dispatch, which an economical and permanent construction of said roads will permit of, until the said roads are completed^.^ on the amount appropriated And the said Board of Public Works shall not put under contract or permit to be put under contract any work on any road which may be in the second class, until the roads mentioned in the first class shall have been completed. The said Board

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of Public Works after the roads named in the first class shall have been completed, or the amount appropr, shall proceed with all due dispatch to put under contract the roads in the second class.

sec 5 The Board of Public Works shall proceed as soon as the situation of the Rivers named in said act, will permit, to improve the navigation of said rivers as provided by said act. And they shall also proceed to improve the great Western mail Rout as is provided by said law.

sec 6 Contracts heretofore made for the construction of any part of the Rail Roads named in said act, made by the Commissioners of the Board of Public Works shall ^be^ proceeded with, as though this act had not passed. Provided however that the Board of Public Works may, if they shall think the interest of the state requires it, make any contract or compromise with the contractors, to suspend said contracts or to surrender the same.

This act to take effect from and after, its passage.