Papers Of Abraham Lincoln

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

AN ACT to authorize the Governor to appoint bank directors.
1

Duty of Governor to appoint bank directors.

Sec.[Section] 1. Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly,2 That it shall be the duty of the Governor, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to appoint at every regular session of the General Assembly, five directors for the State Bank of Illinois, and nine directors of the Bank of Illinois, whose term of service shall continue for two years, and who shall remain in office until their successors are appointed and qualified.

To fill vacancies.

Sec. 2. The Governor of the State shall have power to appoint the directors contemplated by this act, when vacan-

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cies may occur by death, resignation, or removal without the limits of this State; and persons thus appointed to fill such vacancies shall severally hold their offices until the close of the next session of the General Assembly.3

Consent of bank to be given.

Sec. 3. Before this act shall take effect, the consent of the banks hereunto shall be first given by an entry on their books, made under the direction of the board of directors; which shall be certified under the seal of the corporation to the Secretary of State, the same to be by him filed in his office.

Part of act repealed.

Sec. 4. Upon the consent of the banks being given to the provisions of the act as herein provided, so much of the act, entitled “An act to increase the capital of certain banks, and to provide means to pay the interest on a loan authorized by ‘An act to establish and maintain a general system of internal improvement,’” as provides for the election of five directors to the State Bank of Illinois, and nine directors to the Bank of Illinois, by the General Assembly, is, and shall thereupon be, repealed.4

Powers of directors.

Sec. 5. The directors herein provided to be appointed by the Governor shall have the same power and be subject to the same restrictions as were granted to, or imposed upon, the directors authorized to be elected by the General Assembly under the provisions of the act above mentioned.

Sec. 6. That the Governor, during the present session of the General Assembly, shall, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, appoint all the bank directors herein provided to be appointed; but such directors shall not take or hold the office of directors of such bank, until the said corporations shall have signified their assent to the provisions of this act as above provided.

Sec. 7. When the assent of either of said banks shall be certified to the Secretary of the State as herein provided, the provisions of this act shall be considered as applicable to the bank assenting to the same, whether the other shall agree to the same or not.

Approved, March 2, 1839.5

1On February 20, 1839, John Dawson introduced HB 385 in the House of Representatives. The House referred the bill to the Committee on the Judiciary. The Committee on the Judiciary reported back the bill on February 22 with amendments. The House amended the second amendment of the Committee by adding the words “until the end of the next regular session of the General Assembly.” The House adopted the amendments as amended. On February 23, the House passed the bill as amended. That same day, the Senate referred the bill to a select committee. The select committee reported back the bill with amendments, in which the Senate concur. The Senate passed the bill as amended. On February 25, the House concurred with the Senate amendments. On February 27, theCouncil of Revision vetoed the bill and returned it with objections to the House. The House referred the bill and objections to the Committee on the Judiciary. Later that day, the Committee on the Judiciary reported back the bill and objections with a substitute, in which the House concurred. The House repassed the bill as substituted. On February 28, the Senate approved the House substitute by a vote of 19 yeas to 12 nays. The Senate repassed the bill as substituted. On March 2, the Council of Revision approved the substitute bill, and the act became law.
Illinois House Journal. 1838. 11th G. A., 1st sess., 466, 482, 489, 491-92, 494, 509, 523, 547-48, 559, 574, 596; Illinois Senate Journal. 1838. 11th G. A., 1st sess., 392, 394, 395, 428-29, 450, 455, 479.

2On February 27, 1839, the House of Representatives amended the bill, which the Council of Revision had vetoed and returned with objections, by striking out all after the enacting clause and inserting a substitute. The substitute only retained section two from the original bill.
Illinois House Journal. 1838. 11th G. A., 1st sess., 547-48.

3On February 22, 1839, the House of Representatives added “until the close of the next session of the General Assembly.”
Illinois House Journal. 1838. 11th G. A., 1st sess., 482.

4Sections eight and nine of the act provided for the election of bank directors by the General Assembly.

5The Council of Revision objected to the original version of the bill because it contravened an act that gave the General Assembly the authority to elected new bank directors. Acceptance of the provisions of that act, the Council argued, by the State Bank of Illinois and the Bank of Illinois constituted a contract with the said banks, and alterations in the method of selecting directors without consent of the banks represented a violation of their chartered rights and the U.S. Constitution. The substitute bill addressed the concerns of the Council.
Illinois House Journal. 1838. 11th G. A., 1st sess., 546-47.